Do not screw with meeeeeeeee!
I dive back into the rushing scenery and look around frantically.
The first thing I see is my brother leaning back in his chair, asleep.
Die, you damn beast!
Pouring every ounce of feeling into my right fist, I leap up and drive it forward, only for him to brush it aside effortlessly.
「You are awake?」
…That is cruel. Who counters their little brother’s face like that?
「Do not glare at me like some villain sneaking an attack while I slept.」
「It was just momentum and anger.」
「Who punches their brother for that reason?」
Says the brother who strangled me out of nowhere and knocked me out!
I check for nosebleed, then properly survey the room again.
The silver plate that should have been on the desk is gone. In its place, a white cloth embroidered with strange letters is spread out.
「If someone suspected of having a blessing sleeps on it… they apparently meet something or other.」
「……..」
「From the look on your face, you met it.」
「Yes.」
He continues speaking while folding the spread cloth.
「This appears suddenly on the king’s throne when a nation is founded. No one knows where it comes from or how it is brought. But the moment you see it, you understand how to use it even without being taught. It truly is a mysterious cloth.」
I know the reason. It is meant to search.
To find those with blessings… and observe them.
My brother tucks the folded cloth inside his jacket and quietly rests a hand on the sword at his waist as he looks at me.
「So… what kind of power is it?」
「I will not tell.」
「Heh～」
His tone drops.
For some reason, the hand on his sword fills me with an unnatural terror.
「I will ask once more. What kind of power is it?」
「I will never tell, even if it kills me.」
But I absolutely cannot reveal this power.
I must not say it. If this power is known… Noie will become unhappy.
No matter how it is used, no matter what way.
「…I see. Then never tell, even if it kills you.」
「Huh?」
My brother yawns as he says that, and I can clearly see the interest has drained from his face.
Where did all that tension go?
「You said you died before coming to this world, right? That made Father and me wonder if you might have received a blessing. So, we checked.」
「……..」
「But there was one strict order from the king. If you do have a power, let you use it however you want.」
Huh?
「What is with that dumb look? Your original role is just to be the husband who keeps Noie tied here. They said not to expect any more from you. So use that power however you like. Just know that if it ever harms this country, I will kill you.」
「That will never happen. Because Noie is here.」
「What does that mean?」
Exactly. As long as Noie is here, I should not need this power at all.
「Whatever. Your face looks awful. Go home and sleep today.」
「Yes.」
「But I will report to Father and aniki that you have a blessing.」
「Yes.」
For some reason, I feel completely drained.
I drag my heavy feet forward… then turn back.
「Where are we, anyway?」
-0-
The idiot prince calls the maid he had been keeping away and has her guide me. Finally, I reach a familiar corridor.
On the way, I think I passed the usual overly energetic leftover, but she was too much trouble, so I stepped over her and ground my toe into her back a little. She seemed happy about it.
It was probably just a fatigue-induced hallucination.
-0-
At last, I return to the detached building and head straight to the bedroom.
I collapse onto the bed and stare at the ceiling… when suddenly a sharp pain grips my chest.
「Kah! Gehogeho!」
It hurts… Why would I get a power like this!
This is a power I should never have.
If I am to stay by Noie’s side, this is absolutely a power I must not possess.
And yet… why?
I feel sick. For now, I close my eyes and try to calm my heart.
-0-
Do not joke with me! Why this power!
『…It is just coincidence.』
Why a power like this!
『…Blessings tend to grant powers this world deems necessary. So, it was purely by chance that you were chosen.』
Do not joke with me. You are the one who gave it to me!
『Even if that is true, the one who uses it is you, not anyone else. In fact, it might bring more happiness. The best would be if you used it on yourself… but using it on your precious person is fine too, or on someone else. But if you use it on another… what will happen to your precious person, I wonder?』
It is not funny at all. Chills run through my whole body, making me tremble.
If I did that, Noie would…
『Blessings are two sides of the same coin. Not everyone who receives one becomes happy. Is your precious person happy with the blessing she got? …There was another one by your side, was there not? That girl with the large chest. She might be happy. She came from a poor hunter’s family, but because of her blessing, she became a knight apprentice and earns money. More than her parents ever could from working.』
What are you trying to say?
『Is she happy?』
If she escaped poverty, then probably yes?
『You should look at others a little more carefully. Her parents were so worried about leaving their only daughter in the capital that they came with her. Because of that, the two of them could no longer work. In a capital where they know no one, lost and confused, they hide away in the house provided for them. Their daughter knows this and it pains her heart terribly. Is she happy? Are her parents?』
That is… just misfortune.
『From your perspective. But surely the people around them envy them from the bottom of their hearts. That is what humans are. Ugly creatures that crave more the more they are given. But even so, do you understand why blessings are granted?』
How would I know, idiot.
『Because it is fun to watch. There is no entertainment quite this enjoyable. That is why I grant blessings. I taught summoning magic too. And many other things… Each one has led to such interesting futures. Humans really are fascinating. They help each other and kill each other… such contradictory, delightful creatures.』
I see. But what does that make you, watching it all? The most boring existence of all.
Giving tools to others so they kill each other and taking joy in it… the ugliest and most dull being there is.
『That is right. …That is why, when I inherited this position, I changed the policy. I am a heretic. A heretic born in this world. That is why the world is trying to erase me.』
What are you talking about?
『Why do you think dragons have increased so rapidly? The world is surely killing many people to find a new “me”. That is why that power is needed. To resist.』
Even if it makes Noie unhappy?
『…It cannot be helped. If I disappear, the world will return to normal. It is the minimal sacrifice.』
I see… Do not screw with meeeeeeeee!
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