My Sister's Workplace Visit Is Backing Me Into Even More of a Corner

"… You're late, Raul Chaser."

"A-ah, sorry…"

"Fufu, Myuli-chan, that looks just wonderful on you, you know?"

"… Th-thank you… very much…"

In front of the MagiVi corner where the staff had gathered, Myuli flushed red the instant Manager Seara smiled and greeted her. Clad in her apron, she shrank behind Raul and timidly murmured her thanks.

… Meanwhile, Assistant Manager Visor, who had been kneeling on the floor near the display unit, fiddling away at something for a while now, clapped his hands together and looked up.

"Alright… Manager, the cable's hooked up."

"Thanks, Visor-kun… Myuli-chan, could you try holding this for me?"

"… Y-yes…"

Myuli gave a tiny nod and reluctantly reached for the cable the Manager held out… and the instant her fingertips brushed the metal terminal fitted at its tip, the ambient light in the area flared brighter.

"—?!!!!"

"Oh, they're on, they're on…"

With a small pop, nearly ten MagicVisions, or MagiVis, booted up in unison.

In front of the Assistant Manager, who looked as smugly proud as if it were his own accomplishment, Myuli stared at the cluster of Magic Displays projected into midair and, startled, clutched at Raul's apron.

… Oh, right, she's never seen a MagiVi before.

As Manager Seara tied the cable around her waist, Myuli kept staring fearfully at the MagiVi, and looking at her profile, Raul couldn't help musing to himself.

It had been more than ten years since MagiVi broadcasts began, and yet the mana waves carrying the image and sound still only reached a handful of major cities scattered across the royal capital and the continent.

In particular, the area around Viera Basin in the central part of the continent, where Raul's home village of Rexa sat, was subject to interference from the mana waves emitted by the Viera Greater Bats that swarmed there. Even the continent-wide MagiO broadcasts couldn't be picked up… and though three years had passed since Raul had left the village, it seemed nothing had changed: the village remained cut off from the benefits of magic-item civilization and the information age.

… And then. Myuli, who had been gazing fearfully at the floating displays of light, eventually murmured, sounding strangely moved.

"Being able to handle items like this… heroes really are amazing…"

"… Heroes?"

"H-hey, no…! I mean, Myuli! It's not really anything like that…!"

At Myuli's slip, Airi gave a slightly suspicious look… his coworker, the former hero-aspirant, had ears like a hawk for the word "hero," and Raul scrambled to brush it off. At the same time, sensing that the bar his sister set for him, still convinced he was a hero, had just been jacked up another notch, he started raising his voice to make excuses… and then.

In front of the flustered Raul, the image on the MagiVi suddenly switched.

"Hiii! And so, today we're at the just-newly-renovated land of dreams and hopes! Royal Capital BRAVE ISLAND-uuu!"

The figure that appeared at the center of the display along with the high-tension voice was a beguiling, bombshell body wrapped in a camisole. The cleavage of the popular newscaster striking a pose with a mic in one hand pulled Raul's and the Assistant Manager's eyes in despite themselves.

"This 'Brave Island,' built on an island floating right off the coast of Everead Harbor, is the continent's very first magical theme park, with a Demon-King-defying-hero motif—"

"H-hero…?!"

"D-Demon King…?!"

In that instant.

Both Myuli's and Fino's voices rose at the same time, their eyes locked on the screen.

"The most popular attraction is the Demon King's Castle Mystery Tour, where you become a hero yourself and take on the Demon King! I gave it a try right away, and the Demon King's Castle, built on testimony and materials from real-life heroes, is honestly stunning in quality! You'll feel just like a hero who actually passed the [Hero Exam], with its 0.01 percent pass rate! It really, really was super-mega fun-uuu!"

"B-become a hero…"

"A tour of the Demon King's castle (my old house)…"

The girls swallowed hard as they stared into the screen.

As the two of them gazed in, transfixed, the newscaster posted up at the entrance of a sinister-looking castle waved alongside two mascot costumes and gushed as she narrated.

"Also, inside Brave Island, these super-popular mascot characters, Yusha-kun and Maou-kun, will welcome you just like thiiis! These goods are a huge hit in the royal capital. Has everyone got theirs yet-eeh?"

"I-I want one…"

"… … … …"

Fino gazed enviously at the Yusha-kun and Maou-kun straps that the newscaster proudly held up, while Myuli, looking as though she had something to say, clutched at Raul's apron.

In front of the two of them, the newscaster on the screen threw a sharp wink.

"Well then! That was our live broadcast from Royal Capital Brave Island! And next up, our Royal Capital Wide-Show segment! Experts are going to thoroughly examine the case of mana-bearing-child serial abductions that's currently rocking the royal capital, from every angle-uuu!"

The instant the newscaster raised her hand, the screen switched to a studio…

In an abruptly serious atmosphere, several people seated around a round table bowed solemnly, and then the man who appeared to be the host opened his mouth.

