Germania (3): The Jealous Junior

"It's a girl's name, isn't it♥?"

"......Huh?"

What the hell was that voice? It was scary as fuck.

I was startled. Maybe because Larilura's voice tones were so distinctive and varied, I often found myself surprised, thinking she could produce even sounds like that. But the only time she'd lowered her voice like this was when the bug boss had tried to grab me and kill me.

Larilura put her hands behind her back and tilted her head to the side.

"Isn't it strange? You can even hear the bed from the guest room. Is she not just a freeloader but a new family member? But from the look on senior's face, it doesn't seem like that either."

Her verbal sword came slashing in like a first-rate inspector's technique. I nearly got flustered and started babbling, but my mouth—its reflexes sharpened from years of adventurer work—fired back an answer.

"She's a freeloader, a freeloader. I just happened to meet her by chance, and it looks like she'll be joining our party from now on. So get along with her too, yeah?"

"Senior, come on! Why are you worrying about something like that?"

—Brightly.

Larilura smiled.

But fuck, if you're going to smile, at least smile with your eyes too. Only her mouth curved while the corners of her eyes stayed flat, making her look like a doll. Was it because she wasn't wearing makeup and had changed into casual clothes? The fear was real.

"Am I in any position to butt in about who stays at senior's house? As for me, I didn't want to impose by staying at the newlyweds' home without any tact, so I'm just a colleague who stays at the inn, counting one sheep~ two sheep~ until I fall asleep."

"No, that's......"

I had no idea what to say. Veronica had a hard time living anywhere else, so I'd let her stay at our house—in Bicorn mode she couldn't book an inn and we had a deep connection—but here Larilura was, getting all sulky about it.

'Wait, if she's become a member of the Mage Guild, she wouldn't need to stay at an inn......'

I was pretty sure the Mage Guild provided dormitories for official members. That's what I thought, but then a spark of realization hit me. Of course, her dorm room might not be assigned yet, and our house was an awfully long way from the Mage Guild.

A sensitive girl at that age, living alone in a place with no acquaintances. The desire not to live by herself in that cutthroat mage guild, far from the older brother and sister figures she was close to, might be reason enough to endure the financial loss, right?

—Thud. Roll, roll.

An innocent roadside pebble was kicked by the heel of Larilura's shoe.

"Yeees~. I don't know who this Veronica person is, but there might be circumstances I'm not aware of. She might be more reliable than me. Yes, that's right~. I understand everything~? What could I possibly gain from making things difficult for senior? Even if I got permission to stay at senior's house this way, it'd just stay awkward the whole time. I'm not an idiot; complaining wouldn't change anything. Right?"

Larilura meticulously framed her own behavior as foolish.

"Hmph~. I hate senior and all the sisters. I'll have thirty seconds of hatred time starting now~."

Then, as if she couldn't hold it any longer, she let out a breath.

Thirty seconds? Even while feeling sorry, the ridiculously short time limit was so funny that I couldn't help speaking up.

"Not three minutes but thirty seconds. That's pretty short."

"It can't be helped. Three minutes would leave an impression. I can make the audience remember my face in three minutes, you know? Hmm, but I've already used ten seconds."

Larilura energetically lifted her heels and ruffled my hair. It wasn't styled by anyone, so it didn't matter much, but she swept my messed-up bangs back into an all-back style.

"This is definitely the coolest look on you."

Then she laughed like a goofball.

—Swish.

As if satisfied, Larilura withdrew her hand. When my bangs fell back down, I roughly combed them with my fingers. Larilura covered her nose and mouth with both hands that had touched my hair and curved her eyes into playful crescents.

"Senior. I only hated you for exactly thirty seconds with no lingering feelings, okay? So you can't hate me either♡?"

"You sure know how to worry over nothing."

There was no way I'd hate her over something like that. When I answered readily, Larilura smiled as if relieved. Then, looking impatient, she took the lead.

"Senior~ let's hurry! I hate the cold!"

"Couldn't agree more."

I shoved my hands into my pockets and followed after Larilura.

When we got home, a cat greeted us at the entrance.

"Nyaang."

"Nyaang my ass."

How dare this low-level cat imitation try to fool Lord Nord, the master of pro-nyaang language. When I scolded it, the cat laughed like a person.

—Flash!

The glossy-furred cat used warp evolution to form-change into a Bicorn divine race. It was Veronica, of course.

"Why are you in cat form again? You said you keep suffering curse side effects except in horse form."

"Why? Isn't this the animal you like? ……Right?"

Veronica answered confidently, then asked as if suddenly unsure.

"No, I do like it, but there's no point transforming into something I like. Just stay however you want."

"Hehe. As long as it's cute, it's fine. Or would a dog be better?"

