🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 27
Was it because this was the second adoption competition to be held in three years since the last one?
The atmosphere at the Talent Development Institute was definitely different from usual.
Among the children waiting in the grand auditorium, an inexplicable tension seemed to linger.
As I looked around, Elysion caught my eye.
With his striking looks, he was easy to spot.
He was standing there quietly with an indifferent expression, and children were gathered all around him.
“So popular.”
Elysion’s gaze turned in my direction.
In that instant, a bright, cheerful smile bloomed on his previously emotionless face.
It was as if the smile had bloomed just for me.
Was I imagining things? Just as I was about to look around to check—
A familiar voice struck my ears.
“Hero…! You’ve come, I’ve been waiting for you!”
At Rosemary’s innocent yet cruel shout, all the children gathered in the auditorium turned their eyes toward me.
Feeling a severe bout of dizziness, I briefly considered turning away, but with a “whatever” mindset, I waved my hands at her.
“Yep, the hero has arrived.”
I could hear the children murmuring as they looked at me.
“I’ve never seen her before. Don’t tell me she’s the one who broke the entrance exam record?”
“Huh, she was that young?”
“She doesn’t look like much. How did she set such a record?”
“What’s with this ‘hero’ stuff?”
“Hehe. What, is she playing hero or something?”
Hmm. They’re really letting loose with the chatter.
Rosemary bounced over toward me, while Raspi followed behind her, rubbing his face with a look that said he couldn’t deal with this.
“Heeerooo!”
Thump.
Before I knew it, Rosemary was in my arms. As I patted her back, I received Raspi’s apology.
“I’m sorry. I should have kept a better eye on Marie.”
“It’s fine. I’m used to people staring.”
“Hero, why are you so late! You didn’t come for almost a whole month, so I was worried something had happened…!”
“Sorry. It took some time to get permission from my guardian.”
“But I’m glad you made it before the adoption competition started!”
Rosemary, who had been speaking energetically, suddenly lowered her voice and whispered into my ear.
“This is a secret, but the day after we took the test, the adoption competition date was announced. I think the Duke wanted to take you in as his daughter…!”
“Really?”
I had vaguely suspected it, but I guess it was true.
Well, my ability was certainly something even a duke would drool over.
If the duke had failed to adopt me, he probably would have made up some excuse to invite me to the ducal house anyway.
Her ability was… the ability of “Replication.”
Of course, replication came with various conditions, so she probably wouldn’t have been able to take my ability.
“Oh, right! Hero, I’ve been learning how to write lately, and I can already write pretty well. I even wrote you a letter while waiting for you—let me show you…!”
As Rosemary rambled on, she rummaged through her pocket, then covered her mouth in panic.
“Gasp…! I think I left the letter in the dormitory. What should I do? P-please wait here for just a moment. I’ll be right back!”
Before I could stop her, Rosemary shot off like lightning. Watching her go, I patted Raspi on the back a couple of times.
“Raspi, she’s going to fall. Go with her.”
“…Understood.”
Raspi, worried about the tomboyish Rosemary, followed her without complaint.
Fortunately, it seemed she was well-suited to life at the Talent Development Institute; she looked very lively.
There was no sign of worry on her face at all.
Raspi, too, looked noticeably healthier than a month ago, as if he’d been eating well.
As I watched the children growing up without want and felt a swell of pride—
“Are you the kid from the rumors?”
A girl who looked to be in her early teens, with red hair tied up in a single ponytail, stood in front of me.
Light freckles were scattered across her face like stars, giving her a cute impression.
Wow, I feel like I’ve seen this kind of development in a novel.
“I don’t know what rumor you mean, but it’s probably me.”
Suppressing my excited, fluttering heart, I replied. She put a hand on her hip and spoke angrily.
“You showed up exactly today, so you must be getting all full of yourself just because you did well on the entrance exam!”
…She probably meant “arrogant.”
“The one who’s going to be adopted by Duke Papiope is Sion! Do you really think a little brat like you could become a duke’s daughter?”
Ah, so she’s on Elysion’s side?
Cute.
Even though I needed to win, I didn’t want to fight a kid who supported Elysion.
I took a candy out of my pocket—the kind Uncle had given me to eat when I got bored.
As I fiddled with the wrapper, she shouted indignantly.
“Are you ignoring me right now?!”
“No.”
As I said that, I unwrapped the candy and popped it straight into her mouth.
Startled by how suddenly it happened, she blinked with wide eyes.
“Did your blood sugar drop? Eat something sweet and calm down a bit.”
…Hmm. Did that sound a bit like something an old person would say?
Well, my face looks like a kid’s, so it should be fine.
After a brief moment of consideration, I thought, whatever, and lightly pinched her chubby cheek.
The soft, squishy feel was pleasant. Now I understood why Uncle Aiden tried to pinch my cheeks whenever he got the chance.
“Why say such mean things with such a cute face?”
“Uh….”
“Instead of being hostile, how about becoming friends with me? The more friends you have, the better, right?”
She didn’t seem like a bad kid after all. Her face quickly turned bright red, and she stammered out an excuse.
“B-but my mom told me to only side with the kid who has the highest chance of being adopted….”
Ah, I see. That’s how it was.
The Talent Development Institute existed to nurture talent, but many also entered it aiming for social advancement.
It was unfortunate that children couldn’t grow in a good direction because of their parents’ greed.
Stretching both her cheeks like cheese, I spoke as if admonishing her.
“Listen carefully. Making unnecessary enemies is something only C-rank extras do. In fairy-tale terms, that’s worse than Cinderella’s stepsisters.”
“E, ex?”
“Besides, every person here passed the entrance exam and got in. How do you know that the kid you ignored won’t become someone amazing later on?”
“But…!”
She tried to say something, but I cut her off with a louder voice.
“And!”
After pouring everything out one-sidedly, I finally relaxed and smiled at the end.
“Isn’t the candy I gave you sweet?”
The girl, who had been listening to me with her mouth hanging open, slowly closed it, and her cheeks began to move as she chewed.
She seemed to be rolling the candy around in her mouth.
It must be sweet.
“Friends are people who share things like that. Isn’t that nice?”
And you don’t have to worry about getting stabbed in the back, either.
After savoring the taste of the candy for a while, she smacked her lips softly, then, as if having made up her mind, cautiously held out her hand to me.
“……M-my name is Rachel. I was a bit prickly earlier, wasn’t I? I’m sorry.”
Ah, judging by how mellow she got, her blood sugar really must have been low.
Thinking something she wouldn’t understand, I cheerfully took her hand.
Then, narrowing my eyes into crescent moons, I whispered slyly, like a fox.
“But hey, friend—if you were trying to pick the right line and grab onto the rope, you succeeded.”
Because the one being adopted this time is going to be me.
