Carb Sears (R) 71

Chapter 71 – Migratory Birds in Summer.

“Doesn’t it suit your taste?”
“It’s not like that.”

Usher shook his head at Belka’s words, but he couldn’t eat properly. The food at the banquet hall was certainly delicious. The liver and the fragrance sprinkled on top of the food, which was neither bland like the food eaten in the forest nor salty like the food eaten with the people of the upper ranks, reduced the reluctance towards unfamiliar food somewhere. I wondered when I would be able to eat something this delicious again, but even so, it was blocked in my throat and I couldn’t pass it at all.

“Then let’s just eat this and leave.”

The girl served him a bowl of soup containing a few grains of corn. I felt like I could eat it without worrying about it. Normally, it would be better to soak the bread and eat it, but right now I didn’t feel very strong, so I quickly ate the soup and looked around. The others were eating their food, seemingly burdensome, and Donnar was talking to the man. He didn’t tell anyone not to go out, but somehow there was an air of not being able to go out.

But Usher didn’t like that any more. If I just sit like this, I feel like I’ll be swayed by that man, so he grabs the hand of the girl next to me and gets down from his chair. And as he leans over to be hidden by the table, the eyes of Sif, Shalby, and Odur gather.

“Shh!”

When he raised his finger and demanded that it be kept a secret, they all smiled and turned a blind eye. Then, he slowly walked towards the door. Occasionally, they made eye contact with other adults, but they didn’t say anything, and they managed to get out of the banquet safely while the man was talking to Donard.

“Huh, I think I’m going to live a little bit now.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“That’s fine.”

It was just because I was frustrated.

“Shall we go and see the castle?”

Still, the trouble didn’t last long. It is such a big castle. It wasn’t without a sense of pressure, but my curiosity was greater.

“It’s really big here. One hallway is like a small road.”

Are all castles this big? At this rate, it seemed that a small village could be built in place of a castle. The castle itself is not that fancy, but if you want to feel empty here and there, the decorated ornaments erased the feeling. While wandering around the castle with the girl like that, there were intermittent conversations that could be heard from the end of the corner of the hallway.

“Guests…? Faster than expected…Ah?”
“That’s why … Went out to inspect… And ran into each other… And brought it to me.”

It was quite a distance, so I couldn’t hear details, but I could still guess what he was talking about. The tone of their voices sounded like women, but Usher seemed to have to hide from their increasingly distinct voices. I didn’t do anything wrong, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t stabbed. He pulled Belka close to the end of the corner.

“So that’s why we had to help out in the kitchen.”
“Ugh! It’s nice to have time off thanks to you. If this is the case, I think it’s better to rest as scheduled.”

And voices that get clearer.

“Anyway, since it’s separate time, why don’t you straighten out your underwear lying around the room?”
“You do it for me.”
“Why am I yours!”
“You’re roommates~”
“Change room!?”

Somehow, Usher broke into a cold sweat at the content of the conversation, which was more straightforward than that of a man. He listened to the footsteps of the women, thinking that it was far, if not far from the conversation of the women he was thinking of, and measured the moment he would pass by with a square. The moment he finally heard footsteps right in front of Connor’s nose, Usher quickly ran out.

“What?”
“What’s wrong?!”

However, his attempt failed when Belka bumped into one of the three women. The woman was fine as she was, but the girl she bumped into was smaller, so she bounced off and sat down. Why she failed could be seen by the way the women stood. The three women were walking side by side, filling the hallway.

“Children?”
“Are they the first children I’ve seen?”

The maids of this castle, dressed in the same black and white tones, looked at them wonderingly.

“Are they the children of the guests?”
“I’m sure. Are there any injuries?”

The woman with her light brown hair, who had bumped into her Belka, dropped to her knees and examined her girl who had bumped into her. Then, when she saw her face, the woman startled and trembled.

“…Lady?”

It was a voice as if he had seen something unbelievable, but Usher took advantage of that gap and ran with Belka. She seemed to be calling them from behind, but she didn’t look back. And when she wanted to get away she caught her breath and realized that the girl’s mask was gone.

“Belka? What about the mask?”
Haha, when I just bumped into it. Huh, I think I dropped it.”

After all, to get her mask back, you have to meet them again. He didn’t have the confidence to run away like that and face it shamelessly. He looks for a place to rest the weary girl, but he doesn’t think there’s a place to sit in a place like this, but the sight outside the window catches his eye. There was a garden in which crimson flowers were in full bloom. Without thinking about it, he took Belka and headed there.

“Here is.”

The distance between the large wall that blocked the view as if it were behind the castle and the castle they came out of was not too far. Even so, this place, as wide as a tolerable yard, was full of plants, large and small. Among them, what stood out was the crimson-colored cluster of flowers that had been seen even before coming here. It was not a camellia flower. The camellia flowers, which bloom in late winter and fall in early spring, are not the time to bloom now. But the reason why I couldn’t take my eyes off it was that it resembled the girl’s color.

“It’s a carnation. I didn’t know it was still in a place like this that’s not even a forest.”
“Carnation?”

Usher looked at the flower once again at the name she said. Now that I look at it, it looks like a slightly different color. Was it just that the girl resembled a flower? She was a pretty flower, but she didn’t think to pick it apart. If you leave it like this, the flowers will bloom longer and you will be able to see them longer. As if intoxicated by the sweet scent carried by the wind, she sat on the steps leading down to the garden and watched the scene.

