Memory (2)

It was an obvious observation, but in a game like this, young girls and boys were usually drawn to look pretty.

Yes, boys too. The truth was, there were not many ways to draw a kid so that he looked cool. No matter how cool you tried to make him, an adult would still see a child. An elementary schooler saying, "I'll protect you!" only ever came across as cute.

... Yes. Elementary schooler.

Thinking back, my current age was fifteen. That was the number you got if you took the settling age of this body when it was created, added the time I'd lived in this world, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left out the age of the soul inside it.

In Korea, that was the age of a ninth-grader. My appearance, though, didn't look much different from a high schooler. I didn't know whether that was because the in-game modeling had carried over into this world.

Come to think of it, putting kids this young in bunny-girl outfits was completely insane, but...

Because the characters wore bunny-girl costumes and their physical development differed from Earth's, I often forgot, but in the first game, every one of these characters had basically been a kid.

If we hadn't hidden our faces with masks, everyone at the casino would have seen at a glance how young we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were.

Though before that, someone might have recognized that Alice was the imperial princess.

And obviously, the child in front of me, who looked several years younger than I did, appeared unmistakably like an upper-grade elementary schooler or perhaps a first-year middle schooler. Not that this world had properly established the concept of middle school yet.

Her green hair, her clothes that looked like a child-sized butler cosplay, and her striking, delicately pretty face all gave her the kind of presence that would have seemed perfectly natural as a regular character in the original story... but it was a face I had never seen in the original.

Of course not. If I hadn't saved her, she would have been sold off too. If her face hadn't been pretty, she wouldn't have been in that orphanage to begin with.

And then the child looked up at me with emerald eyes and wore a slightly startled expression.

I didn't have Alice's exceptional talent for discerning people's expressions, so I couldn't tell whether that look came purely from surprise at seeing my face or from recognizing that I was "Sylvia Black."

"They are honored guests who will be staying here for several days."

The butler addressed the child.

"Ah, yes."

At the child's immediate reply, the butler's brows drew just slightly together. Evidently, the momentary distractedness had displeased him.

But he did not seem to be someone with so little discretion that he would scold the child in front of us. In fact, he didn't strike me as someone who would raise his voice at anyone at all. Even in front of the butler, this little junior butler didn't seem cowed in the slightest. If she had suffered treatment close to abuse, she wouldn't have been standing so confidently.

The child placed one hand lightly over her heart, clasped the other behind her back, and inclined toward us at the waist. The entire series of motions flowed so smoothly that I could see exactly how much training she had received.

"I am called Daniel, currently training in butlercraft. I am in your care for the days to come."

Of course, she'd probably have almost no reason to personally guide us around, but... ah.

Daniel.

As soon as I heard the name, a memory buried deep inside stirred slowly to the surface. There had been a child with vivid green hair. A very gentle and quiet child. Perhaps it was right to say she had carried a similar air to Claire's. Though she was even younger.

We had all been young. I'd been five, and Claire had been only five, and there had been children even younger than us. All of them had been bought from somewhere or other by that old woman who ran the orphanage.

And they were "merchandise" that she kept until she could resell at a high price later.

Had Daniel followed me closely?

Hmm, I wasn't sure. At the time, nearly all of my attention had been fixed on Claire. I'd treated the other children well, giving them my food or awkwardly making up old stories, but that was all. Plenty of children had followed me, but I was only one person and couldn't take care of every single one.

Still, thinking back, since no child in my memory caused me particular trouble or worry, she must have been one who listened to me well, too.

"Daniel!"

As though reuniting with someone after a long time, Claire nearly darted forward, then caught herself and looked at her mother.

The baroness was watching Claire with a slightly stern expression.

I looked at Claire, too.

Claire had raised her hands a little. It had looked as though she meant to run straight to Daniel and sweep her up in a hug.

But for a fifteen-year-old woman in this world, that would be problematic.

Marriages in the mid-to-late teens were not exactly common in this world, either. But that didn't mean children who entered the academy were still treated like little kids.

In this world, the line between "adult" and "child" was extremely blurred. Stories of a seventeen-year-old lying about his age to join the army spread like heroic tales, while at the same time, when teenagers tried to do something, "real adults" over twenty would appear and tell them that children shouldn't be doing such things.

A human-rights charter or anything of the sort hadn't been created yet. I had no idea whether one ever would be, either.

"Oh, long time no see?"

Claire hastily spread the hands she'd been lifting and waved them earnestly as though that had been her intention all along.

"Ha ha..."

Daniel looked at Claire with a slightly troubled smile, then ducked his head a little.

"It has been a long time, Lady Claire."

"..."

Hearing that, Claire promptly looked dissatisfied.

There was no hint of romantic tension between the two of them. In truth, the situation would have made that difficult. One still appeared young yet at the same time very mature, and the other was still much closer to a child.

Rather than that—

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slowly lifted my gaze and took in the room.

It was a space kept impeccably neat and well-organized. It didn't feel bare from emptiness; there were various belongings, yet everything was tucked precisely into place, which made it feel comfortable.

Inside were two sets of bunk beds. The room had originally been shared by several people, it seemed.

"The other children have all gone to seek different kinds of work. So for the time being, Daniel is the only child residing here."

Catching my glance, the butler answered before I could ask. With a nod of agreement, the baroness inclined her head gently.

Perhaps Claire had also once stayed in a place like this alongside Daniel. Though the rooms would surely have been separated by sex. Still, before she was adopted into the Grace family, they would have been like sisters.

Had they shared hugs without a second thought? Knowing Claire's personality, I suspected they had.

My gaze, which had been drifting through the air, slowly descended again and settled on Daniel's face.

I examined her face carefully.

Whether there were any marks or injuries. Whether she looked unhappy or sorrowful. I didn't quite know why I was searching for such things, but somehow, I felt I had to.

And I found no trace of any of them.

Realizing that, I felt a quiet satisfaction and opened my mouth.

"I trust you've been well."

Asking that without having even properly introduced myself might have been discourteous.

But Daniel answered as if she'd already heard all about me.

"Yes, I have been living comfortably, wanting for nothing."

"Is that so."

I searched for what to say next. How was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I to continue?

"I understand there are... others who came from the same orphanage."

"They are all under the protection of the Grace family. At present, each of them is seeking various kinds of work to repay that kindness."

"Is that so."

I took that to mean that they were all doing well, too.

"..."

I nearly asked, without thinking, whether she remembered my face, then swallowed the question.

I thought I knew the answer without asking.

At first, I had assumed she was simply surprised because a guest like me had suddenly shown up. News that the two imperial princesses would be visiting the estate would already be known to every servant in the territory, after all.

But... the understanding expression that settled on her face had felt a little different from that.

"It is late tonight,"

Slowly, I opened my mouth and carefully continued.

"but if you should find your schedule free tomorrow..."

Even after saying that much, I had to pause for a moment and wonder whether this was the right way to put it,

"would it be possible for you to introduce me to your friends?"

I asked at last.

For just a brief moment, silence hung in the room. It wasn't a tense silence, exactly.

"I will gladly do so."

Daniel answered, bowing his head to me.