Chapter 6
— — —
I handed the rod to Sislein and gave him a bright smile.
"Take this for now. I haven't finished getting everything ready yet."
I pulled out a cute, pink bear-shaped washbasin and began pouring water into it.
*Splash—*
'It’s not like I’m dunking him in a bathtub; a washbasin should be fine, right?'
I’ll start with just washing his hands.
And once he’s okay with that, he’ll be able to take a bath in the tub little by little.
'The ultimate goal is a bathtub bath!'
So, this could be considered a great first step.
I mixed soap into the washbasin to minimize the time spent washing hands. The shorter the painful time, the better. Now, it’s ready!
"Sislein! Let’s start by washing our han—"
When I turned around with a wide smile.
……I was met with it for the first time. Eyes filled with intense terror.
I knew at a glance.
What the boy saw wasn't just water in a washbasin, but the cruel, rough hands that used to shove his face into it.
The monstrous strength that pressed down on the back of his head…….
The sensation of soapy water pouring into his nose and mouth.
The feeling of his lungs constricting and the agony of having been on the brink of death.
"……Sislein."
"……."
The boy trembled and squeezed his eyes shut.
Seeing that, my heart ached as if it had been struck suddenly.
'His trauma is…… much worse than I thought.'
"I'm sorry."
With his eyes still closed, the boy barely managed to apologize to me instead.
"If I act like this, Annette will get scolded too……."
Even in the face of instinctive fear, the boy thought of me first. That heart was so beautiful that it made me even sadder.
My eyes welled up with misery, so I quickly wiped away my tears before Sislein could see.
Then, I quietly placed the rod I had made into the washbasin and gently stirred the water.
*Whoosh—*
As I exhaled into the pink circle, pretty, floating bubbles drifted through the air.
The bubbles flew toward the boy, brushed his cheek, and popped.
"……."
Only then, feeling the sensation, did Sislein carefully open his eyes.
"Look at this, Sis."
I smiled, dipped the rod back into the basin, stirred it, and blew a soft breath.
*Float, float.*
Before I knew it, Sislein was staring at the bubbles, completely mesmerized.
"Pretty, isn't it?"
Spring sunlight shone warmly through the open window.
Amidst the brilliant feast of light, the bubbles shimmered with iridescent colors.
The boy’s innocent eyes slowly followed the bubbles. Soon, he parted his dry lips and whispered softly.
"Yes. Pretty."
The boy reached out slowly toward the bubbles and said,
"They look like flowers made of breath."
"……."
The expression was so beautiful that my heart felt all soft and fuzzy.
I dipped the rod in soapy water and held it out to Sislein.
"You try it too."
The boy hesitated as if it were a bit unfamiliar, then carefully blew his breath into the circle.
Like flowers blooming in the air, pretty bubbles drifted lazily and peacefully.
'He likes it. Look at that expression.'
*Sniff*, our baby…….
It seemed like he had never played a game like this before.
I felt proud to see him looking so touched, cute, and happy, so I smiled as I watched Sislein.
Just then, the door opened, and the sound of small footsteps came *pitter-patter*.
"Annette~ Play with me too!"
It was Shasha. A cutie with large pink eyes and cotton-candy-pink pigtails that swayed every time she moved.
"Shasha, how did you know I was here?"
"Julian told me Annette went this way?"
Shasha, who had no shyness to begin with, didn't even acknowledge Sislein and naturally squatted down next to me.
"Bubbles for me too!"
"Here."
I was glad I had made several rods.
The three of us sat side by side and started blowing bubbles.
It had been a long time since I’d had such a peaceful and enjoyable moment.
The bubbles, filled with the breath of three children, drifted and flew about like a dream.
Before long, the soapy water in the bear washbasin was almost gone.
I pointed at Sislein’s hands and said softly,
"Sis, you’ve washed your hands already?"
"……Huh?"
The boy lifted his hands to look at them with surprised eyes.
Sure enough, while he was dipping his hands into the basin to get the remaining soapy water onto his rod, his hands had been washed clean.
Without him even realizing it.
I smiled brightly.
"It wasn't hard at all, was it?"
"……Mm-hmm."
Sislein nodded his small head as if it were fascinating.
I thought that from now on, only good things should happen to this boy. ……I really hope so.
* * *
The next day.
During class, I was doodling in my book, drawing Sislein’s soft, clean hands.
Since the bubble play, Sislein had been practicing on his own little by little, and now he could wash both hands without any trouble.
When I praised him, he washed his hands even more fiercely to show me.
'Hehe, cute.'
However, separate from Sislein being cute, anger was building up inside me.
'Pu…… what was it? Puralala? I think that was the name. The human who gave Sislein his trauma.'
Of course, it was unlikely that a person’s name was actually "Puralala."
Anyway, he was a slave trader, a shameless human who saw people only as money.
So, he must have inflicted that kind of trauma on a child.
'It’s in the past, but it still makes me furious.'
"Bad guy."
I cursed him quietly to myself. Of course, there was no way to take revenge now anyway…….
Regardless of my burning rage, the class was proceeding peacefully.
