97
4 Estio
- Episode 21
"little bit more."
The flower muttered helplessly.
"I wanted to be with you."
The crystal flower had only one wish. May you stay by Marisa's side until the last minute.
'The wish came true.'
happy. But it was still sad. The end result of being eroded by fire without leaving even a seed and dying was the worst as a plant. The fact that flowers would never bloom here again made this delicate flower sad.
"By the way, I never gave you names."
"name......?"
"When I was very young, I think I made up and sang this and that, but at some point I forgot the feeling of naming things."
Marisa smiled sadly without speaking.
"That's right. You're white, small, and very pretty, so how about 'Fer'?"
"Per…"
"It means white jewel, Per."
The crystal flower, which was filled with fire, was neither white nor pretty anymore. It was just a charred, ash-covered plant. Still, the flower that the owner called Pere was very happy.
"Per?"
No more sectarians were heard. Marisa grabbed the flowerpot tightly and snickered.
"I can save you, Princess."
As the princess raised her head, her eyes met with melon-colored eyes that were shining from a not so high position. She is a member of the Ignis guild with Estio, but she was a young child, so she was a curly-haired kid that the princess didn't think much of.
"Hmm, it will look a little different from the original."
"It looks different."
"Do you still want to see me again?"
There was a soft reverberation over the youthful voice. Marisa nodded her head strongly.
"please."
The princess didn't ask much. Likewise, Kai didn't ask for much.
―So that day, the crystal flower 'Fer' was reborn as a doll with the help of puppeteer Kai.
* * *
Diversity, Diversity!
Perga spoke first to Princess Marisa, who was looking out the window at the wagon moving away with the sound of powerful hooves.
"I'm gone, guys."
"Ugh. It would have been a great help if we were together, but I'm really sorry."
"Marisa, why didn't you persuade me more?"
Fer, whose body is a crystal flower. However, she was now reborn as a doll, taking the form of a human girl who appeared to be in her early teens. Her short, round hair, just like a flower bud, lightly covered her neck and fluttered. It was her pure white hair that gave it a heavier feel than Marisa's clear silver hair.
Kai left Per with the princess.
Since I was born as a doll, I had no choice but to follow the puppeteer as my top priority. But Marisa didn't care about that. She thanked her for bringing the dying flower back to life. Kai asked her for her silence in return for her thanks. Thus, the identity of Kai, the only puppeteer in the world and Ignis Guild Master, was buried without being known to the world.
Marisa, who met Per's green eyes, burst out laughing out loud.
"Ahaha! But it was too quick to convince me, man."
Fer clearly showed with his expression that he did not understand. Seeing that expression, Marisa chuckled and closed the window. If you look further at her leaving behind, the regret will only increase.
"Not thinking about it means that I have made up my mind so strongly. I thought I would hate it if I insisted on it more."
He was a young man who had strangely conveyed his emotions well even though there was little change in his expression. Marisa attributed it to his special ability.
"There was also a way to use the position to give orders."
"Then why didn't you order it?"
Marisa reached out and stroked the little girl's figure, Fer.
"Because I didn't want to make you hate me just because I wasn't by my side."
Not being one's own person and being an enemy were two different things.
Marisa was planning to call Estio more often in the future. through a legitimate request.
She added a word to Princess Marisa who thought so.
"...it would have been of no use to him anyway."
"Yes?"
Fer didn't open his mouth any more. Then Marisa narrowed her eyes.
Perhaps because she was a flower, Ferr stayed with the princess, but was not restricted by her status. If she wanted to speak comfortably on her own, she was flattered by anyone.
Even the puppeteer Kai, who gave him a new life, was treated the same, only using his honorific title for Estio.
Marisa was suspicious of Ferr's behavior, but she didn't point it out further.
It wasn't the Ignis guild that she had to worry about anyway.
"Per, let's go now."
"Yes."
"I have a lot of work to do."
The fight had just begun.
* * *
After leaving the Imperial Palace, Estio and his party immediately headed to the Ignis Guild Eli branch.
"Are you okay with the Princess?"
"Well."
As Parker looked out the window of the carriage, day by day, with a worried gaze, Moobin, who was sitting next to him, responded indifferently.
Parker opened his mouth to hide his embarrassment.
"No, I don't know about anyone else, but the duke is also so irresponsible."
"I thought you would do anything even if it wasn't okay."
The back of the horse that was grumbling was cut off. Parker, who was stunned, covered her mouth, and Mubin smiled and spoke her words again.
"Now, although my master is not in the Imperial Household."
The owner that Mubin follows as a guardian is Estio.
"Heiga's lord doesn't seem to change in the future."
It was a pleasant feeling. At this rate, it seemed that the Heiga family would not have to abandon the Lubarzan family.
'Maybe in my descendants there will be someone who truly serves the grandson of Rubarzan as their lord.'
