小嫂子的味道

It is unbelievable, the letter in my hands. Reading through its content send a chill down my spine, leaving me blank-headed without knowing what I should do next.

It said that tomorrow someone will save me from something—I don't know from what exactly as it was not mentioned in the letter—and then I will have to get together with that person.

If I don't do that then the life of my brother will be in danger; he will die. At least, this is what's written in there.

The thing which stunned me though was the part about Zero, the part that I have a brother. I haven't told anyone that Zero is my brother or I even have a brother.

The only ones who knew about our relationship is just me and Zero himself, maybe the academy staff can also count in.

But that leaves me with the question of how does this person—one who sent me this letter- know about him?

For a moment I felt like this was a prank, a joke someone might be pulling on me. I thought that I should just ignore it but…what if it turned out not to be a prank?

Keeping Zero's life in danger over an assumption like that was not something I could do. I know he is not my real brother, the Zero who was my brother is lost and all there's left is his body. The person who's inside it is someone totally unknown to me.

Why should I care about him then?

The reason is simple, it's because he trusted me and told me his secret. I still remember the day when he revealed that he is a reincarnate.

I remember how his body was trembling, he was trying his best to hide it but it was clear just by looking, it was clear how terrified he was.

He must've felt super insecure when telling me his secret but he still did it. This showed he trusted me, in his eyes, I was worthy of knowing who he truly is.

That's why I don't want to break his trust.

And also, even though he is not my real brother it's not like I hate him or something. Getting reincarnated in Zero's body was not planned by him, he was just a victim like I and my real brother were.

He can be a bit scary sometimes but overall I think he is a kind person—he did save me from Walric, after all. It won't be a problem if I protected him this time.

With that set in mind, Anya nervously waited for tomorrow to arrive.

***

THE NEXT DAY

After I was done with today's lessons I left the classroom immediately, walking through the corridor I was about to leave the main building.

Then I suddenly spotted Zero who also seemed to have just come out of his class. Unlike the other students who were coming out of the same class, he was alone.

This made me think that even if he was not real Zero, we are quite similar. I mean, while I am able to talk with my classmates I don't have anyone I can call 'friend'.

He was the same I think.

At first, I thought about approaching him and discussing that letter with him but then I refrained from doing so. I don't know, I just have this bad feeling that if I talked to him about the letter, the results won't be good.

Maybe I'll be violating some unspoken rules the person who sent that letter has set for me.

In the end, I went my own way without meeting with Zero and left the main building.

After that I first went to the dorms to drop off my textbooks and then came back, right now I was headed toward the cafeteria.

There was no particular meaning behind it; I haven't had breakfast this morning as I woke up late so I was just going there to eat something.

Actually, I was only following my daily routine as the letter didn't say anything about what I had to do. So I deduced that as long as I did what I do daily, I will meet that certain 'someone' who will save me.

At least, that's what the plan was for now. I can think about what to do next after I meet with that person, what I do next will depend on who the person in question is.

*

I left the cafeteria when I was done eating my food and having a cup of coffee; until now nothing suspicious has happened.

'Maybe that really was a prank?'

I thought, but then quickly discarded the idea. I can't come to any conclusion just yet.

And I was soon proven right.

I was on my way to the dorms. I took a route that went from behind the cafeteria building and led straight to the dormitories.

At first, I thought doing this might be a bad idea but then I remembered that I took this route almost every day as this area was less crowdie.

A group of three boys approached me when I was between the cafeteria and the dorm buildings. I took a look at their faces and it was instantly clear that I didn't know them.

It was possible they were from a different class, not class A.

I stopped in my tracks, thinking that this was the place where I'll meet the person who'll save me.

"Hello there," one of them said, a weird smile on his face. He had black hair and a normal body structure.

"Can we talk for a bit?" another one spoke up, his hair had a brown color.

The last one remained standing behind those two and didn't say anything.

"What is it? Can you please be quick? I'm in a hurry," I appealed as I turned toward them.

The boy with black hair—who was standing in the middle—held his chin and looked as if thinking something.

"Quick huh? Well...I don't know how much time this'll take so I can't say for sure," he determined.

"Wha-"

I gasped as I was surprised by the sudden change of events. The boy with the black hair who stood in the front—compared to the other two—quickly grabbed my right hand.

He was standing at a distance of 2 or 3 steps so it was quick. On instinct, I pulled my arm back but the guy didn't let go of me.

Hence, I raised my left hand and delivered a chop to the back of his neck. This was similar to what Zero used in the entrance exam to knock me unconscious.

​ Though mine didn't carry that much power. The guy released me from his grip and took a few steps back but he was still conscious.

"You're quite sharp, I see…But that's what I like about you though," he said.

The two other boys who were standing behind till now joined him and the trio stood in a line before me. They had weird smiles on their faces and one was cracking his knuckles.

'So I will have to fight my way out now? Sigh! What a trouble~'

I was not a fight lover and doing so without any real reason was not a thing I liked. But here it was about my safety, I have to defend myself at least.

Hence, I lowered my hand near my waist and reached out for my sword.

'What?!'

It wasn't there, my sword wasn't there.

"Hehe, what's up? Forgot your sword?" one of them said with a grin.

Ah, I see.

We were not allowed to carry weapons inside the campus except for the time we are taking classes. It was obvious I won't have my sword right now.

How careless of me to forget such a thing!

…But, I can still manage somehow.

"I don't really need a sword, you know," I said, raising my hands, clenching my fingers, and forming a fist.