Chapter 9: Store Summoning 2

The day after my first meeting with the Imperial Family, I woke up to find a change in the crest on my right hand.

“L-Level up…?”

On the outside of the circular crest, one more pattern had been added, like a number on a clock face. I remember that this pattern increases with each level up, eventually encircling the crest and making it larger. I could definitely conclude that I had leveled up. But why?

“Could it be that my approval rating increased, causing the level-up…?“

In the game, a level-up occurred when a capture target’s approval rating exceeded a certain value or when various events were completed. Did Elliott’s approval rating increase just from our meeting yesterday…!? …No, even for the game’s protagonist, Estelle, the approval rating never increased this much just from a meeting. Elliott’s reaction wasn’t like that either, and I certainly don’t think I’m the type of beauty who could topple a kingdom. Could something other than the approval rating be the trigger? Other than that… the meeting with Estelle? The meeting between the protagonist Estelle and the villainess is certainly one of the illustrated events, but… Or was it just a coincidence, and it leveled up simply because I had been summoning the store continuously? Hmm… I can’t figure it out by thinking. Well, I should just be happy that I leveled up. Now, what new things can I do? I can summon a new store… right? Not just new cheap sweets products, right? Just as I was about to head to the garden to try summoning it, Father stopped me. Why?

“We don’t know what kind of store Sakuraile’s new [Store Summoning] will bring. We are currently constructing a barrier in the garden, similar to the Church’s ‘Trial Chamber.’ Could you wait until it’s finished? It will take about three days.”

He explained that the barrier also had an automatic cancellation function if the summoned item was too large to fit within the designated area. Although the Ducal House’s garden was quite spacious, I would feel terribly guilty if I were to accidentally summon a large-scale store and destroy the garden that Mother had painstakingly cultivated. I suppressed my impatience and waited until the barrier was complete. What kind of store will it be next…? Ah, a convenience store would be great! I want to eat an onigiri after a long time! They have bento boxes too! Oden and meat buns… Ah, those are seasonal, so if the summoning time is off, they might not be available. But if it’s summer, they might have frappes or hiyashi chūka! While my heart was swelling with such anticipation, the next day, a letter arrived from Estelle. It was a thank you for arranging the Euphonium family’s mansion in the Imperial Capital (although Mother had done that) and a diligent review of each cheap sweet I had given her. Apparently, Estelle particularly liked the ramune sweets I gave her last. Ah, I only gave her one of those… I wrote a reply letter to Estelle and decided to send her a bag filled with all sorts of ramune sweets along with it.

“Ojou-sama, it is time for your lesson.”

“Yes…”

