Chapter 21: A Big Brother's Duty
The first to recover from my sudden arrival and announcement was Natasha as a giggle escaped her lips that she quickly covered with her hand while her eyes turned warm.
“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping? What are you doing out here?” Seele asked in surprise before her gaze turned to Bronya beside me and then to Aries and Virgo behind me with a suspicious look.
“…Up to no good, perhaps?” she said, crossing her arms and giving Bronya a distrustful glare along with my familiars behind me.
Narrowing her eyes in annoyance, Bronya immediately responded.
“We’re just having a walk. Neither of us could sleep. You can rescind your baseless accusation.”
“Hmph. Walk somewhere else, then…” Seele said dismissively, annoying Bronya further.
As things were getting awkward, I turned my gaze to Natasha who thankfully jumped into the conversation.
“Easy, Seele. Maybe they can help,” Natasha said calmly before turning her gaze to Aries and Virgo.
“Are you two friends of theirs?”
Already knowing what she meant even if the question remained unasked, I stepped in to introduce Aries and Virgo to Natasha and Seele.
“They’re with me,” I said with a calm smile. “This is Aries and Virgo. They are helpers around the Astral Express, the place we came from. With Virgo’s special ability to dig through surfaces like rock, it wasn’t hard for them to make their way to us.”
“Pleasure to meet friends of Caelus-sama. I’m his personal maid,” Virgo once again introduced herself, with Aries following behind with a nervous blush.
“S-Same here! Nice to meet you,” Aries muttered in a hurry.
“Dig through solid surfaces?” Natasha muttered curiously as she looked at Virgo in thought before shaking her head and smiling again.
“That is indeed a handy ability to have. Welcome to Boulder Town, you two. I’m Natasha, a nurse, and this is Seele.”
“Hmph. I still don’t trust them,” Seele griped quietly to herself, which we ignored.
“Anyway, back to the topic at hand. You need help, right? Count us in. I still owe you for letting me use one of your beds after all,” I said, bringing the conversation back on track and getting nods from those that came with me, all looking ready to help.
“Haha, I’m grateful.” Natasha said with a relieved smile before going into detail about the situation.
Natasha was basically running out of medical supplies after all the people injured during the mine incident we had solved earlier, and since resources were scarce down here, it required someone to travel to other towns that were overrun with Fragmentum corrosion.
Hence the danger.
After she finished explaining, Seele and Bronya once again got into an argument, which made me want to roll my eyes, and I even saw Natasha look a little exasperated.
Ignoring the arguing duo, I turned to the beautiful nurse.
“So how do we get to Rivet Town, Natasha?” I asked curiously, getting a silent thankful look from her before she gave me directions.
“Alright, sounds good. Since those two seem nowhere near done arguing, me and my friends will go ahead,” I whispered after taking a small peek at Seele and Bronya and seeing neither of them backing down.
Seeing my intention to go our separate ways, Natasha thankfully didn’t comment on it and just gave me a grateful smile.
“Thank you for doing this, Caelus,” she muttered softly, making sure we weren't overheard.
I grinned bashfully.
“Hehe, don’t sweat it, Natasha. We’ll be back before you know it,” I promised cheesily with a thumbs up, earning a cute giggle and a nod from her.
Turning around, I ignored the hissing cats that were Seele and Bronya and made my way over to the silently waiting Aries and Virgo.
“Let’s go, you two. Quickly, before they notice. Or do you want to be stuck in the middle of those two arguing?” I asked quietly while signaling toward the hissing girls behind us with my thumb.
They immediately shook their heads and fell into step behind me as we made our way toward Rivet Town.
‘Yep, had a feeling I would become annoyed at Seele and Bronya’s antics rather quickly. The sad thing is, it only gets worse from here since after this adventure they actually become friends after finding out about their shared past growing up in the orphanage before being separated.’
I let out a small sigh.
‘Oh well, I can at least poke fun at Silver Wolf later about having a twin with better proportions than her.’ I thought suddenly feeling better again.
=====
In our attempt to avoid being stuck between Seele and Bronya, we moved at a quick pace and reached Rivet Town in just a few minutes before slowing down to a walk now that we were here.
“Phew, thanks, you two. You seriously saved me from feeling like a third wheel.” I said, turning to Aries and Virgo with a thankful look, glad for their presence.
Well, at least until Virgo spoke.
“It was our pleasure, Caelus-sama,” Virgo immediately replied with a nod. “After all, if Caelus-sama felt uncomfortable, then he wouldn’t be able to properly punish me.”
‘Right,’ I thought, giving the shameless girl a deadpan look. ‘While I may not have to deal with being a third wheel, I will instead have to deal with Virgo’s masochistic tendencies.’
“I-It was no problem at all, Caelus-sama,” Aries said with a small blush on her cheeks as she tried to ignore what Virgo had said and refused to look at her, looking embarrassed on her behalf.
“Haah, well just make sure to keep a sharp eye out for any medical supplies,” I said with a sigh, ignoring Virgo's antics as I summoned my bat and held it in a tight grip.
