Chapter 56: Together with Ra-chan
Chapter 56: Together with Ra-chan
Author note : I want a sister……
「Four years old!」
The girl, Ra-chan, asserts herself cheerfully. And maybe she’s pleased with herself being able to say that properly, she laughs innocently 「ehehe~」.
On a closer look, it became clear that her face is on the cherubic side yet well-proportioned.
As I was looking at her while thinking to myself that she will undoubtedly turn into a lovely girl in the future, she turned to look at me as if prompting an answer.
「I’m, Alfried. Almost seven years old.」
「Al? Al-niichan?」
「……you can say that again.」
「Al!」
「Not that way!」
Maybe she finds it fun to rush at me, Ra-chan laughed pleasantly.
Afterwards, even when I asked her「Try calling me Al-niichan!」, she just repeatedly called 「Al! Al!」happily.
What is this……this feeling of my heart being healed. Maybe, if I have a sister, it will feel like this.
There are always people older than me whether back in Japan or in this different world, so such an exchange appears fresh.
「I’m the maid, Mina. You can call me Mina-oneechan you know?」
Whaat? Even though she didn’t even call me oniichan, and yet you want her to call you oneechan, this impertinence has gone too far.
「Such words would be wasteful on Mina. Just call her poor maid.」
I slowly shook my head twice before addressing Ra-chan. Ra-chan repeated my exact words.
「Poor maid!」
「That’s it, that’s it. That’s great, really great 」
I gently pat on Ra-chan’s head while smilling.
「Ehehe」
「Aaah! What are you saying Alfried-sama! Look, now Ra-chan has learned a strange word hasn’t she!」
「Ahー, yeah yeah. I’ll give you more cookies later, so be quiet for a sec.」
「I also want to eatー!」
「Can’t be helped then.」
「Aah! That’s the cookie that I brought!」
Eating cookies will make you thirsty. Ra-chan will certainly whine about it later, so two copper coins just disappear from my wallet.
Ra-chan is drinking green-colored juice, something that seems to be good for one's health. It appears to have been made by mixing various fruits and vegetables.
「Want to take a sip?」
Since Ra-chan offered it to me, I will gladly take a sip then.
When I took a sip and drank it, it tasted quite delicious. I wonder if I can develop and make a mixer by myself when I return to the mansion. It would be great if I can make juice using the libra fruit harvested from the forest with Eleonora-neesan. It will also be good for one’s health.
「This is also delicious isn’t it.」
「Un」
「It sure is niceー. Such a heartwarmingー」
Leaving Mina alone on the side for now, let’s move on to the main subject.
「By the way Ra-chan, what was Ra-chan doing? It looks like you were looking for someone……maybe you’re los――」
「I’m not!」
Ra-chan clearly denies it as her hair shakes left and right.
But, no matter how one sees it, your appearance of being alone on the roadside while being confused can only be seen as a lost child.
「But, you seem to be alone, and looking troubled, and confused.」
「I got lost, because I’m looking for my onee-chan!」
Ra-chan groan「Uuー」 as she stares at me.
So you’re not gonna admit that you’re a lost child under any circumstances huh. However, it seems that she will cry if I said any more than this. Then let your sister become the culprit.
「How old is your oneechan?」
「Seven years old!」
In that case, it's a girl around the same age as me huh.
As far as the eye can see right now, there doesn’t seem to be any girl around the same age as me in sight.
「Where did you get los……I mean, where did your oneechan get lost?」
When about to say that Ra-chan is lost, she becomes teary-eyed so I correct it in a hurry.
「Eeto～…………dont’t know!」
Guess so. Since Ra-chan herself is lost. I don't say that since I think she will cry.
It would be absolutely dangerous to make a young girl cry in the main street such as this.
「I seeー. So you don’t know.」
「Then what does your oneechan look like? For example, her hair.」
「Eeーto, she has the same hair color as me and very beautiful!」
I see, I don’t quite understand though.
Mina asks more questions such as her clothes and such.
So she has the same hair color as Ra-chan, and waist-length. And according to Ra-chan, her oneechan’s hair has no curls and is so smooth that she want to touch it all the time.
Her height is about the same as me.
And above all, is the feature that she is wearing a Magic Academy school uniform.
