Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 66

Chapter 66

"Woof!! Woof woof!!"

Bibi's energetic barking echoed through the garden. Beneath Bibi, a circular shadow about two meters in diameter appeared.

Drooling and panting, Bibi lunged at the skeletal hand-shaped shadow that popped up. But before Bibi could get it in his mouth, the hand vanished back into the shadow.

"It's like whack-a-mole."

"Whack-a-mole?"

"Yeah. You use quick reflexes to hit moles that pop up from the ground with a mallet."

On a peaceful afternoon after the ball, I lay sprawled on a mat, watching Bibi and Leo play a game disguised as training.

Ah, the weather is so nice, the air is so fresh. So comfortable. Home is the best.

"Hari? Kali?"

I heard Mother calling from afar. I jumped up and waved my arms at her.

"Want to go see the festival with Mom?"

"Huh? Down to the village? Now?!"

"Yeah. Now."

The moment I heard Mother, I stared at Kali with sparkling eyes. He looked indifferent, but I didn't care—I grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"Leo, come here."

Mother called over Leo, who had been rolling around with Bibi, and gently nudged him toward the mansion.

"The servants are going to the festival for a bit. Why don't you go with Regina?"

"Really? I can go?"

"Of course. But make sure to stay with the adults."

"Okay!"

Bibi, bewildered by the sudden disappearance of his shadow snack, let out a mournful howl.

"Bibi, come here! You're coming too!"

After going inside to prepare, I asked Julia to wash Bibi clean. With a few gestures, Bibi became fluffy and fresh.

"Oh, so soft. So fluffy. Who's this adorable? Huh?"

I buried my nose in Bibi's back and squished his squishy jelly-like body when Julia brought me a dress.

"The Duchess said to prepare something comfortable and modest—how about this?"

It was a simple navy dress, with only a small gem on the belt as decoration.

"I love it. I'll wear that."

A wide-brimmed beige hat and navy dress went quite well together.

"Let's go, Julia!"

"Huh? Me too?"

"Yeah? Of course you're coming—you're my handmaiden."

Julia clasped her hands together in delight. Was it really something to be that happy about?

"Or you can go with the other servants to the festival."

"No! I'd rather go with you, young lady, and the young master!"

"O-okay. Since it's a festival, come in something pretty. I'll wait."

"Oh no! I couldn't possibly make you wait!"

"I'll give you ten minutes! Hurry back."

I pushed Julia out the door and shooed her away with a wave. Flustered, she said she'd be quick and headed to her room.

"Hey, Lisa?"

"Yes, young lady?"

"If Leo hasn't left the estate yet, could you call him?"

"Yes, young lady. Right away."

There was still one empty slot in the golden gems. That damn Kali—he won't give me even a little.

The shadows would be following us anyway... but just in case.

"Young lady, you called?"

Leo, with his hands politely clasped, looked up at me with big eyes. I ruffled his hair and knelt to meet his gaze.

"Leo, could you do me a favor?"

"A favor?"

"Could you give me a little bit of your shadow?"

Question marks practically floated above Leo's head.

"Just infuse your mana into this. About as much as you use when playing with Bibi."

When I pointed my index finger at the closed-eye golden gem, Leo's eyes widened, and he reached out without hesitation. Dark mana rippled and flowed into the gem.

"Is this enough?"

"Yeah. Thanks!"

He didn't even ask what it was or what it was for, Leo.

"Can you open the pouch at your waist?"

I smiled and pointed at Leo's waist. When he opened the pouch, I slipped ten silver coins inside.

"Wh-what? Miss?"

"It's an allowance. Buy something tasty for you and Regina. Maybe we'll run into you in town."

"B-but this is..."

"Will you tell me later what you ate? If it was good, I'll want to try it too."

"Yes...!"

Leo's eyes sparkled as he nodded. I gave him a gentle push, telling him to go find Regina.

"Phew, let's go."

I hadn't been to a village festival in a while—my heart was racing. Since it's the capital's festival celebrating the Founding Festival, it must be huge! What should I look at?

