Chapter 75
Chapter 75
It all started with a message from Isiel.
-Well, there’s been an issue with Seiren.
“What about Seiren?”
She had a problem with Father.
Isiel’s response, finally uttered after much hesitation, was a sentence that left quite a lot unsaid.
Even I, who didn’t know much about it, could tell there were issues between Seiren and Duke Lemiere.
But was this something that needed to be brought up so suddenly?
However, Isiel closed his mouth without offering any further explanation.
[Seems like there’s quite a story there.]
To be honest, if it were just Isiel’s problem, I wouldn’t have cared much.
No matter how dramatic the story, Isiel is the heir to House Lemiere.
Why would I waste time worrying about someone who has everything?
However, this time it seemed Seiren was involved too.
[That’s why Isiel contacted you.]
[Seiren is the only thing Isiel can’t handle by himself.]
I suspect he contacted me remembering how well Seiren listens to me.
‘I can’t ignore it if it involves Seiren.’
For some reason, Seiren had always been my weak spot.
The kind of weak spot that draws your attention and concerns you even when you’re trying to leave it alone.
It’s very different from how I care for and look after Cassis.
“Since I’m going to the Capital anyway, I’ll look for potential store locations while I’m there.”
“You seem to be working too hard.”
“Well, you’ll have to pay the price for calling me all the way to the Capital.”
While I’m going, it would be good to look for a suitable store and determine how to decorate it.
I need to check on the street stall too.
I decided to take Yuri along.
Since he needs to think about everything from interior design to concept, I thought it would be easier if he could see the stores in person.
“Yuri, would you be okay with going to the Capital?”
“I’d love to!”
“Really?”
“I miss my brother, and… I think it’s more fun to actually design things on-site than just drawing.”
I fondly ruffled Yuri’s hair.
How did I manage to find such a small, cute, and genius child?
[All thanks to us!]
[That’s right!]
As I was explaining the Capital plans to Yuri, an unexpected voice suddenly interjected.
“Irina, you’re going to the Capital?”
“…Lord Sian.”
“Why such an expression?”
Sian Terezia appeared suddenly, somehow knowing about my Capital trip like a ghost.
Since it was such a hastily arranged schedule, I had planned to go secretly without telling him.
Because while I felt sorry about what had happened to him and hoped he would be okay, beyond those feelings, I was somewhat afraid of him.
Looking at how Sian treats everyone in this mansion, he seems at least friendly toward me.
Is it because we share a connection to the ‘god’?
But I could never tell what he was thinking.
For various reasons, I had planned to take only Yuri to the Capital, but somehow he knew.
“I’ll go too.”
“…Do you really have to?”
“I need information about the temple.”
When he put it that way, there was no way to stop him.
I nodded with my suddenly tired body.
* * *
As soon as we arrived at the Capital, Sian Terezia slipped away quietly.
I suspect he headed straight to the temple.
After sending Yuri to Luwin’s mansion in the Capital, I headed to House Lemiere.
“What happened?”
“…Father hit Seiren.”
What?
I frowned, unable to comprehend.
[He must be crazy]
[How could anyone hit such a small and cute child]
“…Why?”
“He tried to arrange her marriage. Seiren refused, and he slapped her.”
I ran my fingers through my hair in distress.
Perhaps I should have taken Seiren to the North with me.
First, I needed to meet with Seiren, who must be terribly upset.
“I want to go to the North too.”
That was the first thing Seiren declared when we met.
“So suddenly?”
“I have lots of holy power.”
“I see.”
I couldn’t help but smile at Seiren trying to prove her usefulness by bragging about her holy power.
“And it’s not sudden.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t just decide this now.”
Seiren spoke firmly.
“I’ve wanted to leave for a long time. Everyone else has a stable home to return to, but I don’t.”
“Really?”
“I’m always unstable, precarious. The Lemiere mansion isn’t a home for me – it’s just a place to stay temporarily.”
Thinking back to the Duke’s attitude and words toward Seiren when I briefly met him before, I could understand why she would say this.
“Father suddenly said I couldn’t become a saint, and it’s too late for me to establish myself in society.”
“Too late? Why?”
Though I haven’t told anyone yet, I have plans to make Seiren one of the most influential people in society.
