"Wonderful! Glorious! You were both amazing!"Elizabeth's joyful applause echoed through the air, leaving the young boy in awe. Her presence had a paralyzing effect on Hope.
"Sis?! What are you doing here?"
"How dare you ask? You let me take care of the chores, saying you had an urgent business, and I find you here."
"I told you I had something to do! Why did you follow me?!"
She sulked as she made her way over to them.
"Something important? You mean getting your ass kicked?"
"Oi! I didn't get my ass kicked, it was a draw! Tell her, Dora!"
Dora rubbed his chin before shaking his head in a manner reminiscent of a scolded child.
"... Mom forbids me to lie."
"You shit!"
"No, you're the shit here, how did you lose so ridiculously after I taught you Hero Time? I've seen a lot of battles but this one has the funniest conclusion I've ever seen."
She chuckled while affectionately patting his head. Hope seethed with anger.
"If so, fight me again! And this time, no running!"
"Excuse me, senior?"Dora stepped back.
Elizabeth let out a deep sigh as she gently caressed her brother's hair.
"Hope, you still have a long way to go. If it was a fight to the death, who do you think the winner would be?"
"It's not like that," the young boy stammered. "I lost this time because he ran away, but in an official match..."
"Hope, Your first mistake was challenging someone more talented than you, your biggest mistake was telling him exactly how your technique works. You're on the floor, he's standing, in a real fight, you'd still have lost."
"No, it's not fair!"
"Hope!"
By simply uttering his name, she managed to quiet her brother, showcasing an intriguing ability. Hope folded his arms, his expression conveying sheer boredom.
"Hope, remember the promise we made last night?"
"... I know."
"...And what was it?"
"Uuurght... Could you wait till we get home? You're ridiculing me in front of my friend."
He gazed at Dora, his smile reaching its maximum width.
"Hope..." Elizabeth murmured one last time.
"Ok, OK! I'm going to train harder and learn how to fight, to become the best fighter in the academy and later the strongest emissary, to give you the biggest fight of your life."
She smiled and ruffled his hair.
"You have mixed up the point, you must grow strong for the good of the world and become the next leader of the royal knights. But I forgive you since you remember I need a good challenger."
"Sister... This is embarrassing."
With a pleading gaze fixed on Dora, it was evident that he desired nothing more than for him to depart promptly. The humiliation endured throughout the day had reached its limit.
"Well, it's getting late, I'm going home then, see you soon..."
"Hold on, I'd like to chat a bit longer with you before you leave." Elizabeth interrupted,
Hope and Dora were surprised by Elizabeth's strange request.
"You're the one who regularly beats Hope, aren't you?"
Dora paused briefly before shifting his gaze to Hope.
"... You cowardly snitch."
"Wait, I didn't say anything!"
She chuckled once more, leaving them uncertain whether her happiness was innate or if she simply rejoiced in discovering her brother's tormentor.
"Don't worry, I'm only curious about your power."
"... The power I use to... Be your wonderful brother's best friend?"
With a look of utter disgust, Hope directed his gaze towards Dora.
"Eeeeeh? I thought your mother forbade you to lie?"
Elizabeth clapped her hands in order to soothe the young boy.
"Stop worrying, I'm not going to eat you. In fact, I'm glad Hope has a friend like you, I feel like he's going to learn a lot... So if I'm not mistaken, you are Anesi the avatar aren't you?"
Dora felt a twinge of concern towards this formidable woman, capable of overpowering him effortlessly. However, he comprehended that escape was futile as she possessed the power of an S-rank Avatar, with an array of exceptional abilities.
"Yes, that should be me, what is it?"
"Well, I heard in the village that you were an Avatar with only debuff abilities... But I guess it's more interesting than that, isn't it?"
"Why are you even interested in me?"
"You shouldn't be so surprised, how could I not care about the one who beat my lovely brother, the avatar hero, so many times? Especially when I heard you were just a debuff, Mr. Floral Artist."
"Okay you got me, yeah I don't use my full power in battle I'm a wonderful genius parrying through the rifts with my group but going genocidal on your brother, now what? Are you going to punish me?"
"You should really calm down, I'm not your enemy."
"Stop acting like one then!"
Laughing, she started walking, and they proceeded to follow her.
"I apologize in advance but I ended up listening to your conversation. So you're actually a very talented emissary but you decided to lower your level since you didn't want to shine too much, right?"
