「The other day, I made a highly inappropriate remark, saying, 『It’s lame to play with girls.』 I sincerely apologize. I also wish to apologize again for making you wait for so long.」
Jered-kun bowed his head and apologized to Ralina-chan.
For now, he has fulfilled the promise I secured through some tough negotiations: 『You’ll apologize to Ralina-chan.』
As her older brother, I cannot forgive the fact that she was made to feel sad.
By the way, Jered-kun can’t use complicated words, so I stood behind him and whispered instructions.
…Or rather, I just had him repeat after me.
After being kept waiting for so long, Ralina-chan had been a little sulky, but her mood seemed to have lifted.
Neither of them seemed to fully grasp the meaning of the words, but it looked like they understood something along the lines of, 『I guess I’m apologizing』 and 『I guess I’m being apologized to』.
Then Ralina-chan looked at me with a slightly surprised expression.
From how arrogant Jered-kun had been when they first met, to this change.
Perhaps it was respect, or maybe fear, toward her brother who had managed to reform him this much after only a short conversation. …Though, I’d really prefer it not to be fear.
「If it’s alright… could you let me join your make-believe game?」
Next, I manipulated Jered-kun into making the request to join.
This time, the wording had to be easy to understand, otherwise it could cause trouble.
「Sure, that’s fine.」
Ralina-chan agreed with a smile.
Good, good. After all, she does need friends her own age besides me,
「Welcome home, onii-chan.」
…Looks like she’s already jumped into the make-believe play.
What a sense of urgency.
Maybe, since we’d spent so much time persuading Jered-kun, she decided to pick up the pace to make up for it…
By the way, the roles Ralina-chan and I take in our make-believe change frequently.
We’re most often husband and wife, but siblings are the second most common.
Once, we even played mother and son… though I’d rather never do that one again.
This time, since she called me 『onii-chan』, it looks like we’re playing siblings.
That’s how it goes, my role in the game depends entirely on Ralina-chan’s very first line.
Incidentally, even if she calls me 『father』, it could mean we’re playing husband and wife or father and daughter, so whenever I hear 『father』, I have to instantly judge which it is from her expression and gestures.
It’s a moment that requires intense focus.
「I’m home, Ralina.」
「How was work?」
「Not good. None of the wheat in the fields is growing well. This summer was cold, and we had few sunny days… There’s no doubt the harvest will be worse than last year’s.」
「I see. That’s terrible.」
「I’m already worried. I wonder how many villagers won’t survive the winter…」
「H-hey… hey, Alec.」
「Hm? Oh, Jered. How are your fields?」
「What? N-no, that’s not it, that’s not what I mean. Hold on, stop for a second.」
「…Cut. Sorry, Ralina-san, could you wait just a bit?」
「Sure.」
Ralina-chan answered with a cheerful laugh.
We’ve kept her waiting all day today. I’ve heard actors spend a lot of time waiting, but…
Now then, what’s the matter with Jered-kun? We were finally getting to a good part…
I thought his entrance was actually pretty decent, too.
「It’s just… it’s too sudden, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. Also, listening to you talk like that is making me uncomfortable.」
「Hmm, I’d rather you come up with that yourself… Fine, Jered-kun, you can be the horned rabbit that comes out of the forest, destined to become a delicious stew, 」
「No way! Give me something better! Something cool!」
Such a complainer, this Jered-kun…
I actually think the horned rabbit is a good role. Thanks to it, one extra child in the village will be spared from starvation…
I’m pretty sure there was a story like that, about a rabbit that threw itself into the fire so it could be eaten.
「Fine then, you’ll be the empire’s knight order’s strongest vice-captain, 『Onhaltzen the Gale』. Go.」
「You got strict all of a sudden… O-Onhaltzen? The empire’s human, right? I’ve never even seen a human before.」
「Humans and elves aren’t that different. …Even their ears are the same length.」
I really don’t want Jered-kun turning into one of those 『arrogant elves who look down on humans』.
This is the first step in making sure he doesn’t develop any needless sense of superiority.
Still, I just made that up, but… does the Empire even exist?
I’m not sure if I’d like to see it or not…
「But we are elves, right? Would we even meet one?」
「Fine, then, you’re the former vice-captain of the Empire’s knight order, 『Onhaltzen the Gale』, the strongest of them all, who was falsely accused, branded a villain despite doing nothing, and fled the Empire, only to wander into an elven settlement. Seriously, would you cut it out already?」
「You’re ‘really’ strict…」
「I think he just doesn’t like stopping the make-believe halfway. Onii-chan always takes it seriously when we play.」
Ralina-chan giggled.
…So that’s how she sees it.
Well, I can’t deny there’s a part of me that’s actually enjoying this.
But I guess once she gets older, she won’t play pretend anymore.
That feels… a little lonely.
「Alright, let’s start again…..Here you go, onii-chan, dinner’s ready.」
「Thanks, Ralina. From now on, we’ll have to start cutting back on meals…」
「Ah, ahh… Where could I be? I’m lost….」
「Hm? Hey, are you human? Why is a human here?」
「I, I am Onhaltzen the Gale. I escaped from the Empire.」
「Do you want to eat with us?」
「Thanks.」
「…You’re going to eat? That might mean one more villager who won’t survive the winter.」
「What do you expect me to do!?」
「Are you strong? Can you hunt monsters?」
「Huh? O-oh, yeah. I was the strongest in the Empire!」
「Then eat. But in exchange, I want you to hunt monsters for the village, so we can have more food.」
「L-leave it to me!」
「Then let’s have a feast. Once you’ve eaten, you’re my brother. We may not be connected by blood, but Ralina’s my sister despite that, too. The three of us, we’re sworn siblings.」
Oh, this actually came together pretty nicely.
A feast where the three of us swear brotherhood, an otherworld version of the 『Oath of the Peach Garden』.
『Though born on different days, we pray to die on the same day, at the same hour.』 That sort of thing.
Well, since we’re all elves, our deaths will probably be centuries away, but still, since we’ve become friends, I’d like us to get along for as long as possible.
「I’m not calling you onii-chan, though.」
「I’m the only one who gets to call him onii-chan.」
…You two really have no sense of sentiment, do you.
Next chapter: Motherhood
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