To Be a True Big Brother (1) (本当の兄になるために①, Hontō no Ani ni Naru Tame ni 1) is the sixty-fourth chapter of the KonoSuba manga series, and covers Chapter 6 and Epilogue 1 in Volume 6 of the light novels.
Cover[]
Iris forlornly muses by the window in light of the prior night's events.
Summary[]
Having their heads mashed together by a furious Darkness the next morning at the inn, Kazuma and Chris try to lay blame on the other as they explain their actions during the previous night. Later chastising them for not talking about the Divine Item beforehand, Darkness hears more excuses from the pair that aim to paint the other member responsible.
Subsequent to stopping their quarrel, Darkness reveals how she had played along because she trusted them not to harm Iris, and advises Chris to immediately leave for Axel due to her conspicuous silver hair, while Kazuma will accompany her to the Royal Castle for reporting. As Kazuma feigns injury in fear of slipping up, Chris plans to take the Divine Item sealed by Aqua to someplace where it cannot be found, only to have Darkness unmask her for hiding something based on the Thief scratching her scarred face. Chris thus admits Kazuma to have taken something other than the Divine Item, forcing him to bring out the adult magazine, though Chris who had been the one to Steal the Divine Item then clarifies that she had meant Kazuma Stealing something else from Iris. Kazuma therefore takes out Iris' ring, which Darkness upon laying eyes on frantically commands him not to lose nor let anyone else see, since it is something for the princess to hand unto her marriage partner, and Kazuma returning it to Iris may result in him getting silenced, so he will need to carry it on him out of sight.
Later following Darkness to the Royal Castle in sorrow because she had burned the adult magazine with his lighter, Kazuma is told to stay silent while she does the explaining to Iris, only to see Aqua and Megumin already assuring the princess of how the item which is now sealed will not trouble anybody again. As Claire and Lain who had also heard Aqua's explanation of the Divine Item's power wonder about the thieves' goal of taking it, Darkness tries to play down the matter.
Iris while throwing glances at Kazuma then speculates the thieves' purpose was to protect her, making Kazuma suspect her already knowing their identity. Claire and Lain follow up by extolling that masked thief's greatness and prowess, so when Megumin expresses her admiration of him, Kazuma grins proudly to Aqua's disgust. At Claire longingly pondering if she will meet that masked thief again, Iris finds herself liking that righteous thief who had acted out of concern for her, though when Darkness has to restrain a Kazuma so moved he attempts to spill the beans, the princess teasingly says that she was referring to the one with silver hair.
Darkness next formally presents Kazuma who had already defeated several of the Demon King's Generals to be the one who will vanquish the Demon King, so after Kazuma nervously admits going to do so, Iris wishes him luck, and hopes their boardgame match can continue one day.
Subsequent to Lain Teleporting Kazuma's party away, Claire advises Iris not to be depressed at Kazuma's departure, then apologises for letting her ring get stolen, though Iris promises not to let anyone be punished over it. Claire next points out that she may possibly meet Kazuma again if he vanquishes another Demon King's General, which Iris believes will occur soon enough. As Lain is relieved over Iris parting with Kazuma without fuss, and Claire spurs her on to beat him at the boardgame again, Iris who contemplates on the country's ancient tradition of letting the hero marry the princess after he defeats the Demon King wishes for Kazuma to take good care of the ring.
Characters[]
Differences to other versions[]
- Darkness in the light novel starts her interrogation by squeezing Kazuma's head with her iron claw unto unconsciousness before giving the same treatment to Chris, who later comments about the Crusader being polluted by Kazuma for trying to cover up the fact of him Stealing Iris' ring.
- Right after Iris wishes Kazuma luck against the Demon King, Megumin in the light novel squabbles with the princess over her closeness with the "big brother".
External Links[]
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