Chapter 20 - Glasses-kun Asks About His Sister’s Situation

Chapter 20 - Glasses-kun Asks About His Sister’s Situation

My terrifyingly unchanging sister remains the same in that she refuses to talk during meals.

She’s dead serious even before deciding what to order, fidgeting but still serious while waiting for the food to arrive, and of course, she’s just as serious while eating.

Be warned—interrupting her meal or pestering her will earn you a punch. What a brute.

Since I can’t expect a proper response if I try to talk to her, I decided to ask Lexton and Laila about the things I’m curious about in the meantime.

First, well, that.

“I heard you have some debts?”

From the recent red bear hunt, I’ve got a decent sum of money. It might not be enough to pay everything off, but it should make a dent.

“Well, technically, yes—but I don’t think you need to worry about it.”

According to Lexton, he did cover the commission fees for her as Laila mentioned, but apparently, Horn hasn’t repaid a single coin since then. …Hey.

“You haven’t repaid any of it? At all?”

“Well, it’s Horn. Money just vanishes whenever she gets her hands on it.”

That shouldn’t count as a proper reason, yet I somehow get it. Yeah… it’s Horn, after all.

“She donates to orphanages, lends to people in need, makes installment payments for gear… but the biggest drain seems to be food. I don’t even know the full details myself.”

Her spending habits are a mess. Well, I kinda expected that.

Back in the village, there wasn’t much use for money, so it made sense she’d just shrug off financial responsibility.

The only unexpected part is just how much of a mess it is.

“Honestly, she doesn’t even remember who she borrowed from, who she lent to, or what she spent it on most of the time. Even if someone demands repayment, she never has the money, and before you know it, she’s broke again. I don’t get it either.”

…………

No wonder Laila is wary. It’s so like her—yet at the same time, it’s just plain stupid.

“But here’s the weird thing.”

Rexhton grins, watching Horn fidget. My sister is staring intently at the meat on the next table over. Yeah, yeah, it looks delicious. Pay some attention to us.

“Before Horn joined, I spent about a year gaining experience as a normal adventurer. And from what I knew back then, Dawn’s Blackbird was a team that just couldn’t break into the top tier.

They had the skill, the carefully selected members, and their job efficiency and success rate were among the best in the capital.

But something was missing.

They were stuck as perpetual mid-rankers—always close to Three Stars but never quite reaching it. Hard to put into words.”

Perpetual mid-rankers, huh?

“I get that. You see teams like that.”

They have the skill and the achievements, yet somehow, you can’t fully rely on them.

Like there’s just something lacking.

Like they could never be the protagonists of a story.

To put it bluntly—they just aren’t on that level.

The reasons vary, so I can’t generalize, but that feeling exists.

“But after Horn joined, that missing something got filled.

As a result, the team earned their Three Stars and became one of the capital’s top-ranked adventurer teams.

What changed? Probably the atmosphere.

Before, they were prideful, turning down low-paying jobs, acting like top-tier adventurers. Now? They take on all kinds of work. It’s made them pretty popular, too.”

Huh.

“Oh, by the way, I only joined Blackbird pretty recently. Had to take an entry exam. Before that, I went on a lot of expeditions with Horn.”

He said it was because Blackbird had become the kind of team he wanted to join.

I see. So that’s how much the team changed.

Well, I kinda get it.

After watching Horn for so long, you get tired of telling her to “get your act together” or “have some pride.” You just stop caring.

“Most likely, while trying to keep Horn out of trouble, the Blackbird members got swept up in her pace.”

That’s why you can’t underestimate her. She’s too much to just dismiss as a fool.

“Exactly. Same thing happened to me.”

The village’s second-biggest idiot is saying something, but I can safely ignore that.

---

“—I never heard Glasses was Horn’s little brother!”

I let Laila’s grumbling slide and dug into the food that arrived. I didn’t know Horn had a little sister either, so we’re even.

More importantly, back to the debt talk.

“Oh, right. The leader’s basically given up on collecting. More like… he doesn’t want to.”

“Doesn’t want to?”

