First of All, Let’s Hide My Younger Brother

3.
First meeting

 

At last the day came when I was supposed to go to the Kratier Imperial Academy, that is, the day of the transfer.

 

My mother took me by the hand and wouldn't let me go for a time.

 

“If anything happens, send a messenger bird right away.
I've put in a lot of money, so if you run out of money, call us.”

 

“Don't worry, mother.
I'm not a girl anymore.”

 

“Why can't the sons of nobles take even a single escort to the Academy? There are so many monsters around Kratier.”

 

Only students could enter the Kratier Academy.

 

Neither servants nor maids, much less an escort, were allowed to accompany her.

 

“I can't fall asleep at nights because I'm worried about my daughter.”

 

My mother cried into her handkerchief from the anxiety of sending her daughter alone to an unfamiliar place.

 

“Honey, calm down.
Kratier is the second safest place after the Imperial Palace, thanks to the magic barrier.”

 

My father, who had to accompany me to the Burg station, could not even get into the carriage to appease my mother.

 

Franz, too, who had a red nose, dismissed me.

 

“Sister, in case you find it difficult, please come back.
Now that I've gotten used to using [Shitsuro], I trust that I won't be beaten like before.”

 

Although she said she wanted to become a knight, Franz vaguely thought that his sister was sacrificing herself for him.

 

“Take care of yourself, don't worry about our parents.”

 

My palm touched Franz's cheek.

 

“It's okay, sister.
Don't worry about me.”

 

Some thought I was stealing Franz's chance, while others thought I was sacrificing myself for Franz's sake.

 

But both were wrong.

 

 After all, it was something I had to do to stay alive.

 

It wouldn't be bad for Franz either.

 

 

Rather, if he can live his life doing what he wants and without going through hardships, what could be better than that?

 

The carriage my father and I were in drove off to the Burg station.

 

I could see Franz waving his hand outside the carriage window and my mother standing next to him.

 

I saw Franz's face frowning as if he was about to cry.

 

As my mother wrapped her arms around Franz's shoulder and comforted him, Franz buried his face in my mother's shoulder.

 

I felt strange looking at him.

 

In my memory when he was a poor child, he had to see that there was no one around him to be able to cry.

 

He was the only one in the family, so he has never been able to do it properly.

 

He didn't say anything about what happened at school.

 

My mouth was bitter.

 

…

 

 

We took about two hours to get from Vesta's territory to the Burg station.

 

The road was well paved with blocks, so we got there without seasickness.

 

“Did you keep the transfer certificate well? And the train ticket?”

 

After we got off the carriage, my father followed me all the way to the station, my father was worried, so he butted in with this and that.

 

“It's all in the luggage.
It's okay, father.”

 

My father sighed as I lifted my small luggage and smiled.

 

“I'm still not sure it's good for you to do this.”

 

My father's gaze followed the driver and the servant carrying my luggage.

 

The heavy luggage was taken to a freight train with a faster departure time.

 

“I'll be back, father.”

 

I turned around with my father behind me, who was seeing me off.

 

I was quite calm.

 

A future no one will believe, even if I tell it.
I have no need to force understanding on those who don't understand.

 

For it is the truth of this whole world that I knew in my past life.

 

The mere possession of Franz [Shitsuro] was a great choice.
Everything will change from here.

 

I headed to the platform with the hope that the future would change.

 

The platform was quieter than the station, as only people with train tickets could enter.

There were two types of trains that could be taken at the Burg station.

 

One was a steam train and the other, a magic train that used magic stones.

 

The magic train works as a kind of teleportation, a magic tool that can get anywhere in 5 minutes.

 

The ticket price for the magic train was about 100 times higher than that of the steam train, so even nobles could not travel on it frequently.

 

 

Then I saw many nobles like me, who wanted to take the steam train.

 

This is probably the only train station where you can see plebeians and nobles together in the same place.

 

At that moment, shouts mixed with admiration could be heard from the crowd filling the platform.

 

“It's a magic train!”

 

“It's the first time I've seen it in person.”

 

“Dad, look over there! Over there! That's a magic train!”

 

From where people were looking, I could see a train emitting a flickering light.

 

The rail that the magic train was running on was cut in the air rising from the ground vertically.

 

I was wondering how that train would run in the sky.

 

As expected, the magic train ran fast on the rail, scattering light like shards of stars everywhere.

 

“It's racing across the sky!”

 

“Wow, that's awesome.”

 

The magic train, which had detached from the rail cut in half, seemed to fly into the sky and then disappeared completely into thin air.

 

The glow sprayed by the magic train still floated in the air all around.

 

“Ah…
it's gone.”

 

“It takes five minutes to get to another country with that?”

 

“I'd like to try it once.

