491 - Earthquake and Anomaly
I only felt the strong shaking at first. By the time my mind understood, "Ah, an earthquake," I was already thinking about my next move.
...When there is a big earthquake, am I supposed to hide under a desk?
Common sense changes with the times. I felt like I had heard that the new common sense was to wait for the shaking to stop and then promptly exit the building.
...In times like this, I am glad we have a shoe culture even indoors.
Even when passing by the window, there is less worry about stepping on broken glass. I picked up Enomena's pot by the window as something important that absolutely must be taken out, and placed the nanny fairy on my shoulder. I pulled Aaron by the hand, who had rushed into the room determined to fulfill his duty as a guard without being deterred by the shaking, and went from the balcony to the manicured garden. Kokumaro the black Shiba also followed out of the room, but his tail was completely tucked. He must be frightened by this shaking. Just as I thought he had come to my feet, he immediately plopped his hips down.
"Christina-sama, are you safe!?"
"I am in the garden. It is dangerous inside the building, so Salisa, please come out immediately."
I heard the voice of Salisa, who seemed to have rushed into the room late, so I guided her to come outside. Since I am the master of the detached palace, several people rushed into the room after Salisa.
...Huh?
It should be dangerous to be inside a building during a big earthquake. As someone who has already made it outside, going back inside the building to guide the evacuation would be the same as jumping into danger myself. In that case, there is no option for me to return inside the building, but even so, something is strange. While wondering what is strange, I used the people who had come outside to call out from the outside of the building to the inside. First, to get outside, and if they have the leeway, to put out any fires before coming out.
"Christina-sama, you are very calm."
"As a former Japanese person, I am used to earthquakes."
"...Jishin?"
At the slightly questioning sound that leaked from Aaron's mouth, I found myself wondering, "Huh?" I looked up at Aaron, wondering where there was room for doubt regarding the big earthquake just now, and I saw that not only Aaron but even Salisa had bewildered expressions.
"Come to think of it, I feel like this was the first earthquake in this life. Could it be that earthquakes are rare in the Kingdom of Ivizia?"
"If you say the earth shook... I see. Indeed, calling it an 'earthquake' is appropriate."
"This is the first time the Earth God Hardemanaph has been so angry. Christina-sama, are you safe?"
Supported by the White Knight, Nadine came along with a strange, waddling gait. She must be of a certain age, but Nadine seemed to have twisted her waist from being too surprised by this earthquake. She looked like she had trouble walking, but since it was an 'order' from me, the unusual master of the detached palace, she seemed to have come outside the building.
I wanted to get into the shade but wondered about the area under the building, so I brought a chair from the gazebo and let Nadine sit there. She firmly declined, saying that I was standing, so I prepared a chair for myself as well and sat down.
"If this is the first earthquake even for someone of Nadine's age, it really was a region with few earthquakes..."
In such a region, this is a big earthquake that would surprise even me, a former Japanese person. It might be causing a commotion even outside the detached palace.
"For now, let us stay outside for a while in preparation for aftershocks. Since there were no earthquakes, there is no preparation of emergency carry-out bags... hm?"
I pulled out the knowledge I learned in my previous life, wondering what to do during an earthquake. Things like wearing shoes so as not to step on glass, or that the toilet is sturdy with pillars on four sides and optimal for escaping into, or conversely, the danger of being trapped because the door warps, various things came to mind, but there was some sense of incongruity.
...I recall that earthquakes have vertical shaking and horizontal shaking, right?
The force of vertical shaking is strong, and accordingly, the wave of shaking is short and the spread is small. Horizontal shaking is weaker in force, but in exchange, the shaking is long and spreads over a wide area. I cannot remember which class it was, but I should have learned that.
...The fact that there is vertical shaking means the epicenter is close, and horizontal shaking should come soon, or rather, they should have come almost simultaneously...? Huh?
If it is not my imagination, the horizontal shaking has not come. Since it shook strongly and briefly, I think the shaking I recognized as an earthquake was vertical shaking. After that, enough time has passed for me to rush outside and for Nadine to come confirm my safety, but no one has felt any ground shaking that seemed like horizontal shaking. Just as I realized whether a big horizontal shake is coming or if this is fundamentally different from the earthquakes I know, the White Knight who brought Nadine let out a strange voice.
"Heh? That... eh?"
