How long has it been since returning to Nine Holder? It was the ti when airships with air purification propellers attached above their heads were flying around. Esperanza thought while nibbling on black tea and cookies brought by a familiar maid.
It's about ti to visit Jack.
She had gone to Mabelwood without saying anything to Jack, so they hadn't t for over two weeks now. He probably wouldn't worry that sothing had happened to Esperanza in just two weeks. However, for a kid who scurries around the slum's dark alleys like a rat through sewers, it was enough ti for anything to happen.
That information broker is looking after him, right?
'He's so incompetent I can't even trust him.'
Esperanza frowned, recalling how he couldn't bring back a single proper piece of information. The money she left at the bakery was probably running low too. Since it had been a while since they t, it would be awkward to go empty-handed.
"Do you have ti?"
When she opened the laboratory door without knocking and asked, Cider, who had been buried in books and research records, looked up. His hair, which had probably been neatly tied initially, was half undone and disheveled. His eyes, which had been habitually scanning papers, lit up upon hearing Esperanza's voice.
"I do."
You don't look like it though.
"Aren't you busy?"
"Being busy is just a hobby anyway."
"Any progress?"
Cider, who propped his chin and smiled briefly, answered.
"How could there not be? Once the detector improvents are complete, we can track nearby dungeons with 95% probability. There's still insufficient information, but once enough data accumulates, we should be able to estimate the size and type of dungeons that appear to so degree. Looking at the magic patterns, the wavelengths seem to differ depending on the types of monsters that appear. I'll need to reorganize this though."
Though she didn't understand well, she could tell he'd accomplished sothing again. Esperanza let out a sigh of relief. Even if it couldn't match the system, having a dungeon detector would allow them to prepare for unexpected situations.
"But, Esperanza. What are you doing not coming in?"
Esperanza, who had still been sticking only her upper body through the door crack with her head poked in, strode into the room. Seeing him talk like that, he definitely seed to have so free ti.
"Sit down. I'll have them bring so tea... No, let's just go out together."
"It's not a big deal, so it's fine to talk here."
"I need rest too, don't I?"
That's true. Esperanza nodded reluctantly. If soone who knows that so well, why did he stay up all night yesterday?
"Just get so sleep."
"It's not so terrible to look at, is it?"
Cider, who had stroked his cheek, blinked slowly. Shadows fell over his clear gray eyes like Athena's. Though fatigue showed, it only revealed a bit more of his arrogant natural disposition in his gentle features that could easily be taken lightly.
"Ah, yes."
Cider, who t the blunt answer with light laughter, got up and walked out.
As Cider moved, the white hair tie that had been loosely hanging dropped right at Esperanza's feet, tickling her toes. Simultaneously, completely loosened blonde hair poured down. The hair that had hovered slightly below his shoulder blades when tied ca down a bit further.
The golden hair wrapped around the contours of his cheeks. His half-lowered eyes and lips that drew a straight line without a smile looked indifferent. It was just a small difference, but her heart sank.
"Oh my."
Cider, who bent down without hesitation to pick up the silk ribbon, secretly smiled upon seeing the toes inside the slippers curl up the mont their fingertips brushed.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing."
Esperanza pressed her lips tightly shut. After heading to the reception room, throughout the ti until the tea that had filled the teacup was emptied.
"Tea ti without business isn't bad, but shouldn't there be conversation, young lady?"
Long fingers tapped the tea table. Esperanza raised her head as if suddenly awakening.
"Ah. Right."
"'Ah, right?'"
"Sorry. I was thinking about sothing else."
Anyone could see that. Cider swallowed those words with his tea. But he didn't withdraw his sharp gaze.
Esperanza sighed. It wasn't that she had never been captivated by his appearance, but at that ti, Cider was nothing more than a stranger to Esperanza. But now.
'Now it's different.'
I absolutely must not say anything. It would be a hundred years' worth of teasing material.
"So what's your business?"
"The business is, what was it..."
What was it? She had forgotten. After going "well, that is to say" for a while, Esperanza finally put down her teacup.
"I was going to visit Jack, and I wanted to ask what would be a good gift for a kid around ten years old."
Cider frowned. Ten years old? Kid?
"Don't you think you're asking the wrong person?"
"You don't know either?"
