That dog nonsense again.

‘Here we go.’

Carlot’s antics continued.

“Where did you come out of nowhere and why are you stuck right by Sis’s side? Get lost this instant!”

“I, I, um…”

Lubomiros floundered and sent her a desperate look pleading for rescue. Worried that the timid Lubomiros might actually faint, she quickly moved to separate him from Carlot.

“Now, Carl. Let’s take a deep breath.”

She cupped Carlot’s cheeks in both hands and met his eyes, and the fierce look in them softened.

“Repeat after me. I am a human.”

“I am a human.”

“I am not a puppy, I am a human.”

“I am a puppy!”

“…”

‘Hopeless. This one is a lost cause.’

She had tried to correct Carlot’s mistaken sense of species but failed. Carlot only grew more ferocious when she acted like she was protecting Lubomiros.

“He is the one who kidnapped Sis, right? So why are you covering for him!”

“He did kidnap me, but Lubo was being threatened too, so-.”

“Do not call him by a nickname like you are close! I am jealous!”

Carlot pulled her into a tight embrace and glared at Lubomiros like he wanted to kill him. He huffed and demanded a nickname from her.

“Give me a nickname too.”

“You are already Carl.”

“But that guy gets Lubo…”

Carlot made a pitiful face, like a puppy caught in the rain. Even if Lubomiros did resemble her in appearance, she was his sister, so what was he so anxious about? Carlot buried his face against her and murmured.

“…Just like me best, that is all.”

“Yes, yes. You are my favorite, my favorite.”

Good grief. Only after she had patted his head thoroughly did Carlot calm down.

‘Is this what they call attachment issues…’

But unlike before, it was not entirely annoying. Somewhat cute, even. It seemed she had gone and developed a soft spot for Carlot.

***

Every eye turned skyward. What they were looking at was a single ship floating boldly in the middle of the sky. The pinnacle of magic engineering, the masterwork of the West Tower Master, the magic-powered airship. Today was the day of the launch ceremony for the magic-powered airship, which had until now been shrouded in secrecy. She had received two invitations herself. One in the name of investor Lili Arcel, and another in the name of Elodie Severes, Lady of the Severes ducal house. Recalling that invitations had become so scarce that a shortage had broken out among those trying to obtain one, it was an extraordinarily gracious treatment. As if to prove that, most of the spectators attending the launch ceremony were nobles from distinguished families. Black, nestled in her arms, gaped up at the airship with its mouth hanging open.

[Whoa. So cool.]

‘Let’s ride it later.’

[Yes. Want to ride it a hundred times.]

One thing that had changed since formally contracting with Black was that even when Black was in its physical form, they could communicate through thought. Thanks to that, she had been able to prevent any commotion over a black fox that could speak. As an investor in the airship, she stood in a corner listening to people’s conversations and eavesdropped on what kind of assessments were being made. Just then, a conversation from a group of ladies caught her ear.

“I happened to go near the border a few days ago and I saw that airship. It disappeared so quickly I thought I had imagined it, but it was real.”

“There were articles about it. That a ghost ship had appeared in the sky. Perhaps it was a test run?”

“In any case, it is remarkable. A ship that floats through the sky.”

Indeed, remarkable was an understatement. She was grinning with a pride that felt almost like she had built it herself when.

“Apparently the investor for this airship is also someone called Lili Arcel. I wonder who on earth that is.”

Cough! Her other name appearing out of nowhere made her choke and she hastily covered her mouth. The ladies fortunately paid her no attention and continued their conversation.

“Someone with a very, very great deal of money, so perhaps the head of a major trading company?”

“Or it could be the head of one of the five great families.”

The fact that Lili Arcel was actually her was known only to a few people around her and the Severes family retainers. Since she had disclosed it to the retainers, she had not particularly tried to keep her identity secret, but somehow the secret had been maintained. Just then, one of the ladies lowered her voice as far as it would go and opened with a deliberately serious air.

“Actually, I know who it is.”

You know?

“I only heard this in confidence, so you must absolutely not tell anyone else.”

“Of course!”

“Who is it?”

She too leaned in to hear her own identity revealed. At last, the lady announced who Lili Arcel was.

“It is His Highness the Crown Prince!”

What. Why is Adenmir coming up here?

“The investor called Lili Arcel is genuinely devoted to relief work. Who else but His Highness the Crown Prince could that be?”

“Now that you put it that way.”

So all her good deeds in distributing relief supplies for the people had become Adenmir’s credit.

‘As long as someone’s image has improved, that is fine.’

Adenmir was actually the better option. If they had said it was Duke Angellus or the Second Prince, she might have revealed her identity on the spot. Just then, one of the ladies spotted her and her eyes went wide.

“Oh! Lady Severes?”

“L, let us go. Come on.”

The ladies who had been talking about her at length fled the moment they made eye contact with her. Why are they running away? She puzzled over it for a moment and then the reason came to her. Ah, right. She remembered that back in her Perdia troublemaker days, one of them had been talking behind her back and she had poured a cocktail over her head. What she had done was not right, but talking behind someone’s back was not right either, so they were even. She was now looking around for whose conversation to eavesdrop on next when a small figure came and stood beside her.

