There was a small mishap in the middle, but thankfully the debutante rehearsal went off without a hitch.
Thanks to the large room we'd given them, the five children had huddled together, chattering through the night before falling asleep, and when they all came stumbling out in their pajamas the next morning, it was honestly hilarious.
More than anything, I was relieved that all the children who'd come seemed like good kids.
It meant Lyriette and Yuria had gained some good connections too.
"Lyriette, Yuria. We should get going now. We had a wonderful time."
"Thanks for having us."
"S-see you again next time…!"
The two of them waved warmly at the three girls saying their goodbyes in front of the carriage.
Honestly, there was no real need for me to come see them off too.
But I had small gifts for the children who'd been so kind to the two girls, so I dragged myself up off the couch.
"Yes, travel safely. I'll write often."
"Once Yuria learns more letters, I'll send letters too."
"Thank you. I'll be looking forward to it!"
Rubelina, speaking as their representative, gave her final goodbye and was about to climb into the carriage—
"Girls, could you wait just a moment?"
"Yes?"
I called out to stop the three of them, then—
"It's nothing much, just a small gift. Thank you for being such good friends to our children."
—I pulled out the small leather pouch I'd been hiding behind my back.
"A gift? Wow!"
I suppose children really can't resist gifts.
The girl with pale green hair, standing between the other two, threw both hands up and let out a cheer.
Claire, if I remembered correctly.
"C-Claire. At least act like you're going to decline it first…!"
The young lady from House Oshel—Shuri, was it?
Being the most mature of the three, she tried to hold Claire back, looking flustered.
"A gift from Sir Argent himself—I'll treasure it as a family heirloom!"
"Bel too…!"
Even Rubelina reached out eagerly, and Shuri's eyes spun in a panic.
Ah, so Rubelina's nickname is Bel.
Heh, that's a little funny somehow.
Come to think of it, Lyriette's favorite stuffed doll is also named Bel.
I could just picture the commotion that must have caused in their room.
Maybe I'd ask Lyriette about it later.
Holding back a laugh, I pulled out the contents to show them, and the children's eyes went wide as if they might pop out.
"T-this is…!"
"Don't tell me—a crystal orb…!?"
"You're giving us something this precious as a gift!?"
Indeed.
What I'd handed them was a crystal orb.
To compare it to the world I came from, a crystal orb is basically a telephone.
But in this world, crystal orbs are classified as quite the luxury item.
For one thing, unlike phones, most of them only allow one-on-one communication.
Which means using a single orb to conveniently keep in touch with multiple people is quite burdensome.
On top of that, the gemstone used to make crystal orbs has to be ice-frost stone, which has the highest mana absorption rate, driving the price up even further.
So while crystal orbs do exist, letters are still the standard means of communication in this world.
It's hard to find a perfect comparison, but it's roughly like buying elementary schoolers flagship smartphones.
"That's right. I tinkered with these in the workshop yesterday. I've set them up so the five of you can contact each other, so they should come in handy."
"Gasp!"
"Then does that mean these are Resonance Crystal Orbs?"
"T-this is far too precious an item for us to accept…"
A Resonance Crystal Orb refers to the kind I mentioned earlier—one that can connect multiple people.
You could say it's the closest thing to an actual telephone.
The exact mechanism works a bit differently, but explaining that would take too long, so I just nodded vaguely.
Meanwhile, Shuri hadn't been able to bring herself to reach out, fidgeting anxiously, so I gave her a gentle smile.
"You're close friends with people precious to me, so I couldn't very well give you something ordinary. Don't think of it as too much of a burden—just take it, alright?"
"Ah…! Y-yes!"
At that, Shuri's face turned bright red as she carefully accepted the orb with both hands.
She seemed to be a rather shy child.
"Thank you, Sir Argent. Wahh! I have to show this off to the others at the next tea party!"
Claire had been hopping up and down like a frog even before she'd actually received the orb, but once she had it in hand, she suddenly went "Ooooh…!" and grew cautious—which was rather endearing for a girl her age.