"Recently, in the royal capital, there have been a series of abduction cases involving children with above-average mana…"

"Ah, this is the one the Manager mentioned earlier…"

In front of Raul, who'd voiced his thought without thinking,

the host on the MagiVi continued in a flat, measured tone.

"Now, the suspect is said to have silver hair and red eyes… a so-called demonkin…"

"D-demonkin?!!!!"

In that instant, Raul's heart leapt violently.

"Apparently the demonkin's magic, releasing high-pressure mana light-orbs from the hand, has been sighted…"

"The first incident was, I believe, at the start of the sixth month…"

"Now that you mention it, there's a connection to that demonkin who appeared at Amada's Royal Capital Store around mid-fifth month…"

"It really does seem demonkin have slipped into the royal capital…"

"H-hey, this is…"

His heart pounding wildly in his chest.

As he listened to Airi's hesitant murmur, Raul too recalled the recent incident.

The Amada Magic "Magic Orb" factory, where demonkin had been bound and had their mana inhumanely wrung out of them. To rescue the captive demonkin, Raul and Fino, with Airi's help, had stormed the factory, but as Fino's massive mana sent the machinery into runaway, the more than a dozen demonkin connected to the cables had at some point gone missing…

Don't tell me… the demonkin who vanished that time… The thought flashed through Raul's mind, and a chill ran down his spine.

… If the incidents had started at the beginning of the sixth month, the timing lined up too.

Don't tell me… we, we did something completely insane…

"R-Raul…"

Probably arriving at the same conclusion as Raul. In his field of vision, Fino, her face gone completely pale, bit her lip…

In that instant. The MagiVi screen abruptly switched.

"… I think it's just a rumor."

In front of Raul, who looked up despite himself, Manager Seara, who had just changed the channel, declared in her usual calm tone, remote in hand.

"In big incidents like this, there's almost always talk that the suspect's a demonkin, and after that Amada demonkin uproar the other day, I'm sure everyone's just on edge. Besides, no matter how much higher than average a child's mana is, it's nothing next to the demonkin-san's, and I don't see what the demonkin-san would have to gain from abducting children with mana."

The Manager's quiet but persuasive words.

… Hearing them, Fino nodded, looking relieved.

"R-right…"

"Yes… Now then, we're already running quite late, so we'd better open up the shop, hm?"

A soft, smiling breath of laughter. Manager Seara cast her gentle gaze across her staff, one more than usual today, and spoke softly.

"Everyone, please do your best today as well."

"""""Please do our best!"""""

As if flipping a switch in their hearts, the staff chimed in all together in response to Manager Seara's words.

… And then, the moment the greeting was finished, Fino grabbed Myuli's hand.

"Right, Myuli! I'm gonna show you around the shop, so follow me!"

"… Eh… ah, O-Onii-chaaan…"

Yanked along by the arm, Myuli shot Raul a look pleading for rescue. But the demonkin girl, who looked unusually fired up about something, was merciless.

"Hey, Fino! Myuli's a kid, go easy on her… seriously."

Watching his sister being dragged away on the verge of tears, the magic cord still wrapped around her waist trailing behind her, Raul sighed and turned to Airi at his side.

"… Uh, 'All-A.' I'm gonna hole up in the counter, watch the register and those two, and knock out some paperwork. Could you take the sales floor in my place today?"

"… Got it."

Airi narrowed her eyes as if exasperated, and shrugged at Raul's request.

 

*

 

"Listen up, Myuli!"

In the reddish glow of the "Hitodama" lights illuminating the register counter.

A short distance from where Raul was silently making a clean copy of a quote for a customer, Fino, who had just returned from a leisurely lap around the store with Myuli in tow, raised her voice full of confidence.

"From here on, I'm gonna pass on the mistakes beginners tend to make without thinking and the points you've gotta watch out for, so use it for reference, got it?!"

… At those words, Raul paused his hand.

Glancing over at her, Raul couldn't help being a little impressed by the sight of Fino lecturing in front of Myuli with a well-used notebook open in her hands.

The small notebook Fino had carried everywhere ever since she first came to the shop, diligently jotting down her notes… There really were mistakes in this line of work that every beginner made at least once. Using her own failures and experience to teach those cautions in advance was a genuinely effective new-hire training method…

… Huh, she's not half bad.

He muttered it to himself, inwardly.

And as Raul, now thoroughly reassured, lowered his eyes back to the paperwork, the steady voice of Fino reached his ears.

"First one! You can't go around defeating the customers!"

In that instant, Raul's pen-tip slid across the quote like he was tearing it open.

"No matter how wide open the customer's back is, or how easy a kill they look, or how loaded they look like they are with gold, you can't catch them off guard and take them down in one strike!"

"Huh… Y-yes…"

… Raul could hear Myuli's bewildered voice, dutifully nodding all the same.

Behind a quote that had been tragically reduced to scrap, shoulders trembling, Raul could hear Fino, notebook in hand, going on smugly.

