Chapter 11
“See? You look so much better with your hair cut. Thanks, Sis.”
“Oh, you look so cool! Our Heinri.”
‘Ugh, you silly little brat.’
I exchanged a ‘hurry up’ look with Sislein and cleared the hair off the floor.
There wasn’t a single strand of silver hair left.
Fortunately, Heinri was too busy looking in the mirror to notice.
‘The perfect crime.’
Sislein and I exchanged a determined nod.
I was starting to feel like we were becoming a good team. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Heinri and Sislein got along as well as I did with them?
“Hmm….”
After pondering for a moment, I raised my index finger and spoke.
“Kids, have you ever heard the saying, ‘A friend of a friend is a friend’?”
“…….”
Sislein watched me silently, while Heinri opened his mouth, eager to show off his intelligence.
“Of course. It means that a friend of someone I’m close to is also my friend.”
“Wow, correct! That’s our Heinri!”
As I clapped my hands in praise, Heinri’s nose went up in the air.
I smiled shamelessly, grabbed both children’s wrists, and made them hold hands. As if I were forcing them to shake hands.
“Now, why don’t you two get along? You’re both my friends, so you’re friends with each other, too.”
“…….”
“…….”
In an instant, both boys’ expressions soured.
Heinri’s expression was one of ‘blatant disgust,’ while Sislein’s was one of ‘subtle contempt.’
‘…Are you really that opposed to it? You children?’
But if things stay like this, you’ll keep having a bad relationship. When would you ever start liking each other?
In times like these, you need a reliable bridge to connect you from the middle!
I said energetically.
“You might actually become good friends, you know!”
“Sis, I told you. I don’t befriend filthy brats.”
As Heinri glared at Sislein like he was a leftover dog bone, Sislein looked at Heinri like he was a buzzing fly and said,
“I don’t want to be friends with that silver-plated head, either.”
“What!? Silver-plated head?”
Ah, no, you two shouldn’t do that!
If it came to this, I had no choice but to pull out my trump card. They had very different personalities, but they had one thing in common.
And that is…….
‘They both follow me very well!’
“But, Sis and Heinri are friends I really like! If you two don’t get along….”
I put on a gloomy expression.
“I think I’ll be sad.”
“……!”
Heinri, who had been hissing like a cat, flinched at my words. It was as if he were looking at his master crying out loud.
Heinri groaned, “Ugh,” and frowned, but then, as if he had no other choice, he let out a long sigh and took Sislein’s hand first.
“…….”
Sislein, who had been watching me with wavering eyes, followed suit and clasped his hand.
“If you say so, Sis, I have no choice….”
“Don’t be sad, Annette.”
Watching the two little ones shake hands, I smiled deviously to myself.
‘Heh heh. Sorry, kids.’
It was all an act. Just an act.
Does this mean I’m one step closer to a happy ending?
With a bright, joyful expression, I wrapped my two hands around their small, fern-like hands. Then, I shook them vigorously up and down!
“Yes, from now on, let’s help each other and get along better!”
‘Oh, how fulfilling.’
Is it just my imagination, or are things going too smoothly?
“Oh, right, you two keep talking. I’m going to go check on Julian because he keeps saying his nose is running!”
It would be good for them to have some quality time to reconcile. Then they’ll get closer. They’re still young, after all.
Children are supposed to bicker and then become friends quickly anyway.
I waved my hands and smiled brightly.
“See you at the living quarters later!”
Then, humming a tune that came naturally, I left the hideout.
After Annette left.
The boys, who had been glaring at each other in silence, simultaneously threw their hands away as if tossing something aside.
Heinri growled.
“If you pretend to be close to me again, I’ll kill you, you beast.”
Sislein was no less intense.
“Same to you. Get lost.”
It was the scene of a disastrous collapse of a poorly constructed bridge.
* * *
The next day.
“Alright, everyone, there are so many ripe apples in the apple orchard, aren’t there? Today is the day we experience being farmers!”
Ms. Mislin, a teacher specializing in outdoor experiential learning, smiled brightly with her red hair and freckled face.
The apples, managed by magic, were already ripening beautifully, looking delicious as if they had been kissed by the autumn sun.
The scent of sweet, refreshing apples filled the air.
“My little ones, only pick them until you get tired, okay? Do you understand?”
“Yes!”
“Oh, and one more thing, picking them with abilities or magic is forbidden!”
The teacher gave a firm warning and left.
‘Wow, the apples are so pretty.’
I smiled happily as I picked the red apples one by one and put them in my basket.
