Hello?
I’m the hero’s immature younger brother.
Written as immature, read as a little bastard.
Yep! Just like that introduction says, I’m a crooked, unrealistic, selfish, ill-mannered brat of a younger brother!
You’re asking how the hero’s younger brother turned out with such a rotten personality!?
“Brother... where are you going this early in the morning?”
“They say the princess in the castle got kidnapped. I’ll be right back.”
“Do you have to go? I don’t want to be alone......”
“Ren. Everyone’s waiting for me.”
“I am too... I’m waiting for you too! I’m always waiting!!”
“Ren, be good. I’ll be back.”
Even on my birthday!
Even when I got hurt!
Even when I was stuck in bed groaning with a burning fever!
He’d run off to slay dragons, or bust through dungeons!! Why the hell does the princess living perfectly fine in the castle keep getting kidnapped by the Demon King?! Does this damn world seriously stop functioning without my brother in it?!
So yeah, I had no choice but to turn out twisted.
Hero benefits are good now, sure... but even just ten years ago, when they gave them jack shit... my brother used to steal even my snacks to hand them out to the neighborhood kids!! They praise him as a hero, but what the hell does that have to do with me?!
“What??”
“Oh my, is that the ‘Ren’ he was talking about?!”
“Ren? That one?!”
“Yeah! That hero’s younger brother, the village troublemaker! They said he was immature, and wow, they weren’t kidding. He picks fights every other day, doesn’t he? He’s been here less than a day and I’ve already seen him get into three!”
“Tsk tsk. What’s he going to grow up into......”
“What did you say?!”
I stopped glaring at the big lug I’d started beefing with after he bumped my shoulder, and turned to glare at the villagers running their mouths about me instead. You little bastard who stole my coin, I’ll deal with you later!
“That rude little...!”
“Now, now!! That’s enough. Haven’t we all benefited from the hero plenty by now?”
“It’s not like the younger brother actually did anything!”
Thump! Thump!
I stomped in place with all my strength. Dust flew up, and the people startled by my sudden move stopped talking.
I plastered on the obnoxious grin I’d practiced in the mirror and laughed with my mouth open wide enough to show every tooth.
“Yeah, no shit. I haven’t contributed a damn thing, right? But what about you people? Have you ever done anything for me? Fuck! Why the hell are you running your mouths about other people like this?! Mister, my brother fixed your window, didn’t he? He did it by ripping the frame out of our house’s window, fuuuuuck!! So if you really think about it, I’ve got a stake in that too!! Because of my brother, who you people are so happy to suck dry, I’ve taken plenty of damage myself, you know!? Huhhh?”
I lifted my chin as high as I could and glared at them.
As I twisted and thrashed around, shouting at the top of my lungs, the people who’d been gossiping started backing away with sickened looks on their faces.
I can’t live like this!!!
I can’t live with this bullshit!!
I’m not living with my brother anymore!
Just as I was fuming and making that vow in my heart, someone came darting over in a blur.
“Reeen!”
It was my brother.
He came running so fast it looked like he was flying and stepped right between me and the old men.
He gave my face a quick once-over, then bowed his head toward the villagers with an apologetic expression.
His shaggy dark brown hair, grown out long, was damp with sweat.
Fuuuck! Why the hell are you stepping in before I can even fight?!
The sound of my teeth grinding echoed viciously.
“Oh, Temar, you’re here.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“No! Why are you apologizing?! Kids act out sometimes. He’s not even an adult yet, is he?”
“What did you just say?! A kid?!”
The second my brother showed up, the whole mood softened in an instant.
The old men changed their tune and started chuckling like they were all warm and friendly.
The hell were you like five seconds ago, when you were all ready to fight me too?!
You damned old bastards—!!
“Who the hell stuck their nose into somebody else’s fight first, huhhh?! And that asshole stole the coin I dropped and pretended he didn’t know anything about it...!”
I was trembling so hard I was practically convulsing and stomping the ground when my brother grabbed my shoulder and pressed it down.
Warm, unbelievably gentle eyes met mine.
