Temar came running over in a single dash, braced his hands on his knees, and met my eyes.

“Don’t do that. Are you looking down on me? Making fun of me for being short?”

“Ren. I was wrong, okay? I’m sorry.”

“You’re seriously so selfish, reckless, and stupid.”

“Come on, let’s eat.”

“There’s no talking to you.”

Even when I say I hate it, he still bends down to look me in the eye.

And he does it so fucking gently, too! Why look at me like that when you’re just going to do whatever you want anyway?!

“I...”

“Yeah, Ren.”

His eyes were soft, like he was telling me to say everything I wanted.

“I want to punch you as hard as I can right in the solar plexus.”

“...Huh?”

For a second, my brother’s eyes went completely blank.

“But then my hand would just hurt like hell. Your chest muscles are harder than my fist.”

“Well... that’s true.”

This time, he nodded seriously.

“Feed me.”

I’d been going to set the table, but with how I felt right now, no way.

“Come on.”

My brother held out his hand, and I took it.

Fuck, it’s always like this. Always!!

Endure it. Endure it. I don’t want to ruin today!

For months, I’d been anxious, wondering when he’d get called away again. He said he quit being a hero and would stay by my side now, but how was I supposed to trust that?! People in the village were still calling him off to do things all the time!! But still, still, finally! Finally, all four seasons had passed!

I can relax now, right?

We can keep living like this, right?

It’s okay for me to celebrate the one-year anniversary of us settling down in this village, right?!

“Hm? Do you have something to say, Ren?”

My brother blinked as he opened the door for me.

“No. I’m hungry.”

“Okay.”

Creeeak.

The door shut.

Our house was a shack.

Because my brother was so frugal, there wasn’t a single nice thing in it.

“Alright, go wash your hands.”

“What am I, a little kid?”

I grumbled and washed my hands in cold water. A cough came up right away, but I hid it like a pro.

My brother started humming to himself as he made stew. The second the water started boiling, a pretty mouthwatering smell rose up.

Sssizzle. The meat twisting over the fire made that sound.

I set the dishes on the table and waited nicely.

“Mmm...”

“Ren?”

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

My brother turned to look at me, ladle in hand.

“Nothing!”

“Mm. Can you wait just a little longer?”

“Yeah.”

Ugh.

My ass kept twitching in my seat!

Fuck. I’m such an easy guy. He cooks for me once and I’m already melting!! I want to give him the gift already!! I want to see him smile!

“Wait! I left something outside!”

“Huh? Ren!”

Ignoring my brother calling after me, I shoved open the front door and ran full speed to the shed.

Even the wind scraping across my cheeks felt fucking refreshing. My ass kept wanting to wiggle.

Hehe. He’ll like it, right?

My head was so full of thoughts about giving my brother his present that I never heard the sound of hoofbeats coming up from below the hill. Fuck. If I had, I would’ve run over there, snapped the horse’s legs, and strangled the rider!!

By the time I came back out grinning with the sack I’d hidden in the shed, it was already too late.

A man on horseback had arrived in front of our house.

The moment our eyes met, he got down from the horse.

Snort. The horse scraped at the ground and shook its head, like it was telling me to fuck off!

He wasn’t an ordinary man.

His amber eyes were cold, but they burned brightly, and the clothes he was wearing weren’t ordinary either. They looked almost like a knight order’s uniform...

A uniform?! Wait... if that’s true, then—

“Hm.”

Hm? Hmmmm??

What the hell was that supposed to mean? You wanna fight me?

I tightened my grip on the sack in my hand.

I started striding toward him, but the man ignored me completely and walked straight for the open door.

I saw it.

The reddish-brown envelope he pulled from inside his clothes.

And the golden emblem stamped on the outside!

“AAAAAAAHHHHH!!”

“Huh—?”

THUD—

“What the— good grief...”

“...F-fuck...”

That hurt like hell.

I’d rammed straight into him shoulder-first... and bounced backward.

He wasn’t all muscles like my brother, so why the hell was his body so hard?

My head throbbed like I’d bashed it into a rock.

But! I did snatch the letter!

THUD— smack.

“Reeen!”

Fuuuuck...

Stars... one, two, three?

My head was spinning.

The man’s hand caught me.

I could feel him looking down at me with a sort of huh expression, but all I could see were floating stars!

“Ren! Ren!”

My brother came rushing over, pulled me away from the man, and cupped my face as I wobbled backward. His face looked like two faces. No, three. I couldn’t even see the face of the guy I’d headbutted.

“How are your muscles like this... what, are you carrying bricks around inside your body...”

“Pfft. Your nose is bleeding.”

“Luman!”

