Lowell, now acting as a temporary instructor, kept things simple.
“Forgot what I taught you yesterday? Go say hi to that bird over there. It’s your friend, you birdbrain!”
She taught just enough to get by.
“Aren’t you being a little too timid? Keep that up and you’ll freeze when it actually matters.”
She worked to pull kids out of the cages they’d locked themselves in—just like she once had.
“Don’t act like you know everything. If you’re so smart, why don’t you do the teaching?”
She tore down Rodelin’s self-esteem with biting words.
Hahaha.
At the sound of the other kids’ laughter, Rodelin dropped her head.
‘Ugh… Was that too much? But her answer was just too perfect—I couldn’t help it.’
Rodelin was a soft-hearted girl.
If her confidence was chipped away enough, she’d end up saying something like, “Someone like me can’t become a soldier!” and give up on the path altogether.
‘If I approach her while she’s lost and wandering, and say, “Let’s live together somewhere safe,” then…’
She’d hug me tightly and say yes.
Lowell, lost in a blissful daydream, noticed Rodelin’s ears had turned bright red.
Even the way she got embarrassed—how could it be so adorable?
‘Aah, I wish I could capture this in a photo and treasure it forever!’
Lowell, rummaging through her pocket dimension for a camera, shook her head and desperately tried to collect herself.
She couldn’t risk exposing the secret hobby she’d had since Rodelin was born… No, that’s not it!
She couldn’t let it slip that she actually cared about Rodelin. That would ruin her authority as an older sister.
“See you at the training ground this evening. I’m sure you’ve mastered Sky Splitter by now.”
“U-uhm, well…”
“You said you wanted to be a soldier, right? Then you better make it happen. No excuses.”
“…I-I’ll do my best.”
“If trying your best was enough, anyone and their dog could be a soldier. Just give it up. You’re wasting your time.”
“…”
While chipping away at Delin’s pride like that…
She never stopped observing and doubting Zero.
That ominous appearance, that creepy grin, the Academy’s infamous pervert, plus walking around with two girls in tow.
Not a single thing about him sat right with her.
‘That guy’s supposed to be good for Delin? Don’t make me laugh.’
From what she’d heard, he wasn’t Rodelin’s boyfriend. Actually, there were rumors the girl with him—Luna—was his girlfriend.
“…Doesn’t matter which one. Why would anyone hang around someone like that?”
Hiding in the bushes, Lowell narrowed her eyes at Luna.
There was something about her that bothered her.
“Hm? What’s that?”
“Keke, is something wrong?”
“It’s just… Feels like someone’s watching me.”
“You’re imagining things. Besides, Luna’s so tiny, it’s a miracle anyone even notices her.”
“…”
Luna bit Zero, and Lowell, watching from a distance, shook her head.
Just in case, she’d asked Rodelin directly, “Are you interested in that guy?” but got a sharp, “Absolutely not! Never!”
Still, she couldn’t shake the doubt. The word ‘never’ had a strange power to make the impossible happen.
‘And that’s not even the weirdest part.’
She had a strong gut feeling that Zero would be good for Rodelin. She’d never felt such a powerful intuition before.
Interpreted simply, it meant he was a reliable ally.
But if she twisted the meaning just a bit…
“He’s not destined to marry Delin, is he…?”
Her precious little sister, destined to marry that pervert? Absolutely not.
That was beyond crossing a line—it was sprinting off a cliff. If someone wanted to marry Delin, they had to, at the very least…
Be 186 cm tall, have a gentle personality, shoulders as wide as the sea, a strong chest, forearms that couldn’t be pierced even with a sword, be the same age as Delin, a 9-Star Knight, able to take down a Legion Commander with one hand, come from a noble family that could rival the Lucid household, be a domestic type who’d never let Delin touch even a drop of water…
Even if they met all those requirements, that didn’t mean she’d give her blessing.
‘That would only make them worth considering. Delin is no ordinary girl!’
And most importantly, they had to agree to live with Lowell as well. Without that, there’d be no wedding at all.
‘Why is she getting along with that degenerate anyway?’
Lowell’s suspicion toward Zero was more than justified.
“I’ll kill him. If he so much as touches her finger, he’s dead.”
“…?”
Unfortunately(?) for Lowell, Zero had never laid a hand on Rodelin.
Because Zero was actively avoiding her.
“It’s an infiltration mission. Location: Trash Village.”
Even after arriving in Trash Village, Lowell’s routine didn’t change.
Scoldings, penalties, arguments, old-fashioned nagging(?).
She used her position as instructor to make Rodelin’s life miserable all day long.
“Are you sulking? Soldiers aren’t allowed to sulk.”
“I’m not sulking.”
“Then get rid of that puffed-up cheek before talking, will you?”
“Ugh…!”
Even the way she shrank from hurt or tried to hold back her anger—why did it all look so cute?
The urge to break and trap Rodelin in a cage vanished completely.
Even that constant sense of dread, like it would never go away, melted and disappeared.
As if it had never existed in the first place.
“Haha…”
It felt like she’d gone back in time—back to when she and Rodelin used to play together.
Time, which barely seemed to move before, now flew by when she was with this girl.
It wasn’t hard to figure out why.
‘Because I’m happy.’
Living everyday life with her beloved little sister—Lowell hoped that this could last forever.
And for that reason, even more so…
“Wow… This is serious. You’re dreaming of being a soldier with this level of skill? You trying to bring down the Empire from the inside? Are you a spy or something?”
She had no choice but to utterly crush Rodelin.
Insults, demon-hunting, constant checks, smacking Zero upside the head(?).
That was the daily routine.
Until one night…
“Mm…?”
