Lloyd.

A noun that I don't know. Is it a person's name?

Theo's confusion showed on his face, and Guy immediately recognized it, explaining to her, "Lloyd is my brother, older than Theo...... Five-year-old? Maybe it's four years old, but it's about that old. ”

"That's a lot of words?"

Theo just wondered if the man named Lloyd was just as talkative as Guy.

It's just that, in the ears of others, these words have a somewhat condemnatory meaning.

Guy smiled wryly, "Do I have so many words?" ”

Nodding his head.

"I just want to amuse you......"

Guy folded his arms, as if wondering how to describe his brother.

"My brother doesn't talk that much. If anything, he's the kind of person who speaks very carefully. Sergei laughed at me, saying that it was the opposite of me. ”

Such a cheerful and a bit noisy person, his brother didn't talk a lot, Tio thought.

"People around him said he was serious and a good boy...... But from my point of view, he's a bit of a bull, which makes people feel at ease - children~ It's good to be naughty. Before, too, when the Sunday school nuns called me to go, I thought, 'Oh, that guy is finally getting naughty because the school is looking for parents because of the fight!' So I ran over happily. ”

Theo had always heard people say that fighting was a bad thing, but it didn't seem to be the case in Guy's house.

"As a result, I heard that Lloyd's guy was not looking for someone else to fight, but was injured when he tried to persuade him to fight. The nun also sighed, 'Sure enough, there is a brother who is a police officer, but I am very worried, his character is too bad. That guy is so kind. Cecil said the same thing. ”

Cecil, another unfamiliar name appeared. When Guy mentioned the name, Theo felt a lot of emotion from him. It was a different feeling than when he mentioned anyone else's name, and there was an incredible heat in it.

There were too many things to understand for a while, and Theo was stunned, and Guy was keenly aware of this, and smiled apologetically: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just boring to talk about things and things, right?" ”

Boring...... Is it?

Not really.

Mentally setting up Guy's words, Theo shook his head, saying that he didn't find the topics boring—though they did go on a bit too much.

"Ah, do you think it's interesting? That's great. ”

Guy showed a proud smile, the kind of triumphant smile that seemed to be praised in life, and it was very infectious. Theo couldn't help but start envious of him.

“…… That's nice......"

She sighed under her breath.

In an inhumane facility, of Theo's companions as test subjects, only Theo survived.

At the cost of affection, in exchange for perception far beyond ordinary people.

After the destruction of this inhumane facility, Guy is responsible for sending Theo home. That's the whole picture of this mission. Guy, who had personally participated in the assault and rescue operations, knew better than anyone how much Te had suffered in that facility. His expression grimaced, as if it wasn't Theo who had been hurt, but himself.

He rose from his seat and crouched down in front of Theo, looking her in the eye.

"Theo, from now on, you will also encounter many, many happy things, and that is really something that cannot be said."

You can feel the conviction in Guy's words.

"Really...... Is it? ”

Already, is it okay?

Theo still felt incredible. In my memory, there are only screams and pain, and I can't remember anything else. As the only survivor of the inhumane facility, Theo has long since learned to close her heart. If there is no hope, then there is no despair. If happiness is not known, then there is no unhappiness. This closure is necessary if one is to survive in an inhumane and desperate situation.

So, now, will there finally be something happy?

Theo still found it incredulous.

"Well, definitely. Rather, that's normal. If you can't find something happy in the future, then come to Crossbell and find me. I'll definitely help you fight those misfortunes and make you more 'happy' to the point of annoying you! ”

The same firm words, Guy's hand on Tio's head, the warm, noisy, confident, and firm ...... in Guy's heart There are also warm feelings that are transmitted to Theo's body.

This affection was more intense than any emotion that Tio had felt so far.

Theo couldn't help but get excited and began to look forward to life after that.

The train soon arrived at Tio's hometown, Remephilia.

In the gratitude of Theo's parents, Guy bids the girl farewell.

"Ahh

Just as Theo was about to leave with his parents in the lead, Guy stopped Theo.

He rummaged through his carrying case, and Theo looked forward to it. On the train, she'd seen Guy conjure up all sorts of things out of it several times: candy, poker, and some weird gadgets.

"Where? Ah, found it. ”

After rummaging through it for a while, Guy finally found it. He crouched down in front of Theo.

"Tio, hold out your hand."

Theo didn't know why, and held out his hand as he said. Guy placed something in the palm of his little hand

"It's ......"

"It's cute! Its name is 'Missy'. ”

It was a round gray cat doll pendant, with this face that looked like an embarrassing character.

"This is for Theo."

Although Guy always wanted to give a gift to Theo, he was completely confused about what to buy. "Finding and buying what the little girl likes on her own" is a task that is even more tricky for Guy than hunting down the murderer, and the process of choosing a gift is difficult.

He even investigated and collected evidence from the girl at the reception of the police station, and finally found this Mixi pendant. Despite the fact that "Mixi" is a so-called local mascot and is not well-known or popular, Guy intuitively thinks that Theo will like it and buys it.

He had planned to give this to her the next time he visited Tio, and it was at this time that he was given the task of escorting her back to her homeland. So he wanted to surprise her with this at the end of the trip.

"How? This inexplicable annoyance...... No, it's a very characteristic expression, and I think Theo will like it. ”

Theo didn't hear Guy's words, as she had been staring intently at the Mishi pendant in her palm.

She looked very interested, and kept glaring at each other with Missy, carefully stroking Missy's tail. She seemed to like the soft fur on her tail and stroked it over and over again.

"Do you like it?"

As he spoke, Guy grinned. Theo blushed and nodded.

"yes, that's good!"

Guy reached out and stroked Theo's head back and forth, Theo's light blue hair was messed up. Theo didn't look unhappy, but obediently accepted.

Finally Guy said softly but firmly:

"—rest assured. You're going to be happy. A new future awaits you in the future. That future is shining, very bright. ”

——————————————————

In the underground space, Theo's voice stopped.

It looks like the story is over.

"Knock all misfortune away?"

Lloyd's expression repeated subtly. That expression was proud, embarrassed, and a little self-deprecating.

"Should I say, is it really worthy of being a big brother? It's much better than me, big brother. ”

From a long time ago, Lloyd had been chasing Guy. Because of the early death of his parents, Guy's image in the young Lloyd's mind is a mixture of multiple identities of father, mother and brother.

In Lloyd's world, the most powerful person is his big brother. There is no such thing as a better person than Big Brother. So, when Guy died, Lloyd's world collapsed.

However, when Lloyd returned to Crossbell, although he had long thought that he would be able to hear about Guy from all sides, he really didn't expect that Guy would have an experience with Theo.

And, there are ......

Lloyd's expression was a little solemn.

He suddenly remembered that when he had just returned to Crossbell and visited his eldest brother in the cemetery, there was a mourner who had come first, and if he thought about it, it should be Ranster.

…… Lancer?