The sun has already fallen over the shadow, with stars and moons replacing its place to rule over the sky. Leaves rattled as the campfire in the forest kept burning through the night, guiding a lot of guards to sleep as they've just finish a night raid towards one of the small outpost that the bandit control in this forest.
In a camp, not too far away from there, stands three individuals that's essential for the expedition to continue on. Robert, the leader of the guards in the expedition. Freesia or Aurellis as her noble name calls, the vice commander and helps strategize attacks along with Argard or Ardentia, the commander of the expedition.
"First Phase of the plan has been executed perfectly" My sister grinned. Thrilled to see the plan that she has concocted goes smoothly as she moves one of the pieces that represents our guards and knocks one of the enemy's pieces on the map.
"Excellent work, vice commander. At first we doubted your plan but after seeing all of the success we achieve. I just can't say anything but in awe" Robert praised.
Before this, under Robert, the plan that he was making suffers defeat after defeats. So just seeing one instance of win, added that we're also occupied a crucial part of the enemy's territory, meant that his reaction was acceptable at worst.
In an instant, she quickly lift her head and fold her arms onto her chest. "See, brother! Didn't I say you to just trust your little sister"
"...Brother?" She asked. Concern after she saw my stern face. A little too focused thinking about something.
A little nudge from her later, I then return to reality. I look around as I was seemingly lost. To be honest, even after a couple of days from now, I still don't know for what or why reason do I blank out in the middle of a planning room.
"Vice commander, is he always like this?" Interrupted Robert, also with a sign of concern hanging upon his face as he was also gazing at the both of us.
For a while, my sister conflicted about what she was going to respond to him with. She looked at me for a second as she gulped. A moment later, she then turned back towards Robert, committing to answer his question, only to find that she spout out a bluff.
"Ah, yes Robert. My brother was usually like this when he was thinking about a very genius tactic. It works wonders every time when we're still on the streets and the reason why we still alive." She claimed. With a confident smug she presented so confidently that Robert fell for it.
"I thought you're the only one that was talented with planning the army"
"No, no, of course not. Even though I'm most of the time better than him cause it's my forte. But the fact is, he was the one that taught me."
"Woah, really?"
"Mhmm" She nodded ecstatically, making me sound like a very good brother for teaching her the stuff that I didn't even have a slight hint of knowledge of.
At this point. Aurellis' bluff works at Robert, considering the how naive he is. Thanks to her, I slowly regaining back my ability to analyze the situation. Look around like a robot that has just awaken from it stasis.
"Freesia, I may excuse myself for a bit" As I walk away from the planning camp onto our caravan not too far away.
"Is that also a part of commander's plan? He walks away first?" Robert inquired after seeing me awkwardly leaving the scene.
"H-Huh? Y-Yeah, that's how we do it back in the day. It was always like that, just like how I remembered it."
I didn't hear the rest of their conversation as I was too occupied on the things that I thought about before. The wind is a little strong tonight A thought passes in my mind after hearing the sounding midst by the rattling leaves on the tree...That's all I could remember from that weird moment.
***
Hours later, I lied on my bed, staring blankly to the dark sky above. A pleasant feeling swept my mind with subtle and breeze of wind passes through my face. It felt like it has been so many years since I could experience this level of serenity.
Cracks in my memories seeps over to my new one. It was something I thought I would've already lost at this point. That I thought I already gave away to this world at some point. I continue to lie there, as I blink my eyes once or twice before a familiar voice was heard outside.
"Brother, what's gotten into you? In a day you literally becomes depressed." She said in an almost shouting voice. She was mad and I know it...I should've act but.
She then came inside the caravan after a bang from the outside wood plank. Standing over at the entrance and looking disgustedly over me. Her face twitches once in a while but other than her disappointed and a little appalled face, nothing out of the ordinary happen.
"What's wrong with y-"
"Cut it, I don't want to hear anything from you, right now, Aurel" Avoiding her gaze, I turned to the wall of the caravan and tucked my self in a makeshift blanket.
Looking at my detached reaction, she snapped. "You thought that my attempt at concealing you at the time of your weakest point is something that's so detached for you, you simply ignore it!?"
"Look, Aurel...I'm tire-"
"If this is what I receives after defending you with bluffs after bluffs so you do not embarrassed yourself in front of the 'real' leader of this bandit expedition. What would I even try in the first place??"
"Aurel...come, sleep"
Perplexed, she widen her eye as she walks to the side of my bed, just inches away.
"You're thinking me lightly do you? I'm trying my best to defend you from a lifetime of shame and this is how you respond me with here? You didn't even try to face me!" She then took a long breather after calming herself down.
"You're the one that wanted me to be here, right?" She said, now with a more calmed down and pleasing tone. "You're the one that wished me to accompany you here..."
A moment of silence was reach as she contemplates about the things that she was going to say next.
"Do you think that I'm here just to burden you...Ardentia?" She said with a heavy sigh. Deep inside her heart, she knew she has messed up by just say. But by whatever reason that I myself couldn't even explain, she proceeds with it anyway.
Sluggishly, I turned towards her. To see her closing her eyes and bracing herself if I lashed out to her as her feeble leg shivers, as she was a frightened for what to come next. There it struck me.
From the past hours, my mind was blanking, to think about the reason why I came here anyway. For the first eight years in my life here, it was honestly the first time I think it thoroughly.
I kept looking to the stars above. As I wonder about what my reason was. For once I thought about something that not a single Isekai characters has even thought before. If this world truly has everything that you could think in every Fantasy world. What could you do?
In every Isekai, every demon lord, every problems, always has itself a way to fix it. It was always controlled that way...Every story has it writer who plan every step meticulously, but since I delve inside this world. I was only given a vague task, to fix all the kingdoms that my MC has walked through.
For the first time in my life...I'm lost by the freedom I wanted the most.
But, after I've seen Aurel...no, my sister quiver as she was afraid of me snapping at her like how she snapped at me earlier, I then turned back towards her.
"Aurel..."
After she heard my voice, she slowly opens her eyes. A single tear slips down to her cheek as she answered.
"You aren't mad at me?"
"You're one of my greatest star that has ever existed in my life you know?"
With a puzzled face, she quickly laughs, trying to deflect my words as she responded with the way how she knows. "Brother, that's the most cringe and crusty sentences that I ever heard in my life!"
"I know"
Her laughs abruptly subsides, her face shifted stern as she was out of words. "Wha- Then why did you even say it?"
"You know the reason yourself, don't you?" I said, a little faint smile was visible through the awkward situation.
She sighed with a noticeable shudder as she takes her pillow from her bed. Quickly, she lied on her bed and look against me while a sniff was still heard from her side.
"That's why your light novel never became best seller...It was filled with those...kind of lines"
"The important it is that you like it right?" I teased softly so that I didn't bother the peaceful ambience surrounding us.
"I hate you, brother..." She mumbles cutely. Her voice still muffled from the pillow she was hugging onto her face.
***
The sun has finally rises from the mountain, with stars and moons now became the one that disappear into the horizon, a new day was marked as three individuals stands before the planning table.
"Robert, Freesia. May I propose something, a plan that might help us defeat the bandits in one swoop?" I said, keeping my stern and neutral face.
Robert then quickly whispered something to Aurel, as she now exclaim loudly and also a wink indicating good luck.
"Mhmm, Robert. Now this is the time you're waiting for since yesternight"
"Ah, forgive me rudeness, commander. Please enlighten us with that master plan of yours" Robert added, as he enthusiastically quickly prepares all the map pieces from the enemy and our guards as well as extreme amount of detail that we didn't even know before he show it to us.