Chapter 83

Although he was scared, Eidan still led the way as the elder. He handed Marivel over to Alro and walked slowly. Sophia, hearing a sound, also got down from being carried and started walking. Marivel held the light, and Alro held hands with the two of them. Eidan moved forward, illuminating the path with the light, but it was no different from the usual greenhouse.

"——Ah, that."

"What!?"

Sophia pointed at the tree. Hanging from it were blue fruits.

"When can we eat them?"

"…It’s just fruit."

Eidan realized he was the only one trembling and gradually regained his composure.

Of course, ghosts don’t just appear everywhere.

"——We’ve reached the halfway point."

They had walked about half the length of the greenhouse. The sound of water trickling through the greenhouse could be heard. It was artificially channeled in.

——Ki, gi, gi…

The sound suddenly came from ahead.

"That’s the sound."

"Ghost?"

Sophia said happily.

"That’s dangerous, Lady Sophia. Let’s go together."

Sophia was about to run off but was held back by Alro. Eidan slowly moved towards the source of the sound.

"…There’s nothing here."

"Indeed, it’s coming from around here…"

Marivel stood next to Eidan and looked around, but it was just the usual scenery. Water was flowing, moss was growing, and rare flowers were blooming.

"——Ah, those mushrooms."

Alro pointed. There were yellow and purple mushrooms growing in a cluster.

"Mushrooms?"

"Yonakidake. As the name suggests, they make a sound at night."

The sound came from the mushrooms again.

Ki, gi, gi, gi…

"I don’t like it. It sounds like someone grinding their teeth."

"Grinding teeth? You’re so unromantic, Marivel."

Exactly, that’s the sound.

"What do you mean, mushrooms have emotions?"

"Are those mushrooms ghosts?"

"No, Sophia, they’re just mushrooms. Just mushrooms."

"Then where are the ghosts?"

"Um, it seems they’re not here today."

"Aww…"

Sophia sounded disappointed.

"Only the night-sounding mushrooms?"

"Hagiri, shi, ri…"

Marivel corrected slowly.

"Can we eat them?"

"They are edible, but they’re not particularly tasty."

Alro answered Sophia’s question. He had eaten them in the middle of the night when he was hungry.

"Not tasty?"

"The taste… if I had to describe it, it’s like slightly stale water."

Marivel and Eidan both made grim faces.

"Unpleasant sound and terrible taste. Why do they even grow?"

"Maybe for decoration? They have striking colors."

"That’s so unromantic."

"There were no ghosts."

Sophia sounded disappointed.

"We can look again. Next time, let’s try the music room Alro mentioned?"

"Okay!"

Sophia said happily.

"Why are you looking for ghosts?"

"…Sophia wants a friend."

Sophia is only four and doesn’t have any close friends. She looks enviously at Marivel playing and going out with Bella.

Eidan is busy interacting with the knights, and Marivel has Alro.

"I see, you were lonely."

Eidan’s words made Sophia nod and rub her eyes. She seemed sleepy.

"Let’s call it a day for today. You must be tired."

"Mm, but it was fun. Right, Alro?"

Sophia turned to Alro, who had been holding her hand the whole time. Alro looked a bit surprised.

"Ah, it was good."

Sophia tilted her head.

"Alro, didn’t you have fun?"

Alro gave a hesitant, forced smile.

"Thank you for inviting me. I am grateful."

Sophia looked even more puzzled.

"Did you not like the ghosts?"

"No, but I shouldn’t have fun."

Alro said it so naturally that Eidan almost missed it. Marivel’s stern face made Eidan look at Alro, and he was surprised to realize it wasn’t a mistake.

"Why?"

Sophia’s question made Alro think.

Why, when asked. He had always thought it was a given.

The life he gained by leaving his father.

He couldn’t enjoy himself while his father was suffering. It was only natural, right?

"I am… a terrible person."

"Alro."

Marivel called his name clearly.

"You are not a terrible person."

"Ah, but…"

In fact, Alro couldn’t do anything.

