I wonder what the situation is.
A smiling Octavia and a somewhat awkward young lady. Only the little girl's sister, who is only a few months old, is alone in Octavia's arms, peacefully moving her hands toward the sky.
I thought she was still wary of me, judging from the way she invited me, but she's glancing at her mother, Master Octavia, so maybe she's nervous about her own mother.
Isn't a tea party supposed to be a more relaxed affair?
The fruit tea in the glass pot was cool, and as the maid poured it into the glass teacups, the scent of seasonal fruits wafted through the air. But the nice fragrance didn't seem to soothe the lady. I was afraid to touch the rare glassware, so I couldn't touch it right away. I'm afraid it's too expensive and I'll break it.

Well, thank you for inviting me today.

I thank her for inviting me to buy time. I might never have been able to drink a tea made with a lot of fruits as a commoner. I want my mother to drink it too. I wonder if I can bring it home with me, but she's too fast for that.

I'd love it if you'd keep me company. Dear didn't introduce me at all. We should at least make up for Mr. Gerald.

"Mother!

Octavia smiles, not at all disappointed that the two of you are so cunning. I'm not sure what to say, but I'm going to try.

"Once in a while, if that's all right.

"Well, I'm glad.

I don't mind as long as my father allows it. I'm happy to eat sweets and stuff.
I've only had the occasional surprise visit from the Duke, and they've been brief. Perhaps Octavia's total time at today's tea party alone will exceed mine. However, the other day's big turn was tough. It's the equivalent of spinning a coffee cup too fast in a previous life. That thing can evolve into a screaming machine manually.

"Thanks to you, Dia has been wearing matching dresses lately.

Octavia smiled happily, and her daughter's dress was the same design. A ribbon choker is fastened with a baby rose ornament, and the bust is wide open in a U-shape to create a cool, one-piece dress. Master Octavia's dress was a pale violet and Miss Octavia's was a pale light blue like a forget-me-not. It suits the two of them with their cat-like eyes and pale blond hair.

"I was stubbornly rejected before. I'm glad you hit on me.

"......

He didn't hit on me!

I'm not sure what to say to her, but she put her hands on the table and denied it, turning red. Octavia is smiling so relaxedly that the impression of her cat-like eyes is lost.
You mean you persuaded her, but I only listened to her, and she did it voluntarily. I didn't do anything. The duke, too, is often misunderstood.

"The ...... Master Octavia.

It's hard to call you that, isn't it?　You can call me Via if you like.

She smiles at me. Why is it that with the Duke, I feel like I can't resist his smile?
It's true that long names tend to bite, so it's easier to use short names, but the lady puffs out her cheeks and stares at me in a very obvious way. I guess she doesn't want me (a commoner) to call her mother that. She's always talking about her mother with a twinkle in her eye.

"If you're jealous, why don't you ask her to come too?

"What?　I'm not jealous!

"Really?　Then I'll just call you by your nickname.

The young lady bites her bottom lip and looks somewhat disappointed.
I wonder... I can see the image of a threatening kitten and an adult cat poking it with the tip of its tail. Master Octavia, are you playing with your daughter?
I can't seem to interrupt them, so I watch them and wonder. The lady doesn't seem to like it, but I feel like I have to call her by her abbreviation. But I don't want her to like it.

"Well, Ok-sama, then.

I thought we could come to a compromise and use a different abbreviation.
They both pout, then one starts laughing uncontrollably, the other blushes and gets angry.

"Don't give your mother a funny name!

In the end, the lady got mad at me. What was I supposed to do?

"Hmmm ......, okay. You can call me that at .......

Huh.

Ok-sama, you're hitting the nail on the head. The young lady's sister in my arms is moving her hands and shouting happily. Did I say something funny?
I'm kind of out of it, and I touch my tea. It's delicious, with the fresh scent of fruit and sweetness. It tastes good enough warm, but for a girl whose body temperature seems to have risen since a while ago, cold might be better.

Miss, give me that.

You try to calm down and still the lady with the teacup.

You've got your own.



Just do it.

I get up from my chair, go over to the questioning young lady and hold out my hand. She hands me the teacup, not knowing what to do.
I wrap my hands around the teacup and wait a few seconds. When I felt that this was enough, I handed the teacup back to the lady.

"Hey.

She takes it, tilting her head, and takes a sip of tea.
Her pale blue eyes widened.

"Have you calmed down a bit?

What do you mean?

What do you mean? I just cooled it.

I just chilled it with magic. It's not freezing, so it doesn't take much magic. I don't know why you're so surprised by a spell that requires only my level of magic.

