Three months had passed since I came here. Because of Peruere’s introverted nature, the two of us celebrated her sixth birthday alone.
To begin with, Peruere had not told the other children about her birthday. Naturally, she had not told me either, but Arlecchino was one of the characters I had seriously built in Genshin Impact, so I had memorized her birthday.
So I went to get a cake to celebrate her birthday, only for the other children to ask me if it was someone’s birthday today. In the end, I decided to save the small cake I usually ate as a snack.
I told Peruere to come out beneath the tree where we had met before that night, then waited with a cake and candles on a tray.
Before long, Peruere entered my sight, and I waved her over.
Seeing the cake and candles, Peruere looked puzzled.
"What’s this...?"
"What do you think? It’s your birthday cake."
"I never told you my birthday..."
"Hehe. Little sister, there’s nothing your big brother doesn’t know. From the food you like to the secrets you never let show."
"That... somehow makes me uncomfortable."
"You like sashimi and raw meat, don’t you? You hate seasoned food."
"...You know too much. It makes me uncomfortable."
"Putting that aside, happy birthday, Peruere."
I stuck the candles into the cake and lit them with fire from my fingertip. After all the training, I had learned how to control the intensity of my flames. This might actually come in handy.
"Thank you, Big Brother..."
Peruere immediately blew out the candles and began eating the cake in small bites. She really did eat adorably.
"Come to think of it, Peruere, have you been keeping your promise to me?"
"Yes... I haven’t shown Mother my abilities. But is this really the right thing to do?"
"Showing them now would only poison things for you. You can’t hide that black stuff spreading over your arms and hands, but luckily, Crucabena dismisses it as nothing more than a curse."
"Then I’ll reveal them when you tell me to."
"Yes. Do that."
She listened well. Come to think of it, she had just turned six. That meant a new character would be arriving soon.
"Peruere? A new child will be coming here soon. She’s a girl, and her hair is the same color as Crucabena’s. It can’t be helped, since she’s that woman’s daughter."
"How do you know things like that? Do you really know everything?"
"No, I only know what I know. I don’t know what I don’t know. Anyway, you need to get along with her, all right? She might be the child who changes your life."
"Okay. I’ll try."
It was hard to imagine her making an effort in her relationships with people. Hadn’t she only gotten close to Clervie in the animation because Crucabena told Clervie to look after Peruere?
"You really have to try, okay? Listen to me."
"When have I ever not listened to you?"
"Hmm..."
For the past three months, Crucabena had been putting me through training disguised as education outside regular hours. Hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, elemental applications—she was teaching me all sorts of strange things that were not appropriate for someone my age. Perhaps thanks to that, I repeatedly earned excellent scores in the physical trials unlike the other children, and among the children, the mood was practically certain that I would become king.
But my goal was not to become king. It was to take Crucabena down. Even if I could not take her down and died instead, it would not be bad for me if I left behind more cards capable of doing it. That was why I decided to raise Peruere, the one who had slaughtered Crucabena in the story.
When I told her that I would raise her, Peruere did not show any displeasure. She simply said she understood with a blank expression, and that was how our life together began.
At night, I called Peruere out under the pretext of sparring and drilled into her everything Crucabena had taught me. On weekends, while the children played near the House of the Hearth, the two of us went into the forest and secretly developed our elemental powers behind Crucabena’s back. How could we manage that secretly? Perhaps because Peruere’s instincts were so sharp, she could immediately tell if a spy was following us or if some strange spell had been placed on our bodies. If we broke the spell, Crucabena would notice, so on those days, Peruere and I played like children our age.
There were days when the stress from what Crucabena had done to me made me push Peruere harder than usual. Yet rather than resisting, Peruere simply said—
"If you’re telling me to do it, there must be a reason."
—and complied. What exactly was I to this child, in her world?
"You really never have disobeyed me. So make sure you get along with her, okay?"
"Okay."
And so our summer passed, and autumn arrived.
Perhaps because it was the Thanksgiving season, noisy sounds came from the kitchen. It did not seem right to leave cooking to children like us, and who knew what the results would be anyway, so the older orphans I had seen in the basement that time were doing the cooking.
Meanwhile, we spent our time in the room wondering what food would be coming out soon.
"What do you think we’ll get? Cake? Chicken?"
"Idiot! Since it’s Thanksgiving, it must be a day for giving thanks for the harvest, so it’ll be something made from grains!"
Citra was making a guess about grains based on a clumsy interpretation of the word. Obviously, I expected turkey. The kind you ate with gravy. I had never had it in my life, so I was looking forward to it in my own way. Though I had heard it was incredibly dry....
In the corner of the room, Peruere and I were playing cards. We were playing Old Maid, but it was rather boring with only two people.
"Hey, Citra!"
"What are you calling me for?!"
"Come over here and join our card game. It’s boring with just the two of us!"
"Hmph! Fine! If I can beat you at cards, I could ask for nothing more. You’re on!"
Just as Citra came over to join the game, the door opened and Crucabena entered. But it did not look like she had come alone.
"Children? Today, we will be welcoming a special guest. Clervie? Come here."
"Yes, Mother."
Clervie entered at Crucabena’s call, wearing white clothes and a lily-of-the-valley necklace.
"Now, children? This is my daughter, Clervie. I thought it would be good for her to live together with all of you, so I have brought her here. Please get along with her, all right?"
The children began murmuring among themselves.
"Mother’s daughter? Then she must be amazing!"
"Can someone like her really stay with us...? We’re orphans."
"As expected of Mother! She must think of us as her own children! That’s why she brought her into the House of the Hearth!"
As all kinds of interpretations flew around, I could only grimace because I knew that bitch’s true intentions. Perhaps realizing that I found the situation unpleasant, Peruere merely watched me in silence. Citra had already wandered far off, her attention captured by Clervie.
"Avrora? Peruere? Come over and welcome her too."
I nodded and approached Clervie.
"I’m Avrora. This is Peruere. Let’s get along from now on."
As I spoke, I offered my hand for a handshake.
Unaccustomed to this situation, Clervie looked back and forth between Crucabena and me.
"Now, Clervie? If a friend offers you a handshake, you should accept it."
"Yes, Mother..."
We shook hands, and all I could feel was that this soul was pitiful and tragic.
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