48. Beggar Siblings – Swarbia

Amid the merchants’ cries and the bustling crowd of pedestrians, as children loudly ran about amidst the complex, smelly chaos of the market, two young adults locked eyes and froze.

Katrina was the first to break the tense silence.

“Do you know me?”

As the man resembling ‘that soldier’ reacted as if he recognized her, Katrina fiercely questioned him. Unable to handle the absurdity of the situation calmly, she chose to vent her anger, picking a fight.

“…No.”

“Then why are you pretending to know me?”

“I’ve never met you.”

His voice was different from that soldier’s.

“That’s a lie! You were just surprised to see me. Look at you, with a tattoo on your neck. Are you a thug? Do you want to die?”

“No, please don’t kill me.”

His submissive demeanor calmed Katrina down.

She pointed at the ground and said, “You stay right here. If you go anywhere, you’ll be dead.”

As Katrina turned away to collect meat from the butcher, Leo was completely at a loss, shaking his head in confusion.

He had been on his way back with flowers for Lena, and now everything was completely mixed up.

‘Why is that woman here? She should be on the battlefield… Oh!’

He had met Katrina during their engagement scenario.

Leo Dexter had fought fiercely against her, negotiating in a life-or-death situation.

That had been merely a few months ago, when considering the timeline.

‘So all these scenarios are happening simultaneously!’

Finally, the question he had pondered for a long time was answered.

Right now, multiple Lenas and Leos were active on this continent. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for Katrina to suddenly appear and latch onto him.

At that moment, Katrina beckoned him closer with her finger.

“Hey. Follow me.”

“W-why?”

“Do you want to die?”

As she glared at him, growling, Leo flinched slightly.

“…I’ll follow.”

Minseo found Katrina a bit scary. He still vividly recalled her fiery gaze from when they had crossed swords before. He wasn’t trembling in fear, but he couldn’t help but shrink a little in her presence.

Even if he were to fight her now, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

Though he had {Swordsmanship.2v}, Katrina’s skills clearly exceeded that of an ordinary knight, and above all, the disparity in physical performance was excessive. He shouldn’t be fooled by her slender frame.

Moreover, Leo was just an ordinary thug at this point, while she was a knight of the kingdom, meaning she could draw her sword and execute him without facing punishment.

But, intrigued by the situation as much as he was intimidated by her, Leo suppressed his mild fear and followed Katrina.

Katrina led Leo to a small restaurant. She flashed something at the owner and casually took a seat.

“What are you doing? Sit down.”

“…Okay.”

Once seated, she stared at Leo rudely. Her eyes held surprise, strong curiosity, and a hint of wariness.

“No matter how I look at you, you’re just like him… What’s your name?”

“…I’m Leo.”

Katrina’s eyes widened.

“Your name is Leo too?”

“Yeah?”

She was so surprised she didn’t even realize she had stood up.

That soldier’s name had also been Leo. She remembered hearing a soldier shout when the other soldier had ripped open his chest.

But it was only when she saw the unfamiliar golden eyes of this youthful young man that she collected herself and sat down again.

He was definitely someone else. But why had she acted startled earlier…?

“Do you really not know me?”

“I don’t think I do.”

“Then why did you pretend to be surprised when you saw me earlier?”

“…You looked like you recognized me first, so I just… it’s polite to respond that way sometimes, right?”

Leo played dumb. Admitting he knew her would complicate things. He had no way to explain it.

“Hmmm… Is that so?”

She kept having a strange feeling as she looked at this thug.

[ Achievement: Saved Katrina – Katrina remembers your kindness. ]

‘He looks a bit similar, but he’s definitely not the same person…?’

That soldier had been tall and well-built. This guy wasn’t particularly handsome, and his eye color was ordinary; looking at this thug kept reminding her of that soldier.

Katrina was a knight of the Second Knight Order of the Belita Kingdom. For some reason, Count Hermann Forte delayed the order’s deployment, so they had only reached the battlefield in summer, a long time after war broke out in early spring. However, she had to return before she could actively contribute.

She had encountered ridiculous soldiers. She had attacked a troop that appeared to be average, but they had two fighters wielding two-handed swords.

Those goons had killed her junior, Deros. And facing two squads alone, Katrina had fought desperately. In the end, she had been prepared to die against them.

Had she continued fighting, she might have killed the female soldier, but she would have been countered and killed by another soldier.

