196 - What Family Is
Alf urged us to get out of the cell, at any rate. Apparently it was very conspicuous for Leonardo and me to be in the cell, and if we were going to cover up my information leak, lingering was not advisable.
"...No, I'd rather stay here a bit longer," Leonardo said.
Prodded by Alf, he once tried to leave the cell, but Leonardo stopped and turned back to look at me. He seemed to have accepted, for the time being, that my crime would not be made into a big deal, but there was still something bothering him. And I had something bothering me too.
...I casually mentioned I could read Japanese, but the fact that no one's calling me out on it is actually scarier.
With Leonardo, he might have gotten swept along in the conversation and missed it, but with Alf, there's no way. He should have properly realized the meaning of my words.
"Alf's gone to the trouble of clearing everyone out. There are a few things I want to confirm with Tina."
"What is it, deshu? Please ask me anything."
I waited for Leonardo to continue, ready to answer anything I could. It had been a bombshell I'd dropped in the chaos of the moment, but having it completely ignored was creepy too. I'd rather be confronted head-on.
"Earlier, you said you could read the contents of the research materials... could you really read them? They should have been written in Nihongo."
"The handwriting was peculiar, but I could read it just fine, deshu. I still need to study English a bit more, but I think I can read most Japanese if it's written in block script."
I wasn't confident I could read it perfectly if it were written in old characters, unique abbreviations, or semi-cursive script, but the research materials said to have been left by Saint Yuuta Hiraga were written in characters that could barely be called block script. The handwriting was peculiar and messy, but it wasn't like those Edo-period hiragana or classical Chinese I'd seen on TV that seemed impossible to read. It was something even I could read well enough.
"Kai...sho? You can read Nihongo?"
"I think I can read it, within a general range."
I hadn't studied especially hard to the point of passing the Kanji Kentei, but I had completed compulsory education, and I vaguely remembered receiving further education after that. I didn't think I could read overly difficult kanji, but I should be able to read most of them without issue.
...Besides, Yuuta Hiraga seemed to be bad at kanji, right?
There were many places where anything beyond simple kanji was scrawled in hiragana. That was probably because it was just personal notes, not intended for anyone other than himself. Since they were notes for his own use, it was fine as long as he could read them.
"A general range, you say..."
"Leonyaldo-san, what is it you really want to ask?"
That wasn't the point to dwell on right now, I pointed out. The range of Japanese I could read was of no use to anyone except those who wanted to use me.
At my words, Leonardo closed his eyes once. A moment passed during which I could tell he was hesitating, and when he opened his eyes again, he seemed to have made up his mind, looking straight at me.
"...Are you a Japanese reincarnator, Tina?"
"It seems I was a Japanese person a few lives ago, deshu."
To Leonardo, who had hesitantly brought up the word 'Nihonjin,' I clearly affirmed it as 'Japanese person' on my end. I had thought I should properly tell him someday, and I wanted to make that 'someday' into 'today.' Since I'd been thinking I should talk about it, I felt it was better to just say it now, even if it was a bit of a rushed way to do it.
"No, but... earlier, you said you didn't remember your past life, didn't you? Was that a lie?"
"Since it was a few lives ago, saying I don't remember my past life isn't a lie, deshu."
It was just sophistry, I added, supplementing my own previous statement. According to that mysterious young man, I had apparently been Japanese a few lives ago. Not my previous life, but the life before that, or the one before that.
When I answered while looking straight into Leonardo's eyes, I could clearly tell he was confused. He didn't look away from me, but his movements became more frequent. He'd just returned from a trip today, so he wasn't wearing his work-mode hairstyle, and the bangs falling over his face seemed to be bothering him. He repeatedly pushed up his bangs, or put his hand to his forehead and bowed his head.
In contrast to Leonardo, whose agitation was clear enough for even me to see, Alf remained calm. With his hand on his chin in a thinking gesture, he tilted his head slightly.
"We did say from the beginning that we were looking for a Japanese reincarnator, didn't we... so why didn't you tell us until now?"
"That's because you said you came to buy a reincarnator, Leonyaldo-san."
It was the first time I'd heard that the Daltowas' child was a reincarnator when Leonardo and the others came to the village, but I had heard before that the village chief sold other people's children without permission. Our family had close dealings with the Daltowas themselves, whose child had been sold by the village chief. It was a story about a child I'd never met being sold, but the parents on the selling side were right nearby. I think it's only natural for me to have a rejection response to talk of buying and selling people.
...Besides, back then, I had only just met Leonyaldo-san and the others, you know?
I had absolutely no feeling of trust that would let me honestly tell them everything. They were just adults I'd only just met. And on top of that, the reason for meeting was that they'd 'come to buy people,' which wasn't exactly a welcome premise. Under those circumstances, expecting me to trust them right away and tell them everything was impossible.
"...I thought Tina was starting to resemble Leonardo, but you can properly conceal information disadvantageous to yourself, can't you?"
