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IBP 65
A thought crossed her mind: perhaps that child was the reincarnation of Coco.
‘No, that’s impossible. What on earth am I thinking?’
She figured she must be losing her mind after not using her detection ability for so long.
Chloe gave a light knock on the door and spoke.
“If the conversation is finished, I’d like to take the young lady home.”
“Gasp, Sister!”
The girl, who had been sitting there like a little chick, sprang up instantly.
“......Right. Let’s go now.”
“Yes!”
Lady Miru also stood up and watched the two of them leave.
“It was a small, brief exhibition, but thank you for coming.”
She gave Chloe a light nod of greeting.
‘......I thought she accepted the invitation to the exhibition surprisingly easily.’
The reason she had accepted without any indirect refusals, despite the rumors of her risk of going berserk.
Was it because Chloe and she had lost the same thing?
‘Because she felt a sense of shared sympathy?’
Chloe cast a glance toward Lady Miru once more before stepping outside.
‘Maybe there are no bad people among those who love animals.’
While indulging in sentimental thoughts uncharacteristic of her, she lightly brought the events of her first social season to a close.
* * *
I returned to the mansion proudly with my sister.
I was clutching a large painting drawn by Lady Miru tightly in my arms.
After receiving compliments like, “Princess, you have an excellent eye for art,” from the maid sisters, and “You’ve returned magnificently! Just like a brave puppy, Coco!” from my mouse friends...
I proudly hung Lady Miru’s painting on the wall of my annex.
Then, I lay down on my bed and fell asleep.
That night, Cherry, who lives on the Dog Star, appeared in my dream.
Cherry smiled brightly and licked me repeatedly.
“Thank you, Coco!”
“Cherry!”
“Thanks to you, I think my sister has become a little bit happier.”
I waved my hands and stroked Cherry’s fur.
Then, Cherry whispered urgently.
“Listen, so I’ve found a way for your sister to recognize that you are Coco the puppy more quickly.”
According to Cherry, in order to achieve true intimacy, there needs to be a certain catalyst.
For example, situations where the two are seen overlapping by chance occur repeatedly. Or, there needs to be a powerful trigger.
If that’s the case, the first thing I should do is......!
* * *
“How is it? I think I’m perfectly healthy now! There’s no berserk state at all!”
“I see.”
Coco looked at Chloe, her feet bouncing with excitement.
Her expression was practically begging for praise.
“Well done.”
“Yes! Th-then, let’s do what we promised!”
......If it was a promise, there were two.
‘One was to be her chaperone. The other was...... to use the <Stone of Eternity>.’
However, seeing her look at her with such sparkling eyes made Chloe want to tease her.
Chloe feigned a thoughtful look, stroking her chin.
“Ah, what was it we agreed to do?”
At that, Coco muttered with a face that looked as if she had lost everything in the world.
“H-h-how could you forget! You promised!”
“Hmm.”
“Me-me-mean! You’re so mean.......”
Watching Coco sniffle, Chloe let out a small laugh.
“If I tease you more, you’ll cry.”
Chloe chuckled and pulled the Stone of Eternity out of her pocket.
“You’ve been giving me hints to use this for a while now.”
“Oops. I was caught.”
“Alright, I’ll use it right now.”
Chloe gripped the Stone of Eternity. She closed her eyes to channel her life force into it.
And then.......
“Wow! It’s sparkling!”
At Coco’s words, she opened her eyes.
The Stone of Eternity was shimmering.
“Wow, it must be because the person Chloe-nim loves most in the world is right next to her!”
Chloe’s gaze became fixed on the Stone of Eternity.
‘That can’t be. The Coco I love most in the world is dead.’
With a confused expression, she removed her hand from the stone.
“......Why? Why did you take it away?”
“I think something is wrong. I think I should try again later, much later.”
“Huh? But they said the heirloom works well.......”
Yes, she knew that too.
‘It’s nonsense to say the heirloom of the Grand Duke Rivera’s house is broken.’
But wasn't it strange?
She had come to quite like her youngest sister before her eyes.
But the only being she loved most in the world was Coco.
‘Come to think of it, they are both named Coco.’
She knew.
Surely, it was something she had known since the first time she met Coco.......
Suddenly, the thought occurred to her that it was all strangely familiar.
‘......Isn’t this something strange?’
After that day.
Without Chloe even realizing it, a faint seed of doubt began to bloom.
Until now, she didn't even know exactly what she was doubting.
But it didn't take long for that seed of doubt to bear fruit.
* * *
Was it right after Sister checked the heirloom?
I feel like the way my sister treats me has changed a little.
‘She’s become a bit softer!’
Should I say she’s become just a tiny bit closer to how she treated puppy Coco?
