| Author: Shizuku | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 2383 characters |
| Translator: Nomad | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1005 words |
| Editor(s): Robinxen | ||
Hearing Otis’ words, even those who had never seen the girl but were of a certain age noticed something. They were those who had seen someone who once belonged to the Gardeland family, touted as the strongest sorceress of the world, and the girl resembled her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, everyone. I’m Olivia, thank you for coming here today.”
The guests stared in shock as Olivia introduced herself, sounding proper and educated, even though this was her first public appearance.
Many gasped at her elegant introduction, and those who knew her mother saw even more of her in the girl.
They were not unaware of Ophelia’s orphaned daughter, but since she had passed away while being estranged from her family, they had not expected her family to take in the girl.
At the same time they understood that this party was not to celebrate Oswald’s academic progress, but to show the Gardeland family reunited with Olivia.
“Ophelia’s name is almost a legend around here, I’m shocked to see her daughter here. Wait huh?”
Jasper spoke again, trying to make conversation, but when he turned to look at the silver haired lady, there was no one there.
That marked the actual start of the party, and most of the guests began interacting in earnest.
A large crowd formed around the hosts, the central figure Oswald, and Olivia who was essentially the guest of honor.
“I appreciate the invitation. I’m very pleased to see your son and Ophelia’s orphaned1 daughter’s growth.”
“I can see Oswald is quickly becoming a fine man himself, and the Gardeland family is united once again. I can’t congratulate you enough!”
“I heard Olivia graduated with honors from Ingralowe’s Magic Academy as their best student. She’s truly inherited her mother’s talents.”
“To think Lady Ophelia passed away after rearing her all on her own for so long, it must’ve been a tragedy…”
“But seeing Ophelia’s orphaned daughter grow into a beautiful lady, looking at her just brings me back images of her mother.”
“Me too! I can still remember Lady Ophelia’s serene and yet kind smile! Olivia is her spitting image!”
One after another they began to compliment her.
But unlike the Gardeland family, who were used to such situations, all Olivia had been able to muster was her initial greeting, and now could only force a smile while giving vague nods.
Their mistaken information also started to make her feel uncomfortable.
Olivia had not been the best student at Ingralowe’s Magic Academy. The only time she obtained first place was during the festival’s tournament, and that match was outside the rules, so it was not official. As far as it came to grades and test scores, it was faster to find her name by going up from the bottom2.
Her father Shuma had also been with her until she was nine years old, raising her, so it was not true that Ophelia had raised her alone.
Her face resembled Ophelia’s, as they were mother and daughter, but calling her a spitting image was also an exaggeration.
Olivia could not tell if they had just believed whatever rumors they heard, or if they were making things up just to see how she would react, but either way, Olivia’s discomfort was real.
Otis then turned around and nodded slightly, which was replied with another nod from the silver haired lady who at some point had come to stand behind Olivia.
As the silver haired lady started to move closer to Olivia, she suddenly felt someone tug on her arm. Turning around, she saw it was Jasper.
Jasper’s face was sweaty and slightly pale.
“Stop, there’s a proper order to introduce yourself. It won’t look good to break in line like this.”
It seemed like Jasper was afraid that the lady would do something disrespectful, as she was not used to social events like this, and desperately tried to stop her.
But then he felt something was off when touching her, her arm felt much stiffer than a human’s.
Then again, this was Seperion, a kingdom that did not discriminate against other species, whether they be human, demihumans, elves, dwarves, or any combination of them. There was even some variety in the nobles present in the party. Elves had long ears, demihuman fur and animalistic features, and so on, all differences easily spotted, even if they were of mixed descent.
But the silver haired lady looked completely human, nothing out of the ordinary. Except the stiff feeling of her arm.
“Wait, you…aren’t human?”
Asking someone’s species was not seen as rude in Seperion. Considering the high variety in the entire kingdom, sometimes asking one’s ancestry could clear up some misunderstandings, so it was a common thing. Though if someone wanted to keep it secret they had every right to do so.
“Umm, I’m…”
“A magic automaton?!”
Someone interrupted the silver haired lady, Natalia, before she could reply.
The voice came from an elderly dog demihuman, someone who held the title of Doll Count, Knox Teg Lauftonier.
After approaching the silver haired lady, Knox began touching her arms while looking at them from close up, examining her construction without any reserve.
“What material is this? It’s certainly nothing plain, I can say that. A composite material? Or is it a complex structure… No, that would limit mobility. Whoever made this certainly knew what they were doing…”
“Umm…would you mind keeping some distance please?”
“Exactly, it doesn’t matter if you’re the Doll Count, this isn’t how you should behave around a lady.”
The silver haired lady tried to push him away, and Jasper sided with her.
But Knox acted like she had not said anything, and instead snorted as he looked at Jasper.
“You call this thing a lady? Look closely boy. This is a magic automaton, and considering how it reacts it’s fully autonomous, this is a monster3.”
“…A monster?!”
It took Jasper a few seconds to process that, but eventually he exclaimed with a loud voice, which was audible through the entire hall.