Blinking several times, rubbing his eyes as if it were his imagination, the White Knight's gaze was fixed on the shrubs that the gardener cares for with great devotion. Wondering what it was, I followed the White Knight's gaze to the shrub with deep pink flowers, and I saw a small bottom poking into the flowers.
"...A fairy?"
I wondered if there had been a fairy in such a place, and then I furrowed my brow deeply. I was surprised at myself for naturally accepting the existence of fairies, but I was also surprised by the appearance of a fairy that was not a nanny fairy.
...Huh?
I was surprised by the appearance of the fairy, but what is more surprising is the White Knight's reaction. This White Knight is a White Knight with an official permit from Alfred. He is not a White Knight meant to keep the idle sons of nobles entertained, but a rare White Knight with the spirit to want to work as a knight even if he lacks skill. That is why I allowed him into the detached palace, and that White Knight seems to have found the fairy first. In other words, the fairy is visible to him.
"Salisa? Can you see the fairy?"
"I can see it. One in the flowers... should I count it as one person? Also, there is another one in the shadow of the tree."
"Aaron..."
If the White Knight can see it, I wonder if Aaron can see it too. I tried to ask that as a test, but I closed my mouth. Aaron's eyesight has weakened, so even if he can see the fairy, he probably cannot see it clearly.
"No, Christina-sama. Though it is blurry, I can tell something is there. Atop the shrub, and on Christina-sama's shoulder."
"Kalisa is visible to you as well."
This is increasingly strange. Aside from me and Salisa, Aaron is the first person to have seen the form of a nanny fairy. Moreover, something that was not visible until now has suddenly become visible.
...What does this mean?
Wondering what suddenly happened, the first thing that comes to mind is the earthquake just now. As for a big change, there is only this. It seems to be the first earthquake even in the life of the elderly Nadine in the Kingdom of Ivizia. In the sense that something that had not happened until now occurred, it can be thought of as the same.
Just as I was about to sink into thought wondering what happened, Nadine spoke to me in a hesitant voice. Since I am the calmest person here, she thought I might know something about earthquakes too. If I know, she wanted me to speak rather than thinking about it alone. For those of us for whom the phenomenon of the earth shaking is a first, we are just flustered and useless, and we are anxious.
...That is right. I am the master of the detached palace, aren't I?
Nadine, who usually manages the detached palace, says she is troubled in making a judgment. I should be the one to work here.
"...First, let us confirm the safety of the people who were in the detached palace. Take a roll call, including the servants who came outside, to see if anyone was crushed under a closet or bookshelf. We will check the inside of the building after observing the state of the aftershocks."
I am concerned whether someone in the building has been crushed under furniture, but I cannot let people who have managed to escape outside return to the building and be exposed to danger.
I listed the things that should be done and the things that should be investigated, and left the actual giving of instructions to Nadine. I tend to give instructions to the close people I can easily rely on, but the detached palace is different from Grenore House. To some extent, the status of the house is related to giving instructions, so I left the adjustment of that balance to Nadine.
"...I am glad that none of the ladies-in-waiting or servants had any major injuries."
I confirmed the safety of all the servants working at the detached palace and listened to the White Knight's report. There were reports of minor injuries, such as cutting a finger by breaking a plate in surprise at the earthquake, or hitting a foot on a corner while trying to escape in a hurry, but there were no reports of anyone having the major injuries I feared. It bothers me that since the first shake, there have been no small shakes, let alone aftershocks, but since it is better to have no aftershocks, I will do what I can do now.
Now that the safety of the people has been confirmed, next would be the damage status of the building and communication to the outside. To inform them of the state of the detached palace and my safety, Reinart was chosen from the Silver Knights as the messenger to go investigate the situation outside. Since things concerning me are reported to the royalty, the Silver Knights were likely chosen as the liaison.
...Huh?
Wondering if it is about time to move to a place with a roof, I tilted my head at a sense of incongruity upon entering the gazebo. The fact that there is a fairy at the foot of the table is a given by now, but the incongruity is not there.
"...Did someone fix the table before I came?"
"No, not particularly. Since Christina-sama said to get a chair for Nadine, other than the chair...?"
Since I ordered a chair, she seems to have focused only on the chair to bring it quickly. Salisa says she did not touch anything other than the chairs in the gazebo.
"That is... strange, isn't it? Even though it shook that much, the chairs and table seem to be neatly lined up...?"
