A Message from My Brother

The only sound is the wave in the pitch-black sea. My hands, gripping the oars, tremble with fear as I'm exposed to the cold sea breeze.

I'm still in the middle of learning the basics. I can't use a single decent spell.

He is just an ordinary, powerless human being. The only thing that is unusually sharp to him is his ability to "FIND"—to find hidden things.

Just when I was terrified by the dark sea and my spirit was about to break, the picture book from the library that I had been holding to my chest began to glow faintly.

"Whoa... What? What is it? It's glowing...!"

The light formed letters in the air, and then a familiar voice vibrated in my eardrums. It was a message from my brother Maxim, who had been missing.

"The fact that this book spoke means you read it and left the island."

A voice mixed with noise, dissolving into the sea breeze.

"I will be sealed away in a few minutes. Before that, I cast one last spell on this book, hoping that Susie will enroll here and find me. ...The Demon King will use your abilities. The Liam family's abilities are new. They are rare in the world. Susie, I'm asking you. Please make sure that the students here can learn white magic."

My brother's voice was filled with heartfelt prayer.

"I tried to handle it all by myself and failed. So you can't do it alone. You need to find some companions. I'm... somewhere in this school. Please, find me."

The light burst forth, and the picture book regained its silence.

"Brother"

On the dark sea, I hugged the picture book tightly and large tears streamed down my face.

I could imagine what happened here. My brother was probably used, and he must have resisted.

My brother went missing shortly after starting his second year of university. He's sealed away somewhere.

I mustn't run away. I gripped the oars tighter and rowed towards the island.