TS Reincarnated As The Sub Heroine Chapter 23

c23 “My brother”

sorry sorry, but its a good thing i decided to finish the next one to but im sorry for those who already this go read c22 again i messed up and didn't put the right one in so sorry again. that's what i get for tiring to get ahead lol.

“My brother”
No way!  No way!  It was hard to believe.  But, seeing them, I was convinced.  There they were before my eyes, meeting for a tryst in this tucked away restaurant.  The mood was indescribable.
It truly looked like the two of them were in a relations.h.i.+p.
It’s no doubt a good thing that I came here today.  It was worth confirming, even to the extent of squandering the time off that I could rarely get, being in a high position.  (I was a maid-in-waiting at the royal palace.)
It was the White Witch, Fio, who held the highest rank, known as “Death Slayer” or something like that.  There could be nothing better for me than for the hero, Alto, to get into a romantic relations.h.i.+p with her.
For some reason, she seemed to be extremely popular in the castle, but from my perspective, she was a filthy b.i.t.c.h and nothing more than a man-killer.  In other words, one could probably say nymphomaniac.  As a fellow woman, I could say that she was truly despicable.
From the day I first met her, I could not understand it at all—her off-putting overfamiliarity with the opposite s.e.x.  
Upon hearing that she was frequenting the barracks and going around flirting with and making advances at the soldiers, I was horrified.  What a s.l.u.t!  How many men was she leading around by the nose, seeming at first glance to be pure?
That rotten woman!  There is no way to describe my state of mind when I saw her beginning to flirt with Birdie, waving her a.s.s at him and luring him to that filthy part of town.  I felt all the blood in my body freeze, as far as my fingertips.
That rotten b.i.t.c.h!  How jealous I was!  It was absolutely inexplicable:  a complete stranger like you disappearing into the red-light district with my brother, despite the fact that I am his real sister.
That’s right.
He is my dear, dear older brother, a brother that I could firmly rely on.  Being that kind of brother, there was no way I could let such a wh.o.r.e get her hands on him.
Suppressing the seething anger that knew no bounds as I skillfully cooked, I reminisced about the days of my youth, when I was still a child and my brother and I, having lost our parents, were living together.
Although we were poor, those were very happy days, for my brother was very kind to me.  There was no doubt that he deeply loved me.
I can remember it even now:  how, after scouring the mountains all day long, he came home and, although feeling dispirited, gave me a few little flowers, just to make me happy on my birthday.
I can remember how, when I developed a high fever, he fed me some unfamiliar medicinal herbs mouth-to-mouth.  It is the bitter memory of my first kiss. 
I remember the time when I crawled into his bed and he caressed my head without saying anything.
It’s true.  Without a doubt, I adored my brother, who always protected me, even if clumsily.
But my brother and I, who so loved each other, were separated in life.  It was because of the demons who attacked our village.
It was in order for me to escape that my brother, who loved me then as he did always, grabbed a spear and, alone on horseback, plunged into the midst of the demons.  The only thing he said to me was, “Run away!”
I had no choice but to flee.  It would have been fine for me to die with my brother, but I knew very well that he would not have wanted that.  I continued running desperately on and on in order to save my life.  I had no interest in a world without my brother, but for his sake I made the utmost effort to live, since that was his wish.
And, as I fled, I wept, since I thought I would never see my brother again.
I escaped as far as the royal capital and eked out a living by begging and doing whatever else I could do.  As a worker, I was sometimes valued for my looks and sometimes for my skills.
Before long, while working at an inn, I entertained a certain n.o.bleman and was hired on the spot as a maid attached to his household.  I heard that he was extremely fond of me because of my cooking skills, appearance, and the promptness with which I carried out my work, among other things.  My name was changed to Kuriha, since with my previous name I would have immediately been understood to be of peasant birth, and the fundamentals of being a maid were drilled into me.
After working in that n.o.bleman’s household for about a year, I was eventually given to the royal palace to be a lady-in-waiting.  The n.o.bleman was delighted that the king had honored him by taking a liking to me.  I heard that it had been his goal from the beginning to please the king by presenting him with a good quality lady-in-waiting.
He also asked me to let him know if, in the royal palace, I ever caught wind of a plot do him harm.  I understood then that his various kindnesses toward me were all out of calculated self-interest, but since I was indebted to him for having discovered me and having trained me to do the work that enabled me to make a living, I decided to nod in a.s.sent.
I saw the relieved look on his face upon hearing my response, and I sympathized with him, thinking that it was probably quite difficult to be a n.o.bleman.
Thus, I was truly making rapid strides.  I, the daughter of a poor family and of mere common birth, was now a lady-in-waiting residing in the royal palace.  All of my former coworkers at the inn were jealous of me, and it was natural that I should be envied.  But there was still a gaping hole in my heart.
My beloved brother had wanted me to live.  Even at that time, with my brother dead, I was living for him.  I had no interest in how far I might succeed.  This was nothing more than the result of my always choosing the course of action that I thought to be best in order that that my brother’s death would not be in vain.
Life consists of pa.s.sing the time until you die.  Just when I was thinking that…
 
