61 - Side Story: Leonardo's Perspective - My Little Sister 1
I had told her to come to the fortress after lunch, so today Tina was scheduled to visit the fortress for the first time in a while. Tina, who had somehow started coming and going from the quarantine area, seemed to have become quite popular at the fortress without me knowing. The knights had praised her as cute, seeing her tiny body busily scurrying about.
...Even without scurrying busily about, Tina was cute, though.
The sight of her walking behind me with her short little legs was cute too, and the way she crunched on baked sweets was adorable like a small animal. Her gestures of stomping her feet in anger or puffing out her cheeks in a sulk were the best.
...Was a little sister really this cute?
I should have had a blood-related little sister in the distant past, but I feel like I couldn't simply welcome her as cute like I do with Tina, probably because we were close in age. To be honest, back then I found my sister annoying when she followed behind me every time I ran out of the house to go play.
...I wonder if she's doing well somewhere.
After becoming a knight, I once visited my old home, but a different family was already living there. There was no sign of my sister there, nor of my parents. The family I was connected to by blood had truly vanished somewhere.
...I never got to do anything brotherly for my real sister.
So I thought I'd spoil Tina as much as I wanted to make up for it. Luckily, I was of a station with a decent income. I could have as many clothes made for her at the tailor as I wanted, and I could buy her as many sweets as she desired.
...No, spoiling her too much wouldn't be good. I had to discipline her properly as Saromon-sama's substitute.
As I was thinking such things, I heard a somewhat bewildered voice from outside the room.
"...Commander, Tina-chan has arrived."
I looked up suspiciously at the knight's bewildered voice, and when the door opened and Tina entered the room, I almost burst out laughing. I could tell Tina had come into the room, but I couldn't see her face. At first glance, it looked like a large stuffed toy and colorful boxes and bags were floating in midair. But of course things couldn't float without reason, I could see Tina's hands stretching out from the sides and her short legs peeking out from below.
"...You've got quite a haul there."
I muttered this observation as I approached the standing-still Tina. When I took the mountain of packages she was holding in both arms, I could finally see Tina's face. Freed from the massive load, Tina sighed in relief and patted her chest.
"Where did this mountain of sweets and toys come from?"
Even when she was at Aurelia's house, various knights had been offering Tina candy on their own, so I had somewhat expected this. But still, this was too much. Had she walked all the way to my office, wobbling unsteadily with that tiny body?
"I did like you said, Leonyaldo-san, spreaded charm, and it came."
I felt like I was being implicitly told that half of this was my fault. But after her sigh of relief, Tina didn't even look at me, instead staring at a spot on the sofa. It was probably just my imagination that I felt a subtle jab.
"...Dolly."
From the mountain of tribute piled on the sofa, Tina pulled out a white rabbit stuffed toy. Its face was realistically crafted, but its body wasn't rabbit-proportioned, perhaps to make it easier for a child to hold. A blue ribbon was tied around its neck, probably matching the color of Tina's eyes. A really stylish touch. Whether as the giver intended or not, it had caught Tina's interest.
...For it to catch Tina's interest more than sweets. Did Tina like rabbits? Or stuffed toys?
Tina, who showed little interest in fashion, had a solid appetite in its place. She was happy when given sweet treats, and she had even come up with her own flavor adjustments when she got tired of daily vegetable soup. She had even wanted to try the divisive miso (oshimi), modifying the recipe to suit her own tastes.
...Tina was definitely more about appetite than aesthetics.
This much I could say with certainty. Tina was happier with candy and baked sweets than with clothes or flowers.
Even so.
...My little sister was cute.
It seemed a bit too big for Tina to hold, but a little girl clutching a large stuffed toy had an indescribable charm. I felt I should support her before she fell, but the way she tottered around stimulated my protective instincts, so I couldn't help falling into a watchful stance. Since Tina was innocently hugging the stuffed toy and feeling its fluffy fur, I borrowed it for a moment to check the texture myself.
...It felt nice. I could see wanting to stroke it forever.
Tina seemed to really like it too, so I asked if she liked this sort of thing. When asked, Tina's eyes went round and she froze for a moment, then her expression kept changing as if she was thinking something over. After furrowing her brow like she was pondering something difficult, the words that finally came out were just her impressions of the fur texture. Not that she particularly liked stuffed toys.
...Was she holding back again? I could buy her as many stuffed toys as she wanted.
After enjoying the fluffy fur, I returned the stuffed toy to Tina's hands. Tina took it and hugged it with a somewhat relieved expression.
...A stuffed toy that was easy to maintain and a size Tina could hold. In a shape other than a rabbit.
First, I should find out which shops sold stuffed toys. While I was thinking about such things, the shoemaker arrived with the delivery.
...Why was Alf here too?
When I saw Alf entering the room alongside the shoemaker, his face clearly read, "Stop fooling around with your summoned little sister and do your work." Of course, there weren't actually words written on his face, but we'd known each other long enough that I could tell what he wanted to say.
"Here are the young lady's shoes you ordered. Please confirm them."
Three pairs of shoes were taken out of their box and lined up on the desk. They all had cute designs, but it wasn't the appearance that needed checking.
"As you mentioned the purpose was toe protection, we've surrounded the interior toe area with thin iron plates. The plates have the same strength as those used in military boots, so as the young lady wished, they've been finished with enough hardness to fully protect her from having her feet stepped on by an adult by accident."
