BSS 117

Chapter 117

If Aini was going to enter an academy with me backing her, then whether she wanted to or not, she had no choice but to learn spirit arts at Drikke.

My influence only barely worked within Drikke Academy, after all.

The authority I held as a baron’s daughter was so insignificant elsewhere that it was hardly worth calling power at all.

“Isn’t Drikke a very prestigious academy? I wasn’t hoping for something like that. Something more ordinary…”

“It’s my alma mater, so it’s much easier for me to support Aini there. More importantly, the Department of Spirit Studies doesn’t have any students right now. They were even considering shutting it down once I graduated… If a new student comes in, they’ll keep it open. That’s good for me, too.”

I didn’t want the place where I had spent my childhood to disappear. And if they gained a talented student, it wouldn’t be a loss for the academy either.

Luckily, it seemed to turn out well for both sides.

“There probably won’t even be any tuition. It runs on royal funds, so the facilities are pretty good, the food is good too. And above all, it’s very peaceful.”

“Oh my…”

“Don’t you like Drikke? Is Dmitri too far away?”

“No, it’s not that… It just sounds too good to be true. Honestly, I thought you’d react negatively, so I never expected you to help so readily… Thank you. Genie, you’re my benefactor.”

“It’s too early to thank me. Aini might not want to learn spirit arts.”

My sister looked nothing but happy, but I had to pour cold water on that.

The most important person in this negotiation was Aini, and above all, nothing could be achieved if Aini didn’t want it.

“Aini might not adapt to the academy, or she might fail to make use of her talent and get expelled. We have to ask whether she’s okay with that. More important than my opinion is Aini’s opinion. Sis, this isn’t for us to decide—we need to let Aini decide.”

This wasn’t just anything; it was something she’d be studying for the rest of her life.

By the time we returned to my sister’s house in the village, it was very late at night.

Aini was fast asleep, and it was the first time I’d ever seen her so still.

She was always hiding somewhere or darting away like an arrow.

My sister, Anel, silently watched the sleeping Aini and gently stroked her for a long time, wearing a mother’s expression I’d never known.

I watched that scene for a bit, then fell asleep resting my head on Rai’s tail.

And almost for the first time, I dreamed of my family from this world.

A blond-haired father and mother whose faces I barely remembered, and three older brothers whose images flickered faintly.

“Genie, Genie. Look—she really looks when we call her that. I guess she likes the name.”

My mother’s touch, as soft as flower petals.

“Seems so. Let’s call her Genie. Genie Crowell.”

My father calling me in a familiar, soothing low voice—perhaps because I’d heard it since the womb.

“Father! That name’s too common!”

“That’s right. It’s not very noble either. She’s so small and cute—she deserves a much cooler name.”

“Um, me too… I want to hold her too. Mother, please let me hold her.”

My parents were surprisingly young, and my brothers chattered like little angels, often making me feel as though I were inside a fairy tale.

We weren’t extremely wealthy, but we were a warm, loving family.

So different from my original family that it always made me hesitate… but I didn’t dislike it.

It was just hard to accept so easily.

More than anything, we separated before I could grow used to it, so our relationship stopped there.

The time we spent feeling awkward around each other was far too long. To me, they were people I didn’t know how to speak to.

In some ways, they felt far more uncomfortable and burdensome than an emperor or a king.

But even so, if there were people who would have cried, worrying because they thought I was dead, it would have been them.

Ah—Bright, Mia, and Iruje too. And Teacher Iel. Hansen and Philo as well.

As I thought of the people who would be worrying about me one by one, my life didn’t feel so bad after all.

As soon as I reached the city, I should send them a telegram saying I was safe.

They’d surely be happy.

“I don’t want to! I’m not going alone!”

“Aini!”

It was noisy from early morning.

I woke up to the sound of my sister and Aini arguing, rubbed my eyes, and let out a long yawn.

“Mom is stupid!”

Aini glared at me with a face full of anger, snorting furiously.

She looked as if she were blaming me, but the look was so ridiculous that I yawned again and stretched.

They soon started arguing in their tribal language, so I couldn’t understand the rest, but before long Aini stormed out of the house, and my sister let out a sigh so deep it seemed the ground might cave in. It was easy to tell things weren’t going well.

“Haa…”

“Sis, are you okay?”