Why can't I use magic without chanting?　And this is not ice magic. ......

"You have two attributes, Isak?

It's not just the young lady who's surprised, even Master Ok asked curiously.

I'm not sure, but I'm working on the other attributes as well. It's just that wind has the second highest magic value after water, so it can be used to a certain extent.

That's why ice magic, which requires both water and wind, can only be used up to the limit of the lesser wind attribute.
I've only been using low-end magic, and I'm tilting my head. I don't think it's something you two should be embarrassed about.

I've never seen a girl try to use something other than her aptitude.

After a few beats, Ok-sama muttered in admiration. It's the first time I've ever shown another attribute of magic to anyone other than my family. I thought it was just an extension of water magic, so I didn't pay much attention to it. I'm not sure what to make of that.

But the chanting?　How can you cast a spell without paying for it?

Yeah. Why don't you get a genie to help you?

I'm sure you'll agree.

I'm not sure what to do.　You can't summon a genie for the price of magic, but ......?

I don't think I have the magical power to summon a genie.

I'm sure you'll be able to understand why.
I only have enough magic power to know that there are spirits. If it's a girl or a member of the Ernst family, I'm sure they have enough magic power to see and summon spirits. If you don't have enough magic power, you have to pay for the cost of chanting and mediation depending on the spell you use. The low literacy rate is also a factor in the lack of magic available to the common people.
You can probably use a certain amount of magic with your own spells, as long as they have some meaning. But I don't want to risk that kind of black history, so I'm sticking with spirit aids that don't require chanting. I'm afraid of triggering the kitchen sink.

You know, Isak. I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea.

I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but I'm sure you've heard of it.

I'm sure you're not the only one.

You're pushing me with your power. Nobles are such a pain in the ass.
Hmm?　So that means ......

"Am I weird?

I point to myself and ask, and the lady shakes her head.

You're weird.

I don't think there are many commoners who are willing to use magic like that.

Ok-sama affirmed.
Really? My dad and mom didn't say anything, so I didn't think it was that unheard of.

"How do you get a genie to help you with ......?

The young lady asked me curiously. It's like making friends with fairies, so it's a story that girls would like.

It's like making friends with a fairy.

"What's that?

I thought about it and answered what I could think of, and the lady looked at me like I was joking. I gave her a decent answer.

"You know, like a thank-you note.

"You mean that?

She seemed to have an idea, but was not convinced.

She also likes it when I hum a little thank you to her. If you play it like that when you're learning to play an instrument, you'll understand.

"That's what ...... is for?

I was wondering how I could convince her of this, when I remembered another thing.

"Oh. An offering.

"Offering?

Watch.

I returned to my seat and clapped my hands twice over the three cookies I had been given on a small plate. Then I closed my eyes and worshipped them with my palms folded.
I waited for a few seconds and when I opened my eyes, half of the cookies were already gone, and the rest were disappearing like they were melting into the air while I was watching.



What do you think?　Did you see the spirit?

The young lady, who was still staring intently at the small plate after making sure the cookies had disappeared, nodded quietly.
Whenever I get a snack, I always leave half or a third of it to offer to the spirits. When I was younger, my mother taught me that spirits exist even if we can't see them, so I tried to see if I could eat the sweets. It was fun to see the experiment succeed and confirm the existence of spirits, so I became addicted to it.
The lady can see, so she might be more excited than I was at that time.

It's amazing. ......

"Why don't you try it?

When she realized that she could do it too, she straightened up.

"Just think of it as 'please' and you'll get the idea.

She nodded her head and turned to her cookie. This is what a science experiment for children is like. I can see that she's thrilled.
She claps her hands more modestly than I do, and gives a small bow to the cookie.
After a while, she gently opened one eye to see what was going on, and opened both eyes to see the cookie disappearing. She must have been able to see the spirit eating the cookie. I can see that it would be like something out of a storybook.

And it's done. ......

Looking at me and the small plate of cookies disappearing, the young lady happily reports her success.

I told her not to give too much, because it would make her fat.

When I told her not to give too much, she nodded her head again.
As with stray or wild animals, it's not good to give too much to them when you don't intend to use them. She'll probably eat more sweets than me, so I'll be careful. I don't know if spirits really get fat because I can't see them.
The young lady stared at the small plate of cookies for a while, her face glowing without words. Then, noticing Ok-sama's soothing smile, she turned her cheeks and started to drink the tea I had cooled for her. I guess he doesn't want Ok-sama to pick on him, and he wants to calm down.

"I'm glad you're here, Isak.

