278 - Grenore's Souvenir Stories and the Research Material Reading Work
"Jasper, do you understand 'Three times laugh, meow'?"
"No, I understand 'three,' 'laugh,' 'meow,' but..."
When he asked back what language that was, I answered that it was Japanese I'd heard from the king. I'd been testing whether he really understood Japanese, but it seemed Jasper could only pick out really simple words. Was this because Almel, who taught Jasper Japanese, was just a child at the time? He probably could not manage anything like wordplay.
When I asked what else he could understand, it seemed he could speak the syllabary perfectly. If he just memorized the connections between words and sounds after that, he would probably be able to have secret talks with me in Japanese.
...I see. Because he had heard Almel's Japanese as a child, his ears were attuned to picking up Japanese. That certainly meant he would have been able to catch my curses too.
Jasper, who would continue transcribing for the security of Saint Yuuta Hiraga's research materials, ended up staying in a guest room at the detached palace. Since the research materials were considered national treasures, the Silver-White Knights assigned to guard them would also be staying at the detached palace, just like at the Grenore residence. It felt like the Silver-White Knight escort, which had been just Aaron alone, had suddenly increased dramatically.
As I entered the entrance hall to guide Jasper, Felicia was hugging Alfred. I understood it was a welcome-home hug, but I found myself oddly impressed -- even a princess, let alone a lady, gives hugs? Hermine had warned me that "it is about time you refrained from hugging even if he is your brother," but here was a princess, a model of ladylike behavior, giving hugs. I would keep hugging Leonyaldo without reservation from now on.
...Still, what a close brother and sister pair. They were both harsh toward the Eighth Princess (their younger sister), but the relationship between this elder sister and younger brother seemed good. I did not think she had hugged him particularly when he departed for Grenore, but I suppose a return really was special. Felicia's face as she smiled, saying "I am glad you are safe, welcome home," was filled with a sister's loving kindness, completely different from the face she showed her followers or to younger ones (me).
"If Alf has returned, does that mean I am relieved of babysitting Christina?"
"No, if possible I would like you to continue staying at the detached palace, Sister. For a man like me to live in an unmarried woman's detached palace, even if she is a young girl, would look bad."
Alfred said he was sorry for the trouble, but he wanted her to stay at the detached palace while he was in the capital. It seemed like he was asking for a bit too much, but Felicia smiled and readily agreed to Alfred's 'request.' She kissed Alfred on the cheek, saying "Leave it to your big sister," so maybe she was actually happy to be relied upon by her younger brother.
While the servants unloaded luggage from the carriage and carried autumn and winter clothes into the wardrobe room, we went out to the garden for a small tea party. Jasper, perhaps dazzled by Felicia, quickly excused himself, saying it was too daunting to sit with royalty. He was probably in the guest room prepared for his stay, unpacking his belongings by now.
...Come to think of it, his carriage had also been separate from Alfred-sama's. Most likely, Jasper's reaction was the normal commoner's reaction. They would demur, saying it was too daunting to ride with or sit alongside royalty. Someone like me, who simply sat with them when called, was probably the rare one.
"...Huh? Alfred-sama, did you cut your hair shorter?"
Before, his hair had been a bit longer than Alf's, but now it was about the same length. At this rate, he really did look like Alf -- I felt like I might accidentally mix up their names.
...Well, even if I did mix them up, Alfred-sama would probably be pleased about it.
When I pointed out his shorter hair, Alfred puffed out his chest with a proud look as if to say "you noticed well." The way he ran his hand back through his hair and swept it forward was truly stylish, but while I could admire the sight, I would not fall for it.
"I had it cut to the same length as Alf's in Grenore, to become closer to Alf."
"If the two of you stood side by side, I do not think I could tell you apart."
My honest feeling was "do not make things more complicated," but I softened it, as expected. Resembling Alf was a compliment for Alfred, so I felt I did not need to worry too much, but he was still a prince after all. Even if I thought it, I should probably avoid saying something as unrestrained as "you pervert."
"...Well, I went to the trouble of cutting it to Alf's length, but Alf had his own hair cut on the spot."
"Huh? Alf-san has short hair now?"
"Alf with long hair is lovely, but the sight of his short hair catching the wind and spreading out was beautiful as well."
I gave vague nods and let Alfred's Alf-talking wash over me. Alf had been handsome to begin with, so his beauty probably was not affected by hair length, but having his hairstyle changed on the spot when Alfred had matched lengths... I felt like Alfred was being a bit of a nuisance to Alf. No, not just a bit.