"Thank you so much, Sir Argent. I will never use this orb—I'll keep it safely in my precious collection box."
"No, please, do use it."
Rubelina was so overwhelmed with gratitude that it made even me feel a bit awkward, but well, I was glad she was happy about it.
Ah, right.
I hadn't told them that part yet.
"Rus."
Whoosh!
As I murmured the short incantation, the orbs in the three girls' hands compressed and shrank down.
Into the shape of rings, no less.
"Wear them like that normally, and when you want it to turn back into an orb, just say 'orb.'"
"Wow! I've never seen a crystal orb like this before!"
"The ring is pretty too."
"S-so it really was a betrothal gift after all…!"
After explaining the basic usage, I was smiling contentedly when I felt something tugging and poking at me from behind.
One was Lyriette's tiny little hand.
The other was Yuria's tiny little… well, not hand exactly—more like an egg-shaped head pressed against me.
"U-uncle. We'll be getting ours too, right?"
"Yuria wants one too."
I suppose after I'd said "the five of you," but then hadn't given them theirs, they'd gotten a little anxious.
Honestly, how cute.
"Of course. I'll give them to you later, once we're back in your room. I've prepared something a bit more special for yours."
"Hehe, something special…."
"V. Yuria is special."
Of course you're special.
Whose niece are you, and whose disciple is she?
"U-um… Sir Argent."
"Hm?"
As I was petting the two of them, a voice called from behind.
Rubelina had approached, shuffling awkwardly, and now carefully held out the ring in her hand.
What was wrong?
Did she not like the design of the ring, perhaps?
"I-I've never worn a ring before. If it's alright, could you perhaps put it on for me yourself…? If possible, on my left ring—kyaa!?"
Before Rubelina could finish, her body was suddenly yanked backward.
Claire had swooped in and snatched her away.
"Bel! We really need to get going now!"
"W-wait, just a moment! Claire! There's a very important step left…!"
"I understand you're happy to see your idol, but hurry up! Shuri's waiting too!"
"Kyaaaaaah—!"
…What in the world was that about?
I felt like she was about to ask for something.
I was scratching my head in confusion when, before I knew it, the three of them had climbed into the carriage.
"Thank you! Sir Argent! I'll never forget this kindness!"
"We're so grateful…!"
"Sir Argeeeeent!"
Rubelina kept flailing and trying to reach her hand out the window even to the very end, but Claire, worried it was dangerous, yanked her back, and she toppled over backward.
Smack!
—Neeeeigh!
Right up until the carriage departed, it was pure chaos inside, but somehow they managed to put some distance between themselves and the gate, and soon a cloud of dust kicked up as they vanished into the distance.
It had been a while since the estate had been this lively.
I hoped they'd come visit again sometime.
The children would be happy about it too.
***
After seeing them off, I brought the two girls back to their room.
Watching them linger behind me, clearly wanting something, tracking my every move—it made me laugh despite myself.
"Here, these are yours. Go ahead and take them."
"Yay! Thank you, Uncle."
"Thanks, Baal."
I rummaged around and pulled out the crystal orbs, handing them over. Lyriette let out a cheer, and Yuria gave a small bow of thanks.
"Uncle, though—what's special about ours?"
"Ah, that's the thing. I've connected these to my own crystal orb as well."
"With you too?"
"That's right. The orb I gave you before would be inconvenient to carry around, wouldn't it? Or was it too much of me?"
I'd thought the two of them would need it, so I'd modified them a bit further, but now that I looked back on it, I wondered if it had been unnecessary.
After all, children apparently don't like it when adults intrude on their friend groups.
Maybe it would've been better to just connect them to each other alone—
"No! I'm so happy! Hehe, if I just wear this, I can contact you anytime, Uncle."
"Yuria likes this better too. Yuria's going to contact Baal every minute."
