1.
Sibling relationships.
Honestly, as an only child, I didn’t know much about them.
But I figured there were good relationships and bad ones.
Even family relationships were still relationships between people.
So...
"...Not every pair of siblings is necessarily as close as Your Highness and the prince, right? They could have a bad relationship instead."
"Ah..."
"It seems the same goes for those two gods. They probably just aren’t compatible."
When I used the word compatibility,
the princess’s expression turned slightly meaningful. Richard flinched as well.
It didn’t seem to be in a good way, though.
I asked what I had been wondering all along.
As carefully as possible.
"If it would not be rude, may I ask just one question?"
"Do you wish to ask who gave it to us?"
"...For now, yes."
The princess looked at me for a moment.
"His Majesty the Emperor."
She answered calmly.
Fuck. That made it impossible to say anything.
Right. The Emperor probably hadn’t expected this either.
They were items of good grade, bearing good scripts, even the name of a god who governed medicine and sorcery.
He had given them to his two sickly children on that basis.
Perhaps he had meant for their blessing to last forever...
I could say nothing and merely nodded.
Then the princess turned her gaze to the side.
"What do you think, Richard?"
"...There was no magical deception involved."
"Not that."
"..."
Richard was silent for a moment before quietly answering.
"...Of all the frauds... no, people who have spoken of compatibility thus far."
Swish.
His gaze lowered to me.
"...He is the only one who has actually presented grounds for it."
...Ah, right.
I remembered belatedly.
In this world, theories of compatibility were superstition.
Baseless drivel peddled by wandering appraisers and swindlers.
Much less would members of the imperial family believe in that sort of thing.
That was probably why their expressions had changed when I brought up compatibility.
But what could I do?
I had no choice but to keep saying things that made me sound like a con artist.
"I will speak to His Majesty separately about this matter, so Richard, do not relay a word of it."
"...As you command."
After repeatedly impressing that upon him, the princess turned to me.
"I have more questions about what I am curious about. Would that be all right?"
"Of course."
At that, Richard brought a chair from somewhere and placed it behind the princess.
There was no chair for me, of course. He had only brought one for the princess.
It was absurd for a moment, but...
I did not particularly mind. This way, our eye levels were roughly aligned.
Because I was short.
Thinking positively, I prepared to answer the princess’s questions.
"...Richard."
When the princess called to him with an incredulous look, Richard’s eyes turned toward me, but...
"I’m fine. This is more comfortable for me."
I waved him off first.
There was no reason to make that man bring another chair, either.
Perhaps because I had lived through graduate school, I did not particularly feel like receiving such treatment.
Only caring about being treated well was what made someone a fraud.
I had nothing to regret. Treatment naturally followed when the results were good.
"...So in the end, the problem is this."
The princess cautiously began.
"The [Moonlight Essence Necklace]."
"Yes."
"Then the Sun Rising..."
"It is the one having its essence siphoned away by that necklace."
I pointed to the pendant whose essence had been sucked dry.
"On the contrary, the [Sun Rising Pendant] is openly a good item. Even after its essence is depleted, it replenishes itself by absorbing sunlight."
"...I see."
The princess drew in a breath, then carefully asked,
"So given my current condition, I cannot wear the [Moonlight Essence Necklace], while the Sun Rising is jewelry that is safe to wear."
"Yes."
It would be best not to wear the [Moonlight Essence Necklace] anymore. Keeping it as a display piece would probably be the best option.
"Then... if I do wear it, do the two need to be kept apart?"
"In theory, yes."
But that was where the problem began.
This was the first time in my life that I had seen a special set effect.
"However, I do not know exactly how far apart they must be kept."
It did not seem like the sort of issue with a clear-cut boundary measured precisely with a ruler. The line was unlikely to be that straightforward.
Once activated, it might be the kind that only ended when the wearer died.
"The surest solution would be not to wear either piece of jewelry, but..."
I looked down at the two pendants on the table.
"That would be a waste of the Sun Rising."
That was honestly how I felt.
With my current skills, making four-star equipment would probably be difficult.
And there was no way an item comparable to the Sun Rising would be common anywhere in the Tower or the world.
It seemed best to save at least one of them.
‘...If they cannot be separated.’
Couldn’t I make it so nothing happened even while they remained together?
What if I cut off the interference itself—the set effect itself?
