9 I Think I Have Seen This Scenario Before?

Anya decided to tell me the reason behind her irrational behavior but since we were in the coliseum for my graduation exam, she said we will talk on our way home.

I didn't have any reason to refuse so I said "I'm fine with it," and we left the coliseum.

It was noon and the sun was right above our heads, the streets were crowded with both adventurers and citizens.

I glanced at Anya as we walked through the market.

She wasn't in her usual cheerful and bright mood right now. She was giving a kind of dark aura while she carried a troubled look on her face.

It didn't feel right to pressure her into telling me the reason behind her worries but well, I can't let her be like this. Maybe being in this body had rewired my brain because I was thinking like a brother right now. And the bonding we had for the past five years was still there, and it was genuine. 

"So?" I said, trying to start the conversation.

She gazed at me before she let out a long breath and sighed.

"I am getting married," she declared, dropping a big bombshell.

My face turned a little pale as I wasn't able to process what she said. To be honest it caught me off guard.

"W-Wait a second, you are getting married? I mean, when? Where? Why?" I asked hurriedly.

"It's shocking I know, but it's something that's out of my hands."

"What do you mean it's not in your hands? It's your choice right?" I argued, trying to calm down myself.

"Yes, it is, no, it's supposed to be. Honestly, I don't want to get married right now but there's this person who wants to make me his wife," Anya agonized, lowering her gaze.

As a person from a world where the agreement of both parties is required for a marriage, this situation looked very illogical to me no matter how I looked at it.

I mean, can't she just say no if she doesn't wanna do this?

All this was too much for me thus I decided to listen to things with a cool mind. I took a deep breath and then exhaled. My expression settled since I was pretty good at faking it.

"Look, I don't have any problem with you getting married but if it's a thing you don't want then I do have a problem with that," I declared.

"And what is that Ron doing, huh?! Usually, he's this doting father but he is sitting quietly in a situation like this?" I fumed, a hint of anger in my voice.

Noticing this Anya quickly stood in front of me and said, "Don't blame him, it's not his fault. Our family is not in a position to oppose THEM."

'Who the fuck is THEM?'

"Ah, this is so confusing! Tell me everything from the start," I said.

I have to know everything from the start if I wanted to understand this situation clearly.

I looked around to find a place to sit and talk, and soon my eyes caught the sight of a restaurant.

"Let's go there," I said, pointing at the restaurant building.

Anya nodded and we went inside the restaurant. It was a wooden building with round wooden tables and chairs inside. Many people were eating and talking among themselves.

Fortunately, there were some vacant seats. I pointed toward one of the tables no one was using, it was placed in the corner of the building and there were not many people around it.

It was a perfect place since we were going to talk about a sensitive topic. Anya went and sat there while I ordered two cups of coffee and then went there. Pulling a chair backward I sat in front of Anya.

"Now tell me from the beginning," I said as I rested my hands on the table and interlocked my fingers.

What was this slight feeling of curiosity inside me? I should be sad and angry right now, which I was but there was something off about it. There was something else. No, actually I did know what it was. It was something from my past, a behavior I've been trying to hide since the time I decided to restart my life. But here it was, trying to come out again. I didn't want that.

'Well whatever,' I discarded that thought as I sighed inwardly.

"It happened one day when I was training alone in the coliseum. There were not many people so I used a public training room to save some money. After that..." then she told me everything that happened from the start.

When she was returning home that day a man approached her, according to what she told me he was a blonde guy with a good body.

Then, right then and there he proposed to her for marriage. Of course, she turned him down as my sister wanted to learn more about sword arts and magic but he didn't stop.

From that day onward, he kept on proposing to her when she returned home after training. Anya said that he was impressed by her skills when he watched her train in a public training room.

She kept turning him down but he didn't stop.

Here people would say it was his way of declaring love but I'd say he was nothing more than a typical stalker.

But it didn't end there, after a week he came to our home—I wonder what I was doing at that time—and he was not but with his father, It turned out that he was the son of a big noble.

'I somehow expected this.'

Anya had told Ron and Ainge about him before and they knew she doesn't want to marry him so they denied their request.

