Chapter 204 I Allow You To Pet My Head
Five days had passed since the Stampede ended.
We were visiting Kirke's mansion once again.
The reason for our visit was to have the secrets of the Chronosphere and the [Four Great Families of the Seals] revealed to us, just as promised.
However, not all members of ≪Wooden Sword Way≫ had come. Only 5 of us had visited Kirke's mansion this time: I, Fiona, Io, Garon, and Glen.
The reason was that Kirke had expressed difficulty in allowing all members of ≪Wooden Sword Way≫ into the mansion. It seemed that Isaac and the others had misunderstood us as some kind of terrorist group.
Well, I had been quite hesitant about bringing Glen along, but Io had persuaded me, saying that as a member of the Margrave Lorentz family, Glen had a certain social status. If we had a noblewoman from another country among our ranks, they couldn't just casually go back on their word... in other words, they wouldn't abandon their explanation or try to deceive us.
In any case, Glen had ended up coming along, and the other clan members would be briefed on today's conversation by Io or someone else later.
Well, in any case, we had arrived at Kirke's mansion at the appointed time and were guided by Stewart, the old butler who claimed to be Kirke's house steward, to the inner parts of the mansion.
Before long, we arrived at a room with double doors.
"Everyone, this is it. Please, enter."
We were prompted, and as the doors opened, we entered the room, looking around the interior from the entrance.
"...It seems the heads of the Four Families have gathered."
"Yeah, and... the Guildmaster is here too, it seems."
"Hmm... it looks like the explorer guild has decided to share some information."
"By the way, Garon, weren't you supposed to be by Lady Eva's side? ."
"...for some reason, since the Stampede incident, I've been under surveillance by the Kirke family... and today, I was told by Lady Eva to participate as a member of ≪Wooden Sword Way≫."
This place could have been a dance party venue, with its spacious interior. In fact, it's originally meant for such purposes.
Inside the spacious room, several sofas and tables were arranged, each belonging to a different faction, forming a circular formation. And at the 4 corners of the room, 4 magicians stood guard, their staffs planted on the floor in front of them.
The factions present were from the [Four Great Families of the Seals] and the explorer guild, as well as the 6 members of the ≪Wooden Sword Way≫ clan.
The members from the 4 families and those called from the explorer guild had already gathered. It seems we're the last to arrive, but that's not because we're late. They actually arrived at the mansion earlier than scheduled.
It's likely that we were intentionally called at a different time. Either they're plotting something behind our backs, or they're discussing something among themselves. If it's the former, that's pretty shady.
As I was thinking that, Mr. Stewart approached us, stopping at the entrance and gesturing to a corner of the room.
"Everyone from ≪Wooden Sword Way≫, please take a seat on that sofa over there."
"Understood."
I nodded, and we walked towards the empty sofa.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the room became tense.
"Huh? What's going on?"
I looked around, feeling puzzled, and soon realized that we weren't the cause of the tension.
The source of the tension was the people from the [Four Great Families of the Seals]. And the reason for it was a single girl who had jumped down from the sofa.
She had silver hair and golden eyes. From the fact that she was sitting next to Zephyr, it was clear that she was from the Aron family, but I had never seen her before.
This girl, just by getting down from the sofa, had drawn the attention of the people from the 4 families.
"L-Lady Lucia? What happened?"
Zephyr's voice was hesitant, and his demeanor was cautious, as if he was taken aback. I could see the Guildmaster and explorers from the explorer's guild at the edge of my vision, looking surprised.
It wasn't unreasonable.
The head of the Aron family, no less, was showing an excessive reaction to a girl who was much younger than him――no, a child.
Honestly, I was also a bit surprised. It wasn't just Zephyr; all the people from the 4 families were showing an over-the-top reaction to the girl. Considering that she was just a child from the Aron family, it was unlikely that she was someone important.
Meanwhile, the girl called Lucia didn't respond to Zephyr's words and instead walked towards us, her footsteps echoing.
"......"
"......"
And then, she stood in front of us, blocking our path, and looked up at us.
She was just a young girl.
At around 7 years old, she looks like a doll. Her long silver hair is tied on both sides, forming twin tails. Her golden eyes, devoid of emotion, quietly gaze at me. Her face, perfectly proportioned like a doll's, lacks any expression, making it impossible to read her thoughts.
The beautiful yet young girl, clad in a black one-piece dress, seems like she's about to enter battle stance, her waist slightly lowered.
It's as if a beast is about to pounce on its prey, her posture radiating that kind of tension.
"Hey, hey... are you serious?"
I let out a surprised voice, taken aback by the girl's sudden combat-ready movements.
I don't know why she's showing hostility towards us, but I can imagine. If her family betrayed the Four Houses and cooperated with the secret society Chronosphere, and someone from ≪Wooden Sword Way≫ took them down... then, to her,≪Wooden Sword Way≫ would be the enemy of her family.
In that case, it's understandable that she'd show enmity towards us.
But even if I understand the situation, I don't feel any guilt. If she's an enemy, I won't hold back, even if she's just a young girl.
So, I look down at her with pride, giving her a warning.
"I'll say it upfront, little girl... I won't go easy on you, no matter who you are. Don't think you'll get special treatment just because you're a girl and a kid."
"It's not a line a grown man should be saying to a child..."
"Typical of Mr. Gale, saying something that would make others hesitate."
"You're scum, human trash."
