Esperanza, who opened her eyes in a triangular shape, glared at him. Cider smiled and handed the chalk to Esperanza.
"Then I'll ask you to do it."
Esperanza was twice as fast as Cider. Holding a book in one hand and copying with the other, the symbols were unfamiliar at first, but after writing them a few tis, she got the hang of it. Thinking of it literally as drawing, it wasn't that difficult. But as she wrote, she could understand why Cider had been slow.
'This isn't magical engineering. What was this, magical physics?'
Cyrus seed to have used such expressions a few tis too. Complex and sowhat philosophical discussions related to spaceti. It was a field Cider hadn't looked at even once in nearly 10 years. No wonder he had been looking at the book several tis, unusually for him.
Rather, since she knew nothing at all, copying was simple. She just drew everything exactly as it was from the left corner downward. Though it was a bit uneven, it was decent enough. Ti passed in an instant. Esperanza, holding the chalk that had beco obviously shorter than before, cheerfully dotted the last point.
She turned her head to check where Cider was. He was filling a blackboard larger than the one Esperanza was using with indecipherable symbols. So densely packed with small writing that one wondered if it would be visible at that size. Without even glancing at a single book.
Esperanza approached Cider's blackboard with a mischievous expression.
"Are you finished?"
"Yes."
Esperanza, who had been staring blankly at the formulas written in white chalk, began doodling with chalk in one corner of the blackboard.
"Esperanza. I need to write there too."
"I'll erase it when you need to write."
"Ah. You'll erase it? Then you could just draw in a notebook."
"I want to draw here."
It was truly baseless interference. Even while guessing the reason, he was so dumbfounded that he let out a hollow laugh.
"If we start quickly, we'll get results."
"Do you want to send
back that quickly?"
"Don't throw a tantrum."
Though he said that, he liked this tantrum. If it would be regrettable whether he hurried or delayed, this was better. Cider bent his head and kissed Esperanza's nostril. Esperanza, who wrinkled her nose bridge, retorted.
"It's not a tantrum, it's worry."
"Let's say it is."
Cider picked up an eraser and wiped away the picture Esperanza had drawn.
"Why are you erasing it?"
Esperanza stood on tiptoe and doodled a little higher than before. This ti Cider could also recognize the identity of the doodle. It resembled the cute drawing she had scribbled and sent in the corner of a letter a few days ago. So instead of erasing that drawing, Cider drew a woman with long curly hair next to it. Esperanza, who had been giggling, quickly snatched the eraser and wiped it away.
"You drew it too well. It annoys ."
"Ah. Is drawing well also a problem?"
Cider drew the picture again at a height Esperanza's hand couldn't reach. Though he drew it more roughly than before, it was still better than Esperanza's haphazard drawing. Esperanza swung the eraser.
"You can't reach it."
"We'll have to see about that."
White magic power wrapped around her feet. Esperanza's body floated about a span high. Cider was dumbfounded and clicked his tongue.
"Using magic power for just this?"
"What's wrong with that?"
Just as she was about to swing the eraser, Cider wrapped his good arm around Esperanza's waist and pulled her down. Though Esperanza struggled, Cider didn't let go.
"I can't really push you away!"
Eventually they reached an agreent to add one more haphazard drawing next to Cider's picture. After coming down, a large handprint was clearly stamped below her chest. A white handprint covering half her body on the dark blouse. Heat could be felt from the temperatureless mark.
"......Oh dear. You won't be able to wear those clothes."
Cider said in a sunken voice. Esperanza barely managed to open her mouth and answer.
"It can't be helped."
"It's just the right ti to get winter clothes anyway."
She'd only be able to wear them for this one winter. Such hesitation flashed through Esperanza's eyes. When they t eyes, it seed like even unspoken thoughts beca visible to each other.
"Esperanza. Do you pity ?"
She couldn't say yes or no. Esperanza remained silent while holding Cider's fingertips.
"I don't need worthless pity. If you're not going to stay here for , just pretend you don't know."
At Avondale mansion, he had said similar words. That had been considerate concern spoken indirectly, and this ti it was the last pride he didn't want to break. He didn't want to beg. Clinging when he knew it wouldn't be given.......
Cider, who had wiped off the chalk dust from his hands, clicked his tongue irritably. The objects filling the spacious room were unpleasant.
"It went as you wanted. I've beco sick of looking at all those things for today, so you'll have to play with ."
Esperanza's distorted face relaxed a little.
"Anything that doesn't use your arm is fine."
"You'll regret saying that."
This much mischief should be okay. Cider twisted his lips up.
??????°??☆????°??????
The dinner attendees were once again four people.
"Lady Cordelia?"
"She's ill."
Though he rembered Lady Cordelia sitting at the large piano showing graceful performance until the afternoon, Duke Dunbarton silently tilted his wine glass.
The next morning was the sa.
"Lady Cordelia?"
