Chapter 28
For a girl named Alisa Crouch, her brother Kait was a blood relative she had no memory of.
That was because less than a year after she was born, her brother had been sold off to the Organization by their parents. Since then, she had grown up believing she was an only child, and their parents never once mentioned the existence of her brother.
She learned she had a brother when the group known as the Organization was exposed, and the name Kait Crouch was reported as a 'candidate for the next Leader' raised there.
At first, she just thought it was someone with the same last name, but her parents' panic and the media people who started visiting their home repeatedly soon after—those two things made her realize the connection between herself and Kait in no time.
"Why did you keep it a secret that I had a brother?"
When she confronted her parents, a truly disgraceful truth came to light. That they sold her brother to the Organization for money, and that she had been raised in comfort thanks to that money.
Her brother's trial proceeded with baffling speed and ended just as quickly. The sentence: exile into space. A harsh punishment where more than half of the convicts either lost their minds before serving even half their term or ended up committing suicide.
A crime so grave, it was often called the modern-day death penalty. The media quickly turned their attention to other news, and no one around Alisa ever brought up her connection to her brother again.
The world kept turning smoothly, using her brother as a sacrifice. To the heart of a girl not even ten years old, it all seemed horribly twisted.
***
She realized that her brother had been protecting her from afar only after some time had passed since his trial.
The media reports began to stir up an eerie sense of unease, and the state of society grew increasingly volatile. Terrorism, war, occult-like prophecies of natural disasters, and a race to develop new technologies.
Around that time, a woman claiming to know her brother came to visit their home.
Rebecca Luthiano.
A beautiful woman said to have contended with her brother for the position of next Leader until the very end. She told them that society had entered an extremely dangerous phase and that she bore the responsibility to protect Alisa and her parents in her brother's stead, who had become a sacrifice to society.
"Kait hated you all... but if something happened, I don't think he would abandon you."
Hearing Rebecca murmur with sadness, Alisa felt a deep sense of empathy.
Not long after they moved residences following Rebecca's advice, society began to collapse. The direct cause was unclear to the young Alisa. But as a result, human society crumbled at an accelerating pace, and Rebecca's fellow Organization members who shared her ideals began to disappear one by one.
"Alisa. I will give you all the knowledge I have. If something happens to me, you must lead the people. Don't worry, as Kait's sister, I'm sure you have the talent."
By the time she started hearing things like that, the only sights before her were endless ruins.
Ah, so humanity is going to perish. Alisa thought so as if it were someone else's problem.
***
Some time had passed since Rebecca, Alisa, and about fifty others including her parents joined a group led by an old man named Damos.
Damos successfully negotiated with angel-like beings who appeared from nowhere.
A plan for emigration beyond Earth.
The angelic beings from space—the Divin people—smiled warmly as they distributed food and provided housing to the people.
Rebecca placed deep trust in Damos and began cooperating with the Divin people's emigration plan. Alisa, citing her youth, chose not to participate. Unlike Rebecca, she couldn't bring herself to trust the eyes of the man named Damos.
He hid it well, but he looked at people like they were merchandise. He had the same eyes as the reporters who came seeking interviews during her brother's trial, pretending to be the embodiment of goodwill.
Six months after the complete collapse of civilization. Finally, the first emigration fleet was set to arrive on Earth.
"Alisa. You and your parents should go. I'll join you later."
"No, Rebecca. I'm not going until you board first."
Her parents insisted on leaving immediately, but Alisa firmly refused to listen. Once she began to doubt Damos, she also started to doubt the Divin people.
There isn't that much pure goodwill in the world. Alisa knew that very well.
***
"Eh?"
While she was in the room, she was suddenly dragged away and put on the ship.
She was herded along by a stern-faced Divin person, and ahead of her was Rebecca, collapsed in tears.
"Rebecca!?"
"Alisa, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"What's going on...!?"
"If you want to blame someone, blame your brother."
"Representative Damos!"
Damos, whose face had turned terrifyingly cruel, emerged from the shadows and spat out the words.
With a vulgar sneer,
"If your brother hadn't shown his face, you all could've had a decent life in a good position."
"So... my brother is alive?"
"Yes. We're hostages for Kait."
"No way..."
Rebecca clung to her, sobbing. Was she always this fragile?
"After we kill him, it's your turn. Don't expect us to spare troublesome baggage."
Alisa glared at Damos as he spat those words and walked off somewhere.
The Divin people occasionally glanced at them with eyes like they were looking at trash, but otherwise made no attempt to interact. They believed they couldn't do anything. And they were right.
Frustration brought tears to her eyes.
***
The inside of the ship suddenly became noisy.
They were in a panic. Watching the hateful Divin people shouting at each other with pale faces was strangely satisfying.
Then, the commotion grew louder. The main monitor showed something like a fighter jet crashing into them.
Before she could say "Run!", the impact hit. The main monitor was blown away from the other side, and fragments flew toward them.
"Watch out!"
She tried to shield Rebecca, but the flying debris was blocked by something and vanished elsewhere.
Amid the confusion, something pushed through the destruction and stopped right in front of her.
Layers of steel plates unfolded as if they had a will of their own.
"Was that up to your expectations? Rebecca, Alisa. And the other two."
"K-Kait...?"
It was Rebecca who spoke in a daze. Her words confirmed that the person before them was her brother. Come to think of it, this was the first time she had seen his face directly.
"Sorry for the rough ride. That was a good old-fashioned ram attack."
Her brother got off the ship and reached out his hand. Just as she timidly tried to take it, her vision went black.
"Fueh!?"
'Ms. Rebecca. And family of Captain Kait, correct? Welcome aboard the combat vessel Queen Bee. I am the operator, Emotion. Please rest assured, Captain Kait will ensure your safety.'
All around them was transparent, and beyond it, they could see his back.
Wielding transcendent power, he single-handedly crushed the Divin people's ship. That figure could only be described as a hero.
"Brother... that person is..."
If they shared the same blood, then maybe one day she could become like that too.
His back made her feel that way.
***
"Stop it, Alisa! You can't undo this!"
"But, Rebecca. Isn't it possible that either I or our parents might have talents similar to my brother's?"
"W-Well, that might be true, but..."
"Even if not to the same degree, if I can use powers close to my brother's, I could help everyone live better in the Federation. Besides, think about it. If our parents had that kind of power, they'd definitely misuse it, right?"
"Ugh."
Because of her brother, Alisa had an extremely low opinion of her parents.
As Rebecca was running out of counterarguments, Ritimiele, who was close to Kait, shook their head.
"Ms. Alisa. So far, the people who have chosen the same modification plan as Kait, Third-Class Citizen (Enec Lagif), have only been able to exhibit extremely low levels of power. Honestly, even if you were to choose that plan, the chances of you demonstrating the same level of talent as Third-Class Citizen Kait are exceedingly slim."
"Ugh."
She was weak when faced with statistics.
While she was hesitating, Ritimiele offered an alternative with a smile.
"Why not start with a popular modification plan and get used to life in the Federation? After increasing your assets, if you still want to try the same plan as Third-Class Citizen Kait, then go for it. You'll have a hard time increasing assets if you can only exhibit low-level power, you know?"
"...T-This is frustrating."
But Ritimiele's proposal was reasonable. Choosing that was the rational decision.
Without ever knowing that her brother had chosen his modification plan based on romance, Alisa ended up accepting the standard one.
***
Alisa Crouch is not a brother complex.
She just deeply respects her somewhat heroic brother—but that's all.
Probably.