Dragon Raja: I started out as Erii's older brother

"Buzz—!"

A slight, almost inaudible vibration.

In an instant, all the sounds in the room disappeared.

The maids covered their mouths in horror.

Tachibana Masamune's smile froze.

The whole world seemed to have been muted.

Erii, who had been engrossed in playing games, slowly raised her head.

The screen of the game console in her hand was still lit up, displaying a chibi-style figure with the word "WIN" indicating victory.

But her eyes have changed.

Those golden eyes were no longer clear, no longer pure.

It became a deathly silence, an empty void. Like a starless night sky, or the end of the universe, devoid of any light or emotion.

She just watched Tachibana Masamune quietly.

He didn't speak.

He simply picked up his pink game console, which had duck stickers on its casing.

Then, with her delicate little finger, she typed out each word on the screen.

[Kneel down]

Masamune Tachibana's mind went completely blank.

He had absolutely no idea what was going on.

But his body reacted first.

An indescribable and irresistible force, like an absolute command etched into the deepest part of his genes, suddenly pierced through his entire body!

This is not an order.

This is the rule.

It is the truth.

Just as water flows downhill and the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, it is undeniable and inviolable.

He felt as if his kneecaps had been slammed hard by two invisible hands.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound of bone cracking.

"Thump!!!"

The young master of the Tachibana family, who was so arrogant just a second ago, suddenly went weak in the knees and knelt heavily in front of Erii in a posture that was as perfect as could be, and as humiliating as could be.

The dust on the floor was shaken up and flew up.

The entire room fell silent.

Tachibana Masamune's two attendants were terrified, standing frozen in place like statues, not daring to move an inch.

Tachibana Masamune himself was filled with shock and disbelief.

He wanted to stand up.

He tried desperately to stand up!

But he couldn't do it.

His legs felt like they were filled with lead, or nailed to the floor; he could do nothing but kneel.

Su Mo stood to the side, mouth agape, completely dumbfounded.

He stared blankly at Tachibana Masamune kneeling on the ground, then at Erii, who expressionlessly put away her phone and continued playing games with her head down.

A thought uncontrollably popped into his head.

Holy crap.

So... this is what they mean by "words becoming law"?

This switch even has an automatic defense function?!?!?!

Tachibana Masamune was dragged away by his two equally terrified servants, who scrambled and stumbled along the way.

From beginning to end, he was unable to stand up on his own.

The sound of the kneecap shattering still echoed in his ears, and that face, twisted and deformed by fear and humiliation, was branded onto Su Mo's retina.

The room was deathly silent.

About three seconds passed.

Su Mo felt that his CPU had finally restarted successfully.

He stiffly turned his neck to look at the maids who were still standing there.

They all had their heads down, their shoulders trembling like fallen leaves in the autumn wind, as if they wished they could shrink into a crack in the ground.

"that..."

Su Mo cleared her throat, wanting to say something to ease the atmosphere.

For example, "The weather is nice today."

As soon as he opened his mouth, the maids, like cats whose tails had been stepped on, let out a "howl" and turned to run away.

The movements were incredibly fast, and the posture was utterly chaotic; it was like a 100-meter sprint final.

In the blink of an eye, only Su Mo and Erii remained in the large Japanese-style room.

There was still a mess on the ground, and the lingering smell of fear in the air.

Su Mo looked at Erii.

She lowered her head again, her small thumbs rapidly pressing buttons on the game console, the colorful lights on the screen reflecting on her quiet profile.

It seems that the goddess who seemed to hold absolute power, deciding life and death with a single word, wasn't her at all.

Su Mo's Adam's apple bobbed, and she swallowed.

[Help me!!!]

Did I just... dance a dance of Gokuraku Jodo right at the gates of hell? Σ(°△°|||)︴

[So the safety mechanism for this nuclear weapon... is voice-activated? I yelled "Don't touch her," and it just went off?]

Wait! Something's not right!

He suddenly thought of an even more frightening detail.

Tachibana Masamune just wanted to touch her hair.

The person knelt down before even touching the object, just by making the "thinking" motion.

What about yourself?

These past few days, I've been handing her snacks, reading comics with her, and occasionally accidentally touching the hem of her clothes because we're sitting too close.

Am I still alive and kicking because I'm good-looking?

Su Mo fell into deep thought.

He just couldn't understand it.

Does this mean that my existence is the default safe unit for this system?

Because I'm the older brother?

This thought made him feel a little better.

That night, Su Mo had an unusually long sleepless night.

He lay in his room, tossing and turning, his mind filled with images of Tachibana Masamune's shattered knees.

That's so tragic.

This is truly tragic.

[But why do I feel strangely...good?]

Just as he was lost in thought, the paper door was gently pulled open a crack.

A small red head peeked in.

It's Erii.

She was wearing pink cartoon pajamas, carrying a large drawing board, and walked in barefoot without making a sound.

"Still not asleep?"

Su Mo sat up and asked in a low voice.

Erii shook her head, walked up to him, and handed him the drawing board.

Using the moonlight streaming in through the window, Su Mo was able to make out what was on the canvas.

It was a very simple stick figure drawing.

A crooked, malnourished stick figure is standing with its arms outstretched, blocking another stick figure in a red dress.

Opposite them was a figure covered in black crayon scribbles, exuding malice.

Su Mo was stunned.

He pointed to the malnourished stick figure.

"This is...me?"

Erii nodded vigorously, her golden eyes seemingly filled with stars.

Su Mo's heart was suddenly gently bumped by something.

It's a little sour and a little bloated.

He accomplished nothing.

He was even so cowardly that he was ready to admit defeat.

But in her world, his fierce yet cowardly roar and his idea of ​​standing up for her were already seen as protection.

I've cracked...

What is this? A form of psychological victory?

No... This is a form of approval.

This was the first time since he came into this messed-up world that he felt needed.

Rather than a blood pack, a sedative, or a dispensable parasite.

He suddenly felt that the grievances he had suffered before were nothing at all.

Is this how I am in your eyes? (^▽^)