Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 23

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How on earth does Lily manage to swing that enormous banner around with just one hand? Am I the only one wondering about this? Is anyone else curious?
“Did you not receive word that I would be stopping by to report on the task you entrusted to me?”
“I did hear something about it, but most people typically enter through the corridor door, so I was only watching that one, William.”
“The veranda door is also a door, Young Master.”
“You’re right, I was the one lacking in common sense. It’s entirely my fault.”
My fault. All my inadequate fault.
I patted my chest dramatically and offered William a seat, settling in to hear his report. It had been over a year since I’d asked him to find the whereabouts of Sage Oswald—my former Master. The news that we’d finally picked up his trail made it impossible for me not to grow serious.
What on earth could have happened to him that he’d been missing for over a year?
“To summarize: Sage Oswald is currently operating as the leader of a large-scale bandit gang that has consolidated power throughout the Beloche Marquisate.”
“…What?”
“Sage Oswald is currently operating as the leader of a large-scale bandit gang that has consolidated power throughout the Beloche Marquisate.”
No, it’s not that my ears aren’t working, teacher.
Unable to fathom why a prestigious mage from the Magic Tower would be leading a bandit gang, I pressed him for details. William laid out the events in the order they had unfolded.
Thank goodness. He didn’t just drop the conclusion on me—he actually investigated thoroughly.
“During the conflict between the Gorba Bandit Gang and the Cento Bandit Gang, both mid-sized organizations in the Beloche Marquisate, Sage Oswald made his first appearance. He sided with the Cento Bandit Gang, suppressed the conflict through force, and subsequently rose to leadership. Under the command of Sage Oswald and the strategist Diana Cento, all surrounding bandit gangs were absorbed and consolidated. The Cento Bandit Gang grew into a massive organization of ten thousand members, reaching a scale where even the Marquis’s private forces couldn’t act rashly. A request for support from the Kingdom’s regular army has been submitted. It appears that Sage Oswald himself is unaware that he is a mage from the Magic Tower.”
Wow, this is like something out of a legendary tale.
I was listening to the story with great interest, but I frowned when William mentioned that my Master didn’t know he was from the Magic Tower. Could it possibly be… that thing I’d only heard about in stories?
“He doesn’t know he’s from the Magic Tower?”
“Yes. That’s according to the report from the subordinate I had infiltrate.”
“Are you saying he’s lost his memory?”
“It appears so.”
Such things actually happen. It’s just like a novel. Except it was real.
In any case, I couldn’t simply leave my Master as he was. How could the only 7-Circle Archmage in the Alein Kingdom be arrested on suspicion of leading a bandit gang? If this went wrong, it could strain relations between the Magic Tower and the Kingdom. And if the Royal Family manipulated my Master, who had no memory, and used him as a pawn, it would grant them tremendous power.
Such a thing could not be allowed. I had to extract my Master as quickly as possible—either manipulate him myself and make him ours, or at the very least keep him neutral.
A 7-Circle mage cannot be allowed to fall into anyone’s hands. Mages from the 6-Circle onward bear the title of Archmage, and each possessed destructive power equivalent to a fully armed battalion. The mere fact of one joining a faction or supporting someone could make front-page news across the entire world.
“It appears that the leader Sage Oswald intends to strike the Beloche family in the near future. I leave the detailed judgment to you, Young Master…”
I had been about to rush and capture my Master to hand him over to the True Magic Tower Master for disposition, but hearing what my Master was about to do, I decided not to make a hasty decision.
The Beloche Marquisate wasn’t far from Uncle Louis’s domain. If the person ruling that territory disappeared, the land would either revert to the Royal Family or be absorbed into a neighboring domain. What if it became Uncle Louis’s? If it were going to fall to the Duke’s House anyway, what if I had Glen try managing the territory as a test? That would be a fine gift for Glen and a benefit for our family’s future.
No matter how underdeveloped a territory is, having unused land is always better than not having it. Who knows—perhaps a hot spring might suddenly emerge there one day and turn it into a tourist attraction. Having something is better than having nothing. Besides, it would be quite entertaining to watch how Glen handles the ten thousand bandits gathered in the Beloche Marquisate.
But if my Master were to act, he would do so on a grand scale, and the damage to the Marquis’s family would be catastrophic. My Master wasn’t petty enough to target just the Marquis alone—he might very well eliminate the entire family and everyone working there. My conscience ached at the thought of simply standing by and watching.
“The Marquis Beloche is deeply loyal to His Majesty and belongs to the Royal faction.”
As my deliberation dragged on, William, perhaps sensing my inner conflict, bluntly offered me exactly what I needed to hear.
I see.
So the Marquis was part of the Royal faction.
Then there’s no help for it, painful as it is.
“Wait until Sage Oswald strikes the Beloche family. I can prepare a method to capture him alive. Handle any interference during the operation as you see fit. I won’t ask about the life or death of anyone involved except for the Master I’m bringing back.”
I savored the tea Lily had brought me while turning over my Master’s habits in my mind and writing down methods to subdue him on paper. William examined my notes and affirmed that he could carry out the plan as instructed, promising to retrieve my Master after waiting for the right moment.
Regardless of anyone else, I had to bring back Master safely—I emphasized this repeatedly, and William nodded with confidence.
Yes, William is someone who understands reason, so I could entrust the task to him without worry.
After catching my breath, I spent my days waiting for Master, and the night after William left the Mansion, I finished my work, entered my room, executed a neat backstep, closed the door, and left.