The two of them welcomed it wholeheartedly, as if my worry had been pointless.
"I'm glad. But could you spare me the every-minute calls?"
"Then every hour."
"T-that's fine."
Yuria's boundless generosity nearly brought tears to my eyes.
"You saw how it works earlier, right? Say 'Rus' and it becomes a ring, say 'orb' and it turns back into a crystal orb."
"Yes, I'll try. Rus."
"Rus."
Whoosh!
As the orbs turned into rings, both their faces lit up.
The rings I'd given the other three earlier were all identical in appearance.
But these were a bit more special—I'd set gemstones into them.
Blue sapphires and red rubies, to match each of their eye colors.
"Blue…! That's my favorite color."
"Same color as Yuria's eyes."
"I made them that way on purpose. Do you like them?"
"Yes! So much."
"Yuria likes it too."
Well, unanimous approval. That's a relief.
Now that the gift-giving ceremony was over, I figured I'd head back and take a nap—
Poke, poke.
…Hm?
"U-uncle. If it's not too much trouble, could you perhaps put the ring on for me yourself?"
"The ring?"
"Yes."
Puzzled, I asked again, and Lyriette nodded shyly.
Ah, right.
I'd heard that when you receive a necklace or ring as a gift, it's proper etiquette for the giver to put it on for you.
Well, that's usually the case between lovers or romantic partners, but—
if it's Lyriette's request, I have no reason to refuse.
"Alright then, hand it here and hold out your hand?"
"Yes!"
Lyriette replied energetically and stretched out her hand.
But somehow…
'What is this strange gesture?'
She held out her left hand—and not with all her fingers spread, either. Just her ring finger stood upright, with the rest curled in.
"Nngh…!"
It seemed difficult to keep just her ring finger extended, as her hand trembled.
No, why go to such lengths for this?
Anyway, the ring finger.
If I remembered correctly, the left ring finger was where you put the ring on during a proposal.
'Well, there's no way the kids would know about that.'
She probably just held it out because most people wear rings on their ring finger, so she assumed that's how it's done.
Even Cassdia wears her ring on her left ring finger.
So I slipped the ring onto her finger, and gentle ripples spread across the lake in Lyriette's eyes.
Staring at the ring as if gazing upon the most precious thing in the world, Lyriette looked up at me and offered her thanks.
"Thank you, Uncle. I'll never lose it. I'll wear it while I sleep, while I bathe, always."
"I'm grateful you'll treasure it so much."
I'd made it waterproof, so it should be fine regardless.
Still, I hadn't expected her to cherish it quite this much.
"Lyriette, why there? Is that finger comfortable?"
"What?"
"Yuria's never worn a ring before, doesn't know."
"A-ah, no!? It's extremely uncomfortable! Yuria, you should really put it on a different finger!"
"……"
Yuria narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Her gaze was so sharp that Lyriette, unable to withstand it, cautiously approached her—
Whisper, whisper.
—and murmured something into her ear, low enough that I couldn't hear.
Being excluded even like this stung a little… hm?
"Baal, Yuria too."
"O-of course."
Mimicking Lyriette just now, Yuria held out her hand with only her ring finger extended.
It seemed Lyriette had told her that, in fact, wearing a ring on the ring finger was the proper way.
Not exactly proper, but if that's what she wanted, what could I do?
"There, is this good?"
"Mm. Happy."
"If Yuria's happy, then I'm happy too."
To think I'd hear Yuria say she was happy.
I have no idea how much profit I've made off of just one ring.
I'll have to give her some change back later.
Unlike Lyriette beside her, who was staring at her ring as if entranced,
Yuria glanced at hers for a moment, then quietly looked up at me instead.
Thinking she might have something to say, I leaned down slightly, and—
"Baal. I have a request. Yuria wants to learn magic starting tomorrow."
"Magic?"
She said something I never could have anticipated.
Wanting to learn magic.
What could have suddenly prompted this?
