༺ Studying And Training Is Such A Pain (7) ༻
Taking the picture diary from Salome’s possession.
It was a challenging task even for me.
It would take days just to plan it out.
Of course, if I used physical strength, a day would be sufficient.
But then one of us would die.
I didn’t exactly want that so I decided to be truthful.
By asking her to return the diary.
And in exchange, I offered Salome the pearl I received from Hina as payment.
“You can have this so give me the diary.”
“That, is it the 「Rainbow Pearl」?”
“Don’t know. I just accepted it.”
“Is it genuine? No, it can’t be. The Rainbow pearl is the stone in the ring that’s generationally inherited by the priestess. One of the 7 Treasures that any thief wants to get their hands on.”
The 7 Treasures.
I’ve heard of them as well.
「Yahbach’s Lightning」.
「The Pirate King’s Secret Treasure」.
「Snix’s Silk」.
「Priestess’s Pearl」.
「Unholy Grail」.
「Epar’s Nymph Hand」.
「The Unknown Treasure」.
These were the seven.
They were treasures that thieves and adventurers sought but it was a mystery as to whether they actually existed.
But possessing even one of them and selling it would definitely have anyone set for life.
Due to that, there were many counterfeits out on the market.
“This would be the 「Priestess’s Pearl」, then.”
I looked at the pearl in my hand.
A 7-shaded pearl.
It probably wasn’t genuine.
There was no way that a kid like Hina had the actual pearl from a ring passed down to priestesses.
But Salome’s eyes were keen.
“… This doesn’t appear to be a counterfeit. Can I take a look at it?”
Did she forget that she’s currently a teacher?
Salome’s eyes were shining hungrily. This girl used to be called ‘Salome of Greed’ when she was part of Tenebris.
They were indeed greedy eyes.
“No. If you return the picture diary, I’ll let you hold it.”
“Yeah? That’s fine.”
Swoosh—
Salome handed me the diary.
Isn’t she giving it up too easily?
As I thought that, Salome turned the pearl all over in her hand and grinned.
“See here. This 7-shaded pearl is emitting divine energy. It can probably heal most wounds right away. This really must be The Order’s treasure. How did you get this again?”
“From the owner of this diary.”
Swoosh—
I took the picture diary and stepped out of the office.
Though she had promised to wait outside, Hina wasn’t there.
Of course, I could now track Hina’s footprints.
I only needed to follow the karma left in the pink-colored prints.
After following for a bit, another classroom appeared.
“32 multiplied by 2 is 64.”
This time it was a mathematics class.
Hina was peering through the window on tiptoes and scratching equations into the dirt with a stick, it was pretty studious behavior.
It was commendable compared to some of the kids in the class who sat there dozing off.
Did she sneak in on lessons regularly?
“Hey, I found your diary.”
“……!”
Hina jumped.
Immediately she took the book from my hand and flipped frantically through the pages as if to check for missing or damaged sections.
“… Good!”
The kid sighed with a big whew— from under her hood.
Nothing seemed to be missing, then.
Tap—
Just then, something dropped next to me from up high.
I turned to see a woman with her face behind a veil.
When the smack of peach scent started to get dizzying, Salome, no longer a teacher and back to her thief self–grabbed Hina by the nape.
“Let, let me gooo…!”
“Kid, where did you get this pearl?”
“…….”
“So you won’t answer? Tsk— You better tell me truthfully how you got this. If you don’t, I’ll smack your hands.”
Salome was ruthless like an expert in dealing with children.
Was this the experience of an elementary school teacher?
It seemed effective, seeing as Hina was shaking in her ash-colored robes.
“… M-Mom!”
“Mom? Why would I be your mom?”
Salome scowled.
But I think I understood what Hina was trying to say.
“I think she got it from her mom.”
“Oh? That’s what you meant?”
Nod— Nod—
Hina nodded her head vigorously.
Seeing that, Salome hummed through her nose.
“How did you know what she was saying? All she said was ‘Mom’.”
How did I know?
I don’t know.
Just had a feeling.
Without letting go of Hina’s nape, Salome handed the pearl out to me and spoke.
“This, it’s genuine. No matter what, it doesn’t seem like an imitation. How did she get a hold of The Order’s treasure? You, who are you?”
Salome asked.
Hina in ashy robes shut her mouth tightly.
It was like a turtle hiding in its shell.
Riiiip—
Right then, the old robe that Hina was wearing tore.
Because Salome was holding onto it by the collar.
Drop—
As a result, Hina fell to the ground, and with the hood part torn, it let loose long, pink hair.
And as well a surprisingly cold-looking face.
“…Ah….”
Hina hurriedly hid her face in her hands.
Was she shy?
She didn’t seem to want to show her face.
Of course, my aesthetic sense was rather agile and precise.
A quick glance of Hina’s princess power was C.
It was a level of good competition for Naru who diligently attended school.
No, that didn’t really matter.
What was important was this.
“Hey, Salome. This kid, doesn’t she resemble you?”
“What? What are you saying?”
* * *
Salome had gone to the cabin where the Priestess of Gluttony was known to live.
She was planning to ask about 「Nocturne’s Dagger」.