Something that could stand between the powers of the two gods and prevent them from interfering with each other.
‘What counters siblings?’
...Wouldn’t it be their mother?
My mind began turning at once.
For now, it was only a feeling, but I had the sense that if I thought further, I could arrive at a good result.
After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I raised my head again.
"Your Highness, to explain who I am again, I am Lionel, the blacksmith who made Duke Dolores’s gloves and the semi-transparent warming sto..."
"Sto?"
Flinch.
"...Oversocks."
"You made the duke’s equipment?"
"Yes. You may verify it yourself."
"I’m sorry. It isn’t that I do not believe you—I only wish to confirm it quickly..."
The princess immediately turned her gaze to the side.
"...Richard."
"Yes."
With that brief reply,
Bang.
Richard vanished from before my eyes.
Wh-what was that just now?
He had disappeared in an instant. For a moment, I had forgotten this was a fantasy world.
...Well, the faster the confirmation, the better.
It was not something unpleasant, and from the imperial family’s perspective, it was only natural to verify it.
It would have been stranger if they had taken my words completely at face value.
While Richard was gone,
I quietly examined her face.
Even after studying her for several minutes,
honestly, there was nothing that particularly needed work.
She was beautiful to begin with, so adding anything did not seem as though it would improve her appearance.
Then, when I shifted my gaze just slightly...
"..."
Something caught my eye.
"Your Highness."
"Yes."
"Your ears look a little bare."
"...My ears?"
The princess unconsciously touched her earlobe.
"If you would permit it."
I continued with a faint smile.
"I would like to craft, with my own hands, a pair of earrings that will make Your Highness’s ears shine even more brightly."
"...I appreciate the offer, but."
"Forgive my presumption, but."
I had proven both the process and the result sufficiently.
Respecting someone who had proven themselves was the same in any world.
"This issue was the kind that could not even be addressed without first discovering its cause. Considering that, I believe I am the only one capable of solving it."
Someone else solving this?
Could they truly do so?
"After all, were they not people who did not even know what the problem was?"
Unfounded excessive confidence was poison, but confidence with clear grounds inspired trust.
Tap.
I tapped the [Moonlight Essence Necklace] on the table.
Buzzzz!
What a temper.
Whether it knew I was talking about it or not, it vibrated angrily.
"I will make this thing..."
I smiled at the necklace.
"...into a fool."
Buzzzzzzz!!
It vibrated hard enough to make the entire table shake.
"Will you trust me?"
Or...
Would you trust someone else who had failed to notice that the two of you were slowly dying?
You had nothing to lose, did you?
Whoosh...
A cold wind passed between the princess and me.
Just as the troubled look on her face deepened,
Whoosh.
With a light gust of wind,
Richard had already arrived at our side.
"...Richard?"
"...By Your Highness’s command, I have brought Duke Dolores’s message."
He gave a brief bow, then recited it evenly.
"‘Everything that child said is true. From design to completion, the child personally handled every stage in making both the gloves and oversocks.’"
"‘The ailments we had been suffering from are currently showing improvement through the equipment the child made.’"
Dolores’s message.
"‘Therefore, provided that the child’s autonomy is respected and that the child is allowed to return home.’"
"‘...Dolores will refuse nothing.’"
Silence descended upon the terrace.
I had only asked her to verify it, yet she had given such an overwhelming testimony of trust.
And then,
Richard brought forth the hand he had kept hidden behind his back all this time.
"Therefore, according to the message..."
Thud.
Without a word, he slid a chair beneath me.
He had brought me a chair to sit on.
"Everything is true."
Richard said nothing further.
With the same expressionless face, he simply returned to his place and stood quietly.
I snickered and sat in the chair.
Swish.
Our eye levels changed once more.
Only then did the princess across from me look me directly in the eye.
After being silent for some time, she looked at me, adjusted her posture, and straightened her back.
"...Sir Lionel."
"...Yes."
A changed form of address.
"As a princess of the Empire."
Our eyes met through the hair fluttering in the night breeze.
"I formally ask this of you."
"..."
"Please, so that the affection His Majesty bestowed upon my brother and me does not fade..."
The princess drew in a small breath and made her request in a careful voice.
"Please allow us to keep wearing these necklaces."
"...Of course."
There was no fraud here anymore.
In truth, I had never been a fraud to begin with.
My first request. Through this request,
I resolved to save the prince and princess.
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