After complimenting Julia on her changed clothes, we headed outside. As we approached the carriage, Mother and Kali were already there.

They were laughing about something, and Mother hugged Kali tightly.

"What! What were you talking about?"

"None of your business!"

"Come on. Kali was—"

"Rachel!!"

Kali struggled to cover Mother's mouth. His ears were red—he must have been embarrassed!

"Tell me later."

"Shall I?"

As I huddled close to Mother and whispered, Kali held his forehead and sighed.

"Now, let's get in the carriage."

"Woof!"

"Oh my, Bibi. You're so clean. You little thing."

Mother didn't mind Bibi's fur getting on her clothes, and rubbed his face with both hands. Julia, sitting beside the coachman, would have been horrified.

Bibi leaped into the carriage through the open door.

"Rachel, please."

Kali offered his hand to Mother. With an moved expression, she took it and stepped into the carriage.

"You too."

"Oh? You've grown, haven't you?"

"I've always been taller than you."

I took Kali's hand and climbed in. He closed the door and came inside.

"Mom, your clothes are covered in Bibi's fur—are you okay?"

Because she'd been petting him so much, Bibi's fur was getting all over Kali's and my clothes too.

"Hoho, Julia came along, so why worry?"

So that's why she brightened up when she saw Julia. I see.

Bibi rested his face on Mother's lap with a contented look, purring. So cute. Animals are the best.

"Mom, what's at the Founding Festival?"

"Hmm, lots of things—performances, street plays, and all kinds of regional specialties. There are even special menu items only available during the festival season."

I was way more excited than for the ball or the hunting competition. I want to try street food! Magic shops! Shopping!

When we arrived at the festival grounds and got off the carriage, I looked around. Even at the entrance, it was packed with people.

"Oh no! Madam! Your clothes...! And you too, young lady and young master!!"

A horrified Julia rushed over and reached out. With one smooth motion, she smoothed out the wrinkled hem and the fur fell away in an instant.

"Phew! You can move now!"

Bibi's white fur was completely gone. It's amazing every time I see it.

"Let's go. If you get separated from me or something dangerous happens, call for the shadows."

It was definitely different from the village near the villa or the main thoroughfare of the ducal territory. Busy districts are always crowded, but the difference with the capital was height. Most buildings were only one to four floors tall, but the capital's main streets had buildings quite a bit taller.

"What's that building? It's so tall."

It looked at least fifteen stories high.

"That's Unique Town."

"Unique Town?"

"The first and second floors have restaurants, the third is a tearoom, and from the fourth floor up, it's shops."

So it's like a mixed-use building?

"How do you get to the top floor?"

There's no elevator here.

"There's a teleport portal on the first floor. Mages are always stationed there. Do you want to see it?"

"Yeah!!"

It was clearly a noble's exclusive domain—commoners couldn't possibly afford portal fees. They could have used floating stones, but they had to make it obvious it was for nobles. Of course, floating stones are expensive too, but cheaper than teleportation.

Mother had asked if I wanted to see it, but when I said yes, she looked troubled.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm... because of the building's owner."

"Who is it?"

"Czerban. The Czerban Grand Ducal house."

What? The Czerban Grand Ducal house means... before it was Isaac's, it was Kali's father's!

I whipped my head around to look at Kali.

"Why?"

"The, the building owner. The building owner."

"...Not yet."

"You'll be, well, anyway, you'll be in the future!!"

I whispered quietly enough for only Kali and Mom to hear. I knew our family had money, but I'd never heard about owning a building! Well, I'm sure if we looked, there'd be some!

"Oh my, Hari. Do you want a building? Shall I have one built for you?"

"You can build one? How many floors?! Can you make it taller than that?"

"Taller than that?"

Definitely taller! About twenty floors! But, does this place even have that kind of technology? Can't magic do something?

"Building above five floors requires imperial permission."

Five floors? Five floors is nothing!

"And to build a twenty-story building, you'd need enough floating stones to go from the first floor to the twentieth."

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