And so, the day goes by

But Gahne was… how to say it… an impressive place. The king of Gahne -

the Gold Demon Lord- participated in the meeting.

I came along too, but there's nothing to do.

I thought about cleaning the manor, but my heart would break in a place

where brawny knights are roaming around. Really reflects the bad

environment I was raised in.

In the end, I was the only outsider here, so I was touring Gahne, but…

well, this has been educational for the nation founding of Bro Gestaf that

lies in the far future.

"It is so easy to tell you are sulking here, Haakudoku."

Brother went back to Taizu since he had to prepare for war, so I came

along. The main reason being the magic research performed in the Taizu

Castle. I couldn't check the magic research because a lot of things

happened, so I am accompanying him here.

Sis was present in the middle of it, but she left after being called by a

super strong-looking guy called Ragudo. It is impressive that she could

say 'It should be fine since it is inside the castle. I will get there in a few

seconds if you scream'. She most likely would actually rush there in a few

seconds.

"As expected of Brother. You can see through the displeasures in my

heart like an open book." (Haaku)

"You are oozing it, so there's nothing to see through. You can't act

together with me when Gold is by my side, right?"

That's the core of the issue. I met her 3 times during our stay in Gahne

after all. I of course fainted in all of them.

It was so merciless that I even wondered if she wasn't there to meet

Brother but me. The reality is that she went to meet Brother, but since I

was there as well, she would show her face to me while at it. That

Demon Lord is seriously nasty.

"Do Demon Lords find it so fun to knock people out?!" (Haaku)

"I want to deny it, but Gold and Purple are indeed amused by your

reactions. Blue would probably find it fun, too."

That's freaking everyone. The Blue Demon Lord doesn't try to be by the

side of Brother, so she is on the better side, but the remaining two try to

be.

No, the Purple Demon Lord is still on the good side. The devil called

Dyuvuleori properly puts a blanket on me after all. No, no, it is not good.

I am way too pure of heart, getting swayed by just small gestures of

kindness.

"They are not here today, I hope." (Haaku)

"Blue is most likely on her way back to Taizu; Purple is in the smithy of

Troid-san with Mix; Gold is doing domestic affairs in the villa."

"So she came here in the end? I want to snitch on her to the cabinet

minister." (Haaku)

"I already did. Ludfein-san asked me to roll her up and bring her back

before the war begins."

"You work fast… Ah, it must be this room, right?" (Haaku)

"That's right."

Brother knocked on the door and a 'come in' rang from inside. He

opened the door and entered, and there were two women inside. They

are doing some work I don't really get.

There's a woman dressed in maid clothes and an awfully small child. I

am not fainting the moment I see them, so that must mean the Blue

Demon Lord is not here.

"Ah, it is Nii-chan-na no da! And who is the crook-looking guy over

there?"

"Who are you calling a crook?… No, I am, huh. Name's Haakudoku."

(Haaku)

I feel like I am a few degrees more daunting with these sunglasses on.

My eyes not being visible has downsides like this, huh.

That said, this little one was the disciple of the Great Sage Barastos, huh.

She has an abnormal amount of mana and stability. She is really a

natural-born prodigy.

"I have heard. You are the helper of Onii-san, right?"

"Yeah, we are the same in that front." (Haaku)

The maid here is… normal for good or for bad. I don't feel any

outstanding strength from her. It is to a degree where if I were to

compare her to the maids in Kuama, she is simply someone who can use

a bit of magic.

"Ruko-sama is completely different-no da."

"Using '-sama'? That's a weird relationship you two have." (Haaku)

"Nora-chan?" (Ruko)

"Ruko-sama is the woman that the king of this country is aiming for."

(Nora)

"…For real?" (Haaku)

"Nora-chan?!" (Ruko)

Eh, is it true? The king of this country is that Marito, right? No, I don't

think she looks bad, but a maid… Ah, no, but that's good too? Thinking

about it normally, they are the type that would serve you with

everything they have, and they have proper manners. In my case, social

class doesn't even matter anyways.

"I see. So that's why you were left in charge of this place." (Haaku)

"T-That's not it! Marito-sama treats me well, but something like that is…"

(Ruko)

"So that wasn't the case, huh. That gave me a fright." (Haaku)

"Haakudoku, just to add to this, leaving aside the matter about Marito

targeting Ruko-sama, Marito does have enough of a reason to leave her

in charge of this magic research, you know?"