I picked up one small shoe and tapped its toe with my finger as I listened to the shoemaker's explanation. Though it looked like a leather shoe on the outside, it made a hard clacking sound.
Tina didn't usually demand flashy designs, but she had put forward her own request for the shoes. She said that when she walked beside me, she was scared of almost getting her feet stepped on. So Tina said she wanted sturdy-toed shoes so it wouldn't hurt even if someone accidentally stepped on her. At first Tina said she wanted military boots, but I was grateful to the shoemaker who talked her into cute shoes instead, saying that since she was a girl, she should have lovely ones. I had decided to raise Tina into a proper lady in her father's place. I couldn't let my lovely Tina's feet wear clunky military boots.
"Tina, come here."
"Yess."
The explanations were finished, and the inspection was done. All that remained was to have Tina check the fit herself, and then the delivery would be complete. Tina, who had come running immediately when called, sat in the prepared chair and placed her feet on the small footrest. When I'd taken her to the shoemaker the other day, she'd tried to put the shoes on herself, but it seemed she was getting used to being taken care of now.
"It fits perfectly."
Wearing the white fabric shoes, Tina stepped in place. When she spun around happily, the hem of her dress flared softly.
...Yeah, my little sister really was cute after all.
As Tina checked the fit of the remaining two pairs, Alf, who had been watching for a while, started saying something strange.
"...Specially made shoes with reinforced toes, huh."
"Yess. Now even if s-someone accidentally steps on my foot, it won't hurt."
"By the way, could you show me the real 'usage' of those shoes?"
"Sure. P-please watch."
After puffing out her thin chest and showing off her shoes to Alf, Tina tottered back over to me. And then she spread her arms in a waiting-for-a-hug pose.
"Leonyaldo-san, p-please 'hold' me."
"Not 'carry me'?"
"Yes. 'Hold.'"
Since Tina gestured with her hands tucked into her armpits as if to be lifted, 'hold' was probably right. As instructed, I slipped my hands under her arms and lifted her small body up...
"Guh!?"
I received a strong impact just below my knee. From the sheer pain and shock, I almost dropped Tina, but I held on. Since I ended up holding her in an awkward position, I supported her firmly so I wouldn't drop her. I checked underneath while holding her back and legs, but there was nothing that could have hit my leg. When I tilted my head wondering what it was, Tina in my arms smiled proudly at Alf.
"This is how you use these shoes."
Saying that, Tina swung her foot to show off the shoe. The foot wearing the shoe reinforced with iron plates at the toe.
"I see, so that's how you repel Leonardo."
"Yess. This is how I repel sus-suspicious persons."
Seeing Tina and Alf understanding each other with good smiles, I remembered.
...That was right. Tina was the kind of kid who would use her feet when something happened.
Thinking back carefully, when Tina was upset, she would stomp her feet or slap me with her hands. Since Tina's feet were small and her strength was weak, I never felt any pain from her hitting or stomping, but Tina should have been tilting her head every time wondering why it had no effect. The solution to that was probably these reinforced shoes under the name of toe protection.
...I was tricked. These were special equipment for attacking me.
Now that I knew, I should probably leave it off the autumn and winter shoes. It wasn't a feature I'd pay extra for knowing I'd be the one getting attacked. Tina seemed to be happily chatting with Alf about something, so I could just finish ordering the autumn and winter shoes while she was distracted.
As I was discussing materials and specifications with the shoemaker while looking at the autumn and winter design sketches laid out on the desk, Tina, who should have been talking with Alf, came over to my side. At Tina's height, she could barely peek at the design sketches on the desk. I didn't think she was interested in designs, but Tina slipped her body between my arm and leg and somewhat forcefully climbed onto my lap.
...What's with this little sister? She was like a cat, so cute.
I was about to feel all warm and fuzzy at Tina who had cutely started occupying my lap, but her next words woke me up. She was a cute little sister, but Tina wasn't just cute.
"For autumn and winter too, p-please make them the same! Toes, st-sturdy."
Apparently Tina wanted the attack equipment against me on her next shoes too.
"...Tina, do you want to kick me that much?"
"It's for toe pro-protection and repelling sus-suspicious persons?"
Tina looked up at me with a blank expression, which was incredibly cute, but I hadn't forgotten. Just a moment ago, when Alf said "repel Leonardo," Tina had answered "yes" and then said "repel suspicious persons." Apparently in Tina's mind, suspicious persons and I were connected by an equal sign. This was more than a little sad.
"I'll be going to the church from autumn, right?"
"...Just because they're mean, don't go kicking boys."
"The main street has lots of people."
"I won't deny that, but I'll have someone escorting you, so you don't need to worry about being stepped on."
"There are festivals in winter too, right? Since it's a festival, there will be lots of people, for sure."
"...Do you want your toes to be that sturdy?"
"Heels would be fine too?"
No sooner had she said it than Tina swung her foot up high and then brought it down. With a loud clunk, my shin was kicked by her heel.
"Guh...!?"
Frankly, this hurt considerably more than being lightly kicked with the toes. The way force was applied was probably different between swinging up and swinging down.
I was trembling as I endured the pain, but Tina looked up at me with an innocent face. The fact that Tina's foot was starting to dangle and swing again meant she was probably planning to demonstrate the destructive power of her heels as many times as necessary until her request was granted.
"...Let's go with the toes."
Having my shin hit with full force would probably cause less damage with the toes than with reinforced heels. Whether I was the victim or someone else, getting kicked with the toes was probably a bit better.
...Within a margin of error, though.