“Aries, would you mind helping me immobilize any monsters we come across?”
At my question, a serious look replaced Aries’s nervous one and she immediately nodded, balling her fists with a cute expression.
“L-Leave it to me, Caelus-sama!”
“Great, then let’s move.”
I nodded and with that we moved forward, entering the town properly and immediately spotting a large building in the distance atop a hill.
“Our destination will be there,” I said, pointing toward it. “That’s Natasha’s old orphanage.”
“Right!”
With nothing further to say, we continued.
Along the way, Aries and I combined our talents with Aries immobilizing any monsters that appeared using her Wool Magic while I beat them up with my bat glowing with the Path of Destruction, turning them into dust.
It was actually a deadly combination, so much so that I didn’t bother holding back at all in my excitement.
When we ran into stronger enemies, or Elite enemies as they were called here, our teamwork made quick work of them, with Virgo also joining in the fray.
In addition, having three people made searching much easier and lessened the probability of us missing something.
Along the way, we ran into a kid from Boulder Town hidden behind some crates named Eric who was looking for supplies to sell and help his dad.
Since I wasn’t short on cash and already knew the shops in town accepted credits, I gave the kid some money and sent him on his way.
We also made sure to open any gateways that needed opening, making sure Seele and Bronya wouldn’t have any trouble when they eventually caught up.
Our journey finally led us to the top of the cliff where the orphanage was located and where an elite monster was roaming around.
Taking care of it as quickly as we could, we searched the area and quickly found the supplies Natasha had told me about.
Then I paused.
I had heard something.
“Oh! It’s here, we found it! Thank you, Perkins!”
“My Big Brother senses are tingling!” I suddenly exclaimed as a happy grin grew on my face, my head immediately turning toward the path leading down.
“It could only mean one thing! Clara is here! Don’t worry, Clara. Your Onii-chan is coming~”
I yelled happily and immediately broke into a run, leaving behind two confused pink-haired spirits.
“U-Umm, shouldn’t we follow him?” Aries asked nervously.
Virgo remained silent for a moment before stars appeared in her eyes and she struck a dramatic pose while pointing forward.
“Wait, if Caelus-sama has a sister, then that means it’s my duty as his maid to properly care for her and maybe persuade her to ask her Onii-chan to reward me properly if I do a good job! Onward, Aries!”
Virgo yelled excitedly before running after me, leaving poor Aries standing there in confusion.
“W-Wait for meeee~” Aries cried a few seconds later when she realized she had been left behind and quickly ran after us.
=====
Running at full speed, it only took me moments before I spotted the unmistakable form of Clara with her distinct white hair and huge red jacket talking to a robot she called Perkins.
“Clara! Your Onii-chan is here!” I yelled excitedly.
Startled, Clara let out a cute yelp while Perkins immediately moved in front of her protectively.
“Warning. Warning. Danger detected,” Perkins announced in a robotic voice.
It looked kind of funny considering he resembled a giant traffic light.
As Clara recovered from her surprise, she turned toward me and widened her eyes in recognition before a smile lit up her cute face.
“It’s alright, Perkins. This is my Onii-chan. Remember? I already told you about him.”
Clara immediately spoke up in my defense, making my grin widen.
“Command received. Danger removed. Deactivating active defense mode.”
The moment the traffic light calmed down, I wasted no time.
Quickly scooping Clara into my arms, I spun her around happily.
“Clara~ I told you we’d meet again soon! Hihihi~”
“W-Whoaaa! O-Onii-chan! Not so fast! I’m getting dizzy!”
While my sudden actions startled her at first, Clara quickly relaxed and started laughing happily when she saw she wasn’t in danger, which only made my heart soar.
“I can’t help it! We didn’t get to talk much last time and as your new Onii-chan, it’s my duty to make my little sister laugh and make sure she’s safe.”
I finally slowed down before gently setting her back on the ground.
Only then did I notice Virgo and Aries arriving behind me.
The moment Clara spotted them, she immediately hid behind my leg.
“It’s alright, Clara. This is Aries and Virgo. They’re really nice, good friends of mine, and my servants. Since you’re my cute little sister, they would never hurt you.”
I reassured her while gently patting her soft hair.
Honestly, I was a little surprised by how soft it was despite her living underground with limited supplies.
‘Well, that’s at least one thing Svarog didn’t fuck up. Making sure Clara has proper hygiene products,’ I thought to myself.
“I-I see.” Clara mumbled with a blink before slowly stepping out from behind me and bowing to Aries and Virgo.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Aries, Miss Virgo. My name is Clara, Caelus-onii-chan’s little sister.”
“H-Hello, Miss Clara. Nice to meet you.” Aries introduced herself with a pleasant smile and a similar bow.
Virgo, on the other hand, gave her a thumbs-up and a small smile.
“I’m Virgo, Caelus-sama’s maid. If you need anything, let me know. Just make sure to tell Master if I do a good job so I can be rewarded,” Virgo declared shamelessly.