“He’s a little worried that if the debt disappears, Horn might leave Blackbird.”

Ah, got it. That’s why they’re keeping the debt around—they want it to stay.

“Nowadays, Horn’s a pretty famous adventurer in the capital.

She’s skilled, stupid but not a bad person, easy to manipulate since she’s gullible. Other teams scout her, she’s built connections with big shots…

And like I said earlier, she fills in Blackbird’s missing pieces.

If she left over something stupid, the team might fall apart. …Then again, maybe I’m overthinking it.”

That… makes sense.

After Horn left the village two years ago, the “hole she left” wasn’t small.

The elders she used to help with labor visibly lost energy, and kids got dragged into more odd jobs.

This is how much Horn and Lexton were working?

Everyone realized it too late. And when they tried to fill that gap, the whole village ended up in chaos and arguments.

She really is, in her own way, an unmanageable menace.

---

“Phew… that was good.”

With the meal over, Horn finally seemed to settle down. Two extra helpings of goat stew, huh? You really can eat.

“So, Eil, you here to visit the capital?”

And now she’s suddenly acting all familial. Late much? Shouldn’t that question have come up right after we reunited?

“The Selection Ceremony. Same as you, Horn.”

“Huh? ………The Selection Ceremony?”

Wait.

“You didn’t forget, right?”

That clueless face… Don’t tell me she forgot about her own Coming of Age Day.

“……Oh.”

Seems like it just clicked.

“Right. I was brought to the capital because my 'aptitude' was rare. That’s why I’m still here.”

As unbelievable as ever. She’d completely forgotten even the reason she was here. Just… wow.

“So you’ve got a 'rare aptitude' too? That why they brought you?”

This is it.

Normal people would tiptoe around the subject, but she just asks outright. That’s Horn for you… Well, whatever.

“Aptitude” isn’t something you casually ask about—it’s basic common sense.

That’s why Laila never asked me, and why I haven’t asked anyone since coming to the capital.

Just basic manners.

But Horn, lacking any such common sense, doesn’t find it strange at all.

“I’ve got a minor 'Sorcerer’s Aptitude', apparently.”

“Wait, seriously?!”

Lexton was the one shocked. Laila too.

Horn just went “Huh,” completely indifferent.

For the record, Lexton and Laila’s reactions are the correct ones by societal standards.

Sorcerers are that rare.

“But it’s not enough to matter. Got turned away at the castle gates. So I’ll just sightsee a bit before heading back to the village.”

Not a lie.

“Summoning Glasses” is something sorcerers can do. So it should apply to me too. I’m just omitting details—not lying.

“That’s too bad.”

“Not really. Even if they recognized my 'aptitude', I wouldn’t have served the castle. I was planning to go back to the village no matter what.”

Now that I’ve met Horn, once I fulfill the castle’s request, there’ll be no reason to stay.

Talking to her is still a struggle, but she’s healthy and seems fine, so I’ll report that to our parents. Getting updates on her… seems faster through Rexhton, honestly.

One last thing, though.

“I’d like to greet Blackbird’s leader.”

I have to meet the person putting up with this sister. As family, it’s the least I can do.

This isn’t something I can brush off just because I don’t like dealing with people. Absolutely not.

If I were in their shoes, I’d definitely expect a greeting.

They’re dealing with Horn, after all.

That said… it’s still nerve-wracking. If they complain, I can’t just ignore it—not in this situation.

“More importantly, Ail.”

While I was steeling myself, Horn leaned in close.

Her gleaming dark brown eyes locked onto mine, as if seeing right through me.

“That thing on your face is good, isn’t it? Give it to me.”

There she goes again.

“These are useless for people with good eyesight. Yours are fine, Horn.”

I stared back through the lenses at my sister, who showed no reaction—likely because she’d just blurted out whatever came to mind.

“That’s not all it does, right? So give it.”

…………

Asking how she knows or why she thinks that is pointless with Horn.

She just does.

Maybe, even before the earliest memory—the “abandoned in the woods” incident—I had already learned one thing from her:

People who live by instinct and intuition are terrifying.