"Do whatever you want. I've had enough of being treated like a dog for one day."

Veronica laughed and brushed out the hem of her dress. Come to think of it, that dress shouldn't exist in her transformed state. Was it some kind of magic?

—Tap tap.

At that moment Larilura knocked on my back like she was knocking on someone else's door.

"What?"

"Um, senior? Didn't you say I knew her too? This is my first time meeting her."

"You don't remember? You know, the one I brought with me when we escaped the circus troupe."

"The circus troupe?"

—Crash!

It felt like psychedelic pink lightning had struck behind her head. Larilura clapped a hand over her mouth in shock and cried out.

"Rosina! You've already grown so beautifully!"

"......You?"

Hey, Bicorn. Don't look at me with eyes that say this child has a disease in her head.

When we reacted that way, Larilura straightened her expression and said,

"Can't you at least play along with my jokes? The way both of you turned so serious makes me look like I have a terribly regrettable brain."

"I can tell your sense of humor is seriously regrettable."

"Ahaha♡! Just you wait! I'll come back stronger."

Larilura answered seriously, as if Veronica's words had wounded a clown's pride. She was a circus girl, not a comedian.

"Anyway, what a surprise☆! I heard the black magician senior defeated last time was actually a unicorn transformed into human form, but does that mean Miss Bicorn here can use transformation magic too~?"

Larilura spoke with open fascination as she approached Veronica. That was when it happened.

My hawk-like eyes caught the way Veronica's fine hairs stood on end. A double allergy attack from the person in question plus Larilura!

Overlapped curses made Veronica shriek.

"W-wait! I told you not to approach me!!"

"......Ah."

The shrill scream reminded Larilura of the Bicorns' (non-)virgin radar, and she froze like a mannequin.

"S-sorry. I completely forgot."

"Ahem. It's fine. I need to get used to enduring this curse anyway, so there's no need to apologize. Having you help like this every now and then isn't bad."

"Help?"

Since I hadn't explained the situation properly, Larilura couldn't understand what Veronica meant. Veronica's eyes seemed to ask how much she should reveal.

"Let's go inside first. We'll sit and talk. Franc should be back soon too."

I led Larilura inside and explained about the Bicorn clan. I left out my own secrets and anything about being Odin's successor, so it didn't take long.

"Hmm…? So both unicorns and bicorns were originally humanoid, but a curse turned you into horses? And since senior can undo it, you're staying here to rely on him?"

"That's right. In exchange for staying here, she helps Nord or gave us the rune stones she possessed."

To supplement the explanation, I took out the rune stone from the Eye of the Creator. Larilura tilted her head.

"I get the general idea. Veronica… Miss? Is it okay to call you that?"

"Call me whatever is comfortable."

"Okay. Is that also why Miss Veronica is going to Germania with us?"

"It is. I intend to rely on you until we find the release method. It is too early to speak of what comes after my clan's curse is lifted."

"I understand. Thank you for telling me so readily."

Larilura expressed gratitude to Veronica for openly revealing her race's circumstances. It was proper etiquette after being told a story tied to her entire species' fate.

'It didn't seem like that big a secret, though.'

I recalled the horned horses in the Bicorn sanctuary who had treated me surprisingly coolly. It didn't feel like revealing their situation to other races was taboo—they simply hadn't been able to convey the message or had given up on finding the release method. Revealing the sanctuary's location would still be out of the question, of course.

"I'm back. Oh, you were in the middle of talking?"

Just then Franc returned home. She had gone to order furniture.

When the three of us stood up at the same ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time like bells on a string, Franc gave a wry smile.

"Why are you all like that? Stay seated comfortably. If you jump up every time I come home, I'll be too scared to even go outside."

"Come on. The owner of the house has returned, so we should stand."

"Since when was I the owner of this house?"

"It's always been Franc's house. Because I'm yours."

"......You spout embarrassing lines so easily," Veronica sighed.

But Franc liked it, and if Franc hated it I would never have said it.

"Hehe. The furniture won't arrive until lunchtime."

Even after my cheesy line, Franc spoke with pure happiness written across her face. As long as our Franc's smile never faded, I was happy too. It would be nice if the newlywed life lasted forever.

"We'll have time until lunch, then."

I muttered to myself. It wasn't that I had nothing to do or free time. I still had to tackle the rune stone intensive course, and I needed to learn dream-manipulation magic from Veronica. Even if nothing was urgent, there was an overwhelming amount of work. It was better than having too much time on my hands.

"......Ah, are you done talking? Should I head back now?"

—Fidget, fidget.

Larilura asked while reading the mood. It felt like she was holding back something she wanted to say. Looking at her, something occurred to me.

