Chapter 206

Holding my breath together with Melt, I watch the two of them silently and expressionlessly drink down the medicine.

There’s no visible change. After finishing their drinks, they simply set their glasses down and remain perfectly still, not moving a single muscle.

“…Did it fail?”

“Let’s wait just a bit longer.”

Even so, neither of them moves an eyebrow. Only their blinking continues as a basic physiological reflex.

That alone was already more than enough to suggest the experiment had failed.

Seeing Melt’s expression shift into something sadder by the second, I rack my brain for anything we can still do.

“Maybe some external stimulus might work. Let’s try it. I’ll test things on Same, and Melt, you handle Sheele. Even if she doesn’t have a personality yet, she’s still in a woman’s body, so I’ll leave that to you.”

“O–okay. Then…”

After confirming Melt is reaching toward Sheele’s body, I trace my fingers along Same’s back and poke his side.

But again, there’s no reaction—or… hm?

No, when I poked his side, I think his abs twitched a little. As if he almost laughed—just for a second something pushed back against my finger. I definitely felt it.

“…Same?”

“…………”

“Hey!”

“Guhah!”

The moment my lightly delivered fist sank into his solar plexus, Same let out a voice and doubled over.

He moved! He talked! Until now, that wouldn’t have gotten any reaction!

Meaning… this guy had been pretending not to react the whole time—

“Kya! Stop… Melt, please stop—”

“She moved! Shizuma! Sheele moved! She talked!”

“Don’t…! Ah—hey!”

From the side, I hear Sheele’s voice, and when I look over, Melt is poking every part of Sheele’s upper body like a flurry of rapid jabs.

Yes—every part. Melt was shamelessly doing something I could never imitate.

Unable to withstand it, Shire squats down and hides her body.

…So she was pretending to be unresponsive too…!

“Melt, the experiment was a success.”

“Yeah! We did it… we did it! Same, Sheele! Good morning!”

Beaming with joy, Melt calls out to the two of them.

Sheele aside, for Same this is basically… their first real meeting.

Even so, Same smiles brightly, takes both mine and Melt’s hands, and holds them firmly as if grasping something precious.

“Ah… ah! Good morning, you two!”

“I’ll join in as well. Good morning, Shizuma, Melt.”

Following Same, Sheele overlaps her hands on top of ours, covering her hands and ours together.

I see faint tears in her eyes as she looks at us lovingly, joy radiating from her whole expression.

“It’s really… a success. Now I can stand beside you as a single person.”

“And I can be useful to you. I can watch over this world… this town…!”

The two of them happily check their bodies as if confirming they’re real.

Opening and closing their hands, rolling their shoulders. After making sure everything is fine, they hold their hands toward empty air, manipulating what must be their own menu screens only visible to them.

“Hm… looks like we can only access our own item inventories. The shared storage we always used is inaccessible.”

“It seems so. Character settings and build options are also greyed out. It looks like we really can only manage ourselves, Shizuma.”

“Ah, makes sense. Over here… yeah, you two have completely separated from my management. Your names aren’t listed under character change or order summon. It feels… a little lonely.”

“…I see. Our names disappeared from Shizuma’s list.”

“That’s a little sad…”

“But you’re here. Even if you’re no longer within me like everyone else, you’re standing here in front of me as family. Someday I’ll bring the others out too. A day will come when we can all meet again.”

Feeling the two of them grow a bit lonely, I declare it clearly again: I will free everyone from within me.

Now that we’ve established a method, there’s no need to hesitate anymore. From here on, I’ll clear every dungeon and obtain the dungeon cores.

“Thank you, Shizuma. Yes… please bring everyone out. This time Same and I were the priority, but I’m sure they’re all waiting for their turn.”

“Yeah, Rent and Rue are probably jealous already.”

“Indeed. And Hash pushed me forward, and Seira also…”

“Oh right. I need to visit the nobles in Hash’s form soon.”

While talking about what comes next, I notice Melt looking strangely at Same.

Right—this is basically their first real meeting. Melt and the current Same are meeting for the first time.

“Same, you’re not the Same I knew?”

“Yeah. The Same you knew was actually Shizuma. I’ve been watching you all this time, but for you, Melt, this is our first meeting, I think?”

“But… it doesn’t feel that way. You feel the same as the Same I’ve always been with.”

“…I see. Then I don’t need to be afraid. Nothing about me needs to change.”

Something in Melt’s words seemed to save Same.

He smiles softly and nods as if accepting something important.

“Afraid? Same, what are you afraid of? Shizuma, do you know? Can we defeat it?”

“Hmm, we can’t defeat it but—”

“Melt has already driven it away. Same, that’s great news.”

Same must have worried about whether their bond would carry over, whether Melt would see him as a stranger, whether she’d be disappointed in who he truly was.

But Melt’s simple words blew all of that away.

“That’s right—Melt chased away a timid little ghost. Thank you, Melt.”

“…So there really WAS a ghost in this house. If it’s gone now, then I can relax.”

You don’t need to understand, Melt. But I’m sure the number of people saved by your innocence is far greater than you think.

Me, Same, Sheele… and probably the many companions still inside me as well.

“Well then, should I get the annoying job out of the way first?”

“You mean… Hash’s matter?”

“Yeah. When I become Hash, more than half of my words sound like his. The will is mine, but the speech patterns become his.”