"No, I and Leon paired up once, by chance, 2 or 3 years ago when an E-rank rift had fully opened. Leon was already very strong so I just used debuffs because that was enough. And so, whenever a rift appeared, we teamed up, him as a DPS, me as a debuff, but it was only a temporary duo."
"Until Sana and Lillith join you, right?"
He looked at her with an annoyed expression.
"I guess being the strongest means you have a lot of free time, yeah basically Sana and Lillith were longtime friends, they also wanted to be professional emissaries, so they joined us after they got to the village. I don't know if that was the plan all along, but Leon declared us a party after a while."
"I see, I understand you a little more, you don't show your strength because you've never been in a situation that asked you to do so... So beating the honor out of Hope is more important than a rift battle."
"Hell, yeah!"
"I hate you both!!!" Hope dashed away while their laughter echoed in the distance. Elizabeth came to an abrupt halt, fixated on the fading glow of the sun.
"Say, I know you have your principles but... why not join the forces of the Kingdom?"
Dora glanced at her and observed the shift in her demeanor. Suddenly, a sense of melancholy washed over her face.
"And here it is, that was your real goal from the beginning, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. Sorry if you're disappointed, but I've been asking Hope about you for a while. I don't want to brag about him, but I know his level, he already has the level to become an E-rank and I know he will move up the ranks quickly."
She gazed down at the palms of her hands, a sparkle in her eye.
"Imagine my reaction when I saw him develop a new technique to counter his rival. An invincible rival that pushes him to surpass himself and improve. Hope has never evolved so much since he saw you as his rival. You are more beneficial to him than me and my family's workouts."
"If I understood correctly, you would like me to follow him in his quest to join the royal forces, to realize his dream, by putting myself at his disposal and for the happiness of his sister. Do I look like social service?"
"Wait, you always put it the wrong way, I'm saying it for you too."
"No, whatever you want to say, in the end, I'm in the royal forces, so that's a fucking NO."
"At least listen..."
"Bloody NO! Are you crazy to ask that to someone who just got their freedom? I had to serve as an underling for a year, someone became my girlfriend and took my damn afternoons, and some weirdo keeps bugging me to get stronger and the worst part is, it's not just your brother. Leave me alone damn it!"
"Let me talk, stupid boy!"
"Aaand we're done. Talk to my lawyer, his name is Hell, first name Go to."
Dora left, but she continued to follow him.
"Listen, you're an avatar, and as such you can only use skills from a few branches... But I saw you using magic and healing, and you made yourself look like a debuff. It has at least 3 different branches. I also know that you are physically stronger than Hope in some cases, so there is even more to that... An Avatar with many branches, you have the potential to become one of the strongest people in the world."
"I'll tell Hope you're rooting for his rival."
"If only you could let me… Hope told me he couldn't move on unless he knocked you down, are you ok with letting him go?"
At that moment, Dora paused, gazing at her with wide-eyed amazement.
"What in the Hell..."
"You don't use your power in the rift, but ridiculing him is enough reason to use them right? Are you fine letting him be happy so casually? Imagine if he grows stronger than you, imagine if he becomes D-rank, what do you think he would do first?"
The statement proved to be quite challenging for Dora. He gazed at the woman before him, his mind filled with countless questions. She didn't think twice about jeopardizing her brother's well-being in pursuing her desires. Surprisingly, it yielded positive results.
"I... I also don't plan on staying an E-rank... Or staying in the village forever... What's wrong with you anyway?! You're telling me I have to join the royal forces just to crush your brother's dream?"
"Yes."
"... I'm a monster, but you, you terrify me."
"What I'm saying is, how could anyone be the strongest if there's someone who could beat them just by trying a little bit? I wouldn't like to have that title in these circumstances."
"I would, goodbye."
Dora tried to run but the strongest grip in the Kingdom landed on hisshoulder.
"Also, it's for you too. You said you wanted freedom, didn't you?"
"... I swear, I'll tell everyone you're harassing me!"
Momentarily quiet, she displayed a frightening smile, making the young boy realize that his words had condemned him. Little did he know the extent of the danger he was in. She swiftly seized him, knocking him to the ground and securing his hands in hers.
"Let... Let me go! You monster!"
"Scream all you want, no one will come to help you."
"W-what the Hell are you doing?!"
"You said I'm harassing you, didn't you? I just want to do it correctly."
For a moment, he was paralyzed by the realization that his worst nightmare was unfolding before him: Hope's revenge taking hold through a relative.
"The moon looks delicious tonight."
"It's... It's still sunset..."
"I wasn't talking about that moon."
A cry of despair greeted the fall of night.