Chapter 78
78
I stared at Paimon with bewildered eyes, and he slightly raised his head with an arrogant expression.
"All of them were renowned talents in other worlds. They are special souls that even most demons find hard to obtain."
"What can they do if they become my Familiars?"
I asked, and he grinned.
"If you possess a military genius of the century, you can hold the world in your palm. The one who was his lord before had to make two fruitless trips to get him."
A long-haired youth with a fan covering his mouth slightly bowed his head.
"The man with a dictionary that knows everything is an excellent general and an emperor. If you dream of becoming the emperor of a powerful nation, he will be a good guide."
A short, middle-aged man looked at me with an arrogant expression.
"The angel with the lamp is an outstanding reformer, administrator, and medical professional. If you keep her by your side, you can own a medical center better than anyone else and complete a system that lasts for centuries."
A woman in a nurse's uniform smiled gently.
I blankly looked at them and then stared at Paimon with a hardened face.
"...Why? Don't you like them?"
Paimon continued with a frustrated expression.
"These are truly outstanding souls-"
- I shoved Yohan's magic stone into his arms.
'Amazing! Wonderful!'
I looked at the three talents with ecstatic eyes.
'Who should I choose? Who should I pick!'
But I couldn't decide on a Familiar that day.
Paimon, seeing me agonizing, said he would give me time to deliberate and put each of the three souls into stones.
He said that if I decided on a Familiar, the remaining two souls would naturally disappear. Then he clamored to return.
"I've been away from the West for too long."
That's what he said, but it was obvious that he wanted to quickly make an instrument with the magic stone and play it.
I didn't mind as long as I had time to choose a Familiar, so I received information about the Long-Distance Teleportation Array and sent him away.
\\
The next day, I headed to Viscount Dubois's mansion.
I thought the atmosphere would be bad because Viscount Dubois was being reprimanded for Yohan hiding his condition, but Veronica Dubois greeted me warmly as before.
"I'm glad to see you often, Baby Bird."
She smiled innocently. I felt sorry for no reason.
"Um, I'm sorry about what happened this time..."
"That's right. This incident is truly unfortunate. Furball Dubois should have been scolded even more severely."
"...Pardon?"
"To not say a word to the parents that their child was hurt! That's really foolish. If Furball Dubois and his brothers had conspired to keep their mouths shut even though my sons were hurt, I would have spanked their bottoms."
Then she looked at the two large men standing by the door.
The men were flustered, saying, "Oh, Mother..." but Veronica Dubois smiled brightly.
It was an act of consideration so that I wouldn't be troubled. I accepted her consideration and smiled back.
"Let's go up."
"Yes."
Veronica Dubois, who took me to the second floor, knocked on the door, and Veronica burst out.
"Baby Bird-!"
"Hello, Veronica."
"Of course! Come on in."
I entered her room alone with Veronica.
The room was very messy.
"Would you like to see the Magic tool I made today? This one repels bugs in the summer..."
"I want to see a more interesting Magic tool."
"Something more interesting... Ah, there's a Magic tool that automatically removes makeup. Would you like to see it?"
"No. What I want to see is something else."
Veronica tilted her head as if asking what it was, so I stared straight into her eyes and said.
"Long-Distance Teleportation Array."
"Ah, Baby Bird, that's not possible. The reason why the Teleportation Circle can only move 5 kilometers now is because that's the only distance a human can withstand inside the Teleportation Circle. If you go beyond that, your whole body will be twisted, or your limbs will be torn apart, or..."
"You might not grow either. Like Veronica."
"..."
For a moment, the sharpness of a wizened old man was contained in Veronica's eyes.
Paimon had told me.
He, who was knowledgeable in all sorts of knowledge, knew that there were cases similar to Veronica among the risks of failing Long-Distance Teleportation.
"How do you know that, Baby Bird? No one should know what experiment I failed."
"It was a guess. Veronica is an excellent magician. And like a magician, you're also curious. I'm also wondering, 'Why isn't there a Long-Distance Teleportation Array?' so I thought Veronica would have wondered about it before me."
"...You're amazing. That's right."
"What if we could protect the body so that Long-Distance Teleportation is possible?"
"Then Long-Distance Teleportation Array wouldn't be a dream. But there's no way there's such a thing..."
To her muttering, I smiled brightly.
"There is."
"...!"
She jumped up.
'I knew she'd be interested.'
Veronica failed an experiment and stopped growing. She said she liked her cute body, but there's no way she only felt that way.
She was so lonely that she liked me so much just for being a little kind to her.
I know how great the pain of loneliness is.
