There is no ordinary protagonist in this world. If there are, point at them and say “Liar!”

I feel like I am going to pass out…

“Gil, are you alright?” Nigel decides to ask, probably because he saw me starting to become unsteady on my feet. Meanwhile, Hareve, who's beside me, mumbles, 'weakling'.

Right! A good-looking person like you won't understand my concern!

I blink rapidly before smiling at Nigel to imply that I am feeling alright. Gritting my teeth, I turn to continue facing the rite in front of me.

Currently, I am inside the holy sanctuary of this town. Even though this place is very famous, it is seldom open for use—except for important rites of the royal families or the ducal families. As for the commoners, even for the margravial families and other lower-ranking families, they will be using a separate sanctuary. This really represents the social gap between the dukes and the marquises!

Inside this sanctuary consists of twelve dukes and their children who would inherit the ducal title in the future. Since the dukes are considered commoners, not royalties, thus neither the king nor the queen is present. Even the princess or the prince does not make an appearance.

Ow! It seems like I've been spacing out for too long that Hareve decides to pinch my side from nearby… It hurts; I'm on the verge of tearing up!

I blink several times…a pair of sunglasses is what I want right now. Just by looking at those children, who would become the future dukes, really dazzled me.

As expected of the male characters in Ushinawareta Hoshi, it's almost like they have combined every single taste in males that the female population prefers. Then they created each of their looks out of those. I'm sure that if the twelve of us were to form a boy band, our popularity would certainly be off the charts! But being a duke is more lucrative, so that project will have to be canceled…

Hm…hm…I stare at them in an evaluative manner.

To tell the truth, among these twelve people, the most handsome one is Nigel (although he is merely seven years old). As for the most distinctive one, Hareve is inevitably the one. But if you ask me who seems to be the most immaculate and affable, I will say it's Kasta Bors.

As far as I can remember from the anime, he seems to be older than Gilbert Bedivere by roughly three years, which means that he is already ten years old! Despite being older, he is way shorter than me!

Also, regardless of how grown-up he is in the story, the concept in which the creators had planned for him is a cute, little guy—a legitimate shota[1] for sure.

Wow…Wow…

If I can lure him…I mean…befriend him, then will it feel like having an adorable little brother with me all the time?

No matter how cute Nigel is, he will eventually become a handsome guy when he grows up! An enemy! And for Hareve…I'm still incapable of doing anything to him yet, so I will just let him off for now.

I eye him fervently…and it looks like he is aware of me as he avoids my gaze. Such a cutie…ouch… Hareve just elbows my waist.

My waist will definitely bruise once I get home.

In order to prevent my bruised waist from being fractured by Hareve, I shift my gaze to the rite in front of us. Apparently, the rite nearly comes to an end. The next might be the rite of summoning a guardian spirit. According to the story, Cass Bedivere is an incompetent person. Though the story does not mention his childhood, I guess the reason behind his incompetence may be this rite.

Perhaps, if they are unable to summon an unskilled guardian spirit, then a spirit may not appear at all. That could be the start of his family acting cold towards him.

A chorale group starts singing. I like how one can cast a spell by singing in this world. It really soothes my ears! By the way…is it because I sing off-key that I lack magical abilities?

I furrow my eyebrows and softly warm up my voice, “Ah…ah…ah…ah…”

Thud!

Hareve elbows my waist once again…this time, he shoots me a glance saying, 'shut up'. He seems afraid that I might do something weird again; hence he grabs my hand and gently squeezes it. I presume he will squeeze my hand until my bones break if he catches me doing something bad…what a tactful person.

Dear all the other players, why do so many of you choose this guy's route?! What's so special about a violent guy like him? I really cannot understand.

When the song is over, a blinding flash of light immediately emerges from a magic circle being drawn on the floor, causing us to squint. At first, I thought it would just die down, but strangely enough, the light is getting brighter. Eventually, it forces the dukes and the future dukes, who are currently confronting the light with bare eyes, to twist their bodies and bring their arms up to cover their faces…such a splendid posture. Wouldn’t it be much easier to simply cover your eyes with your hands?

