Airn's younger sister, Kirill Pareira, appeared.
Of course, the Lindsays didn’t know that she was his sister.
Joshua was startled to see this young woman who suddenly appeared by hiding her presence and looked at her outfit as he nodded.
‘Her clothes are a common sight of the eastern continent… she must be either a magician or a sorcerer.’
Even a master with much superior senses than ordinary people could miss the presence of a sorcerer who had proper skills or a magician who had the right tools.
So, his thoughts went like that.
‘Aside from Ilya… was there another woman? A woman who is so close to him to come all the way here?’
Ilya, too, had similar thoughts.
The beautiful hair, the cute appearance, and slightly raised brows which indicated strong feelings towards Airn.
In a bad way, it felt like the taste of Airn was different, and in a good way, she became confident about her own looks.
But she was concerned, and because self-esteem was very important for Ilya.
As she was thinking, the blonde woman hugged Airn.
In an instant, the expressions of both the people of the Lindsay family who were watching them, changed.
Airn, who saw that, began to make an excuse to avoid being misunderstood because of his action of hugging Kirill. But as he thought further about it, he didn’t even know why he was making up excuses.
“She is…that younger sister. Ilya, I mentioned to you about her before, don’t you remember?”
“Right? Ah, right. I just remembered.”
“Hm. Right.”
"Yes. Kirill. How are you here… No, introduce yourself first."
"Isn't brother happy that I came to meet you after two years?"
“…”
As soon as he heard that, Airn knew that Kirill wasn’t in a good mood.
Gulping, he released the hug.
And he tried to organize his mind, but it wasn’t going well.
Kirill immediately bowed to the Lindsay girl.
“Hello. I am Kirill Pareira, the daughter of the Pareira family. And the younger sibling of brother Airn.”
“Hm, nice to meet you. I am Joshua Lindsay.”
"I am Ilya Lindsay. Nice to meet you."
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
“…”
“…”
There was complete silence after that.
It was strange.
It could be because of her personality, or it could be because Kirill didn’t care about Ilya being a Sword Master, or that Joshua Lindsay was paying attention to her.
And Joshua was focusing on her to the extent that he could feel strangeness in her.
Kirill, who looked at all three of them, landed her gaze on Joshua.
With a faint smile, she said.
“I just saw it… but aren’t you treating my brother too harshly?”
“…”
Joshua stayed silent.
He did push Airn too much. Much stronger than usual, and the duel was much more ferocious than usual.
However, it wasn’t without reason.
Thinking that, he said.
“That… Airn’s skills are too good, so I had no choice but to increase the intensity of the match to give proper instructions to him… and it isn’t usually like this. It was just today… that I was a bit harsher…”
“Lulu, is that true?”
“… it is the same intensity as usual.”
Lulu, who looked at Joshua, spoke to Kirill.
It wasn’t like Lulu hated Joshua; it was that she couldn’t lie to Kirill.
After finishing her answer, Lulu hid behind Airn and peeked from behind his shoulders.
“That is what she says?”
“…”
“Kirill, you are being rude…”
“You stay out of it.”
Airn tried to stop her, but she shut him up immediately.
Kirill, who silenced her brother, looked at Joshua and continued.
"Lulu and I are sorcerers, so I can roughly understand what is going on. So, I know that it isn’t like the Lord has some great negative feelings towards my brother. And I also know that there are some people who treat a person harsher than others too.”
“…”
"Rough training is essential for those who walk the path of the sword, but as a younger sibling to him, I was worried and spoke out a little emotionally. I am sorry."
“No, no, it is understandable. I am sorry for making you worry.”
Joshua Lindsay waved his hand, admitting that he was wrong.
A sight Airn would never see otherwise.
And Kirill accepted it easily.
But it didn’t end there.
Kirill looked at Ilya this time. Ilya was stunned at that, but she, too, looked at Kirill without backing down.
Unlike her father, she never did anything wrong to Airn.
“…”
“…”
It was a battle of eye contact.
Again, the air turned gloomy.
Joshua and Airn didn’t even dare to get involved in it and stayed on the sidelines.
A minute passed, and then two and then even more passed.
And Ilya was the one who lowered her tail first!1
A swordsman who was a Master backed off!
It was hard to believe, but it had actually happened.
Kirill smiled and spoke to Ilya, who had averted her gaze.
“Sister.”
“Huh? Uh? Yes?”
“You are a year older than me, so it’s sister, right? You can speak normally to me. Just call me Kirill.”
“Uh… really?”
“Yes. Will you call my name?”
“… Ki-rill?”
“Thanks. May I call you sister Ilya too?”
“Uh, yes…”
Kirill took the initiative in the conversation and smiled.
If only Airn had a magic camera, he would take a picture of his younger sister, whose expression was so refreshing.
However, the atmosphere of the place wasn’t like that.
Under some sort of a strange pressure, Kirill called for Ilya separately.
“Sister Ilya.”
“Huh?”
“Wait, I have something to tell you… can we talk for a moment over there?”
“Y-yes.”
“Lulu, stay here.”
“Yes, Kirill. I will stay here.”
Lulu answered from behind Airn.
Joshua and Airn looked at the two women walk away.
Joshua, who was curious, asked Airn.
“Are you going to come to my family estate?”
“I was thinking about it, but…”
Wheik!