“Ren! Stop it. Okay?”
“Fuck!”
“May I take my brother home?”
“Of course, of course. Tsk tsk. Still, you need to straighten that kid out.”
“Absolutely! Temar, no matter how great you are, with that rotten temper of his, he’s going to cause real trouble one day.”
“Yes, sir. We’ll be going.”
“Mmph!! Mmmph!!!”
Can’t you see me kicking at the air over here?!
What, am I invisible or something?!
I was flailing and kicking with my mouth covered, but tragically, nobody! Not a single person! Even looked at me!
“Ren. Why’d you do that, huh? Are you short on spending money?”
“You don’t know anything.”
“Hm?”
My brother, still speaking in that gentle tone, scratched his cheek.
“What don’t I know? Tell me, Ren.”
Like you’d understand even if I told you!!
He was always like this.
Saying that people born with special power were meant to put others before themselves.
He’d bear every little inconvenience all by himself.
But why do I have to go along with that too?
Then what do I get out of it?
The country already stole my brother from me—!!
“That bastard stole my coin earlier!”
“I’ll give you one. Calm down.”
“AAARGH!!”
I raked both hands through my hair, bent at the waist, and screamed. Startled, my brother circled me in a panic before suddenly scooping me up!
“Oh, Ren. You’re too light. Better than before, but still. Should I make something nourishing for you today?”
“Don’t change the subject! That’s not the problem!”
Why don’t you get it?! Why?!
The problem is that my money got stolen!!
Why do I have to give up what’s mine? Why?? It felt so unfair I thought I might lose my mind!
“You really are an idiot.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“...Fuck.”
“Our good Ren should just let it go.”
“I hate it when you say that.”
“Oh. Right, sorry, Ren.”
“......”
My brother laughed as he patted my butt.
“Should we head home now?”
I ignored what he said and just buried my face in his chest.
Fuck! It’s hard because of all the muscle!!
Maybe he heard me thunk my head against him, because he let out a light laugh.
Yeah, fuck it, fine. I’ll endure it, I’ll endure it.
This isn’t the first time this has happened.
He says he’ll give me more spending money?! I’m gonna squeeze out four times as much!
And besides, it’s not like he even has any money....
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. The country used to give him a pitiful little reward, and he’d donate even that to the village development fund. That was why my brother was a hero! A hero!! And our house was poor!! The only thing that changed after he became a hero was that we stopped going hungry. Other than that, our life was still nowhere near comfortable.
Does that make any sense?! It’s not like I’m some vulgar little money-grubber who wants to be rich!! Well, I mean, sure, money would be nice!
But what pisses me off is how heroes get treated!! He’s not some communal punching bag! Why is he the one everyone runs to every single time something happens?!
“Fixing window frames. Repairing fallen doors. Carrying sacks of wheat!!”
“Hm?”
Just hearing that clueless tone in his voice made my anger flare right back up.
I snapped my eyes open and met his, still smiling like always.
Fuck.
“Forget it. You’re a stupid idiot, so you wouldn’t get it even if I explained.”
Pssssht.
My fighting spirit went out like air from a punctured balloon. I didn’t even have the energy to be mad anymore. To keep rampaging, the other person has to give you something to react to!!
I actually had a rare chance to blow off steam too. Ugh, what a waste.
“It’s all your fault.”
“Yeah, Ren. I’m sorry.”
“From now on, stay glued to the house.”
“I will.”
“...I need you too.”
“What? Haha. Yeah! I will.”
“Stay right next to me.”
“Yeah, yeah, Ren. Come on, let’s go. We need to eat dinner.”
As long as I had my brother, that was enough.
I hated that he’d spent my whole childhood running around outside, but if he’d just stay by my side now, from now on, that would be enough.
Whew.
“We’re having meat for dinner.”
I stuck out my lip when I said it, and my brother let out an impressed sound.
“Oh! Nice. I was just thinking I’ve been losing muscle lately.”
“Gross.”
Ugh. I stared at his upper arm in disgust, and he grinned.
“I worry about you, Ren. You’re way too skinny.”