"Also, you can't wash your hair in the break room sink, and you shouldn't buy snacks with money from the register, and decorating the sales floor with pigs' organs or heads is a great way to get yelled at by Raul, so you'd better stop, you know! Oh, and right, coming in early to set up a poison swamp out front of the shop is also a no-go!!!"

"P-poison swamp…?"

"Yeah! Every one of those is a mistake beginners thoughtlessly make, so Myuli, you've gotta be careful too…"

"WE DON'T DO THAT!!!!!"

Unable to hold back any longer, Raul finally yelled.

"You! Quit teaching Myuli weird stuff…"

"And then, a smile is important!"

… However.

The next instant, Raul swallowed his words at what Fino said.

"S… mile…?"

Probably because she'd just been rattled by a bunch of stuff she couldn't make heads or tails of, Myuli wore a thoroughly bewildered expression.

In front of the girl, Fino gave a big nod.

"Yeah, a smile! A smile is, you know, the very most important thing Raul taught me on my very first day, got it?!"

She said it with absolute confidence, and beamed.

"Look, Myuli, if you smile like this, you feel really happy somehow! And then you start wanting customers to make that face too, you know?!"

A radiant, brilliant smile, declared with such pride that even watching her, Raul felt his cheeks loosening on their own.

… And drawn, as if invited by Fino's expression.

Myuli, who had been timid and skittish up until then, gently lifted the corners of her lips…

"…!"

Raul couldn't help his eyes going wide.

Myuli, who always looked on the verge of tears in front of strangers, painfully shy and reserved.

That same girl was now, just as Fino had said, timidly putting on a stiff, awkward smile…

"… There it is."

Watching Myuli, Fino nodded, looking pleased.

"Myuli, when you smile, you look really cool!"

"… … … …"

As Fino spoke up brightly and clapped her on the shoulder.

As if snapped back to herself, Myuli stiffened, and lowered her eyes, somehow looking embarrassed.

"Thank you very much!"

As Fino called out crisply while handing change back to the customer, Myuli, apron on, timidly held out the bag she'd just packed the merchandise into.

"Please come again!"

Fino said it as she bowed to the customer.

Beside her, Myuli also hurriedly gave a little bobbing bow.

At the register next to Raul, who was as ever working his way through paperwork, the next thing Fino had started teaching Myuli was bagging merchandise.

While Fino scanned the magic tags on each product with the magic tag reader and rang them up, Myuli busily packed the scanned items into bags.

It was true that this was something even Myuli, still a child, could pick up right away, and when the register got busy, it could turn even a newbie into a real asset… And besides.

"Thank you very much!"

"Thank you… very much…"

… Myuli, eyes still downcast, murmured next to Fino in a voice as faint as a mosquito's whine.

At his bashful sister's struggle, a sister so shy she could barely manage a word with strangers, Raul was inwardly impressed.

Somehow, this workplace visit's turning out to be a pretty good learning experience…

"Myuli, you're getting the hang of greeting customers properly! Your bagging is also super good, you look really cool!"

"…!"

Fino was praising her with a beaming smile, and Myuli was blushing furiously and staring at the floor… at the heartwarming sight of the two of them, Raul couldn't help his eyes softening.

All things considered, Fino's actually pulling off the senpai thing pretty well… Raul mused secretly to himself. Coming from the [Demon King]'s bloodline, she does have some kind of charisma that pulls people in, you know… she swore that even as a part-timer she'd make manager before me, a full-on employee, and at this rate she might actually beat me to it…

… And then.

"Hey, Raul."

… He was suddenly called out to.

When Raul snapped out of his thoughts, Fino's face was right in front of him.

"I'm gonna teach Myuli how to face up products, so can I leave the register for a sec?"

The silver-haired girl was peering up at Raul's face with an upturned gaze, asking permission.

Raul flusteredly glanced over the remaining paperwork, then scratched his head and nodded.

"A-ah, sure, go ahead… I mean, don't go teaching her anything weird."

"Fuhaha, leave it to me! Come on, Myuli, this way!"

"…!"

Myuli was yanked along by the cheering Fino…

Just near the register counter. Fino stopped in front of the special summer-vacation independent-study items corner set up near the shop entrance, planted her hands on her hips, and pointed at the shelf in front of her.

"Listen up, Myuli! Products sell from the front, so after they sell, there's a gap in the display, see, like this!"

Explaining with a phrase that felt strangely familiar, Fino reached out toward the product on the disordered shelf.

"If you leave it like that, it looks bad, so what you do, like this, is bring the product in the back forward…"

… And then.

The next instant. Along with an awkward little "ah," there came a small crack that reached Raul's ears.

"Hey, Fino! What did you just bre…"

In front of Raul, who'd jumped out from behind the register counter without thinking, Fino hurriedly crouched down on the spot and reached out toward the glass shards scattered across the floor…

Suddenly, a fluffy, snow-white little lump crawled up Fino's fingertips.

The thing, which looked like a tuft of cottongrass with countless little legs growing out of it, slipped right inside Fino's collar… and at that instant, Fino's body went rigid with a jolt.

