My brother flinched at my question.
“Hm, you’re the first person to ask me so bluntly… Anyway, yes. I’m going to die soon.”
“Don’t die.”
“Why?”
“Just because. We only just met today.”
My brother, who looked like a flowering branch in spring, kept coughing dryly.
There were girls like that at the daycare, too. Then one day, I just couldn’t see them anymore.
“It’s sad that I can’t meet you anymore.”
“Is it?”
My brother, who had replied indifferently, sat down. Then, he told me his name.
“My name is Elzen. And you?”
“I’m… I’m Shu, perti.”
“Shuperti?”
I, who was naturally about to say “Shu,” quickly corrected myself. Right, I have a formal name now. Fortunately, Brother Elzen understood it easily.
*He must be a smarty-pants!*
He’s a bit cool. His posture is neat and upright, and he’s even read half of those difficult-looking books. I wiggled and crawled up onto the chair. Once I occupied the seat next to Brother Elzen, I let out a big “phew.” It had been hard work.
“I’m glad. That you’re here.”
“Hm?”
“I was worried about Father. But now, I think I can leave with a peace of mind.”
I wish my brother wouldn’t die, but it seemed he had already made up his mind. Wiggling my fingers, I snatched his hand that was resting on the book.
“Whoo.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m blowing on it so you won’t hurt anymore.”
“That won’t make the pain go away, you know?”
*Cough, cough.*
My brother coughed dryly again. As I patted his back worriedly, my eyes widened at the sight of blood on his pale hand.
“Blood! Blood!”
“You don’t need to make such a fuss. It’s natural.”
“But… blood, it hurts…….”
Why am I so sad? On the verge of tears, I rummaged through my rabbit bag and pulled out a handkerchief. It was the rabbit-embroidered one Lina had packed for me.
“I’ll wipe it off for you, Shu will.”
“You are kind. You don’t have to go this far for me. I’ll be dying in some back room soon anyway, so there’s no benefit to being nice to me.”
“I’m not doing it to get anything.”
I couldn’t explain the reason. But I kept getting sadder and sadder. I feel like something like this has happened before. But that shouldn’t be possible.
*If I had the Orca Sugar, would Brother Elzen feel better?*
I really shouldn’t have used it all up back then. I do have 10g of butter overflowing with cheering energy, but… I haven’t received it yet.
“I want to make you better.”
“It’s an incurable disease. Unless a mate with the same Bijou shares their life force.”
“Oh.”
“But I have no intention of receiving that. If it were a mate, I would fall in love the moment we met, so should I live a pathetic life by stealing their lifespan? I can’t do that.”
It was then.
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ is sobbing.]
[It’s pure love. Pure love!]
The Emotion Spirit King reacted strongly. Then, characters poured out like crazy.
[A child like that must live! They’re still so young, how can they be so kind? It’s a loss to all of human romance for a child like that to die! Ah, but to save them, a mate has to appear?! Then neither of them will live long, sob. It makes me cry! Waaaah! Our Union Mis…!]
[Warning: 140-character limit! (;´Д`)]
[Due to spamming, the Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ is restricted from speaking for 1 minute.]
[This restriction is calculated based on Spirit World time.]
Something just passed by, didn’t it…? Blankly staring into the air, I focused on the last letters that were disappearing.
*Union Mission reward?*
That thing from when I got the Orca Sugar?
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ clicks their tongue.]
[Eden’s materials are prohibited from being taken out to the human world without specific reasons. You know that. We might be annihilated if we aren’t careful.]
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ agrees with the Fire Spirit King.]
[That’s right. And they aren’t even a contractor. We agreed to provide the Union reward last time since it was the first, but we can’t agree a second time. The Water Spirit King has causality with that child, so it’s somewhat justifiable, but still…….]
[The Spirit King of ‘◇◇’ ‘■■■■■■’ cautiously suggests.]
[Then how about asking them to get us something we need or to suggest and show us a scene they want to see? And we give them a ‘Great Job’ stamp. If we allow them to exchange that for Eden’s materials… wouldn’t the Law of Causality leave us alone?]
