1-3 - A New Encounter

Another two years passed, and with the arrival of summer, I turned six.

During that time, the only thing that had changed was that I’d grown a little bigger. My surroundings had remained almost frighteningly unchanged.

I still couldn’t get my hands on any books, and Milly was still the only person I could talk to. Lately, it had gotten to the point where I sometimes felt as though Milly and I were the only two people in this world.

Of course, Milly had taught me everything she knew, including general knowledge, the geography of the surrounding area, and more difficult vocabulary, but I’d already learned almost all of it over the past two years.

I’d finally been reincarnated into another world where magic existed, so I really wanted to try something like combining science and magic to multiply their power!

Depending on who they chose as my political marriage partner… I’d even started considering abandoning the family and running away if things came to the worst. Naturally, I’d take Milly with me if she was willing to come.

Not that it was necessarily preparation for that, but lately, physical training had become part of my daily routine.

It wasn’t as though I wanted to become a hulking mass of muscle. I was aiming for a lean, muscular physique instead. So my training consisted of push-ups, sit-ups, running, and similar exercises.

And today, as usual, I was running laps around the grounds when I heard someone sobbing nearby.

“…A girl’s voice?”

Crap. It had been so long since I’d heard anyone’s voice other than Milly’s that I wasn’t even confident it belonged to a girl. Was I going to be okay? I hadn’t developed some kind of social anxiety, had I?

Even as I entertained those thoughts, the sobbing continued. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere close by, but that direction was outside the grounds… wasn’t it?

…No, I couldn’t. Leaving the grounds of the detached building would definitely cause trouble. And if trouble arose, Milly would undoubtedly suffer for it.

I’d just have to pretend I hadn’t heard anything and walk away. With that decision, I turned around and took a step.

But I could still hear those muffled sobs, as though someone was desperately trying to suppress their sadness…

Oh, damn it. Now I was remembering how Saya had cried when we lost our parents. I couldn’t do it. If I ignored those cries and went home, I had a feeling I’d regret it forever.

Well, there was no helping it now. I’d go see what was happening, prepared to apologize profusely to Milly if it caused any trouble.

And so, I made my way beyond the hedges surrounding the detached building. There, beneath a large tree, a girl sat hugging her knees and crying.

…Why was she crying? More importantly, how was I supposed to approach her?

Let’s see… Hello? No, that wasn’t exactly appropriate for someone who was crying. Then… Don’t cry? Hmm. It would be incredibly suspicious for a complete stranger to suddenly appear and say something like that.

…Oh, whatever! There was no point overthinking it. I’d just have to act like a child and take my chances.

“Why are you crying?”

“—Who’s there?!”

The girl jerked her head up as though she’d been startled. The moment I saw her face, I involuntarily caught my breath.

Her small face was framed by gently waving platinum-blonde hair, and her delicate features included a pair of emerald-green eyes.

The girl crying before me was a stunning little beauty who looked like an exquisitely crafted porcelain doll.

“…Who are you? Why are you here?”

“Sorry for startling you. I heard someone crying, so I got worried and came to see what was wrong.”

The moment I answered, the girl hurriedly wiped her tears away with her sleeve.

“I-It’s nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”

“I see… Well, that’s good, then.”

It was painfully obvious that she was putting on a brave face, but thanks to Saya, I was accustomed to dealing with stubborn girls. I played along rather than risk hurting her pride.

More importantly, I turned my attention to the knee visible beneath the hem of her skirt.

“Looks like you’ve hurt your knee.”

“…Huh? Oh, you’re right. I must have scraped it when I fell earlier.”

Even though she’d been crying? Man, this girl was stubborn to the core…

Wait, this wasn’t the time to be impressed. Perhaps she’d fallen somewhere particularly dirty, because there was soil stuck to the wound. If she left it like that, bacteria might get inside.

“Could you show me your leg for a moment?”

“Show you my leg…? What exactly are you planning to do to me?”

The girl defensively pressed her legs together and tugged at the hem of her skirt. She was still so little, yet she was already acting like a proper lady. It was rather endearing to watch.

“Hey, what are you smiling about? You really are planning to do something strange to me, aren’t you?”

“Sorry, sorry. I guess I phrased that badly. I meant that I wanted to see your injury so I could treat it.”

“Treat it? There’s no need for that. An injury this small will heal on its own if I leave it alone.”

The girl brushed the dirt off the wound with her hand. …Wait, was that seriously all she intended to do?

“It might get infected if you just leave it like that.”

“Infected…? What’s that?”