And yet, it was this man named Leo who made a proposal that she, as a knight, could never have uttered.

It had been an embarrassing negotiation, but it was thanks to that she could return alive.

Her shoulder had an issue from when she had been stabbed back then. Even though her injured arm had suffered from not receiving appropriate treatment in a battlefield without a priest.

The blade had gouged her muscles and ligaments, and eventually, she received orders to return to the capital. She stopped at a church on the way back for treatment, but her arm was far from its former state.

Would she continue being a knight in the future…

Though she felt depressed, Katrina quickly brightened up. She wasn’t completely useless, and she had Ellen with her.

Katrina asked again, “Are you from Austin Kingdom?”

“No.”

She began firing questions at Leo, trying to make sense of this strange situation.

“Are there really people with the same name as you? But that can’t be. The name Leo isn’t that common… Where are you from?”

“…I’m from Conrad Kingdom.”

“Well then, do you have any siblings?”

Leo quickly brainstormed.

He fabricated a lie rapidly.

“Yeah. I had an older brother who was two years older than me, but we got separated when we were kids. There was a famine in my town, and our family…”

In truth, this Leo was a year older than Leo Dexter, but he looked younger due to his short stature and handsome features.

Meanwhile, Leo Dexter was burly, making him look older than he was.

When Katrina heard Leo’s lie, she clapped her hands in realization!

“Aha! So you’re siblings! Wait, but why do you have the same name?”

“I needed a pseudonym to start my thug life…”

“Is that so? That makes a bit more sense now.”

Katrina nodded.

That must be it. It wouldn’t make sense for someone who wasn’t a sibling to have such a similar vibe. Although the looks clearly favored the younger brother, the older one must have taken after the build.

God is indeed fair.

With her questions cleared up and the situation understood, Katrina softened considerably. So this young thug was the lost brother of ‘that soldier.’

She playfully nudged Leo’s arm and said, “You know, let’s eat something since this is fate. I’ll pay.”

Leo let out a sigh of relief as Katrina went to order food. Her demeanor was exceptionally relaxed when she returned.

It seems the lie had worked well as Katrina began sharing stories about the ‘brother’ Leo had met, and they chatted for a while over their meal.

“Oh! So you were a knight! That’s why I felt something different about you…”

“…Are you just doing thug work? Huh? Your brother…”

“So, what happened? What did…?”

He played along as if hearing familiar stories for the first time, desperately pretending to be linked to an actual brother.

Katrina had a boisterous personality, but she was also nosy and chatty.

She went on about how he shouldn’t live like that. Her brother was big and good at swordsmanship, so he was in the battlefield with a pretty girlfriend… and yammered on and on.

It didn’t seem like the sort of thing to discuss with someone she just met, yet she clearly showed fondness for Leo.

As they exited the restaurant, still discussing, she unexpectedly gave him her address.

“Hey, if you ever need anything, come to the second alley off Roselgine Boulevard by the East Gate. It’ll be easy to find since it has a blue roof. I’ll help with whatever I can.”

“Thank you, Katrina… ma’am.”

“Just call me sister. And quit with the thug life, alright? If you keep living like that, you won’t make it to old age.”

“Got it, sister.”

“Okay. Oh! The meat’s gonna go bad. I’m off first.”

“Please be careful.”

“Alright. See you again.”

Katrina quickly dashed off with the meat.

She felt light-hearted at the thought of sharing this bizarre encounter with Ellen.

Leo stood dazed for a moment before resuming his steps.

His mind was a whirl.

‘Katrina survived the engagement scenario, and now I’ve run into her here.’

This clarified the question he’d had when he first saw the Prince of Austin Kingdom in Orville.

The three scenarios were running simultaneously on this continent, and actions taken in the past scenario could affect the current one!

This was immensely important information. Leo, feeling excited, took a few steps before halting at the shout from behind that the restaurant owner had left flowers behind.

As he walked again, he pondered some possible useful information.

‘If I could stop the war in the beggar siblings scenario…’

The engagement scenario had repeatedly ended in failure because of the {War} event.

Wars were hard to avoid and overly harsh events that repeatedly brought Leo Dexter and Lena Ainar down the path to unfortunate endings.

What good endings had the other scenarios seen anyway…

In any case, if he could prevent the war from the start, the difficulty of the engagement scenario would drop significantly.