“Tsk tsk tsk, do you not have a single friend?”

Isis, who had come right up to her and delivered a cutting remark without preamble, was in the form of a young child today as always.

“I have friends.”

She had Gretel, even if she was abroad again…

“Gretel excluded.”

“I, I do.”

She had Martha too, her precious…

“Maids excluded.”

“…”

Isis had appeared out of nowhere and succeeded in making her look like someone with no friends at all. She could say she had Adenmir, and Raeyan, and Black, but that would only invite more dismissal. Regardless, there was something she had wanted to say the moment she saw Isis.

“I heard you lent the airship when I was kidnapped. Thank you, Isis.”

“It is practically yours, so there is no need to thank me.”

“Even so, being grateful is being grateful. And the video-recording magic tool made into a button as well! Thanks to that I was able to prove Gabe Jenade was behind the kidnapping.”

“Well, that is the result of this one’s preparedness shining through.”

Whether he thought that was to his own credit, Isis smiled with satisfaction. But Isis soon wiped the smile from his face and took on a serious expression.

“Lili. Come with me.”

“Hm? What about the launch ceremony?”

“The others will manage.”

But she had wanted to watch the launch ceremony too. She looked up at the airship with eyes full of reluctance, and Isis clicked his tongue.

“It will be packed and chaotic anyway.”

“But I have not ridden it even once.”

“I will hold a launch ceremony just for you later.”

‘A launch ceremony just for me…!’

Said by anyone else it would have sounded like a confession. It was that thrilling.

“Are you coming?”

“Yes!”

She was completely won over by Isis’s coaxing.

[My master is far too easy.]

Black let out a deep sigh.

***

The place Isis brought her to was the Tower Master’s research room. Isis bustled around the thoroughly cluttered research room and began attaching magic tools all over her body. A necklace, earrings, rings, bracelets, a brooch, pendants, hair ornaments, and more. Five necklaces alone, two pendants, and rings on all ten fingers with not a single one left bare. Hanging with all of it, she looked remarkably like a certain profession she had seen in her previous life. This was, in other words…

‘A rapper.’

YO…

She was standing there blankly feeling like she ought to start rapping when Isis muttered with a grave expression.

“There are not enough fingers.”

She recoiled in alarm at Isis’s gaze drifting toward her feet.

“This is already too much!”

She had been standing there wondering what on earth was happening and ended up being turned into a rapper! On top of that, each and every one of these magic tools boasted a price that would make one’s jaw drop. She began removing the magic tools one by one and setting them on the table.

“You little! Who knows when you might be kidnapped again, you need to be wearing at least that much. Put them back on right now!”

“If anything, walking around like this would make me more conspicuous. I could become a target for thieves.”

“Thieves? Hmm.”

Isis had no comeback to her logical point. It was obvious that walking around festooned with magic tools would make one the number one target for crime. Of course, as the Lady of Severes, she would almost never encounter a thief, but still.

“Well, regardless, I made all of these for you so take them all. Carrying one or two at a time should not draw attention.”

“Is it really all right to give me so many?”

“I made them for you, I said.”

Even so, accepting such expensive magic tools so readily…

‘Was absolutely wonderful.’

Before Isis could change his mind, she gathered up the magic tools one by one. Isis watched her with a fond smile, the way one might look at a grandchild happily eating steamed potatoes and corn.

“Have you ever thought about learning magic?”

“I am hopeless at things like formula calculations, so no.”

Magic required not just talent but a sharp mind. So it was impossible for her, a born humanities brain through and through.

“Fair enough. You can just keep using magic tools.”

Whether he had truly called her over just to give her magic tools, Isis brought out snacks and began feeding her enthusiastically. Something about being too thin, apparently. Just then, a loud foghorn sounded from outside the window. The launch ceremony had begun. She pressed herself against the window and watched the airship move forward with power.

[The sky looks like the sea.]

‘It does…’

Since the magic tower soared so high into the sky, seeing the airship from here felt entirely different. Beautiful, truly. She was gazing at it in admiration when Isis came and stood behind her.

“Lili.”

“Yes, Isis.”

She answered Isis’s call with her eyes still fixed on the airship.

“Are you happy right now?”

Why would he ask something like that? The out-of-nowhere question made her turn to look at Isis. With an expression strangely mature for a child’s face, Isis was watching her. It was puzzling, but the answer was already decided.

“Yes, I am happy.”

What is happiness, really. She had cleared up the misunderstanding with the Perdia family, and her real father had woken up. The things she had worried about most had been resolved. It would be a lie to say she was not afraid of what lay ahead. But she had the belief that she could push through somehow. At last Isis gave a small laugh and tapped her arm.

“Good. That is all that matters. …When we first met you had the face of someone about to die from anxiety.”

“Did I really?”

“You did.”

What had she been like when she first met Isis? She had been startled to learn that the Tower Master was looking for someone called Lili Arcel. At that time she had been desperate, doing whatever it took to scrape together funds for independence and survive.

“Lili.”

“Yes?”

“I have never told you how I came to meet Arcelia.”

“…No.”

The sudden mention of her mother left her unsure what expression to make. She stood there at a loss, and Isis went and sat on the sofa first.

“I will tell you. How I came to meet Arcelia.”