Saying something that could have been either praise or insult (that I was smarter than Leonardo), Alf shrugged. I'd admit I used tricks and sophistry, but I didn't think there were many people as honest as Leonardo. For better or worse, Leonardo was a remarkably honest man.
...Though 'honest idiot' would be more accurate.
"So I wasn't trusted by you from the start, was I."
My brother, whom I'd evaluated as an 'honest man with an idiot on top,' let out a sigh. I couldn't trust someone I'd just met who was buying people, but Leonardo had accepted me as his little sister right after meeting me. I thought it couldn't be helped, but I still felt sorry, and I took Leonardo's hand.
"I did think... that I should probably tell you sooner or later, deshu."
It wasn't that I had no trust in him at all. Regardless of back then, I properly trusted him now. When I looked up at Leonardo, wanting to convey that, he seemed to recall something. I could see his mood lift slightly.
"...Now that you mention it, from around the end of summer... I felt like I was being looked at as if you wanted to say something. Was that it?"
"Yes, deshu."
When I apologized for not being able to bring it up for so long, Leonardo's large hand pulled me into an embrace. As I let myself go along with it, he patted my head.
"Having grown up in a village with a precedent of children being sold, it's only natural you couldn't trust Black Knights who came to buy people. I think your actions were right."
As someone who called himself her brother, it was a little lonely, but Leonardo's words continued.
"...But still, I wish you had consulted me. Before leaking the information to Aurelia."
"I'm sorry."
When he said I had been intending to tell him, all I could do was apologize. I had intended to tell him I was a Japanese reincarnator, and I had wanted to consult him about conveying the research material contents to Aurelia. If Leonardo had just turned a blind eye, leaking the information to Aurelia would have been easy. So easy I wouldn't even need to study English so hard. But just as easily as I could imagine the information flowing, I could also imagine Leonardo would never agree. Leonardo, honest for better or worse, would never participate in a crime like information leaking, even if it was a prescription for medicine that would someday save someone's life.
I hugged Leonardo's waist, which was right in front of me since he'd pulled me close. When it came to apologizing, I could look him in the eye to respond sincerely, but for what came next, I was too scared to meet his gaze. Aurelia had warned me too. That even trust could be betrayed.
I clung tightly to Leonardo's body and took a deep breath. Whether from tension or not, I could feel my heart pounding.
"Leo... Leonyaldo-san, would you sell me, a Japanese reincarnator?"
My voice cracked slightly from the tension. I had intended it as the question of a lifetime, but Leonardo's answer came back concise, without a hint of hesitation.
"There's no way I'd sell you. You're my little sister."
As if he was genuinely offended (where was there a brother who sold his little sister?), my head, which had been gently patted, was grabbed firmly. He proceeded to rub my head in a somewhat rough, kneading motion. It was almost dizzying.
"For over a year since we met, I've said it over and over. Tina is my little sister. Even if you don't trust me as your brother at all, not even the tiniest bit, Tina is still my little sister."
His hand, which had said 'understand this already,' became gentle again as it patted my head. Even if I didn't trust him as my brother, that didn't change the fact that he was my brother.
"...But I'm a bad girl, deshu?"
I had tried to take information I learned at the residence outside without permission. As the little sister of a knight entrusted with a fortress, that wasn't something I should have done.
"The method you chose was certainly bad, but you did it thinking it was for the best, didn't you?"
"You're not angry?"
"I'm angry that you acted without enough thought, but more than that, I'm sad that I wasn't trusted enough as a brother for you to consult me even once before you acted."
To Leonardo, who said the lack of trust made him sad, I apologized with 'I'm sorry.' I didn't even know how many times that made it today. Certainly, having someone you'd placed your complete trust in not trust you back at all... that must be quite painful. I genuinely thought what I'd done wrong (the crime I'd committed, and not telling him I was a Japanese reincarnator) was bad, but I hadn't wanted to make Leonardo sad like this.
"'I'm sorry' goes both ways, huh. I've made you sad and angry many times too."
Saying 'Alright, let's start over, this time for real,' Leonardo lifted me up. Our eyes met and he noticed the tears that had secretly welled up, but without pointing it out, he wiped them away with his fingers.
"I'm Leonardo. I'm an inflexible, dense man, but I want to be your brother."
Asked 'Will you be my family?', I thought for a moment.
"...Family isn't something you can just swap out because there are things you don't like about it, deshu."
Whether a good family or a bad one, you can't easily cut ties. That's what family is. Just because you don't like someone in the family, you can't easily replace or discard them.
"If anything, I'm a weird little sister who's a reincarnator and has memories of her past life, but will you be my family, deshu?"
"For a brother as laid-back as me, a mature and dependable little sister who has memories of her past life is just about right, I think."
Saying 'Let's get along from now on,' Leonardo pressed his forehead against mine. In his black eyes, seen from close range, a hint of shyness peeked through.
[Author's Note]
Next is probably an Aurelia perspective side story.
Typos and omissions again another day. Fixed any typos and omissions I found.