Clara, who understood little beyond Virgo being my maid, blinked cutely before turning to me.
“Umm, what exactly did Miss Virgo mean, Onii-chan?” Clara asked with an innocent expression.
Feeling my eyebrow twitch in annoyance, I quickly promised myself to make Virgo’s punishment even harsher before plastering a smile on my face and patting Clara’s head.
“Don’t worry about her. Virgo just likes to say a lot of crazy things. And please come to me if she ever asks you something and you don’t understand, okay?” I said as I gently rubbed her hair.
Not quite understanding but trusting me anyway, which only made me love her even more, Clara nodded.
“Okay, Onii-chan.”
“Anyway, what are you doing out so late at night, Clara? It’s dangerous out here.” I asked, giving her a small stern look.
She immediately squirmed nervously.
“But isn’t it dangerous for you too, Onii-chan?” Clara asked innocently as she looked at me with concern.
“Wahahaha! I already told you before, remember?” I exclaimed dramatically with a booming laugh and my hands on my hips.
Stepping back beside Aries and Virgo, I gave them a hidden signal with my eyes to play along, which they thankfully understood.
“Your Onii-chan is super strong. No puny monster can defeat him.” I shook my head confidently before suddenly striking a cool pose.
Virgo immediately copied me while Aries, despite blushing in embarrassment, followed a second later.
“And I’m not here alone. I’m here with my trusty sidekicks, and together our power is strong enough to overtake even the gods themselves! We are Team Smoke & Roses!”
I declared proudly, feeling quite pleased with the cool name I had come up with on the spot.
Virgo complemented my pose perfectly, standing with her back turned and her head tilted to the side, while Aries struck a cute pose of her own to complete the image.
Surprised by our antics, Clara blinked at us and remained silent for a moment before happy giggles escaped her lips.
“Hihihi~ You’re so silly, Onii-chan~” Clara managed between giggles as she looked at me with warm eyes, clearly having enjoyed our little act.
“That’s what I’m here for.” I nodded proudly as we relaxed from our poses, Aries letting out a relieved sigh beside me.
“Now back to my question, little missy. Why are you here so late at night?” I asked again, more gently this time as I walked toward her.
“Oh, I came here for these painkillers. There are a lot of people hurt at the vagrant camp. I guess the miners are no different, huh?” Clara said before letting out a small sigh. “If everyone could just get along, things would be easier…”
She then showed her cleverness by quickly deducing our reason for being here as well.
“As expected of my little sister, she’s really smart.” I praised with a proud look, causing her cheeks to redden in embarrassment.
In an effort to hide her face from me, probably not used to feeling embarrassed with a robot as her guardian, Clara quickly dug into her bag before handing me about half of the medical supplies.
“Mm… Here you are. I hope the medicine is of help to you, Onii-chan.”
Smiling, I gently took the supplies and handed them to Aries, who stashed them in a bag.
Then I knelt down to Clara’s level and patted her head.
“Thank you, Clara. You’re a very good girl,” I said gently, causing her to blush again.
Clara nodded before a sad expression crossed her face, making me blink in confusion.
“I’m really sorry about what happened back in the Great Mine, Onii-chan… Mr. Svarog doesn’t really trust any humans besides me, especially everyone from Wildfire,” Clara apologized softly.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Clara. No one was hurt anyway,” I reassured her, causing a look of relief to appear on her face.
“Mr. Svarog doesn’t want to hurt people, but he always follows the calculations from his analysis. He thinks interaction with humans is… inefficient.”
Clara continued explaining.
“Wildfire wants everyone to leave the Underworld… but Mr. Svarog wants everyone to stay here. According to his calculations, the Overworld is already unsafe.”
She went on to explain a bit more about the robot while I listened patiently to everything she had to say.
When she was done, I thought of something.
“Hey, Clara. Would it be alright if me and my friends talked to Svarog? We want to ask him something really important. Me and my friends are trying to stop the Fragmentum corrosion from spreading, and Svarog might have information we need.”
Clara blinked thoughtfully and tilted her head.
“…Stop the Fragmentum corrosion?” she asked in surprise before an awed look took over her features. “Is that even possible, Onii-chan?”
“Of course it is. We’ve already done it before,” I declared instantly with complete confidence.
“You see, me and my friends aren’t from Belobog at all. We actually come from beyond the stars.”
I flashed her a big grin, causing her eyes to widen like saucers.
“Beyond the stars?” she repeated with awe in her voice. “I remember reading books about that. I thought they were all just stories.”
“Nope. Your Onii-chan is actually one of those people. Pretty amazing, right?” I said, tooting my own horn a bit.
Clara immediately nodded, believing me without question.
“Yeah~”
Then she put on a cute thoughtful expression before nodding a moment later.
“Okay, Onii-chan. I’ll try to convince Mr. Svarog to talk to you.”
“You’re the best, Clara!”
I immediately pulled her into a hug, causing her to startle for a second before she relaxed and shyly returned it.
‘Seems the trip was productive after all,’ I thought silently.