“What kind of power is this?!” Hareve growls as he tries to counter the light in order to stare into it. I honestly want to warn him: ‘Don’t look at it or else you’ll be blind!’ But apparently, he will grow up becoming an attractive guy, plus I still cannot find a way to get rid of him…therefore, just go blind!

“Do you see anything, Hareve?!” Duke Lancelot growls. “You are the only one in here who has the power of light. Are you able to make out what is happening…the light is overwhelming!”

This power can only belong to one person…a suitable power for a person with many aspects that scream protagonist. Although I do not know what kind of power Gilbert Bedivere has, I guess it might be some sort of wayside flower power…

Oh no, my eyes are beginning to water; let me secretly place my head on Nigel's shoulder for a second.

Seriously, Nigel is such a good guy because not only does he not push or kick me away, unlike Hareve, he even pulls my head closer to his small shoulder. Should I study hard and figure out a way to prevent him from growing up…?

Sniff…sniff… This kid smells really nice…ouch!

Hareve grabs my head, causing me to face the light again. Oh god, Hareve, now you have chosen to walk down the path of brutality, right?!

Fortunately, I brought my hands to cover my eyes just in time, otherwise, I would have become blind already.

“Gilbert Bedivere! Can you see anything?!” Hareve shouts. “That’s the power of your younger brother. This kind of power shouldn’t be able to harm the same bloodlines.”

Liar…and what about my father, who ran to hide in that corner? Is he my stepfather or something?

Or is this your plan to eliminate your love rival, Hareve? Even though I know that my younger brother is very adorable, eliminating your brother-in-law like this is not the right thing to do!

Whack!

As if he knows I am not concentrating, he decides to get my attention by smacking my head…what the hell… How could you even like him, my fujoshi sister?

So as to save myself from any further violence, I try to gaze into the light. Apparently, this power really does harm the people around it since the dukes have all retreated away. Nigel and the future dukes who used to stand beside me are also gone…which means that only you and I are now confronting the light, right?

Hm…it seems like the dark skin trend has not made its way to this world yet. Or should Hareve and I be the trendsetters? With the faces of Gilbert Bedivere and Hareve Lancelot, we could invent a style of… Maybe I should focus on the task at hand first since I can feel a stronger tug around my collar. I'm not sure whether Hareve cannot bear the light or my languidness any longer.

To prevent him from hitting me, I try to do my part by squinting at the light. Despite the fact that I should not be able to see anything, I spot something blurry. It consists of a faint shadow, which may belong to a priest who is carrying my younger brother and another shadowy figure that is descending…

Is that a guardian spirit?

Many questions swarm my mind along with astonishment… Cass Bedivere is an individual who was born with limited abilities, so what does this current situation mean? I don't know whether this should be considered as a talent, but if it really has the dukes and the future dukes retreating away, then…

Can a power like this really be considered useless?

Or actually, Cass Bedivere is similar to this certain type of protagonist who possesses the ultimate power, which can cause the earth to tremble? So that's why everyone is scared of him. Consequently, they lie to him that he is powerless, suppress his power, and raise him in a distant manner. This is just like how the storylines of the protagonists in the novels and anime often proceed.

…This is weird.

Before my thoughts can go any further, the tugging force at my collar suddenly increases, sending me tumbling backward and landing into Hareve’s embrace. The blazing light before has become even brighter, but no longer in a blinding sense anymore as it has turned 'black'.

Wha…what does this mean?

“The power of darkness?!” My father lets out a startled cry. At the same time, I can sense a stronger pulling force from Hareve, who hauls me behind him. Light coming out of the boy’s palm…you are still going to show off your skills?!

Please tell me that you are seven years old, not seventy! You're showing off your skills more often than your own father right now!

“Stop it, Hareve!” I cry out before seizing Hareve's wrist. He shoots me an irritated look. “Please let our fathers handle this!”

“I’m still okay!”

You are still saying that you’re okay?! Dear game creators, have you ever thought about how you gave Hareve Lancelot too many abilities? You should pay more attention to the other supporting characters or other male characters within Cass Bedivere’s harem! If you enhance a character like Hareve this much, then would any girls want to date us?

