Nova From Natasha's Perspective

“Aurora-chan! There’s no need to rush so much! Neither I nor the shop is going anywhere!”

I called out to Aurora-chan as she raced not only through the research institute but through the Royal Capital with the seemingly limitless stamina of a child.

She twitched in response to my words, slowed down, and released the hand she’d been gripping.

When Aurora-chan turned around, she was slightly out of breath from sprinting, and apparently realizing from my words that she’d gotten a little carried away, she scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

“S-Sorry, Nova-onii-sama… I was just so excited…”

“It’s completely fine. But running around like that is dangerous. We’ve got plenty of time, so we’ll make it even if we take it easy.”

She’d acted her age like this when we first met too.

And yet she could also show an intelligent side like she had earlier, which never ceased to surprise me.

“You’re right… But we can already see the shop. That’s the place over there.”

I looked in the direction Aurora-chan pointed and saw a sign with a picture of a coffee cup on it.

Apparently, the place she’d wanted to take me to was a café.

It certainly seemed like a good place to sit down and talk in peace.

“Come on, Nova-onii-sama, let’s go!”

“Yeah… all right.”

Although I’d warned her not to run, apparently she still couldn’t contain her excitement.

I followed Aurora-chan as she hurried toward the café, jogging after her with a wry smile.

“Natasha, are you here?”

The person who opened the door and entered was Leticia-sama, who had been making the rounds greeting people throughout the research institute.

House Ark Gate, which was also her family, provided the research institute with a substantial amount of financial support.

I was one of the people who benefited from that support as well.

“Finished making your rounds?”

“Yes. So I was thinking of heading to the royal castle now. By the way, how long do you think it’ll take to finish the stationery and the gate device?”

I considered my employer’s question.

“…The stationery only needs a few modifications, so I can finish that quickly. But the gate device will take a little longer. Once I’ve gotten it into a reasonably complete form, I’ll need Nova-san’s help as well.”

“I see. Then please contact me once you reach the point where Nova-san’s cooperation is necessary.”

“Understood.”

I said that, but Leticia-sama still didn’t seem ready to leave the room.

“And what about the other matter—the incompatibility between House Ark Gate and House Fols?”

So that was what she wanted to ask about.

At the same time, I remembered the sight of Yustitia-jou leaving the research institute filled with motivation.

“As for that, Yustitia-jou seems to have gotten it into some kind of workable form.
It’ll still be a little while before it can actually be implemented, though…”

“…Yuti has been shutting herself away in her room again, after all. She really ought to come outside once in a while…”

I understood what Leticia-sama meant.

Once Yustitia-jou became absorbed in something, she lost sight of her surroundings even more completely than I did.

She was probably still shut up in her room right now, investigating it.

A way to eliminate the incompatibility between House Fols and House Ark Gate.

“…Leticia-sama.”

“Yes?”

Looking at Leticia-sama’s gentle smile, I decided to ask something that had been bothering me for a while.

“Why are you developing something to eliminate that incompatibility? Is it because of Nova-san, your husband?”

The instant I asked, Leticia-sama’s smile deepened.

It transformed into an artificial smile that sent a chill through me just from looking at it.

But then that smile suddenly vanished, replaced once more by the gentle expression she’d been wearing before.

“I’m sorry… I still can’t tell you yet.”

“I see. Understood.”

If my employer said that, I had absolutely no intention of pressing her.

The thought of trying to pry information out of Leticia-sama hadn’t even crossed my mind in the first place.

Still… I was pretty sure it had something to do with Nova-san.

I hadn’t known Leticia-sama for all that long.

But fundamentally, whenever this woman took action, it was almost always for Nova-san’s sake.

I’d been curious about Nova-san, the man who could make Leticia-sama—someone feared by the nobility, even if ordinary citizens didn’t see her that way—act like this.

At the same time, I’d been wary of him because he was the younger brother of my older sister’s good-for-nothing fiancé.

Well… the impression I got from speaking to him earlier hadn’t been bad at all.

Unlike that unpleasant bastard, Nova-san had been very easy to talk to.

And more importantly, thanks to him, the little creations I’d written off as failures had been brought back to life.

“Ah, that’s right. There’s one more piece of information I’d like.”

Leticia-sama, who had been about to leave the room, stopped and turned toward me again.

“What?”

When I asked, Leticia-sama told me what information she wanted.

But I tilted my head because I couldn’t understand why she would want something like that.

“I’m not going to use it immediately. It’s just in case.”

“…I see.”

I had absolutely no idea what she could possibly use information like this for, but I handed her the document containing it.

“May I take this with me?”

“I don’t mind.”

“I see. Thank you. Then I’ll be going.”

As Leticia-sama left the room, I clearly saw the expression on her face from the side.

It was that fixed smile she wore when she seemed to be plotting something decidedly unpleasant.