Evan D. Sherden, Preparing for the Next Scenario (7)

Everyone would give the same answer if asked to pick the two most active children in Astray. They were the youngest in the knighthood who became thirteen this year, the twin sisters Lin and Lan.

“Lin, are you asleep?”

“I’ll wake up. Today, we’re busy.”

The two of them were sharing the same bed in the same room. As their bodies matured faster in recent years, they thought that the bed was becoming a bit smaller, so Evan provided them a giant bed, which was enough for two of them to sleep on. Well, in fact, one more person could even sleep together with those two on the new bed.

“Hmm.”

Lin woke up and stretched her body. The shirt which she roughly tossed on before falling asleep slipped and her cleavage was partly shown. Lin was amused while touching her breast, which had grown bigger in the past two years.

“I think it became bigger.”

“I want to touch it.”

“Then I will touch yours, Lin.”

“Sure!”

The two sisters confirmed the texture and the size of their breasts, but they concluded that they were completely the same. Actually, they already confirmed this several times in the past. Commander Oppa had told them that they share everything. Their health, mana, luck, and intelligence. So, it was natural for their bodies to grow at the same pace.

‘But…’

Lin picked up a ribbon she put at the edge of the bed and used it to tidy up her hair to the right while thinking that they might share the same emotions too. And the reason for saying such a thing was that recently…

“Hehe, it’s just like what Aunt Aria said. The priestess of the void god has big breasts.”

“But what’s good in having big breasts?”

“Even the Vice-Commander Oppa and Commander Oppa likes huge breasts. So, big breasts are good!”

Lan spoke as if she was stating an absolute truth. Unlike Lin, she was tidying her hair to the left. The two of them had different colors of pupils. The elder sister Lin had a green left eye and purple right eye while Lan had the opposite. So, if they were side by side, it reminded people of a mirror image.

“Then what about Jhin?”

“Stupid Jhin?”

Lan tilted her head as she asked Lin. Lin nodded her head and replied. Although it was just a little, her voice was nervous.

“Jhin is a guy, after all.”

“Ah!”

Then, Lan’s eyes widened in realization. She stood up right away.

“Let’s go and ask!”

“Lan!?”

“Stupid Jhiiiiiiiiin!”

Lan burst out from her room. Lin followed her in a hurry, but by the time she caught up, Lan was entering Jhin’s room.

“Stupid Jhin. You, argh!”

And she fell onto the floor due to the trap which Jhin placed during the night. Fortunately, the holy shield protected her before her face hit the ground.

“Noisy.”

Jhin, who just woke up like the girls, threw his pillow at her in annoyance. But as a close-combat class, Lan swiftly stood up and received the pillow just to throw it back to him.

“Stupid Jhin, do you like big breasts or small breasts?”

“Big.”

Although Jhin usually had no interest in girls, he spoke without the slightest hesitation. Lan was smiling with joy, and Lin looked at her chest for no reason.

“Jhin is a guy, after all!”

“I’m fifteen this year. You’re kids.”

“I got big breasts. Look!”

“Tsk. Still a kid.”

“He just sneered!”

Jhin spoke in annoyance as he put the pillow onto his bed and started changing his clothes. He didn’t seem to get bothered by the fact that there were two girls in front of him.

“I need to go out today, so don’t cling to me, and mind your business.”

“Where are you going?”

“Training with Master Illoin in the morning. And another training with that man.”

Jhin took off his shirt. Fifteen years old, although his mind was young, his body suited the word man rather than a boy. His upper body was full of muscles as if they were proof. He might look slim when he wore clothes since he trained his body to be able to move silently and swiftly, but anyone could notice that he was just pure muscle. It was the body of a warrior than befitted one who trained more than anyone in the Junior group. Not many knew that it was the fruit of his effort in trying to catch up with Evan.

“Whoa…”

Lin just stood and watched him while sighing weirdly. For some reason, she just stared at him as her heartbeat so fast that it hurt.

“Who’s that man? Hmm?”

“Must Save…Commander is caring for him, so I should help as much as I can.”

