~Chapter 10~
And then—when their youngest sister, whom they had been separated from, finally came back, only to look shabby and scruffy beyond belief!
How could they have treated her like that?
Forget that she was a direct Clawdean.
She was just a tiny child, barely four years old.
Even if she’d been born with strong powers, a four-year-old couldn’t possibly use them much yet.
“I can’t forgive this….”
Damian muttered.
Meanwhile, outside the window, Clover was rolling around on the grass, clinging to some kind of blue blob.
“What the…?”
What was that? Narrowing his eyes to look closer, Damian leaned toward the window.
“Wait, hey, look at that!”
“Huh?”
“Brother, isn’t that Father’s summon?”
“What? You mean the Lion of the North Wind?”
The two boys gasped and pressed against the window.
Their emotions stirred, and with their movement, a faint breeze brushed past.
But they didn’t even notice.
What mattered was the thing playing beside Clover.
Staring hard at the little green pea-sized girl and the “blue blob,” Damian muttered—
“It really is….”
Yes, it was Khalid’s summon, the Lion of the North Wind.
A summon.
A being born from a Powerbearer’s gift, bound to share their master’s life and death.
Summons looked different depending on how big and mighty their master’s powers were.
Some Powerbearers only had rough, shapeless blobs. Others had summons with more delicate forms.
So, the bigger and more majestic the summon, the greater the Powerbearer’s strength.
And Khalid’s summon, the Lion of the North Wind—
Every Powerbearer agreed it was the most massive and beautiful summon in existence.
It was so proud that it never showed itself to anyone except when called directly by its master.
It wouldn’t even come close to Khalid’s own children—So-ne, Damian, and Arwin.
So seeing it now—throwing away its majestic form and rolling around as a cat right there on the grass?
Impossible….
When the pea-sized little girl hopped on the spot, the Lion of the North Wind hesitated, then hopped up right alongside her.
That was a sight Damian and Arwin had never seen once in their lives at the Clawdean estate.
And they were sure—even their older sister, So-ne, who’d lived more years than them, had never seen anything like it either.
“That’s it, I can’t take this anymore!”
Arwin, who couldn’t tear his eyes away from the moving little girl, muttered firmly.
“I want to meet Clover.”
“What?”
“If she leaves now, who knows when we’ll get another chance to see her.”
Arwin stared at her round little head.
“I have to meet her. I want to say hello to our baby sister.”
***
Clover came back to her room, dangling from Belze’s hand, happily munching the strawberry on top of her cake.
[That good, huh?]
“Yeah, of course!”
Of course she was happy—Clover felt like she was flying.
All thanks to the cat she’d just met—Khalid’s summon.
Not today. I’ll tell you tomorrow.
Tomorrow?
Leaving those words behind, the cat had leapt away.
But Clover stayed sitting there long after it left.
It was hard to believe such luck had just dropped into her lap.
She pinched her own cheek to make sure it wasn’t a dream.
When she realized it was real, she jumped around excitedly until Belze found her and brought her back inside.
But that was fine.
She’d practically already found the treasure.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow she would really find it. Then she wouldn’t have to go back to Demper.
If she, Clover, suddenly found the treasure her father had been searching so hard for?
Daddy would be thrilled.
Her imagination ran wild, and Clover giggled. She couldn’t stop smiling, no matter how hard she tried.
[Good. Then you really can live here. I wasn’t happy about you being sent off somewhere else anyway.]
“Yeah, this is really great. But, Lucky…”
[Hm?]
“Why couldn’t Daddy find it?”
[Hmmm… I don’t really know either. But if you look, you’ll figure it out.]
“Mm… I hope tomorrow comes fast….”
Still grinning, Clover shoveled a big bite of cake into her mouth.
The soft cream melted perfectly—just like her mood right now.
I love Clawdean….
Daddy was here. Her big sister and brothers—she hadn’t met them yet, but they were here too.
And there was delicious cake.
Just thinking that she could stay in such a place made her smile even more.
She was chewing her cake with her fork between her lips when—
“Young Lady.”
Belze, who’d stepped out for a moment, returned and called her.
Clover stopped mid-bite and looked up.
“Hm?”
“You have guests. Do you want to meet them?”
“Guests?”
“Well…”
Belze hesitated, glancing nervously outside.
From the way he was acting, whoever it was must be a very important person.
“Who is it?”
“Can’t we just go in?”
A strange voice spoke from outside.
Clover’s eyes went wide and her ears perked up.
Who was that?
“But Young Master, Lady Clover isn’t fully recovered yet….”
“But I saw her just now with the Lion of the North Wind. If she can handle that thing, then surely she can handle us.”
The voice was gentle, but carried a stubborn edge.
Startled by the unfamiliar voice, Clover hugged a cushion tightly.
A stranger… I’ve never heard that voice before….
Clover was actually a little shy around new people.
She’d been startled when she first met Belze too, so this wasn’t unusual.
[It’s okay, little one. I don’t think they’re bad people.]
Lucky glowed gold, floating in front of her.
[If you ask me… they’re probably your family.]
“Mm? Family…?”
Clover whispered.
Just then, the half-open door swung wide.
Whoosh.
A small breeze slipped into the room, blowing her bangs aside.
And two boys, looking exactly like Khalid, walked in.
Both had the same golden eyes as Khalid, and Clover could sense a faint trace of storm power from them.
The same “wind smell” that came from the cat.
Dressed neatly, they looked just as impressive as Khalid himself. And even though it was the first time she’d ever seen them, somehow they didn’t feel like strangers at all.
Clover clutched the cushion, staring.
The boy standing on the left smiled brightly and said—
“We won’t come closer. We’ll just stay here and look. Is that okay?”
He spoke as if asking Belze’s permission.
After a moment’s hesitation, Belze nodded.
And the two brothers really did stay by the doorway, looking at Clover from there.
“Hello, Clover.”
“Hi, little one.”
Two brothers who looked alike but not the same gazed at her with dazzling golden eyes, just like the sun.
Clover stared back, then, remembering Lucky’s words from earlier, whispered—
“Family.”
“Hm?”
“Clover’s family….”
