Chapter 11 - The Childhood Friend Returns?

A week had passed since the subjugation of the magic beast.

The tense moment when the fallen magic beast attacked the village again after being defeated by the protagonist.

Fortunately, I was able to save Ravia.

— Thank you so much. For protecting my sister from the magic beast... If my younger sister had died, I would have been incredibly sad. I'm so grateful you prevented that from happening.

After saving Ravia, Levia thanked me profusely. I remember in the original story, she was sobbing while hugging Ravia's corpse. I'm glad it didn't turn out that way.

And so, the wolf-type magic beast, the first episode's enemy for the protagonist, was successfully subjugated.

I won't have to worry about money for a while.

As a result, I received half of the reward money for this achievement. The bounty for catching magic beasts was quite substantial. If I used this money wisely, I think I wouldn't be financially strapped.

Is it okay for me to take this?

I knew the protagonist was supposed to get all this money originally, so I wondered if it was alright for me to take it. But the protagonist ended up getting scammed with this money, anyway.

She probably bought what she thought was a famous sword, but it turned out to be nothing special. Money that would be wasted meaninglessly. It should be fine for me to take it.

I saved the younger sister, too.

Anyway, I had been living quite a peaceful daily life since subjugating the magic beast.

— Brother, thank you so much for subjugating the magic beast this time. Thanks to you, we can sleep peacefully now.

During this time, Levia's sister Ravia often came to see me, but it probably wasn't for anything important.

There shouldn't be a risk of falling from grace.

I saved the younger sister, so we shouldn't have to worry about her falling from grace now, right? It could be said that everything had worked out well. But...

It's a shame.

I wasn't particularly happy about it. Because I might have to part ways with Levia soon.

"Davian, I'm going to leave soon."

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah. I don't intend to stay in one place, you know. And I've finally found a cleric."

Tigna, who had been resting in this village for a week, told me she would be leaving the village soon. We had become quite close, but her departure was expected.

After all, she was destined to become a hero, so it made sense for her to travel from place to place. I wasn't particularly sad about her leaving. But hearing that she was taking a cleric with her was somewhat disappointing.

"You found a cleric?"

"Yes. A very skilled one."

Tigna actually came here not only to subjugate the magic beast but also to find a skilled cleric. And that skilled cleric was probably Levia.

According to the original story, Tigna asked Levia, who was grieving over her sister's death, to go on an adventure together, and that was how Levia became part of her party.

So she's leaving after all?

Now that the younger sister didn't die and things didn't go according to the original story, I thought maybe Tigna wouldn't take Levia with her. But it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Who's going to take care of the child now?

Parting with Levia feels so regrettable. My daughter Eleana really liked Levia, too. And I had been able to live comfortably because I had someone like Levia I could trust and rely on.

Thinking that she would be leaving soon made me feel quite bitter. But I couldn't stand in the way of her future. I decided to just coolly say goodbye to her.

"Oh, here comes the cleric who will be joining us."

Two clerics walking from afar. I thought it would be Levia and her younger sister Ravia coming to see her off. But...

"Tigna...!!!"

"Ravia, come quickly. Davian, are you surprised? This is Ravia, the cleric of our party."

What's this? It's not Levia, but her younger sister Ravia who's Tigna's party member?

"Sorry, I'm late because I was packing. Oh? But Brother is here too?"

"Ah... Ravia, was it? It's been a while."

"Yes. Thank you again for saving our village."

The person Tigna introduced wasn't Levia, but her younger sister Ravia. This seemed a bit strange?

"Tigna, the cleric you're taking with you is her?"

I couldn't understand the situation, so I had to ask again.

"Yes. She may not look like it, but I think she has incredible talent. She'll definitely be a great help."

It seemed to be true.

"That's right, Brother. I realized something from this incident. That there's a lot of evil in the world. I will definitely save the world."

Levia's younger sister Ravia clenched her fists, expressing her determination. She seemed full of enthusiasm.

"Ravia, take care on your journey."

Levia watched her sister with a fond smile. I asked her, "Um... Sister Levia?"

"Yes?"

"Aren't you leaving?"

"What are you talking about? Why would I leave?"

Wait, why is this suddenly happening?

"Well then, Davian. We'll be going now. Let's meet again if we have the chance."

"Goodbye, Brother. Take care, Sister Levia."

I said goodbye to the hero and Ravia, who had become her party member, without understanding what was happening.

***

Hmm... Is this how it turns out?

When I saved Ravia, I thought the snowball would definitely start rolling. That there would surely be changes in some way. But I never dreamed it would roll in this direction.

Taking Ravia with her...

Tigna took Ravia, Levia's younger sister who would have died originally, instead of Levia. I wonder if this is right.

Does she have talent?

Actually, there was a good chance the younger sister had talent, too. In this novel's world, bloodline had a very strong influence. Just as Levia had exceptional talent in holy power, her younger sister probably had comparable talent.

Tigna must have noticed that talent.

She seemed very enthusiastic, too.

And her personality was quite different from Levia's. Energetic and full of a sense of justice. Perhaps a personality that fit the hero's party better than Levia's.

Considering all aspects, it seemed Tigna chose to take Ravia with her. Thinking about it again, it was completely unexpected.

"Brother, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing much."

While I was deep in thought, Levia, holding Eleana, looked at me. With her golden hair and clear eyes, I always thought she had such a pure and beautiful appearance.

"Is that so?"

"Why are you smiling?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

Especially when she smiled like that. 

But why is she suddenly smiling? 

Even when I asked, Levia just answered with a smile, "Brother, my younger sister is very precious to me."

"Yes?"

"She's my only family. She's an irreplaceable existence to me. Thank you so much for saving her."

She seemed to be smiling more often these days. 

Is it because I saved Ravia? 

She kept thanking me whenever she got the chance.

"It's nothing. You're looking after my daughter, too."

But honestly, I was the one who should be grateful. Again, Levia was taking care of my child. If it weren't for Levia, I would surely have struggled a lot with this issue.

Even more than catching magic beasts. I couldn’t express how reassuring it was to have her.

"Is that so? We're in a relationship where we protect what's precious to each other."

"Yes... I guess that's right?"

"It's a good relationship."

Levia smiled again. She seemed quite satisfied and amused by the current situation.

It's not bad.

I was feeling the same way. After all, Levia was my favorite character. No one would dislike being close to their favorite character like this.

It probably can't continue though.

But while this was nice, it felt like false hope. If I didn't have a child, couldn't Levia and I have worked out? 

Even Levia probably wouldn't accept a man with a child. Haa...

Anyway, as I was spending peaceful days like this again...

"Hmm...? But what's that? It looks like a letter...?"

I happened to notice a letter she was holding in her hand. It looked unusual from the outside, so I had to ask about its identity.

"Ah, this is a letter from the magic tower, but I haven't opened it yet."

For now, Levia didn't know the exact contents either.

"Does it seem important? I'll read it now."

Levia said this and then opened the envelope, unfolded the letter, and read it. Then she showed a somewhat serious expression. 

What could the contents be?

"What does it say?"

"Um... Well, Brother. You have a wife, right?"

"Yes, you mean Kailyn?"

"Yes."

When I asked, Levia mentioned the name of Kailyn, whom I had forgotten about. My childhood friend and wife who had run away to the magic tower, abandoning our child.

Why is she suddenly bringing her up?

I waited for Levia's next words. What she said next was quite shocking.

"Your wife is coming here...?"