Arban, why are you hiwding alone?"
"I wasn't hiding."
"Then?"
I followed from behind as he walked into the garden.
Arban, who had been shy, went inside the woods, but he occasionally looked back to see if I was following him well.
The corners of my mouth twitched as he pretended to not take care of me while doing so. I guess it's not like he hates me. I thought he would hate me because we fought at the dinner table.
"Hey! There's a stone beak there."
"Yes. Irene didn't hit it!"
(Note: Sometimes, she talks in 3rd person. It's a cute thing children in western culture do when they're young.)
"What are you laughing about?"
When I laughed a bit, Arban flinched and then he quickly turned his head. He swept down all the hard-to-walk paths, making the high-grass like an easy-to-walk path of mushed stems.
Although it was said to be a greenhouse garden, the deep part seemed to have been created as an environment wild enough, to some extent that other life forms also lived in the forest-like side of the garden.
It was a bit uncomfortable to walk, but thanks to Arban's care, I was able to follow along without difficulty.
Again, I ran on the road that Arban had made for me.
"I like Arban!"
"W-what are you talking about!"
Arban, whose face was blushing, quickly stepped forward. His ears, visible through his curly black hair, were dyed red.
"Then you don't like Irene?"
"Of course! You idiot."
Huh. Do you really hate me?
I dropped my shoulders sullenly.
While I was walking vigorously behind Arban with my plump feet, water droplets splashed on my sandals.
"Hn?"
I quickly called Arban.
"Arban!"
"What."
"Look at this!"
I'm going to show you something great right now! If you don't watch, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!
As I made a fuss, Arban reluctantly turned to my side with interest.
"What?"
"Look closewly at me!"
I pointed to the puddle that was formed by watering the garden. And jumped across. Arban's expression, who had been watching the scene from beginning to end, changed to a confused gaze.
He seemed to have no idea at which point or how to react.
"I can jump puddles now! That's cool, right?"
As I crossed the puddle beautifully, I felt better again. My uncontrollable mouth fluttered as it went up. While covering both my cheeks and savoring the joy to my heart's content, Arban snorted.
"What are you talking about after jumping over one small puddle?"
"Irene did great, right!"
"You can just avoid things like that, you idiot."
"…I'm not an idiot. It's Arban who doesn't know."
Arban is not a bird, so he doesn't know anything!
I was sad because Arban didn't understand my heart, and my lips popped out.
Now I don't have to be afraid of falling into a puddle like this, and it's so nice to be able to easily avoid the rocks that stand in my way. There was no need to worry about getting lost when going inside deep fields or deep forests, unlike before.
It was all possible after humanization.
When I closed my lips, Arban was embarrassed and did not know what to do.
"H-hey, what's wrong with you?"
"Forget it. Irene is mad!"
Pyo. Pyo. Pyo.
As I passed Arban while heavily stomping my feet, I could feel his presence following up with a small delay. I pretended not to know and kept walking, looking straight ahead, when I saw an elongated red flower fluttering to one side.
"Huh?"
It was an unknown flower that I saw with Rosaria. The flower that seemed to rise high in the sky is now smaller than me. As I happily patted the flowers, Arban, who was staring at me from the side, spoke in a half insecure tone.
"It's smaller than you."
"Right. It's smaller than Irene!"
"Hey, this is smaller than you too."
"Is it really smaller than me?"
The corners of my mouth, which had been closed, gradually rose. Since I felt better, my tail might come out.
"Brother Arban."
"Wha-what?"
Arban jumped back in surprise. Seeing me puzzled, he straightened his posture while coughing, and asked again.
"What am I?"
"Brother Arban."
Maybe you don't like being called my brother?
As I slowly lowered my voice, Arban's lips twitched as if he was holding back his laughter. He crossed his arms in an arrogant manner and raised his chin.
"Heh. If you want to call me Brother, I'll allow it."
"Don't you want Irene to call you?"
"That depends on how you do it."
Arban looked up at the sky covered with glass. The sun was already setting. He remembered coming out in the morning. Time went by too fast.