I never expected my brother to be summoned as a hero.
This was when it was predicted that the demons would start to become more active and that war with the demon king’s army would break out again.  “If you a.s.semble eight heroes bearing stigmata on their bodies, this kingdom shall not be destroyed.”  Such was the result of the king’s soothsayers’ divination, which was carried on to the point of death.  At the king’s command, a search was immediately carried out in every place, and eight heroes, of various ages, were identified.
I was appointed to look after their needs.  As I had always done, I expected to achieve the utmost success in the work that was given to me, handling it flawlessly.  Of that much I was certain.
When I first saw them, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  There was no way that I could mistake him.  Without a doubt, my brother whom I had believed to be dead was standing there, smiling intrepidly.
Aaah!
It felt as if my mind had gone blank and that the world’s rich colors had returned.  The Birdie that I saw for the first time in several years still had the wounds from the time he defended me engraved on his face, but he looked a hundred times better.  He was powerfully built and battle-hardened, and when he wielded his spear, no one in the kingdom could surpa.s.s him.  My brother who had defended me and been lost, whom I had given up hope of ever seeing again, had without a doubt become the ideal of a prince and had appeared again before my eyes.  Was this reunion ordained by fate, I wondered.  Had it been decreed that my brother and I would be reunited?
However…
 “Oh, what an exceedingly beautiful maiden!  But, frankly, it’s a shame.  Your charms are not sufficiently fatal!”
 “Birdie, you fool!  Sorry, fair maiden.  To tell you the truth, his head is unfortunately not screwed on right.”
Next to the brother whom I was seeing for the first time in several years was the figure of a woman.
 “Huh?  What is it, maiden?  Is there something stuck to my face?”
 “Not at all, Sir Birdie.  The king is waiting for you.  I will lead you to him at once.”
It was the strangest thing.  My brother did not recognize me.  If it had been my brother of several years ago, no matter how I may have been disguised, if he had only gotten a whiff of me pa.s.sing by, he would have recognized me as his sister.
Is that it?  Is he so smitten with that woman?
Is that why my brother didn’t recognize me?
Is it that s.h.i.+tty woman’s fault?
As I closely examined the hero Birdie, one fact became clear:  Among the six women who attended him, four were in love with the hero Alto, and one claimed that she was a man.  It shouldn’t be any problem to get rid of these.
 
The problem was the White Witch.  I was able to confirm that the last of the six, Fio Micual, was always doing things with my brother and taking him to disreputable establishments.  Without a doubt, this meant that it was she who was the source of all these troubles.
This is why my brother, who so loved me, does not recognize me.  I was certain that it was all because of this woman.
Therefore, watching vigilantly for an opportunity, I began to formulate a plan to a.s.sa.s.sinate her.  While Birdie’s party was off on an expedition, I volunteered to look after the estate where they were staying and accurately grasped its inner layout.  By taking steps to completely conceal my actions, I will take that woman’s life without being suspected in the least.  For a clever person like me, it should be possible.  I will take my brother back without fail.
When I received word that the hero Birdie had taken to his heels, I immediately stole into their house.  I was aiming for the moment they would return home from the extreme circ.u.mstances of the battle and let down their guard.  Although I had no knowledge of the art of war, I waited vigilantly for that moment when I could make an attempt on her life without being detected.
Luckily, the only ones who returned were the hero Alto and the b.i.t.c.h.  While covering my tracks as much as possible, I would get the iron wire ready in my hands and lie in wait outside the room to send her head flying the moment she emerged into the hallway.  That was my plan.
By chance, it came about that I heard the hero Alto’s pa.s.sionate profession of love to the b.i.t.c.h.
It seemed that this loose woman had expertly succeeded in winning the hero Alto over.  At that time, he was celebrated as the most powerful warrior in the kingdom.  She probably discovered that he was of greater monetary worth than my brother and, having cast my brother aside, with whom she had been so friendly, went to seduce him, employing, as always, her flirtatious, overly familiar behavior toward men.
It was a wicked train of thought that made me want to vomit.  Poor brother!  But, in this way, my brother will be saved from her clutches.
Surely, my brother will open his eyes and recognize me.
Surely, he will love me as he did when we were children.
I immediately altered my plan.  Since I understood from the beginning that killing her would be risky, there could be nothing better than if I could get by without having to kill her.
I shall do my best to a.s.sist you, b.i.t.c.h, but only today.  The truth is that my refined culinary skills are intended for my brother’s dining pleasure.  Only now, in order to make you cling to the hero Alto more firmly, shall I exercise all my skills.  I want you to thank me with all your heart.
Since the facilities were those of a commonplace establishment, just getting things ready to cook required an effort, but I compensated for the facilities by using my own supplementary magic.  I poured my heart and soul into the task and, with a few tricks, prepared a lavish feast of various dishes, which I could be confident were choice delicacies. 
 
