Arifureta Zero: Volume 1 Page 3

The pose was so perfect that it annoyed him. Faced with this unexpected sight, Oscar reacted the only way he could.

  “Sorry, looks like I’ve got the wrong house.” He closed the dining room door and backed away.

  I must actually have gotten the wrong house. Haha, maybe I’m tired from working so much.

  However, this mysterious and oddly cheerful girl had no intention of letting Oscar escape.

  “Wait, don’t just leave! I can’t believe you closed the door on me! An extremely beautiful girl just offered herself to you, so shouldn’t you be moved to tears right now! I know you want to gaze upon these perfect legs! There’s just the right amount of skin showing between my skirt and my kneesocks. I know you can’t resist them. We both know you’re a huge pervert, O-kun!”

  Oh, just shut up. Quit acting like we’re best friends when I don’t even know you. Besides, you’re obviously crazy.

  In a second, Oscar had already made his judgment on what kind of person this girl was.

  He adjusted his glasses and spoke as calmly as he could.

  “You said your name was Miledi, right? It seems you’ve wandered into the wrong house. It’s getting late. Surely you should be getting back to your own home. On the off chance you came here on purpose, that would mean you’re trespassing. In Velka, trespassing is a serious crime. If you don’t leave within the next three seconds, I’ll have to arrest you.” Oscar grinned as he shot Miledi a thinly-veiled threat.

  “That’s not a thinly-veiled threat at all! You obviously want me gone! How mean! I’ll have you know it was my destiny to meet you, O-kun—”

  “Alright, your three seconds are up. Put your hands in the air.”

  Oscar pulled a small object out of his pocket. It was a transceiver. Its range was limited to the capital, but it was still a valuable piece of equipment that usually only nobles were rich enough to afford. Naturally, he’d made this one himself.

  The girl recognized it as well, and she began to panic. Just then, a bunch of kids jumped to her defense.

  “Waaaaaaaaah! Onii-san, wait!”

  “She’s not a suspiciou— Okay, she’s pretty suspicious, but she’s our guest!”

  “Onii-chan, please forgive her. I’ll apologize too! I’m sorry she’s so annoying.”

  “I’m innocent, Onii! It’s all that noisy lady’s fault!”

  Children crawled out of various hiding places within the dining room. The reason Oscar had been able to handle Miledi so calmly was because he’d spotted the kids peeking out of their hiding places when she had opened the door again.

  “H-Hearing them insult me so nonchalantly kind of hurts...” Miledi muttered and sunk to the floor. Oscar sighed and turned to an older lady who had just walked into the dining room.

  “I can’t believe even you were in on this, Mom...”

  “I’m sorry. But Miledi-san seemed so excited about playing this prank. And I’ve never seen you surprised by anything, so I thought it’d be fun.”

  “Fun, huh...? Well, it wasn’t very fun for me. I was really worried about you guys.” Oscar sighed again.

  Moorin, the orphanage manager and everyone’s surrogate mother, smiled at him. She was nearing her seventies, but she barely looked a day over thirty when she smiled.

  Once everyone had settled down, Oscar sat down with the kids for dinner. The girl, who’d said her name was Miledi, joined them too. It appeared she’d come here because she had business with Oscar. Oscar had asked her what she came for, but apparently it was a long story, so at Moorin’s suggestion they’d decided to have dinner first.

  The refined way in which she ate suggested that Miledi was of noble upbringing. The two seven-year-old girls who were sitting next to her, Corrin and Katy, began whispering to each other.

  They both blushed, glanced at Oscar, then squealed at each other. He doubted they were saying anything nice about him. He glared suspiciously at Miledi, but she only smiled at him.

  God, she’s annoying. Oscar desperately wanted to say that to her face. But he didn’t. He didn’t want to set a bad example for his cute little sisters.

  Corrin had tied her red hair back into a ponytail in the same style as Oscar’s. Out of all of the children in the orphanage, she was the shyest. Her puppy dog look could also make instant slaves out of anyone who wasn’t part of her family. They were already used to it.