Even after feeling such pain, Veronica was still experimenting with magic and making Magic tools.
That was because of her pure passion for learning.
If that was her, her eyes would light up at the thought of being able to make a failed experiment successful again.
"Baby Bird, please tell me what it is."
"Hmm."
"Of course, you'll need a price, right? I'll give you all the Magic tools I've made. No, I can even tell you how to make them!"
"I don't need that."
"Then, then... even the Dubois family's seal...!"
"That's okay too. There's only one thing I want."
"Anything is fine. Tell me!"
I took a sip of iced tea, placed it carefully on the coaster, and looked at Veronica.
"What I want is Veronica Dubois. It's you."
Veronica stared at me with wide eyes. Her gaze trembled.
"Just now..."
"Yes."
"I felt a tingle."
"...Pardon?"
Veronica moaned, "Aaaah," and crossed her arms to hug her shoulders.
"I knew it. I had a feeling when I first saw Baby Bird in the Video stone that Durga brought! It's the feeling of, 'This is the one.'"
"Veronica, calm down..."
She grabbed my hand and breathed heavily.
"Can I swear my loyalty right now? It's what I've been dreaming of."
"..."
"Please..."
She had such a desperate expression that I answered awkwardly.
"Yes, well..."
Veronica's face brightened.
\\
I hummed as I returned to the castle.
Even after swearing her loyalty, Veronica was very excited, saying, "A day has come when I swear my loyalty...!" I had a hard time stopping her, but considering today's harvest, that was nothing.
I told Veronica that 'Elza tree bark' could protect the body during movement.
Even I widened my eyes in disbelief after hearing it from Paimon, but Veronica froze as if she had gained a great realization.
[Elza tree... Ah, could it be! Why didn't I think of that? The premise was wrong from the beginning, so the experiment failed.]
Then she immediately began writing difficult formulas, and I felt proud.
'Good, it's only a matter of time before I get the Long-Distance Teleportation Array.'
In addition, the continent's best Magic tool maker is now mine!
As I thought that, the carriage stopped at that moment. Leah opened the door for me, so I took her hand and got off.
"It's time for dinner, right?"
"Yes, I'm going to eat with Dad and my brothers."
"Yes."
I took Leah's hand and entered the castle to change my clothes.
But something was strange.
Usually, at this time, the employees are busily moving around to finish the day, but today there was no one in the hallway.
I couldn't even smell the food that should have been coming from the first-floor courtyard by now.
'What's going on?'
I tilted my head and pulled on Leah's sleeve.
"Leah, is something going on in the castle today-"
At that moment.
"Sir Shavanol!!"
Someone called Leah's knight title from upstairs.
Since no one called her that anymore, I looked at the upstairs railing with a puzzled expression.
'Noth?'
Noth, who met Leah's gaze, hurriedly ran down the stairs. It was the first time I had seen Noth looking so urgent.
Leah also sensed an unusual atmosphere and narrowed her brows.
"What's wrong?"
"A child presumed to be the Fourth Princess has appeared. His Majesty is looking for you, so go quickly."
What?
'I thought Baby Bird died after a difficult birth?'
I looked at Leah in confusion, but she was stiff.
The strength in Leah's hand, which was holding mine, slipped away. Naturally, my hand fell, and Leah's warmth moved away.
Leah ran immediately.
Noth and I followed her.
When we arrived at the audience hall on the first floor, I saw a middle-aged man holding a hat and a girl about my age.
Silver hair. Blue eyes.
The girl had all the symbols of Dubled.
Dad and my brothers had expressions I had never seen before. It was an expression that could not be explained in words.
Dad said to Leah, who was breathing heavily.
"You were with Lisette and the child at the end, so examine her with your own eyes."
At the emotionless words, Leah bowed her head and approached the silver-haired girl.
"Your neck... May I see your neck?"
The girl glanced at the man who came with her, and the man nodded.
When the child moved her long silver hair to one side, a long scar was revealed behind her neck.
Leah let out a hot breath.
"It is the wound that the Princess sustained during the battle."
Her hands were shaking, so she couldn't even hold the child.
Dad muttered with dry eyes.
"The magician should confirm."
A man in a gold robe who was among the audience in the audience hall came out with hurried steps and placed the child's hand on his palm.
A blue Catalyst rose, and after a while.
The magician let out a hot breath and knelt low in front of Dad.
"It is indeed the aura of Dubled. Congratulations, Your Majesty."
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
The nobles in the audience hall shouted all at once.
Dad was staring at the child without blinking. It was an expression that did not reveal any emotion, but I knew.
That Dad's hand, which was holding the armrest of the chair, was exerting strength.