Although we came out of the exhibition hall, I still felt tingly because I was close to the hunter.
Still, I felt relieved at the thought of being far away from him.
As Ser said, he didn’t look at me, so he didn’t seem to notice me at all.
Afterward, I seemed to know now how to deal with it, should we ever meet again.
Until someday I gain greater power.
The souvenir stalls were filled with items that looked pretty even from a distance.
“Welcome. Did you enjoy watching? You can pick up a souvenir one by one to commemorate the reopening.”
It was prepared so that you could choose one as a commemoration of visiting the museum.
I walked as if possessed and picked out a souvenir.
Still, it was my first museum trip, so I wanted to keep something, and it was a complete surprise.
Except for meeting the hunter, I saw a lot of really strange things.
The expectation that I would be able to see the ancient relics ended with just expectation, but the museum tour was really fun.
“Which one does Aika like?”
Russphe, who had been choosing beside me for a while, asked.
“Me? Mmm.”
The colorful bracelets were pretty, and the toy made in the shape of the rainbow stone I saw last time was also pretty.
I also liked the house-shaped sculptures.
There were also a few horseshoe-shaped decorations on one side.
I groaned as I carefully inspected over 10 souvenirs.
“I’ll have this. What about Russphe?”
After a while, I picked up a souvenir.
Among the horseshoe-shaped decorations, I chose the one with the most turbid color.
I couldn’t tell if it was old or if it was the original color, but I kept looking at it standing alone on one side.
“Did Aika pick that one?”
Russphe made a face asking if I would really choose that.
There were many pretty things, but this one caught my eye the most.
“Yes! I want to choose this one.”
“Your taste is really unusual, our Peanut.”
A sneering voice came from behind.
I turned my head and glared at Uncle.
“Whyyyy! It’s pretty, though. Isn’t Uncle picking any?”
“Choose as you please.”
“Then I’ll pick Uncle’s!”
“Miss, please choose mine too.”
At the same time as Uncle’s, even Gerard too.
Russphe chose the horseshoe ornament right next to the one I picked.
“I’ll choose this too.”
Look! I wasn’t unusual.
I chose a rainbow-colored stone for Uncle, and a house-shaped decoration for Gerard.
Kamaye picked up the sword holder decoration that Russphe had chosen.
“Did you pick them all?”
As soon as I picked all of them, the museum staff kindly asked.
“Yes! I picked them all.”
“I hope you had a good time. Please visit us again next time. This is a gift only for children.”
And an employee held out something to us wearing white gloves.
It was a cookie shaped like a sign at the entrance of a museum.
“Thank you!”
We ate the cookies we received one by one and came out the back door.
As our distance from the hunter increased, the cold became much less now.
“It was fun, right!”
“Yeah, there were a lot of strange things.”
“Let’s come back to this place next time.”
Russphe and I showed the same commemorative plaques and made a promise.
Then I begged Uncle to go to the Evosophie Bakery with Russphe.
Because the day I saw Grandpa Rodrigo, I knew that Evosophie Bakery was his.
I wanted to tell Russphe about the delicious cakes.
As soon as I got on, the carriage started to leave the museum.
The hunter, who hadn’t come out within my whole conversation with Russphe in front of the carriage, came out at the same time we got in the carriage and left.
And in a very fleeting moment, the hunter’s eyes met mine in the carriage.
The carriage quickly passed the hunter.
***
Next day.
I spent time with Ser before Imperial language class.
Holding the doll in my arms, I tinkered with the horseshoe ornament I received as a souvenir yesterday.
Yesterday, I picked it because it was far from one side, but I liked it more and more.
Maybe it was because the fact that it looked especially old might have been a special one.
“It will wear out.”
Ser looked at the horseshoe ornament with pity.
“No, it’s very strong.”
“As you please.”
I rolled my eyes at Ser and put down the horseshoe ornament.
“Ser. I thought a hunter would look very scary.”
“After all, they’re people too.”
“That’s true. Yesterday, he was just like an old man.”
Yesterday, after leaving the museum, Russphe and I went to the Evosophie Bakery to eat a cake and then to a toy store before parting ways.
Excluding the day I disappeared from the Imperial Palace, it was also the longest outing of my life.
It was also a historic day when I met my friend outside the Imperial Palace and at home!
It was even the first day I met a hunter.
Anyway, although I was very happy and delighted yesterday, I was also extremely scared.
“Good job. You coped better than any other adult.”
“Really?”
“If Lepus had seen you, it would have said that.”
Hearing Ser’s praise gave me more courage.
“But Ser, our eyes met at the end, is it okay? It’s only for a short while.”
“I’ll count that much as a coincidence. Hunters are less agile than seekers. All he can feel instinctively is a seeker. You need to actively use this advantage. At least until you grow up.”
“Mmhm.”
“You will do well.”
Ser stroked my cheek with its tail.
“You know a lot like Lepus.”
“Just as you learned the ancient language yourself, I learned it naturally as I woke up. Basic things. Of course, there are many things I don’t know.”
“Ah… But the hunters can’t find the ancient relics, can they?”
“I hope so.”
It should be.
I buried my head in the doll I was holding.
There was a knock on the door, and when I looked up again, Zenda was coming in.
“Miss.”
“Hm?”
“Teacher Belfoy Logis has just arrived.”
Huh, already?
***
“Hello.”
As soon as I heard from Zenda that Teacher Logis was here, I ran to the class room and waited patiently.
Not long after, Teacher Logis entered with a smile.
Teachers called me by different names.
They called me ‘Miss’ or ‘Princess’.
Or, sometimes, both were called together.
I jumped out of my seat as soon as Teacher entered.
“Hello, Teacher!”
This was my second class after Teacher Logis greeted me and gave me a test at Grandpa’s.
Today, her hair that seemed to be floating was impressive.
“I prepared educational materials based on what we tested in the last class today.”
Teacher hurriedly pulled out papers from a dark brown rectangular bag.
“You’ve spelled much more difficult things than this in the previous test, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Yes!”
Despite her friendly tone, I was slightly wary of Mr. Logis.
It’s because Ser said she was suspicious.
Although she’s not a hunter, and I think she’s no different from the other teachers…
First of all, since Ser said so, I decided to be a little careful.
“Now, you can practice by writing down the words you see on the paper I gave you according to the notebook.”
“Yes.”
“I prepared mainly for the words that were wrong in the last test, but if you master them perfectly, you will learn about the origin and structure of the Imperial language.”
“Yes, Teacher!”
I put the paper given by the teacher next to me and started writing down one by one from the first page.
Actually, Mom taught me letters, but it didn’t take that long compared to other things.
Because she said that it’s okay to learn letters later, and that there are many more important things.
I was confident, but I was a little upset that I was wrong.
I need to learn properly this time.
“Chair, body…”
It was time to focus on the first word and write the second word ten times.
Teacher Logis, who had been looking at my notebook, came a little closer.
“You write difficult letters well. As expected of the daughter of the late Prime Minister.”
I paused while writing.
It’s the first time I’ve ever received such a compliment.
…It’s a compliment, right?