CH 303

Instead of moving via the bathroom, I entered from the outside of the hospital, took the formal visit procedure, and went to Colette-chan’s hospital room.

……Of course, no matter how private the room she’s in, I don’t teleport directly into her room every time.

You’ll never know when the Doctor, doing his rounds, will arrive, or when the nurses will come to check on her IV.

Even if she is not sick, Colette-chan needs to be nourished, and she needs to be given several intravenous drips every day to prevent suppuration, and she’s not able to eat a full meal for now.

Besides, Colette-chan seems to be getting special treatment, so she seems to be visited more often to see how she’s doing.

So that’s why I teleported outside the hospital and properly passed through the reception desk.

Sabine-chan, however, was so bothered by this that she demanded a transition to the toilet, so I allowed it only during times when they were definitely not making their rounds, during meal times, or afternoon…….

Otherwise, we properly transitioned outside the hospital.

Now Sabine-chan is not here (she’s up all night playing games and currently sleeping at my Japanese home) and there’s a stranger.

Not an adult, but a little girl, about the same age as Colette-chan.

Since she is in pajamas, she may be a patient.

……If this is this girl’s everyday clothes for walking around town, then we have a bit of a problem.

Children who were in the hospital for long periods of time get bored and wander around the hospital, you know, except for those who were seriously injured or too sick to get out of bed……

And then she found a hospitalized patient her own age……

This girl doesn’t seem to have any injuries that would require her to be hospitalized, so I guess she’s sick.

……Even so, if she really is a patient… Then…

“Are~, did you make a friend?” (Mitsuha)

I smiled at Colette-chan and her guests.

“Yeah! It’s my friend, Laurin-chan!” (Colette)

“I’m sorry to bother you, my name is Laurin!”

Following Colette-chan, the girl greets me with a smile.

Umumumu…….

There is nothing unnatural about the girl’s appearance.

…And that part is… unnatural…

No, there should be something!

Like panicking about meeting your friend’s family for the first time, or the anxiety of suddenly meeting them at an unexpected time……

A perfectly smooth smile and answer without such things.

Yeah, smells like a pro, a child actress in the entertainment industry……

“Nice to meet you! I am her sister, Aletta.” (Mitsuha)

“Pleased to meet you!” (Laurin)

See, she just made an “Eh?” face! But only for a brief moment.

Based on my apparent age, it should be easy to guess that I am Colette-chan’s older sister.

So why did she react so unexpectedly? Even if it was only for a moment.

No, she could tell from our hair, eyes, skin color, and appearance that we were not similar.

Still, I may be her half-sister, her sister-in-law, and so on. And yet, that blatant “I’m in an unexpected situation!” face. What’s with that reaction, I wonder?

And her response was natural, but I’m older… At her age, she’ll be gradually making slip-ups…

If a little girl was surprised that I was Colette-chan’s sister, she would normally have a much bigger reaction, like “What?”. She would be letting her voice slip out of her mouth……

What kind of self-control was that? A slight swaying facial expression for a moment?! Did you have any kind of training?!!

…or rather, I guess she did train…

I told Colette-chan in advance that I would use a false name to third parties.

It’s a different name registered in the hospital records, a name that was not even the same as the one that was knighted in a certain country.

And Colette-chan must not have said a single word to anyone about us or her family.

……It’s the thing that makes them feel uncomfortable or be skeptical of my name and my relationship with Colette-chan, and then slightly expresses it.

She knew my name and my relationship with Colette-chan beforehand. So she was at a loss for words for a moment. Because she couldn’t speak the lines that she had prepared.

And if she was surprised that I am the sister, her reaction would have been much greater.

……For a normal girl around 10 years old, that is.

Yes, normally…

And as a bonus, she’s cute. Very cute.

No, it’s true that all the girls I met in the other world were cute.

But that’s because all the girls I know, except for Colette-chan, were children of royalty or nobility.

……The result of the hard work of top breeders that has continued for hundreds of years.

Combining only beautiful men and women with high standings, the offspring will also be beautiful men and women.

In addition, they were polished from an early age, so it was only natural that they should be pretty.

So, that’s fine and all. It makes sense scientifically, statistically, and genetically.

……But the little girl I met at the hospital, who happened to be hospitalized at the same hospital as Colette-chan, was a beautiful girl.

No, it’s stochastically, not impossible. I know that…… But still, it smells fishy.

Besides, this is one of the things I had previously envisioned as “it may likely be”.

……Well, I’m sure she doesn’t mean to harm me or Colette-chan or anything like that.

Just gathering information, or trying to make friends and get us to be sympathetic, and then later trying to get us to help in some way by saying “Actually, my father is in a difficult position” or something like that……

But this child was not supposed to know who we are… and I don’t think she will have the opportunity to find out in a reasonable way in the future…

What in the world were you going to do about it?……

And it’s normal for her to leave when her friend’s family comes.

As she was hospitalized here, she can come and talk to Colette-chan anytime she wants, and no one would want to interrupt the time spent with a family who have come all the way here.

There should be none.

…I don’t think there is…

”……”

””…………””

”””………………”””

She’s not backing off~~!

It’s not like she’s talking to me herself…… she probably doesn’t know how to talk to me. I’m sure she has at least secretly seen my photo, but since I told her I’m Colette-chan’s sister, “Aletta,” she can only talk to me on that basis…… so she’s silently waiting for me to talk to Colette-chan.

…Umumu, what should I do now…

”……”

””…………””

”””………………”””

Uwa, she’s still sitting there unfazed by this silence…

Child actors should’ve been scared by now!!!

…But this one doesn’t make any hint of impatience.

“I’m sorry, I’m going to talk about something important with my family…” (Colette)

As expected, she could not stay when she was told so clearly.

I mean, there’s no point if me and Colette-chan can’t have a conversation as long as she was there.

Well, I guess there were probably hidden cameras and listening devices, so there was no need to force herself to stay, knowing that we would be suspicious… She was pretty persistent with that, though.

And after the little actress, Laurin, left the room…….

Hyuhyun~!

Hidden cameras, recorders, and wiretapping devices set up in the room were all transferred away in an instant.

Well, when Colette-chan was not in the room for an inspection or something, they would probably set them up again, but Colette-chan and Sabine-chan only talk to each other knowing that, and they use the other world’s language to talk about things that were a bit more secretive.

The reason we don’t talk in the other world’s language all the way was that once they have some data, they may be able to decipher it.

…I would not underestimate the scientific power of mankind.

And I’m thankful that we have access to many state-of-the-art hidden cameras and recording devices used by professionals.

Eventually, the time will come when it will be useful again.

And, perhaps Colette-chan knows all this while talking to that little girl.

General information about this country… common information that girls around the age of 10 know. As a source of information, to get fashion, entertainment, food, and much more…

Colette-chan grew up in a rural area with little information, and although she was naive, she wasn’t stupid.

She knows what to say and what not, she never forgets what I teach her…… and she follows my instructions to the letter. No matter what.

So, in a way, Colette-chan is more trustworthy than Sabine-chan.

……Oh right, I also have to close the curtain.

The technology of shining a laser beam on a window pane from a distance to read the vibrations of the pane caused by conversations in the room and eavesdrop on them was already a cliché.

So, why don’t the both of us relax until it’s time to pick up Sabine-chan…….