Just What Talent Could It Be?
Just what kind of talent was it?
"My lord, the craftsmen have departed."
"...They've already left?"
That was surprisingly quick. I'd expected a custom commission to take a bit longer.
Had they used some special crafting technique unique to master artisans?
This was a fantasy world, so the existence of special crafting methods wouldn't be all that strange.
...Well, it didn't really matter. The production had finished quickly, so I could just think of it as a good thing and move on.
At any rate, Aria's blanket and pillow had been replaced.
It meant I had successfully fulfilled my role as the reliable backer of a nadena-de novel protagonist.
But... so what now?
Truth be told, even if I put it that way, it wasn't as if there was nothing left to do. I'd already made a promise to talk about novels again next time, and the project of finding hobbies Aria might enjoy wasn't finished yet either.
One might wonder what I meant by saying the hobby-finding project wasn't done when I'd essentially already found her a hobby in reading. But... there was no law that said you could only have one hobby, right?
On the contrary, since I was currently playing the role of the reliable backer for a nadena-de novel protagonist, I didn't think Aria should be satisfied with just a single hobby.
The next hobby... instruments would be the safe choice, wouldn't they? But instruments felt more like something you learned than something you enjoyed... Personally, I thought board games or card games might be better than instruments.
Especially the fact that you couldn't play board games or card games alone was, if anything, a tremendous advantage.
Why was that an advantage?
Who exactly would Aria play board games or card games with inside this castle? Would she grab the servants and ask them to play?
Right. The only possible opponent was me.
And when it came to closing the distance and becoming closer, board games and card games were so outstandingly effective that doubting it would be foolish.
...They were outstanding, right?
It was a bit awkward to immediately start doubting after saying that doubting would be foolish... but the truth was, I'd never made friends through board games or card games, so I couldn't feel completely confident.
Well, at least fun was guaranteed. That alone was enough of a merit.
Of course, I didn't know what famous board games or card games there were in this fantasy world—that is, the Kaisis Empire. And there was nothing like that in Ivan Cluers' knowledge either. It simply hadn't been among his interests.
But that didn't matter much. I was a resident of this fantasy world now, but I was also a former modern person. And the memories from when I'd lived as a modern person remained intact. That meant the knowledge of board games and card games I'd played as a modern person was still in my head.
So I could just order them to make the ones that weren't too hard to recreate yet were definitely fun—things like Monopoly or Halli Galli, from the games in my head.
And if I was going to make them, even if it took a little longer, I should make as many varieties as possible. Then give them all to Aria. Rather than making one and giving it, then making another and giving it, just to hand them over as quickly as possible, making a bunch at once even if it was a bit delayed would have a bigger impact, wouldn't it?
And when a character playing the reliable backer role for a nadena-de novel protagonist was going to do something for the protagonist, going a little overboard was the golden rule...!
"In that case, I'll have people make as many different board games and card games as possible..."
Now I was starting to want to get a look at the overpowered elements of a nadena-de novel protagonist as well.
If I knew Aria's talent, I could artificially create a stage for that talent to shine, and station people around who'd been ordered in advance to act shocked and amazed by Aria's talent...
She definitely had a talent. That much was certain. An ordinary ducal young lady could never have come all the way from the Frunhel Duchy to my territory without being discovered.
...But I had no idea what that talent was.
Was the talent that important?
It wasn't, really. If I intended to remain a kind and selfless adult, that is.
But I had no intention of ending things as nothing more than a kind and selfless adult. That didn't mean I was going to become some kind of bad and selfish adult either. If you asked me whether I wanted to be a good person or a bad person, I was the type who would answer without hesitation that I wanted to be a good person.
So what I wanted to say was... I didn't want a relationship where I only gave one-sidedly to Aria. I wanted a relationship where Aria and I both won. I hoped that the kindness I showed Aria wouldn't end as mere kindness, but would become the cultivation of a talented individual, a cool-headed investment by a leader looking to the future.
My decision to go the nadena-de novel route was partly because I wished for the happiness of Aria, who I suspected had been abused at the duchy, but the reason I just explained also accounted for a certain portion of it. If Aria was a nadena-de novel protagonist, then she'd show the most stable and reliable growth in a nadena-de novel environment, right?
I was well aware that kindness that expected something in return didn't look very good. That was why I'd said I had no intention of ending as nothing more than a kind and selfless adult.