"Iyaaa! Iyaaaaaaaa!!!!"

Fino clutched at herself with a scream, and beneath her clothes, around her chest, the cloth was visibly lifting up from outside as some unidentifiable creature wriggled around against the girl's bare skin.

In front of Myuli, who looked terrified, Fino, gone completely into a panic, half-cried out.

"R-Raul, s-something got in! Something got in my clothes! T-take it ouuuut!"

"W-wai- Fi- Fino! G-get back!"

"—?!!!!"

Clinging to Raul as if begging for help, Fino let out a small shriek.

"I-it's on my back! It went on my back, h-hurry and take it ouuut!!"

"L-like hell I can just shove my hand inside a girl's clothes!!"

"B-but… I don't wanna, R-Raul, h-help meee…!"

"Hey- you, d-don't strip here!!!"

"B-but, something weird is moving around inside my clothes, my body's getting all tingly and… y-yaaa, there, no! Iyaaa!!"

Writhing from the ticklishness, Fino tried, half-crying, to peel off her uniform blouse.

Raul hurriedly tried to stop her…

"Wh-what's wrong?!"

… Airi, who'd heard the commotion, came running over from the sales floor.

Completely at his wits' end, Raul cried out as if she were a gift from heaven.

"'All-A'! Something- something weird got into her clothes! T-take it out for her!!"

 

*

 

"… So this is the culprit."

A fluffy, white lump, about the size of a clenched fist.

After a hard struggle, having hauled the screaming Fino behind the shelf to do it, Airi had finally pulled the creature out of the wailing girl's clothes. The instant Raul pinched it up, it thrashed its countless legs, trying to escape.

"This one. Mysterious Creature 'Angel Fluff'…"

Airi picked up the same product Fino had knocked to the floor and broken, a small glass-bottle terrarium, and read aloud from the description on the back of the package.

"'Angel Fluff, hailing from a country in the South, grows without needing to be fed; just shine light on it. It uses the threads it spits from its mouth to spin geometric-pattern webs, making it perfect for kids' independent research or as an interior decoration. Recommended age, ten and up,' apparently…"

"… But wait, isn't its size totally different from the one in this jar?"

The "Angel something" creature, apparently, that looked like a ball of rolled-up cotton.

Comparing the pea-sized fluffball sluggishly wriggling on a branch sealed inside the small jar to the baseball-sized fluffball in his own hand, Raul couldn't help cocking his head… and then.

"H-hey, that… isn't it bigger than it was a second ago…?!"

"Huh?"

… Apron sash untied, blouse buttons undone.

At Fino's voice, her clothes still in disarray, Raul looked back down at the Angel-whatever, and in that instant,

the fluffball in Raul's hand suddenly puffed up to more than twice its size,

and from one end shot out a violent stream of white lumps.

"Kya!!!!!!"

"—Wha?!!!!"

A sticky lump clinging fast to Airi's arm.

As Raul cried out reflexively, the thing slipped out of his hand… the Angel-whatever, falling to the floor, worked its short legs and went tearing off toward the sales floor at terrifying speed.

"Airi!!!!"

"Hey, are you okay, 'All-A'?!!!"

"Wait, wh- what is this?!!!"

"That thread… hey, 'All-A,' show me that package!!"

… A rubbery, white tangle of threads winding around Airi's left arm to seal it.

Suddenly seized by a bad feeling. The instant Raul grabbed the Angel-whatever's package out of Airi's hand and ran his eyes over the cautions, he clapped a hand to his forehead.

"'Caution: exposure to large amounts of argo rays such as those contained in sunlight will cause it to grow too large, so under no circumstances remove it from the jar'… this is a Wula larva!!!"

"A… Wula?!"

"Hey- th-that's…!"

"You learned this at prep school, didn't you?!!!!"

The puzzled Fino parroted it back, while Airi raised her voice in alarm. Raul, who had darted over to the cleaning supplies cabinet and pulled out the dull-edged sword that had long since become the standard security item in the shop, shouted with everything he had.

"It's a half-animal, half-plant kind of monster, and it gets activated by argo rays! On sunlight alone it tops out at about fifty centimeters, but in places like volcanic regions or anywhere there are monsters that emit argo rays, it can grow to several meters and start attacking people! Its life force is ridiculous, and the bundles of thread it shoots from its mouth are so strong they can even take down large dragons. It's seriously nasty!!!"

"Then why are you selling monster larva like that?!!!"

"How should I know! That's why they slap a cute product name like 'Angel-whatever' on it to cover it up!!!"

As he spoke, Raul looked up at the "Hitodama" drifting near the ceiling in place of regular lighting, and clicked his tongue.

"The Manager said earlier those things are putting out a ton of argo rays… if we don't take down that escaped Wula fast, we're in trouble! Fino, get Myuli and the customers evacuated!!!"

"O-okay!!!"

At Raul's words, sword in hand, Fino grabbed Myuli's hand and nodded firmly… and then.

"—!!"

