121 - The Intruding Girl, Basilia
It seemed Diet's remorse lasted only a moment after all.
I had agreed to play Reversi up to three times a day, but after we moved to the sunroom on the first floor to play, I won again today in straight matches. That was fine as far as it went, but as expected, or perhaps I should say, Diet would not stop demanding one more round.
"Please find some boy friends and play with them instead."
"Sukebei and Maru said I should not unless they are someone who can stay on the same floor."
"...Sukebei and Maru, what are those?"
Putting aside Maru, Sukebei definitely sounds like 'lecherous.' That is a rough name for a person.
"What, Tina, you do not know Nikubenki? It is a story that Grandfather loves."
"Nikubenki...?"
A word that hardly seemed appropriate coming from a child's mouth emerged. I did not really want to hear it, but kindly enough, Diet explained. According to him, Nikubenki was one of those otherworldly stories sold at the Menhishumi Church. It was apparently an entertainment novel about a retired former king who travels around the domains with skilled companions, journeying to reform the land.
...In other words, it is the story of the retired Lord of Mito.
Now that he had explained it, I could sort of see where things went wrong and turned into 'meat toilet.' Mito became 'meat,' which became meat. How Koummon turned into 'benki' (toilet) is a mystery, but Koummon getting turned into 'koummon' (anus) is an elementary school classic. If I think charitably, maybe 'anus' further transformed into 'toilet.'
...Even The Hara-uji Tale would be stunned by this level of mistranslation.
I should probably look through those otherworldly stories written by reincarnators at some point. Since I had decided to start with the fables and myths that existed commonly in this world, I had put off the books classified as otherworldly stories, so I had no idea what had gone wrong where. It felt problematic if my knowledge and the mistranslations spreading through this world diverged when that topic came up at some point.
...I hear The Tale of Genji became a girls' love story that completely ignored Hikaru Genji too.
The Sukebei and Maru I was reintroduced to were Diet's two guards. The two who had been taken down in one blow by Kalisa twice. Incidentally, the messenger who brought the invitation yesterday was apparently Kyuubee. All false names, of course.
The subtly different names were the work of the reincarnator who wrote Nikubenki. Since the reincarnator used names like Sukebei and Maru for the characters in the otherworldly story, in this world, Sukebei and Maru are considered correct.
...What can I say.
A phenomenon I had seen in my previous life was happening here too. The errors had spread too far, correcting them was too difficult now, so the wrong versions were being accepted as correct.
...But anyway.
Apparently Diet's fixation on me was at Sukebei and Maru's instigation. 'Someone who can stay on the same third floor' meant that even hiding his status was just a pose of self-satisfaction. It meant he was choosing his associates based on financial standing.
...Well, even for me, it is hard to associate with Mirshe-chan on equal footing.
Completely equal association is difficult, but I should still be able to be friends. In Diet's case, his own effort was overwhelmingly insufficient.
"I was expecting a boy of similar age, so I am disappointed a younger girl came."
He came out with the unreasonable complaint of why are you a girl, so I started gathering the Reversi pieces with both hands. He must have realized I was seriously starting to put the pieces away. Diet scrambled to snatch the pieces from my hands, pulling them toward his own chest to stop me from cleaning up.
"If you want a boy, you should catch a boy and play with him."
"I heard a younger girl was waiting sadly alone for her brother to return! So I am being generous and playing with her."
"It is true I am waiting for my brother to return, but I am not sad. You do not have to force yourself to play with me."
I had put away nearly half the pieces, but the rest were in Diet's hands and I could not tidy them up. As I was thinking about what to do, Diet placed two white and two black pieces on the board, ready to start the next game. Apparently he still intended to play Reversi.
...Our three-times-a-day limit is already over, you know.
Maybe I should just flip the board over and leave my seat. As I was thinking that, Kalisa, who should have been waiting behind me, suddenly moved.
"Huh?"
It went dark for a moment. I thought so because Kalisa's shadow fell over me. Immediately after, there was a splashing sound, and water droplets landed on the Reversi board.
...What?
As I blinked, wondering what on earth had happened, a high-pitched girl's voice came from the other side of Kalisa's body.
"Why are you getting in the way!? A mere maid, how insolent!"
"...You. What do you think you are doing to our young lady Tina?"
Kalisa's voice was lower than usual, conveying her anger. Since Kalisa was standing between us, I could not see the other person's face, but I could roughly understand what had happened. This high-pitched girl had tried to throw water on me, and Kalisa had instinctively stepped in between. This girl was probably saying Kalisa 'got in the way.'
