Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 24

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

As I knelt and wrung my hands, my Master gave me permission to sit in a chair, saying that was enough.
I gratefully accepted the words and sat in the chair, then brought in the Doctor who came running at my call and had him treat the Master.
“I’m truly sorry about this matter. I clearly instructed them to bring you here respectfully, but somewhere along the way the message must have gotten mixed up…”
“No, never mind. As a genius, I should be generous about it. But you, you seem to know me quite well.”
Well, that’s true.
Two years ago, I contacted the Magic Tower to seek advice from my Mentor, who is also a brain-attribute mage, and since then I’ve been trying hard to find him, I explained. When I said that I had finally discovered his whereabouts not long ago and learned what situation he had been in all this time, my Mentor suddenly cut me off and hastily opened his mouth.
“Wait, what are you talking about? A bandit gang? Me as the leader? You’re saying I unified the bandit gangs and plotted treason?”
“Yes, that’s true, but…”
“That’s not it! You must be mistaken about that! I only saved the Village from being plundered and stopped those filthy nobles from extorting taxes!”
What is this guy babbling on about right now?
After pondering for a moment because there were so many parts that needed to be corrected, I opened my mouth as I watched bandages begin to wrap around the Mentor’s hands as he finished his treatment.
“Well… the village that you say you saved is the Cento Bandit Gang’s headquarters, and paying taxes is the duty of territorial subjects. Besides, if it’s the Beloche Marquisate, I’ve heard the tax rate is quite reasonable and the Baron who became the lord is an upright man with deep loyalty to the Royal Family…”
“That can’t be! The villagers said their families are starving because of that lord! All nobles are nothing but filthy scoundrels!”
“Well, I haven’t heard anything about poor harvests hitting the farms in that area over the past few years or any changes in tax rates… But more than that, sir.”
I wrestled with whether I should tell you this or not, but ultimately decided to come clean. It was something you’d find out anyway, no matter how hard I tried to hide it.
“You are the great-great-grandfather’s cousin of Duke Neitram, who rules the north of the Capital of the Alein Kingdom.”
“….”
“You may have returned your territory to the state now, but you’re still called a great nobleman.”
“That… that can’t be…!”
The Master seemed quite shocked, as he kept muttering to himself about how he had been a filthy nobleman. No… not all nobles are filthy, sir…
“I can’t be a noble, nobles aren’t dirty, but more than that, that brat Diana….”
“Now that I think about it, that strategist Diana apparently manipulated you to wipe out and consolidate the bandit gangs, squeezed them dry for profit, and incited the people to direct their anger at the Baron’s house. Do you know anything about this? We need to issue a warrant for her arrest, but we lost track of her while bringing you here, and since then her whereabouts have been unknown.”
“The world is full of liars.”
Did I touch something I shouldn’t have?
The Mentor had his face covered and was just crouching down. He kept saying he couldn’t trust anyone anymore and was banging his head on the table, so it didn’t seem like we could continue the conversation any further. I called for someone.
“We can talk about the rest later. For now, please get some rest. I’ll contact the True Magic Tower Master soon, and once we receive a reply, we’ll head there…”
I’m not going.
“…Huh?”
It was a welcome sound to hear, but my Mentor’s condition seemed very strange. Still despondent about not being able to trust anything in the world, my Mentor shuddered and refused to go to the True Magic Tower.
“Isn’t the True Magic Tower where that bad-tempered one-eyed guy with glasses is? I’m not going. I hate it. I’ll stay here.”
“Yes, of course, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like, but…”
If it’s amnesia, it seems the True Magic Tower Master remembers after all.
The Master nodded as if pleased with my answer, then trotted along after the person I had called to the Guest Room.
I’m glad to have brought Master here, but… why do I have this feeling that I’m going to end up taking care of a grown child?
It must be my imagination.
It must be just my imagination.
That’s what I should have done.

