He suddenly broke down and said, "Thank you… brother."
I smiled softly and said, "It's okay, bro. See you next time."
I had always assumed he did me wrong.
But the truth was, he had no choice.
He was just another victim — controlled by his mother, traumatized because she got pregnant after messing around with a slave.
She never knew who the father was, but she was sure it was one of them.
From that day on, she never really saw my stepbrother as her son — not even as a child.
She mentally destroyed him.
He even tried to take his own life, but he was too afraid to go through with it…
Afraid she would even follow him into death.
Kai once told me everything.
I felt sorry for him.
Now, though, he can live his life.
His mother might finally change after seeing what happened.
She'll probably give him the motherly side he deserves — now that he's earned my family name and the inheritance.
I believe he'll find a girlfriend one day — maybe not like mine, but someone right for him.
After that, I returned to the principal's office.
Both the principal and my homeroom teacher were fired.
I collected the remaining info and walked out.
My father drove us to the nearest city, so we could leave the cursed land of England and return to where we belonged.
As we were leaving, Kai said, "You know, I've been protecting you more than you think."
I turned to him. "For real?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
I asked, "How?"
He said, "There were so many bullies trying to hurt you — trying to kill you, kidnap you.
But I stopped them. You didn't know. Now you do."
I was silent for a moment. "But… why did you protect me so much?"
He looked away
for a second, then said, "Because of my past. My mother…"
Scarlett was her title
My mother Akane Kurogane was the best hunter in the world—absolutely unmatched.
Her aura was unique, just like your mom's.
We both know they were ranked number one when it came to duo fights.
It was like the two of them were an entire army by themselves.
Don't forget—they led the charge in that war.
Out of 20,000 knights, only 3,000 died, and another 1,000 were left with serious or light injuries.
And they were fighting 100,000 demons.
They gave everything.
Now we're here, without our mothers because of that war.
But my mom always used to say that her partner—your mom—had a pure heart.
The kind of woman who might even spare an enemy's life if they begged.
And she always believed that her partner's son would be just like her.
So just like my mom protected yours, you have to protect her son—me.
Then he said, "Even though I said I protected you, I didn't notice the drama back in class until it was too late.
So… I guess I failed her."
I laughed and said, "Nah, you're just joking, bro.
My mom might've been protected by yours, but she always had her back too.
Don't forget—my mom was strong. She could protect herself."
"But me? I was the polar opposite. I should be the one who's ashamed."
"But this time—I'm gonna protect you. Just hold on until we get into the academy."
This year, the eight magicians will be joining us in the S-class.
And we're gonna show them who the hell we really are.
They don't know who our moms were.
But it's good they're here—so they can witness the next generation of legends.
We both laughed and continued on to Sakura Land, but we kinda got lost.
That's when some bullies showed up and said, "You guys aren't from here. How about you hand over some points?"
Me and Kai sighed. Then I said, "Let me handle them."
I formed a barrier—just the size of my pinky finger.
I told Kai, "Jump." And he jumped. Without even realizing it, he was sitting mid-air on another barrier I had created.
The tiny one I threw earlier?
It came flying back, expanded mid-air, and trapped the entire gang.
Since my barriers are top-tier, there was no way they could break out.
We left them there, went out for food and games, and came back 10 hours later.
By the time we returned, they looked like overcooked meat in the blazing sun.
I dropped the barrier and we left.
We finished our errands, but right before reaching the mountain, we remembered we forgot to watch a movie.
So we turned back and hit the cinema.
Watched the best anime ever.
Then finally headed to Ebisu (Delta).
That's when something swallowed us—and we found ourselves in a whole new world.
As we wandered, a cute, pretty slime appeared—but not for Kai.
He tried to throw it, but I stopped him.
He always has some balls when it comes to attitude.
The slime escorted us to the castle.
We entered—and saw a hot chick and a man clinging to her, along with Delta.
Delta said, "You found one? Is this the friend you mentioned? Nice to meet you."
And just like that, we were fully assembled—ready to really get to know each other.
It took Zephyr a while, but he finally said it—he did something he's been waiting to do for a long time:
Break that fake-ass girl.
And I'm glad he did.
Now… it's time to get to the main mission.
Kai said, "Nice to meet you all. I'm Kai, and my special hunter skill is Sound and Frequency Manipulation.
Thanks for accepting me. Also… I'm Zephyr's childhood friend."
Then Zephyr added, "My name is Zephyr.
My hunter ability is Barrier Creation. Thank you for having me."
Noa stood up next. "My name is Noa. Thank you for recruiting me."
Then Kazuki jumped in.
"I'm Kazuki—and I'm her husband, silly.
She's just too shy to say things like that."
Everyone looked at Kazuki, a little disappointed by the way he acted. They both said, "Total idiot…"
Kazuki, unfazed, said, "I'm just saying—if any of you pick on her, I'm gonna slaughter you all."
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