Chapter 42: My Favorite Brother
After shedding her "human appearance," Shio's "high-framerate mode"—
An appearance identical to Kitkallos.
Unlike Yubel's exaggerated anime setting of being able to destroy twelve dimensions—
Tearlaments actually never appeared in Yu-Gi-Oh! anime.
But three thousand years ago—no wait, for any player who'd truly engaged with Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, or even some outsiders, they'd definitely heard this name.
It was the mark of an era, the Elden Lord among Duel Monsters.
Vail sighed: "Last time I saw you in this form was ten years ago, wasn't it?"
Shio: "You specifically brought me up here alone just to see this, didn't you~"
Shio extended her jade feet again—or more accurately, they'd transformed into gorgeous azure mermaid fins.
"Ten years ago, you were the one who said there was no way."
"Times change, Shio. Ten years ago, you also said you'd absolutely never acknowledge that man."
Vail's casual teasing comment made Shio's small face flush red.
Vail smirked and added fuel: "So who's now calling 'brother, brother' so intimately~"
"Th-that's different."
"Never thought someone who hated humans so much at first would be conquered so thoroughly."
"It's not being conquered! Brother is... my family!"
Right, family.
After Father left, the siblings who'd depended on each other for ten years.
Initially, Shio had believed Amano would quickly grow disgusted and detest this inconvenient, selfish, worthless burden of a sister.
But he never did that.
On the contrary, Amano accepted all her flaws completely.
When she couldn't move freely and threw tantrums making a huge fuss at home—Brother didn't get angry.
When she needed constant care, forcing Amano to abandon his initially better job for the garbage dump—Brother didn't complain.
When she couldn't complete anything herself and could only cling to Amano daily like a useless accessory—Brother didn't find her bothersome.
...
Elder brother as father—Amano had taken this to the extreme.
That affection impossible to display numerically wasn't raised through any single event or dialogue choice.
Rather, it was dispersed and accumulated throughout these ten years—every aspect of living together, every day, every hour, every moment.
"Brother will forever be my favorite brother."
"Wow, I thought you just accepted Amano as your brother, didn't realize you'd become a total bro-con!"
"So what!" Shio bared her teeth irritably. "Did I eat your rice?"
Precisely because she cared, she didn't want to disappoint him more than disappointing herself.
So when Amano proposed installing auxiliary prosthetics, Shio felt more worried than anything.
Worried that Brother was trying so hard for her sake, yet she still couldn't recover—wasting his efforts, disappointing his expectations.
Just like ten years ago when Father brought her here, Vail had said her legs couldn't be treated with the technology available then.
"That was then, this is now. I told you, times have changed. Though this technology currently costs a terrifying amount, the Wein Family will foot the entire bill, so I'll go all out."
The terrifyingly high cost—actually close to 3 million.
The Wein Family's willingness to bear it wasn't just because Finesse had secured that 2.6 million order from the underground duel. It also considered how Finesse, as an illegitimate daughter, had set aside her dignity to personally beg her biological father.
And Finesse did this to fulfill her promise to Amano.
At its root, this was an opportunity Amano had risked his life to fight for his sister.
Vail spread her palm. Between the loli's short finger gaps, each gap held a card with magic.
"Time to work, little ones!"
[Witchcrafter Haine]
[Witchcrafter Pittore]
[Witchcrafter Genni]
[Witchcrafter Schmietta]
The card spirits materializing from the cards immediately began chattering busily throughout the workshop.
Vail smiled confidently: "Leave the rest to me, Shio. This time, I'll make sure you can happily attend school like a normal human."
"You even know about the school thing, Vail."
"I'm Eden's know-it-all. Including right now, I know that besides auxiliary prosthetics, you're also troubled about what deck to use at Duel Academy. After all, you definitely can't get your duel genes identified, can you?"
Taking ten thousand steps back—even if Shio could identify her duel genes, they'd definitely be something terrible.
