On the morning of the only weekend day.
While I was resting in my lodging, the person doing butler work called me to the reception room on the first floor, saying that an escort had arrived.
When I went there, a black-haired girl, rare to see here, was sitting. I also went to sit on the opposite side.
"Hello."
"Hi? You're Belle? So, the escort target?"
She's quite lively. She seems young for an escort, but if she's planning to enter the Royal Academy together, it's not that strange.
"I heard someone like that was coming. Are you starting the escort from today?"
"Yeah. That's right."
Saying that, she handed me some kind of paper. When I received and read it, it said that by the king's order, she would be my escort.
The period is this year. And the name is:
"Merriwather Olcott?"
"Umm, I'd prefer if you could call me Malley rather than such a stiff name."
I nodded at Merriwather's words. I thought an escort would be a stiff human, but it seems she's not that kind of person.
The northern people Kanna knows are more suited to be called barbarian warriors even if they carry the name of knights, and the knights Aurora knows are people who patrol inside the castle with stiff expressions.
"Will you be following me all the time?"
"The scope of duties is on the next page!"
At those words, I turned the paper over and indeed, the scope of duties was written there. She'll be with me almost all day.
The task of escorting. It's unexpectedly harsh work. There are no days off at all. It's even written that Merriwather will do it continuously without shifts.
Perhaps, rather than trying to control me, the royal family might prioritize catching the witch.
I can only cure once by turning someone into a Harvester. If the witch casts a curse again, it would be difficult to do anything then, so they might be trying to catch the witch first rather than doing something to me.
Maybe she's not even a knight. Someone said they would escort, but no one said who it would be.
"Yes. I've confirmed it."
When I answered like that, Merriwather stared at me intently. Wondering what was strange, I waited for her next words, and finally, she spoke.
"Oh, is that all? You're not very cute. Well. I got it. If you're that kind of person, it can't be helped. I'll have to do my best! Please take care of me from now on, Belle."
Merriwather said that with a bright smile.
While saying that, there's a faint hostility on one side of her face. Her expression acting is excellent, but I can read emotions.
She must have been told by the king to be careful because I'm a monster.
But it's okay because I don't intend to do any visible wrongdoing.
I've already finished everything I can do. People can't be on guard for that long. Being on guard is tiring, boring, and troublesome, right?
"Yes. Please take care of me too, Merriwather."
"I told you to call me Malley."
Today. An escort was assigned to me.
* * *
The next day. It became a weekday.
I get up in the morning as usual, wash, change clothes, have breakfast, and go to school. The difference is that Merriwather follows me at the point of going to school.
Merriwather is wearing clothes similar to mine. But Merriwather is taller than me, so the atmosphere is different.
The problem must be that I look too young.
I don't know what her actual age is, but when we go to school together like this, she looks like a student. Is she possibly entering as a student?
Isn't a transfer too noticeable?
Thinking like that, I entered the classroom. As I sat down in my seat, Merriwather also sat next to me.
It's strange.
Clearly, there's a student they've never seen before sitting inside, but no one shows any interest in her.
Compared to the first day when Victoria and I came, when there were no people talking to us but gazes were focused, it's strangely lacking in attention.
No one looks strangely at Merriwather, who's sitting comfortably in her seat. According to Kanna's memory, this should be enough to make people frown.
At that moment, Victoria entered the classroom.
"Hi, Belle. You are, oh sorry. What was your name again?"
Then after sitting next to me, she asks Merriwather her name as if they're somewhat acquainted but can't quite remember, in an ambiguous relationship.
"I'm Malley. You're Victoria, right?"
"Yeah. That's right. Oh, why was I forgetting? You can call me Tori too."
Victoria accepts it without any suspicion and nods. It seems she has some technique to twist perception.
Perhaps she's not a knight but someone from the intelligence department or something like that?
Aurora doesn't know anything, and Kanna knows such things exist but has never seen them in reality. Maybe this person might be from that side.
Certainly, if you can feel like you're an acquaintance no matter where you jump in, it would be convenient for working in intelligence.
I thought magic had only developed in the engineering direction, but this kind of technology has developed too.
Even without looking at Great Kraken's memories, there are memories of this kind of technology in Yasle's memories. Since it's a technique humans can do, it's probably not that special.
"Are you two close?"
"Yeah. We're super close."
In the meantime, the two of them are talking with me in between.
"When I saw at home, you were just sitting quietly without doing anything, isn't it a bit boring?"
That must be about yesterday afternoon and evening. We didn't talk much, but she looked at me with a strange expression as I mostly just sat still.
"Really? When you were at our house, you weren't like that. You cleaned, cooked, and were even closer to my mom than I was. You even came to wake me up early every morning. Phew. It's a holiday, let me be."