"Larilura. About that request I made last time—have you organized the unknown words?"

"Net? Ah, yes, yes! Here, I wrote them down like this!"

—Flip flip flip!

Larilura pulled out a notebook identical to mine and showed me her notes. They were ancient Romanian words she hadn't been able to interpret from the original text of Crown Crown.

"You brought the original too? If you have time today, let's do the ancient Romanian lesson."

Back when she was staying at the inn, Larilura had made that request. After that she'd found a place to live, and a whole month had passed without her bringing it up again, so it had been left unresolved.

Larilura glanced at me cautiously.

"......You're busy. Wouldn't I be bothering you?"

"How many hours do you think teaching you would take for me to worry about that? It's a bit late, but with a small book like that, a week would be more than enough to translate it."

"T-then please teach me."

—Bow.

When Larilura bowed her head, Franc spoke up as well.

"Veronica? Come to my room with me. There are various things I want to learn."

"Ah, yes, let's do that. You spoke well. I was feeling bored and restless."

"Yeah. Nord, call us if you need anything?"

The two of them went up to the second floor. The house where the otherworld version of Heungbu had lived had a whopping six rooms on the second floor alone! Thanks to the long-living stone house design, even after setting aside three people's worth of guest rooms, two rooms remained.

"......Senior? Are we doing it in your room?"

Larilura raised her hand like an outsider girl volunteering for hallway cleaning duty and asked.

'No way in hell.'

I recalled the time I'd laid her on the bed still stained with the juices of love between Franc and me. The master bedroom still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carried last night's traces as thickly as the cheese on a Chicago pizza. Even with magic, there was no guarantee. My Juicedra's breath could reach the walls. Take a minor into a place like that? Ridiculous. The answer flew out immediately.

"My room's too messy. Let's do it here. If it gets cold we'll light the fireplace."

"The fireplace? Puhuhu. It's still autumn, senior?"

Larilura spoke as if my improvised answer was amusing. Even I had to admit it was funny. It was cold enough to wear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a coat, but the fireplace's heating power was so insanely strong that anyone would sweat buckets unless it was the dead of winter.

"If your stupidity exceeds even my imagination, I might get goosebumps and feel cold."

"Wow! That's so annoying☆!"

Still, being the only one teased didn't sit well with her, so I decided to counterattack roughly. Larilura pulled out the Crown Crown book and notebook with an expression that made it impossible ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to tell whether she was angry or happy.

But the results of the stupidity test (liberal arts version) that followed were completely different from what I expected. Larilura was smarter than I'd thought.

'Dett?'

It was the traditional K-style cramming education method—making her memorize vocabulary and then interpret the main text—but Larilura's memorization ability seemed better than mine back in my prime as a college entrance exam student.

"Hehe♡! How is it? Are you surprised?"

When I looked at her in astonishment, Larilura held up a V-sign next to her face.

"Are you jealous? Are you envious? You can bite your nails in frustration at your cute and smart junior's flawless perfection, you know? My heart is wide! I'll overlook everything!"

"Even if your head is good, I have no reason to feel jealous, but I do admit you're smart."

Come to think of it, there had been signs. Larilura's speed at learning magic and her application ability had always been incredible. If mana control was an area of innate sense, then Larilura really was smart. She would probably compete for the top spot in overall brain performance among our party members.

"At this level, we could have started a month ago. Why didn't you ask sooner? If you'd asked while I was waiting for my promotion exam, you'd already be done studying."

"Y-yes? Ah, um, well, you were busy too, and like I said before, I felt bad about visiting the newlywed home for something so trivial."

When I asked abruptly, Larilura stammered and let her words trail off. My elite brain spun quickly. Three thousand percent accumulated social awareness analyzed Larilura's thoughts.

'The translation study was just an excuse.'

I'd made a joke earlier about dying in a distant land, but here was someone actually living alone, earning her own keep in a faraway country. Larilura, who had been traveling the world after leaving Romania. It might be familiar to her, but she was still living in a land with no connections and no acquaintances. For a minor, it might be mentally exhausting. I had no way of knowing what Lady Alexandra had been thinking when she left Larilura behind. But since Larilura had plenty of money, she could return to Romania if she wanted. Of course, Larilura had stubbornly stayed, but that didn't mean her heart was at ease.

'Of course not.'

They say only those who have experienced it understand the hardships of studying abroad. I had no personal sense of it, but even without that sense, the facts were clear.

'In Sargadis, the only people Larilura can trust and rely on are us.'

But we had become bound together as a married couple. If she felt there was no place for her and that she was being left out, it was natural for her to feel anxious. It might be my overthinking, but what did it matter?

I lightly patted Larilura on the back.

"Larilura. On days when you have nothing to do, come by our house often."