[Really?]
[I didn’t know that.]
‘Yes. I’m going to make her famous and use her to promote ice cream.’
“I don’t know. So he’s trying to marry me off to someone ten years older than me, but of course I said no.”
I patted Seiren’s head as she angrily vented her frustrations.
“That’s why I want to go to the North.”
“What would you do there?”
“Study? I’m not sure. I just need to avoid Father and Brother.”
I wondered if it was okay to basically kidnap a child just because they wanted to go.
Of course, I’d have to tell Isiel first.
Seeing my troubled expression, Seiren quietly took out three smooth stones.
“This is the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ you had. This black one I took from the temple during my saint candidate days.”
The ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ I brought was apparently only ‘D+’ grade, not particularly good.
Still, I kept it safely since it was given by the system.
And Seiren’s black stone was revealed by the system to be ‘A+’ grade.
“Remember those other jewels you gave me before?”
“Skill stones?”
“Mm-hmm. While researching, I discovered that the holy power stored in the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ has the same wavelength as power directly from a person’s body.”
I couldn’t understand at all.
Who said holy power was just power given by the gods?
From what I could see, holy power operated through mechanisms as complex as magic.
“…In other words, we can use the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ instead of your skill stones.”
Until moments ago, I felt like a humanities’ student listening to a science student explain basic science concepts.
[What’s with that analogy.]
‘I was half out of my mind.’
But when Seiren stated her conclusion, my mind snapped back and my eyes widened.
“What did you say?”
“I need to look into it more, but I think if we reinforce the holy power transfer path with magic circles, it should work.”
My jaw dropped.
“So, feeling more inclined to take me to the North now?”
“Oh, our lovely Seiren. Big sister felt uncomfortable leaving you in the Capital while I was in the North.”
Seiren smirked.
“Will you come to the North with me?”
“Yes!”
Of course, Isiel, who had been listening to this entire conversation, looked dumbfounded.
“You’re really going? To the North?”
“Brother, stay out of this.”
“Ah, no. We need Lord Isiel to be busy, so he can’t be left out.”
“Oh, really? Then roll over like a dog, you dirty Lemiere puppet!”
Isiel’s dumbfounded expression grew even more complicated.
“What should I do?”
“For now… find a store?”
“…”
“I’ll be looking around for stores, so please contribute some money if we find a good one.”
* * *
Seiren followed me to the Luwin mansion, saying she couldn’t stand that wretched house anymore.
She lay down comfortably in the room she had been using.
Watching her, I quietly contacted the North, asking them to prepare and furnish an empty room.
It seemed our Seiren would follow me to the North regardless of whether she got cut off from House Lemiere or not.
“So what does big sister have to do now?”
“Find a store and decorate it.”
“Ooooh!”
“And while we’re here, think about how to promote it.”
“I heard the ice cream store name was decided.”
It’s technically a brand, but she probably wouldn’t understand the concept of branding.
So I just nodded and told her about ‘Lu and Cream.’
“When will the store open?”
“Planning to open in midsummer.”
We’re planning to match the store opening with the brand launch date.
I actually prefer eating ice cream in winter rather than summer.
But it’s true that as a cold dessert, it goes better with summer.
That’s why we set the launch date for midsummer.
“But isn’t that too late?”
It’s only the end of January now, with almost half a year until midsummer in July or August.
“Can’t be helped.”
“What a shame… Everyone’s talking about ice cream everywhere.”
“Even summer feels tight when we haven’t even found a store yet.”
Still, I’m thinking we need to keep advertising and create memorable events for people so that ‘ice cream’ won’t be forgotten by summer.
The question is how to do that.
“But it will work out somehow.”
I smiled at Seiren, whose eyes were full of worry.
It’s okay, it’s okay.
This is how big sister has always lived.
“I’m a bit anxious.”
“Do you trust big sister?”
However, about a week later, I realized something had gone wrong.
The reason was… simple.
There wasn’t a single suitable building for the store.
Literally none at all.
Even with Isiel’s money and influence, we couldn’t find one.
“Ah…”
“Oh dear. What should we do, Irina?”
I looked up at Isiel’s sympathetic expression and said:
“I want to die.”
Why can’t anything go smoothly in one go, really?