“Hey, don’t glare at me. I’m the vic. tim. here. Yeah? Ren’s the one who slammed into me, so don’t be looking at me like that.”

“Ren. Are you okay? Can you see me?”

The man my brother had called Luman scolded him in a deliberately stern voice, then whistled as he stared at me.

Slowly, my vision started coming back.

As the shock left my stiff body, the throbbing pain came rushing in!

“Ah...”

“Ah?”

My brother echoed me in a worried voice.

“It hurts! Fuuuuck! It hurrrrts!”

“Pfft.”

Did he just laugh at me?! Did he?!

I trembled all over in my brother’s arms.

Then suddenly I realized I could still feel the paper in my hand, and I shot upright with every bit of strength I had. I forced my wobbling head up and ripped open the envelope like a madman.

“Ren! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Ignoring Temar’s shout, I hurriedly unfolded the letter.

The fancy envelope, torn to shreds, fluttered to the ground at my feet, and I gripped the paper with fingers straining to hold back my rage.

I held my breath and skimmed through it in one go.

“Ren! Hand it over, now.”

Then I saw the five vicious characters that mattered.

Hero Summons Order.

An object discovered near the border... pressure from neighboring nations...

Blah blah blah! None of the rest of it registered!

What stabbed into my eyes like a thorn! What slammed shut over my heart like a boulder! Was the five characters right at the top of the page, stamped with the kingdom’s seal! Fuck! Fuck!

Hero. Summons. Order.

“...Fuuuuuck!!”

I shook like I’d been struck by lightning, like a spear driven into the ground, and screamed myself hoarse.

It was the kind of scream that felt like it was tearing up from the deepest pit of my gut.

“Ren!”

Before Temar, looking genuinely furious, could snatch the crumpled-up letter from me, another hand grabbed my wrist so hard it felt like it would crush it.

“Ah!”

Before I could even notice or dodge, that hand twisted my arm up behind me.

A sickening sensation shot up through my elbow, and my eyes instantly filled with tears. I glared murderously at the person who’d twisted my arm.

“Luman! What are you doing?”

“So this is ‘Ren,’ huh.”

“Luman.”

“I-it hurts!”

Even when my scream came out a beat late, the bastard called Luman didn’t so much as blink.

He just looked down at me with those gleaming golden eyes, like I was something fascinating.

“What a wild little colt.”

His voice sounded amused, but his eyes were cold as hell!

“Brother...!! B-Brother!”

A pained whine slipped out of me.

I stared at my brother while tears streamed helplessly from my eyes.

Right now, dealing with the pain in my arm mattered more than arguing over the contents of that vicious letter!

“Luman. Let go.”

But that was all my brother did—say the words.

Luman covered his mouth and chuckled.

Unlike the first impression he gave off—cold, sharp, disciplined—he actually felt weirdly loose and mocking.

“‘Brother,’ huh!”

Then he burst out laughing.

What’s wrong with calling him that? Why!?

“Brother!”

Don’t you feel bad for me at all?! Who the hell is this guy?! Kill him for me, brother!

I looked up at him full of desperate hope, but my brother didn’t look at me.

He was only glaring at Luman.

“You mustn’t treat a letter given ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) by the king so carelessly.”

At Luman’s words, my brother bent down and picked up the letter I’d thrown away and the pieces of the torn envelope one by one.

Only after seeing that did Luman release my arm, then catch me when I staggered.

“Let go!”

What is this, hurt me then help me?!

I smacked his hand away, nearly stumbled over again like an idiot, and this time my brother caught me.

I glared at him, fuming.

“What is wrong with you?”

“Ren.”

“Is that stupid letter more important than me?”

“Ren! That is disrespectful to His Majesty.”

Temar’s expression turned severe.

“What the hell is that king to me?! You said you quit being a hero!”

I snatched the letter right back out of my brother’s loose grip and ripped it to pieces, over and over and over!

Then I threw the pieces in his face!

“Oho.”

Luman whistled.

Temar’s angry face!

My heart felt like it was going to burst from frustration!

“You said you quit being a hero!!”

What about the gift I’d prepared for you on the ground?!

What about our one-year anniversary party of settling here! What about our nice dinner?!

Panting hard, I shed a different kind of tears than before—miserable, resentful ones.

The more worked up I got, the faster my heart pounded. Bitterness, resentment, hurt—everything twisted together and swelled bigger and bigger inside me.

I was trying to hold my breath together when Luman, still smiling in circles, pulled something out from his clothes.

It was the exact same letter as the one I’d torn up.

“Knew that would happen, so I brought an extra copy. Poor Ren isn’t very bright, is he?”

Luman bent down to meet my eyes and smiled, his eyes curving.