  Katy, on the other hand, kept her chestnut brown hair in pigtails and was the most distrustful of all the children. Aside from Oscar and the other children in the orphanage, she didn’t trust anyone.

  The fact that those two girls were willing to relax around her meant that while she might have been annoying, and perhaps a little touched in the head, she wasn’t a bad person.

  Because of that, Oscar didn’t think it would be right to insult her.

  “I see, I see. So O-kun’s a kind and reliable big brother.”

  “Y-Yep! Onii-chan can do anything!” Corrin smiled and proudly puffed out her chest. Oscar smiled in return.

  Miledi grinned. Oscar frowned in return.

  The children forgot about their food and began explaining to Miledi just how amazing Oscar was.

  “That’s right, Miledi-san. All the toys and stuff in the house were made by Onii-san. And he made them all when he was my age!”

  The oldest kid in the orphanage, Dylan, boasted about Oscar’s accomplishments. He was the mediator between all of the other kids. Like Corrin, he had his brown hair up in the same kind of ponytail Oscar had.

  “Did you know? Onii works at the Orcus Workshop! The chief guy said he wanted him! Isn’t that amazing!?” Katy’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

  “Onii-chan gave us all something to show that we’re related.” Corrin held out the small coin dangling from her neck. The other children all pulled out their coins as well. They didn’t look valuable at all, so no one would even bother stealing them.

  Still, Miledi didn’t make fun of them for treasuring those coins.

  “Wow, you guys are all really close, huh!?” She seemed honestly impressed. The kids all smiled proudly and continued regaling Miledi with tales of Oscar’s awesomeness.

  “G-Guys. Come on, give it a re—” Embarrassed, Oscar tried to get them to stop. Before he could, however, Miledi cut in.

  “Tell me more, Onii-chan! I want to hear about how wonderful you are, Onii-chan! I knew I was right to pick you, Onii-chan! Don’t you think so too, Onii-chan? Hey, Onii-ch—”

  “Call me Onii-chan one more time and I will end you.” Though he was smiling, there was murder in Oscar’s eyes. He’d tried to act civil so as to set a good example for his little siblings, but he couldn’t take it any longer.

  “Oh my, you’ve got a surprisingly wild side to you, O-kun...” For some reason, Miledi was blushing.

  “Please don’t call me O-kun, either.” He managed to reign in his emotions and sound calm again. He didn’t want to act rude in front of his family, after all. Though internally, he still thought Call me O-kun one more time and I’ll strangle you.

  Miledi stared at him for a moment before responding.

  “Don’t wanna!” she exclaimed, a smile on her face all the while.

  There was a loud crack as Oscar snapped the fork he was holding.

  Dylan and the others turned to look at Oscar’s hand. By the time they did, it looked as good as new.

  He’d repaired it with his transmutation. The children tilted their head in confusion.

  “Wow, that was amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it!” Oscar had even gone so far as to hide the glow of his mana to repair it in secret, but Miledi just had to go and blow his cover.

  A cold voice that sounded more irritated than Oscar felt punctured the silence that followed.

  “Aren’t you just a loser right now?” Dylan and the others turned around in surprise.

  The person who’d spoken was Ruth. He was looking down at his plate. Ruth had spiky black hair, and had recently turned eleven.

  “Hey, Ruth!” Dy
lan yelled at Ruth. However, Ruth looked up from his plate and glared at Dylan.

  “It’s the truth! Even though he works at the Orcus Workshop he doesn’t make any weapons. He’s just a loser who only takes requests from regular citizens! Everyone knows it!” Ruth pointedly avoided looking at Oscar.

  Like Oscar, Ruth was a Synergist.

  Among the orphans, he was the one who had looked up to Oscar the most. When Oscar had still lived at the orphanage, Ruth had followed him around everywhere. They both had the same striking black hair, and people had often thought them to be actual siblings.

  “Ruth, apologize to Oscar. That was uncalled for.” Moorin had been smiling the whole time until now, but Ruth’s words made her frown. Her tone was soft, but firm.

  Ruth hesitated for a second, but then he stubbornly repeated himself.