"Alf with short hair is, in its own way, reminiscent of his childhood days and adorable."
"Alfred-sama, did you not cut your hair even shorter right there?"
"Hmm, I felt that if I did that, Alf would shave his own head, so I gave up."
Alf had a good head shape, so even a shaved head would suit him, but it would be a shame to lose that beautiful golden hair, Alfred said, taking out a golden cord from his inner pocket. What had looked like a cord, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a braid woven from golden hair. Most likely, it was the hair Alf had cut off right there.
"...I believe that was a wise decision."
My honest feeling was to retort "you absolute pervert," but all the royalty of this country clearly separated their public and private selves. Alfred's 'Alf love' was only his private self, and in public he worked as a perfect prince with no room for complaint, so it was not my place to say anything. I felt he was causing Alf some trouble, but I did not have a hobby of meddling in others' affairs, so the rest was their problem.
...Alf-san was sacrificing himself to the pervert (Alfred) to protect the nation. A noble sacrifice, I thought, pressing my hands together inwardly for Alf who was in the city of Grenore, but it seemed Alfred had read my heart. His long hand reached out swiftly and flicked my forehead lightly.
The struggle for dominance between the Black Dog (Oscar) and the Black Shiba (Kokumaro) seemed to have been won by the Black Dog. I could not tell myself, but Aaron explained it to me. Since the Black Shiba was positioned closer to me, I had thought he had won, but apparently the Black Dog, who held back in the corner of the room, was keeping a wide-area watch to pick up more information and staying ready to cover for any failures by the Black Shiba. In other words, the Black Shiba was in guard training under the watchful eye of his senior (Oscar).
...Just like the relationship between Giselle and Aaron. Giselle was often close to me, but Aaron was always a little ways off. Aaron was probably lending a hand to Giselle, who was doing her best despite being an unreliable White Knight, while also guarding me.
...Alright, here we go.
Having been warned repeatedly by Alfred to be careful with handling, I faced Saint Yuuta Hiraga's research materials. Since they were bundles of old paper and also valuables, the situation was the same as Jasper's at the Grenore residence. Surrounded by Silver-White Knights, I was being glared at to make sure I did not do anything strange with the valuables.
...I would rather have been lounging around in my room reading leisurely. The report on the queen's poison had been on relatively new paper, and the request itself was kept secret even from Leonardo, so I could shut myself in my room and read in a state that was, in a sense, relaxed -- but this time was different. Reading Saint Yuuta Hiraga's research materials while lounging around on a bed or tatami was something no one else would permit, even if I wanted to. Even if someone did permit it, I would not want to let several Silver-White Knights of the opposite sex into my private room as guards.
In the end, the reading work was done in the living room. It was spacious enough that I could relax a little and not mind too many people around.
...They are being strict with the watch because I am handling the original, right? Then could I not read a transcription that could be handled a bit more carelessly? When I suggested this to Alfred, he told me that since I could read it, he wanted me to read the original first. With the added permission that if I wanted a transcription I could handle carelessly, I could copy it myself.
...A transcription. Since they already knew I was a reincarnator, I could transcribe it in my own handwriting. If I thought about it that way, it should not take as long as it had for Jasper.
...But still, if I just breezed through a transcription while Jasper had been copying for over a year, Jasper would sulk, would he not? Rather than sulk, it would just make me feel sorry for him. Having spent days with terrifying concentration copying even the handwriting, to have someone else produce another transcription at more than double the speed just because they could read the script... he would not be able to stand it. If I were Jasper, I would want to take my frustration out and say "why did not you do it from the start?"
...Stop thinking about unnecessary things and just get to reading. Rather than making an easy-to-handle transcription from scratch, reading the original while being watched was definitely faster.
As I occasionally took notes and picked out medicine prescriptions (recipes) from the diary that was called research materials, Jasper suddenly spoke to me.
"The knight behind you is peeking."
"Huh?"
At his remark, I looked up behind me. When I did, I met the eyes of a knight standing right behind me. Just as Jasper said, it seemed he had been peeking at my work.
"...Is it not allowed to be peeked at?"
In the end, it would become a document submitted to Christoph. Someone would surely censor it at that point, so I did not think a knight peeking was a big deal, but Jasper thought differently.
