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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Another Family (3)
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“...!”
Someone had blocked the man about to hit Arisa, stopping the fist he was throwing with one hand.
“I apologize, but I cannot permit you to lay a hand on this child.”
“What did you say?”
“Who are you?!”
“You bastard! Who are you to butt in where you’re not wanted?!”
The one speaking in a voice so calm it was utterly out of place for the situation was none other than Sei-an.
“I am this child’s older brother.”
“What?”
“...!”
Arisa’s eyes widened in even greater surprise at the realization that the person standing in front of her, speaking to the thugs, was Sei-an.
‘What… did he say?’
Then, at the word ‘older brother’ that escaped Sei-an’s lips, she found herself staring blankly at Sei-an, who stood before her.
“So, would you kindly step back?”
“Hah!”
“Isn’t this guy completely insane?”
“Hey, kid! Get lost while we’re being nice.”
“By the way, is this one a boy or a girl?”
“Heh! Well… I guess we’ll know if we strip them.”
“Hehehe!”
Meanwhile, the men, who had begun to surround Sei-an instead of the women, let out even more sinister laughs than before as they pulled small knives from their clothes.
“I apologize, but please wait a moment.”
“...?”
Sei-an, on the other hand, continued to speak to the men in a calm voice, asking for their patience, before pulling a handkerchief from his pocket.
He then meticulously began to wipe his hand, the one that had just gripped the man’s.
“...!”
“...!”
“That bastard, he’s truly insane.”
All those who had been scoffing at his actions now had their expressions harden chillingly, glaring at Sei-an with sharp eyes.
They were enraged by Sei-an’s behavior, which made it seem as though touching them was like touching something filthy.
*Whoosh!*
The man at the very front was the first to quickly swing his fist and the knife in his hand towards Sei-an.
*Thwack!*
“I must inform you beforehand that while the pain will be intense, you will be able to move again by tomorrow.”
“...!”
However, with a slight, almost imperceptible movement, Sei-an sidestepped the man’s attack, then swiftly seized the wrist holding the knife.
*Crunch!*
“Ugh… Aarggh!”
At that moment, a faint sound like bone dislocating seemed to emanate from the wrist Sei-an held, and the man immediately collapsed to the floor, screaming in excruciating pain.
“This bastard!”
Seeing this, the others quickly surrounded Sei-an, alternating between swinging knives and fists at him.
*Thwack!*
“May I offer a piece of advice?”
“...!”
But all those attacking him merely swung at empty air. They couldn’t keep up with Sei-an’s movements, which seemed remarkably unhurried.
Then, Sei-an lightly grabbed one of their wrists, just as he had before, and spoke in a low voice close to his ear.
“If you continue to harm people in the future, you will never die peacefully.”
“...!”
“For the grudges of the dead can, surprisingly, wield a very strong power.”
The one who heard Sei-an’s words grimaced sharply, swinging his remaining hand wildly to try and break free.
*Crack!*
“K-Aargh!”
But he, too, like the one Sei-an had dealt with moments ago, collapsed to the floor from the powerful impact felt in his wrist.
“...!”
“...!”
At the sight of their comrade, the remaining three men attacking Sei-an involuntarily froze.
“If you wish to continue, I have time to deal with you.”
Then, at Sei-an’s calmly polite voice directed at them, the men hastily began to flee the scene. They even abandoned the two fallen men, seemingly without an ounce of loyalty.
“Tsk.”
Sei-an lightly clicked his tongue as he watched the three men flee, then turned his head to look at the two still on the floor, groaning in pain.
“Only your wrist bones are temporarily dislocated; your legs are perfectly fine.”
“...!”
“You may leave now.”
“...!”
“...!”
No sooner had Sei-an finished speaking than the two men quickly got to their feet and, like the others before them, hastily fled the scene.
“...”
Having swiftly resolved the entire situation, Sei-an briefly gazed at the women who were staring at him blankly, then slowly approached them.
At the sight of Sei-an, Aymela was certain he was approaching her, and with a faint smile, she began to thank him.
“Thank you. You saved me—!”
*Swish!*
“...!”
But Sei-an silently walked past her, only approaching Arisa, who was still slumped on the ground.
“Are you alright?”
“...!”
Arisa looked at him with surprised eyes once more at Sei-an’s voice, which approached her and quietly asked after her well-being.
“Can’t you stand up?”
“Oh, no, I can.”
Then, at Sei-an’s action of kneeling on one knee to help her up, Arisa was startled and quickly sprang to her feet.
“Ah… ah!”
“...”
But as her legs seemed to give out and she swayed, Sei-an quickly supported her.
