The Patran Festival (1)
"...Are you sure about this?"
The moment I announced my intention to attend the Patran family festival, Benedict's face clouded over with unmistakable bewilderment.
It was a strange thing to witness. This was a man who normally granted his daughter's every request, and yet here he was, hesitating.
I had a pretty good idea why.
Countless acts of tyranny Lucy had once committed in high society.
From Benedict's perspective—the man who'd had to clean up after every last one of them—how could he possibly welcome this news?
And it wasn't as if he could simply pull rank to stop me. I was proposing to visit the Ducal House of Patran, of all places.
Naturally, the moment I mentioned the festival, his old memories would flash before his eyes like a spinning lantern, and he would scramble for some way to talk me out of it. That was only to be expected.
Unfortunately for Benedict's poor stomach, I had no intention of giving this up.
The quest that Pathetic Chief God had dangled in front of me was reason enough, but there was something that mattered even more.
My favorite character asked me to come play with her!
You want me to give THAT up!?
As a hardcore veteran and devoted fan of Soul Academy?!
Don't make me laugh! Absolutely not happening!
In the end, Benedict failed to dissuade me. How could this devoted girl-dad of an uncle say no when his daughter simply wanted to have fun with a friend?
Instead, Benedict gently took my hand in his enormous palm—one big enough to swallow my head whole—and made an earnest plea.
"Lucy. Once my business here is finished, I will make my way to Patran Territory as well. So please, I beg you—do not cause any trouble before I arrive."
His request—if you must cause incidents, at least wait until I'm there to clean them up—bore the unmistakable scars of everything Benedict had endured over the years.
I couldn't bring myself to add a single word to that, so I could only nod silently in response.
After that came the preparations.
The Ducal House selected someone to attend to my personal needs, assigned me an escort, found someone to look after the Face-Connoisseur Fox, packed the clothes I would wear there, and I steeled my resolve while staring at the garish, flashy monstrosities that had once made up Lucy's wardrobe.
Thanks to how swiftly all these arrangements proceeded, I arrived in Patran Territory two evenings before the festival was set to begin.
"It's been a while, Lady Aln."
Nearly two months had passed, yet Joy looked hardly any different.
If I had to point something out, I suppose her training had paid off and trimmed away some of her softness.
She was already pretty to begin with, and now that she'd taken up proper care of herself, she'd gotten even prettier.
At this point, wasn't she eating the game's official illustrations for breakfast?
I was just thinking what a good call it had been to possess Lucy's body when Joy spoke up with a wry smile.
"I've been hearing stories about you everywhere, you know. Truly. Wherever I go, you simply refuse to stay quiet, do you?"
Stories about me? What was there to spread?
I'd been cooped up in the territory ever since returning from Menesteil.
...Don't tell me. The auction house incident got out?!
That black history—the one where Carl thrashes around lamenting that he missed witnessing it every time Erin so much as hints at it?!
Avery! I trusted your cowardice, and THIS is how you betray me?!
I will never forgive you.
I'll show you just how terrifying the phrase "mutually assured destruction" truly is.
"You trampled a foreign count's heir, they say?"
I'd been grinding my teeth in anticipation, but Joy was referring to something else entirely.
Before the auction house. The time I'd beaten down Count Georg's heir at Menesteil.
"Hearing the story, I did think it was rather satisfying, but still—you went too far."
Count Georg's humiliated heir had tried to control the rumors, but you can't stop the mouths of the masses.
The tale of how he'd flirted with me without knowing his place and received a proper Hard Lesson had apparently spread far enough to reach even the nobility of foreign lands.
What a relief. The full context had made it into the story intact.
Considering Lucy's reputation, it could easily have been twisted into "she beat him up just because she didn't like his face."
"In high society circles, they're saying Lady Aln picked the fight first, actually."
Ah. So it's already been twisted, huh?
Is my reputation sinking yet again?
Haah. I risked my life to stop the Evil God's unsealing, and THIS is the treatment I get.
"Don't worry. I correct the record every single time I hear one of those stories."
Watching Joy puff out her shoulders as if to say trust only me, the lingering sting of hurt feelings simply melted away.
That's right. Who cares what people who don't even know me go around saying? As long as the people around me know the truth, that's all that matters.
'Thank you, Joy.'
"Which is exactly why I'm worried. What if you say something airheaded and create some strange new distortion? What if the epicenter of the rumors turns out to be the Airhead Lady herself?"
"Wha—? What?! Why would it get twisted like THAT?!"
Naturally, the Mesugaki Skill showed no interest in conveying my gratitude.
Well, this isn't so bad either. An Airhead Lady being all airheaded is cute.
Since I was visiting another noble's territory, protocol demanded I pay my respects first to the ones who ruled this land—but I couldn't.
Because of a sudden, urgent matter that cropped up this very morning, the Duke and Duchess had departed the territory.
From my standpoint, this was excellent news. I had been desperately looking for a way to postpone meeting the Ducal couple.
Think about the Mesugaki Skill's penalty.
It slaps bizarre nicknames on people regardless of rank or status, without exception.
I have zero idea what it would call the Duke and Duchess!
I'll have to find out eventually, but there's no rule saying it has to be today, is there?
I'm already stressed out thanks to the Pathetic Chief God. I don't need to add more worries on top.
Call it standing in for the Ducal couple, I suppose. At dinner with Joy that evening, I ended up meeting her older brother—Jeff Patran.
"A pleasure, Lady Aln. I am Jeff Patran. I've heard a great deal about you from my sister."
