Chapter 1-44 : The Girl Discovers A Small Piece Of Truth About Herself
「The blue mana belongs to Gilbert de Forster, the head of the Forster Family.」(shopkeeper)
「ー!?」(Elle)
Elle was surprised when she heard that name.
It was the name of the nobleman who rode with her in the stagecoach from the port town to this city yesterday.
「Oi, Elle, isn’t that the name of the old man from yesterday?」(Yoyo)
「Yeah… Mr. Forster…」(Elle)
「Elle, you know him?」(Ingrid)
「We rode the same stagecoach yesterday, but… Why is his mana in Neige’s stone?」(Elle)
「Wait a second. Let me check the record about him.」(shopkeeper)
Listening to Elle’s question, the shopkeeper flipped a page of the customer records in his hands.
「Hmm… It happened when my father was still the shopkeeper here, so I had no idea about it, but according to this record, Duke Forster ordered an artificial spirit from this shop as a present to his daughter about thirty years ago.」(shopkeeper)
The shopkeeper’s story somehow reminded Elle of her conversation with Gilbert de Forster in the stagecoach yesterday.
「By the way, Mr. Fosters told me the same thing. He said that he ordered a stuffed animal from the Long Tail Factory for his daughter, but then his daughter kept it in a box for a long time until she grew into an adult and had a child. Mr. Forster then said that his daughter gave the stuffed animal to her child as a birthday present.」(Elle)
「Wait, he really said that? I see… I see now! Dammit! Why didn’t I realize it sooner!?」(shopkeeper)
Listening to what Elle said, the shopkeeper suddenly held his head as if he had just remembered something.
「Little Lady, I think I know why this stone contains Duke Forster’s mana.」(shopkeeper)
「Really? Please, tell me what you know.」(Elle)
「Listen. It happened a long time ago, so I kinda forgot about it, but your bunny is not an artificial spirit made from scratch like the others.」(shopkeeper)
「What do you mean?」(Elle)
「When your dad came to my shop to place an order, he handed me an old artificial spirit stuffed animal and asked me to make a new one based on it. I recycled some parts, including the magic stone, to make a new artificial spirit, your bunny.」(shopkeeper)
「Wait a minute… So you say that Neige was made from an old living stuffed animal?」(Elle)
「Yes, and that old stuffed animal used to belong to Duke Forster’s daughter.」(shopkeeper)
「If that’s true… doesn’t that mean that I…」(Elle)
「Little Lady, you’re probably Duke Forster’s granddaughter.」(shopkeeper)
「…..」(Elle)
Elle was lost for words. She never thought that the gentle nobleman she met yesterday was her grandfather.
Now she understood why Gilbert de Forster said that she reminded him of his daughter.
「Speaking of Duke Forster, his only daughter was the late queen who died a year ago due to black spot disease, Queen Alfone.」(shopkeeper)
The shopkeeper continued talking. His words reminded Elle that Gilbert de Forster had also told her the same thing in the stagecoach that his daughter was the late queen, and the fact that she died because of the black spot disease when she visited a small village in the countryside.
「Queen Alfone!? Wait… That means… Elle is her daughter and… the princess of this country!?」(Ingrid)
「Oi, oi, oi! Is that true, Elle!?」(Yoyo)
Ingrid and Yoyo were shocked. The shopkeeper and the dwarves, too. But the most shocked person in the room was Elle herself. She held her head and began to tremble.
「I’m… not sure… I haven’t heard anything about it…」(Elle)
「But, wait a minute. Even if it’s true, what about your dad? What was his relationship with the queen?」(Ingrid)
「My dad… I don’t really know, but… he was probably her lover.」(Elle)
Elle recalled when Gilbert de Forster talked about his daughter’s fiancé.
“My daughter had a fiancé back then. It was her childhood friend. He was a knight and a good young man. He and my daughter had always been very close. They promised to live happily together until they died, but… It was I who had torn the happy couple apart…”, he said.
Elle remembered Gilbert saying that his greatest sin was marrying his daughter to the king.
She didn’t know who the young man Gilbert mentioned at that time was, but now she had a feeling that it was probably Hugo.
「It all makes sense now. Your bunny’s magic stone has three mana. The blue one is Duke Forster’s, and the other two, the red and the yellow ones, are your dad’s and the queen’s.」(shopkeeper)
「I see…」(Elle)
It was a complete shock for Elle to learn that her mother was the queen, but at the same time, she also felt sadness.
Even though she had never remembered what her mother was like, the fact that she would never ever see her gave her a great sense of loneliness.
