[Part 3/4]
"Alright, everyone──this is just for fun. Try to catch this ball."
"The ball?"
"Yeah. All of you, co at it. Anything goes. If you catch it, everyone gets a reward."
"Really?!"
"Let's go──chase it down, brats!!"
Before I could even react, the girl launched herself at .
I sidestepped with ease. She almost face-planted, but I grabbed her collar from behind and kept her upright.
Then, a warning.
"New rule. No dangerous stunts that lead to injuries. Got it?"
"Take that!"
"I'll give you points for the spirit."
While praising the girl who tried to ambush during my warning, I flicked the ball through my legs, completely nullifying her attack.
"Co on, is that all you've got?"
"Don't underestimate us!"
"Go for it!"
"All together, ATTACK!!"
Seeing their 2 attacks fail, the little brats decided to launch an all-out assault, but I just danced around them, making them miss every ti.
I told them not to do anything dangerous, and whenever soone looked like they were about to fall, I'd catch them or help them up.
The jingling of the bells on the little devils' clothes was getting annoying.
...Seriously, these kids are a handful.
Should I stop this before soone gets hurt, I wonder?!
"Rin, Yuu, grab his legs!"
"Seriously, you guys are ruthless. Hey!"
After toying with them for a while, the girls, out of breath, latched onto my legs, desperately trying to restrict my movent.
Well, I didn't exactly say *that* was off-limits...!!
(I could just kick them off, easy!)
They're just kids, after all.
It'd be simple to shake them off, but that'd cause injuries, and it'd be way too childish of .
Therefore...
"Alright, how about this?"
"Aah! Cheating, cheating, cheating!! That's cheating!"
"Not cheating!"
*Thump, thump, thump, thump* I bounced the ball high, repeatedly off my head.
They couldn't reach it, given the height difference.
Wrong aning?
Don't care, don't care.
"Alright, let's finish up after I count to ten? Ten..."
"Aah! Cheating, cheating!!"
Just as I was about to end the ga, Shii threw a tantrum.
"Then I'll do this!"
"7...6...wait, *cough!*?"
Shii, getting worked up, lunged at from the front.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and clung on.
I can't move my neck.
Panicking, I dodged the ball, bouncing it off my elbows and shoulders to get it away from them.
Hey, you guys, don't reach for it!
"The ball...the ball!"
"Fo, 4...3!!"
It's all about pride.
Dodging the devil's grasp that stretches out for the volleyball.
Announcing the remaining ti.
Just a little more...
"Mari... Maaa!?"
"Ah, dummy!"
The player, hanging in the air, reaches out for the volleyball, but her strength gives out, and her hands slip away.
Her head is about to hit the ground.
There was only one choice.
Her awareness of the volleyball is already gone.
I reach out and catch her waist as she's about to fall.
Absorbing the impact of her weight coming down on .
I hold on tight, pulling her close and embracing her.
We lock eyes.
"You're okay, right? ...Are you hurt?"
"? ...Th-thanks!"
In response to my question, she gives a playful, embarrassed smile.
I can't help but wonder if she realizes she's the one who got hurt.
...Well, better than getting hurt and crying, I guess.
"Master, we won!"
"Huh? ...Oh."
At her victory declaration, I let out a groan.
The girls are hoisting the volleyball high, celebrating their win.
I could try to pass it off as nothing... but no, it's too much.
It's just too heartless.
"Can you do a favor?"
"I already thought about it!"
"You're quick. Well... what's your order?"
"Hehehehe"
When I ask her first, she eagerly stretches out her hands.
I turn to her, wrap my arms around her, and she hugs back, tight and strong.
"Hey! Hey! Master, you have to stay with us forever, okay? Promise?"
The child's request, said with a beaming smile, was completely unexpected.
"...Guess it's the sa as always"
Her mischievous request, so clever for her age, leaves at a loss for words.
I thought she'd make so more childish, trivial wish.
"...Is there nothing else you want? Sweets? Or a toy would be fine?"