But the Priestess of Gluttony kept acting as if she was distracted by something and discovered that she was hiding this 「Picture Diary」 behind her.
━What are you hiding so carefully? Give it here. Ha! You’re no match for me!”
━Hiiiik—!
Salome finally snatched away the diary with force from the girl’s hands.
And the content written inside was—
━G-Give it back…!
━No.
Salome stole the item from the loudly protesting child and ran off.
And now back to the present.
“Salome, doesn’t she look like you?”
At the man’s inquiry, Salome frowned.
It was something she hadn’t ever thought about.
“She looks like me?”
Did we look alike?
Salome observed the child with narrowed eyes.
The pink hair was one resemblance.
Salome took after her mother, Herodias with pinkish-gold hair.
Even on this continent, it was a rare color for hair, and Hina had a very similar color.
But that was it.
Besides that, there was no other resemblance.
“This kid ran down the wall vertically earlier. If you taught her 「Wall Climbing」, it’s definitely possible.”
“I’ve never taught her that skill.”
“Well yeah, not current you. But future you could’ve taught her. Salome, it could be my assumption, but she might be….”
The man tried to say something.
Might beeeeeeeee—
Perhaps she was nervous because the word sounded stretched, and realizing that, Salome burst out first with all that she had.
“I, I don’t accept it!”
“What?”
Salome couldn’t accept it.
How could this wild ferret of a girl be her daughter?
Struggle— Struggle— Struggle—
“Let me down…!”
“…….”
“━━──!”
“Whoa, Salome. Did you just hear that? Such profanity for a kid. She’s a potty mouth like you.”
How could her daughter be less civilized than Naru?
This couldn’t be real!
Pababat—
Just then, the pink-haired girl bit down on Salome’s wrist and took off.
“Ow!”
With Salome having lost her grip, she ran for the school’s wall with great speed and skillfully slipped through the doghole-like opening at the bottom.
Watching that, Judas spoke.
“Wooow, look at her escape through the doghole. I think she definitely is related to us somehow. The three signposts that the Grandmaster was talking about might be three children….”
Signposts?
The man mumbled something incomprehensible.
But Salome didn’t care.
“…….”
The afternoon passed like that.
Salome headed towards Provence Village after classes finished.
It was the cabin where the Priestess of Gluttony lived and after breaking in, she felt cold air.
The inside of the cabin was completely empty.
She must have moved out.
“The third rule for survival–if your hideout is discovered, abandon it immediately. Indeed, she’s quite cautious. Very well taught. Did she also remove all traces?”
Salome searched around the cabin.
The interior was absolutely clean with no hints of a child having lived here at all.
“Impressive.”
Not bad, she thought while feeling strangely proud. Salome wasn’t sure why she had a change of feeling but it was what it was.
‘Is she really my daughter?’
Naru and Cecily.
She somewhat sensed it, that neither was her daughter.
And so Salome alone had felt anxious.
There were children from the future and it had been strange that she was the only one without.
“But, shouldn’t a child of mine be more distinguished and elegant than anyone?”
Salome was fairly confident in child-rearing.
That meant if she had a daughter, then she would be able to raise her into a dignified and refined lady.
But the Priestess of Gluttony, Hina, was basically a small, wild animal that was wary.
And also had a timid personality.
“And, if she’s my kid, why would she need to run from me?”
Salome looked at the wrist bitten by Hina earlier.
The clear teeth mark was rather painful.
What kind of daughter would bite her mother and run away?
Naru and Cecily would certainly never do such a thing.
Of course, Salome had been aggressive with Hina.
She did things like grabbing onto the collar of a kid trying to escape and stealing her picture diary.
Thinking about it now, she might have been a bit harsh with her.
“If I had really taught that kid….”
Salome imagined where she would be hiding.
There were three hideouts that Salome built in the Duchy of Freesia.
And if it was a place near the Provence Village where a child would hide….
Step—
Salome moved quickly.
It was already late evening.
Where Salome headed was one of the old, abandoned gymnasium storages on Graham Academy properties.
It was a storage for old vaulting horses and mats, a place Salome used occasionally as a hideout.
Rustle— Rustle—
Arriving in front of the storage, there was noise of something moving inside.
Looking closely, there was light like a candle flame flickering through the window.
Swoosh—
Salome peered through the storage window.
Inside, a pink-haired girl was busily sewing her robe.
Her actions spoke of the importance of the torn robe.
“Found you. I thought you’d be here.”
When Salome yelled through the window—
Hina’s eyes met Salome’s and she collapsed to the ground in fear!
“Hiiiik…!”
Hina quickly hid her diary.
But Salome opened the window which went Drrrr— and calmly entered the storage.
“I don’t need the diary anymore. I already memorized what’s written in it. What I want to ask is, are you perhaps my daughter?”
“…….”
Hina’s eyes darted around.
Then, at last, holding onto her ragged robe tight, she nodded.
Nod— Nod—
At that moment, Salome felt as if fireworks went off in her head.
She, too, had a daughter from the future.
But she was also curious at the same time.
“Then why did you keep running from me?”
“…Because….”
Vooom— Voooooooom—
Hina’s body started glowing.
Like a firefly.
At the peculiar sight, Salome was baffled.
Then Hina made a long face and shed tears.
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