Which reminds me, I saw children wearing a robe a few times.There are differences in color such as red, blue, and black, I remember looking at them since I’m wondering if maybe they’re different based on class or something.
If she wears something fancy like that, we’ll be able to find her soon. Anyhow, we just have to check the people who wear such uniforms.
Incidentally, onee-chan’s robe seems to be blue.
「Well then, we’d better stay in this easy-to-understand main street.」
「What will you do Ra-chan. Will you wait here for your sister?」
「No! Since onee-chan is lost, I’m going to look for her!」
Aahー, that’s so. If she waits here, it looks like Ra-chan will just get lost.
「I seeー」
「Then, how about we search together?」
Ra-chan asked me earnestly with upturned eyes. And the way she casually clutches my hem is cute. She might be anxious, she get teary-eyed.
As expected it’s that after all huh.
「Then let’s look for her!」
I cheerfully stand up, and smile.
「Un!」
「Right!」
Thus, we walked down the main street to look for Ra-chan’s oneechan.
× × ×
We walked down the street to look for her oneechan, but……
「Next! I want to eat that!」
「Sure! A hearty stew. After that we’ll eat the meat over there! The nice smell of roasted meat, the fragrance of the plentiful spices being used!!」
I pull Ra-chan toward me so she will follow behind me.
We’re still hanging around the southern main street where the stalls are lined up, the place where we first met.
Maybe it’s because this is the time when people are hungry, more and more people are coming and standing in line in front of the stalls.
Ehー? Strange. We were supposed to look for Ra-chan’s oneechan, but why are we standing in line in front of the stalls?
「Smells good!」
「Right~!」
Those two are smiling happily at each other. How nice, Mina already become oneechan.
Then, let’s settle this. Even though I came to the royal capital, I’ve only seen street stalls.
「Still not yetー?」
「So slowー」
At first they were having a lively conversation, but then they seemed to lose their patience after the line didn't advance. When you’re feeling hungry and there are various fragrant scents drifting around you, the impatience and frustration is understandable.
「It appears that they run out of ingredients and they make it again.」
「Eehー, waiting is boring.」
「Uーn, even so……then, I’ll show you a slight magic trick.」
It’s a magic I occasionally perform at Celia-san’s restaurant, but this one can be done even while standing and besides it will be fine to do this to kill some time.
「What, what?」
「What is it?」
Not just Ra-chan, but Mina is also getting into it.
Maybe the man behind us is also free, he sneakily looks at us in keen interest.
「Mina, you have a cookie don’t you? Lend it to me for a bit.」
When I said that, it’s quite obvious she shows vigilance, but maybe her curiosity won over, she nervously took out a cookie out of her pocket.
「Now then, this here is a cookie.」
To make sure there is nothing wrong with the cookie, I have the two of them to check on both sides of the cookie.
「And now I’m going to put this cookie in my hand and cover it with my other hand. So the cookie is between my hands right now, yes?」
Ra-chan and Mina, and even the man behind us nod *fumufumu* in understanding.
「Well then, the cookie will disappear after I shake my hands three times like this. 」
「Eehー! No wayー!」
「I’ll be troubled if it disappear Alfried-sama!」
After I said that, Ra-chan gave me a dubious look, while Mina loudly shouted and looked as if she’d grabbed my collar.
The man behind us snorts.
I’m feeling irritated by his face. Just wait. Soon I’m going to turn your face into one of surprise and then compliment.
「Now, shall we start. One…two……three………!」
And when I open both of my hands.
「Eehー! Where’s the cookie going?」
「Hey cookie? Where are you? No way, did you really throw the cookie away?」
The two of them touch my hands *petapeta*.
However, they can’t find the cookie.
Why, because the cookie has been moved to the pocket of the man behind us with teleport.
I talk calmly to the man whose mouth opened as there also seems to be a question mark floating around him.
「That man over there. Please check on your right pocket.」
「O, ou.」
Maybe not expecting that he will be asked, the man searches around his pocket as he looks bewildered.
「Uuooooohhhh! Why is the cookie in my pocket!?」
「Ehー! Could it be the cookie from before went there!?」
「My cookie, why!?」
The three of them seemed to not be able to follow and understand what happened as they said whatever that came to their mind.