"Onii-san?" (Ruko)

"I see. I would like to know that one. I couldn't see any points that stood

out with my detection magic alone after all." (Haaku)

"She stood all alone in the face of a Demon Lord that tried to kill Nora

and shooed him off. By the way, it was the strongest Demon Lord within

the ones present."

"…Seriously?" (Haaku)

I would lose consciousness just from the sight of a Demon Lord, so she is

also above me with that point alone. I heard of the Colorless Demon

Lord from Brother before. He must be referring to that one.

"I didn't shoo him away! He simply gave up on his own…" (Ruko)

"No, no, I think it is impressive with just the fact that you managed to

make him give up."

"That's right-na no da. Ruko-sama is impressive-no da. Kneel before herno da." (Nora)

"O-Okay…" (Haaku)

"You don't have to actually kneel!" (Ruko)

Well, I just kneeled to go with the flow, but it is true that I thought it was

impressive.

It is certain that she is weaker than me. I think she is stronger than

Brother though. And yet, she managed to stand face to face against a

Demon Lord. Those are nerves of steel.

I would have tried to do the same if Bro were to be exposed to danger.

Would my legs be able to move at that time? Would I be able to speak?

No, would my consciousness even last if Instinct-sama were to kick me?

It is good to have courage even if you don't have the strength and talent.

And if that resulted in saving someone, it is an achievement that should

be respected and admired.

"Nii-chan, what happened with the matter of the ring-no da?" (Nora)

"Was received positively for the most part. I would prefer if it were

possible to make a bit more complicated orders, but this in the end falls

to the motivations of the people that will be doing the controlling. It

would be best to keep them simple if we are to make many of them."

"It is not impossible to just store the mana of the Demon Lord ladies and

have the mana do the work under the will of the wearer- no da. But

controlling it is pretty difficult. I think the only one who would be able to

control it properly would be someone on the level of Ekdoik-niichan-no

da." (Nora)

"Ekdoik isn't the type to control monsters for battle anyways. The only

uses for it will most likely be at the times when the Demon Lords want

to use the monsters of other Demon Lords… Well, it would be easier to

just concentrate on their own monsters."

It seems like they are having a serious talk here. They are talking about

some pretty interesting stuff with all that monster controlling business.

Well, I can't even control this right arm devil properly, so I will refrain

from getting greedy here though.

"Nora would be able to do it without issues-no da." (Nora)

"You must not, Nora-chan!" (Ruko)

"I wouldn't allow you to go out into the battlefield, but it might be good

to use it if the capital of Taizu were to get attacked. How's the other stuff

I asked you to do?"

"I think the two of them are going as requested-no da. Confirm for

yourself-no da." (Nora)

Brother went deeper in and is tinkering with what seems to be tools. I

myself am super curious about it… This is that, right? The latest weapon

developed by Taizu? Won't I get targeted by the anbus of this country if I

am not careful?

"No issues with this one. But we won't be using it in this time's battle, so

we will keep it stored. As for this one here…"

Aargh, the curiosity is killing me! To hell with everything, I just want to

get a look!

No one seems to try to stop me. Nora and Ruko-sama show no change.

Figures. I came here together with Brother!

"…What's that?" (Haaku)

I looked at the thing Brother was tinkering with, but I can't tell what it is

at all. It is not because I am uneducated. Though I am pretty uneducated.

It is big enough to hold in your hand. It has a hard to understand shape

like that of a bent sword handle.

"It would be faster to just use it rather than explaining it. Haakudoku, try

using it."

"Eh, how?" (Haaku)

Brother gave me that mysterious tool. It has the weight of a lump of iron.

Well, it doesn't seem like a weapon.

"Direct it at the wall that has a hole opened, accumulate your mana

lightly, and pull the trigger there… Pull it with your finger towards you."

"Like this? —Woah?!" (Haaku)

Something was shot off from the tool at the same time as a small burst

happened. It hit the wall while letting out red smoke and dropped to the

ground. It is still letting off more smoke. The room was filled with smoke

in an instant.

