“I really like fairies too! So when Seiana said she believed in fairies that day, I got so excited that I ended asking you about it!”
“Ah……”
Was that how it went? Now that I think about it, I could understand why the Lady had reacted so strongly that day…
She went on to explain. The picture album was a collection of fairy illustrations painted long ago by some artist, and the miscellaneous items were things actually made based on what the fairies mentioned in Miskit’s writings were said to be interested in.
Only then was I able to lower my guard a little. Those sharp reactions had come from the excitement of finding a friend with the same interests.
'But I don’t really believe in them…'
I knew she would be disappointed, but I didn't want to lie, so I was about to tell her the truth. Ray, who had been quietly watching us, smiled shyly.
"Actually, I also prepared a gift."
Saying that, he subtly took something out from his pocket. It was flat and didn't look very big. Could it be a scarf or a handkerchief?
Esteban’s Lady looked at Ray with a very hostile glare, as if she wanted to slap him. Puzzled, I accepted Ray’s gift, and at his urging glance, I removed the wrapping paper—and was taken aback.
“Huh...?”
Today had already brought me two unexpected disappointments. The item inside the wrapping wasn’t a beautiful scarf at all. Instead, it was a folded piece of yellowish leather.
“…Parchment?”
Since it was still folded, I couldn’t tell what was on it, so I looked at Ray as if asking for an explanation, but he just gave me a look that seemed to expect something from me.
What the... I hesitated, then took out the parchment and unfolded it. What had seemed small when folded was actually quite large.
“A map?”
It was definitely a map, with roads, mountains, and rivers drawn in black lines.
Why was he giving this to me? And judging by the fact that it didn’t resemble the nearby lands of the county at all, it was from some place I didn’t even know.
It was just when I was about to ask because I couldn’t understand the meaning. As soon as my gaze landed on the gifts Lady Esteban had given me, it was as if the blocked thoughts inside me exploded—I realized what kind of map this was.
“No, no way…?”
This can’t be it, right? It really can’t be.
I looked at Ray with trembling eyes, silently begging him to tell me it wasn’t the famous map from my previous life.
But Ray betrayed my hope.
“It’s a map to the fairy kingdom.”
There’s no way something like that exists… I cried silently inside. I had wondered if the royal family was among the victims of the fairy kingdom scam in my past life, but nothing came to mind.
By the time I found out back then, rumors had been exaggerated to the point that the truth was unclear, and since the nobles who were both the first victims and perpetrators kept it quiet, the truth was buried.
“…There isn’t another one of these, is there?”
I asked anxiously, afraid that starting with this map, they might have scammed other nobles as well. Saying it out loud made it sound like I wanted to monopolize the fairy kingdom, which embarrassed me and made my face flush.
Ray smiled brightly as she looked at me.
“This is the only one. The emperor issued an edict so no copies could be made.”
Oh... so that’s even possible. So this time, the royal family is the only victim of fraud? That is, as long as I don’t duplicate this map.
I felt relieved but also awkward. There was no way I could say, “I don’t believe in fairies,” in front of kids who clearly thought that would make me happy.
Just then, Esteban’s Lady, who had been holding back her displeasure, suddenly shouted!
“He's a thief!”
What? Suddenly? The audacity made my head spin. Ray looked at Esteban’s Lady with a sad expression, tears welling up, as if asking how she could say such harsh things.
"That despicable... That map should have been mine!"
Ah, since the Lady also liked fairies, she must have wanted this map…
“I should have gotten it and given it to Seiana as a gift!”
...No, that’s not it. The reason she wanted it wasn’t for herself, but because she wanted to give it to me as a present.
The reason was so absurd that when I looked at the Lady, she seemed to think her behavior was comforting me and started tattling on Ray’s actions.
"I thought of it first! He stole my idea! Shamelessly using his family's power!"
Piecing together the words she sputtered out in excitement, it went something like this:
She had misunderstood that I liked fairies and was pondering a good gift, when she thought of the fairy land map, but Ray had heard about it and intercepted it.
She even said that although they both went to see Misquit at the same time, Ray had used the power of the Imperial family to oppress both the Esteban family and the author with an imperial command and forcefully taken it.
'Hmm...'