In my room at the tea table, Master sat bound with blood covering his entire body, blindfolded and gagged—and upon closer inspection, a sword was embedded in his shoulder, and the Mana Crystal lightning rod I had suggested using pierced straight through both his hands.
I shouldn’t have trusted the common sense of those Brown fellows.
How was I supposed to handle this? After taking several deep breaths outside, I called over the maid Ivy, who happened to be passing by, and instructed her to summon the Duke’s House physician, then opened the door again.
I wanted to bring a healing mage to fix the wounds immediately, but the only healing mage I knew the affiliation of was the one belonging to the Royal Family, so I couldn’t call them.
I had smuggled Master out without the Royal Family finding out—calling a Royal Family healing mage would spread the news all over town.
Though I didn’t want to confirm it, Master’s condition upon closer inspection was utterly miserable. That man who loved to dress fashionably had dirt and blood caked together on his clothes, forming dried blood clumps, and William had used the lightning rod I mentioned so effectively that Mana Crystal pierced straight through the center of his palm.
Seeing that he had bound the hands, gagged the mouth, and blindfolded the eyes to prevent magic use, it seemed he had done this with my safety in mind.
If he was so considerate of my safety, why couldn’t he follow through on bringing Sage Oswald back unharmed? In any case, I couldn’t leave things as they were, so I removed Master’s blindfold and untied his gag.
The middle-aged man spoke sharply toward me with vigor.
“Bring me that so-called little master of yours! Right now!”
It seemed he had heard something.
I knelt quietly before Master, who was fuming. Kneeling cost nothing. Moreover, it was an effective means of appealing to the other party that I was deeply remorseful. Of course, it didn’t work on everyone, but generally it worked on most.
“I don’t need an apology from a brat like you—just bring the little master!”
“That is…”
Still kneeling, I carefully raised my hand. I really didn’t want to say this. Why had I given the task to William? Jack would have understood my instructions better.
“It’s… the little master…”
“What?”
“That is… should I say there was a communication problem with my subordinate this time? Or should I say William lacked compassion in handling the matter?”
“What kind of communication led to putting someone in this state!”
Oh goodness, Master. Please calm down.
As Master’s anger intensified, the surrounding mana crackled and burst with flashes, so I carefully stood and twisted the sword embedded in Master’s shoulder once.
“Aaaahhh!”
“My apologies. If I let you die, you’ll be in serious trouble, sir.”
“Ugh, so you really are that so-called little master. Your temperament is absolutely terrible.”
Wait, who was the one trying to strike me with lightning first? Why are you only blaming me?
I was deeply aggrieved, but since I bore responsibility for failing to control William, I knelt again and made an effort to converse with Master.
“The reason I brought you here is…”
“Brought me? Does this look like you brought me to your eyes? Do your eyes have a disease?”
“Because I couldn’t allow the esteemed and revered Grand Mage of Thunder, Sage Oswald, to bear the stigma of being a bandit leader.”
Master, who had been complaining endlessly, fell silent the moment I finished speaking. When he asked what I had just said, I pulled out my secret trump card once more.
“I respect and admire you, Grand Mage of Thunder, Sage Oswald. As for myself, I am but a budding mage who cultivated dreams of magic by reading the works and manuscripts of the great Grand Mage of Thunder, Sage Oswald.”
“Huh… I wrote books too?”
“Yes, sir. Your works contain formulas usable by thunder-attribute mages summarized in a genius-like manner, written so kindly that even an ignorant magical illiterate like myself can awkwardly follow along. Surely it can be called the standard of magical texts. The standard that every thunder-attribute mage must read. The royal road. The fundamental principles. One-on-one instruction. A bible—it would not be excessive to call it such.”
As I continued speaking, Master’s expression softened.
Even with lost memories… Master is… truly…
You’re weak to flattery.
“Really? I wrote something that great?”
“Of course not. Would Your Excellency care to observe my practice using the techniques from the books you’ve written?”
“Very well then. Let’s see what you can do.”
Heh, he’s completely taken the bait. If this continues, I should be able to erase my poor first impression and hand the Master over to the True Magic Tower. I’d originally planned to manipulate his memory loss and make him one of ours, but since William beat the Master to a pulp, that’s no longer feasible.
I selected an offensive spell formula and channeled mana to designate the tree outside the window as my target. The Master seemed to notice that my casting steps were identical to his own, watching me with a serious expression.
“Range designation. Power reduction. Release.”
Lightning struck the tree outside the window, and several servants screamed about a bolt from the blue sky. The Master, apparently forgetting his pain, asked me a question with evident curiosity.
“Have you ever studied under me?”
“No, sir.”
“You taught yourself all this?”
“Yes.”
I lied without hesitation. But what else could I say? If I mentioned that from my sixth to eleventh regression, I’d been locked away in the True Magic Tower with the Master, learning magic, debating, conducting research, and even writing and presenting papers, I’d only be seen as mad.
“A child completely ignorant of magic learned spellcasting just from my books? Am I perhaps a genius?”
“You are indeed. Your Excellency is a true genius.”
“You have a good eye for people, don’t you?”
“I merely speak the truth as it is. If we don’t call a genius a genius, then who should we call one?”
You’re truly susceptible to flattery, Master. Just moments ago you were calling me “this one” and “that one,” and now it’s “you”?
“Ah, what a splendid mood! Let’s forget this whole incident ever happened!”
“How magnanimous of you! Truly, geniuses are different in every way!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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