Meanwhile, Lan clung to him and bothered him without considering what Jhin was doing. Jhin was already used to her behavior, so he changed his clothes while replying to her half-heartedly. He took off his trousers after his shirt, swiftly pulling up black leather pants over his toned leg muscles. Lin spoke unconsciously while looking at Jhin.

“What a shame.”

“What?”

“No, no! Stupid Jhin is really slow in changing his clothes!”

“I don’t want to hear those words from someone who is still wearing pajamas.”

“Huh? Kyaa!”

Lin screamed and retreated to her room as she realized the condition of her clothes too late. Jhin was dumbfounded.

“I don’t understand why she’s acting all worked up when she roams around wearing pajamas all day.”

“Stupid Jhin won’t know. Lin’s pajama is imbued with a magic bomb.”

“Don’t you have it in yours? Make it explode. Or shall I?”

“Kyaa, stupid Jhin!”

In order to chase her out, Jhin acted as if he was trying to rip her pajamas off, and Lan went out from the room screaming like her sister. And when Jhin was trying to get back to grooming himself, Lan opened the door and stuck her head in.

“What?”

“My breasts will become really big in the future!”

“Yeah, good luck with that.”

“Will you like me if my breast gets big?”

Jhin agonized over trying to understand her intention, but he soon gave up on it.

“Nope, I still don’t like you.”

“Stupid Jhin, I really hate you!”

The door was slammed shut. Jhin sighed and finished grooming himself. He looked himself in the mirror for a final check and recalled what Lan had said before leaving.

‘Am I going to like Lan? What nonsense. I have no intention of liking someone in the first place.’

Thanks to his diligent training, leveling up in the dungeon, and toning up his body through different kinds of exercises that the Commander and Vice-Commander prepared for him, not a single trace of fat could be seen on him. But his natural eyes—those golden eyes-still stood out. His eye sockets were larger than others, and the vertical pupils made him look frightening.

“Eyes of the dragon…”

Despite his young age, Jhin completely gave up on the emotion of love. He thought that nobody would love his eyes. If there was one person that loved him, it was the Commander, Evan D. Sherden. After meeting him, Jhin finally found the goal of his life. It was to become a dragon.

“Dragon…first, I need to beat the dragon in our Knighthood.”

It was good to have a visible goal, but he had to accomplish other schedules as well. Jhin frowned with this thought and left the room.

* * *

Lin and Lan visited their parents’ house after a long while. Other children in the Knighthood were already distanced from their parents when they were adopted, but that wasn’t the case for Lin and Lan. Their parents left them to Evan without hesitation when Evan told them that he could raise them to be strong. With his support, they were able to settle in the dungeon city of Sherden, which enabled them to live a happy life under Evan’s protection.

“Mom!”

“Dad!”

“Oh my, my precious jewels are here!”

They usually visited their parents’ house regularly. Still, they couldn’t do so after joining Save’s party during the final stage of the scenario.

“Will you girls stay the night?”

“Yup! We will go to Uncle Raihan’s wedding!”

“Ho, that man is getting married. Sit down here; I’ll bring some cookies.”

“Yay!”

Their parents greeted them pleasantly and had them sit next to the table. It was given that their favorite snacks were served. Lin and Lan stuffed their mouths with cookies, making them look like squirrels.

“You girls have grown! You can even get married; don’t you think so?”

“Stop joking. They are thirteen years old; thirteen.”

“But our kids are mature compared to other kids their age, aren’t they?”

“Even if they are mature, they still behave like children.”

Lin flared up at her mother’s merciless words, but she couldn’t possibly refute that statement. Meanwhile, Lan was someone who could disagree even in such a situation.

“I’m not a kid! I can get married!”

“Darling, you have to be at least sixteen years old to get married in this country…huh? Perhaps, have you taken an interest in someone?”

“Ack!”

Lin flinched at her mother’s keen observation, yet Lan was still full of energy.

“I don’t like him, no! Stupid Jhin!”

“Aha, so his name is Jhin. I expected this to happen since you always talk about him…”

“I don’t like him!”

“Really, it’s not like that, mom. We are just friends.”

“Oh my, Lin likes him too, don’t you?”

They just said a few words, but their mother already saw through their minds, which made Lan shriek, and Lin shook her head out of embarrassment.

“I hoped one of you girls got married to Master Evan.”

