WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 205: Older Brother
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She had changed a great deal.
No, it would be more accurate to say she had grown a great deal. Children grew taller by the day, and ten years had passed. It was only natural.
The fourteen-year-old girl was fairly tall. Both Arian and Aslan were tall, and Kyle had already stood a head above his peers at that age. She looked to be around 170 centimeters tall.
Red hair and golden eyes. Those colors were exactly like Arian's. They were not as deep as Kyle's, but the girl's red hair and golden eyes were unmistakable symbols of Alastor.
'Kaya.'
His younger sister's name drifted through his mind. The sister he had last seen ten years ago. Even then, he had not seen her often.
"Kyle!"
At the approaching voice, emotion surged within Kyle. He was surprised and glad to see how much Kaya had grown, but what shook his heart even more were Arian and Aslan approaching him.
Unlike Kaya, who had grown so much, Arian and Aslan had barely changed. Yet that did not mean the past ten years had not existed. Their appearances might be unchanged, but the hearts of parents who had not seen their child for ten years must have been utterly shattered. Kyle took a deep breath.
'Damn it.'
He should have greeted them looking healthy, at least to ease their worries. The fact that he was sitting in a wheelchair made a curse slip out on its own. For a moment, Kyle wondered whether he should force himself to stand and walk over to them.
He considered it, but he did not stand. His body had not recovered yet. If he forced himself up and fell flat on his face, Arian and Aslan would suffer an even greater shock.
'What expression should I make?'
Having given up on standing on his own two feet, he found himself worrying about that instead. Should he smile? As if he had anything to be proud of. Should he look sheepish? That would make him seem too shameless. Should he cry? If he did, Arian would probably cry even harder, and crying in a situation like this did not suit Kyle either. A surprised expression, then, mixed with gladness.
All that careful thought proved meaningless. His nose stung, and his eyes welled up on their own.
'Good heavens.'
Thinking back, Arian had always been Kyle's tear button. He did not remember the tears he had shed as an infant in his past life, but he remembered every tear he had shed as an infant after reincarnating. When he emerged from the Cultivation Floors, his eyes had stung in front of Arian too. Just like now.
"Ahh!"
Arian rushed over in an instant, dropped to her knees before the wheelchair, and pulled Kyle into a fierce embrace. Kyle could not manage any of the expressions he had agonized over. He simply sat in Arian's arms, blankly shedding tears.
"Mo... Mother."
The word Mom, which he had stopped using around the age of ten, had nearly slipped out. Kyle hurriedly corrected himself and rubbed away the tears wetting his eyes.
"Uh... I'm sorry."
His heart and mind were in turmoil, and he had no idea what to say, but he felt he should apologize first. Kyle steadied his voice and continued.
"For making you worry. Uh... for ten years. And... I look worse than I am, so you don't have to worry anymore. I am in a wheelchair, but that's because of something like muscle pain."
He stumbled through the words to reassure her, but Arian did not answer. Quiet sobs came from near his shoulder. Arian had buried her face against his shoulder and was crying. Kyle raised a trembling hand and embraced her back.
"Kyle."
Aslan approached. His eyes were red as well. He desperately tried to hold back his tears, but they eventually streamed down his face. He staggered over and embraced both Arian and Kyle.
"I'm... glad you came back."
Aslan spoke in a choked voice. Hearing that, Kyle found something he wanted to say. Something he naturally should say.
"I'm back..."
Smack!
The words that had been about to emerge naturally with the overwhelming emotion were swallowed by the stinging hand that struck his back.
"You, you! Why did you make your mother worry so much?!"
Arian suddenly lifted her head. Aslan, who had closed his eyes and shed tears while basking in the emotion of their reunion, got his chin smacked against the top of his wife's head and tumbled backward.
"Ugh!"
"Do you know how much your mother worried for ten years?!"
Ignoring the groan behind her, Arian grabbed Kyle's shoulders with both hands. Her eyes were red as she glared into Kyle's face and shook his shoulders back and forth.