"But then-"

"They started putting pressure on our family, threatening Ron that they will destroy him in business and we won't be nobles anymore. Stuff like that right?" I said, stopping Anya midway.

"Yes, that's what happened," she nodded, agreeing with my statement.

I also expected this, what can I do? This situation was not new to me! I have seen the same damn thing in many novels.

To be honest this scenario was overused so much that it became a cliché.

"Then it means, that man is forcing you to marry him. He also has his parent's support who are keeping our parents from taking any action, right," I said, trying to confirm that we were on the same page.

She nodded.

'So this was the thing troubling her, huh? Even though it's cliché I can't leave the situation like this. She's my sister after all.'

I can't let her marry some degenerate, trash, arrogant young master-type person.

"Well, this indeed is a problem. Just in case let me confirm one thing, you really don't want to marry this guy right?" I asked as I took a sip of my coffee that was almost finished.

"Nope, not even in the next life. That guy is just good-looking, his nature is worse than shit!" said Anya, clearly badmouthing THAT guy.

"Okay then. I'll make sure you don't have to marry him."

"How are you gonna do that?" she asked as she also stood up.

"Ahh, I don't know for now. But I'll definitely think of something, we have around four days before your marriage right? That will be enough."

Just kidding, I already had something in my mind. There were a few things I needed to confirm and it'll be done after that.

Actually, I will also help myself with this so it was a win-win.

We paid for our coffee and left the restaurant. Anya turned toward our way home but I was going in a different direction.

Noticing this she called out to me, I stopped and looked behind.

"Where are you going?"

"To make preparations, tell Ainge that I'll be a little late today," I replied.

"Oh and one more thing," I said, calling out to Anya.

"Are you okay with going into the magic academy?" I asked, this was an important thing for my plan to work.

"Well, I don't have any problem with that but, why did you ask this out of the blue? You already know that our parents can't afford the entrance fee, don't you?"

"No, it's nothing. I just asked on a whim," I said and walked in another direction.

I want to deny this but I can't. I was feeling really excited right now, and there was a rush of dopamine in my brain. The side of mine I wanted to hide was slowly showing itself again. 

Also, I don't know why but I feel like I have seen this exact same situation before, it's pretty cliché so I remember but not clearly.

Maybe it's just my imagination, a side effect of reading too many web novels.

'Ah well, but this was something I'll have fun with! How much time has passed since I last played with people?'

I carried a grin on my face while I thought about all this; anyone would creep out if they saw me with the look I had right now.

But it didn't matter much; right now I was headed to a place I saw an advertisement of.

The battle tournament that will be taking place two days from now, I saw an advertisement poster of it a few days ago.

At that time I never thought it will be of much use but now it will come in handy. I just hope Anya is prepared for it; she'll definitely scold me when I tell her about his.

If possible I also wanted to meet with this guy, the main reason for this problem.

'Ahhh! I got so much work to do all of a sudden!'

***

As Zero walked off in a different direction, Anya was standing there and watching him.

She felt relieved about the fact that her brother was trying to help her, it was all well and good but...something was weird.

Maybe it was only her imagination but she was noticing some changes in him. The way he talked, the way he acted, and even his physical powers, all had changed to a great extent. After all, the Zero she knew was a weak and fragile child who relied upon his sister for everything.

He was never interested in going out and playing unlike all the other kids of his age, he just trapped himself in the house and either played by himself or with Anya; defeating Anya in a sword arts duel would've been an impossible task for him, something he can't even think about in his dreams.

And while he didn't beat her today either, he was pretty much on equal grounds, or maybe he was even better than her. Anya had never expected him to stand against her special attack without any scratch—not like she wanted him to get hurt but still this came as a surprise.

He also now called his parents by their names, which was also a bit weird. It was these little fluctuations in his behavior, and Anya started noticing them since the incident when he almost lost his life. He had changed. It was like he was an entirely different person.

'Should I ask him directly?' that was an option, but considering the way things were right now, it probably won't be the best choice.

Hence, she decided to put this matter off the charts until everything calmed down. Even if the doubts she had were true, her brother has promised her that he won't let Walric force her into a marriage, and she trusted him with that.