——Early morning.
Having finished washing all of the mansion's laundry, Novem had stepped out into the yard.
Baskets overflowed with mountains of clean laundry.
Some of it was from when the household had been away, but even more had accumulated from their trips to the Dungeon.
"It's lovely weather today... I wonder if Laiel will be alright."
Recalling how things had gone that morning, the answer was almost certainly no.
Novem understood that too, but once the person in question had declared they were going, that was that.
The final decision, after all, belonged to Laiel — or so Novem believed.
Glancing around the yard, she saw that the weeds and lawn had grown wild while they'd been away.
Novem looked about, then snapped the fingers of her right hand.
She hung up the laundry without missing a beat, and in the same instant, the weeds were uprooted, the lawn was neatly trimmed, and all the clippings were gathered in one spot.
All in the span of a few seconds.
"I'd rather not use it too much..."
She knew this method of magic wasn't looked upon favorably, but when it came to maintaining a large mansion single-handedly, time was always in short supply.
Today she intended to clean the entire house as well and prepare lunch.
"Miranda and Shannon will be coming back, too. They've been so kind to us, so the least I can do is put in a little extra effort... But then again, how much of a reward will Laiel actually bring back?"
Tilting her head, Novem settled into a leisurely rest in the yard.
That was when she locked eyes with a cat walking along the top of the wall.
When Novem smiled and approached it, the cat let out a "Fshaaa!!" puffed up its fur, and hurriedly scrambled away.
Looking at her outstretched hand, Novem fell into deep thought for a moment.
"As I thought, it really doesn't work, does it?"
She shifted her mindset and reached for the basket to start cleaning the kitchen.
That was when a voice called out to her.
It was Shannon.
"Oh, you're all alone."
Even though Shannon looked different from her usual demeanor, Novem wasn't surprised.
"What's the matter? I don't sense Miranda anywhere around."
Shannon said,
"She went off to the academy without me. Apparently there was some kind of trouble. I wonder what your little friend did over there."
The eyes of Shannon, who was giggling, were undoubtedly looking right at Novem.
Novem was aware that Shannon could see her. However, pretending not to notice so as not to expose Shannon's act, she decided to guide her to the room.
"Let me show you to the room, it's dangerous if you wander around. That said, trouble at the academy?"
She thought something might have happened to Laiel.
But she could also imagine that Damian had gotten into some kind of mischief.
Believing that Laiel would be able to handle it, Novem reached out her hand to Shannon.
Then, Shannon directed a vulgar grin at her.
"...You really should stop making that face, Shannon."
When Novem offered the advice, Shannon replied,
"I don't know what happened, but my big sister is putting up a huge resistance. Even when I try to touch her mind, I can't reach her... So I'm going to try controlling you instead. You look just like Laiel's little doll, after all."
Laiel's doll.
Being told that, Novem considered for a moment.
It wasn't exactly wrong.
She acted for Laiel's sake and existed for Laiel's sake.
But she knew these weren't things you should say to people.
So she offered a warning.
"You really shouldn't say things like that to people. Come on, let's go back to the room."
Then Shannon grabbed Novem's right arm.
It was an action that was clearly visible to anyone.
"...Shouldn't you be a little more subtle about it? At the very least, you've been pretending not to see until now."
Up until now, Shannon had been putting on the act of not being able to see.
She would never do something this obvious.
(She's panicking, isn't she?)
Having heard that Miranda had put up resistance, Novem sensed something like desperation in Shannon.
It seemed that Shannon was finally about to get the doll she'd been after, only to have it snatched away—and was now acting out of character because of it.
Then something of Shannon's touched Novem.
"Don't you go acting all calm and collected! With this, you're my doll! You look weaker than big sister, so if you... if you would..."
Something was off about Shannon's demeanor.
Novem spoke in a gentle tone.
"Please let go, Shannon. Now, let's go back to the room."
With those words, Shannon opened her eyes wide and looked at Novem.
She quickly let go and fell backward, landing on her backside.
But she showed no sign of pain.
Her eyes never left Novem, and her limbs were trembling.
"Are you all right?"
When Novem took a step closer, Shannon let out a sharp "Hh!" from her throat and retreated without breaking her stance.
"Your clothes will get dirty. I'll wash them, so let's change."
What was a perfectly natural action for Novem was the furthest thing from Shannon's mind right now.
"What are you... what are you, really? You're not human. You absolutely aren't human..."
Shannon's words, spoken with eyes wide open, made Novem freeze for just an instant.
Then she touched her own expressionless face.
(...Not human. That's what I've been told before, haven't I?)
How troublesome. Thinking that, Novem once again arranged her features into an expression.
And as for how to speak to the frightened Shannon—she wrestled with that.
"Shannon-chan's eyes... they're really beautiful, you know. I always thought they were yellow, but today they look golden. I wonder what kind of world you see. I'm curious too."
In truth, Novem knew that Shannon saw a different world, and that she possessed abilities.
She knew—but had been pretending otherwise.
Now that Shannon had stopped pretending not to see, Novem decided to feign interest and tossed out the topic. But—
What would Shannon think upon hearing that?
She hadn't thought that far ahead.
"Ah! Don't come near me, don't come neeeaaar!!"
Screaming at the top of her lungs, Shannon collapsed on the spot as Novem drew closer.
Novem looked at her.
"Another one like this..."
She let out a small sigh and gently patted Shannon on the head.
Then she scooped Shannon up in her arms.
A princess carry.
That was when she felt a powerful presence rushing toward the mansion.
"Lyle?"
When Novem looked toward the wall, Lyle came bursting through from the other side——
"Are you okay, Novem?!!"
