62 - Side Story - Leonardo's Perspective - My Little Sister 2
When the shoemaker left and Tina's business was done, Tina went back carrying only the rabbit plush toy. I had thought I would have all the luggage delivered later, but she must have liked the rabbit plush toy enough to carry it back herself. When Bart, who I had asked to pass along a message, came to pick up the luggage, I asked him how Tina was doing. Apparently Tina had carried the rabbit plush toy up to the attic she uses as her personal room as soon as she got back to the mansion.
...So she really did like it, didn't she.
She had said the texture was nice, but she must have thought the rabbit plush toy was cute. Her not honestly saying it was cute might have been her usual reserve.
"Plush toys, huh..."
"Don't you dare buy a giant rabbit plush toy or anything."
"Giant... that's not a bad idea."
At Alf's truly useful suggestion (retort), I imagined Tina holding a giant plush toy.
...Yeah, my little sister is cute.
"I said don't buy it. Don't even think about it. Tina asked me to warn you not to start talking about buying plush toys."
"I see. So Tina thought I'd be the type to buy plush toys."
In that case, I couldn't very well not live up to her expectations. First I'd have to find the knight who gave her the rabbit plush toy and find out the store's name. That plush toy had such a nice texture. I definitely wanted to line up several of those fluffy rabbits in different colors.
...No, Tina had worried that taking care of them would be a hassle.
If I thought about Tina carrying them around all the time, maybe it would be better to give up on fur and go with fabric plush toys that could be washed even if they got a little dirty. In that case, maybe I should give up on rabbits and go with a different animal.
"...She looks young because of the way she talks, but she's a smart kid. Don't you think she wouldn't be happy with something like a plush toy?"
Alf said in a somewhat exasperated tone. Tina was a smart and sensible child, but a child is a child.
"For a normal girl her age, there's no way she wouldn't be happy with a plush toy."
"Normal girls can't live alone with Aurelia, and there's no way Aurelia would like that."
That had a strange persuasiveness to it. Aurelia, famous for being difficult and misanthropic, hadn't done anything like swinging her staff around and chasing after Tina. She complained that my work was sloppy, but she ate Tina's failed pancakes without complaint. What was more, she even showed kindness like baking scones for Tina.
"...There was once when Aurelia wanted Tina."
"That's a good thing, isn't it? Let's send Tina back to Aurelia."
It had long been considered a problem to have Aurelia live alone in the valley. Even if it was a child, if someone could be placed by Aurelia's side, the people who needed her medicine could feel at least a little reassured. Having an adult stay with her would be the most reassuring option, though.
"Tina is my little sister."
She was a precious little sister entrusted to me by my name-giver. I didn't want to lock her away in Waiyakku Valley for her whole life.
"She's an orphan, isn't she. You're not blood-related."
It was too logical a rebuttal.
"...You sure know how to say unpleasant things."
"It's the truth. Weren't you talking about looking for her relatives in the first place?"
Tina herself had pointed this out too. Since I planned to let her go if her relatives were found, don't spoil her too much. Keep in mind that it might all go to waste, don't buy her too many things.
"Relatives, huh... Just looking should be easy enough. Saromon-sama was a knight."
"A knight, huh... Then searching the registry from that era should do it in one shot."
Even just within Grenore Fortress there were quite a few knights, but compared to the number of soldiers, they were less than a tenth as many. Only selected elites could become knights. Since their numbers were limited, searching the registry wasn't impossible.
"Even if it were just within Grenore Fortress, this year we shouldn't invite the Vice Commanders of the three fortresses to the summer tournament. I could request a copy of the registry when I report that to the capital."
This year an infectious disease had broken out within the fortress, so it was better not to invite knights from other fortresses. The summer tournament was an annual event where the Black Knights tested their skills, but in recent years, the Vice Commanders from the three other fortresses where I had become Commander had been coming to Grenore Fortress to challenge me. If they could beat me in this tournament, they were supposed to be able to claim the title of Commander at their own fortresses, but this year I couldn't even give them that opportunity. I felt a little sorry about it, but I had no intention of losing, and this year there was the unavoidable circumstance of the disease. The Vice Commanders of the three fortresses would just have to bear with it.
