Chapter 19

“Mother, Brother. I’ve received a little invitation, so I’ll be stepping out for a moment.”

“Huh?”

Without waiting for a response from the two, I headed towards the exit leading to the restroom, where the genius young lady awaited.

Along the way, the surrounding nobles cast their gazes at me, but I ignored them and quickened my pace.

I mean, she always seemed so uninterested in everything, yet she called for me. What kind of wind is blowing today?

The only reason I can think of… is that she got curious about me, someone who can’t use magic, jumping out of a window several times my height.

Well, I doubt she’ll hit me with magic right off the bat when we meet.

“Hey, we meet again. So, what do you want with me?”

Since she found my polite speech unpleasant earlier, I greeted her in a more casual tone.

“Follow me.”

The genius young lady walked away.

Well, I’ve come this far, so I’ll follow her… but what could she possibly want from me?

Tilting my head in confusion, I followed the genius young lady.

Even so… her bright blonde hair is still as dazzling as ever.

And that dress looks so uncomfortable.

She was probably all dressed up for that pig to flaunt her beauty.

“Hey, how far are we going?”

We turned a corner, passed the restroom, and kept going.

She showed no signs of stopping.

After a while, we arrived at a courtyard-like place.

Various flowers were planted in the flower beds, and under the moonlight, they looked beautiful.

Finally, the genius young lady stopped and turned to face me.

“So, what is it?”

I looked into the genius young lady’s golden eyes.

They were as empty as ever, but now there was a slight glimmer of interest.

“…I saw you fighting.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t try to play dumb. You fought the black-cloaked mage, didn’t you? With just a sword, even though you can’t use magic.”

She knows I used a sword, huh?

Then it’s true that she saw me fighting.

“Fine, I’ll admit it. I fought the mage who kidnapped the second princess. But how do you know about that?”

“I just went outside and used a magic called farsight to observe.”

“Ah, I see. No wonder I didn’t notice.”

I’m always releasing waves of battle aura around me, but it has a limited range.

She must have been outside that range, using farsight to watch.

She got lucky.

“So, what do you want from me?”

This is the real question.

Personally, I’d prefer if she just stated her purpose or conclusion right away… but even for a genius like her, that might be too much to ask.

With a personality and attitude like that, she probably doesn’t have any friends.

As for her family relationships, they’re likely non-existent.

That’s why she’s probably terrible at conversations with others.

“I’m just… curious.”

“Oh, I see…”

That’s it? She brought me all the way here without saying anything, just because she was curious?

How… difficult to deal with.

She won’t express her opinions, nor does she show them through her attitude.

As a result, I can’t read the genius young lady’s thoughts at all.

I could just end this here and go back… but since I got the chance to interact with her, I might as well dig a little deeper.

“Can I go back now?”

“……”

“Still no?”

“……”

“I see.”

Though she said nothing verbally or physically, her eyes pleaded with me to stay.

But she wasn’t asking me any questions or saying anything to me.

Silence continued to hang in the air.

The genius young lady seemed uncomfortable.

But I wasn’t going to babysit her.

What interests me is not this genius young lady, who lacks initiative, but the desires and thoughts she harbors deep within.

That’s why I was willing to wait however long it took for her to act on her own.

The sound of the wind and the distant noise of the birthday celebration filled the silence.

A small insect flew past me, and finally, the genius young lady slowly opened her mouth.

“Why can you move like that, even though you can’t use magic?”

A small step forward. Good.

Let’s begin from here.

“That’s because I’ve mastered the art of battle aura.”

“Battle aura…?”

“Yeah. Even if you’ve never heard of it, it’s not surprising. It’s an ancient technique that developed in some island nation. In fact, even if people know it exists, there are probably only a handful of people who’ve actually mastered it.”

Even if she is a genius, it’s no surprise she’s never heard of battle aura, given how little information there is about it.

I only learned of it by chance in my previous life, and my father, being the head of the family, must have had access to old records.

“…Why… why are you so confident even though you can’t use magic? Today, you were looked down upon… yet you seemed perfectly fine.”

She’s starting to show more emotion now.

This is a good trend.

While controlling and restraining one’s emotions is part of being human, our true nature lies in our feelings and desires.

I dislike people who make excuses or run away.

If you have a wish, a desire, or something you feel, you shouldn’t turn away from it.

In my previous life, I suppressed my desires with the logic of reality.

And in the end, I remembered them on my deathbed and regretted it.

That’s why in this life, I’ve decided to live true to my desires.

What I mean to say is, I want to know the hidden desires of this genius young lady.

“Let me ask you this instead: why do you care so much about what others think?”

“…”

“You are you, and others are others. Even family doesn’t have the right to dictate who you are as a person.”

“But… still…”

Maybe this is too hard for an eight-year-old to grasp?

No, I’ll finish what I have to say.

“I find it strange that you’re so timid. Despite being talented enough to be called a genius, why are you shrinking yourself like this?”

The genius young lady’s eyes wavered.

She was close to breaking down the walls she’d built, but… now’s not the time yet.

“You asked me why I’m confident. I won’t tell you yet.”

“Huh…?”

“Two years from now, the Arcana Eclipse of Mysteries and Miracles will be held, right? And there will be a magical combat tournament. I’m going to enter and win that.”

Waver. Get interested.

Don’t hide your emotions.

“If you beat me and win, I’ll tell you everything. Until then, think about it yourself.”

I turned my back on the dumbfounded genius young lady.

“I’ll be waiting… genius young lady.”

There’s nothing more to say.

I’ve planted the seed.

The rest is up to her… but she’ll be fine.

After all, she’s the type to break out of her shell and come after me.

She’s definitely going to compete.

I’m looking forward to two years from now.