Mubin giggled alone like a third-rate villain, ignoring Parker's strange-looking gaze and glanced around the back seat.
'By the way, the owner...'
The smile disappeared from Mubin's black eyes.
Estio, who sat in the wide back seat with Neju, was almost asleep. Neju, who willingly lent her soft shoulder, was crying at her helplessly.
"Woo."
"Noisy."
"Keang, I'm sorry! But you keep worrying me!?"
"Don't be fussy. Being quiet helps."
Tsuki's voice, which should not normally be heard, could be clearly heard by everyone in the carriage. Neju was even talking to Tsuki directly.
"I knew that black cat, because I've seen it often, but it's really angsty."
"Hey, it's not just cats."
Mubin grumbled, pressing his forehead with his hand.
"I think I'm going crazy because I keep hearing your inner thoughts at random."
It was a problem because we heard each other even the insides that we didn't want to talk about and the other person didn't want to hear.
There was only one reason why this was possible.
Mind bridge, that is, the power that connects mind to heart. This is Estio's ability.
Currently, Estio was affected by the alcohol he drank at the Imperial Palace, and his abilities were still activated at will. At first, I thought it would take a while, but his party was exposed to the state of the mind bridge. In other words, they began to hear each other's inner feelings.
Fortunately, Princess Marisa fell in love with the fun of talking to the crystal flower Per and did not realize the seriousness of the situation, but Estio was not. An uncontrollable force, like an unbridled foal, came to him with the greatest fear.
So Estio had to come out of the Imperial Palace as he almost ran away.
"I think I'm going crazy."
"Uh-huh? Why, Mr. Cactus?"
「Are you cicadas in the summer season? What are you talking about to yourself so much! If I cut off my sleep, I'll die of noise."
Ahur, who was in the midst of a lack of sleep, eventually fell ill with insomnia.
Estio, who was the one who forced everyone into such strange pain, was actually suffering the most.
The uncontrolled power gnawed at his psyche with a tremendous force. His mind was overworked to such an extent that his head was pounding even when he was not doing anything.
"......Eww."
When they heard a small moan, the chattering party shut their mouths as if they had made a promise. The carriage had just arrived at its destination. Estio woke up to the shaking vibration and buried his face in his palm again.
"Are you awake?"
Beside him, the white-haired monkey spoke in a gentle voice.
"Everyone is here. At the entrance to the capital."
"Can I get off?"
"I had to walk from here."
Surprisingly, Neju was a little relieved because her voice was still intact.
Due to her ability to run away, even while intermittently hearing other people's feelings, Estio's heart was never heard. Inwardly, Neju felt sorry for that.
Even after getting to know the heart of a cactus and the heart of a cat, I could never read Estio as much as I did. At this time, it was evident that he was different from others.
Estio got off the carriage, worried about Neju. And he immediately regretted it.
'I should have gone to the outskirts, not the capital.'
Naturally, the capital was crowded with people. Fortunately, when riding a carriage, there were few people in sight, so the target was limited. However, as soon as he saw the crowd that caught his eye the moment he got off the carriage, Estio almost fainted.
'It might be better to pass out.'
Countless thoughts rushed through him like waves.
If the mind bridge affects even them, it will cause great chaos. I couldn't even imagine what would happen if countless people living in the capital could read each other's thoughts. Estio, who thought he had to stop it, closed his eyes tightly and grabbed Neju's arm.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Please guide me to the guild accommodation."
"Okay. But why are you closing your eyes?"
Once their eyes don't meet, the ability to activate is limited. No matter how much power you run like a foal, if you don't look into your eyes, you can't penetrate the opponent. Estio was in no mood to explain the principle, so he just grabbed Neju's arm like a child.
"......please."
"Only trust Neju!"
The white-haired monkey grinned and tapped his chest.
Hearing Neju's voice full of confidence, Estio became a little anxious.
The road with my eyes closed was more difficult than I had imagined.
Even though I had someone to rely on, I was afraid to take a step forward. Not knowing what was in front of me, my steps became timid. There were times when she almost tripped over a beak of stones needlessly.
With the help of the party, Estio was able to safely reach the guild building with his eyes closed.
"Welcome! Welcome back."
Hearing the bright welcome, Estio calmed down a little.
Parker, who flew to the counter, announced the end of the quest by handing him the quest form and guild coin he had brought from the Imperial Palace.
"Confirmed. Thank you."
With a thump, a heavy noise, and a stamp indicating confirmation on the paperwork, Parker looked into it for a long time with a distraught expression. This quest, which seemed only dangerous, was successfully completed.
Just then, a brown-haired woman passing by with a bunch of papers in her arms found Estio.
"Ah, leader, please come. Even if you don't, I had something to tell you... Huh?"
It was the head of intelligence, Skyler Tief. She paused as she greeted her with a welcome expression.