He felt a presence behind him.

Raul turned around, and the moment the sight in front of him hit, his face went white.

… In front of the empty register, with no staff there.

A customer was standing there with merchandise in hand, looking somehow troubled… crap! Now that I think of it, I've been leaving the register empty this whole time!!

"O-one moment, please!!!"

"Always, no matter what, put the customer first": the cardinal rule for store staff.

Being a well-trained shop clerk, Raul, sword still in hand, conditioned-reflexed himself toward the register…

But Airi, her left arm still pinned, shoved Raul's shoulder aside with her one good hand.

"I'll take the register! You handle the Wula!!!"

"…! Thanks, 'All-A'!"

The instant their eyes met, Raul wheeled around, ran toward the sales floor where the Wula had disappeared, and reached for the magic intercom switch.

"M-Manager! It's an emergency! There's a monster in the shop—?!"

… And then.

Just as Raul was rattling off his report into the mic, a piercing scream cut into his ears.

Raul immediately changed direction, slipped between the shelves, and his eyes went wide.

"Wait- Assistant Manager?!!!"

"…! R-Raul-kun…"

… Lying on top of a deactivated arrow tile, his entire body except his face wrapped round and round in white thread like some kind of cocoon, was Assistant Manager Visor.

Looking up at Raul as if begging for help, the Assistant Manager spoke in a strained voice.

"S-so between customers I was getting really into messing with the syntax on the arrow tiles to disable them, and then something rammed into my back outta nowhere. I figured for sure it had to be a customer, so I turned around, and this big white fluffball monster's got its mouth wide open spitting threads at me…"

"Assistant Manager, hold still!!!"

Cutting off the Assistant Manager's words with sharp intensity, Raul leveled the sword in his hand.

Running magic along the blade, Raul intoned "'Boot'…!" and pointed the now-glowing tip at the wad of white thread covering the Assistant Manager.

… However.

"Damn it, I can't cut it!!!"

The Wula's thread, which apparently not even a dragon could escape once caught, turned out to be heat-resistant as well, and no matter how hard he pressed the magically heat-charged sword against it, the blade just sank into rubbery resistance and was pushed back out…

Cutting the magic's output, Raul shouted in mounting panic.

"Assistant Manager! Which way did that thing go?!!"

"No, that, it all happened so fast I didn't see… wait, Raul-kun! Behind, behind, behind you!!!"

"Huh?!"

The instant he reflexively turned around, an impact slammed into his calf.

Right in front of Raul, who'd dropped to one knee on the spot, was a furry monster: the Wula, which had at some point grown to about the size of a dog.

"Damn it!"

The instant their eyes (?) met, the fluffy monster shot off at terrifying speed.

Raul hurriedly tried to get up, but looking down at his own feet, he clicked his tongue.

… Both his legs, hit dead-on by the Wula's thread, were locked stiff.

He managed, with effort, to stand, but with these legs there was no chance of catching the Wula. He could barely even walk… and then.

"Sorry, Raul-kun."

… A gentle voice flowed out of the intercom earpiece.

"I was caught up dealing with a MagicPhone, so I wasn't listening to the intercom… did something happen, maybe?"

"M-Manager!"

At those words, Raul scrambled to press the intercom mic switch.

"It's an emergency! A monster's gotten into the shop, and the Assistant Manager's been taken out—"

"… Oh my, oh my, that's terrible."

… A line spoken in a somehow leisurely tone, coming from right beside him.

Raul turned his head despite himself, and Manager Seara, who at some point had come to stand right next to him, gave her chestnut hair a soft toss. After sweeping her gaze over the disaster around her, the girl casually reached up and touched the intercom mic switch at her collar.

"Um, sorry, I've only just heard about this so I haven't got a handle on the situation yet… have the customers all evacuated?"

"Yes!"

"Yeah!"

Airi's and Fino's voices came back over the Manager's intercom instantly.

"All the customers waiting at the register, I've finished up with!"

"There were still a few customers looking around the shop, but I got them to evacuate outside!"

"Good work, Airi-san, Fino-chan… Oh, and please make sure to shut the entrance doors tight so the monster-san doesn't escape, okay?"

After briskly issuing her instructions, she cut the intercom… and the Manager, who had pulled out the orange MagiCalc from her apron pocket, calmly turned to look at Raul.

"… Well then, shall we wrap this up nice and quick?"

"Manager!!!"

At Manager Seara's heroic figure, Raul, legs still pinned, felt himself sigh in relief.

With the MagiCalc in the Manager's hand, she's invincible. After all, she's strong enough to have taken down a [Demon King], so no matter how juiced up they are on argo rays, one or two Wulas are nothing, she'll easily…

… And then.

Across Raul's field of vision, something suddenly flickered.

"—?!!!!"

A Wula thread-ball came flying toward Manager Seara from out of his blind spot, grazing Raul's cheek.

The sticky wad of threads shot in a straight line toward Manager Seara, and as if it had been aimed, snagged the slender wrist holding the MagiCalc.

