Brother's Sacrifice

"Eek! I'm sorry!"

Shirone and his friends squeezed their eyes shut. Knowing her personality, this wasn't going to end with just a scolding.

However, contrary to their expectations, no further outbursts followed.

When they cautiously opened their eyes, they saw Shina deep in thought.

'How did they manage to tail me?'

Shina had been extremely cautious on her way here. Though she hadn't activated Spirit Zone, her senses were sharp enough that a mere student shouldn't have been able to follow her unnoticed.

She was certain that whatever Shirone and his friends were hiding behind them held the answer.

"What are you hiding? Hand it over."

Nade shook his head frantically, his face pale with fear. But when Shina's eyes glinted with something close to murderous intent, he quickly shoved forward the cloak he had been clutching. Of course, he didn't forget to flip it inside out before handing it over.

"What is this?"

Shina wrinkled her nose at the ragged cloak, but as soon as she examined it properly, she realized its true value.

The moment she turned it right-side out, it seemed as though the arm holding the cloak had disappeared.

When she draped it around her waist, her lower body vanished, blending seamlessly into the background.

"An invisibility cloak?"

Now that she understood the situation, Shina glared at Nade as if she would devour him.

"Nade, is this another one of your patented inventions?"

"Uh… yes."

"You're telling me you actually made this yourself?"

"H-Hey! But I didn't sell it on the black market! I do have some sense of morality, you know!"

"Hah…"

Shina's sigh made the group flinch.

But she didn't scold them further. As a recognized Sixth-Class mage, being tailed by her students was a greater mark against her own skill than their wrongdoing.

"Then why did you come into this room? You knew you'd get caught. And what do you mean by being 'disappointed'?"

Shirone stammered, his voice trembling.

"At first, we were just following as a joke… but then we saw you hugging a man, and we got curious. When we overheard your conversation outside the door, we thought… maybe it was an affair…"

"What? An affair?!"

Shina's face turned bright red.

Shirone and his friends had never seen her so flustered before.

"An affair?! How could you even think that about me?!"

Nade hastily defended himself.

"But the conversation sounded so suspicious! How could we not misunderstand? Who exactly is that man, anyway?"

Nade pointed to the figure still hidden behind the canvas.

"Are you referring to me?"

A voice, warm and soothing, answered from beyond the painting. Then came the sound of a chair scraping against the floor.

A moment later, the man stepped into view.

Shirone and his friends were dumbfounded.

A handsome man in his late twenties with golden hair cascading down to his waist.

But what truly caught their attention wasn't his striking appearance—it was the worn cloth wrapped tightly around his eyes.

'Is he…?'

A painter… yet blind.

The moment Shirone realized this, an overwhelming chill ran down his spine.

'Ugh…!'

Goosebumps rose all over his body, and he felt as if his very bones were freezing.

Nade, sensing Shirone's distress, patted his back reassuringly.

"Don't worry too much. It's not like the teacher is going to kill us. I'll take full responsibility."

"Huh? No, it's not that…"

Shirone slowly regained his composure.

The chilling sensation was unlike any he had ever experienced before—but just as quickly as it had come, it faded away.

"Shina, let it go. I don't know much about this 'boss' of yours, but these are your students, aren't they?"

"Which is exactly why I can't forgive them. Tailing me is one thing, but they trespassed into someone else's home! Honestly, they only ever pick up bad habits."

The man smiled kindly.

"But they are still your students. Since you were inside, they probably assumed it would be fine even if they got caught."

As if he had read their minds, Nade immediately agreed.

"Exactly! That's really how it was! Ask Shirone—he never lies. If this had been a stranger's house, we never would have entered! We're not thieves."

Shirone nodded fervently.

"Yes! Nade said that to me exactly! I heard it clearly!"

Shina massaged her temples, as if dealing with a headache.

They weren't lying, but their earnest, wide-eyed expressions, desperately pleading for their lives, only irritated her further.

'And yet these brats had the gall to use an invisibility cloak to tail me? Cunning little things…'

Despite the situation, the man simply smiled, seeming pleased to meet Shina's students.

"I'm Armin. Shina and I have been like siblings since childhood. We studied together under the Olipher School."

Armin extended a hand, and Nade quickly took it.

"Oh! That makes sense! I sincerely apologize for our foolish misunderstanding. And for intruding so suddenly."

Shina snapped.

"Intruding?! You trespassed!"

"Hehe, that's exactly why I'm apologizing. Honestly, I'm relieved now that the misunderstanding is cleared up."

Shina exhaled sharply, placing her hands on her hips.

Though their meeting had been awkward, silence soon settled among them.

"For now, take a seat and talk. I'll bring some tea."

With that, Armin gracefully stepped out of the room.

Despite his blindness, his movements were fluid, as if he could see perfectly. Shirone and his friends couldn't hide their amazement.

"Teacher, who exactly is that man? Are you really just like siblings?"

"Armin was my senior at the Olipher School. People once thought he would be the most gifted mage in the school's history. Though he became a painter instead, his talent has always far surpassed mine."

"That's incredible. But… if you don't mind me asking, what happened to his eyes?"

Shina's face darkened, making Nade regret his question. However, she soon collected herself and answered calmly.

"To save my life, he lost his sight."

"What?! Because of you?"

"When I was nine, I experienced an Overflow. I was studying energy absorption theory when, suddenly, I had an epiphany I couldn't explain in words."

She smiled bitterly.

"And Armin was the one who saved me. He always used to say, 'Never turn away from fear. Avoiding it won't change the world.' Do you know how old he was back then? Just eleven."

Though only two years older than Shina, he had been capable of saving her from an Overflow. That alone spoke volumes about his extraordinary talent.

"Did his advice help you overcome the Overflow?"

"No. I wasn't strong enough for that. At the time, I hated him. He always told me to face my fears, but I didn't want to. I was too scared. I thought he was just pretending to understand me. I was so childish back then."

Shirone struggled to picture Shina—now a powerful Sixth-Class mage—crying in fear.

But her story was just beginning.