97
4 Estio
- Episode 21
"little bit more."
The flower muttered helplessly.
"I wanted to be with you."
The crystal flower had only one wish. May you stay by Marisa's side until the last minute.
'The wish came true.'
happy. But it was still sad. The end result of being eroded by fire without leaving even a seed and dying was the worst as a plant. The fact that flowers would never bloom here again made this delicate flower sad.
"By the way, I never gave you names."
"name......?"
"When I was very young, I think I made up and sang this and that, but at some point I forgot the feeling of naming things."
Marisa smiled sadly without speaking.
"That's right. You're white, small, and very pretty, so how about 'Fer'?"
"Per…"
"It means white jewel, Per."
The crystal flower, which was filled with fire, was neither white nor pretty anymore. It was just a charred, ash-covered plant. Still, the flower that the owner called Pere was very happy.
"Per?"
No more sectarians were heard. Marisa grabbed the flowerpot tightly and snickered.
"I can save you, Princess."
As the princess raised her head, her eyes met with melon-colored eyes that were shining from a not so high position. She is a member of the Ignis guild with Estio, but she was a young child, so she was a curly-haired kid that the princess didn't think much of.
"Hmm, it will look a little different from the original."
"It looks different."
"Do you still want to see me again?"
There was a soft reverberation over the youthful voice. Marisa nodded her head strongly.
"please."
The princess didn't ask much. Likewise, Kai didn't ask for much.
―So that day, the crystal flower 'Fer' was reborn as a doll with the help of puppeteer Kai.
* * *
Diversity, Diversity!
Perga spoke first to Princess Marisa, who was looking out the window at the wagon moving away with the sound of powerful hooves.
"I'm gone, guys."
"Ugh. It would have been a great help if we were together, but I'm really sorry."
"Marisa, why didn't you persuade me more?"
Fer, whose body is a crystal flower. However, she was now reborn as a doll, taking the form of a human girl who appeared to be in her early teens. Her short, round hair, just like a flower bud, lightly covered her neck and fluttered. It was her pure white hair that gave it a heavier feel than Marisa's clear silver hair.
Kai left Per with the princess.
Since I was born as a doll, I had no choice but to follow the puppeteer as my top priority. But Marisa didn't care about that. She thanked her for bringing the dying flower back to life. Kai asked her for her silence in return for her thanks. Thus, the identity of Kai, the only puppeteer in the world and Ignis Guild Master, was buried without being known to the world.
Marisa, who met Per's green eyes, burst out laughing out loud.
"Ahaha! But it was too quick to convince me, man."
Fer clearly showed with his expression that he did not understand. Seeing that expression, Marisa chuckled and closed the window. If you look further at her leaving behind, the regret will only increase.
"Not thinking about it means that I have made up my mind so strongly. I thought I would hate it if I insisted on it more."
He was a young man who had strangely conveyed his emotions well even though there was little change in his expression. Marisa attributed it to his special ability.
"There was also a way to use the position to give orders."
"Then why didn't you order it?"
Marisa reached out and stroked the little girl's figure, Fer.
"Because I didn't want to make you hate me just because I wasn't by my side."
Not being one's own person and being an enemy were two different things.
Marisa was planning to call Estio more often in the future. through a legitimate request.
She added a word to Princess Marisa who thought so.
"...it would have been of no use to him anyway."
"Yes?"
Fer didn't open his mouth any more. Then Marisa narrowed her eyes.
Perhaps because she was a flower, Ferr stayed with the princess, but was not restricted by her status. If she wanted to speak comfortably on her own, she was flattered by anyone.
Even the puppeteer Kai, who gave him a new life, was treated the same, only using his honorific title for Estio.
Marisa was suspicious of Ferr's behavior, but she didn't point it out further.
It wasn't the Ignis guild that she had to worry about anyway.
"Per, let's go now."
"Yes."
"I have a lot of work to do."
The fight had just begun.
* * *
After leaving the Imperial Palace, Estio and his party immediately headed to the Ignis Guild Eli branch.
"Are you okay with the Princess?"
"Well."
As Parker looked out the window of the carriage, day by day, with a worried gaze, Moobin, who was sitting next to him, responded indifferently.
Parker opened his mouth to hide his embarrassment.
"No, I don't know about anyone else, but the duke is also so irresponsible."
"I thought you would do anything even if it wasn't okay."
The back of the horse that was grumbling was cut off. Parker, who was stunned, covered her mouth, and Mubin smiled and spoke her words again.
"Now, although my master is not in the Imperial Household."
The owner that Mubin follows as a guardian is Estio.
"Heiga's lord doesn't seem to change in the future."
It was a pleasant feeling. At this rate, it seemed that the Heiga family would not have to abandon the Lubarzan family.
'Maybe in my descendants there will be someone who truly serves the grandson of Rubarzan as their lord.'
