“This is an enchanted sword, forged with the scales of a legendary dragon of roaring thunder. And only thy can wield this weapon because I am the chosen one! I shall sweep away all the evil and get all the riches and foods all across… blah blah” mumbled on and on the brat as he stared in the empty space.

The brat’s back was facing in my direction so he didn’t see me standing behind him. I pinched and pulled him by his earlobe.

He started shrieking out in pain,
“Who has thus challenged the mighty being such as I, You will be” he continued to ramble on and on, so I increased the grip in my pinch and pulled it even harder.

“Ow, ow, ow!! Stop brother! It hurts!” finally the mighty so-called hero, admitted defeat by a mere ear pinch.

“Get back to work! How long are you gonna stand there, and stare at that dusting broom? Get back to work or else-” I said threateningly.

Armin who I had assigned a job of dusting our apartment was distracted and started playing around. It's hardly been like a minute and this fellow has already started fooling around.

“Okay. Alright! Geez.” he whimpered and finally continued to dust with his delusional legendary enchanted sword which I bought for a mere 26 rubians from the wholesale market.

“Again if I catch you playing around, then no lunch for you,” I said while glaring at him angrily.

“You can’t do that!” argued Armin while he glared back at me, “You're not the one cooking today, its aunt Martha! You can’t stop me.”

“Oh is that so? Then perhaps I will just eat your share of lunch as well because your big brother is still recuperating. You don't want that, right?” I asked him as I glared at him intensely while having a wide grin on my face.

“Heck no!” he replied.

“So move your hands and not your mouth Start working already.”

To that Armin angrily pouted,
“Hmph… alright.”

I had assigned Armin with the cleaning duty but with his cheeky personality, it’s hard to make him do about anything. Only threats like no lunch/dinner work against his rude disobedient behavior.

It was 11 am there was a lovely aroma of the food-filled our small apartment but the cook this time wasn’t me.

There stood a woman on our kitchen platform who was quite plump and her height was about average.
She was none other than Aunt Martha who worked in Armin and Rose’s school’s charwoman. Somehow both of them befriended her in the school and also Aunt Martha took a liking to them.
She does take care of Rose and Armin on my behalf, like dropping them back at home when I couldn't.

So today Aunt Martha was cooking lunch for us, yet again.
She was wearing a headscarf and an apron so that she won’t stain her hair and her long frock dress. Her brown short curly hair locks which managed to escape through the edges of the headscarf.
Aunt Martha was really a kind and sweet lady and the only person that I was grateful to.

“Aunt Martha!" I approached her, "There’s never a time where you don’t surprise us with your cooking! I am really sorry to go out of your way and look after Rose and Armin for these past days. Mere words can’t express how grateful I am.”

Rose and Armin are the only families left for me in this world and in the time of need, she really helped me a lot.

The thing is that after drinking that high-class healing elixir, I passed out cold for three days straight. I only regained consciousness this morning.
In my absence, Aunt Martha was looking out after Rose and Armin when I was passed out, all this time.

“No problem! No problem!” answered Aunt Martha, “I am happy, you fine. Rose and Armin, worry for you. They happy that you okay. If they happy, then I am happy.”

Ah! The way you can tell she still not good at talking in our language.
As you can tell her English was pretty broken.

Aunt Martha was one of the survivors from a nomadic tribe that perished when the Rublor nation was engaged in war. One of the soldiers, and later to be her husband rescued and brought her under the protection of Rublor nation. Here she learned the new customs and language personally taught by her husband. But sadly her husband lost his life in the line of duty before he could fully teach the language to Aunt Martha.

Now the government has appointed her a job at the school.
And somehow Rose and Armin befriended her and started teaching our language, and have managed to improve.

“Well, you have improved a lot in your English, since the last time I saw you,” I added to praise her.
Although, she still had a lot of room for improvement.

To my response, she giggled with embarrassment,
“Thank you! Thank you! It is because of Armin and Rose. They teach me sometimes.” she replied as she glanced at Rose and Armin and scratched her head in embarrassment.

I can imagine Rose teaching but even Armin doing that?
That’s a little difficult to imagine but whatever.

“Well, I am all good now. I shall take care of all the laundry work by myself."  I said as I flexed my muscles.
It’s been 3 days and the clothes seemed to have piled up.

Then my eyes fell on Rose who was sitting by the windowsill with her angry pout face looking outside.

“Oi, Rose. Could you please lend us a hand?” I asked.

To that Rose looked at me and just glared at me furiously.

“Ah! Nevermind then. I got this” I quickly backed away.

It seems Rose was still pissed at me.

Armin told me how he and Rose mistakenly thought that Pietra was an enemy when she appeared in front of our door while carrying me in my unconscious state.
Rose attacked with a kitchen spatula and Armin charged with a cucumber which he already had taken a bite. Cucumber? seriously?

But thankfully, Pietra’s friend was present there who peacefully subjugated both of them without causing any harm. It took some time to convey Rose and Armin but they finally convinced them that they were not an enemy.
Armin and Rose were told that I had an accident with a chariot and I was hit on the head. They also assured Rose and Armin that I will be fine in a day’s rest before leaving.