It was "Introduction to Summoning" class, and next to me, Shasha was diligently performing a summoning spell, shouting, "Hi-yah!"
Finally, *poof*, a small chick was summoned.
"Aah! I did it!"
'Pathetic.'
"Annette! Look at this!"
"Oh, wow, that’s really cool?"
It was actually really cool. I couldn't even summon that pathetic thing.
'……Just a stat befitting an extra, I suppose.'
*Peep- peep-*
I looked at the yellow chick with a bit of envy, then pretended to practice hard when the teacher came over.
"Hi-yah! Hi-yah!"
Of course, there was nothing but air on my desk.
Still, there’s no teacher who dislikes a model student who tries hard, hehe.
Sure enough, the teacher patted my head with a satisfied look before walking away.
After the class ended like that, I announced the start of my "Great Operation" in earnest.
"Wait! Attention over here!"
At the sound of my dignified 12-year-old voice, the little ones blinked and turned their attention to me in unison.
"Who wants to go play a super fun game with me, raise your hand!"
Little fists like steamed buns shot up into the air.
"Wow, me!"
"Me too, me too!"
Good. I have enough members.
* * * In the garden in front of the mansion stood a fountain where stone angels blew trumpets and sprayed water.
The little ones, who resembled those angel statues, gathered in a huddle.
I clapped my hands together with a sharp *snap!* and said,
"Alright, is everyone ready for some water play?"
The children answered with a boisterous shout.
"Yeah!"
"Team Raspberry gets the red scarves, and Team Peanut gets the peanut-colored ones!"
*I divided them into two teams on purpose.*
There was a reason I split them up like that. It was all part of my meticulous calculation.
*Hehe, since they’re on the same team, they’ll have to hold hands and fight together, right?*
I looked at Sislein and Heinri with a satisfied expression.
Both little ones had red scarves tied around their necks.
Heinri looked thoroughly displeased, his face twisted in a pout, while Sislein looked a bit bewildered. He looked just like a baby beast tossed into a coop full of chicks.
*Hmm, Sislein must be unfamiliar with this kind of game.*
He wasn't used to playing with friends, let alone a game involving water.
*...It will either result in the best outcome or the absolute worst.*
If it went well, his water trauma would improve significantly.
The thing that terrified him would transform into an object of fun.
*But if it goes wrong...*
In an environment that was already unfamiliar, his fear of water would only grow.
If I had more time, I would have used a gentler method. But with only two days left, we had to hurry.
*Please, help me just this once, you guys.*
So that a friend can overcome his fear of water.
And please, just give it your all.
*...Sislein.*
I braced myself firmly, feeling the tension, and raised my hand high.
"Alright, begin!"
"Whoa!"
The children started laughing and splashing water at each other, giggling as they played.
"..."
Sislein was looking around with a slightly dazed expression.
*Ah, was I too hasty?*
He looked like a lost child, and I watched him with a nervous heart. I just wanted someone to splash him a little!
That was when it happened. Heinri scooped up a basin full of water and dumped it straight onto Sislein—*splash!*
"...!!!"
*Ack! Heinri!*
That crazy chihuahua, attacking his own teammate!
"Heh, idiot. Serves you right!"
"...Heinri!"
What are you going to do if Sislein gets scared?
I rushed to stop Heinri, who was clutching his stomach and laughing.
Sislein stood there, soaked to the bone, not moving an inch.
*He must be shocked. Is he that terrified?*
He certainly looked startled, flustered, and scared. But that lasted only for a moment.
In an instant, he turned his eyes into slits and glared at Heinri.
*Ah, the baby beast is angry!*
Sislein immediately scooped up a full basin of water and took his revenge on Heinri.
*Splash!*
"Ugh."
Heinri tumbled backward and blinked, stunned.
He had a vacant expression, like a cat that had accidentally fallen into a tub. Then, slowly, a look of "extreme irritation" rose in Heinri’s eyes as well.
From that moment on, a war broke out between the two boys.
*Splash, splash!*
*Splash! Splash!*
The intensity of their water fight was so great that the other children stopped playing and watched with their mouths hanging open.
A little while later.
Heinri, exhausted first, collapsed onto the grass and caught his breath.
"Huff, huff, you vicious brat..."
"..."
Sislein was also panting, his face looking utterly drained. Both boys looked like drowned rats.
I watched them and let out a soft, "Pfft."
Then, Julian, who was standing next to me with his large sky-blue eyes, laughed along.
"Ahaha!"
Starting with that, all the children burst into giggles. The sound of their joyful laughter shattered brightly against the fountain, where a rainbow had formed.
*Thankfully, the plan is a success.*
I had heard that there was a method of facing the object of one's fear head-on to overcome trauma.
This was a success achieved through a similar approach. Of course, Heinri’s help was significant (though he hadn't intended it at all).
Hehe, these precious little ones.
*At this rate, I’ll be able to keep my promise to Mrs. Mimosa tomorrow!*
I felt so proud, absolutely certain of it.
That was, until an uninvited guest appeared ten minutes later.
Life, as always, was full of twists.
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