Chapter 110: End-of-year

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Translator: Soafp

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Tomorrow is the end-of-term ceremony for the second semester. Winter vacation will finally begin the day after tomorrow.

With the start of winter vacation comes the exploration of the “Claws Fangs Labyrinth,” but El still seems unable to decide whether to participate.

El seems to want to join, but it appears that Marl is opposed to it.

I can understand Marl’s feelings. This labyrinth exploration is completely my selfishness.

El doesn’t necessarily desire to delve into the labyrinth or seek something from it.

Ideally, I think it would be best if I could explore alone.

However, in reality, delving for several days alone makes it difficult to ensure adequate sleep and rest time. There are no safe zones like in games. There might be places with fewer monsters, but…

Regardless of what decision El ultimately makes, I intend to respect it.

Preparations for the labyrinth exploration were primarily led by Mother, but Naga-san took over because Mother’s approach was too lax.

Naga-san managed to secure two months of paid leave from the Guild Master to accompany us on the labyrinth exploration.

“It’s fine because I’ve been working without rest for many years.”

Then, Joe expressed his intention to join. The two people he admired, the “Ice Witch” and the “Shura,” both wanted to participate and earnestly pleaded with me.

Just to be sure, I mentioned the purpose of the labyrinth exploration, which is to “trigger a teleportation trap.” Upon hearing this, Joe’s eyes widened, and he froze for a while.

After some thought, Joe still expressed his desire to join us in the labyrinth.

“If… if we really trigger it… th-the teleportation trap… That’s fine, right? We’ll just be tied together with a rope, won’t we?”

He said this while looking rather nervous.

So now, the current members are me, Ashera, Ice Witch, Naga-san, and Joe.

According to Naga-san, this is the optimal number of people, as too many would be a hindrance. Now it’s up to El to decide…

While thinking about all this, El invited me to take a bath after dinner. Since it was a welcome invitation, I naturally agreed.

As we soaked in the bath together, El began to speak hesitantly.

“Marl is scared…”

“I see.”

“After researching the high death rate and variety of traps in the labyrinth at school… she ended up crying.”

“I see…”

“I am worried about Nii-sama, Ashera and Mother.”

“…”

“…”

“But I can’t enter the labyrinth…”

“I understand.”

El looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“El, listen to me.”

“Yes…”

“We’re twins, and we’ve been together since we were born, right?”

“Yes.”

“For me, El is not only a younger brother, but also my best friend and greatest rival.”

“Yes…”

“We’re 13 years old now. In half a year, we’ll be 14.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll tell you this now because it’s a good opportunity: when I turn 15 and graduate from school, I plan to leave home.”

“Eh? Why? What do you mean…”

“To be honest, nobility doesn’t suit me.”

“You could make it work, Nii-sama!”

“Maybe I could. But I don’t like it. Bowing to someone or being bowed to…”

“…”

“I might learn magic tools from Rosa. I might become an adventurer with Ashera. Joining the knight order might be good too. But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life as a lord.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Returning to the initial topic, in another year and a half, it won’t just be me; Lewis, Nero, Faristea, and you, Gaius, Tifa, Mark, too. Everyone will start walking different paths.”

El looks at me with a face on the verge of tears.

“We’re about to reach the point where we have to ‘let go’ of being brothers or ‘let go’ of being older brothers.”

“…”

“Don’t enter the labyrinth. If it’s your decision, don’t let sentimentality sway you halfway through.”

I said the last part with a slight laugh.

El continued to emit an air of melancholy as if something precious to him had broken, even after leaving the bath.

I’ll ask Marl to follow up later. I’m sure Marl, at least, will walk with El for a lifetime.

So, El is not participating. It was probably a good opportunity. Surely, our paths will gradually diverge from here.

However, until we turn 15, I’ll make sure to be a good big brother.

The next day…

It’s the day we receive our depressing report cards. Despite feeling uneasy, I head to school.

When I arrive at school, Lewis and Nero are enveloped in a gloomy atmosphere. It’s been like this every day lately.

When I ask them for the reason, they eagerly start talking from the bottom of their hearts.

Essentially, they’ve been practicing with the “Space Kicking Magic Tool” every day.

I have to be firm with them…

“Lewis, Nero, can I have a word?”

They were happily talking about how far they’ve been able to kick, but I cut them off.

“I apologize in advance. Sorry.”

Although surprised by my sudden apology, Lewis and Nero ask for the reason.

