The Villain's Reincarnation – Tired of Working Hard, I'm Slacking Off! The Peacefully Oblivious Slacker Avoids Ruin! - Chapter 2.2

“Well then! Since Kaito’s sister is here, we’ve gotta serve her something extra special!”

“Don’t overdo it, Yamada.”

My brother chuckled, shaking his head as Yamada flexed his arms enthusiastically.

(I wonder what kind of food they’ll serve…?)

Since I had never experienced anything like this before, I found myself feeling excited.

But just as I was getting used to the lively atmosphere—

“KYAAAH!!”

A high-pitched scream suddenly pierced the air.

I instinctively turned around—

Two Heavenly Oxen were charging toward a woman and child.

(Heavenly Ox?! How did they get here?!)

“Brother!?”

I turned toward my brother, seeking his guidance—

But he was gone.

“It’s okay now. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

His voice came from ahead.

My brother had already saved them.

The Heavenly Oxen lay unconscious, while the woman and child stood unharmed.

(Brother subdued both of them in an instant…!)

His flawless precision—the flash of movement faster than the eye could track—left me breathless.

My brother rarely displayed his true strength, but even this was just a fraction of what he was capable of.

Yet, more than his speed or accuracy, what impressed me most was his decisiveness.

The moment danger appeared, he had already processed the situation and acted before I could even react.

This was my brother.

“Lucky. Saved me the trouble of tracking them down.”

He turned to Yamada, completely unbothered.

“Yamada, I’d like to donate these to the barbecue. Think you can handle the preservation and storage?”

Having resolved the incident in an instant, my brother returned as if nothing had happened.

“O-Oh… well, I don’t mind, but what about the other one?” Yamada asked, nodding at the second unconscious Heavenly Ox.

“Oh, that one? I’ll be donating it to the knight order as an apology for making extra work for them today.”

(Making extra work for the knights? What is he talking about?)

Something about his words felt off.

As far as I knew, my brother had done nothing to increase the workload of the knight order.

At least, not before the Heavenly Ox attack.

(The attack… the oxen… the map… the knight order…?)

“…!”

A jolt of realization ran through my body.

Like pieces of a puzzle clicking into place, everything suddenly made sense—and the weight of that understanding hit me like a storm.

(Could it be…? Did my brother plan all of this from the very beginning?)

Even though this area was on the outskirts of town, it was highly unusual for Heavenly Oxen, known for their danger sense, to charge into a populated area.

The only possible explanation was that something outside had driven them here.

In other words, a threat greater than the town itself must have appeared in the wilderness.

And my brother had just casually mentioned that the knight order had extra work today.

Which could only mean…

That there were bandits lurking outside the city.

If the threat had been monsters, it would have been handled by adventurers instead.

Using the sightings of the Heavenly Ox and the map I had created, my brother must have already pinpointed the bandits’ hideout.

(And with his clairvoyance… No, the timing was too perfect. He knew exactly where the oxen would appear. This wasn’t a coincidence—it was inevitable!)

He must have figured everything out the moment he saw my map—no, even before that!

Nothing else could explain how everything had fallen into place so seamlessly.

As a result, not only had he prevented a disaster, but he had also secured the finest meat for both the barbecue party and the knight order.

And, at the same time, he had ensured that the bandit threat would be eliminated.

Only one question remained.

Why did he bring me along?

(Was it… to train me?)

I had contributed nothing aside from creating the map.

Which meant the only reason he had brought me here was to help me grow.

(Wait… was this his way of thanking me for the map?)

Tears welled up in my eyes at my brother’s kindness.

At the same time, frustration boiled inside me—frustration at my own incompetence, for needing so many hints before realizing the truth.

“Brother… I-I’m sorry… I—”

I tried to apologize, but my brother gently wiped my tears away as he stroked my head.

“I’m sorry, too. I said you could rely on me, but I ended up putting you through something like this. I must be a terrible big brother.”

“N-No! Brother!! I… I’m just frustrated with myself for not being able to do anything!”

Hearing that, my brother pulled me into a warm embrace.

