The Strongest Brother Lost His Memory-Chapter 73

Grandfather ruffled Zahid’s hair roughly and shouted.

“Why not go ahead and build something like a ‘Zahid Hall’ while we’re at it! Then no one will dare look down on you!”

And to that, someone answered calmly.

“If you intend to proudly announce for generations to come that the ‘Zahid Dyfenril Building’ was built because Zahid Dyfenril ranked last, then by all means, donate.”

It was Theo.

“In any case, if he’s not going to be a professor here, grades are unnecessary.”

Julian and I tilted our heads, completely dumbfounded.

Why was Theo... standing next to Grandfather and Zahid?

Normally, he’d act like we weren’t even family and keep his distance.

“But I’m disappointed that Rosie’s fiancé is such a dumbass. Why did you let her get engaged to someone like this?”

“Rosie wanted it. Said she wanted to have him because he’s pretty. She’ll call it off once she matures.”

“Then Rosie needs to re-learn ethics. I’ll start by selecting relevant literature.”

It felt like they were dragging both Zahid and me through the mud...

Regardless, Julian carried me and strode over to them.

“Let’s go quickly.”

Grandfather tried to grab me, calling “Rosie!”, but Julian swiftly turned and hugged me tighter, declaring:

“The cafeteria line’s going to be massive. When kids eat late, their intestines hurt. And after eating, we need to check out the little rat’s dorm. I want to know exactly where she’s staying.”

“Hah!”

Grandfather gave another loud snort and said:

“I should donate, donate! How much do I need to pay for a VIP meal ticket, huh? How much?!”

“Please, Grandfather.”

Theo pressed his forehead like he had a headache.

“...Please refrain from making nouveau-riche statements like that... There’s no such thing.”

“Then you write up a proposal! A lifetime cafeteria VIP pass—don’t they have that? I’ll pay whatever it takes!”

“A lifetime VIP pass to the Academy cafeteria is the most useless idea I’ve heard all year... Even if they made one, since Rosie’s the youngest, there’s no way you’d ever get to use it.”

“You ungrateful brat! You don’t know, I might live until my great-grandchild enters the Academy!”

“That great-grandchild might get expelled before the parent meeting—like Aunt Valia.”

Valia—that was my mother.

It was the first time I’d ever heard anything about my mom, so my ears perked up. Grandfather exploded as if the very thought irritated him.

“Seriously, what a disgrace! She’s probably the only one who got expelled after grabbing a teaching assistant by the hair within a week!”

He shouted so loudly that everyone present found out exactly why Valia Noart was expelled from the Academy.

“And yet she gave birth to the top student! It’s a damn miracle! Wahahahaha!”

It was complete chaos. Honestly, our family was the loudest by far.

And yet...

Zahid, whose hand was held by Grandfather, didn’t look upset.

Like a child chattering happily among long-lost family members on their way to the cafeteria.

I often forgot because he tried so hard to act mature—but Zahid was only eleven years old. Remembering that made me smile.

“Woof woof! Woof woof woof woof!”

<Marry him! Marry that one!>

Next to Zahid, Fire noticed my smile and barked.

Still in Julian’s arms, I quietly looked at Fire.

And seeing Fire reminded me of what I had read earlier in Athena’s mind.

‘Seriously... what do I do? I just left it alone for now, but...’

<You know.>

As soon as our eyes met, Athena had said that.

We couldn’t have a proper conversation, but her communication was more complete than Fire’s.

‘What I know... Is she talking about what’s about to happen?’

And then Athena had added:

<I’d like it if you pretended not to know.>

Pretend not to know... She was probably referring to the rampage.

A Divine Beast’s rampage.

Literally when a Divine Beast loses control of its power.

Athena was the Divine Beast of Water.

In the past, when the Divine Beasts were stronger, she could’ve flooded an entire city.

‘But even weakened as she is now... it’s still enough to flood the entire Academy.’

The only one who can stop a rampaging Divine Beast is its master.

But the Duke of Lavendal, Athena’s master, couldn’t come today due to something happening in their territory.