Joshua Lindsay’s energy grew stronger.
The energy didn’t spread around but concentrated only on Airn. It was to avoid being questioned by Kirill again.
Airn, who was sweating, continued.
“… it will probably be difficult. It seems that I have to go somewhere else.”
“Hm. Does it have to do with what Ignet said?”
“That is right, phew.”
As the energy grew lighter, Airn sighed.
Airn told Joshua about the information Ignet whispered to him.
‘According to my information, Khun is in Krono.’
With that, Airn's next destination was decided.
Actually, he had been meaning to head there anyway.
To show Ian his sword, and although they had just recently separated, Airn wanted to see his friends again too.
There was no reason to delay it.
‘Even if I can’t get Khun’s approval right now. I need to prove my worth in a year.’
If he didn’t go now, he would end up wasting a lot of time looking for Khun. And that wasn’t what he was looking for.
Airn explained that to Joshua, and he nodded.
But his expression was odd. The man seemed to be dissatisfied with something, but the dull Airn didn’t understand it.
He didn't have time to think. Kirill, who came back with Ilya, asked Airn.
“You are going to Krono?”
“… yes, I think.”
"It's been two years since you left home. Aren't you going to come visit your family?”
After Joshua and Ilya, Kirill was now aiming at Airn.
During the time he wandered the continent with Kuvar, he would send letters to his family.
However, after entering the country of the orcs, Airn stopped doing that.
To be honest, he forgot about it.
Considering that he was here thanks to the love and support of his family, he felt horrible. And he felt sorry for his sister.
…However, he couldn’t give up his career as a swordsman.
Because of the devils.
And Ignet.
There was no way to stop his heart that was set on joining the Purification squad.
Having made his decision, Airn decided.
“Yes.”
“Huh?”
“I am going… to the swordsmanship school.”
Before Airn could give a reason, Kirill just nodded. And Airn asked her why, clearly confused.
To which she answered calmly.2
As if she were reading his thoughts.
‘Has she become more adept at sorcery?’
There were other things too, but it seemed like Kirill had improved a lot.
She said.
“That is a bit sad, but not bad. It is amazing that there is something you want to do to the point where you are being so stubborn, and if I ride my griffin, we can move there quickly too.”
“Right! Kirill is right!”
“Lulu, you seem to have turned kinder.”
“Yes! I am the kindest cat! Please continue to trust and love me!”
“Sure.”
Kirill smiled and patted Lulu.
Lulu enjoyed the touch, which was rougher than the gentle pats in the past, and Ilya, who saw the rough patting, panicked again.
Either way, Kirill didn’t care.
She looked at the Lindsay family members and said.
“I am sorry for appearing so suddenly and doing all kinds of things. Since I haven’t seen my brother in a long time, I wasn’t in the best mood.”
“I understand.”
“I get it, Kirill.”
"Thank you, Lord and sister Ilya. I know I must have delayed your plans… but can I monopolize my brother for today?”
They were the words from someone who was dominating the current atmosphere.
Both of them nodded their heads which made Kirill smile.
“Thank you. I hope to see you often before I leave. Then, please excuse us.”
With that, Kirill led Airn and Lulu away.
Joshua and Ilya looked at them.
The silence broke when the siblings were no longer seen. And the father spoke.
“Ilya.”
“Yes, dad.”
“Can you tell me what you talked about with Miss Kirill?”
“I am sorry, but I can't.”
“… I see.”
The woman had a slightly depressed expression on her face.
During that time, Airn and Kirill talked a lot. They even talked about the devil.
He didn’t want to cause her to be too concerned, but Lulu couldn’t lie to Kirill, so she just said it.
Fortunately, Kirill didn’t act out.
“I see. It all went well then.”
“… I’ll work hard to not cause more concern.”
Kirill also talked with the Lindsay family’s members.
And despite not knowing what they were talking about, Kirill and Ilya soon became friends.
Even the Lord was close to her, though not as much as Ilya, but seeing him with a different attitude from what he showed Airn, felt absurd to Airn.
“Airn.”
“Huh?”
“You can’t compare to Kirill.”
“.. right.”
Hearing Lulu’s words, Airn immediately agreed.
And the days passed like that.
Finally, the time for parting came.
The Lindsay family destination was west, to the Adan Kingdom, where their estate was.
And Airn’s was to the east where the Krono Swordsmanship School was.
Outside Rabat, the five of them were saying their final goodbyes.
“Airn.”
“Yes, Lord.”
It wasn't a greeting from Joshua, but rather some advice on swordsmanship.
But it was more of a mindset that he should follow than advice.
Airn was momentarily shocked by the words, but he nodded and expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you. I will use it.”
“Hm.”
With a short nod, Joshua Lindsay stepped back.
There was a love-hate relationship between the two men. As much as Joshua didn’t like Airn for getting close to his daughter, he also couldn’t help but like this man who worked hard.
And the last person was Ilya Lindsay.
And she had a much brighter expression than when she first came to Rabat.
A much clearer smile, and like Ignet, she was too close to his face, and she whispered.
A soft whisper.
“My home. Come there for me within a year.”
“…”
“If you don’t come this time… I will come to you in person and torture you.”
Basically, means the first to back off↩ There was no specific answer that was given. I guess we’ll never know.↩