“It’s only natural to struggle at first. But Satsuki, the fact that you can reflect on it already makes you more capable than you realize. I couldn’t ask for a better little sister.”

“Brother…”

(Ah… How kind can he be?)

In the Mitsurugi family, failure was unacceptable. We had been trained from birth to succeed on the first attempt, with no room for mistakes.

To me, my brother’s gentle words were like a divine light, piercing through the suffocating darkness of our family’s expectations.

To me, my brother was salvation itself.

From the moment we were born, my twin brother and I had endured a living hell—constantly compared to our prodigious older brother, belittled, and dismissed as inferior.

While the adults around us refused to acknowledge us, my brother alone celebrated our small victories and shared in our joy.

Unlike the rest of our family, who resorted to violence to enforce their lessons, my brother had always stood beside us, thinking with us rather than for us.

Unlike those who left us shivering through the winter with nothing but a single blanket, my brother had secretly snuck out to share his own.

My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother… My brother…

Unbeknownst to Kaito Mitsurugi, who had only read the first part of the manga and had been idolized for his talents…

The Mitsurugi family’s elite training was nothing short of madness.

Children deemed failures would not live to see their fifteenth birthday.

For the twins, born into this merciless system, their fate was made even crueler by the existence of Kaito Mitsurugi—the child prodigy destined to lead the family into a new golden age.

The family’s insanity reached its peak in their relentless efforts to forge the ultimate heir, subjecting the twins to an unimaginable level of brutality.

And yet, the twins survived.

For one reason alone—

To drag Kaito Mitsurugi and the Mitsurugi family into the depths of hell.

In the first arc, other threats had taken priority.

And so, for the time being, they had settled for merely ruining Kaito’s life…

All while pretending to be his allies.

In the second arc of the story, the twins who had destroyed the Mitsurugi family did not stop there.

The unquenchable flames of their hatred turned outward, making them the final antagonists—the very ones who sought to destroy the world.

And yet, Kaito saved them.

All because he didn’t want to be assassinated.

Had he merely spared their lives, it would not have been enough. The twins, consumed by a darkness deeper than the abyss, could never have been saved by mercy alone.

But Kaito possessed something unique.

His kindness and his past-life experience—the loneliness he had endured in a similar environment—served as the ultimate weapons against them.

His outstretched hand of salvation was a critical hit, striking the deepest wounds within the twins’ hearts.

It was more than enough to reverse their world-ending flames into love and devotion.

(Brother… I will work harder. I will understand your thoughts and become strong enough to support you!)

A Miscalculation—The Unbreakable Devotion of the Twins

From the perspective of mere survival, Kaito’s decision had been correct.

The twins would never betray him.

Not in a million years.

Not even if heaven and earth were overturned.

But… there was one problem.

They had become too devoted.

The twins refused to acknowledge anyone else as the heir of the Mitsurugi family.

Not even the current head of the clan.

To them, Kaito Mitsurugi was their god.

Kaito had unknowingly bound two ticking time bombs to himself.

(I will eliminate anyone who dares obstruct my brother’s happiness… and I will become the one most worthy to stand by his side.)

With porcelain-like perfection, her beauty was breathtaking—sapphire eyes, pure white hair like an angel’s wings, a fragile yet ethereal presence.

A delicate, quiet girl, beloved by fans for her tragic elegance in the first arc of the manga.

Yet, in reality, she was the devoted executioner, the one who would eliminate all threats until her dying breath.

Her name—

Satsuki Mitsurugi.

(I Shouldn’t Have Brought Satsuki—!!!)

I deeply regretted my decision.

I just wanted to avoid getting assassinated and thank her properly for making that map.

But then the Heavenly Oxen appeared out of nowhere, and now Satsuki had ended up in tears.

(I got careless just because I’m strong! I said she could trust me, and then I let her cry?! Worst brother ever!!)

Satsuki had tried to act tough, but she must have been terrified.

(What if she resents me for this? What if she starts plotting my assassination?! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!!)

Imagining the worst possible future, I clutched my head in despair.

And so, desperate to erase my mistake, I racked my brain for a way to make Satsuki happy again… before it was too late.