"*Cough**Cough* Gotta ventilate the place. Ruko, can you open the

window?"

"Let's open it before shooting it! Ah, but if we were to open the window,

won't the knights come running in worry?!" (Ruko)

"No issues. I will purify the air-no da." (Nora)

Nora used a spell that was similar to purification magic to slowly erase

the smoke inside. There's no waste at all despite it being such an

intricate spell. It loses to the casting speed of Rakura, but it is still

shockingly fast.

"Thanks, Nora. That's a tool to shoot out flares. You can change the

colors depending on the type of bullet you shoot. The objective of it is to

tell the situation of the battlefield with an easy visual sign."

"Aah, a signal, huh. Smoke alone has limitations after all." (Haaku)

"There are people with the crystals of the Yugura Church for

communication at the back, but I thought it would be good for people at

the very frontlines to have quick means to relay information, too."

Throwing signals when fighting in the frontlines would be a hassle. This

would certainly make it possible for the people at the front to quickly

send information to the back.

It basically has been enchanted with ignition and firing, I guess? The

theory in itself isn't that difficult.

"You really think up convenient stuff. Is it a tool from your world,

Brother?" (Haaku)

"The era of using such signals is far gone. That said, it is hard to recreate

the means of communication."

"It is not like you are a technician or something like that after all. By the

way, what kind of communication tools do you have in your world,

Brother?" (Haaku)

"Let's see… We would be able to talk to Gestaf, who is currently in the

Kuama Nether, while seeing each others' faces."

"…Sorry, was that a riddle just now?" (Haaku)

"No, no."

What do you do to achieve something like that? I can't even begin to

imagine. That place called Earth is dangerous. But with something like

that, I would be able to check the state of Bro whenever. That's pretty

convenient.

"What about the weapons on your world? Wouldn't you be strong if you

were to recreate that stuff?" (Haaku)

"What you are holding right now is originally a weapon that shoots

small chunks of metal. It has the strength of sending projectiles faster

than bows. But the endurance is unstable with the iron manufacturing

techniques of this world. There's no gunpowder either."

"Gunpowder?" (Haaku)

"It is a world without mana, so they instead stuff up a powder that can

explode to send the projectile flying. But in order to make them land

against targets far away, there's the need for precision from the tool

itself and the training of the person utilizing it. It would be a bit

impossible to recreate for a newbie with just knowledge and technique

alone."

But this tool can raise signals in a handy manner. Being able to do

attacks faster than the speed of arrows with such a handy tool gives me

chills. Even a brat walking on the street could kill people easily with

something like that.

"Well, even I can smack away an arrow though." (Haaku)

"Figures. It would be possible to make use of it in Gahne, but I don't

know about advancing the era too much…"

"I was personally more interested in the purification spell of Nora just

now. Really demonstrated why she is the disciple of the Great Sage. I am

looking forward to your future." (Haaku)

"You won't get anything out of me with flattery-no da." (Nora)

"I got magic out of you. Also, I feel like you will be a beauty in the future."

(Haaku)

"Sorry, but you are not my taste, Haaku-niichan." (Nora)

"Guah." (Haaku)

I fell on my knees from the sadness. To think the day would come when a

brat would reject me… Not like I have ever succeeded in picking up

anyone though!

"Your taste would be someone like Ekdoik?"

"Ekdo-niichan is cool, but the one that gets me the most would be

Dyuvuleori-na no da. He is cool and refined-no da." (Nora)

"Speaking of which, he has come together with Purple."

"That's a devil!" (Haaku)

"It is an era where Demon Lords want the human Nii-chan-na no da.

There's no point in having prejudices-no da." (Nora)

"That might be true, but…" (Haaku)

No, it is true that he is a handsome guy when it comes to looks. He is

taking a strict attitude because he is the close aide of a Demon Lord

that's pretty much like a princess though. That said… when you think of

it like that, Brother being liked by Demon Lords is pretty out there, too.

"You also serve the demi-human Gestaf despite being a human. It is

pretty much that."

"…Aah, that does make sense." (Haaku)

"You accepted it so fast." (Ruko)

I fell in love with the personality of Bro. It doesn't matter if Bro were a

demi-human or whatever. It is true that there would be no issues with

Demon Lords or devils in that perspective.