“I-I’m fine.”
However, as if his actions were a burden, Arisa’s expression hardened even more, and she tried to shake off his hand.
“Do you think I can just leave when you say you’re fine in this situation?”
“...”
“Refusing help like this only makes things more troublesome for me.”
But at Sei-an’s quiet words that followed, Arisa had no choice but to stop trying to shake off his hand.
She then slowly walked away from the spot, supported by him.
“Sei-an!”
Just then, Canto and several others, who appeared to be city guards, could be seen rushing over from a distance.
“What happened? Is everyone alright?”
“Yes, they’re fine. I’ll leave these ladies to you.”
“Huh? Oh, right.”
Sei-an entrusted Aymela and the other women to the approaching guards and then, still supporting Arisa, headed towards the Academy.
“...”
Canto tilted his head repeatedly as he watched Sei-an disappear.
He couldn’t understand where the men who had been dragging the women away had gone, and why only these people were left here.
He then realized that, as Sei-an had said, there were people who needed looking after, and he quickly moved towards Aymela and the other women.
“Is everyone alright?”
“...Yes.”
Aymela responded simply to Canto’s question, her gaze fixed on Sei-an, who had already disappeared into the distance.
Her expression had hardened to an extreme coldness as she recalled Sei-an’s complete disregard for her just moments ago.
“...?”
Canto tilted his head for a moment at Aymela’s expression, then quickly helped the women up and left the scene.
“...”
Meanwhile, someone was watching Canto’s group disappear from a distance.
Sitting leisurely on a building roof overlooking the alley below, silently observing the scene, was Lark.
It was unclear how long he had been watching, but he was now quietly staring at the spot where Sei-an had been, even though Sei-an was no longer visible.
“He’s no ordinary fellow.”
He quietly muttered to himself, recalling how Sei-an had effortlessly dealt with the men moments ago.
“...”
Unaware himself that a faint hint of curiosity had subtly entered his usually indifferent eyes.
***
“I’m fine now.”
As they emerged from the alley and were nearly at the Academy, Arisa stepped back from him, saying she could walk on her own.
“Are you truly alright?”
“...Yes.”
Arisa looked at Sei-an, who was asking again with concern in his voice, with a hardened and suspicious expression.
“...?”
Sei-an looked at Arisa’s gaze with a puzzled expression.
Canto had clearly said she was his younger sister, so he couldn’t understand why she was wary of him.
‘So she enrolled in the Academy with him. That’s why I never saw her at the Count’s estate.’
Then, realizing something on his own, Sei-an nodded lightly.
He had heard from Lucian that he had a younger brother and sister, but it was only now that he realized he had never once met them within the Count’s estate.
Part of the reason was his lack of interest in others, but also because he hadn’t lived a leisurely life with enough free time to even pay attention to those he couldn’t see.
So much had happened in the interim that he hadn’t thought about his two younger siblings at all.
“...”
Meanwhile, Arisa felt a confused mix of emotions watching Sei-an.
‘Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?’
It was true that they shared blood as siblings, but she had never once thought of him as her older brother.
That was because Sei-an himself had never considered her his younger sibling first. Since childhood, Sei-an had never regarded her, born of humble status, as his own flesh and blood.
And after she enrolled in the Academy, he had completely ignored her, not even sparing her a glance, as if they were strangers.
‘But why is he acting like this now?!’
Yet now, seeing him save and help her as if he truly were her older brother, Arisa was considerably flustered.
“You might not know this, but I have no memory of you.”
“What?”
“I lost all my memories in an accident.”
“...!”
Then, at Sei-an’s continuing words, Arisa looked at him with surprised eyes.
She herself was well aware of the accident he had suffered. But the news that he had lost his memory because of it was something she was hearing for the first time now.
“So, please understand if I seem a little strange.”
Sei-an had no choice but to explain simply like that, seeing Arisa constantly looking at him with strange eyes.
“You lost your memories?”
“Yes.”
“Then, so you don’t regret this later when your memory returns, I’ll tell you something now.”
Arisa’s expression hardened even further as she continued speaking to Sei-an, who had just told her about his memory loss.
“It would be best if you continued to ignore me, just like before. You always used to say you didn’t consider me your younger sister.”
“...”
“If you don’t want to regret helping me like this when your memory returns later, just pretend you don’t see me from now on.”
Arisa concluded that this was the way to avoid hurting either Sei-an or herself.
Having finished her words, she turned around and walked towards the Academy, or rather, she tried to enter.
“...!”
“What’s your name?”
If it hadn’t been for Sei-an’s action of grabbing her arm at that very moment.