Shio asked tentatively: "If I used Tearlaments, would Eva discover me?"
Vail replied: "Isn't that obvious? Eva's recorded wrong historical text has absolutely no place for you Tearlaments."
"Then I'm out of options." Shio's face fell again.
"I have options."
"Please help, Vail-emon!"
"Actually, I happen to have a deck with extremely high compatibility with you. Consider it a gift for the exorbitant surgery fee."
"A deck with high compatibility with me?"
Vail licked her lips, mimicking Doraemon's round little hand reaching toward her short skirt's rear.
"Perfect compatibility with your selfish and never-give-up personality when dueling! This deck!"
Vail solemnly placed the still-warm deck into Shio's hands.
Shio's brow furrowed with confusion.
"Selfish and never-give-up—am I that kind of personality?"
"Don't believe me? Ask your brother. Selfish, never-give-up, mm, and completely lacking self-awareness."
Oh great, no wonder Brother always deliberately lost to her at Landlord.
So what deck matched her personality exactly?
To figure out what medicine Vail was selling this time, Shio flipped open the top card from the deck in her hands.
"Hm?"
"Cyber Dragon?"
[Cyber Dragon] [5✪ LIGHT]
[Machine] [ATK: 2100] [DEF: 1600]
...
First floor of the workshop—Finesse helplessly watched Amano, who'd probably already accumulated 30,000 steps on his fitness tracker.
"Amano, let's rest a bit. Watching you pace back and forth for hours is making me tired."
Kikawayu, who'd arrived later, also consoled him: "Auxiliary prosthetics aren't dangerous surgery. Rei, don't injure your own legs walking."
"I know everything you're saying. But, but I absolutely cannot calm down."
"I can see you care deeply about your sister, Amano Rei." Nanki'in Sakuya, also waiting for Vail to finish work, smiled: "Since I have no siblings, I rather envy this kind of relationship."
[Nanki'in Sakuya] [Affection +1]
Amano no longer had the mind to pay attention to Sakuya's occasionally appearing affection points.
Finally, when Amano had walked nearly 40,000 steps, the elevator descending from the second floor slowly opened.
Amano saw his sister again—but didn't see that wheelchair that had bound her life for ten years.
Shio, supported by mature Vail, walked shakily toward everyone.
Vail flashed everyone an OK gesture, indicating the treatment was very successful.
The girl's legs weren't quite accustomed to walking yet. Her expression looked somewhat helpless, both feet obviously trembling.
To move independently would probably require adapting for quite a long time.
Vail smirked, whispering in Shio's ear: "Well then, I won't accompany you on the rest of this path~"
Saying so, the scammer loli "cruelly" released her supporting grip on Shio's arm.
"Eh? Don't—" Losing support and instantly feeling her center of balance fail, Shio's frightened cry hadn't even emerged when it was almost seamlessly intercepted.
Vail: "Someone will accompany you on the rest of your path, Shio."
Unable to suppress his excitement, Amano at the fastest speed of his life caught Shio just before she fell.
He'd waited too long for this day.
After his parents left, Amano who'd depended on Shio had been waiting for this day every moment.
"Brother..."
"Thank goodness, thank goodness, Shio!"
Held tight, Shio suddenly noticed something wrong.
Amano's body was clearly trembling.
"Bro, are you crying?"
"These are, tears of happiness."
Whether picking through garbage for cards or risking his life in underground duels—
By any means necessary, Amano had done everything he could.
So when his sister's dark life was successfully rewritten, Amano could finally proudly say to his parents in heaven—
—I did pretty well as a brother, didn't I?
"Don't cry, don't cry anymore. Good boy~"
Held tightly, Shio extended her palm, placing it on Amano's soft hair and gently stroking.
Emotional transmission was always bidirectional.
This familial love that Shio could genuinely feel through both her palm and embrace—she considered it the most precious treasure of her life.
"Brother will forever be my favorite brother."
***
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