Chapter 35: Battledore on Vacation

One week has passed since the training under Julia began. In my case, it’s not every day, but I receive about three hours of training roughly every two days. That said, so far it’s just building physical strength by running around the mansion with Estelle. Bianca seems to be receiving training every day. During that time, I am learning dance and manners with Estelle. Estelle is very talented and absorbs various things like a sponge absorbing water. I guess this is to be expected of the [Saintess]. Not wanting to lose, I am studying with enthusiasm. This is surprisingly interesting. Especially geography and history. For me, it feels like reading a game’s lore book. The founding of the country, political changes and revolutions, the rivalry of heroes… it’s quite fascinating. Well, it’s not like we’re studying or training all the time, and sometimes the three of us play normally.

“Yaa!” “Ei!”

In the training ground, Estelle and Bianca are hitting a shuttlecock back and forth with battledores—kakon, pakan. It’s hanetsuki (Japanese badminton). The battledores and shuttlecocks were bought at a pawn shop summoned by [Store Summoning]. There are already circles and crosses drawn in ink on both of their faces. At first, the two were reluctant to play this game, but now they were hitting back and forth with intense focus. Eh? You ask why I’m not participating? You can tell by looking at this ink-covered face, right? I lost big time! So, the final match is currently underway.

“Young Lady, His Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Jean have arrived…” “Eh?”

Turning around at the voice of the maid Arisa, I saw Arisa frowning and Elliott and Jean looking surprised. Shoot. We were seen.

“Young Lady…? What on earth are you doing…?” “Umm, a little match? W-When you lose, this happens!”

Arisa questioning me with a smile is scary. I know, I know it’s not something a Ducal Lady should do! I know, but those are the rules!

“Sakuraile… doing strange things again…” “Pfft! What is that! Even Bianca…!” “S-Shut up! You try it too! It’s quite difficult, you know!”

Bianca retorts to Jean, who is laughing at her ink-smeared face. Yeah, yeah, you try it.

“Heh, basically you just have to hit back that ball with feathers attached, right? Piece of cake.”

Jean rolls up his sleeves and receives the battledore from Estelle. Is it really, I wonder? The ball is hard to predict due to air resistance from the feathers, and controlling the return is quite difficult, you know? Just in case, the simple rule is to draw a line between the two, and if it falls on your side, you lose. The ball must be returned in one hit. Bianca serves the shuttlecock.

“Here!” “Whoa!?”

Perhaps it didn’t fall where he expected; the shuttlecock Jean managed to return went up in a high arc right in front of Bianca. I feel like… Bianca’s eyes flashed.

“Got it!”

Kako! With a smash-like return, Bianca‘s shuttlecock splendidly struck right at Jean‘s feet.

“Kuh…!” “Fuffuffu. Estelle, the ink!” “Okaaay.”

Estelle happily brought the ink, and Bianca dipped the brush in it, drawing a magnificent Kaiser mustache under Jean‘s nose. Pfft.

“Kuh, kufufu, it suits you quite well, Jean.” “Here, a mirror.”

Bianca suppressing her laughter and Estelle holding out a hand mirror. That hand mirror was also bought at the pawn shop.

“Nuoh!? What is this!? Bianca, you…!” “Oops, you lost the match, so no complaints. What do you say? Still want to play?” “Obviously! Don’t cry later!”

Again, the sounds of kakon, pakan from the battledores echo in the training ground. Despite everything, they both look like they’re having fun. Bianca and Jean are childhood friends, and they seem to have a relationship without reserve. Could it be that Bianca hasn’t fallen in love with Jean yet? Even in the game, Bianca’s reaction to Jean seemed like she was confused by her own feelings. It felt like she first realized her feelings because a love rival named Estelle appeared… Wait? Does that mean if Estelle and Jean don’t get close, Bianca won’t realize her love? Considering their relationship deepened because they trained together in the Knight Order in the first place, is that itself already gone…? Hmm, if that’s the case, the route where Bianca becomes an enemy might be crushed, which is convenient, but I feel somewhat bad for stealing her first love…

“Young Lady, please wipe your face already.” “Ah, I’m sorry.”