“I don’t know. She was jumping for joy at the academy idea, but the moment I said I couldn’t go with her, she got stubborn like that. She knows it’s for her own good…”

Scratching the back of my head, now shaped like a bird’s nest, I thought about it. Raising kids really is hard.

Since I’d always been the one causing trouble, I understood all too well why Aini was resisting.

“It can’t be helped. She’s at the age where she doesn’t want to be separated from her mom, right? And it’s so sudden, too.”

“Genie, you said you’re leaving tomorrow, right?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Could you wait just a little longer? I think I need to persuade Aini.”

“Well… okay. A day or two, at least.”

Since I’d already received favors, delaying my departure by a few days wasn’t impossible.

Anything longer would be difficult, though—I had family and friends too.

The city was too far away to wait aimlessly.

Even now, someone might be mourning my death.

“Then what if you go together with her? If the problem is that Aini would be alone, wouldn’t that solve it? Once she enters the academy, you won’t be able to see each other for a long time anyway…”

“I’d like that too, but right now I can’t leave the village. I’m in the middle of taking the trials to become the next chief. There are still two years left, and after that… it’ll be even harder to go outside.”

Right. My sister was the next chief.

Even to an outsider like me, her standing in the village was clearly special.

It was obvious that all the tribespeople trusted and followed her.

No wonder her shoulders carried such a heavy burden.

“To go to Dmitri, I’d have to leave the village empty for at least three or four months… That’s impossible.”

“We can use warp facilities. If money’s the problem, I’ll pay.”

“That’s not the issue. Aini needs to learn how to be on her own. Leaving the jungle means facing things like that.”

“Hm, when you put it that way, you’re right.”

“She relies on me too much. I can’t stay with her forever… I think sending her now is the right choice. A year is a long time for children, you know?

I know that learning earlier is better. And I know this is a chance that may never come again.”

That chance was obviously me. How often would an outsider with such perfect conditions just happen to drop into this village again?

Someone with enough connections to get a tribal child into an academy, and someone trustworthy enough to leave the child with.

If she followed me now, Aini could gain what she wanted.

But she would be separated from her mother. Was that gaining everything, or losing something?

I knew it was a difficult question for a child. I could imagine the fear stirring in Aini’s small head.

“Isn’t it ironic? If I become chief, it’ll be even harder to give Aini freedom. People have expectations of the chief’s daughter. But Aini can’t even catch a single rabbit. If I can open another path for her, I want to.”

Parents really do consider far more than one might think. Watching my sister’s dark expression, that thought suddenly came to me.

“I even thought about giving everything up and leaving here to become a mercenary again. Abandoning the jungle too… For Aini’s sake, I could do it. But…”

“But?”

“I’m afraid of dying. It’s a feeling I never knew before. I’m terrified of leaving Aini behind alone.”

I understood. Being a mercenary was brutal work where you never knew when you’d die. People paid mercenaries precisely to do dangerous jobs.

I had to acknowledge that my sister had made the best choice she could. Whether Aini would accept it was another matter.

“Please wait. I’ll persuade Aini somehow.”

Whenever I looked at my sister, my parents from this world kept coming to mind. Did they think of me in the same way?

Even though I wasn’t exactly a good daughter—did they still think of me like this?

Before leaving, the first thing I packed was the sword Magi had given me.

It had a large blue diamond set in the hilt and was made of Rai’s special alloy, making its durability incomparable. Crafted by Magi, who boasted two hundred years of blacksmithing experience, it was an extraordinary masterpiece by human standards.

Magi had tossed it over his shoulder, saying he didn’t like it—but his standards were far too high.

Anyway, I’d deliberately picked it up and carried it on my back the whole time, planning to present it to the king.

Even though it was far too long and large for me and incredibly cumbersome.

“Luggage packed, sword packed! Then shall we go!”

[Yeah!]

I had a perfect plan.

I’d present this sword to the king, claiming it was a gift from a dragon, and live a life of wealth and glory—a modest little dream!

One thing I’d learned early on was that as long as you had the greatest authority backing you, no one could slander you.

To live freely and do whatever you wanted, what you needed most was a solid protector. And this sword was preparation for exactly that.

“Genie, do you know swordsmanship too?”

When I stepped outside with the sword on my back, my sister noticed it and asked, puzzled.

“Nope! It’s just for style!”