Right, that guy carried me to a sofa when I lost consciousness and even

put a blanket on me. I would say that's kindness that can go in the top 5

of the kindest people I have met in my life. Wait, I haven't lived a decent

life to begin with.

"Sorry about that, Nora. It is true that what's important is the perception

of the person. That man is certainly a good one as long as I don't think of

him as a devil." (Haaku)

"But he doesn't show his devil form at all. He is stingy in that front-no

da." (Nora)

If I remember correctly, in the relationship between Ekdoik and Rakura I

heard of before, Rakura couldn't tell the difference of the Great Devil

from the other devils that she defeated, right?

In that case, wouldn't the devil form of Dyuvuleori… be simply that of a

monster?

"You want to see it?" (Haaku)

"The curiosity is killing me-no da." (Nora)

"Wouldn't it happen in an instant if Brother were to ask the Purple

Demon Lord?" (Haaku)

"That won't do-na no da. There's no point if he doesn't listen to Nora's

request himself-no da." (Nora)

…This must be that. I am sure she is more of an expert than me when it

comes to love. There's no doubt she is standing in a place I still can't

understand. Let's just cheer for her from the sidelines.

"I see. Do your best!" (Haaku)

"Do your best too, Haaku-niichan. You seem to still have a lot ahead of

you-na no da." (Nora)

"Yeah, I know. Enough to bring me to tears." (Haaku)

It is okay. My objective is to become a person worthy of being the right

hand of Bro. There's no doubt good women will come to me themselves

once I have grown to that point.

Just you wait, my future woman! I will become a good man within a few

years! Probably!

"Gold might like this too aside from Marito. I should show them this

later."

"I will have to fix my fainting when seeing Demon Lords first for the sake

of that… Alright! Next time, I will stand my ground and try to not lose

consciousness!" (Haaku)

"You are suddenly all fired up."

"All events are triggers for my growth. My body may be close to its limits,

but my heart will have a whole ton of room for growth!" (Haaku)

Yeah, it is not like I want to become the strongest. What I seek isn't

strength but determination. There's barely anything I can learn from

Brother about strength.

I am sure Brother will show me even more determination once this war

begins. I will observe this and steal it. That's my current goal.

"He is… an energetic person." (Ruko)

"What he wants to learn is right in front of him after all."

"Alright, Brother! Let me help out in this magic research a bit! To be

honest here, I think I can only do odd jobs, but everything is an

experience, right?!" (Haaku)

My goal has been set, but I can't just neglect the other things. I doubt I

will have a life where I will do magic research or anything of the sort,

but there should be things I can learn from people who do magic

research.

In that case, I should do everything in my power to get involved with

opportunities to learn. Getting involved with a disciple of the Great Sage

in her magic research is quite the big deal now that I think about it

calmly!

"So he says, Onii-san…" (Ruko)

"It is okay. I think he is more useful for odd jobs than people who can't

use magic after all."

"Nora doesn't mind-no da. The number of subjects to test out our

experiments on has increased-no da." (Nora)

"Please spare me from that! No, you can, but make it stuff that doesn't

leave lasting effects in my future, okay?!" (Haaku)

Now then, now that I have the motivation going, let's be of use with the

intention of being liked by Nora! -is what I was thinking when someone

knocked on the door. Sis must have finished her business and came back.

Speaking of which, Sis can also use a good deal of magic. I should try

learning spells I can include in my battle style. I have to ask her how she

trained.

"Come in."

"It is alright! I will open! Sis, you came just at the right ti—" (Haaku)

I opened the door and there were 3 people there…

"Oh my, if I remember correctly, you are the one from the other day?"

"Oh, isn't that Haakudoku? Ya were here too, Ser?"

"Who is this guy? Wait, you are not looking good the—"

"…Kyuuu." (Haaku)

Bro, I will do my best. I don't know if it will bear fruit, but… I will try

from tomorrow on.

—

MC: (3 at the same time is nasty.)

Dy: (He fainted again. Good thing I am carrying around a blanket.)

Ru: (…)

Author: The war isn't beginning. It is not like this is a teasing

rollercoaster.

Now then, another rough character design. This time it is the leader of

the bandit alliance, Dokora.