“Have you been able to perform the ‘Mana Manipulation’ I mentioned before going to bed?”

Lewis and Nero shake their heads, looking ashamed at my words.

“It’s my fault for easily giving you the magic tools. Sorry. Mana manipulation training is essential, to the point where it’s the most important training. It’s more important than Space Kick…”

Lewis and Nero seemed genuinely surprised by my words and asked for an explanation.

From there, I explain how mana manipulation is the foundation of all techniques.

“So, that’s the situation. Sorry… It seems like it’s best to discard those magic tools.”

After saying that, Lewis and Nero vehemently argue that they absolutely won’t return them.

“That magic tool has nothing to do with it. We just need to train mana manipulation properly.”

“Yeah. Starting today, we’ll train mana manipulation seriously.”

Although they say that, they’ll end up depleting their mana to exhaustion… It’s hard to accept as it is… I’m not their guardian. We’re equals.

“Understood. I trust you two. Anyway, I plan to improve the magic tools to reduce mana consumption. After the upgrade, you can use them as much as you want.”

They reluctantly agreed to my words. Even though I said all that, they’ll still use the magic tools, but I trust they’ll also take mana manipulation training seriously.

There was nothing special after that. My grades were average, just like last time.

As the second semester came to an end, it was time for self-practice.

Faristea, Anna-sensei, and I met at the Blue Ring mansion, but it was a two-month “goodbye” for Lewis and Nero.

As a final review of the second semester, the three of us headed to the training grounds.

Upon arriving, we equipped ourselves with Wyvern Leather Armor and grabbed the wooden swords provided.

“Shall we have the simulated battle you mentioned before?”

“Yeah. No holding back… or, well, let’s try not to kill each other.”

“I’m going all out. Aldo.”

With no need for further conversation, Lewis and Nero charged towards me.

One hour later…

I was catching my breath, sitting next to Lewis and Nero, who were sprawled out on the ground.

“Both Lewis and Nero have gotten stronger.”

When I first sparred with Lewis at the Sandra mansion during the first semester, he was so weak I didn’t know what to do.

And Nero couldn’t even run properly while undergoing self-practice.

About eight months have passed since then.

Lewis and Nero have improved to the point where they can spar with me.

With their beast and demon heritage, their innate physical abilities surpass mine.

If they continue training like this, it’s inevitable that they’ll surpass me at some point.

But my advantage lies in the versatility of my techniques, thanks to my “memories from a past life.”

Lewis then brought up the topic.

“Both of you have improved a lot, no?”

Lewis seemed happy but was trying to hide it. His nostrils flared like a gorilla’s.

“Am I stronger now?”

“Yeah. At this point, you can’t beat me without weapons.”

Lewis frowned, recalling his struggles when he first started at the academy.

“Am I getting stronger?”

“You’ve definitely improved. You could probably take on two orcs by yourself now.”

I recalled our first mission together, where Lewis and Nero fought three orcs while I was assigned to protect them.

Nero looked up at the sky, lost in thought.

“Currently, your natural physical abilities are higher than mine. If you catch up in terms of body reinforcement, I might not be able to beat you.”

Lewis and Nero seemed to understand the importance of “mana manipulation” I had mentioned earlier.

After considering it for a moment, Lewis spoke up again.

“Aldo… I’m thinking of returning the magical tool…”

Despite his earlier reluctance, Lewis seemed sincere. I trusted that he would use it wisely.

“Just keep the magical tool for now. I don’t think you’ll misuse it now that you’ve improved.”

Louis nodded, looking somewhat embarrassed by my use of the word “misuse.”

“Nero, I want you to learn the sensation of Space Kick with that magical tool. How many steps you take doesn’t matter.”

Both of them listened intently.

“Of course, only if you still have mana left after practicing mana manipulation.”

I said with a smile, and they both chuckled slightly.

After finishing the simulated battle, we began our journey back. Lewis and Nero had already parted ways with me at the school gate.

Now, it’s just me, Faristea, Anna-Sensei, and the Noel, the guard, walking together.

By the way, I’m allowed to go without a guard, so Noel is Faristea’s guard.

Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin exploring the Labyrinth of Fangs. Since El decided not to participate, it’ll be just me, Ashera, Joe, Mother, and Naga-san exploring.

The decision regarding stepping on the “teleportation trap” is still pending for Joe and Naga-san.

There may be things that we won’t understand until we actually enter the Labyrinth of Fangs.

As we made our way back home, my thoughts drifted towards the exploration that would start tomorrow.