‘I love it!’
Putting in a lot of effort, I gained a new realization while training with Belief.
‘The light in my hand has become bigger and shoots out much faster!’
“Coco, you’ve grown. Has something happened in the meantime?”
Belief did not hold back his admiration, sounding genuinely surprised.
“Nothing special happened.......”
“Your supernatural ability seems to have become even more powerful. I think you’ll move to the 4th stage soon.”
“What happens when I pass the 4th stage?”
He muttered while searching through the vast knowledge in his head.
“You will gain the power to pierce through the essence. I’m not exactly sure what that is, though.”
“Wow, getting stronger is great!”
“Right, let’s call it a day. I want to help you more, but.......”
I was about to give a little giggle, but I stopped.
I could feel that Belief’s complexion wasn't good.
“Teacher, you look...... really tired.”
“......Well, it’s because of the assignment my brother gave me. The knights are making a fuss, asking for buffs.”
It was understandable that my teacher was tired. Since some of the priests Lucrezia brought had returned to the temple, he had taken on the workload alone.
Looking at his dark complexion, I said.
“I think I can help you so you won't be so tired soon.”
“Thank you for the kind words, Coco.”
No, they weren't just kind words.......
I actually have a way to help.
* * *
“It’s been a while, right?”
I went to visit Agent Jack of the <Day-Speaking Birds>.
He fluttered his wings repeatedly, giving me a hard time.
“You haven't contacted me for a while, so why did you suddenly call me?”
“Gasp, are you pouting?”
“......It is nothing like that. I’ve been hearing news about you often. Like, that you made new friends during the social season. Or that you didn't contact your original animal friends because you were too busy.”
He is pouting.......
I laughed softly while stroking Agent Jack’s wings.
“Stop being mad! The reason I called you, Agent Jack, is to give you some sparkling stones as a gift.”
“Hmm?”
“There are really a lot of sparkling stones here, right?”
Agent Jack, who had been pretending to be upset, fluttered his wings excitedly.
As birds who love gems, it was only natural for their eyes to glaze over.
The place I brought Agent Jack to was the Loki Mine, where Belief’s hut used to be.
About ten years ago.
After Belief made his nest here and closed the mine, people, including miners, stopped visiting.
Since then, the birds that gathered near the abandoned mine dug up and carried away the sparkling stones near the mine.
Thus, the ground was filled with numerous sparkling stones.
‘Is Agent Jack falling for it?!’
But Agent Jack seemed to be quite suspicious.
“......But here is the thing. This is a completely gloomy mine, isn't it? And a closed one at that.”
Agent Jack fluttered his wings, looking pleased by the sparkling stones but also puzzled.
And for good reason, because the place we were in was right in front of the Loki Mine.
And it was a wide-open field.
“You suddenly gave me a teleportation stone and told me to move, so I thought you were taking me somewhere nice.”
I shook my head while listening to Agent Jack grumble.
“Listen, this mine is currently closed. So you can’t enter without Lord Belief’s teleportation stone.”
“......Even if it’s trespassing.”
I was about to say it was fine because Belief wouldn't care anyway, but I decided to get straight to the point.
“You know, there are tons of mana crystals buried here.”
“Hmm? Mana crystals?”
He didn't seem very interested.
“Yes. They can amplify a supernatural ability by as much as five times!”
“Th-that’s top-grade. The ones discovered so far can only amplify by 1.5 or 2 times at most, and even then, the quantity is small. H-how could such a precious mineral be buried in a rotten abandoned mine.......”
I cut off Agent Jack, who was rambling in confusion as information he didn't know came out.
“Anyway, the reason I called Agent Jack is that I want you to mine the mana crystals!”
“Then, after mining the mana crystals, do our elite agents of the <Day-Speaking Birds> get these sparkling stones instead?”
“Yes! In exchange, I want you to mine the mana crystals in a way that doesn't put the surrounding animal friends in danger.”
“Ah.”
“Can you bring the animal friends?”
I had been very busy following my sister around during the social season.
Because of that, I hadn't been able to pay attention to the Loki Mine.
‘It’s about time to start mining the mana crystals from the mine.’
The dark circles under my teacher’s eyes were increasing by the day.......
‘And the time has come to raise my sister’s reputation by supplying mana crystals in her name.’
Of course, I was the one who discovered them. But I planned to subtly spread rumors that my sister had discovered them herself.
I giggled and put my hand over my mouth.
“Hurry and bring some cool animal friends who know how to dig stones!”
“Animals that are good at digging stones, huh.”
“Yes, I promise to give those friends really delicious food.”
Agent Jack pecked the ground with his beak and declared solemnly.
“Very well, I shall go. Just trust me.”
66 - IBP 66
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