But according to aunt Martha, both of them came running to her apartment when I didn’t wake up the other day.
She told me that both were in a state of panic and especially Rose who balled her eyes out while worrying about my well-being.

Aunt Martha then went to our apartment with Armin and Rose. She stayed here for the past three days and looked after Armin and Rose.

Although, Armin was worried about me at first when Aunt Martha told him that it would be alright he became cheerful. But Rose couldn’t stop worrying about me.
For the past three days, she didn’t even leave my side all this time.

The two of them also took a leave of absence from the school so did Aunt Martha.
Rose is one thing but why did Armin take a leave of absence?
Unlike Rose, Armin was his usual self. He just went to play with his friends while not being worried about me.
I know that he didn't have to worry and I was going to be okay but still! I am a bit disappointed that just one word from Aunt Martha and he lost all his worry about big brother, just like that!

Although, Rose was a mess. She even ate her lunch and dinner sitting right next to me.

When I regained consciousness, she was the first one who greeted me with a tight hug and stream of tears flowed through her eyes.
Unlike her usual behavior as a mature lady, she cried like a baby.

But now she’s again back to her normal self and been pouting all this time since then.
She was against the idea of me joining the army from the start. And now on the first day, I returned home being knocked out for three days straight.

I then later proceed to do the laundry all alone.
It took some time but I managed to wash everything.
When I came out after doing the laundry I saw Armin again slacking off. But then he regained his pace once again after I gave him a good smack on the head.
The two of us then did the cleaning by noon while Rose stayed staring outside the windowsill like a princess.

Aunt Martha bid us farewell and she went back to her apartment.
I must give her a proper thanks that she had to go out of her way to take leave from her duty as a charwoman.

It seems Rose was rather embarrassed about how she cried in front of me like that. Normally she’s quite the level headed person and acts more mature than both Armin and I combined together.
And since then she has just been avoiding me all this time.

After having lunch I made them do their studies and make up for the leave of absence from the school.

Rose was an upstanding student so she studied diligently.
I don’t even have the need to tell Rose to study because she was on top of her class.
As for Armin, I had to tussle with him just to keep his eyes on the book and also not letting him fall asleep.

Later in the evening, I took both of them to a stroll in the town.
Rose was adamant about not coming with us at first.
But then I lured her while promising to treat them to a delicious Parfait. It took some time to convince Rose but in the end, she gave in to her sweet tooth.

Later we went to a shrine and from there I took them to the public garden to spend our time. Armin was having fun and even befriended new kids to play together.
Whereas Rose was admiring the pretty flowers and she sketched them in her sketchbook.

We spent our time there until sundown and then the city park closed down.
After leaving the park, the three of us started heading home.

But just when Armin pulled my sleeves,
“Big bro! I am really hungry.”

“Huh? Didn’t you just eat that big parfait?” I asked in a bewildered manner.

“But I am really hungry again!” he pleaded with a tearful face.
Armin’s appetite was really growing by an unprecedented amount each passing day.

Despite Armin was a bonehead, he was my flesh and blood.

I let out a sigh of defeat and succumb to Armin's pleading.
“Alright, let’s the three of us go out to dinner,”

Armin rejoiced and jumped in the air with joy.
Even Rose’s eyes had a slight glint of joy but when our eyes met, she looked the other way.

She really was stubborn as an old hag.
But how can she stay mad at her adorable big brother such as I?

We went out to a fancy restaurant, not the regular cheap ones.
I had no problem with the cheap restaurant itself but the people who hangout are mostly ruffians and a bunch of drunkards.
I did not want such people to be a bad influence on Rose and Armin.

We went to a fancy restaurant where only the citizens or anyone affiliated with the government or the military can dine.

I used my new status as a rookie guardsman and took my siblings inside.

It was quite a fascinating restaurant and it had the vibes of luxury that we never did experience.
When we entered, I saw a few people glancing at us quite a few times. I guess perhaps our attire was a little bit out of the place.
I showed my appointment letter and the watchman let us in.

Even Rose and Armin were quite startled seeing the fancy restaurant. It was the first time they entered such a place. Till now, all we could do was look from the outside into the restaurant.
The restaurant was bright lightings and there were decorations from the decor to the tableware, everything looked so fancy and expensive.

We three took our seats and soon a waiter dressed in a proper butler suit approached us for the order.
Armin was the first one to snatch the menu and started ordering everything he saw before his eyes.

I gave him a good smack him in the head snatched back the menu.
I then examined the menu carefully and the prices of the food just blew my mind. But I still maintained my calm demeanor and not letting the frustration and shock to be seen in my face.

I ordered some good steak and omelet rice for the three of us. It was somehow affordable and also quell our hunger.

People were already staring at us because of our roughly dressed attire but Armin's horrible table manner was attracting even more attention.
But unlike Armin, Rose dined like a proper lady as if she really came from a rich estate. Her manners even left mine to dust.

After dining comes the hard part.
Paying the bill but I was generous today, so I did depart away with the hard-earned money.

