Chapter 10 - Volume 2
However, there were some exceptions. The game heroine’s name was not in here. Her case was certainly an exception, since she was a person that was admitted midway; At present, her magical abilities would not have been recognized yet.
Among the group of names on the list, I would mark down some of names with a circle. From those of the five dukedoms and its branches, I selected the children of these notable aristocrats.
‘Wouldn’t people with high social status have higher chances of being the capturable characters?’, was my expectation as I selected these names. For those potentially high social-class people in particular, I marked down with a double circle.
However, this wasn’t a sure hit.
(How should I say it, I wanted a group photo shot similar to how the Japanese take it)
That time when I remembered Wolf from the game, I had the liberty of getting his full name and portrait. However, I got this list by telling my father that『I want to know a little bit about the other people who will be attending the magical school with me...』, if I tell him 『While you’re at it, I also want a portrait of each and every one of them...』, it might put him off.
Or perhaps, rather than being a problem, it was impossible. Pictures only became prevalent in modern day Japan.
By the way, the name『Shade』wasn’t in this list.
It was possible that the name was a nickname derived from his real name, as I couldn’t find even a trace of him.
Learning that falling behind on the situation was terrifying, one way or the other, I desperately tried to do everything I could. However, I made little progress.
Because of the inspiration I gained, after staking everything on the list and the countless of times looking over it, I became familiar with the names on it.
(Since it’s capturable characters from the game, I’m sure the common feature all of them have will be that they’re all good-looking)
I wonder if I there was a chance I could obtain any rumour about a good-looking guy that could narrow down my search. The chances of that ought to be slim. The moment I request this from my father, my credibility with him will drop, and I won’t be able to fix it without doing something drastic. But if I can succeed with that chance, I was willing to try it...
Interrupting my destructive thoughts half-way, my nanny called me over after lunch preparations were completed.
「...Will my father be joining today?」
「Yes. He is waiting together with a guest.」
「There’s a guest?」
How disappointing.
「Yes, it’s your relative. The madame’s younger brother. Does my lady remember him?」
「It’s Uncle Narcissus, right? I wasn’t informed that he’ll be joining us today」
「That’s correct. The conversation was a sudden one. He wanted to have a consultation with the Master no matter what」
I didn’t know whether this starting point was a good one or a bad one. It was rare for me to attend lunch with numerous people.
「Good day, Uncle. It’s been awhile since I last spoke with you. I’m Lycoris」
I said it with a ladylike manner. For a short while, my uncle had a convincing look of surprise on his face. He was a little slow.
「Lycoris! My, how a child could change, in just a short time of not seeing her. You’re becoming so much like my older sister.」
Telling me that I was similar to my mother, truthfully, made me a little lost for words. After all, with only her portrait, I didn’t know much about the other person.
「Are Aunt and Crinum also well? 」
Crinum was a cousin a year older than me. Although we exchange letters often, in truth, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen each other.
「Yes. Yes. They’re both fine. But Lycoris – how old have you become?」
「I’m ten years old.」
「I see, I see. At any rate, you look grown up. I wonder if this is what kids are like nowadays. Although that child is younger than you, that kid is considerably–」
「Narcissus.」
Father cut off Uncle’s monologue.
Hearing Father use a slightly hard tone unusual for him, I was surprised.
「Save that talk for later. I don’t want Lycoris to be involved in that discussion」
「Come now. It should be fine, Kaffir. In any case, she’ll find out sooner or later. I don’t mind.」
Kaffir is my father’s name. No one in the house calls him by that name, so hearing it used was a bit out of the ordinary.
Nevertheless, why did father say that he didn’t want me to hear『that talk』? It’s been known for a long time that Uncle goes slightly off topic.
Proceeding with a wrong guess, I wanted to try satisfying my curiosity.
「Uncle. Who do you mean by『that child』? From what I know, Crinum is a year older than me」
「That’s right, it’s not about Crinum, I’m talking about another cousin of yours. That kid... is a child that I had out of wedlock...」
The instant he said something incredibly unexpected, I turned to face my father. I wonder if Father understood the feeling I was facing. He sent a somewhat troubled-looking smile back to me.
「Recently, I’ve taken that kid home. That kid is a boy. His name is Shade」
――――――――――――――――eh?