“Well, bacteria could get inside and cause inflammation… Basically, the wound might get worse, or it could leave a scar.”

Seeing the girl tilt her head even further in confusion, I settled for explaining the conclusion. Her eyes immediately wavered with a hint of anxiety.

“…It could get worse?”

“Well, even in the worst case, I think it’d probably just leave a small scar. But you’ve got such pretty legs, it’d be a shame if one was left with a mark, wouldn’t it?”

“W-W-W-What are you saying?!”

“Huh? Did I say something strange?”

“It’s not that it’s strange, but you just said I was pretty… Aaaah, never mind!”

“………Okay?”

I’d only been talking about her legs, though… Well, whatever. Her face was pretty enough that she could have appeared on the cover of a children’s fashion magazine back on Earth, so it wasn’t exactly wrong.

“S-So, what should I do?”

“Huh? How to become a child model?”

“…Child model? What’s that?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. You meant treating the wound, right? For now, I think it’ll be fine if we just wash it.”

“Wash it…? But there’s no water here.”

“I’ve got some water with me.”

With that, I produced a small water bottle made from bamboo. I’d brought it along to drink from after my run, but it had unexpectedly come in handy.

“So, will you let me see your injury?”

“A-All right. But if you try anything funny, I’ll never forgive you!”

“Don’t worry. I promise.”

I met the girl’s gaze directly. She still seemed a little hesitant, but eventually, she timidly lifted the hem of her skirt just enough to expose her knee.

Hmm. A beautiful platinum-blonde girl, looking slightly embarrassed as she lifted her skirt… Somehow, I was beginning to feel as though I’d talked her into doing something inappropriate.

Wait, what the hell was I thinking? She’d trusted me enough to show me her injury, so I needed to stop fooling around and get it treated.

“Stay still for a moment, okay?”

Taking care not to get her skirt wet, I gently rinsed the wound with water.

“~~~~!”

“Oh, it might sting a little.”

“Y-You’re telling me that too late!”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Come to think of it, she’d been crying after falling over, hadn’t she? She wasn’t going to start crying again, was she? I glanced up at her face, and our eyes met directly.

“…What?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just… wondering if you were okay.”

“It startled me a little, but something like this is nothing.”

“I see. Yeah, of course.”

She seemed incredibly stubborn, so I supposed she wouldn’t admit to being in pain in front of someone she’d just met.

“…Just so we’re clear, I wasn’t crying because I fell.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“You’re lying. You’ve definitely got the wrong idea.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

“See?! You really have misunderstood! I’m telling you, falling over wasn’t the reason I was crying!”

“…Huh? You mean you were crying for some other reason?”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you this whole time!”

The girl answered indignantly, but…

“You realize you’re not exactly hiding the fact that you were crying anymore, right?”

“…I know that! But I can’t help it. You’ve already seen me crying, and I can’t stand the thought of you thinking I cried just because I fell over.”

Ah, now she was sulking. The way she glared at me with puffed-up cheeks was adorable—no, that wasn’t the point. I was beginning to understand what she was trying to say.

But putting it another way, that meant something had happened that was sad enough to make her cry, didn’t it?

“If you’d like, I could listen.”

“…Huh?”

“Something painful happened that made you cry, right? Maybe talking to someone about it would make you feel better.”

“That’s…”

The girl fell silent, apparently uncertain how to respond to my offer. Perhaps she wanted someone to listen but couldn’t bring herself to show weakness because of her pride.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious, but forcing her to talk wouldn’t be right. With that in mind, I resumed treating her wound as though nothing had happened.

After thoroughly rinsing the injury, I wrapped a piece of cloth I’d been using as a handkerchief around her knee.

“There, that should do it. But make sure you have someone treat it properly when you get home, okay?”

I said that and looked up at the girl’s face. However, she was simply staring at me, completely motionless.

“…Is something wrong?”

“Huh? N-No! Nothing’s wrong!”

“Really? Your face looks a little red.”

“—You’re imagining things! Anyway, thank you for treating my injury.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I can’t just leave it at that. My name is Claireridil. Claireridil Granches. A proper lady always repays a kindness, so I’d like to thank you properly. Could you tell me your name?”

“…Granches?”

Ah… So that was it. I’d wondered whether she might be my older sister since she was a little older than me, and apparently, I’d been right.

I’d always wanted to meet her someday, but… I certainly hadn’t expected to run into her like this. What should I do? I wasn’t mentally prepared for this at all.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, well… You’ve already thanked me, so there’s really no need to do anything else.”

“No, that won’t do. Repaying kindness is only natural for a lady. So, please. Tell me your name.”