"No need, ten!"
I ask, still holding her up, but she shakes her head side to side, denying my suggestion.
"We have everything here! So we don't need anything! As long as Master is here, it's all good!!"
"Or maybe I should say, if you weren't here, we'd be in trouble because we'd need soone to take care of us!"
"Happy? ...What kind of words are those?"
"Figures you wouldn't get it... Ah, you're sothing else."
I glance down at the white-haired girl clutching the sleeve of her outfit, piecing together the origin of her knowledge.
The evening's silence wasn't due to her personality, but her language.
Now, why did I even say the word 'happy'?
"Master?"
"Mm, not really."
A gentle prod to my wandering thoughts.
I respond in kind.
A child, beaming with vitality.
"I love it here! This place is for Master! That's why I love Master too! So, Master, please stay here forever! That's my request!!"
"I see, I get it. I was hoping for a bit more of a soft answer, though."
The logic is clear, but should I really say it with a smile in front of her?
My own feelings are pretty much irrelevant, right?
That's how it is, isn't it?
...Ah, whatever.
It's not a tangible request, just a verbal promise.
"By the way, how about the others?"
"Just like !"
"Absolutely!"
"You didn't know? You can't escape from the Great King!"
"Well, looks like we've got a mix of oddballs here."
A bunch of greedy brats, all proposing similar wishes.
You'd think they could at least co up with so variety.
...Not that I'll point out their over-eagerness.
Might as well take it as their study fee.
"Now then, you all must have worked up a good sweat. Let's calm down and stick to the plan from here on out. ...How about we teach each other songs while playing with kendamas?"
"Let's do it!"
"Yeah, let's!"
"Master, what songs do you know?"
"Well, I don't know if you guys know them... What are you doing, poetry? Literature?!" What are you doing?!" ...Hm?"
Just as I'm about to join in the singing, a shout cuts through the air.
The greedy brats flinch, and I turn my gaze towards the source of the voice.
A delicate, middle-aged maid ca running over to , pale-faced...
"M-Mother...?"
"Mother..."
Mulling over the child's anxious murmur, I take another look at the maid.
A mother, with a look of even greater unease than her daughter's...
* * *
"I apologize...for the children causing such a ruckus...I'll make sure to scold them. Please forgive this intrusion on your ti, Master."
"Nah, just killing ti. Kids are always such a handful, aren't they?"
"I'm truly sorry..."
Lounging by the veranda, I watch the little brats playing in the garden, while their mother quivers in fear.
(...I keep saying it's not that serious, but does she ever listen?)
I stepped in to calm Amatsuru, who was scolding the children, and instructed the brats to play in the garden. Then, I asked her, their motherly maid, to keep them company on the veranda. Now, here we are, chatting—though "chatting" might be a stretch.
She sits beside in seiza, repeatedly bowing and apologizing since we began.
"I said, stop apologizing. ...Is my face that scary?"
"N-no! Nothing of the sort! I'm always grateful for Master's kindness... truly, truly...!!"
My attempt at humor was t with grave, earnest replies. Again, she bowed deeply, her voice trembling with anxiety.
(This isn't going well. We're not even having a conversation.)
Her fear baffled . As I pondered it, my mind returned to her earlier plea.
"...Are you afraid of being dismissed if you displease ?"
"Th-that... I—"
"I'm curious—what was the place you all ca from like?"
It was a genuine question. I knew nothing of the "outside." My world was only this *estate*. The "outside" she spoke of was a mystery—unimaginable.
So, driven by curiosity, I asked...
"'Outside'... can you tell about it?"
Her expression stiffened in a way I'd never seen before.
"Ah, yes... if you could tell anything about the 'outside'..."
"No!"
"Huh!?!"
Her refusal, nearly a scream, startled more than anything today. I hadn't expected such clear rejection. She trembled violently, hugging herself, her face pale—an expression I'd never seen in this estate.
"...!!? I-I'm so sorry!! My deepest apologies!! Please forgive ...!! I beg you...!!"
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