Lowell opened her eyes and looked to the side.
Rodelin, who had fallen asleep next to her, was gone.
“Looks like someone needs another scolding to get her act together…”
Instructors were supposed to use their own exclusive dorms, but as a temporary instructor, Lowell insisted the rule didn’t apply to her and stayed with Rodelin.
The other girls in Rodelin’s group had long since been booted to the room next door.
“Well, this works out. Sneaking out at night? One demerit won’t cut it. I’ll give her five.”
Whistling, Lowell waited for Rodelin to return.
But Rodelin didn’t show.
Thinking she might have just gone for a walk, she checked outside—but even after a long wait, there was no sign of her.
She thought maybe another instructor would catch and bring her back.
“Now that I think about it… There were barely any instructors around tonight.”
Something about a Caron rescue op or whatever. They said they were putting it into action.
If Rodelin ran into someone who’d made a pact with a demon, it’d be a disaster. But there was no need to worry.
‘I knew this would happen, so I sprayed her with tracking scent.’
Isn’t that something only a stalker would do?
No, this was a perfectly natural act—something any older sister would do.
Anyone in her position would’ve done the same. Right?
“Huh…?”
Following the scent trail, Lowell suddenly stopped. She’d arrived at the village entrance before realizing it.
There wasn’t a single soldier in sight guarding the gate—not even a shadow.
Worse still—
“…?”
The tracking scent was coming from outside the village.
‘She went out in the middle of the night? That clever girl?’
Unbelievable.
That buried sense of dread surged up again, wrapping itself around Lowell like a vice.
She followed the trail. The scent, which had led up to a watchtower, now crossed beyond the outer fence.
Which meant—
She’d jumped down from the top of the post.
“…She was chasing something.”
Maybe she’d found the culprit behind the incident? Even if not, whoever it was had to be suspicious.
If she could catch them, she might be able to wrap this whole mess up.
The problem was—
“You idiot… Why would you go alone?!”
Lowell leapt from the watchtower. The chase had begun.
She tore through the mountain path, blindly following the scent.
Tripped on rocks, scratched by branches.
Even as her breathing grew ragged and nausea hit, she didn’t stop.
“De-Delin…”
Memories rushed in—of carrying her around every day as a child.
Of that smile, always directed at her.
Of the pain on her face when she was captured by the Corps Commander.
Of her bold declaration to become a soldier and protect her family.
Of ignoring the calls that came every night, pretending not to care.
Of herself, hurling insults at that same girl.
Why were those memories flooding back now?
The memories twisted and darkened.
If she’d known it would come to this, she would’ve praised her more. Told her she loved her.
‘If I had… maybe she wouldn’t have made such a reckless choice!’
Why had the clever Rodelin done something so absurd?
She was obviously pushing herself to earn Lowell’s approval.
Just a bit of praise… no, even just once would’ve been enough to stop this.
If Rodelin died, it would all be her fault.
“Uwek…”
One more wave of nausea came, and then she started running again.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long to reach the place where the scent stopped.
The problem was—
“A puzzle…?”
A demon puzzle. From the markings on the ground, it looked like solving it would open up the floor beneath.
Lowell had seen these countless times while hunting demons, so it wasn’t anything new.
She could solve it just fine. Sometimes in three hours, sometimes it took a whole day.
“…”
Lowell drove her sword into the ground.
There was another way to solve puzzles like this.
Lucid Family Style First Secret Technique: Earth Flip
Lucid Family Style Second Secret Technique: Pierce the Mountain
KUKWAKWAKWAKWANG!
…Breaking it. That was the other method of solving puzzles.
It was inefficient, drew attention to her presence, ruined the element of surprise, and if it was a high-grade magic formation, it could take ages to break—
“Open! I said OPEN!”
But right now, Lowell didn’t have time to think about any of that.
KUGUGUGU…
At last, the ground gave way, revealing a staircase beneath the shattered stone and earth.
She forced her way in, scraping past broken rocks and crumbling debris.
Her clothes, her lion-print cape, her skin—everything tore. Blood seeped from fresh wounds. But Lowell didn’t stop.
Beyond the cracked stone, the stairs stretched downward. So deep, she couldn’t even see the bottom.
One wrong step, and she’d tumble all the way down.
“Hoo…”
She began her descent—three, four steps at a time.
Practically flying down the stairwell. Eventually, she slipped and tumbled hard.
DUDUDUDUDUK—BANG!
Her body slammed against the wall.
Luckily, the staircase was half-spiraled, or things might’ve gone much worse.
Her entire body throbbed in pain. She’d probably fallen down a hundred steps.
But even that couldn’t stop her.
Lowell got up and started running again—tumbled a couple more times on the way down.
“Haa… haa…”
She stood again. As long as it got her down faster, she didn’t care.
Finally, she reached the end of the stairs and emerged into a wide cavern.
And there she was.
The one Lowell loved more than anything.
“…Big sis?”
Delin.
Cut and bruised all over, but thankfully still breathing.
“Tch!”
A bastard in a hood lunged at her with a sword.
JJAANG!
“…!”
The whole chamber trembled.
Lowell had caught the blade—with her bare hand.
Her stamina was too low to maintain full focus, so her defense wasn’t perfect.
Blood ran down her wrist, but she didn’t care.
Lowell scanned the room.
One hostage. Two guys who looked like knights. And three creeps in suspicious masks.
So you’re the ones.
The ones who hurt my sister.
Doesn’t matter who you are. If you touched Delin—
“I’m going to kill every last one of you.”
–TL Notes–
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Lowell is actually a better instructor than her elder sister…
Her conduct is too reckless though,Fleche come pick up your girl…