And Athena had added mysteriously:

<You can stop me.>

Even when I asked what she meant, she stopped communicating after that.

‘If I put it all together...’

Still in Julian’s arms, I thought.

‘This rampage isn’t a coincidence.’

At the very least, Athena knew about it.

But the fact that she said I could stop it means...

“Ray barely managed to suppress it, but he was badly injured, and the damage was enormous.”

Piecing things together, I could more or less grasp the situation.

‘This rampage was planned from the start!’

I swallowed dryly.

‘She asked me to pretend not to know, so I left... but still, how could I ignore it all the way through?’

And then—I jumped down from Julian’s arms.

“Little rat! What the—?!”

“Sorry, everyone!”

I landed right on Fire’s back.

“Just a moment—just give me a moment! Please line up in the cafeteria!”

I hugged Fire’s neck and shouted in my mind.

Fire, please!

I may not be your master, but just for a little while—

Just for a moment, please listen to my wish!

And just as I thought that desperately, Fire began to run.

“Fire! What the—?!”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Rosie, where are you going?!”

“That’s not where the restroom is!”

Behind me echoed the booming shouts of Zahid, Julian, Theo, and Grandfather.

But Fire ran straight toward the dorms.

Toward the place where Ray, his brother, and Athena were likely to be.

* * *

The dorms were quiet.

Of course they were. The students had all probably gone to the cafeteria with their families.

“Nice.”

Ray’s older brother, Rihardt, said in a low voice.

“It’s gotten a lot better. Which floor is your room?”

“Fifth floor, Brother.”

“The top floor, huh.”

Ray smiled calmly and walked slowly.

Athena sat quietly on his arm, glancing around.

“But what happened in the territory?”

Ray still wore a gentle smile as he asked.

“Father and Mother had been saying they’d definitely come to the parent meeting, so was it that serious they couldn’t make it?”

“Yeah.”

Rihardt answered calmly as well.

“There was a landslide in the Otiart region early this morning. The damage was so severe they had to go personally.”

“Ah.”

“Don’t be too disappointed. They were really worried about you. That’s why they sent Athena specially.”

“It’s fine. Can’t be helped. They’ll probably come for the graduation ceremony anyway.”

With that, the two climbed the stairs in silence.

When they reached the fifth floor, Rihardt paused before speaking.

“Wanna go up one more floor?”

“Huh?”

“One more floor and we’re on the rooftop. Ever been up there? You can see the entire Academy from up top.”

“Ah... I’ve never been. The door’s usually locked.”

“Back when I was here, it was open sometimes. I want to see it again. Let’s stop by for a bit.”

“...”

Without saying anything, Ray quietly ascended one more flight. As he looked at the door to the rooftop, he said slowly:

“It’s open. First time I’ve seen that.”

“I told you, it used to be open now and then.”

Rihardt strode up onto the rooftop.

Watching his back, Ray followed slowly with subdued eyes and stepped onto the rooftop.

“But Brother, this is really strange.”

“What is?”

“These days, with landslides and earthquakes... all these disasters keep happening.”

“They’re natural disasters, that’s all. Just coincidences.”

Rihardt chuckled and replied lightly.

Then, motioning to Ray, he shrugged his shoulders.

“Come look. You can see how disgustingly crowded the cafeteria is from here. Coming up here first was a great idea.”

“...Not sure.”

Ray didn’t move as he replied.

“When coincidences stack twice, can you still call it a coincidence?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“I nearly died from an earthquake right after arriving here.”

Ray spoke calmly.

“And now, during the parent meeting, our parents couldn’t come because of a landslide... Doesn’t that seem strange?”

“Little brother.”

When Ray didn’t move, Rihardt gave a twisted smile and stepped toward him.

“If you think that’s strange—”

He grabbed Ray’s shoulder and shoved him toward the edge of the rooftop.

Ray, still just a child, was dragged by the strength of a grown man.

“Then you shouldn’t have followed me up here.”

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry. You won’t die, my dear little brother.”

Rihardt whispered ominously.

“You just need to be injured—just enough that the Divine Beast can’t choose you.”