Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 97: Don’t Let It Run in the Family

Well, it wasn't a huge deal this time, fortunately.

'I guess something must have happened for her to drop a bomb like that out of the blue and confront my own secret... No, wait, when was it that she even Awakened?'

"Whatever. That's probably what she'll talk about tomorrow..."

Natural curiosity unearthed itself in my mind, but I swiftly discarded it with a mutter before sighing. And then, something unexpected caught my eye.

To me, who had been sitting on a wide patio chair just beyond the house walls, someone appeared.

"Gil? What're you doin' out so late?"

The younger brother who stood halfway through that back door paused upon laying eyes on me―his widened gaze, which flickered up from the ground to meet my own, immediately averted, like someone who had just been caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

"Uh... just, getting some fresh air..."

I couldn't see his face clearly due to the lack of clarity beneath this scantily-illuminated sky, and for a brief moment, I wondered if my own expression was similarly obfuscated.

If so, I hoped that nothing would inadvertently leak out.

"Well, that's a whole lot better than Ina. Has she even left the house at all since the last time I was here?"

"Oh... I think, maybe once or twice a month. You can usually tell because that's the only time she bathes or showers, so..."

Nodding my head at the expected answer, I gave him a stern look.

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"I thought so. Listen, Gil, whenever you find a girlfriend, at least you know what to watch out for. Just make sure she's the opposite of your sister. Also, I have a list of red-flag traits I can give you, but so long as you avoid people like her, you should be alright."

Aside from her occasional show of normalcy, Ina really was a checklist of what not to do, not just as a woman but as a social creature that was the 'human being'. Again, it's not like her personality was particularly bad―primarily, her extreme indolence was the issue, but there were some other, slightly more minor things we needn't be getting into.

Incidentally, it's not like I was really one to talk. I just liked making fun of her.

Seeing the corners of his lips sneakily curl up at my words, Gil seemed to find what I said humorous. Shooting a smile in return, I patted the spot beside me, upon which he proceeded to take a seat without complaint. Thereafter, a period of silence dawned upon us.

I turned my gaze back to the surveilling moon―that awfully dull crescent which, in its continuation of drawing a trail across the endless void above, had drifted a ways away from the earlier location in its orbit. And I wondered.

If Gil saw it the same way I did, or if what his eyes observed was any more radiant.

If the cold, the terribly cold chill in my chest, would ever thaw.

And, I wondered.

If, perhaps I was--

"Um..."

Gil's abrupt vocalisation interrupted such thoughts. Glancing at him, I noticed he seemed to be having some trouble gathering and sorting his thoughts, so I waited patiently for him to be ready.

After a short while, and with some hesitation, he started, his voice sheepish.

"Enki... do you... have a girlfriend?"

My eyebrows toppled at the unexpected question. It was surprising, but at the same time, I could imagine where it came from.

Well, it doesn't take a whole lot of brainpower to figure out why a 14-year-old boy might have asked such a thing, after all... Still, to think that my own younger brother held enough confidence in me to ask such advice...

Even if the question itself was something I didn't like, I was flattered.

Although, I couldn't really blame him for that. It's not like he ever knew.

"Did you ask a girl out?"

"No... we, uh, just went out yesterday..."

'Oh. Well, that made more sense why he wouldn't know what to do, I guess...'

Suddenly, something occurred to me.

'...Wait, wasn't it Valentine's Day yesterday?'

How cheeky. Ina scolded me for it as a joke, but in reality it was the youngest who was using our family name for such a thing.

"So, what's the issue? Do you not like her?"

"..."

Hearing no response to that question, my face dropped.

'No way... Gil?'

You wouldn't just accept a girl's confession because you felt bad for her, would you...? That would never end well.

Figuring out what I was going to say, I turned to him and opened my mouth, but immediately paused before speaking.

Gil's downcast face, of which only one side was visible, was shaded deep red―from the tip of his nose to the ends of his ears.

'Ah.'

At that instant, I realised my interpretation was wrong.

His eyes, which locked fiercely with the ground at his feet. His lips, which pressed tightly together, stiffly contorted into an awkward amalgamation of smile and frown. Lowering my gaze further, his hands curled into fists that gripped the hem of his clothes.

What else was this, but that?

This boy――was in love.

Undoubtedly so.

At some point, a grin creeped up on my face.

"Gilly will need to work hard from now on."

Slinging my arm around his shoulder to pull him close, he flinched at my sudden closeness, perhaps forgetting that I was even there in his reverie.

"Would you like to talk about it? You know, I can tell you some things that'll really give you an edge in the race."

"W-what race...? There's no competition, we're already-- N-no, I mean, we only went out--"

"Going on a single date together doesn't mean you're suddenly dating, does it? You have to be consistent."

"..."

"I'll give you some tips, so listen up, 'kay?"

Thus, I proceeded to tell Gil all about the art of charm and wiles that I had picked up from my experience in Drakon-Rasa. Taking mental notes, he perked up his ears and listened attentively, as if the words I was passing down were some "relationship gospel" or magical formula for success.

Of course, they were nothing of the sort.

It wasn't as if I had no prior experience, but by no means was I something like a Casanova. That didn't mean I had nothing of value to say, however, and I was certain my advice would come in handy nevertheless.

Now, all he needed to do was make sure of one thing.

――That the girl doesn't end up murdered.

If he can accomplish that much, he'll already be doing a far better job than I, after all.