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Chapter 356: A Midnight Visit from the Twin Sisters
🕑 Added 2024-10-29 11:00:05 +0000 UTC"What's up with your sister? She's terrifying!" Natsuki Subaru still felt a lingering fear when recalling the challenge Anastasia had issued to Emilia's faction before departing.
Having a beautiful sister might be the envy of others, but with someone like Anastasia, her personality was anything but enviable.
Earlier, at the palace gates, when Anastasia had thrown down her gauntlet, the seemingly timid Emilia had surprised everyone by stepping forward herself.
With a determined expression, she accepted Anastasia's challenge and said firmly, "Wood is my knight, and I won't let anyone take him away from me. Just as Wood protected me in the hall, I will do my utmost to protect him this time.
If you wish to be our enemy, then bring it on. No matter what you try, we will face it all!"
Hearing Emilia's declaration, Puck had a sense of pride akin to that of a father watching his daughter grow up.
Anastasia, on the other hand, was visibly furious, her face reddened with anger. Since she couldn't make a move at the palace, she left in a huff, taking Julius with her.
As for Wood, he let out a long sigh before choosing to follow Emilia back to their rented mansion.
There wasn't much of a choice—the timid half-elf had stood up for him so fiercely that if he decided to simply walk away now, he'd be no better than a scoundrel.
Besides, if he went back to the knight's quarters, his sister Anastasia would probably come there to pester him anyway, so Wood ultimately chose to join Emilia's faction.
"Rem, maybe we should just give up. Even if he agrees to help, there's no guarantee his abilities can restore my oni horn," Ram whispered as the night deepened, their voices the only sound in the rented mansion shared by Emilia's faction.
Two girls with shoulder-length hair, who looked identical, were quietly sneaking up to a certain room.
Upon closer inspection, the two looked the same, but there were distinct features that differentiated them.
For instance, their hair—one had blue hair and the other pink. Then there were their figures—one was rather flat-chested, while the other was more well-endowed.
"But we have to try, don't we? Don't you want to regain your oni power, Sister?" Rem showed an uncharacteristically firm attitude toward her elder sister.
To Rem, regardless of whether Wood's magic could help Ram, they wouldn't know unless they tried. There was nothing to lose.
"Excuse us, is Wood here?" Ram, unable to argue against Rem's insistence, finally knocked lightly on Wood's door.
"Come in, the door's not locked," Wood called from inside. He had been pondering how to use his role as the leader of an assassination group to help Emilia secure the throne, and in turn, have Emilia, as queen, support his organization to grow even stronger.
Just as he felt he had some promising ideas, he sensed two presences approaching, which disrupted his train of thought.
"What brings you here this late? I know twins are every man's dream, but if you're here to share my bed, come back when you're a little older," Wood said half-jokingly when the blue- and pink-haired twins entered, dressed in silk pajamas.
Upon hearing this, Ram stepped in front of Rem protectively, glaring at Wood with a threat in her eyes. "If you dare lay a hand on Rem, I'll kill you!"
Ram didn't know much about Wood personally, and what she did know had come from Emilia and Rem. According to them, Wood was strong and had helped them on multiple occasions—by all accounts, a good person.
But Ram's instincts were sharp. The moment she saw Wood, she felt that he was far from a typical knight. She wasn't sure if Wood adhered to the seven virtues of a knight, but one thing was clear: he didn't come across as an entirely righteous person.
Emilia and Rem's favorable impression of him likely stemmed from their naïveté—neither of them had a fraction of the worldly experience that Wood had.
"With all due respect, given your current strength, I doubt you'd be able to kill me," Wood responded calmly. "Besides, I'm not like that pervert, Natsuki Subaru. If I were truly interested, you wouldn't be able to resist me, whether or not you regained your lost power."
Wood's meaning was simple—he wasn't interested in the twins that way, and his earlier comment had just been a joke. If he had any ill intentions, the oni twins would have no chance of stopping him.
"If you could really help my sister regain her strength, I'd do anything," Rem said sincerely, taking Wood's joke to heart.
For Rem, her sister Ram was everything. She had always seen herself as merely a substitute for her excellent sister. To restore Ram as the strongest oni, Rem believed any price was worth paying.
Rem's heartfelt words moved Ram deeply and further darkened her view of Wood, making her even more wary of him.
"Alright, alright, I surrender. It seems one of you takes things far too seriously, while the other is far too naïve—clearly not the types for joking around.
If I let you continue like this, I'll be branded a lolicon."
"Blue-haired girl, if I recall correctly, your name is Rem, right?" Wood continued. "I remember promising that if we met again in the capital, I would do my best to help treat your sister.
Since it's a promise, I have no choice. You don't need to pay any additional price for it."
Rem's face lit up with gratitude at Wood's words, while Ram, though still wary, found her impression of him slightly improved.