Ok-sama murmurs, looking at the shy, shrinking girl. I understand that you're happy that she's having fun because I am too, but why does my presence or absence have anything to do with it?
I wondered and looked at Ok-sama and realized.

"Can I hold you?

I walked over to Ok-sama and stretched my arms out toward the young lady's sister.
I'm holding her again more often than at first. Maybe her arms are getting tired. As a nobleman, he should be able to get help from a maid or something, but if I'm not imagining it, Ok-sama is holding her all the time when she's with her family. This is the second time I've seen him, but from what I've heard from the lady, that's true.
Ok-sama's peach-colored eyes widen slightly. Then she smiled softly, like a flower smelling.

"Very well.

Thank you.

She gently took the girl's sister in her arms and returned to her seat.

I can carry her, too.

"You'd better wait until she's old enough to hold her own.

The young lady with the sly look on her face raises her hand and insists. Knowing her physical strength, I stop her, judging that she is not big enough and strong enough to support her sister's head. But the young lady, who had never been held before, puffed out her cheeks.

"Do you have a brother, Isak?　You seem to be used to it.

Ok-sama tilted his head as he watched the young lady's sister being held without hesitation.

No, I don't. No, I don't. I only get asked to do things by the neighbors.

In the downtown area, there are times when both parents work, and when neither of them is available, the children of the neighbors who don't work yet are asked to play with them. Of course, they don't leave it to the kids alone, but the housewives follow up with them in between their chores.
Until last year, I was often asked to play with the older kids who were already working. Even now that I am an apprentice, I am sometimes asked to do things on my days off.

"Isak, you would make a good son-in-law.

I don't know. I don't know. In my previous life, my age was equal to my history of not having a girlfriend, so I think it would be difficult. And I'm not interested in relationships at the moment. A lady in the neighborhood jokingly asked me to be her daughter's husband, but I don't think she would like to be the one who changed her diaper.
I took it as a compliment and was thinking about whether I should thank her, when my stomach growled.

Oh.

Ok-sama suggested that I eat the cookies, but in front of me was a small plate that I had given to the spirits and was now empty. And in my arms is the little girl's sister. Stupid, I've stuffed myself.
The maid puts three more cookies on my plate and the young lady's, but I can't move.
I watch my stomach grumble as my daughter, who can move normally, tries to eat her share. I like it, it looks good.

"What's ............?

At the sight of my gaze and the sound of my stomach, the young lady who seems to have difficulty eating stops holding the cookie.
It's surprisingly torturous to find yourself in a situation where you can't eat something you want to eat, but it's right in front of you. The only thing that occupies my thoughts is the thought of how I can eat it.

"Please.

I turned to the lady and opened my mouth.

"What?

I turned to her and opened my mouth. "What?" Her eyes widened and she blushed, and at the same time I realized I had done something stupid and felt ashamed. It's not something a man of your age would do, and there's no way a lady of your age would do such a thing.

I'm sorry. ......

I turned my head slightly, feeling my cheeks stain with shame. Just then, your eyes meet your daughter's sister's pink eyes. You may be happy that our eyes met, and you smile back as she makes a happy noise. I feel a little relaxed, but the heat of shame does not escape easily.


I should have at least eaten a piece before offering it to the gods.
As I was feeling regretful, a sweet smell tickled my nostrils. When I looked up at the smell, I saw a cookie in front of me.

...... It's Flora's fault.

You can find a lot of things that you can do to make your life easier. I'm not sure if she's frustrated or unhappy, but her eyebrows are really raised and her face is red. She looked like she was about to get angry, and her hand was shaking. If you're so humiliated, you don't have to do it.

"Yeah, but ......

Just as I'm about to say no, my stomach growls again.
After hesitating for a few seconds, I couldn't resist my stomach, so I bent down and took a bite of the cookie in the lady's hand.
The lady's hand retracts, startling me. I chewed it thoroughly and finished it, then smiled.

"Delicious. Thank you, young lady.

It's a duke's pastry. The sweetness was not overpowering, and the taste was elegant. The crunchy texture was also enjoyable.
While I was enjoying the taste of cookies that I don't usually eat, the lady was struggling with something.
I wondered if she was going to go back to her seat and not eat it, but then she took another one from my small plate and offered it to me.

Are you sure?

She still looks away and nods her head in disapproval.
I don't understand, but it's nice to be able to eat what I want, so I thank her.

Thank you.

Then I put the cookie in my mouth again.
Eventually, for some reason, she gave me a few more cookies.
I don't think she ate much at the tea party that day. I'll give her something as an apology next time.