By a stroke of luck, I'd activated my Skills.
I could see across a far wider range than I'd expected, and I detected a red signature right next to Novem.
I bolted from the academy and pushed the Fourth Generation's Skills to full speed.
Just as I cleared the wall of House Cerclie's estate, I landed on a pile of weeds that had been yanked up from the ground and immediately lost my footing.
I slipped and tumbled, sliding across the ground until I came to a stop right in front of Novem.
I wasn't exactly proud of the wipeout, but I have to admit—the final pose I struck as I appeared before Novem was pretty spectacular.
"Ar-are you alright, Lyle?"
I got to my feet, brushing the dirt off my hands as I spoke.
"I'm fine. Honestly, I'm almost scared of myself for inventing a brand-new landing pose on the spot. More importantly—are you okay, Novem?"
Looking at Shannon being held in his arms, there was clearly no problem.
I decided to check with Novem just to be sure.
And then—
"Yes. She seemed a little startled, though... By the way, why are you holding a bug?"
Novem tilted her head, puzzled, as she looked at the insect clutched in my right hand.
I'd spotted it while running and caught it on the spot.
Since I couldn't exactly punch her, I'd thought about using a bug she hated to punish her.
"It's your punishment, Shannon!"
I held the bug out in front of Novem as I said that—but—
"Ow! The damn thing bit me!"
The insect chomped down on my finger, and I flung it away.
The bug flew off into the distance without a care in the world, and seeing that, Novem burst out laughing.
"Wh-what's so funny?"
"Because, Lord Lyle... you look exactly like a little boy pulling a prank on a girl he likes."
Hearing that, I ran a hand through my hair and spoke.
"A man always keeps the heart of a young boy. Well? Has your heart fluttered for me again?"
As I said that, I could hear the sound of fists pounding the table from inside the Jewel.
Several people laughing all at once, their laughter mixing with the pounding—
But—
*(Heh. At this point, no matter how much my ancestors carry on, it doesn't matter to me. The magical power overflowing from this body... it's truly magnificent.)*
Novem nodded at me as I stared down at my own terrifying talent.
"I've fallen in love with you all over again, Master Rael. Now, let's carry little Shannon to her room together. Oh, and what happened with the materials and the reward?"
I was asked about the reward, so I answered.
"Well, the maid said it was something good and asked me to let her hold onto it for safekeeping. The buyback price was only a little higher than what the Guild offered, anyway."
I could have sold it, but since she spoke so enthusiastically about its impressive heft and presence, we hit it off and the conversation naturally steered away from a sale.
Damian had taken a liking to the maid when she woke up, so we'd reached an arrangement where she could visit regularly without management fees.
The maid seemed to be considering ways she could make use of it.
"The maid? Wasn't she an Automaton? And regarding magic too..."
"Don't worry! I was taught the 'Golem' magic. But, she'd definitely get angry, I think. Anyone can use it, but it's the type of magic that requires real talent to master."
"Ah, I see."
Novem nodded in understanding.
The Golem magic I'd been taught was actually quite simple.
It was simple, but... to put it bluntly, it was difficult to use.
Even to just move it, you weren't operating it from the puppet's perspective.
You had to think about how to move it from your own viewpoint, and furthermore, if your field of vision was blocked at the same time, you'd get completely lost.
To handle it like Damian did, you certainly needed talent.
Even for me, operating two at once was my limit.
"Then, you received the reward, I take it. I heard Miranda-san hurried off to the academy—was something the matter?"
"You knew about that? Well, actually, the Automaton I got as a reward became a big topic of conversation. They called it the crystallization of ancient technology or something, and students from the academy came to see it. It's amazing, it looks just like a real human!"
As I explained excitedly, the Fourth Generation cut in.
"Hey, you bastard. Stop with the explanations already, how long are you gonna make Novem-chan hold Shannon-chan? Get her to the room already, you idiot!"
Third Generation chimed in too.
"That's right. While you're at it, carry her and say one word for us."
Since they asked for one word, I figured it was the least I could do, so I turned to Novem.
"Oops, my apologies. I'll carry her."
"Please do."
As I said that and took Shannon into my arms, I looked at her face.
What had happened to her? Her eyes were rolled back, her mouth hung open, and drool was dripping down.
The beautiful girl was completely ruined.
"Heh... today seems destined for Sleeping Beauties."
But hey, not ruining the moment—that's one of my good qualities.
"Sleeping Beauty?"
"Yeah, you wake her up with a kiss. The Automaton woke up that way too."
"...A kiss? I see..."
As she said that, the Sixth Generation spoke.
"Laiel's on fire today!!"
The Seventh Generation joined in.
"This is one for the ages, Laiel! You're something else... Good, keep it going!"
The Second Generation was suffering.
"Stop it alreadyyyyy! My abs can't take any more of thisssss!!"
What's All the Fuss About
With that thought, I stepped into the mansion.
Walking behind me, Novem—
"Lord Laiel, what do you think of Shannon?"
Asked that, I—
"Hmm? I think she's cute. So cute I could eat her right up. But it's a shame... I can't exactly wake a cursed girl with a kiss."
At that, Novem pondered for a moment.
"Her body seems quite sturdy, and apparently she never gets sick. As for her eyes... well, I'll mark that down as passable. She does have blood ties to House Walt, but they're distant enough that it shouldn't be a problem. Understood. I'll see what I can do."
"Yeah, I'll leave it to you. Oh wait—I left Aria behind. I need to go pick her up later."
"Yes."
I watched Novem as she let out a soft laugh.
Unlike her usual self, she gave off a gentle impression.
It put me in a good mood too.
(Me, making Novem smile like that... I'm so incredible it's scary!)