I had two older brothers.
The first was eight years older than me, and the second was six years older.
My relationship with both of them was such that, despite being brothers, we never spoke to each other.
"Why are you here, Luke-niisan?"
"Wait, this person is your older brother, Erik-kun?!"
I was stunned by my brother's presence.
However, Reina-san reacted to my words with a peculiar sort of astonishment.
"When you say 'this person,' does that mean you already know my brother, Reina-san?"
"Erik. I'll explain that."
My brother, who had remained silent ever since entering the room, finally spoke up.
"First of all, regarding my identity, you probably think I'm just an ordinary country boy, right?"
"Huh? You're not?"
"That's how I made it seem, after all. But I'm an adventurer, just like you, Erik. My rank is Gold Rank."
"...Huh?"
Shocked by Luke-niisan's words, I couldn't utter a sound.
"Judging by the receptionist's gaze, it seems you've told her about our family."
Luke-niisan appeared to have guessed from Reina-san's look that I had talked about our family circumstances.
"Erik-kun, I'm so sorry. I ended up making you meet someone you didn't want to see."
"No, I never explained specifically what kind of person he was, so... Besides, I never imagined in the first place that he would come to the royal capital."
I accepted Reina-san's apology and replied to reassure her.
Then, I turned toward Luke-niisan.
"So, why did you come to the royal capital? And calling me out like this—if you're trying to patch things up as a family now, it's far too late for that."
"I know you feel that way. I just have some things I want to talk about, and I brought something I need to return to you."
With that, Luke-niisan thrust his hand into empty space.
While I stared in shock at the sight, Luke-niisan smiled faintly and pulled a pouch out of thin air.
I recognized that pouch.
"That's my..."
"It's the pouch containing the travel funds you hid away. I used a little bit of the contents to trick our idiot brother, but I've already replenished that amount."
Luke-niisan placed the pouch in front of me.
When I checked inside, the money I had saved up was indeed there.
"...Could you explain what this is all about?"
When I asked, Luke-niisan nodded and began to speak.
"First, the thing you're probably most curious about. How I worked as an adventurer while keeping it hidden from you and the family comes down to the skill I possess. During my initial ritual, I was granted [Space Magic]. With that ability, I was able to operate as an adventurer while still living in the village."
The [Space Magic] skill.
It was an extremely rare skill possessed by only a tiny handful of people even within this country.
"...Wait, but you never went to the Magic Academy, did you, Luke-niisan?"
"That's because back then, even the person who performed Appraisal on me didn't know I had that magic. Aside from [Space Magic], I have a special skill that deflects appraisal-type abilities. Thanks to that, I was able to continue living in the village without anyone finding out about my power."
"The country and the Adventurer's Guild were searching everywhere to identify the space mage who suddenly appeared in the kingdom, but they could never find them. To think that it was your older brother, Erik-kun..."
Reina-san said with an astonished expression after listening to Luke-niisan's story.
"Well, that's how I became an adventurer, but you're probably wondering why I stayed in that house, right?"
When I nodded at his words, Luke-niisan stared straight at me and smiled gently.
"The reason is simple: to keep you alive, Erik."
"...Huh?! To keep me alive? But you hated me, Luke-niisan!"
Hearing that, I jumped up from my chair and shouted.
"Erik-kun..."
"Ah, I'm sorry."
At Reina-san's voice, I realized I had knocked over my chair in my anger and apologized.
"Well, it's only natural you'd think that. After all, that's how I treated you, Erik."
"..."
"Those eyes say you don't believe me, don't they? Believe it or not, I was the one who took care of you when you were a baby, Erik. I stayed up all night soothing you for the sake of my cute little brother, and yet..."
As I glared at him, Luke-niisan put on a sorrowful expression.
"...Well, if that story is true, it does explain why I didn't die as a baby in that house. Assuming you really did take care of me, that is."
"It's hard to prove it, so I can't blame you for thinking that way. I understand why you can't believe what I say given how I've treated you up until now."
"Luke-san, why did you behave in a way that made Erik-kun hate you?"
Because my brother was a Gold Rank adventurer, Reina-san asked in as respectful a tone as possible, though a chill still lingered in her voice.
"...Because if he hated me, Erik would be able to leave that house without any lingering regrets. If I had been the only one who treated Erik kindly, he's so gentle that there was a chance he might have stayed behind. That's why I imitated our parents and made sure Erik hated me too."
Listening to Luke-niisan's explanation, I couldn't comprehend why he would do such a thing.