"Ten years, ten years! Do you know how long that is?!"
"I-I'm sor..."
"You, you! Don't pick on your father anymore. Your father was in Closed-Door Training for eleven years, but you spent four years in the Cultivation Floors, and now ten years! You were away from your mother for fourteen years, do you understand?!"
"I do..."
"What do you mean, you understand?! No matter how mature and talented you are, no matter how good you are with a sword, you're still a child to your mother. No, that's not right. You really are a child!"
A sixteen-year-old was not an adult, after all.
"You never gave your mother a moment of trouble when you were little. Why did you have to cause such enormous trouble all at once? If you're going to worry me, do it a little at a time! Don't do it all at once!"
"I'm sorr..."
"And what happened to your face?!"
Smack! Arian's hands left his shoulders and squashed Kyle's cheeks.
"Why are you so skinny?! They said only a short time passed inside the rift, even though ten years passed outside. Was that not true?"
"No... It's just... um, I went through a lot before I entered it..."
He had seen plenty of appetite-killing sights in the East, eaten simple meals while traveling, exhausted himself fighting Velatus, and left his body battered. It was possible he had lost some weight.
"I heard you returned to the world three days ago. Haven't they fed you here?!"
"Um... Now that you mention it, I haven't eaten yet."
Once he thought about it, hunger struck hard enough to make his stomach twist. With Arian still gripping both his cheeks, Kyle glanced at the sky.
Duke Oun was still floating there. The modified eye sockets meant to display emotion were wide open. Judging by the slight tremors running through his body, this situation was completely unintended.
'Of course it was.'
A messenger he was not even sure had been sent. Even if one had been sent, three days was far too short a time to cross the dark frontier and reach the Sword Tower. Duke Oun truly was astonished.
'How did they get here so quickly? Was there some means of communication I don't know about?'
Even if one existed, the fact that he had received no word of Alastor leaving the Sword Tower and entering the dark frontier made Duke Oun all the more confused.
'Could Garod have lied?'
If that were true, he would honestly be pleased as a father. His obedient son, who only did as he was told, would have defied his father and pulled a trick for the first time.
'No... That cannot be it. Garod did not lie. He simply failed to learn of it.'
The Thunder Emperor's visit to the Imperial Palace had likely been to announce Alastor's departure. The reason no one had learned of it was either because they had used a Warp Gate under the Imperial Palace's direct control, or because magic had altered the gate managers' awareness. Duke Oun composed his expression as he thought that.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Duke Oun let out a genial laugh and descended.
"Sir Kyle, this is wonderful! Alastor has come to welcome you home before my messenger could even arrive..."
"Garcia."
Duke Oun, who had been descending to welcome his guests, stopped dead in midair. Feeling a sword intent that seemed capable of carving apart his entire body, he slowly raised his eyes.
Helenas had not drawn the sword she had sheathed. Yet her gaze alone pressed against Duke Oun's entire body as though a blade were touching it.
"Do not interrupt Mother."
"Mother? Ah, you mean Sir Kyle's mother. Ha ha... Sword Church Master, I never thought I would hear you use such a title. It seems your betrothal was quite sincere."
Duke Oun shrugged playfully. It had been roughly thirty years since he had last seen her. Even then, that elf had seemed monstrous, but now she was even more so. Her personality seemed to have changed considerably since then, and her sword had grown sharper.
'This will not do.'
Even if he revealed every card he had hidden away, he did not think he could subdue the Sword Church Master. Could he kill her? Honestly, he did not think his chances were good. With tremendous luck, they might perish together. It was not worth trying. Even if he somehow subdued or killed her, what would he gain?
"I have no intention of interrupting. I merely wish to explain the situation..."
"Do not move."
"You are truly being unfair. I have done nothing wrong."
Duke Oun slumped his shoulders and spoke dejectedly. Then, glancing at Helenas's expression, he opened his mouth again.
