The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat - Volume 5 - Chapter 13

Chapter 13 | The Assassin’s Little Sister’s Request

I soared through the air and arrived in Milteu. Because I was going to visit Maha, I went as Illig Balor, not Lugh Tuatha Dé.

I approached a spot where one of the communication devices was buried, accessed it with my mobile phone, set it to Dia, Tarte, and Maha’s channel, and activated it. I wanted to tell them I was safe.

“This is Lugh. The trial ended successfully in my acquittal. The plan is to spend the day working in Milteu and then return tomorrow.”

I was about to end the call there, but someone else accessed the telecommunications network, and voices began to come through.

“Thank goodness you’re safe, my lord! I’ll have your favorite food ready when you return.”

“Why the heck did you take so long to contact us? We were worried sick!”

“Tarte, Dia. I told you both yesterday that he was safe.”

“But I couldn’t possibly relax until I heard Lord Lugh’s voice directly.”

“Same here. I pulled an all-nighter waiting for you, Lugh. I’ve been too worried to even work on spells.”

It was Tarte, Dia, and Maha.

Maha had a communication device in her room, but Dia and Tarte couldn’t receive transmissions with their phones unless they went to the mountain behind the estate. They must have been so worried about me that they went there yesterday and remained there until hearing from me. I had taught Tarte survival techniques, so they’d likely put up a tent.

“Sorry for worrying you. I have gifts for you both when I get back. Maha, I’ll meet you in two to three hours.”

“I’m all ready for you here. I adjusted my work schedule so I would have time after the trial. I have all the time in the world for you today, dear brother.”

“Aw man, I’m so jealous. I want to go on a date with Lugh, too,” said Dia.

“That’s rich coming from someone who lives with him,” Maha fired back.

“You’re right. Sorry, Maha. Hey, do you want to meet up sometime? It’s weird that we’ve never met.”

“Yeah, it is. I’ll make time in my schedule for you. I have plenty I’d like to talk to you about. We should pick a meeting point.”

“We should do this without Lugh, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Do I want to know what this is about…?” I asked.

Just what were they planning on talking about in my absence?

“There are some things you can’t talk about with a guy present.”

“There’s no need to fear, dear brother. I don’t want to fight her or anything. I would never do anything to upset you.”

“Yeah, I just want to make friends. Talking like this is already doing a lot to bring us closer.”

It sounded like nothing to worry about. That was a relief. I decided I would give them their space for their girl talk.

“I’m hanging up. One thing before I go—everything that is said on this transmission is recorded in the log, so keep that in mind,” I announced.

They all seemed to be in a talkative mood, so I thought I should warn them. I didn’t think any of them would say problematic stuff, but there was a chance they could let slip something that would be embarrassing for me to hear.

“Yes, my lord. I feel so ashamed I didn’t realize I could speak to Maha whenever I wanted.”

“You haven’t changed one bit, Tarte… But it feels nice to hear your voice.”

“Ah, you should come with me, Tarte! Having a mutual friend will make conversation easier.”

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I will do my best to help you two connect!”

That eased my fear a little. Tarte’s presence would prevent things from getting too weird.

As I walked through Milteu, I was reminded of how lovely a place it was. The city bore the honor of being the largest port in the Alvanian Kingdom. You could find just about anything there.

I picked out a gift for Maha while gathering some things I needed. I’d gotten her some cookies that she liked while I was in the capital, but I decided I would also buy her a bouquet of flowers. Her favorite purple blossoms were in season.

Tarte and Dia didn’t care much for flowers. Tarte preferred food, and Dia liked receiving books. Maha had the most traditionally feminine tastes of the three.

After I finished shopping, I went to Natural You’s main store. A friendly receptionist greeted me, and I headed for the room where Maha was waiting.

When I entered, Maha calmly lifted her face from some documents she had been reading intently.

That relaxed demeanor was very like her. Dia or Tarte would have rushed toward me right away.

“I haven’t seen you in a while, Maha.”

“Yes, it’s been a long time. I was so lonely without you.”

Maha gave me a strained smile and stood. She had prepared tea for us, just like she always did. Her herbal brews were delicious and relaxing.

“Can you make mine strong this time, please? I brought a gift for you from the capital. They’re Marlana raisin cookies. You said you liked these, right?”

“Thank you. Those are my favorite. I used to think goods in the capital were too expensive even if they were high in quality, but now I know the prices are worth it.”

I put the flowers I’d bought in a vase as Maha made the tea.

“Meluna flowers, too? I’m not sure how to react to all this attention,” she remarked, smiling despite herself.

I was relieved my gifts made her happy.

“I wanted to thank you for the hard work you’ve done for me.”

“I… I’m glad to know you think of me that way. This is actually perfect timing. I want to ask you something.”

Maha grabbed the herbal tea and sat in front of me.

“If I can help you, I will. Ask away.”

“You’re the only one who can do this for me, but let’s discuss it after we finish the sweets.”

“Sounds good. It would be a waste to let your herbal tea go cold.”

Maha paid careful attention to every step of preparation. She put considerable thought into the temperature, the steeping time, the quantity of the tea leaves, and the quality of the water.