The instant the Manager, jolted by the impact, leaned against the hook-display fixture beside her, the Wula spat more threads on top of that one…

… And in no time at all, the Manager had been plastered to the fixture by sticky bundles of thread.

Looking down at her own body, threads wound around her over and over until she could no longer move at all, Manager Seara murmured, sounding somehow troubled.

"Oh my, oh my… I've been caught."

"Manager!!! …?!!!"

Raul tried to rush over, but as if to say your turn now, the Wula spat a thread-ball straight at him.

With both legs locked, Raul barely managed to twist his upper body aside, and glared furiously at the Wula.

The Wula, having absorbed plenty of the argo rays that the "Hitodama" emitted, had ballooned up to about one meter.

Its countless legs working, the Wula's body began to move again.

Damn it… Raul muttered inwardly.

Airi's dominant arm, my legs, both sealed; and the Manager, our trump card… at this rate, we're…

"Raul!"

"… Onii-chan!"

… Two familiar voices abruptly cut into his ears.

Raul reflexively looked up, and caught his breath.

"Wait- Myuli?! Fino?! Weren't you guys supposed to have evacuated outside…"

"Onii-chan…!"

As if cutting off Raul's words, Myuli cried out in a strangely desperate tone.

"Onii-chan, your sword, get it ready!"

"Huh?!"

… At Myuli's abrupt words, Raul couldn't help letting out a dumb sound.

In the corner of Raul's field of vision, the silver-haired girl pattered up to the Wula and rammed full-force into the white fluffball in front of her… wait, what?!

"Hey- Fino!!!!"

… In no time at all, Fino was being snared up by the threads the Wula was spitting.

As Raul shouted reflexively, the Wula, shoved by Fino, lost its balance and tumbled over…

In that instant.

Raul, whose body had been standing there with his legs pinned, felt himself suddenly accelerate.

"…?!"

… The shop floor was tiled wall-to-wall with floor tiles inscribed with arrows pointing in every direction.

The moment he saw the figure of Myuli crouched at the shop entrance, her hands pressed flat against a tile, Raul understood what the two of them intended. … I see, that's what this was!

The arrow tiles Fino had stayed up all night laying down, and that Myuli had just activated.

Borne along the tiles, their effect restored by Myuli's mana, the leg-pinned Raul once more ran magic along the sword in his hand.

"'Boot'—!!!!!"

Coming up rapidly in front of him was the white fluffball monster, the Wula, shoved off-balance by Fino and now trapped in the "Endless Corridor."

Raul, accelerated by the power of the arrow tiles, brought down his swung-back magical blade and ran the Wula clean through.

 

*

 

"Thank you all for another long day of hard work."

"…! Today, was just, exhausting…"

In the interior of the shop, with its strangely retro atmosphere lit by the "Hitodama."

In response to Manager Seara's usual closing greeting, binder hugged to her chest, Assistant Manager Visor sighed with a face of bone-deep weariness.

"… The bastards at corporate, never learning, again pulling in another item from some shady manufacturer… monster larvae, that's just too dangerous… I mean, putting a dangerous critter you definitely don't want getting loose into a glass jar that breaks easily and selling it… that's not even a thing… if they really wanna sell it, put it in a Mythril jar that won't break even if a dragon stomps on it, godddd…"

"… Assistant Manager, glad we got the Wula's thread off you safely."

As the Assistant Manager grumbled "The Product Division can blow up" and other dangerous things, Raul spoke up to calm him down.

The Wula's thread, which had been impervious to blades and high heat, had turned out, surprisingly, to be utterly weak to low temperatures, and a single spritz from the Magical Instant-Freeze Spray, which was selling well in the seasonal-items corner this time of year, was enough to shatter it into powder.

However, in the Assistant Manager's case, covered head to toe in a thick coating of thread, it wasn't quite so simple, and after a long struggle, he ended up getting mercilessly blasted with the freeze magic from the Manager's MagiCalc using its "-" (minus) key…

Sneaking a sideways glance at the Assistant Manager, who was still nursing frostbite damage on the tip of his nose and his fingertips, Raul couldn't help muttering to himself inwardly. … Yeah, can't really blame him for wanting to grumble.

… And then. Manager Seara's gaze sweeping over the staff suddenly came to rest beside Raul.

"… Myuli-chan, thank you for today."

The Manager bent at the waist, crouching to bring her eyes level with Myuli's, and smiled.

"The matter this morning, of course, but thanks to you turning the display units on for us, we also closed a MagiVi sale. You really helped us out."

"Myuli was a huge help today!"

The Manager thanked her with a smile, while Fino patted Myuli on the back, lavishing praise.

Heaped with unreserved praise, Myuli flushed crimson and stared at the floor.

"…! Th-thank you… very much…"

"Fufu…"

Looking down at Myuli, the Manager suddenly broke into a smile.

"… Myuli-chan, Fino-chan, here, these are for you."

What the Manager produced from her binder were two narrow strips of paper.