And the words he had been told since he was old enough to understand, now seemed to occupy most of Alro’s being, stuck to him and wouldn’t let go.

Useless, a burden. A harbinger of disease.

But he didn’t have the courage to say it out loud. The courage to expose his true nature in this glittering place.

Sophia said curiously.

"Alro, you’re a good boy, right?"

"Pencilia wouldn’t hire a terrible person. Tan said no one else could be Marivel’s squire but Alro. I think so too."

Alro fell silent after being told this in quick succession.

"But, I…"

I make the people around me unhappy.

I keep the dark power suppressed, and I don’t know how to explain it.

"I understand."

After a while, Marivel nodded firmly.

Before anyone could ask what she understood, Marivel took a step forward, stomped her foot, and folded her arms, huffing. It was not a typical noble lady’s attitude, but no one said anything in a room full of children.

"Alro is overwhelmingly lacking in fun."

"Ah, no, I…"

Enjoying… As he was about to say, Marivel cut him off mercilessly.

"Half-hearted fun is not enough. It should be so fun that you can’t stand it, and you’re begging for mercy—!"

Marivel seemed to choke on something in her throat. Eidan, standing next to her, realized she was holding back tears.

Eidan didn’t know the details. He only knew that Alro was hurt every time he met his father and had finally broken ties with him not long ago. Marivel, who was closest to him, couldn’t have thought nothing of it.

"I understand. I’ll help too."

Eidan said as clearly and firmly as he could, and Sophia placed her small hand on Eidan’s outstretched hand.

"Me too!"

Even if she didn’t understand, her innocent, beaming smile lightened the mood.

"Let’s do lots of fun things. Every day!"

"Ah, no, such, for me…"

Marivel took Alro’s hand without giving him a choice, placed Sophia’s hand on top, and then her own hand on top of that.

"——Well, I just want to have fun."

Eidan said lightly to Alro.

Marivel didn’t like the idea of being overly touchy, but seeing Alro suffer in front of him was a completely different matter.

Eidan had heard about Alro being hit. No matter how much strength or growth he gained, the damage from parental violence was unimaginable. Eidan couldn’t even fathom it.

The kindness to take all the blame for the injustice on himself, and the dedication to Marivel, were things he could only vaguely admire from a distance.

He knew how hard Alro was trying to stand on his own in this unfamiliar Pencilia. The sight of him fighting alone, as a peer, was something he genuinely respected.

He wanted to help in some way, to encourage him from the bottom of his heart.

"Let’s play a lot. I want to row a boat and slide down a hill. It’s hard to take Marie and Sophia with me alone."

"Okay! Let’s go! Ghosts of the night and music!"

Sophia grinned, showing her teeth.

"Let’s forget about the teeth grinding."

"Then, horseback riding?"

Eidan thought he was suggesting the safest leisure activity.

"Brother."

Marivel put her hands on her hips and said in a tone of exasperation.

"It’s almost spring, isn’t it? We’re definitely going to see the cherry blossoms!"

"Is seeing cherry blossoms fun?"

Eidan didn’t understand the appeal.

"It’s fun. Alro is very good at making flower crowns."

When Marivel was four, Alro had told her she looked like a princess.

"When I was still little…"

"You’re still little."

"Sophia!"

When she tried to pinch her cheek, Sophia slipped behind Alro.

"Then, let’s have a picnic! With a bento!"

"Okay. I’ll prepare it. How about the day after tomorrow?"

The four of them nodded.

Thus, the Pencilia Children’s Club was formed.

It was a truly childlike gathering, pursuing only fun. Basically, adults did not join, and they decided their destinations and activities themselves.

Cynthia also strongly supported this childlike gathering.

They played every day, and while the initial goal was to make Alro happy, it soon became genuinely fun for the four children.

As the seasons progressed and the temperature warmed, the children running through the grass had sweat on their foreheads.

They were playing a handicapped game of tag.

Sophia and Marivel, unusually working together, cornered Eidan, who fell on his butt and made a strange noise.

At that moment, Alro burst out laughing.

With four of us, we can play many different games.