"She's ill."
Duke Dunbarton roughly set down his glass.
"Does that lady only get sick when I'm around?"
"......It seems so."
Alastair had nothing else to say either. It was he who had persuaded Cordelia, who had said she would return several tis, to stay. Cordelia had agreed to stay at the mansion on the condition that she wouldn't encounter Duke Dunbarton.
"Alastair."
"Yes, Father."
"Do you resent ? Do you want to bla
for how things turned out?"
"I don't."
Which ant Cordelia did. And he knew the Duke had nothing to say about that part either. If he hadn't encountered Cordelia in the dungeon, he wouldn't have cared.
But how could he have known that a lady from the capital would display bravery like a fairy from legend? How could he have known that the Mabelwood incident he had mocked as ominous would also happen in Sterling?
He never dread that the choice he thought was best would be mocking him when looking back. The Duke swallowed hard. Even if he chose another lady now, it seed like nothing would satisfy him.
It wouldn't do for Duke Dunbarton's heir to settle for second best either.
"Alastair, follow ."
Alastair, who had bowed to the two people who had been blankly watching the father-son conflict, followed the Duke out of the dining room.
Esperanza looked down at the cold al with a sullen expression. She asked Cider, who had also set down his utensils after barely eating half.
"What do you think will happen?"
"We'll have to wait and see."
"You're not really interested, are you?"
"Actually, that's right."
I thought so. Well, that father-son argunt really wasn't interesting at all. I just hope Alastair doesn't get slapped by the Duke.
"Fine then. Let's do today's work."
Today was scheduled to et with Cyrus. Before that, she also planned to look around the streets after a long ti. It wasn't just for sightseeing purposes.
"With such things happening, the streets won't be the sa as before, right?"
However, shortly after, the streets seen from the running steam carriage looked exactly the sa as before. The sa vitality as before the dungeon could be felt. It was desperate vitality.
"The situation is bad."
Cider, who was resting his chin and fixing his gaze outside the window, muttered. Though this road wasn't within the dungeon's sphere of influence, the impact could be felt. Fear and anxiety surged as if heavy dark clouds had settled. Black mourning bands hung from every window. The entire city seed to have beco a huge funeral hall.
Street scenes that looked like the cri rate had doubled just by visual inspection passed by. In the anti, regardless of how public opinion had spread, protesters and police were confronting each other nacingly on streets near city hall and the train station. The protesters held torches and tools in their hands.
The coachman skillfully went around the position where the protesters had gathered, but the bright red pillar of fire could be clearly seen even from afar.
Just because the monsters had disappeared didn't an peace had arrived. Problems between people remained.
"Sterling isn't such a poor city. Even if they can't restore the cathedral, the rest seed like it could be managed sohow......."
"Sterling isn't a poor city, but with the budget scale needed for naval base reconstruction, it's difficult to expect support from the center. Most importantly, there's nowhere for money to co from."
"You an donations?"
"Yes. I an donations."
Cider quickly wrote sothing down on paper against the window fra. Esperanza, who had been glancing at that paper, burst into exclamation. It wasn't just paper but a checkbook.
"Are you going to donate?"
"If you want
to?"
It's better than not doing it. Esperanza readily nodded. Though it's hard to view nobles' good deeds for maintaining the system entirely positively, even that is much better than not doing it at all. Anyway, Sterling City would desperately need even a penny of donations right now.
"If you're going to do it, be specific."
"Specifically, where?"
"Housing support, disaster compensation support. Orphanages would be good too."
Cider wrote it all down without hesitation. Esperanza, who had been nodding, looked up at him with questioning eyes. The amount was too much.
"If you do all this, I think you'll go bankrupt."
The amount was enormous. Cider didn't bat an eye and put the paper in an envelope, then sealed it.
"Oh my. I should get winter clothes before going bankrupt."
"Are you really sure it's okay?"
"Of course. Don't worry, I won't sell the mansion to cover donations. The donation I made at Mrs. Talbot's ball was similar."
Reassured by those words, Esperanza nodded. She didn't need to feel guilty about bleeding this man dry.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the street. This street, the best comrcial district in Sterling City, was a place Esperanza had visited while staying at the hotel. This place seed bustling as if barely affected by the dungeon. However, people occasionally passing by with stiff faces or groups in mourning clothes could be seen.
"If it's this bad here, other places must be really serious."
"The dungeon was quite big, wasn't it?"
Cider, who had been on the warship the whole ti and then transferred to the airship, hadn't properly confird the dungeon's size. Esperanza rolled her eyes and tried to gauge the dungeon's size.
"Longitudinally to the cathedral, latitudinally from the harbor's end to the naval base were within its sphere of influence. It was quite large. Still, businesses here are operating normally."
There was still ti before the scheduled eting with Alastair. The two decided to shake off the bitter aftertaste of the disaster and spend the remaining ti on this chilly street.
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