"...Saromon-sama's armor was white."
When I was a child, I was being transported by slave traders when a knight saved me. I rarely told that story to others, and I had told Tina as well. But I hadn't told Tina the color of the armor Saromon was wearing at the time.
Black Knights in black armor were selected from among commoners. White Knights in white armor were what noble sons became.
In other words, Saromon, a White Knight in white armor back then, was a noble's son. And Tina, Saromon's daughter, was also a noble's daughter.
"Well... that makes it even easier to search."
Alf, realizing what I was getting at, sighed with a faraway look in his eyes. Compared to the number of soldiers, the number of Black Knights was small, but compared to the number of Black Knights, the number of White Knights was even smaller. Without even needing to check the registry, I could just ask a friendly noble by bringing up Saromon's name and be done with it.
"Honestly, I don't want to search. I already think of her completely as my little sister."
"Searching is absolute. It would be more troublesome if it came out that we knew she was a noble's daughter and kept quiet... no, it's better to set up the appearance of 'we were searching' early on."
"If only Jean-Jacques hadn't taken that ring..."
I had planned to check what kind of people Tina's noble relatives were, and then tell her everything. After that, if Tina wanted to become a noble, I had planned to dig up that ring and take her to her relatives. But because Jean-Jacques had taken Saromon's ring, it became difficult to prove that Tina was Saromon's daughter. If that was all, I could just raise her under my care, but if Saromon's ring unintentionally fell into the hands of her relatives, there was a possibility they might come searching for Saromon if they had business with him. In that case, I wouldn't have time to investigate whether they were people I could entrust Tina to.
"She's a relative Saromon-sama never even mentioned to her beforehand. I'm not confident I can entrust Tina to them."
According to Tina, it seemed the only information about her grandfather that Saromon had told her was that 'he had the same hair color as me.' It must have been a household where a noble's son running away to elope and hiding in a poor village like Meillu Village would be considered happier. I couldn't imagine Saromon would want Tina to return to a house like that.
"Either way, it's Tina who chooses."
Even when Alf concluded it like that, I couldn't argue.
Someday I had to tell Tina that she was a noble's daughter. I knew that, but I didn't want to say it. I liked my life with a little sister who saw me off at the front gate when I left the mansion and welcomed me home with "welcome home" when I returned. I didn't want to lose this peaceful life with family (Tina) now.
...But someday, I really would have to tell her.
Holding a coiled-up emotion deep in my gut, I finished the handover work to go home. If any incident occurred, a messenger knight would come to the mansion through the back gate, but matters that could be decided without the fortress lord were allocated to Alf and others remaining at the fortress. That was what the handover work was for.
When the handover was done, I walked through the West Wing on my way back, doubling as a patrol. The West Wing corridor, where Tina had received such a warm welcome during the day, still had talk of Tina drifting out from it even though hours had passed. My ears caught one of them, and I stopped. It went something like...
"Did you see? Tina-chan on her way out! She was hugging the plush toy I gave her like this... squeezing it tight, it was so cute~"
"The one Tina-chan carried back herself was only the plush toy I gave her!"
"Must mean she was happiest with the plush toy I gave her..."
And so on. It seemed the giver of the rabbit plush toy was boasting to the other knights whose gifts hadn't been carried back. That his gift had been the most appreciated.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't annoyed. But getting angry because someone had given Tina a gift she liked more would be too pathetic for a big brother, so I pushed my irritation down into the pit of my stomach. When I silently stood behind the giver of the plush toy, the face of a knight who seemed to have been subjected to endless boasting went pale. Noticing that expression, the giver turned around and met my eyes. I felt like the color drained from his face with a whoosh.
...Hmm, that felt a little satisfying.
I went to the store I had extracted from the plush toy giver and bought a plush toy I fell in love with at first sight. It was a bit pricey, but it felt like the smoldering emotion from before had cleared up a little.
...Maybe it was good to splurge once in a while.