  “But it’s true! If he’s not a loser, then he should show it to everyone! If he showed them how strong he really was, then all those dumb people would shut up, but he doesn’t do anything! And you know what, it’s because he can’t! He just grins like an idiot all the time and doesn’t say anything! He’s just a weakling who doesn’t want to fight back!” It was like a dam had burst inside him. Once the words started flowing out, he couldn’t stop.

  It had felt like a betrayal, seeing the man he’d idolized so much end up like this.

  Oscar understood that as well, so he didn’t say anything. He just smiled his usual smile. If he really was that great, he should show it. If he wasn’t, then it’d just hurt Ruth even more.

  Ruth had wanted Oscar to argue back, to say it wasn’t true. Instead he got Oscar’s smile, which only annoyed him further. Ruth stood up, unable to bear staying in the room any longer.

  “That’s not true!” A cheery voice stopped him.

  “You think O-kun’s amazing too, don’t you, Ruth-kun? I can tell.”

  “I-I do not!”

  “Yes you do~ My special Miledi eyes can see through everything! I know exaaactly how you feel~ You actually think O-kun’s amazing, I know!” Miledi said smugly.

  Everyone stared at Miledi in surprise, even Oscar. Her tone was as cheerful as always, but her words had a strange weight to them.

  “This is why I wanted to see O-kun. I’ve spent so long searching for someone like you.” She turned to face Oscar, her gaze piercing through him.

  She spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “I’ve finally found you.” She closed her eyes and smiled.

  She looked sincerely happy that she’d been able to meet him.

  Oscar felt his heart skip a beat. What on earth does she even know about me?

  Yes, surely his heart must have skipped a beat because he was worried how she knew so much about him. Definitely not for any other reason. At least, that was what Oscar kept telling himself. He adjusted his glasses to hide his expression.

  Unfortunately for him, Miledi’s eyes really could see through everything.

  “Oh my, doth mine eyes deceive me? O-kun, did your heart just skip a beat? Was my smile that captivating? Well, was it? Come on, say it~”

  “Shut up, you’re annoying.” At that moment at least, that was how he truly felt.

  Miledi and Oscar’s exchange dispelled the strained mood that had fallen over the dining table and everyone returned to their dinner.

  Even Ruth sat back down and returned to staring sullenly at his plate.

  However, Miledi’s words still swirled around in the back of Oscar’s mind.

  He didn’t know what she’d come to him for, but he could tell it was extremely important to her.

  Her declaration had almost sounded like a profession of love. Corrin and Katy certainly seemed to think that was what it had been, at least. They kept on looking back and forth between Miledi and Oscar.

  “Ahem... Miledi-san, now that everyone’s eaten, I think it’s time you tell us why you’ve come.”

  “Come on, don’t be so formal. We’re friends, right, O-kun? You don’t have to act so distant!”

  “What do you mean, friends? I just met you today. More importantly, why—”

  “Not telling! Not unless you call me Miledi-tan. And put some feeling behind it, okay?”

  “H-Haha... You’re an interesting one. Anyway, enough with the jokes—” Oscar’s patience was running out. Sadly, Miledi didn’t seem to care.

  “Wait, don’t tell me the reason you’re being so cold to me is because... you already have someone you promised your heart to!?”

  “What!?”

  “I see... I understand now. My superior intelligence has deduced the truth. I should have expected O-kun would want to make Corrin-chan and Katy-chan his wives!”

  “If you don’t shut up, I’ll sew your big mouth shut for you.” Unable to contain himself anymore, Oscar lashed out at Miledi. At the same time, Corrin and Katy gasped.

  He turned and saw Corrin was blushing furiously. Katy, on the other hand, wouldn’t meet his gaze.

  “Onii-chan, do you really want to marry me?”

  “W-Well, I don’t want to marry him! B-But if Onii insisted, then maybe...”

  They’d taken Miledi’s words seriously. Meanwhile, his brothers looked at him in disgust.

  “Onii-san, I respect you, but this is a little too much...”

  “Tch... I should have known the loser was a pervert too.”