The instant the two girls received them with strangely puzzled expressions, both their eyes went wide.

"…!"

"This is the one, the one that was on the MagiVi this morning…!"

A pair of tickets to Royal Capital Brave Island, printed with illustrations of a great castle and the mascot characters.

Looking down at the girls as they caught their breath, the Manager softened her eyes gently.

"A regular customer of mine who does business with the company that runs the place gave them to me the other day… Myuli-chan really helped us out, and you came all the way to the royal capital, so please, do go and make some good memories, hm?"

"Manager, thank you so much!"

"… … … …"

While Myuli, too overjoyed even to remember to thank her, stared at the ticket, Raul bowed in his sister's place.

… And then.

"B-but…!"

… With a somehow troubled look, gazing down at the ticket in her hands.

Fino, who had been flustering hopelessly, eventually looked up as if she'd made up her mind.

"It's okay for Myuli, but I… I went and stuck arrow tiles all over the floor on my own, and I broke merchandise without thinking, and I caused trouble for everyone all day, so… I can't take something like this…"

"… Fino-chan."

The Manager rested her hand gently on Fino's head…

And smiled softly.

"The monster business was my own misjudgment. I used the 'Hitodama' without realizing we had something so dangerous in the shop. And the tile business… if you talk to us about it in advance from now on, then there's no problem."

"Manager…"

"… This is, you know, in recognition of Fino-chan working hard all day as Myuli-chan's senpai. Today, Fino-chan, you were really cool, you know?"

"…!"

The Manager stroked the head of the timidly upward-looking Fino, and winked at her.

At those words, Fino's despondent face suddenly lit up.

 

*

 

And so, with all that having happened…

"Fufu, tomorrow's gonna be so much fun…!"

In a back-street of the royal capital at night, lit by the glow of the magic lamps.

With a near-dancing step, Fino walked beside him and looked up at Raul's face with a look of pure barely-contained joy.

"Raul, is it okay if I wear my armor?! You know, the [Demon King]'s armor that got delivered to my place the other day anonymously!"

"There is no way that's okay!!!"

"Ehh, but this is such a great chance…"

At Raul's words, Fino puffed out her cheeks in a small pout of dissatisfaction.

But the girl quickly recovered, all beaming smiles again… and Raul couldn't help sighing.

"Raul, Myuli, let's go home together!"

In the end, Raul had ended up agreeing to take Fino and Myuli to Brave Island on Leon's regular day off tomorrow… and from the moment Fino had called out to him the instant the closing ceremony was over, her excitement had stayed at this level the whole way.

Honestly… were you that desperate to go to a magical theme park…

"… Don't get your hopes up too much, or you'll be disappointed."

"Nope, no way that's happening!"

Raul muttered the words despite himself, and Fino shook her head firmly, as if surprised.

"Because, if I'm together with Raul, no matter where we go, it's gotta be fun!"

She said it like it was simply obvious, and clung to Raul's arm as if to nuzzle in.

At the soft, squishy sensation of the girl's cheek pressed against his upper arm, Raul felt his heart skip in spite of himself.

"…!"

… And, possibly noticing the flushed Raul, Myuli, who up until then had walked quietly beside him, suddenly narrowed her eyes, and as if to retaliate, gripped Raul's wrist tightly with both hands…

… With both girls hanging onto his arms, Raul felt distinctly embarrassed.

Trying to break the unsettled atmosphere, Raul raised his voice without thinking.

"S-so anyway, Fino, you really took good care of Myuli today, thank you. Like the Manager said, you handled it well, I had to take another look at you…"

"～～!!!"

The moment Raul praised her, Fino's already happy expression turned even more rapturous than before.

"Fuhaha, of course I did! After all, I'm Myuli's senpai!"

The demonkin girl was on a complete high, her cheeks loosening with happiness.

… Myuli, who had been watching Fino enviously, suddenly looked down and murmured almost to herself, as if to no one.

"… B-but… when it comes to Onii-chan, I'm the senpai… I know Onii-chan much, much better…"

"Hm?"

The instant she heard those words, Fino blinked her aqua-blue eyes round.

"I know Raul really well too, you know? Last night's dinner was a convenience-store bento and sweet bread, and after he put plastic wrap on half the bento he didn't eat and stuck it in the microwave, he opened the fridge humming, and chugged a half-drunk cola in one go…"

"H-hey, wait, you, how do you know that?!"

"Eh… I mean, your room is right next to mine, isn't it?"

In front of the panicked-asking Raul, Fino said it like it was nothing.

"With my hearing, I can hear the sound of a human three rooms away picking up a tissue just fine, so of course I have a pretty good idea what Raul's doing…"

… Wait, this girl, she's a demonkin whose five senses are way sharper than a human's, and… The instant he registered that fact, a shiver ran down Raul's spine.

Wait, all this time my daily noise has been completely audible to her… what the hell has been happening to my privacy?!!!

… Speechless from sheer shock, Raul lost his words.

