Volume 1 - CH 5

Guess the Name of the Sleeping Beauty (5)

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Considering more than half of the people who frequented this mansion salon were artists, honestly speaking, the boy’s guesses were not outstanding except for the suit.

However, Masato, who was half-conscious that he was killing time and let his guard down, was hit by a sharp hidden ball.

“You are a former honor student who graduated with excellent grades from Teito University, but for some reason turned into a poet, is that correct?”

“…”

After slightly pursing his lips to hide his agitation, he slowly opened them.

“From where did you get the idea that I graduated from Teito University?”

“The silver chain coming out of the inside pocket of your jacket is the one attached to your pocket watch, isn’t it? When you bent down, I saw the chain and also a part of the watch lid. I know it’s given to students who excelled in their final exams. I only know this because I know someone who has the same watch.”

“…So you know someone who graduated from Teito University.”

Not many people knew about silver pocket watches.

It was an object of honor rather than monetary value and was not publicly flaunted. It was known only to the family members of the bearer, or in secret among the elite in government offices.

The Teito University was the pinnacle of academics in the Empire of Japan, and only a few of the elites could enter.

A silver pocket watch was given to those who had achieved the highest grades among them.

A young man who, despite his elite status, wore a fine but old-fashioned suit and spent his spare time playing games with a boy at a salon where poor artists gathered.

A former honor student-well, it fit him.

The boy’s polite but unreserved manner of speaking did not make him angry. In fact, he thought it was rather creepy.

The mature look and expression on his young face were somewhat unrealistic, as if he were a fairy in the form of a child from a fairy tale.

He never thought that a game he played to pass the time would end up like this.

Even weirder was the sense of amusement that welled up inside. Masato was honestly impressed by the boy’s keen sense of observation.

“Well done, you guessed it. I’m here for a reason. How did you know I am a ‘turned-poet’?”

When he asked about the part that caught his attention, the boy smiled bitterly, like a magician who had been discovered.

“Pardon me. …Actually, I have heard about you from Mrs. Otogi. She said that ‘Senzaki-san the Poet’ is like a prince from a foreign fairy tale. So, as soon as I saw you, I recognized you as Senzaki-san. I apologize for my long and rambling speech.”

“I see.”

Here came the terrible revelation.

Well, it was true that Masato was a little bothered that the boy did not dare to talk about his most distinctive feature, his strange appearance.

Masato smiled as he watched the boy bow his head apologetically.　

“It’s like ‘Rumpelstiltskin’. So you knew my name from the beginning.”

“Yes, I did. Please don’t split yourself open in anger.”

The boy also chuckled and replied in a joking tone.

Rumpelstiltskin was the name of a dwarf in a Grimm’s Fairy Tale.

The dwarf appeared to a girl who was in trouble with the king and granted her wishes in exchange for a necklace and a ring, but in her last wish, he demanded that the girl gave him her first child.

The wish was granted, and the daughter married the king and became queen. When the dwarf came to claim the child, the daughter cried and begged not to take the child away from her.

The dwarf then made a condition: “If you guess my name in three days, the child will be yours.”

The daughter gave a name she knew, a name she had her messenger look up, but the dwarf simply said, “It’s not that name.” Then, on the third and final day, the messenger returned and said, “I heard the dwarf bouncing around in a small house, saying…”

In this way, the girl, who was able to learn the name of the dwarf by the messenger, pretended to be ignorant of it at first, but then guessed the name so well that the angry dwarf tore himself in half.

Knowing the story’s fallout, Masato’s heart secretly leaped at the boy’s reply.

When he had told Ichiya, he stared with a dumbfounded look and said, “What kind of incantation spell are you talking about?” and they couldn’t even have a proper conversation.

Even if the boy had known Masato’s name from the beginning, the process was enjoyable enough. Instead of becoming angry, Masato was intrigued by this clever and mysterious boy.

Masato leaned forward a little and asked the boy.

“Do you like Grimm’s Fairy Tales?”

“…Yes.”

The boy smiled quietly as he looked down.

“You seem to like it too.”

‘Well, I’ve been reading a lot about it. …It’s a little different from the story, but I hope you’ll accept this. It’s a reward for guessing my name.”

The boy blinked as Masato pulled a silver pocket watch from his inside pocket. He cowered as the boy shook his head and said, “I can’t accept it.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have a necklace or a ring, much less a child. That’s about all I have that might be of value.”

When he said that it would be worth a little if he sold it, the boy breathed a sigh of exasperation and said, “I don’t think it’s worth that much.”

“Anyway, I can’t take this. It’s not like I’m granting your wish.”

“Oh, about that, I have a little wish.”

“A wish?”

“I’m living at a friend’s apartment, but I’m about to be evicted. I need to find a job and a place to live. Is there anyone you know who might be a good employer?”

The boy said that Mrs. Otogi had just told him about Masato. From the boy’s manner and appearance, it was clear that he was a child of a good family.

The fact that he was visiting Mrs. Otogi’s salon and not her home alone made him wonder if he was a personal acquaintance of hers. Is he a relative of Mrs. Otogi’s or a child of a wealthy she knows?

He didn’t know who the boy was, but it would be good to get along.

Masato originally came to the salon with the intent to ask Mrs. Otogi for a job. He had been invited to serve at the café before, so he could count on her that much. …If the boy could also make some contacts among his relatives, he would be able to get out of this predicament for the time being.

He asked the boy with this calculation in mind, but the boy put his finger to his chin, turned his head down, and fell silent.

Masato was concerned that he was asking too much, but the boy raised his eyes without changing his expression.

“…I have a job position. I was just looking for someone.”

“Oh, that’s good to hear. What kind of work is it?”

“The basic job is to serve at the café. There’s a spare room in the same building as the café, so if you want, you can live there.”

“I see. Live-in. That’s a very good deal.”

A waiter at the café.

It was as expected.

“By the way, who’s the employer?”

“It’s me.”

“…You?”

This child was the employer.

That was unexpected.