Because of our clamoring, the gazes of the people around us gather as if asking what happened.
「Aah, you can eat that cookie.」
「Realy?」
「Wait a sec, Alfried-sama!」
「It’s fine isn’t it. I’ll double, no triple of that soon.」
When I tell her that I’ll double and then triple that to pacify her, maybe hearing something she’s interested in, Mina calms down for the time being.
「The sweetness of the cookie is just right. Delicious.」
The man behind us bite on the cookie with a crunching sound *poripori*.
「Next, I’ll take out cookies from my pocket.」
『That, you can take it out if it’s already inside your pocket right.』
『Right, right.』
『You’ve seen it before haven’t you? Does it really disappear? Does it really worth a look?』
Before I know it, doubtful voices are being raised from the increasing gallery.
To answer those doubts, I put my hand inside my pants’ pocket and turned it inside out to prove that nothing is inside.
Then I put my pocket back again, and raised my voice.
「Now then, I’m going to pull out cookies from this pocket okay? Look, look!」
When I put my hand inside and thrust my hand out, a cookie turned up, and then another.
『『What the heck is going on!?』』
To my act, the people around us make surprised noises, noisily.
「Eeeeeeeehh! Do cookies can comes out infinitely from Alfried-sama’s pocket?」
「Al amazing! But, how comeー?」
As everyone is pondering, Ra-chan asks a sincere question.
Meanwhile, I turn my pocket inside out once more, to prove that there’s nothing inside.
『………it doesn’t make any sense.』
『No matter how I thought about it, such amount of cookies can not possibly fit in it right.』
『How did he take out cookies from empty pocket………』
『Maybe he’s a magician’s apprentice or something? 』
More onlookers tilted their heads, and groaned.
「Don’t geーt it! Tell me how you did that!」
Ra-chan shouts as she doesn’t understand it, but only this one, I can’t tell.
I was also under the silent pressure from the gallery, but no means no.
Although, I’m just using Space Magic, taking it out and moving it to storage.
「Everyone! The fresh stew is here!」
Accordingly, the voice of the stall owner who made the stew came precisely at that moment.
「That will be all then, since the stew is here. Let’s eat the stew, shall we.」
「Aahー! Al tricked me!」
「That’s right Alfried-sama!」
「It’s not me tricking you or anything. It becomes interesting when you don't understand it, right. Look, I’ll give the two of you cookies.」
「「Waーi!」」
These two are so simple.
『Oi, please do it one more time! I want to show it to this guy!』
『I beg of you, once more!』
『Imma see through the next one.』
When I lined up with a look of ignorance, there were voices asking me to show it again.
If I do some magic trick here, people will come and gather, and then Ra-chan’s oneechan might come and find her here.
Calculating like so, I undertook it.
「That’s fine. But right now I’m going to eat the stew, so let’s do it after that alright. How does that sound to you all?」
When I said that, the surrounding men lined up one after the other.
Thanks to that the stall owner is also beaming happily, and said that there is no need for me to pay for the stew.
After tasting the stew, I performed the same magic in front of everyone's eyes.
Since it would obviously be quite abnormal to use big things in the act, I only use small items such as copper coins and spoons used in the stew.
With such small items, I thought that there’s got to be a way to do it one way or another, but it appears that no one knows about the trick.
One person calls another person, then in the blink of an eye it becomes a large crowd and Ra-chan’s oneechan appear from a carriage as I had expected.
「Ra-chan!」
「Ah! Onee-chan!」
「Just where have you been, to think you would watch some performance in this kind of place. I’ve been looking for you, you know.」
Hou, just as Ra-chan said her oneechan is such a beauty. Especially her waist-length hair which I think is lovely.
「Come on, let’s go home Ra-chan.」
「Un! Bye bye Al～」
「Do you know that person?」
「Un, it’s Al, Al-oniichan」
「Ehh!? What does that mean?」
「It mean just like that!」
Ra-chan and her oneechan join her hands together, as they left all the while having such a quarrel.
As for me and Mina, we were being surrounded by a crowd of people and it is unlikely that we will be able to leave for the time being.
………even though I wanna go back soon.