There couldn’t have been many other people who altered the water depending on the tea leaves they used. There was no concept of hard or soft water in this world, and I hadn’t taught her anything about it, either. She’d discovered all of this on her own.

Her tea hit the spot. It was just what my tired body needed.

I broke the seal on the raisin cookies I’d brought, and the scent of grapes wafted through the air. The sweets were a high-quality soft kind. The raisins—the key ingredient—had been pickled in premium brandy, and the spices inserted into the dough brought out their flavor.

They were a luxurious treat with an intricate taste. Maha was overjoyed to have them.

“These cookies really are delicious. I wonder if we could make them, too,” she remarked.

“That would be difficult. From what I’ve heard, they make the brandy exclusively for pickling the raisins. It would be very expensive and require a significant amount of trial and error. Figuring all that out requires a lot of time,” I explained.

“You’re right. That kind of investment runs counter to our business practices.”

“We usually dominate the market either with novel ideas, by utilizing our technological and monetary advantage, or by using our independent distribution network. We don’t have much history with taking commonplace goods like cookies and meticulously perfecting them, nor do we have the labor for it. I don’t think it’s the right course for us.”

In business, there were always things beyond your capability. It was important to focus on what you could do and use that to succeed.

“That’s true… But I do want to try this kind of thing sometime as a hobby.”

“Natural You has become large enough. If it grew any larger, that would actually give us less freedom. Playing it safe here and opening a shop just for fun might be a good idea.”

Natural You was still expanding, and we were in dire need of greater facilities and personnel to keep up with the rate of growth. We were on the verge of becoming so large that we would be unable to monitor every nook and cranny of the company with even the most efficient management.

That came with dangers. We could end up losing control of parts of the enterprise that went unchecked.

Business required the courage and the willingness to pump the brakes.

“I agree with you. I wanted to consult you about that, but you beat me to it.”

“I’m surprised to hear you say so.”

“Don’t insult me. Do you realize how long it’s been since you entrusted me with the company, dear Illig? I’ll bet I have surpassed you when it comes to skill in enterprise.”

“You might be right.”

I really was nothing more than an adviser at this point. Natural You had grown to this size because of Maha’s ability.

We enjoyed the raisin cookies and herbal tea as we talked about the company, and before we knew it, we had run out of both.

Maha then started to fidget. She did say that she wanted to ask me for something once we were finished eating.

Is her request really so embarrassing?

Maha cleared her throat.

“You know…not too long ago, I realized that something had changed in Tarte. I could tell from her letters that she seemed happy and that she had gained some confidence. She used to always be so timid.”

“Huh. Now that I think about it, you’re right.”

Tarte had always lacked confidence, and that held true even after she became one of the strongest people in Alvan.

But her behavior had been a little different recently. She was acting more self-assured. That much was obvious from the phone conversation earlier. Not too long ago, Tarte never would have spoken that way.

“I asked her why…and she said that you two, uh…did it. Ever since then, I’ve been unable to stop thinking unpleasant things, like how unfair it is that she got to and I haven’t… So, dear brother, could I ask you to do it with me, too? I love you, Illig. I know you think of me as a little sister, and that makes me happy. However, that’s not enough for me. I’m afraid that you don’t care for me as much as Dia and Tarte and that I’m the girl you think of the least. I’m the only one who’s not in a relationship with you, and it hurts.”

Maha peered up at me, her face beet-red and her eyes moist.

She looked so cute and innocent.

“…Oh, Maha. Are you really okay with me? The heir of the Balor Company proposed to you… It’s such a waste.”

I said that in jest, but Maha puffed out her cheeks in response. It was rare to see her do something so childish.

“The Balor Company’s power is certainly attractive, but not as much as you… Besides, we could grow Natural You even bigger than the Balor Company if we wanted.”

I gave an awkward smile. If any other merchant heard her say that, they would have laughed in her face. But I was confident that Maha and I were up to the task.

“You’re right about that… I should warn you, I can’t promise to love no one but you.”

“I know. I’m okay with it.”

Maha got up and sat beside me. She then gazed at me intently.

I think I know what she wants…

So I gave it to her.

“Ngh… Haah. Hee-hee, that kiss was much more daring than your last one.”

“That’s because I always saw you as family.”

“You don’t have to stop seeing me that way. But I want to be your girlfriend, too.”

Maha kissed me next.

First Tarte and now Maha. I had wound up in relationships with both of them.

I had used techniques from my previous world to win over their hearts and condition them so that they would never betray me. That only affected their loyalty, however, and not romantic feelings.

I didn’t use love as part of their behavior modification because it was fickle and ill-suited to creating an everlasting bond. That meant my attachment to Tarte and Maha, and their affection for me, was born from something outside of my design.

I was distrustful of anything that defied reasonable explanation, but the mystery of it did leave me overjoyed.

“Shall we take this somewhere else?” I asked.

“Yes, I already have a place prepared,” answered Maha.

“You’re always on top of things.”

“I’m a merchant to the last.”

There was no doubt about that.

We readied ourselves to leave the store. Maha smiled as she led me by the hand.

I was taken by her. She had truly become quite beautiful.

I wanted to make her happy. Initially, I’d acquired Maha because I needed her as a tool. Now, however, I loved her as a precious member of my family.