"Still, Sword Church Master. Did you not also dearly wish to reunite with Sir Kyle? I will not interfere, so why don't you go and enjoy the joy of reunion?"
"My... turn is next."
Helenas composed herself as she answered. Her eyes, which had been forcibly fixed on Duke Oun, flicked toward Kyle. Her green eyes trembled as they rested on him.
"Ten years may not be very long for an elf like me, but for humans... it must be a long time. And they are Kyle's blood family."
It was a lie. The ten years Kyle had been gone had felt long to Helenas as well. Unlike the months she had spent with him, which had passed strangely fast because they had been so precious and joyful, the ten years he was gone had felt like every day lasted a year, or ten years.
But Helenas could not think that the long, painful time she had endured was necessarily longer or more painful than theirs. Elves naturally lived in a different time and held a different perspective from humans. Yet now, Helenas understood humans a little.
'She has changed.'
Behind his mask, Duke Oun could only stare with his mouth hanging open. He had known the Sword Church Master for quite some time and met countless elves while living at Western Headquarters, but he had never seen an elf like the current Sword Church Master. From her words and manner alone, it felt as though he were speaking to a human with long ears.
"Um, Mother."
As Arian's crying gradually subsided, Kyle cautiously spoke.
"Could you let go of my face?"
Arian was still firmly gripping Kyle's cheeks in both hands. Perhaps it was her imagination, but his cheeks felt less soft than before, and his skin felt rougher. Feeling that, tears filled Arian's eyes again.
"M-Mother, you haven't aged at all."
Kyle hurriedly changed the subject. His own tears had finally stopped, but he felt as though seeing Arian cry would press that button again.
"Really?"
Arian's face brightened. She released Kyle's cheeks, took a few steps back, and put her hands on her hips.
"You really think I don't look any older?"
"When have I ever lied to you?"
"Many times. You said you would be back soon, but it took ten years. You said you would not overdo it, but you nearly died. Even now! You are in a wheelchair..."
"No, that... I did not want to say it because it would sound like an excuse! I did not expect this either. If I had not suddenly been sucked into the rift, I would have returned safely and quickly..."
"But you did overdo it! Kyle, don't think of lying to your mother. I heard all about how you fought the Dragon Queen!"
"I did overdo it a little, but I could not have beaten that opponent without doing so..."
"So you think you did well?"
"No... I did not. I was wrong."
Kyle stopped making excuses and bowed his head deeply.
Kaya stared blankly at the sight.
"..."
Black Sword. Dragon Slayer. Savior of the East. Reincarnation of the Sword Saint.
The titles she had heard until her ears were numb over the past ten years did not overlap with the scene before her at all.
He was sitting in a wheelchair. He was skinny. Their mother had grabbed and squashed his cheeks. He had been smacked across the back. He had been thoroughly scolded. He had shed tears, then bowed his head and said he was wrong.
In Kaya's heart, her older brother, Kyle Alastor, was an enormous figure. He was the person their relatives in the Sword Tower spoke of with reverence, the person Sister Narua repeated heroic tales about hundreds of times, the person Grandfather told her was special and that she must not compare herself to.
The stories she had heard about her brother had swelled to something immense inside Kaya. Even though she had been told not to compare herself to him, she could not help comparing herself to the imagined brother in her heart. She had always taken up a sword while thinking of her incredible brother.
And that brother, who ought to have been the greatest person in the world, was helpless before their mother.
'Something...'
This was not what she had expected. What had she expected? Kaya flinched and rapidly shook her head. Her brother's response was right and natural. If he had gone missing for ten years, worried his parents sick, and returned, he naturally ought to be scolded, cry, and bow his head.
'But... he is so ordinary.'
The brother Kaya had imagined was someone far too distant from ordinary.
'He feels human.'
Of course Kyle was human. Kaya was human, and so were their parents. It was just that, inside Kaya's heart, Kyle had been a sacred superhuman.