"Let's go back now."
"Where?"
"Where? Class is over, so let's go back. If you go home late, you will also be scolded by Rosaria."
Did Arban skip class? He said he wasn't hiding earlier, but it turned out that he was hiding from the teacher.
When I blinked, Arban messed up my hair.
"Anyway, go or not, do whatever you want. I'm going to go!"
"I'm coming too!"
The surroundings felt strange as they had entered deep into the garden. When did we come all the way here?
I didn't realize it because I was only looking at what Arban was doing. I called in an urgent voice in fear that I would lose sight of Arban, who was walking fast.
"Brother Arban!"
Pauses.
"Brother!"
"Why do you keep calling me?"
"Go back with me... I'm scawed..."
(Note: She still has a baby tongue on some words.)
It was gradually getting dark outside, so the garden was getting dark together. If I get lost here, I will be stuck until tomorrow morning.
Pyo. Pyo. Pyo.
"Give me your hand, please."
"Why me!"
"Sniff!"
My legs were sore because I had walked too long. I thought Arban would just go away. What if he goes away because I keep bothering him? I was scared and my eyes got teary.
"W-why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
"It's hard for me. Hug."
"How can your leg hurt from just walking around?"
Arban grunted and leaned down, showing his back. I didn't know what to do, so I stood still in my place and he urged me.
"Get on."
"…But now that Irene is big, I'm heavy."
"Heavy my ass. Hurry up."
I got on his back with hesitation. As I hugged his neck tightly from behind, Arban carefully lifted me up and my vision easily rose up.
"Wow. Arban is the best."
"Hunf. You're not bad yourself."
"Really cool!"
"…Cool?"
"Yes! Arban is the coolest in the world!"
"Do you think I'm going to be happy just because you called me cool?"
Arban coughed and moved his steps back to the way where we came from. I inflated my cheeks.
"Irene is sincere."
"…Am I really cool?"
"Yes! Like a pwince on a white horse!"
Huh? Arban's ears are red again!
As expected, it doesn't look like he feels bad. It's not that he doesn't like me.
I was excited and shook my legs. When I get back, I have to brag to Rosaria that Arban gave me a piggyback.
* * *
The southern border is the area where the Astrophel family is located.
At the top of the castle called the Black Wall, a man with dark blue hair was blankly looking down.
This is because the border has been too quiet recently.
Ahead of the banquet to be held soon, the clans facing the border were extremely concerned about offending each other.
"Not fun."
It's always hard to stay with nothing to do. I wish someone would pick a fight with me.
The man quietly recited wishes that would never happen. He seemed to be able to do anything if he could escape from his boring routine.
Of course, if it means that he can avoid facing the person who is coming from below, he will choose to stay quietly in his room.
The man's face contorted with irritation.
"No manners."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door swung open.
"Karma!"
"What's going on?"
A man called Karma familiarly asked back. He is now used to living at the border and having his private spaces invaded. The intruder grinned when Karma, who had been disturbed during his alone time, showed signs of displeasure.
Black mambas tend to value their personal space. The annoying guy was obviously a mutation.
Although Karma had an annoyed look, the uninvited guest Fayman neatly ignored his gaze as he usually did.
"An order have been issued from the family."
"...Order?"
"It's an order to return in time for the banquet."
Return.
It was a one-sided return order from the Duchy. The seal belonged to Baon, the second-in-command of the family, but he was always moved by the words of the Duke.
What happened to the family? As far as I know, this has never happened."
It was hard to know why Cade, who always deploys the maximum number of border personnel, ordered a return.
The 'gatekeepers', including Karma, were organized separately from the clan members deployed at the border, but there was never a case where a sudden order of movement was issued without notice.
"No, nothing happened. Oh, maybe it did happen?"
Fayman handed over the letter he was holding.
"It's an order to escort the Lady."
"Lady?"
"Didn't you know? There's a youngest miss in the family."
What does that mean? When?
Karma's brow furrowed at the first time of hearing such news.