Of course, I'd originally brought Yuria in under the pretext of being her disciple, and she herself had said something about wanting to learn a magic that could teach her about emotions.
'But that's already been resolved—why bring it up again?'
Was she really interested in magic itself?
Puzzled, I heightened my senses and peeked slightly into Yuria's inner state, and—
"……!"
—my eyes flew wide open.
To the right of Yuria's heart.
The location where every mage's mana core lay dormant.
The place that had been devoured by Gluttony and tinged black had somehow begun to shift, turning red.
'That's… a Circle?'
Because clearly wound around that red core were two distinct strands of white thread.
The 2nd Circle.
It meant that this girl, who hadn't even learned to handle mana yet, let alone magic, had awakened to the 2nd Circle—the very entry point of a mage's path.
'How on earth?'
Even with a considerable epiphany, leaping two Circles at once is an immense challenge.
No, as far as I knew, there was no precedent for it at all.
Usually, one barely manages to climb even a single Circle, and only when there's an overwhelming shift in one's heart—like a burning desire for power—or a magical epiphany.
'Neither of those applies here, does it?'
There wasn't enough evidence to say Yuria had suddenly developed a desire to grow stronger.
And as for a magical epiphany—she was a complete novice when it came to magic.
'Could it be that, having partially escaped Gluttony's grip, the curse binding her has loosened?'
That was a possibility.
It's such a rare case that I couldn't say for certain, though.
"Alright. If that's what you want, I'll start teaching you from today."
"Really? Thank you. I'll definitely become stronger than Baal."
"Stronger than me?"
I was rather taken aback by such a sudden, bold ambition.
Aiming to surpass one's teacher is common enough.
But to think Yuria of all people would say something like that.
She wasn't even saying she wanted to become as strong as me—she wanted to become stronger than me.
'This one has big dreams, doesn't she.'
I don't mean to boast, but surpassing where I stand would be quite the challenge.
Above my level is the 8th Circle, a realm held by only a single person on the entire continent.
Still, if she's my disciple, she ought to dream big.
If anything, that audacity pleased me, and I smiled contentedly.
"I'll look forward to it, then. Though—is there a particular reason you want to surpass me specifically? There's also your master's master, Sir Godwin, you know."
"Grandpa doesn't matter. Has to be stronger than Baal."
"Uh… why, though?"
"I'll tell you once I'm stronger than Baal."
"……?"
Well, the reason can wait, I suppose.
Either way, it means she's found some ambition.
"I-I want to become stronger than you too, Uncle!"
Not to be outdone, Lyriette shot her hand up as well.
With the sheer intensity of it, it felt like she might as well have tied on a headband reading "Down with Baal" and staged a protest.
Though, wait—she's a swordsman. Why is she setting me as her target instead of old man Oden?
'Well, I suppose it means I've become an adult worth striving toward.'
I've grown too, it seems.
A wave of pride washed over me, and I wore a satisfied smile.
"I'll be looking forward to it, then."
"Yes…! Please wait for it. I'll grow strong enough that you won't be able to move an inch, Uncle!"
"Mm. Yuria will also get strong enough that Baal can't even resist."
"Anyone listening would think you two were planning to devour me."
Their phrasing was a bit rougher than usual, but I suppose that's just how strongly they were expressing their resolve.
Well, either way, it was fine by me.
There was no greater joy for me than watching these children grow stronger.
"Alright. If the two of you ever manage to surpass me someday, I'll grant you a wish each—so do your best."
"……!"
The odds of that actually happening were slim, but I figured a bold incentive like that would motivate them well enough.
At that, the two of them opened their eyes wide,
glanced at each other once, and suddenly scattered in opposite directions.
"Uncle, I'll head out first to train! Thank you for the gift!"
"Baal. Yuria will start learning today too. Teach magic."
Oh, they were that easily swayed?
It seems my little incentive worked exactly as intended.
'Well, good, then.'
I was curious what wish they might make, but I supposed I'd save that pleasure for later.