Of course, since I didn't want to be remembered as a bad adult by Aria, I had no plans to pressure her with things like "I've done this much for you, so you have to do at least this much in return."
And what if Aria grew up into an ungrateful person?
...Then I'd just have to teach her well so she didn't grow up that way, right?
Anyway... that was why Aria's talent was important to me. That was the conclusion of this story.
"Just what is Aria's talent... Does she have a talent for magic, as befits a fantasy world? It'd be nice if she had a talent for the sword, but..."
I was genuinely curious. Just what kind of talent was it?
I wanted to ask Aria directly if I could. The fact that she'd come from the duchy to our territory without being discovered meant it was safe to assume she knew what her own talent was and how to use it. Of course, it wasn't impossible that she'd used her talent without realizing it herself... but honestly, that possibility seemed low.
So why not just ask?
...It would be her biggest secret. If I tried to dig it out by asking, there was no way she'd answer readily. It would only make her wary. If I really wanted to ask, the right way was to wait until I'd become truly close with Aria first.
And my personal prediction was that Aria's talent would reveal itself before then.
A talent that couldn't be hidden. People with outstanding talent or ability, even if they tried to hide, would eventually stand out. So if Aria's talent was truly outstanding—the kind that suited a nadena-de novel protagonist—then even without me trying to find out what it was, it would naturally come to light.
And... it wasn't as if the world would end if I didn't figure out her talent today, right? So there was no need to be impatient at all.
None at all...
"...Still, I am curious."
Apparently, a person's curiosity simply couldn't be helped.
What on earth could it be...?
"...Yes, thank you for telling me. You can go now. You've worked hard."
When I said that, the animals left as they were.
...I'm tired. And not just ordinarily tired—so tired it was putting me in a bad mood.
It couldn't be helped. I'd asked the animals for a favor, after all. I'd asked knowing it would make me tired, so this was the fatigue I had to bear.
"...I shouldn't have asked."
Last time, because I couldn't trust the servants' kindness and because that kindness made me anxious, I'd asked the animals to find the servants talking about me, listen to what they said, and report it back to me. And this time, I'd made the same request of the animals.
But the difference from last time was that last time there had been a reason—I couldn't trust the kindness and it made me anxious—whereas this time I'd asked the animals without even that kind of reason.
Why on earth had I done that? Even though I knew asking the animals would make me tired. What had I wanted to know so badly that I'd made such a request of the animals?
I...
...Anyway, I'd ended up asking the animals, and I'd learned that the craftsman who'd made my blanket and pillow wasn't just a famous craftsman, but the one who handled the bedding for the imperial family.
"...It's different."
Fiddling with the changed blanket, the words slipped out before I knew it.
Was I feeling it was more special because I'd learned it was made by the craftsman who handled the imperial family's bedding? I didn't know.
But I thought I understood one thing. That simply because I'd had a restless night, or because it would be better to pay a little more attention to the sleeping environment, one did not summon the craftsman who handled the imperial family's bedding.
It was excessive. Far too excessive. This was a kindness and a luxury that even a younger sister had never enjoyed.
And so... I had to admit it now. The kindness Ivan Cluers showed Aria Frunhel was by no means ordinary kindness.
'This is the first time I've seen His Lordship treat someone so gently.'
I had no choice but to believe the head butler's words now.
Yes, the kindness Ivan Cluers showed Aria Frunhel was special.
Then why? Why did Ivan Cluers show Aria Frunhel a special level of kindness?
I posed the question to myself. And what floated up in my mind was the commonality between Margrave Ivan and me. The commonality of having lost our mothers and being hated by our families.
If Margrave Ivan was also somewhat aware of that commonality...?
...Then, what emotion had Margrave Ivan felt when he recognized the commonality? Had he felt pity? Or had he felt relief, like I had?
It was difficult. My head was a mess. The fatigue seemed to be scrambling my thoughts. But strangely, the thoughts wouldn't stop.
I wanted to find the reason. The reason.
The head butler had told me I could become an excellent understander of Margrave Ivan. An excellent understander. A special person.
Could I become a special person to Margrave Ivan? Had Margrave Ivan noticed that fact as well, and that was why he was showing me such excessive kindness? Because I was someone who would become a special person?
...I don't know.
Is it all right to believe in a person's kindness? Is it all right to believe in Ivan Cluers' kindness? Won't it suddenly disappear one day?
My eyes are closing. I'm slipping into a half-asleep state.
Just before falling asleep, I muttered without realizing it.
"...Do I want to become one?"