"If half-baked knowledge leaks out, the Sedovara Church would be in trouble. Besides, it would also be a problem if someone used that half-baked knowledge to make poison under the guise of medicine."
"Ah... that is true."
I had heard that Saint Yuuta Hiraga's secret arts could become poison with just a slight mistake in the method or quantity. Just as I had tried to pass prescriptions to Aurelia, with a simple prescription, one could see it, memorize it, and copy it onto another piece of paper later. Indeed, it was something that should not be seen by just anyone.
"It might just be curiosity, but you must not look, okay?"
I made an 'X' with my fingers and glared at the knight behind me. The knight I had scolded smiled wryly, looking embarrassed, and stepped back a little.
...But I could understand the psychology of wanting to peek at what someone was doing. Even if you were not interested in the content, when someone was doing something, your attention was drawn to it. Though I did wonder about a Silver-White Knight, whose role was to guard and watch over the research materials, peeking.
...Alright, I will write my notes in Japanese. That way, no matter who peeked or if I accidentally lost them, no one would be able to read them. I decided to rewrite all my previous notes in Japanese and cut up the old ones to burn. Since I was told that open flames were strictly prohibited in the room with Saint Yuuta Hiraga's research materials, I asked Alfred to witness the incineration. I ended up relying on Alfred the most, so there was no need to suspect him in this matter. Alfred would be equally troubled if half-baked information leaked out.
Once I set a direction, my concentration was impressive. I was the kind of person who would embroider an entire painting, even if for mischief. Taking notes in Japanese, I steadily read through the research materials. I read tirelessly, occasionally taking notes, and it took about ten days to read through to the very last page. Research materials that no one had been able to read for nearly two hundred years could be read through in just ten days, simply because a reincarnator who could read Japanese had appeared. If a scholar who had spent their lifetime studying Japanese heard about this, they would probably abandon the world in despair at how absurd it was.
"...At a speed like a joke, it is disheartening."
Jasper, who as far as I knew could be called the representative of Japanese research, pressed his temple, saying "I spent over a year transcribing it." If he learned that more than half of what he had poured his heart and soul into transcribing was Saint Yuuta Hiraga's miscellaneous notes, he might even kill himself.
"Reading and transcribing while imitating the handwriting are different things."
I did not want Jasper to kill himself, so I put in a token follow-up. It was only natural that reading and writing had different speeds, and just writing was different from copying someone's handwriting. There was no need to compare, I said.
"What do you plan to do next?"
"I will sort them into ones with complete prescriptions and ones without. For the ones with complete prescriptions, I will compile the names and effects and have them submitted to Christoph-sama through Alfred-sama."
What I had said I would 'do' was revive three secret arts. Not to create a transcription, nor to create a translation. I thought I might do the translation work and revive the fourth and subsequent secret arts someday, but first I wanted to secure permission to return to the city of Grenore.
From Saint Yuuta Hiraga's research materials, I had found fourteen complete prescriptions and twenty-six records that seemed to be mid-research. Going by the text, the diary called research materials was not limited to this amount. I did not know if they were sleeping somewhere in the castle or in another location, but if those were found, the incomplete prescriptions could probably be completed.
...Well, I do not think that is my job, though.
I wrote out a list of the names and effects of medicines with complete remaining prescriptions and submitted it to Alfred. No matter how approachable the king was, I did not have the courage to deliver it myself.
"...What is this medicine marked at the edge?"
"It is the queen's medicine that Aurelia-san prescribed."
"The queen's medicine?"
As Alfred furrowed his brows suspiciously, I belatedly realized -- he did not know? This was the report that had been given to me in secret even from Leonardo. Perhaps the queen's health condition was being kept quiet.
"Christoph-sama said that the queen's health had declined."
I told Alfred in a lowered voice that the medicine identified from the past materials was this marked name. When I lowered my voice thinking it was a secret talk, Alfred also lowered his.
"Why are you, Tina, investigating the queen's medicine? Or rather, the queen's ill health is not something that should be casually leaked to outsiders."
"At Christoph-sama's request, I was shown the report by Clarice-san, your wet nurse, Alfred-sama."
When I asked if he had not known about his own mother's health, Alfred averted his eyes slightly. His residence was in the noble district, and he had been away in Grenore for a while -- since he had been away from not just the castle but the capital itself, it seemed he had not heard anything.
He would visit her when delivering the list to Christoph. Alfred, saying this, had a face more complicated than I had ever seen before.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.