At last, or should I say, finally, the housewarming party has begun.
I, as the owner of the house, started off with the greetings, but unlike
the birthday party I had back then, this time I had plenty of time, so I
had prepared a well-written greeting.
Well, though I say that, there wasn't really any need for me to think
about complicated greetings since the people gathered here were all my
acquaintances. I just said something "Thank you for taking time out of
your busy schedule to come here today. Please enjoy your stay" or along
those lines.
Incidentally, my house is in the central section of the royal capital,
which means that if he stretches out his head, most of the royal capital
would be covered in shadows… so as expected, it was difficult for
Magnawell-san to participate.
That's why, Fafnir-san brought Magnawell-san's gift as his substitute.
I'm planning to go to Magnawell-san's home and express my thanks
later.
The garden of my home, where the party will be held, with the help of
Anima, Eta, Theta, Caraway-san… and the maids from Lilia-san's
mansion, including Illness-san, has been made to look gorgeous and
beautiful.
I need to thank everyone again, but first, I should go thank the people
that helped me with the party from the start.
[…Ein-san, Zwei-san. For all your help this time, thank you very much.]
[I'm glad I could be of help.]
[If I could help Miyama-sama, I would be more than happy to be of
assistance.]
Hearing my words, Ein-san and Zwei-san slightly smiled and replied.
How should I say this… Looking at them together like this, I felt that
Ein-san and Zwei-san were similar in many ways.
The respectful tone in their voice and their cool atmosphere are similar.
The only difference between them is that Zwei-san is a little sharper
than Ein-san, or rather, she may be a little more frightening than her.
Of course, currently unable to understand her emotions with my
Sympathy Magic, even when I know that Zwei-san is friendly to me…
Standing in front of Zwei-san who had the atmosphere of a strict
teacher, I felt my back straighten a bit. I'd really like to get to know
Zwei-san a little better if I can…
After slightly chatting with them with these thoughts in mind, I moved
away from them to greet the others.
Thereupon, at that moment, Alice, who hadn't shown herself for some
time now, appeared and called out to me.
[…Hmmm. As far as I'm concerned, that child is family… but having "this
misunderstanding remain" is a different thing, isn't it? I guess I'll clear
up the misunderstanding here.]
[Unnn? Misunderstanding?]
[I'm talking about Zwei-san. What kind of person do you think Zwei-san
is, Kaito-san?]
[Ehh? Errr… She's a calm and collected adult lady that's good at her
work, and according to Dr. Vier and the others, she's apparently strict
about etiquette.]
Unsure what Alice's intentions with her words were, I tilted my head
and asked her back… Alice let out a light sigh, and with a wry smile on
her lips, she replied.
[That's actually a big misconception.]
[…Does that mean that Zwei-san isn't the person I think she is?]
[That's right. Let's see… By the way, Alice-chan's impression of her is
that she is a "cheerful and interesting girl, rich in emotions, who is a bit
too serious and somewhat klutzy, but she's always doing her best".]
[…Eh?]
I understand the serious part, but her being klutzy? My impression of
her is more like she's seamless with her actions.
A cheerful and interesting girl, rich in emotions? I feel like her facial
expression barely changes, and her voice is always constant… Alice's
impression of Zwei-san certainly is different from the one I have in
mind. I wonder why?
[Ahh, I'll explain that to you as well. Let's go to where Zwei-san is first.]
[Y- Yeah… Alright.]
Puzzled, I nodded at Alice's words and walked towards Zwei-san, whom
I had just left earlier.
[…Oya? Miyama-sama… Haven't you gone to greet everyone?]
[Ahh~~ I asked him to return first. It's been a while, Zwei-san.]
[If it isn't Shalltear-sama. It has been a while. It's an honor to see you
here.]
Zwei-san tilted her head when she saw me return, but upon hearing
Alice's words, she immediately greeted me with refined movements.
Hmmm, I still don't think she fits the image I heard from Alice.
[Even so, you've also become quite the elegant lady, haven't you? Ahh, I
miss the days when you were always trotting behind Ein-san, saying
"Ein-oneechan! Ein-oneechan!".]
[…S- Shalltear-sama? W- What are you saying?]
[Oya? You're still taking good care of those "gloves", aren't you? If I
remember correctly… Crying out "The gloves Kuromu-sama gave me are
torn.", you asked me to fix them back then.]
[…Shalltear-sama. L- Let's change places! M- My family is nearby… I- I
also have my dignity of being their big sister to preserve…]
Hearing Alice's words spoken in a somewhat exaggerated manner,
Zwei-san looked clearly flustered.
[Come to think of it, you've always been such a kind child who thinks of
family, haven't you? On your birthday, when your beloved Ein-san baked
you a cake, you even went out of your way to bring one to me when you
could have just eaten it by yourselves…"Shalltear-sama should eat
too~~!"]
[Shalltear-sama! P- Please. Stop already…]
[When I asked if I could eat it, with a big smile on your face, "Of course!
Shalltear-sama is my beloved family after all!", you said. Well~~ Those
were good days.]
[I'm still young back then! Shalltear-sama!!! Can you please stop
already!?]
A- Arehh? Zwei-san's behavior is completely different from what I've
seen before. How should I say this… It feels like she's a little sister being
teased by her big sister… Arehh?
As I was surprised by Zwei-san's change, Ein-san appeared out of
nowhere and letting out a sigh for some reason, she spoke.
[…We're talking about the good old days, aren't we? Indeed, Zwei really
adored me back then.]
[Ein!? Don't come into the conversation!]
[She also doesn't call me Ein-oneechan anymore… It's quite sad. Does
she hate me now?]
[I don't hate you! I don't you hate you, okay!!!?]
[…But before I knew it, you suddenly started calling me just Ein?]
[…T- That is… b- because I'm embarrassed… and I don't really hate
onee-chan…]
[I can't hear you very well, you know? Please say it again louder.]
[ ~ ~ ~ ~ ! ? ! ? ]
Zwei-san, who was also teased by Ein-san, tried to stop Ein-san's
teasing by clinging on her shoulders, looking like she was about to cry
with a blush on her face… She was filled with so many emotions that it
was hard to imagine that she was the same Zwei-san that I saw back
then.
[Well, she was such a person.]
[…Errr, that means, the Zwei-san just now… so to speak, was her true
personality?]
[Yes, she usually acts like she's calm, and since she's a Magic Doll, her
expression doesn't change much during normal times, so she's often
misunderstood… but her inner expression quickly changes several
times.]
[…U- Unnn. Is that so…]
In other words, does this mean that Zwei-san is someone who usually
acts cool? Why would she do that… was it for that dignity of a big sister
that she mentioned before?
Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Alice explained with a teasing grin on her
face.
[Well, I think Kaito-san already had some reason in mind… but in fact,
there's a bigger, cuter reason to it.]
[…Cuter reason?]
[Please remember what I said earlier. Zwei-san is a big Onee-chan's girl,
someone who really likes Ein-san… See where I'm going? In Kuro-san's
family, there's that cool maid who speaks in a polite tone…]
[Eh? Does that mean…]
[Yes, that's what I mean. For Zwei-san, her ideal woman is Ein-san… In
other words, the way she usually acts is just an act of her imitating her
beloved big sister, because she wants to be like her.]
[…Then, Zwei-san is perhaps… actually quite cute…]
[When the Six Kings still live together as one family, Zwei-san is the one
most often teased by everyone.]
This is a new fact that I didn't expect. Zwei-san, who is so feared by
Neun-san and Dr. Vier, is actually the one most teased person who loves
her sister so much.
However, this… probably isn't something Dr. Vier and the others know
about, right?