...Wait. So I was the one being attacked?
I had no recollection of anything that could justify this, so even though I could conceive of that being the case, it did not quite sink in. After all, this was my first time coming to the city of Lagarette. There was no way I knew any young girls here.
Let me at least confirm the other person's face, I thought, slipping down from my chair and peeking out from behind Kalisa. The face of the girl glaring at Kalisa was one I had absolutely no memory of seeing before.
"Um... who are you?"
"I am Basilia, you thieving cat!"
...That is the first time I have been called a 'thieving cat' for real.
The girl who introduced herself as Basilia pointed at me sharply, but Kalisa knocked her hand away. It looked like a light motion, but it must have hurt Basilia quite a bit. She brought the knocked hand to her chest and started rubbing it.
...She seems like a strong-willed child.
As could be understood from her suddenly attacking, she was probably quite strong-willed. A girl with sharply upturned eyebrows and a harsh look about her face. She was wearing a dress made with plenty of high-quality fabric. It was a frilly, lacy outfit full of girlish frills that seemed just the kind Leonardo would like. But her brown, unruly hair was cut short in complete opposition to her clothing preferences, making her look almost boyish. It felt like she would look better if she swapped clothes with Diet, who had a pretty-boy face, though that might be rude to say.
...This is definitely our first meeting, right?
Her face did not remind me of anyone, nor did I have any memory of meeting her somewhere. And yet Basilia was angry enough to try throwing water at me, so I must have done something.
...No good. I cannot think of anything at all.
This was coming from a girl I did not even recognize, after all. It was probably a misunderstanding or she had the wrong person.
"Thieving cat... what exactly did I steal from you?"
I was wearing cat ears, so I supposed technically I was a cat of sorts. But I had no memory of stealing anything from Basilia that would earn me the label of 'thieving cat.'
"Lord Dietfried is my fiance! Stop clinging to him so familiarly!"
Giving me a sharp glare with raised brows, Basilia pointed at me again. But the moment she pointed, Kalisa knocked her hand aside again. I could not tell if she was doing it on purpose, but since she was knocking aside her fingers rather than her hand, it must have hurt quite a bit.
"What is with this maid!? You are in the way, get back!! I am talking to that thieving cat!"
Basilia started ordering Kalisa to withdraw, but Kalisa's master was me. There was no reason for Kalisa to move at Basilia's command. As a result, Basilia got irritated by Kalisa who did not budge an inch, and started raising a screeching voice.
...Loud.
I covered my ears with both hands, bringing the sound down to a range I could barely tolerate. To Basilia who was screaming 'Lord Dietfried, Lord Dietfried,' I turned my gaze to Diet who was being named, and found he too had his ears covered and was making a face.
"She is your fiancee, right? Do something."
"I do not know someone like this, and she is not my fiancee or anything."
I tried to make Diet take responsibility for the situation, but apparently 'fiancee' was Basilia's self-proclaimed title. If I believed Diet's words, that is.
...I understood for now.
I did not know whether it was his face or his status that made her fall for him, but this girl calling herself Basilia had taken a liking to Diet, and she did not like me playing board games with Diet. It was a truly childlike, unreasonable, and illogical taking out of frustration.
...Not that I care about Diet at all.
If anything, if she could take over as Diet's playmate, I would have welcomed it. But her method was wrong. If her first words had been 'let us play together' or 'let me join too,' there would not have been any problem at all, I thought. But Basilia did not do that. She resorted to the unavoidable outrage of suddenly trying to throw water on me. If Kalisa had not stepped in, I would be soaked through by now. And she would have been laughing. Served me right, she would think. Without any consideration for the feelings of someone she had drenched despite not knowing their face or name, or the trouble it would cause the staff.
...I really hate thoughtless little girls like this.
I felt like some strange switch had flipped in my head. It was not exactly excitement, nor was it anger. It was a different feeling. I just felt a simmering desire to make this thoughtless little girl understand, understand, and understand again what she had done, and then reflect on her actions.
"Nice to meet you, Basilia-chan. I am Tina. I am wearing cat ears, but I am not a thieving cat."
I stuck my face out from behind Kalisa, putting on a bright smile as I greeted Basilia. Basilia, who had been yapping away, seemed not to have expected me to smile at her, and blinked in confusion for a moment.
"...D-don't call me 'Basilia-chan' so casually! You thieving cat!"
"It is Tina."
"What are you saying...? I, to someone like you, a thieving cat..."
"It is Tina."
"So, are you not listening to what I am saying...?"