“The two of them behaved the same since when they were young. Maybe it’s natural for them to like the same person.”

“Well, they are still young. Their youth has just begun, so they will change their minds as they get older.”

“Hahaha, I think not. Shall we bet?”

Their mother got angry at their father, who was laughing loudly.

“Why are you so delighted!? Their lives will be full of flowers if they get married to Master Evan!”

“Their lives are already full of roses, aren’t they? Don’t be so greedy, and let’s just support them from behind. Right, kids? Bring over that Jhin boy someday. I’d like to see him at least once.”

“In our house? Will stupid Jhin sleep over in our house?”

“If we bring him over, will you treat him nicely?”

Lan’s ears flapped. Her father laughed quietly at Lin’s cautious question.

“Of course. He may become your husband in the future, so why not?”

“Jhin—his eyes are special. Will you still be nice to him?”

“His eyes are all sparkly, so it’s really beautiful!”

Lan just butted in, although she was screaming that she didn’t like him until a while ago. Their mother held her forehead while saying, “Oh my,” and the father nodded while bursting out in laughter once more.

“He’s a special boy. Then, we will treat him specially.”

“Then I’ll go bring him right now!”

“Me too!”

Lan stood up alongside Lin. Those two were so excited that they just went out of the house without listening to a word from their parents.

“…What will you do, honey?”

“It’s not their first time doing such things.”

Father stood up from his chair while shrugging as if there was nothing he could do to stop them.

“We should prepare for our guest now.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Jhin was training with Save at the said hour. The misunderstanding between the both was already resolved. No, rather, there was no such thing from the start. It was a friendly match since Jhin accepted Save’s challenge as he wanted to duel with him.

“Whew, I lost. You sure are strong.”

“Same…you really become stronger fast.”

The result was Jhin’s victory by a close call. If he fought while keeping his distance, he would have an overwhelming victory, but that wasn’t a fair duel, so they fought within a limited area. And in such a situation, Jhin was amazing since he withstood the halberd, which was considered to be the best close-ranged weapon. If Save grew a bit stronger, Jhin wouldn’t be able to win in close-range combat.

“I’ve read your skills and your status with my ability, but I wasn’t able to react to them. From decision-making to reflex, I am really amazed.”

“Read them all, as expected. Commander told me something similar before…”

“He knows everything.”

Save nodded with satisfaction, causing Jhin to suddenly think of something.

“Can you read the abilities of the Commander as well by any chance?”

“Yes.”

“For real?”

“But they are something which I can’t comprehend even if I can read them.”

“Huh?”

Jhin tilted his head, unable to understand the meaning behind Save’s answer. Save laughed as if he understood Jhin’s reaction.

“Let’s assume. Assume that a god has appeared in front of us. He exists right in front of our eyes, but he is just so great that we can’t possibly perceive everything from our little eyes. In that case, we can say that we’ve ‘seen’ him, but we can’t say that we understood him.”

Reading Evan’s abilities was somewhat possible when he saw him for the first time. But just a few days ago, when he met him once more…Save just laughed. Jhin nodded in astonishment as if he understood the meaning behind the laughter.

“You’re saying that our Commander is that great being.”

“I’m sorry for not being able to precisely tell you his abilities.”

“No.”

Jhin nodded happily.

“That’s enough. He is the person who can truly become a dragon.”

“Dragon? No, he’s someone that’s greater than a dragon.”

“Huh? Dragons are the ultimate species. Commander told me that there are no creatures that exceed them.”

Sadly, their opinions split at this point. And as they were about to start their second match, two girls entered through the inn’s back door.

“There he is!”

“Stupid Jhin!”

“What are you doing!?”

As Jhin tried to escape from his seat, Lin temporarily sealed his movement by swiftly casting a spell. Then, Lan held his arms tight.

“Come to our house now!”

“What!? Why should I go…!?”

“You are coming with us!”

“Father told us to bring you over!”

“Why am I meeting your…!?”

“Let’s go!”

Jhin was suddenly abducted by the two girls and forced to leave the scene. Save stood still for a while and gave up on understanding what had just happened; then, he began training himself.

The stars of Sherden were continuously becoming brighter as the battle with the Demon King approached.