  They’d taken Miledi’s words seriously as well. Dylan and Ruth edged away from him.

  Then, Miledi delivered the finishing blow.

  “Oh, O-kun... you’re such a pedo!”

  Oscar adjusted his glasses again, losing control of his temper entirely.

  “That’s it. You’re coming with me, you fucking bitch!”

  Oscar grabbed Miledi by the collar and started dragging her outside.

  The moon’s pale light shone through the gaps in the clouds. Oscar and Miledi stared at each other in the orphanage’s backyard, underneath the beautiful half-moon that would surely become a crucial part of the memory of their first meeting...

  Though Oscar had tossed her out of the door, she’d seemingly ignored gravity and lightly landed on her feet.

  “O-kun, you monster! I can’t believe you’d throw someone out of your house like that! You’re not human!”

  “Says the girl who just ignored gravity.”

  Oscar sighed. He knew that if he let himself be led along by this girl their conversation would never get anywhere. He glared sharply at Miledi, displaying a grim expression that he’d never shown to the kids.

  “So what do you really want with me? I played along with your dumb game. It’s about time you came clean.”

  Throughout the meal, Oscar had worried she might try to take the kids hostage.

  Moorin and the kids had both taken a liking to her, which meant she probably wasn’t someone evil.

  However, she knew things she shouldn’t. She claimed she’d come to meet Oscar, but instead of going to his house she’d headed straight for the orphanage.

  Intentionally or not, she’d basically said “I can get to your family any time I want to.”

  And that was why he’d changed tactics.

  If the kids had been wrong about her and she did mean them harm, then he’d eliminate her without a second thought.

  “Don’t glare at me like that~ Didn’t anyone ever teach you to treat girls nicely?”

  “......” Oscar’s only response was to glare harder. He didn’t look anything like the loser everyone thought him to be.

  “Ahaha, I guess I should probably get serious, huh? Anyway, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to cause a misunderstanding. Look, I promise I don’t want to hurt your family. I mean it. I don’t lie.”

  Oscar had a hard time believing that, but he nodded anyway.

  “The reason I came to meet your family first was because I wanted to learn more about you, O-kun. I went around asking the townspeople about you too.”

  “So it’s not like you knew about this place beforehand
?”

  “I came here on a wild goose chase, really. I’d been told that there was a genius orphan somewhere. I visited so many different countries, checking all the orphanages I could find. I was searching for a genius. Though now that I think about it, there was no guarantee the genius orphan had to be a kid.”

  Oscar nodded in understanding.

  Even when she’d been joking around, Miledi’s gestures had been refined. He’d guessed that she’d grown up in a noble family, or as the servants of one. Her story further cemented that assumption. It had become somewhat of a fad among nobles to seek out highly talented individuals and bring them into their household.

  Miledi turned around and looked up at the moon. After a few seconds, she glanced back at Oscar over her shoulder.

  “It was only after I talked to those kids that I learned about your abilities.”

  Oscar narrowed his eyes. There was a dangerous glint in them.

  “My abilities? I’m just a failure of a Synergist who can only make household goods.”

  “Ahaha, you’re such a jester, O-kun. No failure could make those magic items of yours. In fact, it’s so good that you might as well call it an artifact.”

  Oscar’s eyes opened wide in surprise. He’d expected Miledi to have heard the rumors about how he’d been a prodigy or that he was secretly hiding his talents, and that was why she thought he was skilled.

  To think she’d figured out what the alarms I set around this house really are... Oscar eyed her warily.

  “Seriously, quit glaring at me like that! I’m standing here even knowing what it can do, so can’t you trust me a little?”

  “Well...”

  The traps Oscar had set around the orphanage were lethal. With one word, he could engulf his target in a hail of lightning, wind, ice, and fire.

  Furthermore, once it had expelled the intruders it would deploy a five-layer barrier and start ringing a loud alarm.

  If the intruders somehow managed to get past his barrier, his trap would resummon it. On top of that, all entrances to the building had been reinforced with the hardest material Oscar could find.

  It looked run-down at first glance, but Oscar had transformed the house into a fortress with walls harder than steel.