◇ ◆ ◇

A week had passed since I took in my Master. In that time, I’d experienced an absolutely staggering series of events.
My Master refuses to leave my side. I understand he’s anxious without his memories, but isn’t this taking it a bit far?
After deciding to stay here, my Master spent that first day wandering every corner of the Duke’s Mansion, asking everyone if they knew him. Upon confirming that I was the only one who knew him well, he latched onto my side without letting go.
Every morning when I woke early and tried to have a cup of peppermint tea to shake off sleep, he’d inevitably knock and enter, sitting before me. Before Jack or Aster even arrived for work, my Master would keep vigil at my side, asking about his achievements and what kind of person he used to be. He’d watch me work, eat meals with me, and before bed, he’d even bring books he’d written from my library and ask me to read them aloud.
This might have been tolerable for a day or two, but by the seventh day of it continuing, I felt like I was losing my mind.
Moreover, my Master’s hands were currently inconvenient, so someone had to assist him with meals. When I tried having a maid help him eat, he’d tremble and complain that I was treating someone with merely an injured hand like they had a terminal illness, then knock over the entire table with his shaking spoon. As a result, I had to spoon-feed him at every meal without fail.
Because of this, when I found myself dining with Father the other evening, he looked at my Master with clear displeasure. Finding it quite strange that I was attending to a man he didn’t know, Father asked immediately upon sitting down who this man was. I could only answer that this person was a Grand Mage from the Magic Tower who had lost his memories and was under my protection.
Father couldn’t accept the situation with just that explanation, so he frowned the entire time before returning to his office. My Master said nothing while Father sat with his mouth shut and furrowed brow, but the moment Father left, he asked who that person was.
When I explained that I was the young master of this house and that man was Duke Rocksburg, the master of this house, my Master said he should go introduce himself later. But I told him not to bother the busy man.
In any case, for all these various reasons, my current Master is… honestly… rather…
a nuisance to care for.
After observing him for the past week, I noticed my Master performed magic without issue—it seemed to be instinctive for him. But when I sought his guidance, he couldn’t explain anything at all. Even when I showed him papers I’d already written, he’d only say they were impressive without offering any corrections or opinions of his own.
Of course, I respect my Master, and if he said he’d stay here, I could prostrate myself in gratitude. But Sage Oswald without his memories was…
To put it bluntly, utterly useless to me.
Which is why I woke early that morning, sipped my peppermint tea, faced Sage Oswald across the table, and had no choice but to say this.
“Sage. I have something urgent to discuss with you.”
“What is it? Aren’t we close enough to skip the formalities? Just say it.”
“Please return to the Magic Tower.”
Please.
As I spoke while sipping my tea, Sage’s eyes widened and he grasped the teacup with his trembling, inconvenient hand.
“Are you… abandoning me too?”
“That’s not it. Sage, you are originally a mage of the Magic Tower, are you not? I’m simply asking you to return to your proper place.”
“But I was injured because of your subordinates…”
“I’ll assign attendants to care for you and provide sufficient compensation including medical expenses. You do like money, after all.”
Displeased with my proposal, Sage Oswald pouted his lips. A grown man pouting and grumbling wasn’t cute in the slightest.
“Even if you tell me to go back, there’s no one there I know.”
“Everyone knows you, Sage. Think of it as there being many people like me there.”
“But still…”
But this and but that—why does he have to be so clingy? My patience snapping, I slammed the table with a bang, and Sage jumped in surprise, dropping his teacup. The cup shattered across the table, tea spilling everywhere, and Sage, looking flustered, reached to grab the broken pieces.
“Stay still. You’ll hurt yourself.”
Since neither Lily nor Violet had arrived yet, I went into the small room, grabbed a cloth, came back out, wiped up the tea, wrapped the ceramic fragments, and pushed them to the side. I’d have to tell the two of them to throw it away with the cloth later. Wouldn’t want them cutting their hands.
“You were bored staying here, weren’t you? You kept following me around constantly.”
“Well, there’s nothing else to do…”
“…”
Wait. So if I gave him something to do, he’d leave me alone?
In the previous cycle, my Master without memory loss was busy every single day, with work constantly piling up. He was creating something that would change the very nature of future warfare once completed.
My Master used to say he’d create defensive magical devices that even incompetent, inefficient mages could use to fire high-output mana bullets just by pouring their mana into them. But now, in an age where we’re barely firing cannons from ships and single-shot muskets—if a laser gun suddenly appeared, who wouldn’t use it in warfare?
If I had the chance, I’d butter up Master, sweet-talk a sample out of him, disassemble it to examine the internals, mass-produce it, gather a bunch of low-level mages, and conquer the world myself.
But what matters now isn’t world conquest—it’s giving Master something to occupy his time. I should contact the Magic Tower immediately. If the Magic Tower announces that Sage Oswald isn’t taking Rocksburg’s side but simply relocating his residence to continue his research, then I can officially summon a healing mage from the Royal Family, Sage Oswald’s wounds will heal quickly, and I won’t need to attend to his meals anymore.
“Since you’re so reluctant to leave, I’ll find another way. Rather than having you go to the Magic Tower, we’ll have the Magic Tower bring your belongings here and send people to assist you.”
“…You mean it?”
“Yes. When have you ever seen me lie?”
“That’s true. You don’t lie.”
Master seemed satisfied with this proposal and smiled, so I covered my mouth and laughed delightfully. Jackpot. If I played this right, I could shake off Sage Oswald, who clung to me like gum, and by investing time and effort, I might be the first to receive weapons of OOPARTZ-grade quality.
People who only study have this advantage—they never consider the impact they’ll have on society.
“Well then, today… that is… you seem busy too. I’ll leave you to your own devices.”
“Thank you, Sage Oswald. If you need anything, just grab anyone nearby and ask—they’ll be happy to help.”
Sage Oswald still seemed to be reading my mood, and he left, saying he wouldn’t bother me for the rest of the day.
Now I could finally breathe.
I felt my blocked breath suddenly clear as I finished my tea. When Lily and Violet arrived for their shift, I warned them to be careful of the broken teacup, and they cleaned up the debris without further question.
After a quick breakfast and wash, I headed to the office, traveling light.

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