Personally, it was a really fun class. After always studying headache-inducing subjects in the classroom, being out in the sun for an outdoor class made my heart feel refreshed.
The children seemed to be having fun, too, as bright laughter kept bursting out.
Hmm? But Julian was standing still next to me, not doing anything.
“Julian, is the apple-picking class not fun?”
When I asked, Julian opened his chubby, fern-like hand and held it out to me. With an apple resting on it.
His sky-blue eyes sparkled.
“Teacher said to stop picking if you’re tired.”
Julian wiped his forehead with the back of his tiny hand and made a “Whew” sound.
“Tired.”
‘Aww. So cute.’
Oh my, our baby got tired after picking just one?
I raised my fist and shouted energetically.
“Then I’ll pick some and give them to you, too!”
“Yay~!”
I worked quite hard, picking enough for Julian’s share as well. Every time the apples piled up in the basket, I felt full for some reason.
I rubbed my nose and thought.
‘Heh, maybe I have a real talent for farming?’
As expected, I’m an honor student who is good at everything except Awakening. Lulu.
Just as I was self-praising while picking apples, I saw Sislein staring intently at an apple.
Even a philosopher making a great discovery wouldn’t have had such a contemplative expression.
…Is it really necessary to pick an apple that seriously?
Still—
‘Our baby, he’s adapting well to class, isn’t he?’
I felt proud and touched.
Until a few days ago, he was living in a cave, unable to even eat properly, and now he was actually participating in class!
And an outdoor class, at that.
Thinking he might need some infinite encouragement, I went over and smiled brightly.
“Is it going well?”
“Yes.”
I checked Sislein’s basket.
It was a basket filled with only the prettiest ones, carefully collected.
It looked just like a jewelry box.
“Wow, Sislein, you picked some really pretty apples.”
Sislein looked at me quietly and parted his lips.
“……Because I like pretty things.”
“……!”
Why are you saying that while looking at me, you Obsessive-Maniac child?
Even though he’s only 11, the Obsessive-Maniac buff makes even a casual comment sound like flirting.
“Ahem. I want to have the prettiest apple here. Let’s have a contest! The person who gets the prettiest apple wins!”
“Okay.”
Sislein smiled softly.
I didn’t spare the praise.
“But Sislein, you’re really good at picking apples. It’s cool.”
“Sis, is it cool to be good at picking apples?”
Heinri suddenly interrupted and asked.
He didn’t seem to have any intention of participating in the apple-picking experience; he had just grabbed a ripe apple and was munching on it.
“Of course it’s cool!”
So could you please be a bit more diligent in class?
“……Is that so.”
Suddenly, Heinri threw away the apple he was holding and turned around. It sounded like he muttered, “You’re all dead.”
…I have a feeling I made a big mistake.
‘Still, it’s better than having a bad attitude in class.’
It was just as I was muttering that to myself.
I discovered Sislein, who had already climbed the tallest tree and was picking apples.
Because it was a special orchard managed by cultivation magic, the apple trees grew as tall as bamboo.
“……Sislein, you’re serious about this contest.”
If that’s the case, I can’t lose either.
I did my best to pick the prettiest apple.
A little while later,
Sislein jumped down from the high tree.
“Ah! That’s dangerous!!!”
I was genuinely startled, fearing he might get hurt, but Sislein landed safely from a tree several times his height.
Is that what they call the class of an Awakened?
‘I feel a little sad that I was so proud of my talent for picking apples.’
To me, feeling a bit gloomy, Sislein walked straight over and held out his hand to show me what he had picked.
“……Wow.”
I instantly forgot my gloom and marveled.
The apple, which had received so much love from the sun, was truly beautiful, shining and sparkling.
Its red, smooth surface even had a luster to it.
The scent was intense and very sweet. Enough to make my mouth water.
At this rate, the ‘Get the prettiest apple!’ contest was clearly Sislein’s victory, no matter who looked at it.
Is it that an extra like me can’t beat an Awakened even at apple picking?
I felt a little discouraged and said.
“……It’s really pretty.”
“Take it.”
“Huh?”
The boy looked at me quietly. With eyes as red as the essence of summer.
“This is the prettiest apple here.”
I remembered saying earlier that I wanted to have the prettiest apple here.
So he picked it for me?
This beautiful apple that had been hanging like a star closest to the sky…….
“But if you give this to me… Sislein, you’ll lose the contest, won’t you?”
Then, a soft, gentle smile, like early summer leaves, spread across the boy’s face.
“I don’t mind losing.”
“…….”
“From now on, I’ll let you win everything, Annette.”
At that gentle voice, my heart melted like cotton candy.
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