Vol 1 Chapter 14 – When Some Brats Made a Fool of Me【Vol 1 — A Happy Childhood】

“Agh! It’s the wimp guy!”
“He’s always hanging around women, isn’t he?”
“Can’t even walk outside unless he’s with a girl!”

How rude.

Standing in our way on the path home were the three infamous neighborhood brats.

They were younger than me, probably around four or five years old. I run into them occasionally, and every single time, without fail, they give me this same treatment. Being popular is tough.

“Stuuupid!”
“Wimp!”
“Ladies’ man!”

The three brats pointed at me and burst into laughter as they passed right by.

Despite all the mockery, my heart felt remarkably calm.

It’s true—I don’t have any male friends in this world.

But you know what?

Always hanging around girls?
What an honor. What’s wrong with that?

I’ll make you a prediction.
Someday, you’ll reach an age where you desperately want to chat with girls. You’ll have days where you feel restless because you can’t close the distance with the girl you like.

And when that day comes, you’ll think this:
You’ll envy me—right here, right now—the version of me who’s always surrounded by cute girls.

Ha-ha-ha-haaa!

But as I roared with laughter in my mind, the Sophia beside me flinched, her shoulders trembling at the brats’ insults.

Uh-oh!

Instinctively sensing danger, my rational mind quickly detected the threat as well.

Let me be clear.
It sounds weird saying this myself, but Sophia sees me like a younger brother and dotes on me relentlessly.
And I mean really dotes on me—I’m the one most aware of it. (Not that I’m complaining. Being adored by a beautiful girl is the best!)

Also, when it comes to me, Sophia tends to lose all sense of restraint.

“…Hey, you kids.”

Sophia’s quiet voice.

The air trembled.
Not metaphorically. It literally trembled.

Elena, who had been tilting her head, unable to understand what the brats’ insults meant, suddenly squeezed my hand tightly.

Sophia’s killing intent was aimed straight at the three brats.

Even though it wasn’t directed at me, a shiver ran down my spine.
That’s scary…

Of course, the three brats couldn’t possibly ignore it.

“”Eek!“”

The three brats cried out.
Large tears welled up in the corners of their eyes.

W-Wait. This is bad.
N-no, no, no, Sophia Onee-chan, they’re just kids. You don’t need to take it so seriously…

At this rate, those brats are going to end up in a really bad place…
Panicking, I hugged Sophia to stop her.

“Sophia-neesan, they’re just kids!”

Though I’m a kid too.

“Hey… let go, Will-kun. Onee-chan needs to have a… talk with those kids who made fun of Will-kun.”

An ice-cold voice.
That’s terrifying, Onee-chan.
What do you mean by “talk”?

“Sophia-neesan, I don’t mind it at all. I’m just really happy being with you, and that’s enough for me!”

I spoke up a little louder, and Sophia’s movements softened.

“R-Really…?”

Sophia seemed far from displeased.
The tense atmosphere settled slightly.

In that instant, the three brats ran for it. And I mean, they ran.

“Ah!”

Sophia called out, but it was too late—the brats were already far away.
They’re really fast, those kids.

Still, I let out a sigh of relief.
Sophia can be a bit extreme, after all.
I’m glad they won’t be traumatized for life because of me.

Then—

I noticed Elena acting strangely.
At the same time, I realized.

Ah. She’s gonna cry.

◯

Two years and a few months.
That’s my little sister Elena’s age.

Elena is still young. You could even say too young.
In other words, for Elena, that unsettling atmosphere just now must have been unbearable.
To put it simply, she got scared by Sophia’s anger and started crying.

“I’m sorry, Elena-chan. Please don’t cry. Onee-chan just got a little emotional. It was pretty scary, wasn’t it?”
“It was really scary…”
“Agh! Even Will-kun! Fine, now Onee-chan is going to cry too!”

My adorable, adorable little sister Elena wailed loudly in my chest, soaking my jacket with her runny nose.
Meanwhile, Sophia pouted and looked away.