Unlike Joy, whose small awkward edges showed if you looked closely, Jeff was the very picture of nobility straight out of a storybook.
His movements and speech were so impeccably polished that even I—who knew exactly what lay beneath—couldn't help but be impressed.
But his true nature was something else entirely.
Boundlessly generous to those few he acknowledged, yet bone-chillingly cold to anyone outside that circle—this was the kind of man who made you wonder how on earth he and Joy shared blood.
The infamous siscon who mentioned his little sister's name all the way to the very end of his route.
As long as someone like me was a friend Joy cherished, he would doubtless treat me well—but he was not a species I cared to get close to.
I wonder what the Mesugaki Skill will call this one.
On the forums, people just called him "that insane siscon bastard."
Surely it won't go that far? Right?
Please, just don't be hate-inducing. Please.
'Good evening, Lord Patran.'
"Good evening, Sly Young Duke."
Jeff's expression stiffened slightly, but by my standards, this wasn't bad at all.
I've seen far, far worse come pouring out of this mouth.
"Is that what I'm called?"
'I'm sorry. Apparently so.'
"Yes. I believe it is the nickname that suits you best, my lord."
"...Just as Joy described."
Perhaps because Joy was standing right beside me, or perhaps because she had warned him in advance, Jeff merely nodded and said nothing more.
"Lady Aln. Why exactly is my older brother a 'Sly Young Duke'?"
The question came from a different direction entirely.
From Joy's perspective, having only ever seen his good side, the word "sly" appearing in a nickname must have been baffling.
I started to answer her question on reflex, then caught the sharp glint of eyes beside me and hastily changed course.
"It's kind of like why the Airhead Lady is the Airhead Lady~♡"
"...Pardon? What is that supposed to mean?"
That's explanation enough, Joy. I can't say any more than that.
Joy tilted her head in confusion, but I pretended not to see it and picked up my utensils.
I had a feeling that one more careless word would earn me a new enemy for life.
The meal provided by the Ducal House was delicious. Though thanks to Jeff shooting me dagger-glares every time I opened my mouth, I couldn't fully enjoy it.
After dinner, Joy announced she would give me a tour of the Ducal estate.
Excitement bubbling right through her villainess mask—she must have been looking forward to this moment immensely.
Jeff, tactlessly, tried to tag along, but Joy shut that down immediately.
"Older brother. I'm sorry, but I'd like to go around with just the two of us."
"But, Joy—"
"Keep it up and I'm going to start disliking you."
Before the declaration of I hate you, big brother!, Jeff's cunning simply crumbled to dust.
There was something oddly familiar about the sight of him trudging away in dejected defeat.
Ah. I remember now. Benedict does that all the time.
Imagining Benedict, even now slaving away desperately at the pile of work that had backed up, a strange pang of sympathy welled up in me, and I approached Jeff's side.
"Did you have something to say to me, Lady Aln?"
'Don't worry. I won't say anything.'
"Good news for a lord worried his slyness might be found out. My lips are sealed, you see? Probably."
Despite myself, a fresh snicker slipped out, and Jeff's gaze turned complicated.
"I'm afraid I don't follow. Me, sly?"
'Sure. Let's go with that.'
"Cough. Ahem. Yes. If you say so, then so it must be. My so very sly lordship."
When I saw Jeff's hand curl into a fist, I beat a hasty retreat, those words my parting shot.
If I'm already this much of a mess with HIM, what's going to happen when I actually meet the Duke and Duchess?
...Maybe I really should have just come with Benedict.
The next morning, after a delightful day exploring the Ducal mansion with Joy—
Despite the early hour, Joy was already brimming with energy.
"Today I'll show you all the wonderful things in our territory that I couldn't show you last night because it got too late!"
She'd been anticipating this day so much that she'd even written up a full itinerary in her notebook, and the instant breakfast was over, she whisked me straight out of the mansion.
I'd noticed it during our brief walk last evening, but Patran Territory was a remarkably lively place.
Some of it was surely festival excitement, but even before that, the faces of the people were bright.
That would be thanks to the Duke and Duchess—whose faces were terrifying enough to border on frightening, but whose character and abilities were genuinely excellent—governing the territory well.
"Now, this place is..."
Having grown up beloved by such a couple, Joy was a girl who truly knew how to love her own land.
Her affection for this place spilled effortlessly from every word as she introduced the territory.
Perhaps sensing that heart, the territory's people welcomed Joy warmly—warmly enough that they came up to greet her first.
It was the kind of thing I could only envy. The people living in the Aln territory tended to bash their heads straight into the ground the moment they saw my face.
As Joy and I wandered the streets together, my footsteps came to a halt in front of a stall erected for the Patran festival.
It was one of those games where you shot arrowless bolts at a scoring board.
As I stared at it, Joy made the offer first.
"Would you like to give it a try?"
'Sure.'
"Looks pretty janky, but it seems like it'd be fun."
When Joy asked if I could try a round, the stall's owner readily nodded.
The festival hadn't officially started yet, so whatever result I posted shouldn't count toward the quest.
Still, consider it practice—let's loose an arrow or two.
I needed to verify that the Bracelet of Play was actually working, after all.
Receiving the bolts from the owner, I took a light breath and drew back the bowstring.
"Oh ho. Your form is actually proper. Did you study archery somewhere?"
'Nope. Never have.'
"Hmm?"
The moment I released the string, the bolt flew true and struck the target dead center on the 10.
Nice. The Bracelet of Play is working exactly as it should.
Pathetic Chief God!
You've already figured out how you're going to buff my reputation, haven't you?!
Just you wait! I'm coming to collect my reward!