Her father had passed away, and then she learned that her mother was no longer in this world either. For a twelve-year-old girl, this reality was unbearable.
However, unlike when she learned about her father’s death, her chest didn’t feel pain; instead, her chest felt empty as if there was a huge gaping hole in it, and then the grief and sorrow began to fill the hole and started overflowing in the form of tears that were running down her cheeks.
She put her hand on her chest and began to cry silently.
「Hk… Hkhh….!!」(Elle)
「Elle…」(Ingrid)
Seeing Elle crying, Ingrid gently wiped the tears on Elle’s cheek with her thumb and embraced her in her arms.
◇◇◇
「Have you calmed down?」(Ingrid)
「Un… Thank you.」(Elle)
After being wrapped in Ingrid’s warmth for a while, Elle had finally calmed down, and the tears stopped flowing out.
「Shall we go home for now? You should take some rest.」(Ingrid)
「She’s right. You were shocked, so you better have some sleep.」(Yoyo)
「No, I’m fine… I’m still worried about Neige. I won’t go home until I know that we can fix him.」(Elle)
「Don’t worry, Elle, the shopkeeper is a professional; moreover, he has skilled dwarves working for him. These men will surely fix your bunny. Right, gentlemen?」(Ingrid)
「Well…」(shopkeeper)
「…..」(dwarven workers)
Responding to Ingrid, the shopkeeper and the dwarves looked away awkwardly.
Ingrid tried to make Elle feel assured, but their reactions only made Elle worry even more.
「Hey, what’s with those faces? You won’t say you can’t fix him, will you?」(Ingrid)
「No, no. We can, but the problem is that it will take a very long time. First of all, your bunny collapsed because the three mana energies in his magic stone went out of control due to the shock when he heard about Hugo’s death. Because of that, this magic stone is no longer usable. It looks as beautiful as new from the outside, but on the inside, it’s kinda busted.」(shopkeeper)
「So, to fix the bunny, we need a fresh magic stone, huh?」(Ingrid)
「Yes, and as you know, magic stones for artificial spirits are special. They’re different from normal magic stones. They’re called “crystal magic stones”.」(shopkeeper)
「This is an artificial spirit shop, right? Don’t you have one available here?」(Ingrid)
「No, unfortunately. They’re extremely rare. We have never had any excess stock of crystal magic stones here. I’m working with many magic stone miners, but the stones are so rare that those miners can only find a couple of them every few years.」(shopkeeper)
「What? That’s ridiculously rare!」(Ingrid)
「Is that the reason why your customers have to wait at least five years to get their orders?」(Elle)
「Exactly.」(shopkeeper)
「I see… I can’t wait that long… Would you tell me where I can get those stones? I will go get them myself.」(Elle)
「The nearest site is the Sance Cave, a three-day carriage ride from this city, but monsters often appear in that cave. It’s very dangerous for a young girl like you.」(shopkeeper)
「Monsters!? That sounds like bad news. Elle, I don’t think it’s a good idea.」(Yoyo)
Yoyo looked worried, but on the contrary, Elle didn’t even change her expression when she heard that the cave was dangerous.
「No. I’m still going. Yoyo, just like you, Neige is an important family member to me. He had been sleeping for a very long time. First, inside the box the queen put him into when she was young, and then in my dusty room after my dad stopped coming home. I don’t want to let him stay like this any longer.」(Elle)
「I understand your feelings. I too feel bad for Neige, butー」(Yoyo)
「I’m still going. I can fight monsters with my magic stones and spells.」(Elle)
「You’re so stubborn as always!」(Yoyo)
「Little Lady, if you insist on going, then I suggest you hire some adventurers to escort you.」(shopkeeper)
「Hiring adventurers? But it will cost a lot of money, right?」(Elle)
「Well, it won’t be cheap, but you will be much safer.」(shopkeeper)
「Umm… Unfortunately, I don’t have much money right now. Besides, I don’t want to travel with strangers.」(Elle)
「Then how about a strong adventurer who you know very well and doesn’t need your money?」(Ingrid)
Saying that, Ingrid stood up and pointed her thumb at herself.
「Eh? You want to go with me?」(Elle)
「I may be a magic tool engineer, but I told you I used to work as an adventurer, didn’t I? I’ve been in many dangerous ruins and caves, so you can rely on me. Besides, I can’t let you go alone, can I?」(Ingrid)
「Ingrid… Thank you!」(Elle)
「Don’t worry, Elle. We’re going to save your bunny for sure!」(Ingrid)
「Un!」(Elle)
Elle was so happy that Ingrid offered her help. Hence, Elle and Ingrid decided to go on an adventure together to fix Neige.
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