“I was so scared!! Ahhhhh!!”

Nagi clung to me, trembling. The fear of being completely enclosed in darkness for months must have been unimaginable.

So I hugged her tightly.

“I told you I’d definitely rescue you, didn’t I?”

“…Yeah! I believed you would come to save me!!”

I hugged Nagi tightly once again. I embraced my skinny, light, cute sister with all my love.

“Big brother… it’s too tight… and everyone is watching!!”

“Just a little longer… a little more… I’m sorry. I love you too. I’m really sorry.”

Ignoring Nagi’s words, I held her without minding the public gaze, repeating the words that I couldn’t say that day.

“Enough… It’s okay. I know. I know how much you love me…”

“Ah… ah… you understand well…”

After that, Nagi and I embraced each other for a while. My tears wet Nagi’s shoulder, and my shoulder was wet too.

“Nagi, how are you feeling? Are you okay?”

“My condition… Yeah! It’s weird… but I can move!! I did it!! I’m healthy!!”

Nagi tried to stand up, realizing that she was in great health, but she staggered immediately. Even if her condition improved, she had been bedridden for almost two months, so her muscles must have atrophied.

She would need rehabilitation, I thought, but…

“I can stand! I feel so much energy flowing from my body, could this be… could this be magic?!”

“Oh right. Nagi is A-Rank.”

Whether her muscles were atrophied or not, Nagi, who has A-Rank magic, should be able to stand using the power of magic. Nagi was experiencing the sensation of magic flowing through her body for the first time since her AMS was cured.

“Eh? No way… I have such hidden power… Then from now on, I’ll protect you from that guy Sato who bullies you!!”

Nagi took a stance of a straight punch and hummed. It makes me very happy as a brother, but Sato is no longer here.

And…

“Unfortunately, I’m stronger so you’ll still be protected by me.”

“Eh!? You’re that strong, big brother!? I heard some things, but…”

“A lot has happened, really a lot. For now, rest, you’ve just woken up. I’ll tell you everything one day.”

I forcibly laid Nagi back on the bed. If magic is forcing her to move as Aya explained about the relationship between muscles and magic, then her muscle fibers might be torn apart. Nagi’s magic power is 18,750. It’s a monster that exists globally in the lower part of A-Rank.

Well, there are many monsters around me, so it’s hard to tell, but she’s about the strongest in a city. If there was a ranking in Japan, she’d probably be in the top 1,000.

Then, Aya also stepped forward to greet her.

“Nice to meet you, Nagi-chan. I’m Aya Ryuenji. I’m close friends with your brother, nice to meet you.”

“Such… a beautiful woman… Nice to meet you! I’m Nagic Amachi! I’m working as his sister!”

(What a strange way to say it in Japanese, but it’s not wrong)

“Hehe, I’m glad you’re doing well. You have similar eyes to your brother, very cute.”

“Really? Hehe, I’m glad… wait, Aya-san, are you… his girlfriend!?”

“Nagi, no. She’s just a friend, not my girlfriend.”

Nagi stared at Aya and me alternately. For some reason, Aya was looking at the sky, trying not to reveal anything.

“Hmm… I see, I see.”

“What’s with that? You’re a strange one.”

“I don’t think so? Ah, when can I leave the hospital?”

Then Ijuin-sensei intervened.

“Good morning, Nagi-chan. I’m glad you’re doing well.”

“Ijuin-sensei! I’m sorry for the late greeting. Thank you for taking care of my brother.”

“He’s the one you should be thanking…”

“Ha ha. So, the treatment method was proposed by Aya Ryuenji-san over there. We applied it, but…”

Ijuin-sensei put a stethoscope on Nagi’s back and looked at the numbers on the connected machine.

“Yep. It’s normal. As for Nagi-chan… there’s nothing wrong with her anymore. She’s just a bit malnourished, so I want her to start with something easy to digest like porridge. Other than that, she’s fine. Maybe she could leave tomorrow? If there’s anything, I’d like her to come here immediately, but from a doctor’s perspective, there’s no problem. But since I don’t know much about it, I’d rather… Isn’t it better if she’s by your side, Kai-kun, in case something happens?”

I dodged Ijuin-sensei’s sharp gaze by whistling and looking at the sky. Ijuin-sensei laughed, but he might have noticed something, he’s sharp.

“Then I’ll leave the hospital tomorrow! Big brother, we can live together again!”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Nagi smiled broadly at me. I naturally smiled back at her smile.

We had a sibling conversation for the first time in a long time that day. Holding Nagi’s hand, I forgot about the time and talked about what had happened so far.

“Big brother, I want to talk more, but… Are Aya and the others okay?”

“Eh?… Wow! It’s this late already? Where are the two?”

“They probably felt awkward and went to another room.”

I immediately stood up and went to call the two.

“Ex, excuse me, Ijuin-sensei. Aya!”

“Haha, it’s fine. I wanted to observe the situation too.”

“It’s okay, Kai-san.”

I apologized to the two of them and we decided to adjourn for the time being. The time was already past 9 o’clock, so I had to send Ijuin-sensei and Aya home.

“Well, I’ll come again tomorrow!”

“Okay! I’ll be waiting!”

Aya and I left the hospital. I thought about accompanying her home because it was already dark, but the chairman was coming to pick her up. We are now waiting outside for the chairman’s car.

There was some business to attend to, so we had to wait a bit.

“I’m really relieved. So, can I make the announcement now?”

“Yeah! Sorry to leave it all to you.”

“It’s fine. I will compile some documents and make arrangements with medical institutions in various countries… I guess the worldwide announcement would be in about two weeks?”

“I see… I wonder what I should do… but I do want to aim for the S-Rank at least…”

“You mean the Dungeon?”

“Yeah, even though I’ve achieved my initial goal of waking up Nagi… with things like the God-Destruction Cult and S-Rank Cubes, the world is quite tumultuous so I feel the need to have the power to protect.”

“…I see, you aim to reach S-Rank, right, Kai-san?”

“Yes, that’s what I discussed with Tanaka-san. Without power equal to that of the current top tier, the S-Rank, I can’t have my way.”

I’m aiming for S-Rank. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to protect those important to me from the God-Destruction Cult. Plus, I can become stronger. I don’t want to say I could’ve worked harder if I ever encounter a monster that I can’t beat with my current strength. No matter how strong I become, there will always be someone stronger. But I can’t stop.

Because I absolutely want to protect the people important to me.

And.

“I also have to protect Aya.”

“—!?”

That was a spontaneous utterance. I haven’t known Aya for a very long time, but I still want to protect this girl. Even though at present, I am the one being protected, and Aya is several times stronger.

“I-I’ll count on you.”

She turned away briskly, but she seemed shy and happy. Seeing Aya like that, I couldn’t help but smile a bit.

Beep beep!

The sound of a car horn blared and a black, high-class car appeared at the hospital’s roundabout. It was a long car as usual. I opened the backseat door to greet the chairman.

But it was different.

Well, to be precise, the chairman was indeed in the car, but in the second row. In the third row of this long car, there was a woman sitting right where I opened the door.

“…Eh?”

A girl was staring at me with a stoic gaze as I opened the door. She tilted her head, seemingly confused.

Her hair was silver, as silky as Aya’s. Yet her non-Japanese-like, beautiful proportions were more sensual and seemed soft. Her casually exposed skin was as white and beautiful as snow.

And above all, her sapphire-like eyes that met mine were dazzling and as beautiful as ice.

“Ginno Reina…san.”[1]

In front of me was the person I admired and owed my life to.

The world’s strongest female adventurer, Ginno Reina.

 

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[1]Ginno is pronounced with a g as in ‘give’.