“...You’re the weird one.”
Was he finally paying attention to me now?
He was kind, but dense.
He didn’t even know I was sick.
Without thinking, I swallowed hard and stared up at his face.
“Eek!”
“Are you alright?”
That was the moment.
The instant he heard a woman scream, he put me down on the ground and headed straight for her.
“Fuck....”
He strode over with that solid, reliable back of his and reached her in no time. I stood there crookedly and glared.
“Again! It’s that woman again!!”
That vicious woman!!
Her forearms were thick and sturdy-looking, so why?! Why did she collapse every single time my brother passed by?!
The way she scattered those precious strawberries she’d just picked all over the ground, then looked up at him with that pitiful face, was so disgustingly fake I could barely stand it.
I can’t take this!!
Patpatpatpat—
“Brother! Temar! Let’s go home.”
“Ren. Just a second.”
“Brother!! I said let’s go home! I’m hungry! I’m so hungry I feel like I’m gonna faint.”
I said it through clenched teeth, but he still didn’t so much as glance at me.
“Ah... I’m fine, so please go home with your brother. Ren, your name is Ren, right? I’m sorry for interrupting....”
“Who the hell are you bullshitting?! Everyone in the village knows your forearms are thicker than an orc’s—”
“Ren! Where did you learn to say something that nasty?!”
“......”
“I’m sorry.”
The woman, whose face had flushed red and whose eyes had sharpened for a split second, hurriedly lowered her head and pretended to dab at tears.
My head felt like it spun.
I staggered from a sudden wave of dizziness because I was so pissed off, but of course, my brother’s eyes never turned to me.
“Whatever.”
Even when I started hobbling away by myself, all he did was pick up the fallen strawberries and basket, dust the dirt off them, and then sweep the woman up in his arms. He didn’t even look at me.
“You’re a fucking idiot.”
Blind bastard.
That’s why you can’t tell that woman’s arms are thick. Everyone in the village knows how ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) strong she is from working at the restaurant, so how the hell would she trip on a clean road without a single pebble on it?!
“You’re a fucking idiot!! Fuuuuuuuck!!”
Caw. Caw.
After shouting at the top of my lungs, dizziness hit me all at once. I braced my hands on my knees and panted.
“Why is it that when you’re with other people, you don’t even look at me? I don’t matter to you at all. Still... fuck!”
Huff. I let out a short breath, then started heading back home again.
Still.
I had to get dinner ready for me and my brother.
***
Our house was on the edge of the village.
Though honestly, the village itself was so small that every house felt like it was on the edge.
If there was one difference, it was that our house sat on a low hill.
I rummaged around in the shed.
There was a small shed next to the house, where we usually kept tools and firewood.
“Found it!”
I opened the mouth of the sack I’d hidden beside the firewood where nobody would see it, beamed, then smacked myself lightly on the cheek.
“What are you smiling for? He doesn’t even know how you feel, so what’s so lovable about him....”
Inside the sack was a pair of leather shoes.
I’d saved and saved the tiny bit of spending money my brother gave me. Saved the tiiiny little scraps of money I made selling wild greens in the village now and then. Put it all together and bought a pair of pretty niiiice leather shoes.
“Hehe.”
I bought them a whole two months ago!!
Where the hell would a tiny village like this even sell something so fancy? I grabbed them the second a peddler came through. Hehehe.
“Made in the Empire!”
A product from a developed country, that’s what I’m saying.
I planted my hands on my hips and grinned.
“Keh. Cough, cough! Hrk— cough, cough.”
Haaagh....
I almost fucking died....
“Hoo.”
After wiping away the tears that had gathered from coughing, I tied the mouth of the sack shut tight again and set it back beside the firewood.
I’d just finished cursing him out, so it’d be awkward to give it to him right away. I’d bring it out in secret after dinner and give it to him then.
Just as I stepped out of the shed, I heard, “Ren!” and my brother came running.
How the hell does a person walk that fast? He’s back already...? Or am I just slow as hell? I stood there like an idiot, watching him run toward me.
