Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 42

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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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When I arrived at the building billowing with smoke, Sage and his disciples were stumbling out, coughing violently.
“Jack.”
“Yes?”
“Gas mask.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Gas mask.”
“…I hate the acrid smoke too.”
“If you’re so aggrieved, be reborn as my master in your next life.”
I forcibly seized Jack’s gas mask and summoned the servants to rapidly suppress the fire. Since this was clearly no ordinary blaze, I ordered them to use fire-suppression sand to extinguish the flames, then approached Sage, who continued coughing beneath the great zelkova tree in front of the Magic Research Institute courtyard.
“Sage.”
“Rosalite, you see, the thing is…”
“There’s a peaceful, pleasant plot of land just outside the neighboring marquessate—not a single ant lives there.”
“Now wait, if you’d just listen to what I’m saying…”
“If that displeases you, there’s always the option of taking all your disciples back to the Magic Tower.”
“I don’t want that!”
Apparently quite fond of life here, even the disciples who had been watching my expression from beside Sage stepped forward, trying to placate me with assurances that such incidents would never happen again.
Never happen again? Do they have any idea how many times this has occurred?
Explosions happened daily regardless of magnitude, and fires erupted like clockwork once a month, so my household had become fully equipped with emergency firefighting apparatus thanks to Sage and his subordinates. Each floor of the Sage Magic Research Institute now had emergency extinguishers stationed, and the entrance hall was stacked with fire-suppression sand ready for immediate use.
Because we had a separate water line drawn to this location for high-pressure water access at any moment, the Duke’s Mansion servants were currently opening the emergency hydrant to suppress both the smoke billowing from the building and the scattering ashes.
A great stream of water cascaded from the sky, and a beautiful rainbow had formed—it was quite lovely to behold, but it all came at a cost.
“At this rate, the entire annual budget allocated to the Magic Research Institute will be consumed by building repairs.”
“Wait! Just wait a moment, Rosalite!”
I was about to launch into a lengthy lecture about how there wouldn’t even be money left to provide meals once everything was accounted for, when Sage hastily covered my mouth and dispatched his disciples.
When they first reunited with Sage, he couldn’t remember anything and they treated him with complete disdain, yet now they were already being used like his hands and feet. Sage truly was a genius—just by flipping through his research papers brought from the Magic Tower a few times, he’d already positioned himself to teach them.
The man and woman voluntarily carrying out Sage’s orders rushed into the building still billowing with smoke and emerged clutching an attaché case to their chests.
What people commonly called a 007 briefcase. What on earth had he stored in there that warranted password protection?
“Rosalite, I hear you’re heading to the Empire soon?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Hmm. The outside world is dangerous. Take these children with you.”
…Children?
Surely he didn’t mean living creatures? Anxious, I peered inside, and fortunately found only objects.
One was a ring, one was a wristwatch, and one was a brooch, perhaps?
“Tada! The window-shattering magic ring!”
“…Pardon?”
“Now look at this. When you wear it on your hand like so and channel mana into it…”
As Sage channeled mana into the ring, the windows of the Magic Research Institute shattered in unison with a tremendous crash. The Duke’s Mansion servants, who had been suppressing the fire on my orders, let out screams, and as oxygen suddenly flooded in, the flames intensified—an explosion erupted once more from the window of the room serving as the ignition source.
The place had already descended into pandemonium, but Sage seemed utterly unconcerned and continued his explanation of the ring.
“The ring generates sound waves at a specific frequency that shatters glass.”
“So when you were making this two weeks ago, you destroyed all the windows at the Duke’s Mansion?”
“….”
“You clearly said back then that it had nothing to do with you. I’ll be deducting this cost from the budget.”
“Wait! Wait, just look at the next one too!”
What now.
I was seriously considering sending these people to some barren wasteland on the outskirts of Uncle’s Marquessate where not even ants lived, just to spare everyone the trouble, when Sage pulled out the next item.
The man fastened a wristwatch onto Jack’s wrist, tapped the watch face once, and then pulled out the buttons that controlled the hour and minute hands, placing them in Jack’s palm. Jack’s eyes seemed to sparkle with delight.
“With this, you can deploy piano wire and strangle your opponent! Since it looks like an ordinary wristwatch on the surface, no one will suspect a thing!”
Ha ha ha ha ha. James Bond, ladies and gentlemen.
Since Jack, now holding the piano wire, had tested it on Sage’s disciples and seemed incredibly satisfied with it, I couldn’t really complain about the item itself, but I absolutely had to say this one thing.
“…This has nothing to do with magic, does it?”
“I made it as a hobby!”
Right, Sage has always enjoyed making these sorts of gadgets since way back….
“W-well, if it’s related to magic at all…!”
Noticing my lukewarm reaction, Sage took out a brooch and pinned it directly onto my clothes. The blue gemstone was pretty enough, but what useless function did this thing have….
“It’s single-use, but it can amplify the power of offensive magic. If you channel magic directly into the brooch, it detonates after three seconds. Use it carefully.”
Ah, in other words, a hand grenade with an amplification device. Since this one actually looked useful, I smiled genuinely, and only then did Sage seem relieved and speak to me more comfortably.
“Anyway, you’re already so busy—how did you end up having to go to the Empire?”
“The Royal Council made the decision, so there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m powerless, so I can only comply.”
“No, aren’t you the young master here? Normally they wouldn’t send such a dangerous task to someone so young…!”
Right. They wouldn’t send a dangerous task like executing the prophecy of the End alone, drawing aggro from the Heretical Sect left and right, and then going to the Imperial Court to make a coercive deal to the Duke’s heir.
But what can I do when they tell me to go? Even I can’t think of anyone else who could do it instead.
When I said that, Sage pouted and glared at something. What was he looking at? …That’s the direction of Father’s office, isn’t it?
“Doesn’t the Duke protect you?”
“…Pardon?”
“Your heir is going down such a dangerous path, and he doesn’t even try to stop you!”
“There’s no particular reason for him to stop me.”
The council decided this way, and I already said I would do it.
When I said that, Sage’s face crumbled as if the world had ended, and he cursed Father for thinking of sending such a small thing out alone.
Then, as if making some grand decision, he grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eye seriously.
“Rosalite.”
“Yes.”
“You can call me Papa if you’d like!”
“…Pardon?”
Why?
I mean, Father is alive and well—why would I call Sage Papa? As I tilted my head in confusion, Sage hugged me tightly and said something strange.
“A father who has a single daughter works her from morning till dawn, makes her take medicine even when she’s sick and keeps her working, and then tries to send her alone to some dangerous, incomprehensible foreign land before she’s even twenty years old. He’s a truly terrible man!”
Wow. Now that he puts it so bluntly, Father does seem like a pretty bad person.
But Father has his dignity, and as I was about to open my mouth to clear up the misunderstanding, Sage opened another attaché case and threw a parasol at me.
“This is still a prototype, but as your Father, I’ll give you one ahead of time. The fabric used in it is a new product from the Magic Workshop—it’s made from special fibers that respond to electricity, so when you channel brain-attribute mana through it, it hardens and can even block arrows.”
There are misunderstandings in this world that don’t need to be cleared up.
Right. Besides, it costs nothing to open one’s mouth.
After channeling electricity through the umbrella and striking nearby zelkova branches with it—confirming that not a single scratch appeared on the umbrella’s fabric—I hugged Father’s gift tightly and thanked him with all sincerity.
“Thank you, Father!”
“Ahem, yes. You must be careful out there!”
“Yes, Father!”
Come to think of it, everything Father creates is priceless—the kind of thing you couldn’t buy even with money. It does seem wasteful to drive someone like him out of the Duchy.
I reminded him that while research is wonderful, he should be careful with his experiments going forward so as not to cause trouble to those around him, and I made a mental note that it would be better to build a soundproof wall between the Brown Estate and Father’s laboratory before heading back to the Office.
But for some reason, Jack Brown didn’t follow me—instead, he approached Sage and spoke to him plainly.
“Um….”
“What is it?”
“If I call you Father too, will you make things for me?”
“…No.”
“Tch.”
Oh dear. No matter how upset you are, you shouldn’t spit in front of an elder.
I gave Jack’s back a few light pats, bid Father well, and returned to the Office.
This form of address would later create a deep rift between Father and Duke, but I had no way of knowing that at the time.