“My name is… Well…”

Ah, damn it. There was no turning back now. It wasn’t as though I could fool her with a fake name, and if she was going to find out eventually, I might as well be honest from the start.

“My name’s Leon.”

“…Leon? You mean that Leon?”

“I’m not sure which Leon you’re referring to, but I think you’ve probably got the right one.”

“I… see…”

Claireridil looked somewhat troubled before adding,

“I’ve been told I’m not allowed to be friends with you.”

There was no need to ask who’d told her that. It had to be her mother, Caroline-san.

And here I’d thought I’d finally found someone new to talk to. Claireridil herself didn’t seem to dislike me, either… Wasn’t there some way around this?

That was what I thought, but I couldn’t do anything about it. A woman’s voice calling Claireridil’s name suddenly reached us from somewhere nearby.

“Well, I’d better get going.”

“Huh? Wait a minute. We haven’t finished talking yet.”

“Sorry. I’m actually not allowed to leave the detached building. So I’d really appreciate it if you could keep it a secret that I was here.”

No sooner had I said that than I hurried away as fast as I could. Moments later, I heard Claireridil and the woman talking behind me.

“That was close. I barely made it.”

If one of the maids or someone else had spotted me, word would almost certainly have reached Caroline-san.

Of course, if Claireridil told anyone, I’d be in trouble anyway. But for the moment, I’d escaped the immediate danger. I let out a relieved sigh as I returned to the grounds of the detached building.

However—

“Lord Leon, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

The greatest danger hadn’t even begun yet.

“I-It’s not what you think, Milly! You’ve got it all wrong!”

“…I haven’t said anything yet, you know?”

“Guh…”

Crap. She was giving me such an exasperated look. I needed to come up with an explanation somehow. But then again, I’d definitely broken my promise to Milly, so maybe I should just tell her the truth.

Ah, but couldn’t I at least have a moment to prepare myself?!

“It’s unusual to see you so flustered, Lord Leon. Just where have you been, and what exactly were you doing? Would you kindly explain?”

“Um, well… Ahem. Milly, you’re incredibly important to me. That’s why I don’t want to say anything that might cause you trouble. Please understand.”

“I understand. In other words, you went somewhere that would cause trouble for me, didn’t you?”

“…………………”

It was hopeless. I had a feeling that anything I said would only dig me into a deeper hole. In that case, I might as well tell her the truth and apologize. Having reached that conclusion, I told Milly everything that had happened without hiding a single detail.

“…I understand the circumstances.”

After listening to my explanation, Milly let out a small sigh. Then she knelt down to meet my eyes and suddenly raised her right hand.

She’s going to slap me! Thinking that, I squeezed my eyes shut. But the impact I’d expected never came. Instead, her hand gently stroked my head.

“…Milly?”

When I opened my eyes in surprise, I saw Milly gazing at me with an expression full of affection.

“You really are a fool, Lord Leon.”

“…You don’t have to tell me that. I already know. But I couldn’t just abandon a girl who was crying, could I?”

“That’s exactly why I’m calling you a fool. Did you honestly think I would scold you for trying to help a girl who was crying?”

“…Why wouldn’t you? If they find out I left the detached building, you’ll get scolded too, won’t you?”

“That’s… true. In the worst case, I might even be dismissed from my position.”

“Whaaat?! H-Hold on! Is it really that serious?!”

“Unfortunately… it is a possibility. But given the circumstances this time, I’m sure everything will be fine. And even if it isn’t, I’ll ask them to give me some other punishment instead.”

“…Ugh. I’m really sorry, Milly.”

“It’s all right. Besides, there’s still a chance that Lady Claireridil will keep quiet about what happened, isn’t there?”

“That’s… Yeah. I think there’s a chance.”

I answered while recalling our exchange just before we parted.

Still, I honestly hadn’t considered the possibility that Milly might be dismissed. If I’d known the consequences could be that serious, I would never have taken such a risk.

…Or so I wanted to say, but after meeting Claireridil, I couldn’t bring myself to say that either.

I knew I’d been wrong to cause trouble for Milly, but I didn’t believe I’d been wrong to help Claireridil when she was crying.

…What should I have done?

As I fell silent, troubled by that question, Milly gently pulled my head against her.

“I told you before, didn’t I? I’ll always be on your side, Lord Leon. If I’m punished because you did the right thing, then I’ll gladly accept that punishment.”

“…Milly, I’m sorry.”

As Milly held me in her arms, I vowed to become stronger. Not merely so that others could protect me, but so that I could protect the people and things precious to me with my own strength.