Chapter 999: That Little Rascal

“…”

Outside the door, Nora felt her heart clenching again when she heard Xander.

Then, she heard rustling movements from Pete.

“What are you doing?” asked Xander.

“Getting out of bed.”

“Why are you getting out of bed?”

“Aren’t you having trouble falling asleep? In that case, finish everything you want to do before you go to bed again.”

Xander paused. “… The way you’re behaving makes it seem like you’re the older brother.”

Pete replied, “You’re the older one.”

“Hey, I don’t need you to give in to me just because you pity me!”

“Then am I the older brother?”

“Bah! Daddy Trueman said that he saved me first! It’s only because he didn’t have the strength left to save you that he approached the tyrant… You were born after me!”

“Oh.”

“What do you mean ‘oh’? You don’t believe me?”

“I do, I guess.”

“What do you mean ‘I guess’?! Do you believe me or not?!”

“…”

The two boys in the room spoke very softly, catching anyone who heard them between laughter and tears. Nora and Justin looked at each other and then stepped aside. Then, they saw the two little boys, who had dressed themselves, walking out.

Pete tilted his head and asked, “What do you want to do?”

“Come with me.”

Nora followed after the two boys and saw them sneaking into the garden.

Xander came to a spot. He looked around, stepped on it a few times, and then said, “Let’s dig a hole here!”

Pete: “?”

Xander said, “I’ve already looked around. From here, I can see your room, Cherry’s room, as well as Daddy and Mommy’s room. This place has the best view! So, you must bury me here after I die! I also want to move Butterscotch and Buttercup here to accompany me…”

After saying this, a quiet Pete walked forward.

“Where are you going?” asked Xander.

“Don’t you need a shovel to dig a hole?”

“…”

The two little guys went off to get their shovels and returned a while later. Then, in the dark of the night, they started digging a hole in the garden.

Both of them were smart, so they dug the pit a little faster than others, taking only an hour to do so. After they were done, Xander even tossed about inside. “Yeah, it’s big enough. There’s enough room for me to turn over.”

Pete: “…”

Xander spoke again. “It’s just that it’s kinda dark. Can you find me a luminous pearl?”

“Okay.”

Pete thought about it for a while and then added, “Great-grandma has a big one. I’ll steal it for you another day.”

“Steal?”

“Yeah. I asked her for it before, but she refused to give it to me.”

“Alright, then.”

Xander spoke again. “Let’s get a quilt. It’s freezing inside.”

“Okay.”

The two of them went back into the house and secretly returned with a quilt. They stuffed it into the pit, padding it comfortably. Xander lay down. Finding that it felt pretty comfortable, he was finally satisfied. He said, “Okay, that would do. I will stay here after I die!”

Satisfied, he dusted off his hands. Then, he patted Pete’s shoulder and said, “Peter Hunt, take care of our little sister and Mommy when your big brother is gone! Don’t let anyone bully them!”

Pete said seriously, “There’s still Daddy…”

“I’m talking precisely about the tyrant. Mommy is so strong; no one can bully her except the tyrant.”

Pete said, “… Actually, Daddy isn’t half-bad.”

“Hah.”

The two boys started walking back home as they chatted.

Nora, who was standing behind the two: “…”

She turned her head to look at the sullen-looking Justin and she couldn’t help but laugh. “C’mon now, are you really going to hold it against a child?”

Justin didn’t say anything, but there was anger in his eyes.

Hah, initially, he had wanted to say something because the boy was so pitiful. But since the little rascal had the balls to say that about him, he would let him be frightened for a while more!