Chapter 205: Naru (1)

Chapter 205: Naru (1)“So Cecily became an honorary duchess of Steg Maia. Isn’t that amazing?”

Swoosh—Cecily puffed out her chest in front of her sisters.Her attitude was extremely proud and arrogant.Hina yawned softly while listening to this story.

“I’ve heard this story 8 times already... I could recite it from memory, Cecily.”“Naru finds it fascinating every time she hears it! Where’s that friend Melody? Did she become a princess of Steg Maia? Huh?”

While Naru and Hina were reacting differently to the story they had heard many times, Sifnoi, who was hearing this story for the first time today, shouted “I see!” as if she had gained a great realization.

“I see, so that’s why the nobles were carrying around the ‘Nymph Declaration of Rights’...! It’s an excellent system...!”

Even after experiencing another world, Sifnoi was still as noisy as ever. No, if anything, Sifnoi seemed even noisier than usual.

Hmm, hmm, hmmm—It was quite unsettling to see Sifnoi humming and sweeping the garden. Usually, when asked to do work, Sifnoi would try to negotiate by saying, “This requires additional pay...!”But today, Sifnoi’s mood was completely on cloud nine.

“Sifnoi, you seem to be in a good mood. Did anything happen?”

I asked.Then Sifnoi spoke as if she had been waiting for this question.

“Mwehehe, do you want to hear about it...?”“No.”“You must listen...! I, Sifnoi, will soon obtain the Thieves’ Codex and become the King of Thieves...! Now that I’ve found the hidden cave, the end is in sight...!”

I see.It means the end of the back alley era is near.The Thieves’ Codex was actually hidden deep inside ‘that cave’, so it should feel more like ‘just the beginning’, but I didn’t say that.Then, the cheerful Sifnoi started babbling about things I hadn’t even asked about.

“Also, I, Sifnoi, am a nymph born in autumn... Nymphs born in autumn become extremely happy when autumn arrives...! Look at these autumn leaves...!”

As Sifnoi said, the autumn leaves were beautifully coloring the garden.It seemed like just yesterday we were suffering from the hot summer weather, but now cool breezes often blew, making walks in the garden quite pleasant.

“So, is that lady the Lady Leone?”

Swoosh—As I was walking in the garden for a while, Brigitte approached me and whispered in my ear.Brigitte’s eyes were glancing at a woman sitting on the balcony near the garden, combing Cariote’s hair.It was as Brigitte said.

“Lady Leone is just visiting for a bit.”

Some time had passed since the journey to Steg Maia.Lady Leone, who had become a resident of 「Abyss Land」 first visited the Ragdoll family mansion and then stopped by our odds and ends mansion.I heard that when she visited the Ragdoll family mansion, it was complete chaos.People were flipping out, crying and laughing, it was a total mess, they said.It was because someone they thought was dead had appeared after more than 20 years.

Anyway, Cariote was sitting on the balcony, having her hair combed by her mother.Rustle— Rustle—It was similar to how Cecily used to comb Cariote’s hair long ago.

“Mom, I’m not a little kid anymore...”“Are you going to deprive your mother of the joy of combing her daughter’s hair? I couldn’t do it for so long, so let me do it at least today.”“......”

Cariote obediently let her hair be combed. She seemed quite embarrassed, but probably couldn’t bring herself to refuse her mother’s request.Soon, Cariote opened her mouth as if trying to change the atmosphere.

“How is it living in Abyss Land? I heard it’s a very barbaric and unpleasant land. Wouldn’t it be better to just live with us instead of staying there?”“No, it’s not necessarily like that. I’ve been in Steg Maia for so long that the chaos there is just right for me. And your father is in ‘Abyss Land’.”“Dad is?”

Cariote looked at me.Soon after making eye contact with me, Cariote opened and closed her palm towards me a few times.Was that her way of greeting?As I was greeting her back in the same way, Brigitte poked my side.

“Naru likes the striped one!”“Oh really? Then we should buy the striped one.”

Naru was quite an opinionated child.She saved time by quickly picking out the items Brigitte was pondering over, truly a filial daughter. I should consider increasing Naru’s allowance.

Anyway, we walked around the high-end goods store in Freesia 3rd Street in that manner. Then Brigitte stopped in front of a certain store.It was a place that sold various small and cute items.

“...Was there a store like this here?”

Brigitte seemed to find the unfamiliar store strange.It was my first time seeing it too.Did it open recently?

Ding-a-ling— Ding-a-ling—As we entered the door as if entranced, a warm-looking elderly lady greeted us.

“My, what a wonderful couple. And such an adorable little child too.”

The old lady’s speech was leisurely, sounding like a dialect from the southern region. Perhaps she was an immigrant from the warm southern region to this Freesia?Her white hair tied with a hairpin made her look like a noble lady.She probably opened the store as a pastime or hobby in her later years.

“Naru is Naru! Hello, grandma!”“Hello, Naru. You look very healthy and cute.”“This is Naru’s friend, Molumolu!”

━Meowww.

“My, what a cute Molumolu. My granddaughter loves her Molumolu too.”

While the noble lady and Naru were greeting each other, Brigitte slowly looked around the store.After wandering around for a while, Brigitte stopped abruptly in front of shoes as small as my thumb.The old lady said.

“Those are shoes I wove myself with thread. Aren’t they cute? We have plenty in various colors, so take your time looking. Or would you like me to choose for you?”

In response to the elegantly aged clerk’s question, Brigitte looked at Naru.And then she asked Naru.

“Naru, which one do you like?”“Hmm... Naru likes yellow! Because most butterflies are yellow!”

Swoosh—Naru picked up the yellow shoes.Seeing this, the old lady smiled gently and asked.

“Did Naru choose shoes for her little sibling to wear?”“No! Naru will wear them!”“...Huh?”

The old lady seemed not to understand. She was probably puzzled that the big Naru said she would wear shoes that looked like they should be worn by one-year-old babies.But the old lady soon laughed softly and wrapped up the shoes.She might have thought it was just a child’s playful talk.

“Cradle! Milk bottle! Rattle! Naru will choose the things Naru likes!”

Naru skillfully chose items in the store that sold products for young babies. As if she had been planning to choose these things from the beginning.

Rustle— Rustle—The old lady wrapped the items in fine paper and occasionally looked at me, Brigitte, and Naru with warm eyes.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om