“Who are you?”

It was a soft voice mixed with fear that was cautious and unreasonable. Looking back, all I could see was white in the sunlight. The amethyst-like eyes she met next shone with fear and curiosity at the same time. She was there, but she was a pretty girl about the same age as him. A light basket and scissors are held in her pure white hands, as if she has never held a proper tool.

She made eye contact with him, then turned her attention to Belka, then her doll-like eyes opened even wider and her mouth opened slightly. Its appearance is similar to that of the woman she met before coming here, so if she has doubts about it, the basket she missed rolls down her stairs as if her strength has been released. Unexpectedly, she snatched the basket that had rolled over him and found nothing in her. While she was puzzled by him, the girl moved her steps this way. The problem arose the next moment.

After making eye contact with her girl, the girl who had been approaching her while looking only at her stumbled. If it was flat, it would have ended with a fall, but this place was a stairway. Usher hurriedly approached, as he could be seriously injured if he went wrong.

“Hey! Are you dangerous!?”

Before her fortunate tumble, she was able to catch Usher, but realizing she had passed out, he shut her mouth.

“With what kind of kid fell down.”

She was incomprehensible to Usher, who had sometimes fallen while climbing trees. As he muttered in absurdity, the girl said.

“Because this place is narrow. Let’s take him there.”

Then Belka pointed to the lower part of the tree planted in the corner of the garden. Leaning there with her, it wasn’t as much as that forest, but the strong scent of grass reminded me of the now-disappeared zelkova tree’s arms. However, he was quite dissatisfied with the situation.

“…But is it absolutely necessary?”

Because she leaned against the tree with him, and on her lap lay a girl who had just fainted.

“But I can’t just leave it as it is.”
“That’s true.”

Usher, who usually liked to cut her knees, was offended by the girl who took his place. She thought she couldn’t help it when she saw her suffering as if she was having a nightmare, but she was dissatisfied because she watched her loosen up every time Belka stroked her hair kindly. She couldn’t be forced to wake up, so she was just passing the time with the wind. At last she noticed that the girl was waking up, and her eyelids twitched.

The girl who opened her eyes was the first to put her girl in her eyes with her hazy amethyst eyes as if she had fallen into a dream. Belka was still brushing her little girl’s white hair. Seemingly comfortable with her touch, her girl opened her mouth.

“Mother…?”

Maybe in his sleep he mistook the girl for her mother? Those were the words that flowed out of her girl’s mouth.

“Who’s free to call Belka her mother?”

That made it even more disapproving, Usher said brusquely, and the girl looked at him for a moment, then turned her head back to her girl. Had she been ignored? While he was dumbfounded, she looked at her Belka with her clear eyes and blushed her cheeks.

“You say Belka. What a beautiful name!”
“Under?”

The girl jumped up and grabbed her Belka’s hand with both of her hands, her eyes twinkling, as if to say that her fainting just now was a lie.

“Oh, that’s too close.”
“Oh, I’m sorry! I’ve never seen a child my age recently!”

As her Belka hesitated at the sight of her being so aggressive, the girl pulled back her face, which was almost thrusting into her girl.

“Can you see me?”

Now that Usher was at this point, she wondered if she might be sick with this girl. Primarily visually.

“Hey, it’s because Usher was the one who held you.”
“Then where is he?”
“…We are here.”

At first glance, the owner of the name is here, and she pretended not to know was ridiculous, but her being ignored was more annoying, so Usher opened her mouth. She and the girl who puts her hand to her mouth as if she had heard something really unexpected.

“Yes? You? Really?”
“So what are you complaining about?”
“No. Rather than complaining…”

She rose from within, furious at her reaction, as if she had been told something unbelievable, and at the gaze that blatantly scrutinized her from head to toe, as if deliberately teasing. He thought about her anger for a moment, but when he noticed her girl’s excessive white skin and her wrists that seemed to break if squeezed, he let out a sigh and released the pressure on her that was about to explode.

“Huh, I’m a little surprised.”
“What.”

Also, to him who replied that she was teasing her, the girl stood up, grabbed the sides of her skirt, lifted her up slightly, and bent her knees. As if she hadn’t done it once or twice, her natural and elegant appearance caught her attention.

“Thank you for saving me anyway. Mr. Usher. My name is Medea?”

And her smile was certainly cute enough that she blushed, albeit briefly. But that’s for a while.

“Oooh, Usher’s like that.”

The girl grabbed his sleeve and stretched it out, asking disgruntledly.

“What! It’s not like that!”
“Oh, it’s a pity, but that’s not really my taste?”
“Hey! Who says he likes you?!”
“Isn’t that so?”
“My favorite is Belka…!”

But as he said that, he met Belka’s eyes, and they both blushed. Seriously, what does this mean? It was something he said occasionally, but Usher couldn’t understand why he was so embarrassed. However, Mediah, who puffed up her cheeks, clapped her hands and broke the atmosphere.

“Oh! Belka! Do you like flowers? I was on my way to pick flowers.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t hate it.”

Soon, Mediah, who was walking with Belka by the hand, couldn’t be so mean. In particular, the way the girl looked back for a moment and stuck her tongue out while she couldn’t come to her senses due to the overflowing goodwill.

‘This guy sucks!’

It felt just like that.