 

Even if it were to a distant foreign country, the travel time would be less than 5 minutes on it.

No matter how advanced the technology, the steam train, which moved by physical force, could not keep up with the pace of the magic train.

 

Considering only its efficiency, the ticket price of the magic train could have been quite cheap.

 

At the place where the magic train departed, only spectators and guards in black uniforms remained.

 

The magic train was used by criminals to help them escape because it was a train that could travel to foreign countries in a short time.

 

Then, the Imperial Palace thoroughly investigated the identities of the passengers on the magic train.

 

Those black clad guards were probably here for that.

 

As the passengers made their way to the platform one by one, waiting for their train to board, I found a girl sitting on a bench as if she was about to collapse.

 

I think she is a little younger than me.

 

The girl's face, hiding her hair with a black hood, was so beautiful that I looked at her as if she were possessed.

 

Although her white face shone with sweat and the pallid purple of her pink, trembling lips, she looked pitiful and beautiful.

 

Now, that girl must live a good life. 

 

The dark purple dress she was wearing was also of a shiny fabric, and at first glance she looked like the daughter of a very rich family.

 

“Miss Astell, are you all right?”

 

 “Drink some water.
You'll feel better if you drink cold water.”

 

Perhaps she wasn't feeling well, the girl took a few sips of water and then pushed it away.

 

“Does your head hurt?”

 

“Can't you walk?”

 

 

The women surrounding the girl were probably maids, heavily fanning the girl named Astell.

 

The girl pretended not to like the light wind from the fan and pretended to push it away with her hands.

 

The maid folded the fan and put it in her arms, wiping the girl's sweat with a handkerchief.

 

'She can't talk?'

 

Unusually, the girl did not open her mouth and gave orders only by shaking her head or gesturing with her hands.

 

The maids around her understood the girl's intentions just from that.

 

The girl looked like a noble of very high rank.

 

 'No way, the princess can't be here.
Perhaps she is the daughter of a high noble.'

 

The clothes of the people around her were also of high quality, so she didn't look like she was from a plebeian family.

 

She seems to be living well, so why didn't she travel on the magic train?

 

At that moment, as if feeling my gaze, the girl's purple eyes turned to me.

 

Her eyes shining like amethysts were so beautiful that I couldn't avoid them and I stared at her.

 

At that, the girl smiled brightly and sinisterly at me.

 

She moistened her lips with her red tongue.

 

That expression is so beautiful again, why was it? Even though I couldn't avoid looking at her anymore.

 

She was like a siren seducing humans and drowning them in water.

 

When the girl turned her head towards me, pink hair fell from inside the black hood.

 

At that moment, the girl was startled and lowered the black hood even more.

 

So that I could not see a single strand of her hair.

 

At that moment, the strange look we had been exchanging ceased.

 

…?

 

It's weird.
I don't understand why I feel strange.

 

It was the first time I had seen the girl's face, but she seemed strangely familiar.

 

This is the world of a comic, but all the objects, creatures and humans in front of me were real.

 

So, at first, I didn't even realize I had entered the world of [Magical Mirage], and it was hard to recognize the main characters at a glance.

 

I can't even remember who that girl is within the characters.

 

[Magical Mirage] was a BL comic with a low proportion of female characters.

 

At most, there was only Kayla, who was killed off halfway through the story, and Marian Dmiroff, who was Franz's fiancée, with an airy presence.

 

I first met Marian at my brother's engagement ceremony last summer, and while she was pretty, it wasn't her face.

 

So, who is she?

 

Maybe she was another noble girl I met in the social circle?

 

Why is she so familiar to me?

 

I felt strangely uncomfortable.

 

…

 

The train takes about 40 minutes to reach Kratier station.

 

There was a kiosk inside the platform, and there was also a small store selling souvenirs.

 

As in my past life, if I had a duty free store that sold expensive items at a lower price than the market price, it would be good for business.

 

Anyway, there is also the magic train that can travel abroad.

 

But now was not the time for me to think about useless fantasies.

 

Although I cut off contact between Franz and Ritaus through the butler, I won't be able to do so forever.

 

It would be a problem if he came to see Franz at any time during my absence.

 

It's not like my work is over just because Franz now owns [Shitsuro] and has left the Kratier Academy.

 

I needed a place to hide Franz completely. 

 

Until the day he becomes [Shitsuro]'s Master.

 

What place would be good?

 

A place where there is less movement of people would be better.

 

And it must be a place where he can communicate with me at any time, and where there are no men.

 

“Then, wouldn't a place where there are only women be safer?”

 

Crash! Clink!

 

At that moment, just as a brilliant idea was about to come to my mind, I heard the sound of a bang and a huge rock colliding with a metal surface.