He already understood why the war started. It was because Princess Chloe de Tatalia had insulted the Prince of Austin Kingdom. So to stop the war…

Leo’s excitement fizzled out.

There was no way to stop it.

‘The prince arrives just two months after the scenario starts, how on earth can I prevent the princess from misbehaving? It was only due to the princess making a blunder that I even received the chance to enter the Marquis’ family…’

At least not in the current state. Maybe if he became stronger as a reward for the scenario and became a royal knight it would help, but Leo had never even entered the royal palace since the scenario began more than a year ago.

‘Can I help out in the childhood friend scenario? What could I do? Oh! If I stop that scoundrel Gilbert Forte from getting to the monastery… No, he’s the son of a Swordmaster.’

While brainstorming various plans, Leo finally clicked his tongue in frustration.

Every option was too distant, and he was still too small.

And in any case, it was impossible to help the Lenas and Leos who would be elsewhere right now.

The Lena and Leo from the engagement scenario were about to meet the Swordmaster and die too, and even if they proceeded to the next engagement scenario, the war would still break out exactly the same way.

It was the same for the childhood friend scenario. Gilbert Forte had already left for the monastery…

He didn’t even notice the flower buds he held, Swarbia, fall to the ground as he was lost in thought.

At that moment,

“Leo! Leo!”

Someone called him from behind.

It was Oberg.

“How many times do I have to call you before you answer?”

“Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought and didn’t hear. What’s up?”

Having been pondering the other two scenarios in chronological order, Leo had unknowingly arrived at Leather Street.

“Come over here for a second.”

Oberg seemed to have something to say as he led him to a resting spot. Leo wanted to hurry back to sick Lena, but he followed for now.

Oberg sat him down and placed some snacks and drinks on the table before opening his mouth.

“I heard from Lena earlier…”

Leo suddenly interrupted, “How is Lena? Is she doing better?”

“She seemed fine! Anyway, when I went to visit her because she was sick, I heard you’re going to the Marquis family?”

It seemed Lena had said goodbye to Oberg.

“Yeah. That’s what happened.”

“Why hide something like that? Good for you! From the first time I met you, I thought you were a special friend.”

No. He told him to go back to drinking his mother’s milk.

But Leo didn’t press the matter. Oberg had been the one treating Lena and Leo the friendliest during this time.

He said it as if genuinely happy for Leo, spitting while talking.

“A noble! The scrawny little kid who came here… As expected, Kasia knows how to read people.”

Unlike the boss, Oberg didn’t change his attitude upon hearing that Leo was going to the Marquis’ family. He was a bold man at best, a thug at worst.

Thugs tend to disregard the norms of society, so they’re prone to engage in illegal activities.

Feeling embarrassed by the praises, Leo tried to change the subject to something Oberg would be interested in.

“How’s Kasia lately?”

“Oh! Speaking of which, I just told Lena about this earlier, but recently, Kasia seems to have pulled herself together.”

Oberg laughed, looking more pleased than when he’d heard Leo was becoming a noble.

“The girl who used to stroll around with a dazed expression seems normal now. I noticed she’s buying small amounts of leather, maybe planning to make shoes? Good for her, right? She can’t just live off charity for life…”

Oberg continued rambling on. He was clearly longing to say goodbye.

He started speaking about things he wouldn’t normally say, which seemed to be Oberg’s way of saying goodbye to people.

His rough tone carried a sticky affection, warming Leo’s heart.

‘Typical thug behavior…’

Thugs might be cold-blooded enough to stab someone in the neck for money, but they still pour their hearts into their families.

Leo stayed for a while out of gratitude for his kindness.

However, when Oberg took out drinks and began to prepare a proper farewell party, Leo made an excuse about needing to check on his sick sister and politely slipped away after exchanging just a few drinks.

“Lena! How are you feeling? Are you alright?”

“Brother, you’re here?”

Arriving at the family mansion, Leo searched for his sister’s room.

Lena welcomed him brightly, saying she felt better and had just said goodbye to the family today.

She seemed so relieved to have spent time saying goodbye to her family that she was now able to sit up from the bed, as if the farewell had been the cause of her pain.

As Lena mentioned, “Tian cried so much, you know? It was hilarious.” in a somewhat mixed tone, Leo placed the Swarbia into a pot in her room.

The flower matched her room exceptionally well and was beautiful, but it wilted quickly as it was delayed in getting water.

The wilting flower lost its ‘color.’