"While I promised to help, I can't guarantee success. I'll do my best, but is that alright with you?" Wood asked.
Wood knew little about Ram's condition, but he could sense that her body was like a sieve, unable to absorb mana from the atmosphere on its own. While mana flowed through her, it clearly wasn't her own, but Roswaal's.
"Even if it doesn't work, that's alright. Please, just give it a try," Rem urged.
Ever since witnessing Wood's ability to heal Meili's broken leg, Rem had faith in his magical skills.
In this world, magic attributes were limited to wind, water, fire, and earth, with the additional attributes of yin and yang as rarer elements (ice magic was also a subcategory of fire magic here, as fire magic was more accurately described as temperature manipulation).
Water magic was often more about support and healing rather than offense. Yet Rem had clearly seen Wood's abilities when he healed Meili—they weren't water magic but something else.
Rem wasn't sure if Wood's magic was some rare attribute or if it came from a blessing, but she knew it was much more potent than water magic.
"What should I do?" Ram asked, her initial skepticism giving way to a glimmer of hope as she decided to give it a shot.
Though she had come to terms with her lost power, if she could regain it, she would be better able to protect Rem and assist Roswaal.
"There's nothing special you need to do. Just tell me where your injury is, and even if you stand still, it should be fine," Wood said.
Ram, unsure how long the process might take, hesitated for a moment before sitting on Wood's bed, while Rem stood by nervously with her hands clasped.
"Advanced Healing Magic: Healing Wind!"
In the still room, a green magic circle appeared before Wood, and a gentle wind, glowing with green light, began to blow from the magic circle.
Surrounded by the soft wind, Ram felt a sense of lightness as all her fatigue dissipated, and she finally sensed the mana in the air again.
The place where her broken horn had once been had the most mana gathered around it. As the green glow intensified, a spectral horn began to form on Ram's forehead, making Rem visibly emotional.
The mana within Ram was still growing, but after a brief moment, the green magic circle shattered before Wood...
Almost immediately, the phantom horn on Ram's forehead began to fade, and the mana that had been gathering around her started to rapidly drain away like water from a leaky bucket.
"As I thought, regaining my power is nearly impossible," Ram said with surprising calmness, as if she had expected this outcome.
There was no denying that Wood's abilities were unique. Under his healing magic, Ram had briefly managed to sense and absorb mana again. But that state depended entirely on Wood's continuous casting of the magic circle—as soon as he stopped, she reverted to her powerless state.
"Why... Why did it end like this? Rem clearly saw Sister's oni powers beginning to return! Wood, can we try again, just one more time?" Rem pleaded, more affected by the failure than Ram, unwilling to give up.
"Rem, didn't we agree before? No tears, even if it failed. At least we're still together, aren't we?" Ram comforted her sister, despite being the one who had lost her power.
Though she had lost most of her strength, being able to stand beside Rem was enough for Ram.
To Rem, her sister meant everything. The idea that Ram had become like this because of her was something Rem could never forgive herself for—she would never be able to find peace unless Ram regained her power.
"I don't know what happened to you both in the past, but you seem to have placed quite a heavy burden on yourself," Wood said, seeing the sisters before him. "Family is meant to be the ones who always accept you, and just being able to stand together is a great blessing. Don't ever let your family shed tears because of you, understood?
I can understand your sister's feelings, I think—for her, you're far more important than any power.
So, you are who you are, and there's no need to be anyone's replacement. That's what those who care about you most want to see."
Looking at Ram and Rem, Wood was reminded of Rudy, Zenith, Norn, and Aisha from his time in the Mushoku Tensei world.
Every simulated life Wood had experienced was real to him, and so he understood the feeling of wanting to give everything for family. Compared to the fate of Wood Greyrat, who had died to stop Dragon God Orsted, Ram and Rem were indeed fortunate.
Though Ram had lost much of her power, she was at least still alive and able to stand beside her sister.
Hearing Wood's heartfelt words, Ram and Rem were visibly stunned. Ram, especially, found her opinion of Wood improving significantly.
People with shared experiences often understood each other deeply, and Ram could tell that Wood had gone through something similar. He must have been in her shoes before—willing to give everything for his family.
"Still, I can understand how burdensome it is for the family members being protected," Wood continued after a moment of contemplation, perhaps recalling the pressure Rudy must have felt in Mushoku Tensei.
"Very well, since I've decided to help, I'll go all in.
Seeing as you two have been through something similar to me, I'll help you cast off that emotional burden."
"But the magic didn't work before, did it? No matter how many times we try, the result will be the same," Ram said hesitantly.
"It's not that it didn't work—it's just that the effect wasn't obvious enough. If advanced magic isn't enough, then we'll use "Emperor-level" or "Divine-level" magic!" Wood declared.