As someone who knew the inside story, I thought it wasn't a bad thing. Thanks to that, the Esteban family was saved from being scammed.
However, the Lady didn't know the reality. Judging by Ray's innocent expression, he didn't seem to have taken it with malicious intent.
He must have simply heard the Lady say that I liked fairies, and the gift idea he happened to come up with overlapped with hers.
From a third party's perspective, that seemed to be the situation, but the excited Lady was only focused on what was stolen from her and was raging, while Ray looked helpless watching her.
“Grrr! How hateful!”
“Ari.”
Thinking she might actually hit Rei at this rate, I hurriedly called out to the young lady, Ari.
She stopped her tantrum and was startled by my use of her nickname, her eyes widening. Then those eyes softened, and Ari broke into a wide smile.
“Hmm, Seiana.”
“No matter who gave the map as a gift, what matters is that I have it now. After all, we’ll all be going to the places on the map together.”
“...Together?”
At those words, Ari's face went blank. It was the expression of someone who hadn’t expected such a suggestion. What was even more surprising was that Raymund had the same expression.
‘Why you too?’
Could it be that the gift was meant for me to go alone? I was flustered. I don’t even trust fairies that much, so why would I go there alone?
If we were going as a group, it would feel like an outing or a trip, but it seemed like they wanted me to struggle by myself, and I was just about to feel resentful.
“Are you saying… you’ll go with me?”
“Really?”
“…If you don’t want to go, that’s fine too.”
Their previously blank faces began to light up with excitement. Just in case, I said it was okay not to go if they didn’t want to, but they both immediately jumped in, shouting,
“No way!”
“We’re definitely going!”
Then they glared at each other. Their expressions showed they were happy to go with me, but not with the other person next to them, so I quickly added.
"I won't go unless it's the three of us."
Only then did the two reluctantly separate slightly from each other, thinking, 'Well, can't be helped...'.
They completely ignored each other and spoke only to me with bright faces.
"Then when would be a good time to go?"
"Well. We'll need time to prepare and investigate, so maybe next month would be good?"
"Shouldn't we try to become friends with fairies? You mentioned it the other day. You said you'd become friends with fairies and get invited."
"When did I ev- Ah, that... Then perhaps going there first would be good?"
"I'd be happy to go anywhere with Seiana! And, oh, right! I told you to speak casually? Why are you still speaking formally when you're using a nickname?"
Ari puffed up her cheeks and complained. I nodded, thinking it would look funny to use a nickname but speak formally.
"Okay, I'll speak casually from now on."
Unlike Ari, who smiled faintly at my words, Ray glared at the smiling Ari with a sullen face.
Ari thoroughly ignored Raymund and quietly reached out to hold one of my hands. Seeing that, Raymund raised an eyebrow and grabbed my other hand, intertwining our fingers.
‘They really do like holding hands, don’t they?’
Both Ray and Ari kept grabbing my hands whenever they got the chance.
Well, I didn’t mind them holding my hands, but there was one problem.
“Guys, if you keep this up, I won’t be able to drink my tea.”
Both my hands were occupied, so I couldn’t lift the teacup or even pick up cake.
I tried to politely hint for them to let go, but they didn’t seem to understand and just looked at me with sympathetic expressions.
“Oh dear, then I’ll hold the teacup for you.”
“And I’ll take care of the cake.”
It wouldn’t have been an issue if they just let go of my hands, but before I knew it, the teacup and fork with cake were already at my lips.
Reflexively, I sipped the tea and took a bite of cake, but they kept trying to feed me more so quickly that I barely had time to swallow.
They even competed to see who could feed me more, speeding up the pace.
‘Is this what torture through food feels like?’
With my cheeks puffed and my head spinning, I hurriedly pushed their hands away.
Startled by the sudden refusal, they looked at me with wide, trembling eyes, but my mind was focused elsewhere.
‘Now it’s your turn.’
I picked up the fork with both hands, scooped some cake, and offered it to them.
Both stared wide-eyed at the cake approaching their mouths, blushed, and then opened their mouths.
As soon as they finished, I scooped up more cake and held it out again. They obediently accepted and ate it.
I started this to give them a taste of their own medicine, but with the two of them eagerly eating, they ended up finishing off almost an entire cake between them that day.
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