Chapter 8
“The disease is progressing rapidly. I hear that these days, he spends more time lying down than sitting.”
“That’s unfortunate. He was such a promising boy. What about the search we made the other day?”
“I apologize. We also contacted Raksimun of Dawn and Ishel of Afterglow, but… there has been no news from the noble families under their command regarding anyone who possesses the same Bijou.”
Admiral Diegon Pasayen had two sons.
The first was thirteen-year-old Mikalrd.
The second was eleven-year-old Elzen.
Both had made a name for themselves as potential candidates for the next Admiral.
However, one day, Elzen suddenly fell ill.
There was only one way to cure him.
They had to find a partner with the same Bijou and receive a share of that person’s life force.
“Enough. If that is as far as his lifespan goes, then that is the boy’s fate. Anyway, is today the second lesson?”
Galizard asked quietly. Sedrick immediately answered while pushing up his glasses.
“If you mean Miss Shue, then yes.”
“Teach her about the Spirit Kings. There is still no sign that she has formed a formal contract with a Spirit King. If so, we should guide her toward becoming a Spirit King’s contractor.”
“Yes. It would be a great blessing to the family. If she manages to do it, that is.”
“She has to do it. If she does, she will be extremely useful. Even if she cannot become a Resonant, she still has value.”
Galizard’s eyes gleamed sharply.
Sedrick lowered his head and scribbled something on the parchment he was holding.
「Another, another, another additional task. What a hassle……」
The moment he did so, Galizard let out a benevolent chuckle.
“Don’t be so bothered by it, boy.”
“…Yes.”
“Tsk. This one and that one, none of them have any manners. Good grief.”
“I am a lowly and inadequate human being, so I can only sleep three hours a day. I am extremely tired.”
The amount of trust Sedrick had earned was enormous.
He himself did not particularly welcome it.
However, Sedrick’s ambition lay in his bed.
I want to sleep for twelve hours!
No, I just don’t want to get up!
I don’t want to go to work!!
He submitted a letter of resignation religiously every month, but Galizard simply ignored them…
So Sedrick had become rather reckless in his behavior.
Galizard was endlessly generous toward talented people, so he indulged Sedrick’s attitude.
“Then, shouldn’t you be heading to class soon?”
“Haa… Yes.”
Of course, even while doing that, Galizard never forgot to give him more work.
It was at that moment, when Sedrick was moving as slowly as a completely wilted squid, that—
“…?”
When he opened the door, there was a little child standing there.
She was looking up at him with bright, sparkling eyes.
“Ann-yah-se-yo. Ma-shi-me-ro ha-beu-di it-sseo-yo?”
Who?
Sedrick looked down at the young lady with the dull gaze of a dead fish and sniffed.
It was definitely the smell of cookies.
“I-go-neun-yo, Saem-mi geo-ye-yo.”
“Pardon?”
“If you eat it, you get strong!”
“Pardon……?”
There was absolutely no logic to what she was saying, but regardless, this person was currently Pasayen’s rising star.
And behind her stood His Excellency the Admiral.
‘It would… be better to accept it, right?’
He was already under Diegon’s scrutiny because of the incident where the youngest young lady had gone berserk at the educational facility.
If he irritated Diegon any further, he could forget about enjoying a peaceful retirement.
His happy, lazy bed life as an unemployed man could turn into being bedridden in a coma after getting beaten half to death.
Having finished calculating the consequences, Sedrick accepted the cookie without looking particularly pleased about it.
‘She’s probably just being cute because she doesn’t know any better yet.’
Soon, she would learn what kind of position the Pasayen Duchess held.
And she would become influenced by those rotten brats.
It was a prejudice, but Sedrick’s prejudice had been thoroughly reinforced by experience.
“You little rascal, are you only giving one to your teacher?”
“No. Ha-beu-di geot-do i-sseo-yo. Jeo-ga-yo, eo-je gu-eo-sseo-yo.”
The young lady passed by him and offered a cookie to the head of the household.
Sedrick watched the scene helplessly and slowly realized something.
‘She isn’t afraid……? No, beyond that, she doesn’t feel the slightest hesitation around him.’
How?
‘Even Lady Cecilia, his own biological daughter, still gets nervous in front of her father.’
Name: Shuperti Pasayen.
She currently insists that her name is Chuu.
Commoner, orphan, from a public daycare center.
Her future ambition is to become a chef.
According to the daycare teacher’s ‘judgment,’ she appears to be around four years old, but her physical development, including her height and oral structure, is somewhat delayed.
Based on her appearance, she is estimated to be between two and a half and three years old. However, her exact age is unknown.
It is unknown where she came from or who her biological parents are.