As I finished writing the letter and took a breath, Arisa, the maid, came to call me. Arisa is nineteen. She has a bob cut with slightly reddish hair and is my exclusive maid. I heard she was dispatched from the Maid Guild, an organization that trains first-rate maids. Arisa is an elite even within that organization. She is usually dispatched to the Imperial Family, but since we are also related to the Imperial Family, she was sent here. I haven’t seen it, but she is apparently a first-rate fighter too. Arisa and Tanya Celesta, the knight, are essentially my bodyguards. While I can’t help but feel it’s overly cautious, having been kidnapped once, I can’t really complain. Though I don’t remember any of it… Generally, I am allowed quite a bit of freedom. However, there are still some things I cannot escape now that I am a noble, and dancing is one of them. As a noble lady, I must attend various social gatherings. If their daughter cannot even dance one number, it is Father and Mother who would be embarrassed. Honestly, it’s a pain, but I’m trying my best to comply with the lessons. I can’t let those two be ashamed. Fortunately, or perhaps because I am quick to learn for a child (which is natural since I am an adult inside), Arisa praises me. Since I have a simple personality, being praised makes me enthusiastic, and I continued to take the lessons seriously. Now I’ve become quite proficient. She even gave me her seal of approval, saying I wouldn’t have any problem attending any party. I did it. Though it will probably only be children’s parties. I can’t help but feel like I was manipulated, but I’ll let it go. Apparently, Elliott’s birthday party is happening in one month. That is where I will make my debut in society as a Ducal Daughter. I can’t afford to show an embarrassing appearance. I need to put in the effort. However, Elliott’s birthday party means that noble children of the same age who are in the Imperial Capital will gather. In other words, the probability of encountering the main characters of “Starlight Symphony” greatly increases… First off, the capture target who comes to mind, besides Elliott, is Jean Ludra Staccato. He is the son of the Sinfonia Empire Knight Commander and also a Count’s son. Since Elliott and Jean also had a bodyguard/protected relationship, he will definitely be invited to the birthday party. There are so many music-related terms for the characters in this game… My family is “le Philharmonie” too. Well, it makes them easy to remember. The title itself is “Starlight Symphony.” That said, music isn’t a central theme in the story. The BGM was good, though. It was probably just given a name because it was easy to understand. Jean is, in the best light, an innocent and cheerful character, and in the worst light, a thoughtless idiot. He has a genius for battle. Incidentally, his [Gift] is [Flame Sword], a straightforward [Gift] that allows him to envelop his sword in flames or shoot fire. He is reliable in battle. In battle, that is. Otherwise, he is a bit spacey, and that was the aspect that made him a popular and cute character. For me, it was slightly irritating, but tastes vary. The remaining capture targets should be in the provinces or abroad until they enter the academy, so I don’t think I’ll meet them. The problem is the other villainesses. The main villainess in the first half of “Starlight Symphony,” as well as in the Elliott route, is me, Sakuraile. However, if the protagonist heroine enters a route other than Elliott’s, a different person emerges to obstruct her. These are the villainesses of the individual routes. For example, in Jean’s case, it’s Bianca Latia Serenade, a female student aiming to be a knight who is his classmate. She harbors feelings for the free-spirited Jean as a childhood friend and becomes jealous of the heroine as she gets closer to Jean. She constantly challenges the heroine to duels. To skip the details, after completing knight-related events and others, Bianca eventually accepts the relationship between Jean and the heroine and steps aside… that is the true ending of the Jean route. This girl, Bianca, experiences heartbreak but reaches the ending perfectly intact and peaceful. Why is she treated so differently from me, another villainess? Furthermore, in the Jean route, there is an event in the latter half of the story where Sakuraile, who has been embarrassed by the heroine and is losing her status at the academy, indiscriminately summons and runs wild with a demon beast out of spite. And the heroine and Jean defeat it… Ah, by the way, in that ending, I am eaten by the summoned demon beast and die. That is the worst route! I don’t want to be chewed up! …But my [Gift] is no longer [Beast Demon Summoning]; it’s [Store Summoning]. I don’t think the ‘chewed up’ route is possible anymore… yet I can’t shake the anxiety. I really don’t want to meet those two, Jean and Bianca. Well, putting that aside.

“A party, huh… Since it’s the Crown Prince’s birthday, should I give him something?”

According to Father, Elliott is still obsessed with the ‘Six-Sided Puzzle’ and plays with it whenever he has free time. Eh, is he still at it? I was surprised. Not surprised that he hasn’t solved it yet, but surprised that he hasn’t thrown it away yet. I don’t know if he is stubborn or persistent, but he must have really liked it. I wonder what I should give him as a gift that is better than that. Something similar would be the puzzle rings sold at the cheap sweets store. But there are only six types, and they aren’t that difficult. They are too easy compared to the ‘Six-Sided Puzzle.’ Should I go with the classic boy’s gift, a plastic model? A robot anime model kit could pass for a knight doll. The assembly instructions are mostly pictures, so he should be able to figure it out somehow. The ones sold at the cheap sweets store are from an anime even older than the one from my childhood, though.

As I was thinking about such things, the construction in the garden finished quickly, and I could now summon a new store. Please, Samonia-sama… next is a convenience store!

“I’m excited to see what kind of store it will be next.”

“I hope it’s a store that sells alcohol.”

Father and Mother were even more excited than I was behind me. I think convenience stores have alcohol, right? If it’s only a liquor store, I won’t be able to enjoy it much. I drank and bought alcohol a few times with my seniors when I turned twenty, but I wasn’t that fond of it. I guess it would be fine if Father was happy with it. Alright! Shall I summon it then! When I activated my [Gift] internally, there was a presence that was clearly not the cheap sweets store. I just need to summon this one here. Okay!

“[Store Summoning]!”

A dazzling light enveloped the Ducal House’s spacious garden. It was so bright I couldn’t keep my eyes open. When the light subsided and I opened my eyes, a familiar sight stood there. An old tiled roof and a blue noren curtain. A long chimney, which is unusual for a typical house. And the most distinguishing feature: the single character ‘ゆ’ (yu) written in white on the noren. This is… —It’s a public bathhouse! This is definitely a public bathhouse! And isn’t this ‘Fuji no Yu,’ the public bathhouse that Emichan’s grandmother ran when I was in elementary school!? Just like the cheap sweets store, this ‘Fuji no Yu’ closed down when I was in middle school. What? Is there a rule that my [Gift] can only summon closed businesses!?

“S-Sakura, what is this?”

“Um, it looks like a bathhouse…”

That was all I could manage to say to Mother. Ah, Biba non non.