But when I was about to leave, this waiter beside me started suppressed coughing. It didn't seem he was having trouble with his throat.

Then Rose pulled me closer and whispered in my ears that I must tip the waiter for his service.
It was a customary way to thank the waiter for his service, a way to show gratitude.

Why the fuck should I tip this guy?
He had already been employed and getting paid by the owner of the restaurant, so why?
This noble assholes really like spending money like crap.

I forced a smile and placed 15 rubians from my wallet as a tip.

I was going to argue with him but I didn’t need to attract more eyes to me as it is.
I wanted today's outing to be memorable, hence I don't want to start an argument.

So from my pocket, I took out 15 rubians in change and placed it on the plate for his tip.

*Tch*
The waiter clicked his tongue with a disgusted expression while looking at the tip.
He made a face as if I just took a crap on the tip plate.

Still, he started picking the change from the table and accepted it anyway.

It was as if he was doing a favor by taking my money.
I wanted just pick the table and smack right on his face but I kept my cool and quietly left the place.

Really living like a noble is hella expensive.
I don’t get it, if this is the way those rich aristocrats live their life then why don’t they ever run out of money?

We started heading back to our apartment and it was getting dark.
Armin had fallen asleep, so I carried him on my back. This bonehead once asleep won’t even wake up if you slap him hard.

As for Rose, she’s been glancing at the passing by townsfolk. I was holding her hand so that she won’t get lost. This town was always alive day and night as this town was like a hub for all travelers.
Travelers from all over the world come here to trade with the country of Rublor.

It seemed that Rose had calmed down now that we had a good time today. She’s been down for the past few days and finally cheered up now.

“So did you guys have a blast today?” I asked.

Rose then faced me and her pout from morning resurfaced,
“It was okay,” she replied.

Just ‘okay’?

“Oh, so it was ‘okay’, I see,” I replied and then stared back at her in the eye, “So what about the time when you devoured that whole Parfait like as if there was no tomorrow. You were like-”

Then I mimicked like a hungry dog licking the air.

“That’s how you looked like when you were eating the parfait” I added.

Just when she kicked me in my knee.
“No! I did not!” she ranted, “I never behave in such uncouth behavior.”

“Hey! Don’t kick me like that!" I yelled at her. " You do remember, I am carrying heavy luggage over here and damn! Armin weighs like a ton. You kids really grow up so fast.”
Instead of apologizing for kicking her older brother, she just looked the other way while still holding onto my hands.

Ah geez!
This must be the so-called rebellious phase that I heard kids go through their adolescence.
I, myself did not go through such a phase, so all I can do was just tolerate their tantrums.

We quietly walked in the direction of our apartment building. Armin seemed to be sleeping very peacefully on my back and snoring aloud.
My back was drenched with his drool that I even started to feel that through the shirt. This kid really was trouble, all the time.

That’s when-
“Hey big brother…” asked Rose.

This time she was the one to start a conversation after avoiding me all day.
She was looking in the other way for some reason.

“Will you again go back again being a soldier?” she asked while still not facing in the opposite direction.

It seems she was still very worried about me.
At this point, I can’t tell who’s the elder one here.

I reached out my hand to her head and patted,
“Haha!” I giggled and answered “You still stuck up with your worries. Act like a nine-year-old brat like a normal kid and leave the worrying part to us elders, alright.”

To that, she remained silent.

I let out a sigh,
“Listen now, your brother just joined the military very recently and right of the bat, I took a three day leave. This will greatly reflect on my reputation. But today we experienced some fancy food for the first time just because I joined the military.  It really felt a bit weird but still, it was quite a nice experience.”

I then forcefully grabbed her head and made her face in my direction,
“Listen now!” I said with a cheerful smile, “Soon I will rise in ranks and provide even bigger luxury then you could imagine. I will purchase a big house and all the three of us will have three rooms for ourselves! You guys won’t have to sleep on a futon laid on the floor! I will buy a bed for every one of us. We will also buy a table so big that you won’t be able to use it without chairs. Not the shabby coffee table that we are using right now. We will hire maids who will cook for us every day and we won’t have to do a single thing. They will do from cooking to setting the table and also clean the dishes. And many more such things!”

I did think of many things that I want to be done when I became rich.
I want to provide everything to my siblings to make them happy.

“You really like to daydream, don’t you?” said Rose as she glared at me.
Did my dreams sounded a little childish or what?

“Well but it’s still a nice dream,” she said and a smile resurfaced on her face, “I will also like to have a room for myself! At least then I can have a break from staying between the two moron of big brothers.”

“I am glad you like my idea but did you just call me ‘moron’? Armin is one thing but I am much smarter than you two combined.” I said sternly with a passive-aggressive tone.

She faced the other way,
“Yes, I did" she answered cheekily, "All boys are a moron in the end.”

“Why you ungrateful brat...” I whimpered.

By the time we could quarrel any more, we already had reached the apartment.
Thus a lovely day came to an end.

Thanks for reading!
(/^.^)/
A new arc will soon begin with new coming chapters and more action...