While I was pondering various things, Arisa brought a steamed towel. I had Arisa scrub my face. Since we used ink slightly diluted with water, it came off immediately without issue. Phew, refreshing. Estelle is also removing the ink with a steamed towel. Bianca and Jean were still repeating wins and losses.

“So, did Elliott need something from me?” “No, not really a need. I heard Bianca became your personal attendant, so I came to see how things were going.”

Elliott, who is also Jean‘s liege, is deeply familiar with Bianca. So he came to see how his friend is doing? To such Elliott, Estelle spoke with a beaming smile.

“My, oh my. His Highness the Crown Prince did not need to trouble himself to come all this way. You have quite a bit of free time, don’t you?”

…What is it, I still sense an underlying meaning in Estelle’s words to Elliott. Isn’t she saying, ‘Don’t come every single time, are you free or something?’

“Hahaha, well, the Founding Festival is over, so I have some time to spare.”

The fortunate thing is that Elliott doesn’t realize the hidden meaning of those words. No, maybe it’s just my imagination. In the game, these two end up together, though… No, well, Estelle ends up with Jean too.

“Ah, right. There was something I wanted to ask Elliott.” “Something you want to ask?”

Elliott replied with a blank look.

“I want to go to the castle, you see.” “…? Wouldn’t it be fine to just go normally? The le Philharmonie Ducal House isn’t banned from the castle, right?” “It’s a bit of a secret…”

When I lowered my voice, Elliott leaned in closer. For some reason, Estelle also pushed her way in between us. Well, it’s fine to tell Estelle, no problem there.

“What would you do if I said there is hidden treasure sleeping in the castle?” “”Eh!?””

Elliott and Estelle‘s voices harmonized. Well, of course they’re surprised. But this is the truth.

“Hidden treasure…!? I’ve never heard such a story… No, wait… Could it be the secret collection that the First Emperor is said to have secretly left behind?”

Yes. The First Emperor of the Sinfonia Imperial Kingdom… the ancestor of Elliott and me, was originally the chief of a tribe. He traveled the world, and after various adventures, united many tribes to found the Sinfonia Imperial Kingdom. He traveled all over the world and obtained various magic tools and treasures from many ancient ruins. Apparently, he had that kind of exploration-type [Gift], though the details aren’t recorded in history. Anyway, our ancestor possessed many treasures. However, when he passed away, several of the treasures he possessed went missing. Some say he secretly sold them for the sake of national management, some say unscrupulous people stole them in the confusion of his passing, and some say he hid them in a secret place fearing they would be misused. Since then, successive Emperors have searched for the secret treasure over many generations, but not a single clue was found. Now, it is generally thought that they were indeed sold or stolen. But! I know where the treasure is. Because it was an event in the game! For the two in front of me.

“Why does Sakuraile know such a thing?” “Umm, well, there are various reasons. I want to confirm whether it’s true or false. It would be bad to touch or move things in the castle without permission, right? So I thought Elliott could search with me.”

If I fiddle with things in the castle, it would cause friction. In that respect, if it’s Elliott, there’s no problem as long as it’s not the King’s personal property. It’s fine if it takes the form of Elliott searching for the treasure and me accompanying him.

“We aren’t doing anything dangerous, right?” “There’s no danger. …Oops, ah, I think there isn’t. We’re just finding a hidden room.”

Elliott thought for a moment, and eventually nodded slightly.

“If that is true, it is the duty of us who draw the blood of the Imperial Family to find it. I understand. I will help.” “I-I also want to help Lady Sakuraile!”

Estelle, who had been listening, raised her hand. I don’t really need her help, but well, it was originally an event for her and Elliott. I think she has the right to participate. However, we can’t exactly have just children wandering around the castle, so I decided to ask my guard knight Tanya Celesta to come along. Alright, let’s all depart for an exploration of the castle!