~ Chapter 31: Panic and blame ~

[Leonidas' point of view]

 Today was the big day!

I tried to prepare myself mentally for this moment, but since I had no mirror available, I couldn't repeat my lines in front of it. In the end, I used a bunch of lined up dressing mannequins aunty Eliza carved for me as an impromptu audience. But even after I managed to convince myself that there was no way I was going to mess this up, I still found myself to be a nervous wreck. I was in a worse state than I was back on Earth when I had my first interview for a big company.

While I was thinking what to do and what to say, no, how to say it, my lovable little sister went first and dropped her own bomb on our poor parents. The request was one I would have wished to be fulfilled as well, but upon hearing the consequences, I found myself supporting the idea of going to school instead of adventuring.

It would mean we would be separated for a few years, but it was far better than hearing news of her demise or kidnapping in some far-off corner of the world where I had no access to.

Still, the other thing that surprised me was the royal decree business. We took our Blessings for granted, and I even thought mine was a bit over the edge, but it appeared as though in the eyes of high society, they were quite prized for simply existing.

Is my sister a trophy of some sort? I thought a bit erroneously.

Although this was the first time we were told that other kingdoms and Dark Guilds may aim for my sister's life and freedom, this was also the very first time I came to realize just how leisurely and naive I saw my relationship with my sister.

Of course, I had what those in my previous world would have called a cheat, while others 'an indestructible plot armor', but that was just for me. In this equation, my family and friends were far more vulnerable than I was to this world's perils. I had the confidence to survive even the deadliest of events because of the protection granted to me by all of those gods, but when I thought about my little sister, I realized that she had only three gods looking over her. Individuals with three Blessings weren't that impossible to find in this world, but with 118... that was in a whole other league!

For some reason though, I thought and believed that she would always be safe, that nothing could touch her as long as she was my little sister, but reality was a lot crueler than that. As for what made her a target, that was probably me...

In order to cope with an existence of my caliber, my little sister had to be someone who was similar in a way or another with me. Not only did she receive three Blessings, but among them was that of the God of War. Her mutations were also tightly connected to me and placed her above all other children with just as many Blessings as her.

In short, she had all the stats and conditions an evil organization or kingdom would require from someone in order to turn them into a powerful weapon.

I gulped when I realized this, feeling the cold sweat as it gathered on the back of my neck.

Well, this could have all been just me overthinking things as usual, but what if it wasn't? What if... the reason she was so blessed was because of me?

If not for me, would my parents have had normal children like those at that birthday party? I wondered.

My heart froze when I thought about it. I felt like my ticker had stopped beating and everything around me was swirling and pressing down on my chest...

I can't breathe... I thought as I grabbed my shirt with my right hand.

I couldn't shake this dreadful feeling. It was scary!

I don't want this... I don't want to be the reason for why my sister's life will be ruined... I... the room started spinning around me.

While I was panicking, Cassandra must have felt that something was wrong because she placed her hand on my shoulder to catch my attention.

“Brother... are you alright?” she asked with a worried expression on her face.

With tears gathering in the corners of my eyes, I looked at the precious family who took care of me for all this time. My dotting and loving parents, my aunt who was always there to train us and advise us, the maid who did her best, and my precious little sister who was thrown in danger's arms because her idiot older brother wanted to be part of this family.

Even so, I couldn't come to regret the fact that I was born to my parents or that Cassandra was my little sister.

Thus, all I could do was cry and embrace her while saying “I'm sorry! I'm sorry!”