"It is Tina."
Since she seemed agitated, I decided to forcibly calm her down. No matter what she said, I kept a smile plastered on my face, starting by correcting her address from 'thieving cat' to 'Tina.' One might call it bulldozing with a smile.
...Yeah, sorry. I might have overdone it a bit!
I did not need to regret what I had said since I believed it was correct, but I did feel I had pushed her into a corner. From my experience in my previous life, there were at least two stages of a girl crying. One was the pretty crying meant to appeal 'poor me, aren't I pathetic?' to those around, drawing third parties to her side. The other was the real crying where all calculation was blown away, the same kind boys did.
And what Basilia was doing now was the latter. Sob-crying while apologizing to me, she clung to Kalisa who was standing nearest among the surrounding adults, as if hiding behind her.
...Kalisa is angry, you know! She is expressionless but she is angry!!
I wondered why she thought clinging to Kalisa was a good idea. Maybe she had forgotten she had thrown water on Kalisa for blocking her attack on me.
"You are a terrifying person."
"Do you want to be made to cry too, Diet?"
I turned with a smile to Diet, who was casting a sympathetic look at the sobbing Basilia. I myself felt I had gone a bit too far, but the bothersome thing was that I had not said anything wrong, and moreover, it was Basilia who had started the fight. I could understand being praised for defeating her without lifting a hand or foot, but receiving the dishonorable title of 'terrifying person' did not sit well with me.
...Well, logical arguments only work on children who have the ability to think, after all.
Basilia's actions had been thoughtless, but as could be seen from her well-made clothes, she was a child who had been raised with a certain level of discipline. Since her ability to think for herself was reasonably developed, when attacked with logic, she could understand she was at fault, and that sealed off her next attack. My method of verbal assault only worked on rational opponents.
...I do not like thoughtless people, but I do not dislike children who can properly reflect on their actions.
Switching my mindset like that, I held out my hand to Basilia. She had properly understood her own fault and apologized, so I could not keep making her cry.
"Basilia-chan, let's play together."
"...Huh?"
Her black eyes went wide as Basilia froze for a moment. Timidly looking back and forth between my hand and my face, her expression had lost the harshness from before and she looked like a cute girl.
"Basilia-chan wanted to play with Diet, right? Or was I wrong?"
I was fairly sure that was what had caused her to resort to this outrage, but was I wrong? I tilted my head and waited, and Basilia's hand hesitantly rested on top of mine.
"Diet, please escort her."
When I held out Basilia's hand, Diet, who had only been bewildered by the sobbing Basilia, seemed to grasp my intention. Taking Basilia's hand in a natural motion, he escorted her to the chair I had been sitting in a moment ago.
...As expected of Hermine-sensei's training. He has learned proper escort etiquette after all.
The impression of him as a selfish tyrant was still strong, but it seemed his training to at least put on a minimal facade of civility was complete. Pulling out a chair silently for a lady to sit in. He had never once treated me like that.
...Well, that is fine.
I had no plans to maintain a long friendship with Diet, nor any expectation of being treated as a lady. As I had declared, once we left the city of Lagarette, we would never see each other again.
"Basilia-chan, do you know Reversi?"
"...I do not."
"Then, have Diet teach you."
Since it was Diet who wanted to play Reversi, this worked out perfectly as finding him a suitable playmate. Against a beginner like Basilia, even Diet should be able to win.
...It is not like I was thinking he had found a convenient person to pawn Diet off on.
Basilia with her faintly flushed cheeks was cute, but Diet pouted with pursed lips. He must have realized I was planning to leave.
"Our match has not been settled yet."
"Our agreement was up to three times a day."
Besides, the match was already decided. I had won all three times.
When Diet tried to stop me, I prompted him to look at Kalisa. Kalisa, who had taken the water meant for me, had her skirt portion soaked through. The maid uniform had quite a lot of fabric, but not enough absorbency to instantly soak up all the water that had been scattered. As a result, a small puddle had formed at Kalisa's feet.
"...You may withdraw."
"Yes. I will take my leave then."
Seeing Kalisa's state, permission to leave was granted. While I, her master, was being detained, Kalisa could not change her clothes. Diet, who had once created a large puddle himself, might have found it easier to understand that Kalisa also needed to change.
Having successfully obtained permission to leave from Diet, I took a polite leave as taught by Hermine-sensei, and left the sunroom with Kalisa.
I omitted Tina's logical attack laden with aggressive intent because writing it was getting me down.
Typos and missing words will be handled another day... I have corrected the typos and missing words I found.