It was a question that rcilessly scratched his pride. Cider Claiborne had never heard "as expected, you don't know" since learning to read. He knew everything people could expect from him.
"Let
think about it. Give
information. What kind of child is worth getting a gift for?"
"I think I ntioned it before. That kid I t in Alter District. The one who served ruffian gangs, acted as a lookout, and pickpocketed."
It had been quite a while since she first t Jack.
"You want to get a gift for a kid like that?"
"I did receive quite a bit of help from him. He introduced
to an information broker and helped
find my way."
The information broker was incompetent, and Jack had even been used, so in reality he was nothing more than a guide.
"And kids that age should be able to receive gifts for no reason anyway."
"A little boy from Alter District. Ten years old. If you give him a gift, does he have a ho to keep it in?"
"Probably?"
Her voice lacked conviction. Actually, Esperanza knew what the best gift for Jack would be. But she wasn't confident about taking responsibility for another person's life. Stray cats that beco attached to humans get ostracized from their pack. If you can't take responsibility, you shouldn't give affection.
What a deceptive gift offensive. Cider, who had been quietly watching Esperanza hide her bitter smile with her teacup, got up from his seat.
"Then... let's go et an expert."
"Who's the expert?"
"Who do you think?"
Cider, wearing a frock coat, smiled brightly from under his hat.
??????°??☆????°??????
The place the two arrived at after quickly preparing to go out was Mayton Hall.
Standing in front of the toy store door, Esperanza exclaid in admiration.
"That would be an expert."
The toy corner of the grocery shop she had visited with Cordelia was filled entirely with magical tool toys, but this place was faithful to the word "toys."
Wooden marionettes, nutcracker dolls, miniature locomotives and steam carriages. There were even airships that could fly about a span's height. Train play sets with blocks and rails to lay. From stuffed dolls to creepily elaborate wax dolls, to animal automatons that moved quite well when you wound their springs.
And the noisiest and most chaotic thing was the children completely absorbed in this fantastical world. Noble young ladies and masters who had learned proper etiquette were exclaiming and running around everywhere in a frenzy.
Despite being a spacious area, the interior was quite hot because of the running children. Since it wasn't yet the season to run cooling devices, it was rather stuffy. Esperanza fanned herself with her hand to cool the lukewarm air.
"Hello, madam. Is there anything you need?"
In the midst of the chaos, a young-looking clerk approached and asked.
But, madam?
"Well, I'm looking for a gift for a relative's child..."
Just as Esperanza was about to correct the misunderstanding, the sound of a cane tapping the ground intervened. The beautiful young count with a shadowed face under his hat pulled his lips into a smile when their eyes t and extended his arm.
"You should have waited."
Cider, who threw what seed like but wasn't really a reproach, blocked with his cane as one of the running children was about to bump into Esperanza. When he gestured toward the clerk with his chin, the clerk straightened his back stiffly.
"What would be good as a gift for a child around ten years old? The parents are strict, so sothing reasonably practical."
"Ah, yes. Please co this way."
Neither Cider nor Esperanza could know what kind of gift would be good for a back-alley kid. So it would be better to get help from an expert about what kind of gifts ordinary children that age would like. Like a true expert, the clerk explained smoothly and fluidly.
"This is a popular puzzle these days. There are world maps, famous paintings, and various pictures. Blocks are also popular. Cultured young gentlen like them. There are also kits for making simple automatons with assembly."
While the clerk wasn't looking, Cider sneered.
"Automatons, what nonsense."
"That puppy you made is similar to that kind of thing."
"You can't compare that to sothing like this. How embarrassing."
Is it that advanced? That was also just barely made to look like a puppy by roughly connecting available parts in a rainy forest. That guy was now living in Esperanza's bedroom, receiving luxurious treatnt like a real pet dog.
"Isn't there anything other than magical tools?"
If she brought expensive magical tools to Jack's house, they would be stolen within a day. Being stolen would be the best outco—he might get beaten up and robbed.
"There are also clockwork dolls and picture books."
There wasn't a trace of doubt in the clerk's voice when recomnding books that this perfectly normal upper-class gentleman and lady's relative child might be illiterate. A noble child of that age couldn't possibly be illiterate. Jack in her mory seed to know how to read too.
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