The gazebo table is not fixed to the ground. For a table placed in the center of the gazebo to not have moved at all during a shake strong enough to make humans jump out of the building in surprise is abnormal.
...Come to think of it, I believe they said no one was crushed under furniture...?
Once I noticed one strange thing, strange things were remembered one after another. The fact that I did not feel horizontal shaking, and the fact that no shaking like an aftershock has come at all, is strange if you call it strange.
"Christina-sama, please wait outside."
Since I was quite concerned, I tried to return inside to confirm, but I was stopped by Aaron. Because I had displayed as much earthquake knowledge as I could think of while waiting for the confirmation of injuries or whether there were people who failed to escape, he probably worried about me entering the building.
"I will not go inside, I will just look from the outside."
I said it is fine because I will not enter the building and climbed the balcony stairs. The windows are open just as they were when I left the room, but there is no sign that the glass fitted in the windows has broken. The large window facing the garden, and the small window where Enomena's pot is usually placed, are all safe. Even looking over the interior from the balcony, chairs have not fallen over, nor have closets fallen over. A room as usual was there.
"...It shook, right?"
"Yes. It was my first time experiencing such shaking, and I am ashamed to say I could not move immediately."
While tilting my head at an earthquake that caused no damage to the interior or the building, I descended the balcony. When I moved to the gazebo, Salisa had carried my chair.
"If Christina-sama is knowledgeable about the earthquake just now, could you not be of use to Christoph-sama?"
"I do not have professional knowledge to the extent of being of use, you know?"
"For us, before professional knowledge, such shaking itself was a first. I wonder if even a little bit of information is being sought right now."
I wondered if that was the case, and while half-doubting, I used a blackboard and chalk to organize my thoughts. While I was organizing that into a report, Reinart, who should have been sent as a messenger, returned with Dietfried.
"Miss Christina, King Christoph and Prince Alfred desire a detailed talk."
It seems Dietfried was a messenger for me. Being called in a slightly formal tone, I returned the greeting while hiding my inner surprise. I had intended to organize it into a report and have someone deliver it, but since a pickup has come, I must go.
...My imagination?
When I boarded the carriage prepared by Dietfried, the usual cat-head headgear was placed on the seat. Thinking it was in the way, I picked it up, and I was surprised when a fairy with a cat head jumped out from inside. The cat-head fairy seemed to find it amusing that I was surprised. Just as I thought it laughed happily, it greeted me, so I decided to give it some baked sweets from my pocket.
The nanny fairy seemed jealous of this, so I gave it baked sweets as well. At first, they were nibbling their respective baked sweets amicably, but when the cat-head fairy finished eating its own baked sweets, it began to pull at the nanny fairy's baked sweets to take them.
I had thought it was a fairy with a somewhat arrogant attitude, and it seems I was not mistaken. The nanny fairy is being bullied by the cat-head fairy.
"You must not be greedy, that is Kalisa's portion."
While saying please do not bully, I wrapped the nanny fairy and the baked sweets into my hand. I tried to put distance from the cat-head fairy, but the cat-head fairy jumped onto my hand and, with that momentum, began to pull the nanny fairy's hair.
"You must not bully Kalisa."
"Now, now," I said, pinching the cat-head fairy's collar with my fingers. A small fairy can be immobilized by this alone, but the cat-head fairy looked dissatisfied.
--That one is different from us. Impudent!
"Eh?"
It is strange enough that I can see the fairy's form, but this time I began to hear the fairy's voice. It is a high-pitched squeaking voice, but the meaning can be clearly understood. The cat-head fairy's claim is to eliminate the nanny fairy because it is different from ordinary fairies.
"What do you mean by Kalisa being different?"
--That one is a created fake.
The cat-head fairy says they are real because they were born. Honestly, wondering what kind of difference there is in that, something suddenly occurred to me.
...Is all of this Camille-san's fault...?
The fact that I suddenly became able to see fairies, the fact that the fairy tried to eliminate the nanny fairy, and the fact that I heard from Leonardo that the bulb the nanny fairy was born from was received from a reincarnator named Camille connect in my head. At least, regarding the cat-head fairy who was 'born' trying to eliminate the nanny fairy by calling it 'created', it must be correct to think that Camille is the cause. Honestly, I was aware that it was too hasty to think that even this earthquake was Camille's fault just because it is related to fairies.
...But, I can't help but think it, right? If it is a person who can create a bulb where a fairy is born, they can also make it so humans can see fairies, can't they?