◇ ◆ ◇

The day to depart for the Empire dawned.
Fortunately, luck was on my side—a partial solar eclipse was scheduled to occur around 10 a.m. three days later, and I had completed all my preparations for my stay in the Empire.
I had secured approval for my visit to the Imperial Court under the pretext of holding talks regarding civilian ships from the Empire that were infringing on the Kingdom’s territorial waters, and the elite forces from the Northern Region who would protect me were already gathered at the port in Bienar Territory.
I had prepared Aster to accompany me, and I had packed all manner of ominous and beautiful garments and accessories specially ordered for this occasion. The James Bond secret tools that Father had provided were safely stored in my attaché case, and just in case, I held the shield-like umbrella in my hand beforehand.
Dressed in a black dress and black wide-brimmed hat to project the aura of a witch bringing calamity from across the sea, I confirmed that Aster had checked off every item on the carriage’s packing list before bidding Leon farewell.
“Then, Leon, help the Duke with his work while I’m away.”
“Sister. Are you really going alone?”
“Going alone? Aster is coming with me.”
“That may be so, but surely I should go with you as well….”
“If you’re not here, who will do the work?”
No matter how much the heir of Duke Bienar comes to help, the way work is handled there differs from here, so for the time being, Leon had to be by my side to teach me everything from start to finish.
Only Leon could handle such crucial matters. After hugging Leon and patting him while saying this, he finally accepted it and answered weakly.
“…Understood. You must return safely.”
There won’t be any problems, so why worry.

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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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