When I was a child, I admired the Black Knights who protected the city, and fortunately I was able to become one of those knights I admired. I wanted to become a knight who could help people like Saromon, and I just kept honing myself, swinging my sword, and before I knew it I was entrusted with a fortress. Somewhere along the way I had become someone with a decent income, but I had no real hobbies, and I almost never used it because it was work, work, work. Since taking in Tina, I felt like I had finally started learning to spend money a little.
When I knocked the front door knocker, Bart opened the door from inside. Bart, who usually said nothing to the master of the house, widened his eyes a little in surprise at what was in my arms.
"Welcome home, Leonardo-sama. Allow me to take your luggage."
"No, it's fine. More importantly, let Tina open the door for me."
"Very well."
It was a short exchange, but he seemed to understand what I wanted. Bart closed the door, and at the same time, I heard Tina's voice.
From behind the front door, I could hear Tina's young voice and Bart's voice.
--Huh? Me open door?
--Yes. Today, please be the first one to welcome Leonardo-sama, young lady.
--Okay~
Guided by Bart, Tina obediently opened the door.
"Welcome home, Leo... Wooooooaaaahh!?"
I heard Tina's voice from a slightly low position, then she let out a thoroughly bewildered cry and the door slammed shut. I had meant to surprise Tina, but I never imagined she would be this surprised.
"...Tina? It's me, Leonardo."
I knocked on the closed door and called out to Tina on the other side. There was no answer. I pressed my ear to the door to try and sense what was happening inside, but I could hear her saying something without making out the content.
--So that's how it is. I kinda expected it, but so that's how you play it.
I could tell it was Tina's voice, but her muttering was too quiet to really make out. Still, I somehow got the sense that she was putting her hand to her forehead in exasperation.
"...Welcome home, Leonyaldo-san."
I don't think I waited even a minute. Tina, having apparently composed herself, finally opened the door. She had let out a strange scream and closed the door once, but now she was completely calm. She just wouldn't meet my eyes. She stared at what I held in my hands, bewilderment seeping from her whole body.
"Here, Tina. A present."
"Ah, thank you very mush..."
When I held out the newly bought plush toy to Tina, she hesitantly reached out, then immediately lowered her hand. She circled around me with the plush toy, going to its right, then its left.
...Was she silently happy? Was she silently savoring her joy while her body was still excited and energized?
I waited a while, but Tina wouldn't take the plush toy. When I held it out once more, Tina, as if making up her mind, thrust both arms into the sides of the plush toy. She tried to hug it, and went plop, falling on her bottom. Since I had taken Alf's advice and gone with a bear instead of a rabbit, it looked like Tina was being attacked by a bear.
"...It's too big!"
Tina crawled out from under the bear plush toy and stomped on my foot in anger. Fortunately, since she wasn't wearing the shoes with reinforced toes, it didn't hurt much. She probably knew that, which was why she was putting all her anger into it. When I stood up the plush toy that had fallen down with Tina, its head came up to around my chin. The plush toy had mechanisms in its limbs so you could extend its arms or bend its legs to sit it down, and with its legs extended it was easily taller than me. It was no wonder Tina said it was too big.
"Something this big has presence, don't you think?"
"Too big, I can't carry it!"
Tina was huffily angry, but even her way of getting angry was so cute that I felt sorry but I understood how that boy the other day felt. The feeling of wanting to tease and make a cute child cry and the feeling of wanting to surprise Tina were probably very similar.
Naturally Tina couldn't carry it, so I carried the plush toy to her room. When I tried to take it to the attic she liked so much, she stopped me. The reason was that a plush toy taller than me would only be in the way in the narrow attic she loved.
In the end, the giant bear plush toy was carried into Tina's third-floor room, which she almost never used. It was placed on the also almost-never-used bed, so it could be used as a pillow.
Bart later told me that on days when I came home late, Tina would sometimes sit using the bear plush toy as a backrest, or sleep in her third-floor room using its legs as a pillow. I had made her angry on the day of purchase by it being too big, but it seemed she liked it after all, which was for the best.
[Author's Note]
I'll fix typos and omissions tonight. No update tomorrow.
Typos and omissions I found have been fixed.