Fiona, Glen, and Io throw insults at me, but I'm not someone who'd take mental damage from their petty jabs. Io's going overboard, anyway.
I ignore the voices around me and continue.
"If you're gonna come at me, I'll give you a gender-equal punch and a seniority-kick! You better be ready!"
"......"
But even after saying that, the girl didn't show any signs of backing down from in front of us.
"!?"
Instead, in the next instant, she suddenly kicked the floor and charged at us!
For a moment, Fiona and the others tensed up, but they immediately relaxed. They realized it wasn't a serious attack.
That's because the girl didn't use any magic, and instead just used her childish physical abilities to charge at us head-on.
I also quickly realized that and was about to receive her attack with a relaxed stance—
(Whoa!?)
But in the next instant, I hastily bent my knees and lowered my waist to receive the charging girl.
She was going to headbutt me, charging at me with her head, and her attack position just happened to be aimed at my crotch. If I didn't change my stance, it would've been a direct hit!
(This kid...!!)
I managed to block her headbutt with my abs. But in my heart, I was shocked. My opponent was just a kid, and I didn't sense any magical energy from her, so I let my guard down.
Who would've thought she was aiming for my crotch?!
She's a cunning strategist, a frightening little girl!
As evidence, the girl who charged at me was now pressing her head against my abs. If it had hit my crotch, it would've been a critical hit.
But I barely managed to dodge her plan and blocked it with my abs――or so I thought, but something felt off.
The girl who was pressing her head against my abs suddenly did a half-spin in the next instant.
She's maintaining her posture by using 2 points of support――the head pressed against my abs and her legs stretched out straight――while she wraps her arms around my torso like a hug, looks up at me with her face turned upwards.
When I look down, the little girl has a satisfied expression, her cheeks slightly flushed, but still with a completely serious face.
"Aaron Gale... I allow you to pet my head."
I don't know why, but this kid is something else.
From the way she looks down at me, I can sense that she doesn't have any hostility.
"What's your intention?"
"Mmm... I allow you to pet my head."
"...Hey!"
"...Mmm!"
It seems like she's trying to prompt me to pet her head, but I need an answer to my question first.
However, it seems like she got frustrated with me not petting her head, so she gets up from my stomach, stands up straight, and raises both arms in a "V" shape.
"I allow you to hug me."
"......"
"N...Nn! ...Nnnn!!"
I couldn't help but glance around at the reactions of the people surrounding us.
The people from the [Four Great Families of the Seals] and the explorer guild, including the Guildmaster, are all stunned by the little girl's actions. However, no one seems to have any intention of stopping her, nor do they seem to be paying attention.
On the other hand, Fiona and the others are watching with wide eyes, seemingly entertained by the rare situation of me being doted on by a child(?). Glen, meanwhile...
"That's nice, Mr. Gale...I also want to be loved by a cute little girl..."
And, with a gaze that seemed to be saying "I'm so jealous," while biting their nails, they muttered a line that could have a completely different meaning depending on who said it. For now, let's just drop it.
And then, there was Fiona's reaction...
"......"
She looked at the girl with an incredibly perplexed expression, as if she was wondering what on earth was going on. Her face was a puzzle, and I couldn't figure out what was bothering her so much. What kind of reaction was this, anyway?
But, well, it didn't seem like she was going to complain about anything.
I let out a deep sigh, "Haa," and picked up the murmuring little girl.
"...Are you satisfied now? Or, what did you want to do, huh?"
"Mufuu! ...I didn't have any particular goal in mind. ...I just thought this kid was cute, that's all."
"This kid?"
I tilted my head, wondering who she was talking about, but the girl didn't answer.
"Come on, let's go sit on that sofa over there. I'll sit there too."
"Huh?"
It seemed like she wanted to sit on the same sofa as us. I glanced at Zephyr, and he nodded.
"Sorry about this, but please take care of her."
"...I don't want to babysit her or anything."
As I spoke my honest thoughts, the girl I was holding started pounding my chest in protest.
"I'm not a kid! I'm older than you!"
I thought that was impossible, but it was a hassle to argue, so I kept quiet and let out another deep sigh. Then, I finally headed towards the prepared sofa.
There, I found 3 large 3-seater sofas arranged around a big round table.
One of the seats had Io and Garon sitting together, while Glen sat on a different sofa, and then *slap, slap, slap*! She slapped the seat next to her.
"Lady Fiona, Lady Fiona! There's an empty seat next to me!!"
"......"
I sat down on another sofa, and with a *thud*, I tossed the little girl I was holding onto the seat next to me. Fiona sat down beside her, sandwiching the little girl between us.
"Huh? Lady Fiona?"
Fiona ignored Glen's voice and kept glancing at the little girl beside her.
She seemed to be feeling something unusual, but it didn't seem like a negative emotion.
The little girl noticed Fiona's gaze and looked up at her.
"Fiona Ackerman. Your doubts will be cleared up, and it will be explained in the context of the 4 houses and Chronosphere. If you still have questions, I'll tell you later."
"...!! ...Okay. Got it. I'll ask you later then."
"Hn."
"What's going on?"
I couldn't help but interrupt their strange conversation. The little girl looked up at me and replied.
"If you're curious, you can ask Fiona later."
"...Are you two friends or something?"
It didn't feel like they were close, but there was an unusual atmosphere between them.
I thought they might know each other, but Fiona shook her head, and the little girl said,
"That too will be clear in today's conversation, probably."
She replied with a mysterious tone.
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