“Waaaaahhh!“
“Elena, it’s okay. There’s nothing to be scared of, nothing to be scared of…”

While desperately calming Elena, we continued on our way home.

And just as the silhouette of our house came into view—

Elena had finally cried herself tired and regained her composure. Still being carried by me, she snuggled up to me affectionately.

“Onii-chan…”
“Yeah, your Onii-chan is right here. You don’t need to cry anymore, okay?”
“…Okay.”

Squeeze. Elena tightened her grip on me.

Whew…
Finally, I can relax.
Honestly, Onee-chan, really.
I’m happy you got angry for my sake, but that was a bit over the top.
That cold aura from Sophia—I felt it for the first time.

Seven years since I was born into this world, and there’s still so much I don’t know about Sophia, who’s been with me since then…

Alright, I’ll make sure never to anger Sophia.
As I made this new resolution, Sophia was looking at me with an envious expression.

“Hey, Will-kun.”
“What is it, Sophia-neesan?”
“…I want you to carry me too.”

Sophia stared at me with an intensity that suggested she might start chewing on her finger.

Cold sweat ran down my cheek.

“No, that’s physically impossible…”

That’s when it happened.

He was waiting at the porch of our house.
Beside him stood a woman exuding an adult atmosphere, dressed in robes and holding a staff as tall as she was.

He—a man around seventeen wearing the same uniform from some academy in the royal capital that Sophia wore—reacted strongly when he spotted us approaching.

Eventually, when the distance between us narrowed to arm’s reach—

“Aah, Sophia-san! I was just about to visit your mansion… but to think you would come to me instead…!”

He spoke with exaggerated emotion.
A handsome man with dull blond hair neatly styled with some kind of hair product. Handsome guys should just die, I think.
He stepped closer, spreading his arms wide as he looked at Sophia.
The mage-like person behind him remained at his side.

“Um… you’re… Blum-san, right?”

Sophia said uncertainly, and the man called Blum smiled.

What an irritating smile.

Blum shook his head vigorously.

“No, no, Sophia-san. No need for such formal address. I don’t mind at all if you don’t use my family name. I really don’t mind.”

Blum spoke brightly.
Sophia’s face twitched beside him, and she muttered, “I don’t remember Blum-san’s first name…”

But apparently, Blum didn’t hear her muttering. He stepped even closer and stood right in front of Sophia.

“Especially from today onward,” he added meaningfully.
With a glance, he dropped to one knee and took Sophia’s hand.
Then he gently pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

“—!”

What the—! What do you think you’re doing!

Fury surged through me! I glared sharply at Blum.
Kissing the back of Sophia’s hand without permission is a serious crime.
I’ve never even done something that cool!

He needs to face appropriate punishment…
As I thought this, Sophia’s figure entered my vision.

Sophia was frozen, head bowed, her hand still taken by Blum. But looking closely, she was trembling slightly.
I could hear her muttering something like a curse, but her voice was too quiet to make out.
Still, her unsettling aura was abundantly clear.

“S-Sophia-neesan…?”

So disturbed was I that I forgot my anger toward Blum and spoke to Sophia instead.

“Neesan…? Aah, I see. So you’re the ‘Will-kun’ that Sophia-san always talks about…”

Blum nodded in understanding, glaring sharply at me.
Yes, that’s right. I’m Will-kun.

While still looking at me, Blum kept holding Sophia’s hand, and my irritation grew until I was about to unleash a torrent of abuse—

That’s when Sophia suddenly raised her head.
Her dazzling smile was somehow more terrifying than anything else. Her eyes weren’t smiling.
A shiver ran down my spine, triggered by something more instinctive.

However, Blum remained calm. On the contrary, he looked delighted.
Like a child who had accidentally gotten his hands on a toy he wanted.

Sophia opened her mouth to say something.
But Blum interrupted her and said something unbelievable.

Because of those words, my anger, my irritation, and even the unsettling atmosphere surrounding Sophia—all of it dissipated.

“Now then, Sophia-san. No, my adorable Sophia. …Are you ready to enter into marriage with me?”

…Huh?