“That sounds… mentally exhausting. Then while you’re talking business as Hash… what should we do?”

“Right. I’ve been away from Lindblum for quite a while. It’s a bit late, but we’re planning to head to the neighboring continent soon, right?”

As we discuss today’s plans, Shire brings up the trip to the neighboring continent.

She’s right. In that case, maybe I should report to the Adventurers’ Guild that I’ll be away from town for a while.

“Then, shall we all go to the Adventurer’s Guild? We can handle the Hash matter tomorrow.”

“Going out together, the four of us! After we finish, let’s all go eat! Let’s go to Jangari-an!”

Melt happily made the suggestion.

Right. The shop belongs to the person who provided the final ingredient for the medicine—we should definitely contribute to their business.

“Hehe, then let’s do that. It really is a strange feeling, isn’t it? You, me, Melt, and Same—us four going out into town together. It feels so strange.”

“It really does. Alright… let’s head out.”

“Yay! The whole family is going out together!”

At those innocent words, the three of us looked at one another and smiled.

Yeah—we’re a family. Melt would be the second daughter, Sheele the eldest daughter, Same the eldest son, and I’d be the second son. Like four siblings.

And so, I took the first step toward my goal of completing the brigade.

“Seeing it with my own eyes… it really is lively here.”

“Told you, right? Same, things are going to get pretty busy from here on.”

“That’s true. I want to be active, but I’ll probably get jobs that only someone of my rank can take. I’ll have to choose carefully if I accept requests.”

When we entered the guild, both Same and Sheele were impressed by the recent bustle.

Even if they see what I see via the round table, they don’t know everything, especially anything outside my field of view. My strong thoughts seem to be conveyed, but everyday scenery like this doesn’t get shared.

“Right, should we officially register that Shizuma, Melt, and I are in a party together? I’d include Same as well, but… you’ll be staying behind in town, right? What should we do?”

“Well… registering should be fine. But in that case, the leader has to be Shizuma, not me. The leader’s travel permission covers all party members.”

“You knew that, Same? Even I didn’t.”

“Shizuma, you need to observe the buildings more carefully. Look—on the notice board near the reception desk. It’s written in the ‘Frequently Asked Questions.’”

“Oh, you’re right. Your attention to detail is amazing… I need to learn from you.”

“I really wish I could stay with you longer and teach you things. But a journey waits for no one. The next continent and the next dungeon are waiting for you, Shizuma.”

“Haha, yeah. Same, it’ll be tough managing things alone. But I promise I’ll send people to help you—maybe Rue.”

“Alright. But don’t push yourself, okay? Other emergencies might arise. Shizuma, always prioritize your own safety. That’s my—our—wish for you.”

“Yes. Please never overwork yourself. And if you ever feel like you have to push yourself, be sure to consult me or everyone inside you first.”

Like a brother and sister, they stood beside me and thought about me.

That alone made me so happy.

Trying to hide how flustered I felt, I headed toward the Adventurer’s Guild counter.

“Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Hello. We’d like to register a party. Not a temporary one—an official party.”

“Certainly. Please have the representative fill in their name and rank here. If the members can also come to the counter, the process will go more smoothly. Are they with you today?”

“Yes, they’re right here.”

Same, Sheele, and Melt gathered around.

“You’re adding Same and Melt too? That’s quite the lineup… And Sheele as well—you took down that giant bird before. And Shizuma, didn’t you recently receive a Ruby Medal?”

“Yes. I’ll be the party leader for the registration.”

“Three Ruby-rank adventurers and one Emerald… That’s an unbelievable party. You’re probably one of the top two strongest teams in all of Lindblum.”

Oh? So even now they won’t call us the strongest—does someone even stronger exist?

…Silent alone might surpass us.

“Then, the representative will be you, Shizuma?”

“Yes. And while we’re at it, the three of us—everyone except Same—are planning to depart on an expedition to Riseark soon.”

“I see, so that’s why you’re registering the party. Same, you won’t be going with them?”

“That’s right. I’ll stay in this city. Things are busy here now, right? If something big happens, I think they’ll need a high-rank adventurer who can handle it.”

“That is very helpful. Then I’ll file the notice for the three of you undertaking a long-term expedition. Understood. Lastly, please provide your party name, and we will prepare your party tags for pickup in a few days. Would you like to submit one now?”

A party name…? I didn’t know such a system existed.

Apparently Melt didn’t know either. Even Same and Sheele didn’t seem to immediately understand when asked to provide a party name.

Then—

“Please register our party name as ‘The Brigade.’”

Simple, and anyone who knows us will immediately understand why.

“Understood. Please come back in three days.”

And just like that, the group that had once existed only in my imagination—the Brigade—became real, marking the beginning of my dream.

From here on, we’ll grow one member at a time. I swore that to myself.

“I wanted to choose the party name too!”

“Oh? What would you have chosen, Melt?”

“Hmm—‘The Melt Family!’ Because you’re all my family!”

“Hehe, that might be nice too. Melt, big sister is right here~”

“Then I guess I’d be the big brother? At any rate, this is the first step toward your dream, Shizuma.”

“Yeah… this is where it begins. Then, to celebrate—let’s head to Jangari-an.”

The formal founding of the Brigade.

To celebrate, we’d go eat pie today.

And maybe someday, every time someone new joins, we’ll go out for a meal somewhere.

Hey… everyone—