It is common knowledge that the Great Sage of the Empire Mia Luna Tearmoon was a woman of many hobbies. She was skilled at dancing and horsemanship, reading and playgoing, playwriting and songwriting, and scavenging and mushroom-hunting, and had outclassed all others in the long line of imperial family in this regard.
However, there was one woman of the imperial line who had been her polar opposite, a woman known for the fact she had no hobbies at all—Mia’s very own grandmother, Empress Patricia. She had been a woman of rare emotion who never laughed, shouted, nor cried. Given her disposition, it perhaps seems natural that she never had any hobbies of her own. While she sometimes took to reading, it was hard to consider it a hobby of hers, and the records left to history state she was a woman who partook in no amusements.
However, one of her vassals once said thus: “No, Her Imperial Majesty does have just one hobby.” Which was...
Once her lessons at Saint-Noel Academy had concluded for the day, Patty returned to her room to relax. Ever since her enrollment here, she had started to spend more time spacing out and doing nothing. Her lessons here were trifling, but while they weren’t as revolutionary as the knowledge imparted to her by the Serpents, they served no harm either. Instead, her education was motivated by the virtuous wish to impart to the children the knowledge they would need to carve a path for their futures once they had graduated from the academy.
To a girl who had once been educated by the Clausiuses, these lessons were a comforting time to rest. On the other hand, she couldn’t shake a certain thought. Is it really okay to spend so much time doing nothing?
A certain sense of foreboding had adhered itself to Patty’s heart—the unease of knowing that she may once again have to return to the harsh environment she had come from. Should that time come, could she truly bear it?
Now that she had begun to relax, she couldn’t help but ponder what would become of her should she return in her current state. Was it really okay to bask in the warmth and happiness of this world? That was a worry that often floated through her mind.
“What’s wrong, Patty?”
Patty suddenly opened her eyes to find Bel, who was peering into her face with a worried expression. Bel was the granddaughter of Patty’s own granddaughter, though Patty didn’t know what such a relationship was called, nor did she truly feel as if she were talking to someone born far past her time.
Thus, Patty spoke respectfully to Bel, just as if she were talking to someone older than herself. “It’s nothing, Miss Bel.” She took a moment to think. “I’m just having a bit of a hard time understanding something from my lessons.”
Patty purposefully gave an excuse she knew would drive away Bel. She wanted to be left alone to have some time to think. However...
“Oho! Then I see I have no other choice but to show you how studying is really done!” announced Bel, completely failing to read the room!
Patty’s eyes shot open in surprise. The worry that had overtaken her was blown away in an instant!
Patty knew that her descendant was no fan of studying. In fact, she loathed it, so much so she could only be ordered to study and would never choose to do so on her own. And even when she was ordered, she’d do all she could to escape it until she absolutely couldn’t any longer. She’d put up a valiant resistance, the same type you’d see from a dog who needed a bath. She just hated studying that much.
Therefore, she would never offer to help her review the SEEC program’s lesson or suggest they study together. That just shouldn’t have been possible. She would never choose to study in her free time! That’s just who Miabel Luna Tearmoon was!
“Hmm? You’re thinking something mean, aren’t you?” asked Bel, tilting her head.
“No, not at all, Miss Bel.” Bel had hit the nail on its head, so Patty included a “miss” for good measure.
Bel stared at Patty with downturned lips. “You really aren’t quite yourself. Let’s go play outside!”
“Huh?” What happened to studying?
Bel seemed to have read Patty’s mind. “I mean, this is what a lot of people do before a big test, right? They fire themselves up to do some studying by reading a book or going on an adventure with their friends to unexplored lands!”
“No, only the people who run out of time to study do that,” retorted Patty.
But Bel took Patty’s hand, lifted her to her feet, and flashed her a mischievous grin. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to do lately, and Rina’s busy today! So let’s go, Patty!”
“Where?” she asked, slightly worried.
Bel puffed out her chest. “To Noelige Lake! We’re going fishing!”
Before Patty could figure out what was happening, she had been dragged fishing with Bel. She watched as Bel excitedly picked up a bucket and fishing pole, all the while wondering how she had gotten here.
But then, a thought suddenly occurred to her. Maybe she realized I was anxious...
That’s right, the girl before Patty was the granddaughter of Patty’s own illustrious granddaughter, whose partner was Prince Abel. He seemed like an honest, intelligent man, and Bel had been the daughter of a daughter born between him and Mia.
Did she see right through me and drag me out to cheer me up? Patty couldn’t deny that possibility. Perhaps, she even had an additional motive as well. Bel might have seemed like an airhead who often made careless remarks, but perhaps there was actually some high-level, deep thinking going on in that head of hers. She might be hiding her abilities on purpose to lower the guards of those around her.
And just as that thought occurred to Patty, Bel addressed her as if she had noticed the other girl was observing her, though she kept her eyes trained ahead. “Let me guess... You’re wondering why I invited you fishing, aren’t you?”
Patty gazed at her in wonder. Bel was right on the money. Having been trained by the Serpents, Patty was skilled in psychological warfare. She could easily hide her emotions, yet Bel had easily read them. She was so shocked she was at a loss for words.
Bel glanced back at her. “Fishing is obviously a way to procure food, right?”
It was an obvious question, and Patty gave a silent nod as her answer.
Bel seemed satisfied with this. “You’ll eventually have to go back to your own time, and you’ll have to fight the Serpents all alone.”
“I...will.” Oddly, Bel had brought up the exact thing Patty had been worrying about. It surprised her, but she managed a nod.
“So basically, you’ll be going on an adventure all by yourself!”
“Oh, that’s right...” Patty was about to get swept up in the flow of the conversation and mindlessly agree with her, but she suddenly regained her composure and managed to voice a question. “Wait, is it?” An adventure, was it? Did that really describe her battle with the Serpents?
“If you’re going on an adventure alone, then you’ll have to find food by yourself and learn all sorts of skills! Eating is our most basic need, after all!”
“I guess so...” Bel’s words were so oddly forceful and convincing, Patty responded with a stiff nod. But it was true that, as part of her Serpent training, she might be left in the woods or mountains to fend for herself. If such a time came, she’d need to be able to procure her own food.
That makes perfect sense! Patty was quite impressed. She was perhaps a tad...easily swept away by things.
“And I want to learn how to fish too if I’m going to go on adventures in my future! Gra—Miss Mia has even taken an interest in fishing as a way to provide food too!”
Now that Patty’s sagacious granddaughter had been mentioned, Bel’s words only grew more convincing. Fishing skills might be important. They could get me through some hard times once I go back to the past, she thought, her head slightly spinning.
“Anyway, we’re here!”
They had come to the shore of Noelige Lake. Getting to this spot had required taking some game trails, and it seemed like a well-kept secret of a fishing spot hidden behind the brush.
Except the spot already had another visitor!