Short Story: Dear Onee-chan

I finally found someone I knew after wandering around the village for quite some time.

That girl who's sitting on the bench next to the store selling roasted sweet potatoes and writing about something is Onee-chan's friend. Her name is…

"Amure! I've found Amure!"

"It's Arue. My name isn't Amure, it's Arue. What's the matter, Komekko? You seem quite worked up. Do you need me for something?"

Seeing me, Amure squatted down and brought her face down to my level.

"I haven't eaten anything for three days."

"Weren't you eating heartily after conning Bukkoroli yesterday…? Oh fine, how about I treat you to a roasted sweet potato?"

I nodded enthusiastically, and Amure grinned in response and ordered a roasted sweet potato for me.

As I bit into my snack, I remembered what I originally came here for.

"Amure, this! Can you read it for me!?"

"M-my name is Arue… A letter? Oh, it's a letter from Megumin. Let me see…"

Amure opened the letter with an expectant expression, and slowly read the contents out loud.

"To my dear sister, Komekko. By the time you've found someone to read this letter to you, I would've already found a great party in Axel and spread my name around. On the journey, I taught a very effective recruiting method to the Axis Cult and saved them by doing so, and I also defeated a female Devil who attacked our caravan with my powerful spell, and did a lot of other amazing things. Behave yourself at home and look forward to letters of my wonderful exploits. Have you been eating well? Are you brushing your teeth every day? Did you remember to lock the doors and windows before going to bed…"

"I'm bored now."

"That's way too quick! Oh well, all that's left is just her fussing endlessly over you anyways. I guess Megumin has a sisterly side too."

Amure let out a small chuckle as she continued scanning the letter.

"Oh, there's a mailing address written at the bottom. Seems like she's rented out a postbox so you can send her a letter whenever you miss her, Komekko. So, what do you think? I can help you write a letter if you want."

"I don't miss Onee-chan, and writing a letter sounds like a chore, so I don't think I will."

"Is-is that so? I think it's better to send a reply in this situation. It'll make Megumin happy, and, to be honest, this is probably her way of saying that she misses you a lot."

"… Okay, let's write a letter."

Even after leaving the village, Onee-chan is still a spoilt little girl who craves the attention of others.

But if it will make Onee-chan happy, then I should let Amure help me write a reply.

"That's good. So, what do you want to write? How about writing that you're doing well, and you can look after the house even by yourself? This will put her at ease."

Hearing Amure's suggestion, I nodded my head and said,

"Then write… Now that Onee-chan isn't here, all of your food is now mine. The other adults are very worried about me now that Onee-chan isn't around, so they always give me a lot of food. I'm very happy that Onee-chan isn't around. There's no need to rush to return home, Onee-chan."

"Don't write that, it'll make Megumin cry! I did tell you to put her at ease, but maybe we should change the wording a little?"

Amure balled up the letter that she was writing, and mumbled something that sounded like honest children are really scary.

"Then, how about… There are a lot of different people who treat me to food every day. Bukkoroli has been crying about how he's been getting less to eat after I've been heading over every day. Then his father shouted at him to go find a job if he doesn't like it and started using magic inside the house. I ignored that and continued eating."

"You really run into a lot of incredible situations. I should say this, but you shouldn't just continue to eat in that situation. You should hurry up and run. Seriously, I feel like you'll become a really incredible person in the future."

"Oh, and… I became friends with a black and huge and strong goblin recently. He said that he'll become my familiar when I've become a great mage."

"Ko-Komekko, what did you just say? What exactly do you mean by goblin? Please tell onee-san more details!"

Amure threw away her pen and roughly shook me by the shoulders.

"You didn't go outside the village, did you? Onee-san won't get angry, so tell me the truth."

"I don't go outside often."

"That means you go outside occasionally, right!? Listen, there are a lot of really strong monsters outside the village. You'll make Megumin worry, so don't go outside the village again!"

Seeing Amure's serious expression, I firmly nodded.

"Sigh… I can't put this into the letter either… Just what exactly is that huge goblin anyway? Anyway, let's write some words of encouragement at the end. That'll make Megumin happy… But, yeah, you'll definitely become an incredible person in the future, Komekko. Definitely."

Amure sighed and patted my head.

"Then, write… Please kill the Demon King and become the strongest mage."

"Yes, yes, bringing up the Demon King right now is a stroke of genius. It'll definitely motivate Megumin. As expected of the girl who will become an incredible person in the magical community. I didn't misjudge you, Komekko."

"Be sure to bring back the body of the Demon King. I always wanted to know what a Demon King tasted like. Sincerely, Komekko."

"This girl is already incredible!"