That was a big complaint.
Because Beatrice has a very quick-witted personality, she disliked Victoria getting up late during holidays.
"Ahaha, I know that. I love to sleep in on my days off too. But Belle's image is very different from how she is at her current place?"
"How different is it for you to say that?"
I understand that I've become the subject of conversation, but I wish they would stop conversing above my head with me in the middle.
"This kid. From yesterday noon until night, she just sat still in the same posture in a chair, and when it was time to sleep, she went straight to bed. She was very doll-like."
At Merriwather's words, Victoria looks at me with a worried expression.
"Is it hard there?"
"No. I don't do it because there's no need to work. If I do such work directly, it would trouble the people working in that house."
At least I have that much tact. Since it seems to be a place to serve high-ranking people, they seem to be very thorough about such things.
Even if I, who has no rank, come in, there seems to be a kind of pride that this is this and that is that. There's no need to take that away and unnecessarily create hostility.
"It's good to work with pride. That's what I want from people who contract with me."
Pride gained like that eventually wavers and degenerates into arrogance, and skills become outdated, leaving only people who are behind the times.
When that time comes, they open their eyes to exploiting others.
Because it's comfortable and easy.
Look at the apprenticeship system.
Of course, the apprenticeship system isn't bad. It's good to properly pass on skills and have them developed further by those below.
But the person teaching has power. The person learning becomes weak. This isn't good. They can easily exploit the subject and discard them if they want.
Of course, doing it openly goes against their own ethics. But there are many ways to do it not openly.
For example, giving just a little, an amount that person absolutely can't handle, and then mentally abusing them by asking why they can't even do this much.
Human wisdom shines the most at times like this.
It's best if they can make them take their own life by doing this.
Such malice is necessary for me to easily obtain warmth. Without me having to dirty my hands, I can pretend not to know, saying I just gave strength.
"Yeah, Belle is saying these things again. Belle is scary at times like this~"
Victoria giggles and points at me. No, but this is slander. Am I scary here?
"Why is it scary? I like it too. Isn't it good to work with pride?"
At Merriwather's question, Victoria stares at her intently.
"Why?"
"Well. It's not. It's certainly a pleasant thing to say. It completely affirms whatever I want to do. However."
"However?"
Victoria stops there and falls into thought. Merriwather urges her, saying she's curious, and I also look at Victoria, curious.
Victoria crosses her arms, organizes her thoughts, and then says this:
"Belle will affirm whatever I do. Right?"
"Yes. That's right."
She knows well. It's fine if Victoria does bad things. Even if she uses superpowers to control people, I will support that.
"Because you lack discernment, Belle. In that sense, you're not human-like."
"Ah, I don't like that. Honestly, that. It means you're indifferent, doesn't it?"
They're talking well with me in the middle. Is this gossip? No, saying this in front of me is bullying, right? These girls.
Victoria makes an expression of disbelief.
"Indifferent? This kid?"
"No, saying it's okay to become anything, doesn't that mean it doesn't matter? That's being indifferent, isn't it?"
"That's not what it means. Rather, it's more like, how should I put it? Endless breadth of mind? Intense attraction? There's something like that."
Slowly, I get it.
Merriwather Olcott. She seems to be not a knight but indeed someone from intelligence. While she's escorting, she's simultaneously collecting information about me.
If we assume that this strange cognitive distortion is also directed at me.
From her point of view, I shouldn't feel any suspicion about the current conversation.
Moreover, with the pretext of being an escort, even if discovered, she can dismiss it by saying it's escort duty. The king used his head well.
Since he seemed to know something about me, it's not strange to place a person like this.
It seems a bit blatant, but it seems there's some special item... I should pretend to be fooled here too. Since they didn't ask me directly, I'm not being bad.
I'm just embracing even if I have suspicions. If asked why I didn't point it out, I can say I thought it was your culture.
Hehe.
"Isn't it indifference? You keep using polite speech, and you call Tori 'Victoria', not 'Tori'."
At those words, Victoria's gaze fell on me.
"I'm dissatisfied with that too. But if I say that."
"It's a mental illness."
"This is what happens."
Merriwather makes an expression asking if I'm serious. So I nodded.
"That's a bit. A cowardly way."
"That's what I'm saying."
Victoria and Merriwather. There doesn't seem to be a problem with them getting along. Although I'm anxious about how their friendship will be after this cognitive distortion technique disappears.
Hmm.
I'm sure they'll figure it out on their own.
Soon, the teacher came in. And after calling attendance, the class began. Seeing that Merriwather's name was on the attendance list at some point, the kingdom's intelligence department is really formidable.
I need to be careful.