It is also unknown how or when she awakened. She was discovered already awakened.
The form of her Bijou is unknown.
The probability that she is Diegon’s biological daughter: 1%.
However, because her age does not match, it is judged unlikely.
When a dangerous situation arises, or when she feels threatened, the Water Spirit King protects her. Whether the same thing will happen again in the future is unknown.
Due to the daycare center’s report about discovering an awakened individual, she was originally scheduled to be registered as a member of a collateral branch of the family around next year.
However, due to the divine selection of the ancestral Whale, she was registered with the main Pasayen family instead.
As Sedrick recalled the information about the new young lady, a small amount of curiosity began to rise in his heart.
“Oh-ho, it’s shaped like a bear.”
“If you take one bite, it becomes a killer whale.”
“Very well, I’ll try it. Sedrick should eat it well, too.”
Under the subtle pressure, Sedrick first put the cookie into his mouth.
Sweetness immediately spread across his tongue.
The taste was fairly ordinary.
What could she possibly have done with those tiny hands?
The maid must have done most of it.
Thinking indifferently about it, Sedrick crunched and swallowed the cookie.
Then, the next moment, he froze.
“Huh?”
I anxiously looked up at Teacher, who had made a puzzled sound.
Teacher looked really unhappy again today.
I hope eating this makes him feel stronger!
“By the way, why did you suddenly bake these?”
“Saem-mi-ga-yo, hing-deu-reo bo-yeo-sseo-yo.”
“Oh-ho, you wanted to give it to Sedrick because he looked tired?”
“Ye!”
At Grandpa’s words, I nodded my head vigorously.
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ proudly tells you that, look, her little one is so kind-hearted.]
“How admirable.”
I liked the feeling of Grandpa stroking my head with his big hand, so I grinned happily.
It’s so exciting getting praised by everyone!
“Young lady.”
It was then.
“How… did you make this?”
Teacher Sedrick, who had been trembling, approached me with a serious expression.
I stared at him for a moment before smiling brightly and clapping my hands.
“Saem-mi’s eyes became white!”
The killer-whale sugar must have pumped itself full of strength.
“Oh my, Young Lady. Please sit here.”
“Eung?!”
W-what?
Teacher is being so kind!
A short while later, I held Teacher Sedrick’s hand and headed toward the classroom.
“Let’s see. You’re feeling hot, aren’t you? Ah, there’s a fan here.”
“A fan……?”
I tilted my head because I didn’t know what this was.
I was definitely seeing it for the first time.
‘But why does it feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before?’
I blinked because I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, and Teacher placed the fan down beside me.
“Here, this stone that resembles an opal is a spirit stone inhabited by an Air Spirit. You can see that tiny stone beside it, correct?”
“Yeees!”
“This is a magic stone. It serves to stabilize the magic circle. Combining spirit stones with magic in this manner to create convenient products is called magical engineering.”
My pink hair fluttered softly in the breeze.
It wasn’t particularly hot, but it was still refreshing, so I quickly thanked him.
“Thank you!”
Then I secretly looked behind me and saw my friends staring with stunned expressions.
“Hey, have you ever seen Sedrick act like that?”
“No……?”
“I think the only thing I’ve ever seen him do is whine and beg Lord Leviwood to just kick him out.”
“Isn’t this favoritism a little too much?”
Whisper, whisper.
I could hear them saying unpleasant things about me.
That was when—
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ warmly advises that people who can’t even say things to your face aren’t worth paying attention to.]
‘Yeah, that’s right.’
I wanted to get along with everyone if possible, but I’m not the class president anymore anyway.
When I came into the classroom, I remembered that my name tag had been torn, and I became a little sad.
‘No, if I think about it, I’ll want to cry again.’
I’ll just forget about it bravely.
Those friends weren’t in the classroom right now, so it was okay.
From what I heard, it seemed that the Spirit Kings had scolded them too.
“All right, then. Today, I will introduce the eight Spirit Kings who exist in this world.”
“Ah, I already know all of that!”
At Teacher’s words, I straightened my back.
But then complaints and jeers erupted from behind me.
I had never seen anyone act like that toward Teacher before, so I opened my eyes wide.
Teacher narrowed his eyes.
“If you don’t want to attend my class, you may leave. I won’t stop you. No, actually, I’ll tell the head of the household directly, so it would be better if you didn’t come to my classes from now on.”
“……!”
“Aren’t you leaving? Then I’ll begin the lesson.”
Teacher is scary…….
The children fell completely silent in an instant.
They snorted and breathed heavily as if they were angry, but they couldn’t say a word.
Amid all this, Teacher Sedrick wrote something on the blackboard.