In the end, Kaya felt a small measure of disappointment toward the brother she was seeing for the first time in ten years. She did not particularly feel glad to see him. It could not be helped. Kaya did not have many memories of him. Honestly, the brother she had last seen at four and met again at fourteen felt less like an older brother and more like reuniting with some distant relative.
'...No.'
That was what her mind felt.
Strangely, her heart did not agree. Her heart pounded, and some emotion swelled from its depths. Without her even realizing it, memories from childhood surfaced. When she first met her brother. When he held her in his arms and lifted her high. When he wore rabbit clothes and read her fairy tales. When he stroked her head and promised to return with a present.
"Ugh..."
The emotion rising from her chest reached her head. Kaya felt her nose sting and hurriedly covered her face with her hands.
"Kaya."
As Kaya struggled with emotions she had never felt before, Aslan's hand rested on her shoulder.
"You should greet your brother."
"Ah, uh, um... Ahem, okay."
Kaya stammered and tightly pinched her stinging nose. She did not have that many memories of him, so why did she feel like crying? Unable to understand herself, Kaya cautiously approached Kyle.
"..."
As she drew near, her memories grew clearer. The blurred image of her brother's face in her mind perfectly overlapped with the face before her. Red hair like the color of roses and golden eyes. A face more like their mother's than their father's.
'He looks like me.'
Kaya took a breath and straightened her posture. Arian was already standing beside Kyle, sniffling.
"I-I'm Kaya Alastor... sir."
She did not know what expression to make, what tone to use, or whether she should speak formally. To a fourteen-year-old girl, the whole situation was simply confusing.
"Hello."
Kyle took a breath as well.
"It's been a long time, Kaya."
"Uh... um... yes."
Even meeting his eyes felt terribly awkward. Kaya lowered her gaze for no reason and fidgeted with her fingers. What was she supposed to say next? What had she talked about with her brother in the past? Should she ask him to read her a fairy tale?
That was ridiculous. Kaya was fourteen. She was too old for fairy tales. For the past few years, the books Kaya had read most often were sword manuals from the Great Archive of the Sword Tower.
"Y-You, Brother..."
Kaya opened her mouth. Her voice came out too quickly.
"You're... good... with a sword, right?"
What kind of question was that? Kaya's face flushed as she wished she could turn back time. But sincerity had a way of getting through. Instead, Kyle brightly smiled, delighted by her question.
"I am."
It was a simple fact, so he had no hesitation in saying it.
"I heard you have outstanding talent with the sword too. You're Grandfather's and Hele... the Sword Church Master's disciple, right?"
"Yes..."
"Why are you speaking formally?"
"Uh, it feels awkward... sir."
Kyle's heart sank at the answer. Of course it would feel awkward. They were reuniting after ten years. His little sister, who had been four, was now fourteen, while he had been left behind by time and was still sixteen. The sibling who had originally been twelve years younger than him was now only two years younger. And unlike Kyle, who had seen Kaya only weeks ago, Kaya had endured a gap of ten years.
"Could you call me like you used to?"
Even so, he could not let go of that hope. At Kyle's cautious question, Kaya hesitated before slightly raising her eyes.
"I'll... try."
How could they possibly bridge this gap? Sadness filled Arian and Aslan's eyes as they watched the siblings' awkward reunion.
"Kaya."
Kyle fell silent for a moment.
Older brother and younger sister.
At the same time, swordsman and swordswoman. Kyle looked at the sword hanging at Kaya's waist and opened his mouth.
"Want to spar?"
The fastest way for swordsmen to become close was to cross swords.
"Are you crazy?"
Arian seized Kyle's shoulders in alarm.
"You cannot even stand, and you want to spar while sitting in a wheelchair? What kind of spar are you talking about?!"
"No... I can do it if I force myself to move."
"Force yourself? Force yourself?! Do you want to see your mother collapse?!"
"Later."
Cold sweat running down his face, Kyle hurriedly added.
"We'll spar later."
As Kaya watched, another piece of her fantasy about her brother crumbled away.
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