CH 99

Inviting Brother Oluris over to make the amulets was completed successfully.

We were also relieved to see Oluris-sama return home, looking dreamily happy and well-loved by the little ones.

I was glad to see that the workshop was not only a magic study session, but also a good animal therapy for the little ones.

Even the beast-children, who were not as good at magic, seemed to be more interested in it than before.

By the time we disbanded, some of the children were happily repeating the spells they had learned.

After all, desire is the driving force behind that kind of thing, isn’t it? The power of the chuunibyo is great.

Now, after all that work, dinner was over and the time was just before the lights would go out.

Under the bright moonlit night sky, I summoned someone near my dormitory.

“Well then, Miss…what did you call me for?”

The one who asked me this with a fidgety face was my personal maid and undercover cook, Connie.

I called Connie to a secluded place where the light from the dormitory’s magic stone lamp was barely reachable.

“Fufufu. You say that, but you’re actually expecting something, aren’t you?”

“…Ehehe.”

That’s right, we had been making amulet charms for the day.

I was thinking about my promise to Connie, of course.

Connie was from an orphanage and had no family. I had promised to give her a good luck charm…an amulet, which she had admired after seeing the potpourri amulet given to Brother Will from Brother Oluris.

“…Nfufu…of course that’s what you want. Do you want it?”

“Hmm…I want it.”

Connie, whose cheeks had flushed, was shy with embarrassment at the thought of that promise.

To me, Connie was one of the few people I had known and trusted since I was a child.

I was familiar enough with her that she was now one of the few who would speak normally to me, and she was special because she followed me to the school and had made a great contribution. If anyone wanted a testimony, I would give it.

Besides, as I watched my new aides and followers more and more, I don’t think it was possible for me not to have think of her with a place in my heart.

Even so, I was glad that she always had the usual warm smile on her face and didn’t get depressed or tease me, or hit the other kids with a cold look.

…I had a history of knowing people who hid their underbelly and later turned into leopards. (***T/N: This saying is kind of like ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’)

That’s why I wanted to give her this.

I gently took out an amulet from the pouch at my waist.

The ribbon tied to the amulet was a sunny yellow color, like a sunflower.

When Connie saw the color, she couldn’t hold back and smiled and laughed just like the flower.

“Thank you for everything, Connie…my, precious family.”

“…!”

A tiny objects as passed from little me to adult Connie.

But I smiled and puffed my chest out, hoping this would mean a lot to Connie.

When she hugged the amulet and I saw Connie’s tears and snot dripping down her cheeks, I felt a rush of relief and joy.

As I wiped away Connie’s tears, I thought that perhaps I had always been looking for a different kind of “family” other than my parents, who had loved me since I was born.

—And that’s when it happened.

A light burst with a harsh sound and bounced off the shadows of a building some distance away.

At the same time, a strong wind blew from there as if something were being pushed out.

“This……no way!!”

“Is this the effect of the amulet you were talking about today…!?”

Connie and I rushed out in the direction of the strong wind and light that emanated from the area where someone was in danger.

[Original Author’s Note] The final part will be a milestone for the next story. I wrote this because I thought that a trustworthy maid would be irreplaceable for the main character, who has a strong personality as an adult woman from her previous life, but is also young Alice in her current life.

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T/N: Let’s be honest here, the Alice x Connie ship in this story is the best, haha. Any bets on who is in danger? I’m personally betting it’s one of the beast-kiddos.