My plan went off without a hitch.
I set out the food that I had made, quietly so as not to disturb them, then un.o.btrusively cleared away the leftovers.  I devoted the utmost attention to making it an enjoyable meal for my two guests.  As a maid-in-waiting, this was obviously a task that I routinely performed. 
Their cheeks began to turn redder than wine, and at their table, a pleasant mood had begun to flow.  It was a good feeling.  I wanted them to keep getting friendlier.  That is why I had put all my efforts into making the food.
The next thing to bring out was, at last, the main dish: coa.r.s.ely ground Hamburg steak.  I was well satisfied with it.  Surely, the conversation will become livelier now.
I quietly brought out the food from the kitchen as I had done previously.
“Mmm.  Mmm.”
Catching sight of the two of them silently embracing each other, I immediately retraced my steps back to the kitchen without making a sound.
What bad timing!  That was a close call!  I was almost detected.  I didn’t expect that they would be in the middle of kissing.  It’s a good thing that I played it safe and absconded.
The important thing is that they seem to be quite aroused.  After waiting a little longer, I shall nonchalantly bring out the food, being careful so as not to disturb them.
A little jealous, aren’t I?  Someday, I will have my brother bring me to a restaurant with a nice atmosphere for a meal—just the two of us.  Then he will praise me for having persevered until now.
Anyhow, I wonder if they’ve stopped kissing already.
I took a peek at them in order to determine the right time to stealthily bring out the food.
“Fio!  Fio!”
“Ah, where are you touching?  Just!”
I returned to my hiding place without saying a word.
They were naked.  Their clothes—the b.i.t.c.h’s clothes—were, nicely, half removed.
Wait a minute!  I’m here too!  I’ve been bringing you food, haven’t I?
If it were only kissing, I could (just barely) understand.  But don’t tell me that those two intend to get it on in this place?  Have they forgotten about me or are they showing off?  Either way, they’ve gone crazy, haven’t they?  How readily that women spreads her thighs!  
No, it’s definitely mischief.  Caressing a little to prolong the kiss.  Communicating without words.  Yes, that’s it.
 
If I don’t bring it out soon, the food that I worked so hard to prepare will get cold.  With determination, I picked up the food and left the kitchen.
“Wait!  Again?!”
“Uh… Uh… Uh…”
Without making a sound, I delicately walked backwards toward the kitchen.
Why are they both naked?  Why are they doing it in here?
Funny, isn’t it?  They’ve gone crazy after all.  It’s truly a good thing she’s getting involved with Alto.  If I only imagine that nympho as my brother’s bride, the veins in my head will burst.
Before long, loud voices began to reverberate throughout the restaurant.  Hey, I wonder what they’re doing.
Without thinking, I gave in to my desire and stealthily peeked in.  It’s not my fault.  They’re the ones that started this in this kind of place.
“Yeah… just… ahh… that’s so good.”  Can a person’s body be lifted that easily?  No matter how pet.i.te the b.i.t.c.h may be, it sure looks like she’s got a bit of back pain.  Ah, I see.  It’s because that woman can cure it herself that she can do that sort of nonsense.
Belong long, the hero Alto abruptly stood up, took the b.i.t.c.h into his arms, and a.s.sumed a strange pose.  What is he planning to do?
“Fio, let’s do the big wheel.”
Big wheel?
Hey, wait a minute.  What’s that?  In the midst of the act, the b.i.t.c.h was spinning.  Huh?  She spins?  Is it common these days to spin?  Why does it look like that feels sort of good?
As one would expect of a hero, it seems like he’s in a different league in many respects, including his method of making love to women.  Not that it will be of any help on my upcoming first night with my brother.
What shall I do with this Hamburg steak?  (I’m most satisfied with it.)  There’s nothing I can do, so I guess I’ll just keep it warm near the hearth so that it doesn’t get cold before they are done with that enigmatic behavior.
A short while pa.s.sed.
After the enigmatic behavior came to an end, the maid-in-waiting, feigning ignorance, resumed bringing in the food, upon which the White Witch came to her senses and let out a loud shriek.