A Trip of Two Brothers

It was the sixth day of the third week of the school year.

Sitting in one of the VIP carts on the Celestial Train, Danny had a lot of time to think.

He thought about the tournament and his first time in Faerie in the first week, the race in Athens in the second week, and the mission in Faerie in the third week, and now there was a tournament in Yggdrasil Forest also in the third week...

Why was so much stuff happening?!

These last few weeks were far too dense with things he had to do.

He sure hoped things would cool down a little.

Luckily for him, the fifth and sixth weeks were a break for some holiday he never bothered to remember.

He went in his head over what he knew about Yggdrasil Forest.

The forest had some sort of relation with Faerie. Though, unlike Faerie's giant towering tree that was the entire realm, Yggdrasil looked like a forest with many trees. In reality, all the trees were actually branches of a tremendous tree.

The tree's stem stayed very close to the ground while its branches stretched as far as the eye could see.

The only reason normal humans didn't know where it was was that the forest was hidden by expansion magic inside of one cubic kilometer somewhere in Europe.

"I've been practicing."

Marcuse broke the silence.

"Are you capable of silent casting?"

Danny asked.

"No, but I feel like I'm close. Though I don't see why would anyone silent cast."

Marcuse said.

"What do you mean?"

Danny was surprised by his brother's reaction.

"It's just not comfortable. It puts a lot of mental strain and requires too much concentration to be viable in battle."

Marcuse explained.

"I think that your eyes are the only reason you are comfortably using it."

He added.

Danny pondered what his brother said for a moment.

No matter if what Marcuse said was right, it did strike Danny as strange that Yeshua and their father didn't use silent casting.

They were sure to be able to do so.

Was it that uncomfortable for people other than himself?

"Well, maybe. I did find it weird that our father doesn't usually use silent casting."

Danny agreed with his brother.

"It's been a while since it's been just the two of us."

Marcuse said with a nostalgic tone.

"If you ignore our father, the last time it was just us was around three years ago, in Eden."

Danny said.

His tone was full of resentment toward that accursed place.

"Speaking of Eden. Have you spoken with HER since?"

Marcuse asked, and an amused smile spread on his face as he saw his brother's flustered response.

Danny took a large breath to come down and then gave his answer.

"She came down to Hell to see me a few times. Though I've shooed her away each time."

Danny answered with a calm voice.

"Shooed her away? Why? Don't you like her?"

Marcuse was surprised.

He knew that even if the most attractive girl in Hell would make the perfect approach to Danny, there was only one girl who  could make his heart flutter.

"....."

Danny didn't answer.

He knew his reason for not wanting her with him but didn't want to speak about that.

"Why aren't you answering?"

"Are you embarrassed?"

"Eh? Eh?"

Marcuse seemed to enjoy this situation too much, and Danny pondered what response would shut this shitty brother of his.

"Why are you talking about my love life? Is this a girl talk? Not to mention, you still didn't tell me about how things went with Naomi?"

Danny asked and was well entertained as his brother's smile died.

"Not so bad. I'm thinking of actually dating her."

Marcuse said.

His smile died because his brother's words were quite hurtful, and the white-haired demon had diverted the conversation perfectly.

But as far as his love life went, it was better than in his previous life.

In his previous life, he put all his efforts into sports, but after receiving an injury that prevented him from practicing, he lost his will to live.

He was never very smart and didn't even try to study.

With nothing more to do, he quickly became a shut-in.

One day, when he was in his twenties, he was busy binging a few movie series in a row and then just passed out, probably from malnourishment.

He shut himself away and didn't date anyone in his previous life. So he planned to correct his previous life's mistakes, and thinking of dating Naomi was a part of it.

"Wait. Really?"

Danny was surprised.

He was sure his brother would dance around the topic of dating even if he were to notice his female friends' feelings.

Danny could do nothing but commend his brother for surpassing most harem protagonists, and this was only the start of the story!

"Remind me to buy her a gift of congratulations once we're back."

Danny added.

"Will do."

Marcuse chuckled.

The train transferred realms, and they were now in the mortal realm.

Danny looked out the window and sighed at the sight of darkness.

Most of the ride was subterranean, so mortals wouldn't see the train, and only a few stations existed, with most of them stopping underground and having stairs leading to the surface like any normal subway.

There were still a few hours before the train would reach their destination.

"What sort of people do you think we'll see there?"

Marcuse asked for his brother's opinion.

"Maybe we will see demons and angels and all sorts of magical creatures."

Danny said, and they both laughed.

Marcuse lived a human life, and Danny was a fan of human literature.

The concept of two humans traveling on a train to go to some fantastical place was not unheard of.

Though, obviously, it had no relevance to them.

What humans will call fantasy is merely a matter of course in their lives.

They laughed allheartedly, but a large booming sound stopped their calm.

As far as they saw it, this was their call to action.