Leading the Young Lady I Picked Up Astray, Making Her the Happiest Girl in the World!

Chapter 20 — The Storm-bringing Intruder (3)

Eruka tightly held Charlotte's hand and her eyes welled up with tears.

"You must've had a hard time until now… You've done so well. If there's anything I can do to help, please tell me! I'll do everything I can to help you!"

"T-Thank you...?"

Charlotte replied, seemingly still confused as she timidly nodded her head.

"Uhm… are you not going to kick me out or something?"

"Eh, why would I do that?"

"Um, that's… Saying it myself is a bit err… but, I'm someone who is really suspicious, you know?"

"But brother believes in you, right?"

Eruka replied, tilting her head slightly to one side.

Then, she smiled brightly before saying, "If that's the case, then it's fine. Brother may be like this, but when it comes to sniffing out bad people, he's seriously just like a dog."

"If you're gonna give me a compliment anyway, why not just be direct?"

Allen could only shoot Eruka a piercing glare.

It had been about a year since they last saw each other, and she still hasn't changed a bit. She remained just as tough on her older brother, Allen, and as genuinely kind-hearted as ever. Seeing her being the same as ever brought Allen relief.

"That aside, what's the real reason you came here?"

"To be frank, I came here to take you back, brother, but…"

Pausing mid-sentence, Eruka jumped and hugged Charlotte tightly.

"But that doesn't matter anymore! I'll take care of you too, Charlotte-chan! I'll be sure to teach you a loooot of naughty things!"

"No way… Are you planning on staying here?"

"Obviously. Besides, I also came to this region to do a little investigation, you see."

"Investigation…?"

Seeing the curious Charlotte, Eruka smiled and responded, "Yeah, you see, I may not look like it, but I'm actually an apprentice magic tool engineer. Specifically, I specialize in sourcing magic materials."

"Magic materials...?"

"Well, to put it simply, it's about crafting magic tools using bones and skins from monsters. So, I travel all over the world gathering those materials."

Magic tools come in various forms. Some are ordinary tools infused with magic, while others harness the power of monster materials to enhance the tools' abilities, and there are even those that occur naturally. So on, so forth.

Eruka provided a brief explanation, but Charlotte's eyes widened with confusion. It seemed that she was quite unfamiliar with anything related to magic.

"By any chance, do you know nothing about magic at all?"

"T-that is… I just know that it is something convenient... I'm sorry for my lack of knowledge..."

Charlotte said as she slumped her shoulders in dismay.

Given that she mentioned her focus being solely on bridal training and household chores back at her home, it's understandable that she never had the chance to learn about magic.

Showing Charlotte a reassuring smile, Eruka tried to uplift her spirits.

"On the contrary, there are lots of things we can teach you, you know! And brother must still have a thing or two he learned from his old days that he can teach you. Right, brother?"

"Old days…?"

"Forget it. I am satisfied with who I am now."

Allen let out a sigh and waved his hand dismissively.

In passing, he gave Eruka a scowl.

"Fine, I can let you stay here. But you teaching Charlotte naughty things? Hah, don't make me laugh."

"Hmph. And what do you mean by that?"

Eruka pouted, but Allen lifted the corner of his mouth and smiled wickedly. Standing behind Charlotte, he lightly tapped her shoulder—

"The only one who can teach Charlotte naughty things with the most finesse, is me! There's no way you, whom she had just met today, can take on that role!"

"You–!?"

"Eh? Huh?"

Charlotte's eyes widened as she darted her gaze between the two. Meanwhile, Eruka, fuming with anger, locked eyes with Allen in a fierce standoff.

"I'm telling you, there are certain kinds of pleasure that only a woman can teach another woman! I'll use my naughty techniques to make Charlotte completely smitten!"

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm the one who's teaching Charlotte all kinds of naughty things day and night! There's no way you can match up to me!"

"W-what are the both of you even talking about…?"

Charlotte, caught in the midst of it all, could only tilt her head in confusion as the sibling stare-down continued. However, both of them knew that arguing further would lead to nowhere.

"Then… why don't we settle this with a match?"

"Heh, brings back memories. Been a while since we've done this."

Both of them instinctively extended their fists... then bumped them against each other.

"Whoever teaches Charlotte naughty things best wins! Let the match begin!"

"That's just what I want!"

"Eeeh…"