The more I think about it, the more depressed I become as tears escape my eyes. Hareve’s gaze on me softens. “I’m really okay…”

More tears stream down my face… You have unbeatable feet, a prodigious amount of magic, an attractive feature, a high social status, and not to mention your immense popularity! Were you born to steal every woman in this world?!

This is unfair! Super unfair!!

I sniffle at my own fate until Hareve clicks his tongue before using his hand to roughly wipe my tears away. “(Sigh)… let's go to Nigel together…”

I nod…I need some healing at this moment! I need my non-blood-related brother to heal my injured heart! Although that kid will be my future enemy, he is my lovely younger brother for now…

After being led towards a group of future dukes, in which Nigel is also there, I do not hesitate to go straight in for a hug. “Gil…”

Nigel freezes in shock before returning the hug as if he is still confused. But when Hareve says, “He cries,” with a troubled expression, Nigel gently rubs my back… Dear my fujoshi sister who is not in this world, even if you conduct a Chinese funeral ceremony with wonderful stuff for me, I will not return to the younger sister community anymore!

But if I see a picture of you wearing a cat-ear cosplay costume, I may be ready to abandon my younger brother…

“Are you scared, Gil?”

“Hm? Eh…er…” I stand still out of fear…then I glance towards Hareve, who stare back harshly. “Yes, I’m scared.”

A small hand pats my head. “Naturally, the power of darkness never gives off a good feeling…”

It seems like this younger brother is misunderstanding something. But since I still want to stay in his embrace, I will just go with the flow for now.

“Darkness is never a good thing in the first place,” said Hareve. His voice sounds more frustrated than usual. I think the reason is that he has the power of light—a polar opposite of darkness—which makes him feel a strong hostility towards the aforementioned power. “Up to two forces of darkness were being born in this generation? First, it was the prince and now it’s Duke Bedivere’s son…”

“This doesn’t sound good to me at all.” One of the future dukes remarks. “Not for our generation.”

“This looks like a bad omen.”

“…Right.”

The future dukes begin to express their opinions while I regretfully part from Nigel’s shoulder… Should I manage his diet for him? Eat less, sleep less—apart from reducing his handsomeness along with his height, these things can also keep him in this adorable form forever!

Wonderful! This sounds extremely wonderful!

Aside from being able to eliminate my rival, I can also have a younger brother too. Why didn’t I think about this before?!

I look at him with sparkling eyes. But before I can begin to persuade him to eat less for the sake of his cute height, I get interrupted by a scream from my father.

“No!!”

“We have no choice, Duke Bedivere…”

“This is the best we can do.”

The other dukes sigh wearily, puzzling the future dukes like us. I don’t even realize that everything has already settled down. My younger brother is now in my father’s embrace.

“Father…” What happened?

“This child is too dangerous,” states Duke Gawain, who resembles the reflection of a grown-up Nigel. “He possesses…too much power.”

“He just killed the Priest of Light…though it was unintentional.” Duke Lancelot’s words make us realize that...the priest has disappeared.

Is it because of the power of darkness a moment ago?

My eyes sparkle when I gaze at Hareve… I am sorry for often saying that you are barbaric and brutal! In fact, you use violence to conceal your help, right? Like when we were at the market too…

However, when I look at those frightening rainbow eyes, which are wide-opened… Well, it is a type of violence passed down the bloodline. He is usually unkind anyway, and helping me is merely a by-product.

You are still my enemy! I will definitely get rid of you once I have become more powerful in the future!

 “But this kid…is my child…”

“But we are dukes.” Duke Lancelot states firmly. “Although we are fathers, uncles, or any other status, everything cannot be compared to our position as a 'duke'.”

“For the benefit of our kingdom…”

“That is our duty.”

My father becomes silent…the surroundings also grow silent while I'm able to faintly piece things together.

They are…going to get rid of Cass Bedivere because of that power of darkness.

Something such as this…

 

“I won't allow that!!”

As a new member of the little brother community…I will not let anyone hurt my younger brother that easily!

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[1] Shota: a little boy