Mubin giggled alone like a third-rate villain, ignoring Parker's strange-looking gaze and glanced around the back seat.
'By the way, the owner...'
The smile disappeared from Mubin's black eyes.
Estio, who sat in the wide back seat with Neju, was almost asleep. Neju, who willingly lent her soft shoulder, was crying at her helplessly.
"Woo."
"Noisy."
"Keang, I'm sorry! But you keep worrying me!?"
"Don't be fussy. Being quiet helps."
Tsuki's voice, which should not normally be heard, could be clearly heard by everyone in the carriage. Neju was even talking to Tsuki directly.
"I knew that black cat, because I've seen it often, but it's really angsty."
"Hey, it's not just cats."
Mubin grumbled, pressing his forehead with his hand.
"I think I'm going crazy because I keep hearing your inner thoughts at random."
It was a problem because we heard each other even the insides that we didn't want to talk about and the other person didn't want to hear.
There was only one reason why this was possible.
Mind bridge, that is, the power that connects mind to heart. This is Estio's ability.
Currently, Estio was affected by the alcohol he drank at the Imperial Palace, and his abilities were still activated at will. At first, I thought it would take a while, but his party was exposed to the state of the mind bridge. In other words, they began to hear each other's inner feelings.
Fortunately, Princess Marisa fell in love with the fun of talking to the crystal flower Per and did not realize the seriousness of the situation, but Estio was not. An uncontrollable force, like an unbridled foal, came to him with the greatest fear.
So Estio had to come out of the Imperial Palace as he almost ran away.
"I think I'm going crazy."
"Uh-huh? Why, Mr. Cactus?"
「Are you cicadas in the summer season? What are you talking about to yourself so much! If I cut off my sleep, I'll die of noise."
Ahur, who was in the midst of a lack of sleep, eventually fell ill with insomnia.
Estio, who was the one who forced everyone into such strange pain, was actually suffering the most.
The uncontrolled power gnawed at his psyche with a tremendous force. His mind was overworked to such an extent that his head was pounding even when he was not doing anything.
"......Eww."
When they heard a small moan, the chattering party shut their mouths as if they had made a promise. The carriage had just arrived at its destination. Estio woke up to the shaking vibration and buried his face in his palm again.
"Are you awake?"
Beside him, the white-haired monkey spoke in a gentle voice.
"Everyone is here. At the entrance to the capital."
"Can I get off?"
"I had to walk from here."
Surprisingly, Neju was a little relieved because her voice was still intact.
Due to her ability to run away, even while intermittently hearing other people's feelings, Estio's heart was never heard. Inwardly, Neju felt sorry for that.
Even after getting to know the heart of a cactus and the heart of a cat, I could never read Estio as much as I did. At this time, it was evident that he was different from others.
Estio got off the carriage, worried about Neju. And he immediately regretted it.
'I should have gone to the outskirts, not the capital.'
Naturally, the capital was crowded with people. Fortunately, when riding a carriage, there were few people in sight, so the target was limited. However, as soon as he saw the crowd that caught his eye the moment he got off the carriage, Estio almost fainted.
'It might be better to pass out.'
Countless thoughts rushed through him like waves.
If the mind bridge affects even them, it will cause great chaos. I couldn't even imagine what would happen if countless people living in the capital could read each other's thoughts. Estio, who thought he had to stop it, closed his eyes tightly and grabbed Neju's arm.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Please guide me to the guild accommodation."
"Okay. But why are you closing your eyes?"
Once their eyes don't meet, the ability to activate is limited. No matter how much power you run like a foal, if you don't look into your eyes, you can't penetrate the opponent. Estio was in no mood to explain the principle, so he just grabbed Neju's arm like a child.
"......please."
"Only trust Neju!"
The white-haired monkey grinned and tapped his chest.
Hearing Neju's voice full of confidence, Estio became a little anxious.
The road with my eyes closed was more difficult than I had imagined.
Even though I had someone to rely on, I was afraid to take a step forward. Not knowing what was in front of me, my steps became timid. There were times when she almost tripped over a beak of stones needlessly.
With the help of the party, Estio was able to safely reach the guild building with his eyes closed.
"Welcome! Welcome back."
Hearing the bright welcome, Estio calmed down a little.
Parker, who flew to the counter, announced the end of the quest by handing him the quest form and guild coin he had brought from the Imperial Palace.
"Confirmed. Thank you."
With a thump, a heavy noise, and a stamp indicating confirmation on the paperwork, Parker looked into it for a long time with a distraught expression. This quest, which seemed only dangerous, was successfully completed.
Just then, a brown-haired woman passing by with a bunch of papers in her arms found Estio.
"Ah, leader, please come. Even if you don't, I had something to tell you... Huh?"
It was the head of intelligence, Skyler Tief. She paused as she greeted her with a welcome expression.
