The girl cocked her head in puzzlement. “Why don’t you? You asked me to show you what I had fun doing when I was little, so that’s what I’ve done.”
“Uh, most kids wouldn’t do stuff like that. I mean, they couldn’t if they tried,” Magus said, shaking his head. “You can’t either, right, Miss Saint?”
“Well, hm... I do think it’s a splendid skill, but I wouldn’t know where to start...” Lydilia replied with a shrug, still applauding casually.
“Sorry, everyone,” Miach added, scratching her cheek. “My sister Maiah grew up in a family of street performers or something, so she knows all these wacky tricks.”
“Practicing this technique was my favorite pastime when I was little. Papa can hit many more targets without even taking a fighting stance.”
“I just can’t shake off the feeling that they’re a family of assassins...” Miach remarked. “I’ll have to pop by sometime to give them a proper greeting.”
“You’re welcome anytime, Miach.” Maiah nodded. In contrast to her younger sister, Maiah seemed to have a quiet personality, with little facial expression. Still, a faint smile played on her lips, perhaps because she was happy to have finally reunited with her twin sister after being separated since childhood.
“Sisters, eh...?” A small sigh escaped Lydilia as she looked at Miach and Maiah.
In any case, the next presenter stepped up to bat. Magus lifted up a huge boulder in high spirits.
“All right! It’s my turn! I’ll show you the rock game I played with my older brothers when I was a kid! You throw your piece against the opponent’s, and the one who destroys their opponent’s piece is the winner!”
“Is that supposed to be...fun?” Lydilia screwed up her eyes. “But why are you all trying to teach me your childhood games now?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You were called a saint since you were ten years old, weren’t you?” Magus said, looking around at the group. “So we figured you probably didn’t get a chance to play around like a kid back then. Not bad to tap into that inner child once in a while, right?”
“You’re stepping over the line...” Lydilia muttered, her face twisting into a sulky scowl.
“Huh? Didja say something?” Magus said.
Allen, who was watching the scene from a little distance, put a hand to his chin and groaned, “Hmm...none of them are hitting the mark.”
“It seems so...” Still in the mirror, Charlotte let out a sigh.
Since they came to the field, the whole group had been taking turns demonstrating things that they thought might delight the saint. But none of them had the desired effect on Lydilia—in fact, she was growing more and more disgruntled.
“What shall we do?” Gosetsu whispered. “Continuing further may only exasperate her. In the worst case, she might get so irritated that she would lock herself up in Lady Charlotte’s body.”
“That’s certainly probable,” Allen replied. Tired of their intervention, Lydilia might go back into hiding inside Charlotte again, just like before. There would be ways of drawing her back out, but if Allen resorted to such aggressive methods, she would become even more resentful. Hm, what to do...?
Gosetsu narrowed her eyes and, lowering her voice so that only Allen could hear her, murmured, “However, that may be for the best, in the end.”
“What do you mean...?”
“She claims not to have any interest in life...but there is no guarantee that she won’t change her mind in the future and take over Lady Charlotte’s body completely.” She threw a glance at Lydilia, her eyes gleaming like a sword. “She certainly spells trouble; she has the potential to harm Lady Charlotte. Doesn’t it stand to reason that we should confine or eliminate her before she does any damage?”
“You’ve got a point, but still...” Allen agreed that if he wanted to make sure Charlotte stayed safe, the best option was to go right ahead and annihilate Lydilia. She was a ghost of the past, after all. There was no need to think about her happiness. But he waved his hand in dissent. “That won’t do. It goes against my principles.”
“Too stubborn to yield? If it’s for the sake of the woman you love, isn’t it far more honorable to cast aside your own will?”
“Being stubborn is a part of it, but there’s a bigger reason.” Once he made up his mind to do something, he would see it through to the very end—that was Allen’s motto. But this time, he had another important reason to keep going. He hearkened back to the oath he’d made to Charlotte when he’d taken her in. “I once promised Charlotte that I’ll make her say, with pride, that she’s the happiest person in the world.”
“It’s just the kind of line you would deliver shamelessly. And? What of it?”
“When I made that promise, Lydilia was inside Charlotte. That means I promised Lydilia too.” He had sworn to make them happy. “So I have to make her happy as well, not just Charlotte. That’s the biggest reason.”
“Ah...you never change. It’s all a matter of your stubbornness.” Gosetsu shrugged, shaking her head. She looked like she was at a loss as to what to do with him, but at the same time, the menacing glint in her eyes dimmed. Chuckling, she went on, this time in a louder voice, “Well, I wouldn’t trust my master with anyone less self-assured or thick-skinned. If using force is out of the question, we must find a way to thaw her frozen heart... Have you a plan of action? She is not an easy opponent.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make it happen. I think I’ve found a way in.”
“Hm? You can entice even that world-weary saint, you say? Well, Sir Allen, you are living up to your title of Dark Lord indeed.”
“I told you, it’s Dark Overlord... You called me the wrong name on purpose because you know I don’t like it, didn’t you?” Allen glared at Gosetsu, but she merely looked back at him with a smirk.
Just then, Natalia burst into the crowd with a shout. “I’m back!” She carried a big, bulging rucksack on her back and large paper bags in both hands. Despite her heavy load, she was grinning proudly.
Allen had noticed Natalia flittering off before the group got to the field. “Natalia? Where’ve you been?”
“I was preparing something naughty, of course! I had to buy a few things.” She laughed through her nose, as if she was already sure of her success. She turned to Lydilia and the group with a hmph, brushing back her hair with one hand. Though she was always confident, she was positively glowing with pride now, like a brave warrior returning in triumph.
Groh’s eyes widened at her. “So you’re the famous little sister. We hear you’re a clever one.”
“Hmph. Of course I am—I’m Charlotte’s younger sister, after all.”
“That means this little kid is related to the saint too,” one of the henchmen whispered.