Next to the boy, Myuli wore a look of frustration and timidly murmured,

"B-but… Myuli knows Onii-chan in even more ways than that… like how Onii-chan was such a hero-otaku he could rattle off the names of nearly five hundred historical heroes and which round of the exam they passed in, and how he'd skip his field chores to practice special moves with the hoe and got knuckled on the head by Mom for messing around with farming tools and cried about it…"

"H-hey, M-Myuli!"

"And how after school he always shut himself up in his secret training ground on the back hill, the one he built out of cardboard and bedsheets, and then how it turned out to be private property and the neighborhood old man yelled at him so hard for dumping trash on it that he was depressed for a week, and how he got the nickname 'Creep-Otaku-Raul' because no matter where he was he wouldn't talk about anything but heroes, and how at school during folk dance class not a single one of the girls would hold hands with him…"

"S-stooop! Stop iiiit!!!!"

Hey, weren't you supposed to be a poor sweet little-sister character who totally adored her big brother?! Why are you, without the slightest hesitation, completely outing your beloved Onii-chan's dark history?!!!

… And then.

In front of Raul, who was on the verge of tears, Fino's expression lit up.

"Myuli, you're amazing… you really are a senpai when it comes to Raul…!"

"Eh…"

The instant the words landed, all the wind seemed to go out of Myuli, and Fino, peering into her bewildered face, beamed at the girl.

"Hey, won't you tell me more, lots more about Raul?!"

"…!"

The moment that registered, Myuli came back to herself with a start, shook her head furiously and hid behind Raul…

… At the girl's reaction, Fino's face fell, looking a little bit disappointed.

 

*

 

"You worked hard today… give me a minute, I'll have dinner ready."

"Mm…"

As Raul shoved a stockpile of frozen food into the MagicRange and called out to her, Myuli answered in a somehow very sleepy-sounding voice.

"… You must really be tired."

"Mm…"

When Raul peeked into the living room and asked, Myuli, sitting in front of the table, nodded slightly…

After a moment, she gave a faint smile.

"… But, getting to see Onii-chan's work, it was good… defusing traps, using mysterious items, writing what looked like really difficult paperwork, fighting off scary monsters…"

"…!"

"… Onii-chan, working, was really, really cool, you know..?"

Myuli murmured it in a happy voice, as if genuinely moved.

At those words, Raul felt his heart give a sudden lurch.

… Come to think of it, with everything that's happened I totally forgot, this girl still thinks I'm a hero…

"S-so, about that…"

… If he was ever going to tell her the truth, it was now.

Swallowing hard, wetting his dry tongue, Raul opened his mouth.

"That… Myuli, the truth is, actually, I'm… not a hero…"

… However.

… Not a single response. Total silence.

Raul fearfully glanced back over his shoulder, and the moment he checked on Myuli, his shoulders sagged.

"… Wait, she fell asleep…"

… Well, can't really blame her.

Looking down at Myuli, who had collapsed face-down on the low table, breathing in cute little sleep-breaths, Raul scratched his head as he stepped back into the living room.

All things considered, this girl was using mana the whole day, and shy as she is, she met a ton of strangers and must've been worn out from that alone… still.

At the sleeping face of his now somehow more grown-up sister, Raul couldn't help musing to himself.

… Yeah, in the time I haven't seen her, she really has grown a lot.

Well, the timid part still hasn't changed, looks like. Still…

Three years, huh…

… Narrowing his eyes vaguely.

Carrying the sleeping Myuli carefully so as not to wake her, Raul laid her down on his own bed, and then, as if remembering something, walked over to a corner of the room.

"… Still only 120,000 gold, huh."

A small old treasure chest set down beside the MagiVi.

The instant Raul opened the lid, he sighed.

The 500,000 gold the villagers had given him when he left for the royal capital.

Ever since he'd realized he couldn't become a hero, this money had nagged at him almost as much as the matter of reporting back to his hometown about it… back when he'd just gotten the job, between paying off back rent and everything else, he had absolutely no margin for it. But starting this year, Raul had been setting aside a little bit every month to pay the village back… It still wasn't even close to enough yet.

… And then.

"… … … …"

Raul couldn't help his eyes being drawn to the trophy in his field of vision.

The proof of having graduated top of his class at the hero-prep academy.

This trophy, made of a rare metal, would surely fetch a decent lump sum at a pawnshop. Maybe he could even pay the village back right away… But.

… It had been back when he'd just started job-hunting.

After half a year shut up in his room had wiped out his cash, Raul had been forced to choose between pawning this trophy and the sword that had been handed down in his family for generations, and in the end he'd chosen to part with the sword.

… The trophy was the only thing Raul had to show for the years he'd spent single-mindedly chasing the goal of becoming a hero.

So if he sold this off, he felt like everything he'd been, all the years he'd spent aiming to be a hero, would be denied along with it…

The sword I asked the Manager for, maybe I should cancel it…

… Eyeing the brilliantly shining trophy with half-lidded eyes.

With a sigh, Raul muttered to himself in his heart.