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ contemplates.]
[It’s not bad, but you must collect three stamps. Can you do it?]
“Yes!”
I answered in a loud voice before I knew it. Brother Elzen looked at me as if I were strange.
“Who are you answering to?”
Oh, dear. Worried that I might chirp again, I quickly covered my mouth with both hands and giggled.
“You laugh often, you do.”
“They said laughing brings good luck.”
“Is that so? It’s nice to see. There’s no one else here who giggles like you.”
*Tap.*
Brother Elzen tapped the tip of my nose. It didn’t feel bad or painful, but it felt somewhat strange; it was like the attitude of someone who had just met a cat on the street.
“My younger sibling would have looked just like you.”
“Younger sibling……?”
“Yes. I had one. They were swallowed by the sea along with our mother. My sibling probably became a Divine Beast. Since I’ll become a Divine Beast when I die, I’ll be able to meet them.”
Now that I think about it, he doesn’t have a mom. He has a dad, though. I wanted to ask more, but somehow, I felt I shouldn’t.
*I’m curious, though…….*
At that moment, just like before, a Quest popped up.
Quest!
Become the Vice President!
The Spirit King of ◇◇ has given you homework!
✔ Become the Vice President in the Vice President election
Reward upon success: ★Great Job★ Stamp 1
Penalty upon failure: An Extremely Unlucky Day Awaits! (3 days)
*Gasp*, Vice President! Now that I think about it, the classroom has been noisy about the class president lately.
*They said the class president is Lord Raywood.*
Since everyone calls him Lord Raywood, I got used to saying it too. Because Lord Raywood is usually outside doing training or missions, it’s the Vice President who actually leads the children in the classroom.
Quest!
I get teary-eyed whenever family is mentioned!
The Earth Spirit King and the Water Spirit King have given you homework!
✔ Find Navy Admiral Diegon Pashayen’s family portrait
✔ Find out about Navy Admiral Diegon Pashayen’s family history
Reward upon success: ★Great Job★ Stamp 1
Penalty upon failure: Eat all 100 beans seasoned with the Earth Spirit King’s sweat
Wait a minute, 100 beans?! I don’t want to!
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ is dejected.]
[I grew those beans with such care…….]
*Ah.*
I felt sorry immediately.
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ smiles sadly.]
[I would love to help you with everything in my heart, but……. Let’s collect two ‘Great Job’ stamps first, shall we? I’ll tell you the condition for the third stamp once you’ve finished the previous homework.]
Yes, I’ll try.
Answering in my heart, I counted the things I had to do, one by one. First, find the Admiral’s family portrait. Second, find out what happened to Brother Elzen’s sibling. Third, become the Vice President. Fourth, make bread with Orca Sugar for Teacher Cedric and Brother Elzen. Fifth, guess who the Spirit Kings of ◇◇ and ○○ are. Sixth, find out the names of the Spirit Kings!
Oh my, why is there so much to do! I don’t know if I can do it all, but I decided to try my best, one step at a time. I want to earn my keep!
*And seventh…*
*Second. This is the most important one.*
Elzen, who I think is my second older brother, the Admiral, and Micard, my first older brother whom I haven’t met yet. For all of us to be a family. So, I hope that someday, there will be a family portrait with me in it.
I tucked that wish away deep inside. It felt like a story for a distant future.
***
I returned to my room and flopped onto the bed. Then, I opened the book, and the first thing I decided to look at was none other than the information about the Bijou.
The Bijou is a gem, a crystal of pure power that sprouts somewhere on the body, including the face. This gem also appears in the same shape on the body of one’s partner. The location may vary. Those who possess the same Bijou are destined to be drawn to each other. The moment they encounter their partner, an Awakener imprints, and they become unable to resist that attraction. This phenomenon is called the ‘Bijou Phenomenon.’
*So this is it! What Elzen was talking about.*
A partner with the same Bijou.
“But what is a partner?”