‘Uh… first off, that’s Angela.’
Angela, sitting diagonally across from me, glared before whipping her head away. She clearly didn’t like that I was still wearing pigtails—but it couldn’t be helped. While I would gladly apologize for a genuine mistake, I refused to cater to her petty stubbornness.
Beside Angela sat a terrifyingly beautiful person. They had dark blue hair like Admiral’s, and their eyes were tilted sharply upward at the corners.
‘Blue Marlin…….’
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, the Spirit Kings burst into laughter.
‘It’s really delicious if you grill it over charcoal.’
I’m eating something delicious, yet I’m thinking about other delicious things. What is wrong with me!
“You said you learned the family tree from Lina yesterday.”
“Yees.”
Just then, Admiral placed a piece of steak on my plate.
“The person sitting next to Angela is your Aunt Cecilia. The empty seat next to her belongs to Raywood.”
“Class President!”
“That’s what they say. Originally, that empty seat is where Cecilia should be sitting, but she purposely switched because she didn’t want to be near Violet.”
Carrot Class teacher, it seems adults fight just as much as we do.
‘Geez, being an adult must mean doing things you don’t like.’
Aunt Cecilia didn’t even glance at me, so I shifted my gaze toward the Head of House, sitting directly to the right of the Successor—Aunt Violet.
‘Ooh.’
Her violet-blue eyes were fixed on me. With her light, watery-blue hair tied up loosely and her silver dress, she looked breathtaking. She carried an aura that was both soft and strong, and she was, in some indescribable way, cooler than anyone I had ever met.
‘And she looks like a magpie.’
I love magpies!
That was when.
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ explains.]
[Cecilia inherited the lineage of the Medusa intact. She may resemble a Blue Marlin, but she is actually closer to a water snake.]
‘Aha.’
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ recommends the book 『Sea Monsters, Abilities, and Unusual Species』.]
[If you go up the Pashayen family tree, you’ll find a Medusa. The lineage skipped a generation, and Cecilia inherited that power.]
I see. I cleared my steak and reached for the bread, intending to slather it in butter and honey and eat it in one giant bite.
Seeing me eat with such enthusiasm, Angela looked over, clearly envious. I felt a little awkward under her stare, so I slid the bread toward her.
“Want some…?”
“What? That has your spit on it, so… no, I’m not eating it.”
“O-kay.”
Fine. More for me.
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ watches you fondly, saying my little baby eats so well.]
[Actually, Violet’s pure ability is weaker than Cecilia’s. But the position of Head of House isn’t decided by power alone.]
‘Aha. That’s why Blue Marlin Aunt… no, Aunt Cecilia, was angry!’
I’d be upset too if I were stronger but couldn’t be the Vice President.
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ shares a teaching with you.]
[Whether it’s a Class President or a Head of House, it’s the same. You must be someone who is wiser, sees the bigger picture, and doesn’t get excited easily. Someone who possesses cold reason and a warm heart at the same time. And above all… someone who loves this Pashayen and everyone who lives here.]
Honestly, I was so distracted by the sweet apple pie that I didn’t read all the shiny letters. But I definitely caught the ‘someone who loves everyone’ part at the end.
‘Yes, I will become someone who loves everyone, too.’
Even if I can’t be the Head of House because I’m not a biological daughter, I can at least be someone who loves everyone! Feeling happy, I swung my feet back and forth.
“Seeing you for the first time today… being a daughter is truly cute, isn’t it……”
Just as Admiral was brushing pie crumbs off my mouth, the person sitting next to me spoke.
“……!”
Their presence had been so faint I’d completely forgotten they were there. I jumped in surprise.
‘Long brown hair and green eyes. You look like a willow tree.’
“Nein Uncle!”
“*Sniff*, daughter… is a daughter originally this cute just by existing?”
Nein Uncle looked incredibly listless. He really looked like he needed some Orca Sugar. His slumped-over appearance made me feel a bit sad for him, so I slid the cookie choux I’d just picked up toward him.
“Uncle, have some.”
“*Sniff*… You’re sharing your food with me…? Are you perhaps an angel?”
“Uhh, that’s…”
Uncle took the choux with a genuinely touched expression. Beside us, Admiral cleared his throat.
“You call him ‘Uncle’ so easily.”
“Hm?”
“And here I thought you couldn’t pronounce ‘Dad’.”
Aha. Admiral is sulking! I was wondering what to do when Uncle spoke.
“She will call you that on her own when she opens her heart. Don’t rush her too much, Diegon.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“To suddenly gain such a cute daughter… *Sniff*.”
“…Are you having a hard time lately?”
Admiral asked, sounding slightly awkward. Uncle didn’t answer, just nibbled on the cookie choux with a pale expression.
“Dad, are you tired? Shall I massage your shoulders?”
“Stay still, Iliad. If you massage him, Dad will die.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t see them because they were blocked by Uncle, but I heard a voice! Curious, I stretched my body to look to the left.
There… there were twins! I’d never seen them in class, but I already knew their names.
“Iliad, Neiad Oppa…?”
“Oh, Ned. The little one knows our names?”
The boy who had finished his plate laughed. He had the same brown hair and green eyes as Nein Uncle. He seemed to have such a bright personality that I wanted to be friends with him at first sight.
“Both of you are ten years old.”
“That’s right. I’m ten. My name is Iliad.”
“I’m Shuperti.”
So, the twins Iliad and Neiad were ten. Angela was eight. And I was four.
While I was blankly counting the numbers, I looked back at Admiral.
“What about Elzen Oppa?”
“Elzen is eleven, and Micard is thirteen.”
“Ooh. My Oppas are older!”
Feeling strangely proud, I turned back to Iliad and Neiad with a smug look. Neiad had lovely light-green hair that looked like fresh grass. Since they were twins, their faces were identical, but the hair color made them easy to tell apart.
“Little one, do you like flowers?”
Iliad asked out of the blue. I nodded vigorously.
Neiad flicked his finger.
“Here, take this.”
“Ooh!”
How did he do that?!
*Swish.*
Blue vines emerged from Neiad’s sleeve, traveled across the table, and right in front of me, a pure white flower popped into bloom. The vines tucked it behind my ear before sliding back to Neiad.
“Little one, you know I’m an adopted child just like you, right?”
I was grinning with joy as Uncle explained, “I possess abilities related to the plant kingdom, specifically crops. I met and married my wife, who had abilities related to flowers. Neiad inherited our blood and was born with plant-related abilities.”
“That’s cool!”
I had learned about that in Teacher Cedric’s class. Plant-related abilities were vital in Pashayen, where the salty soil made it hard for crops to grow.
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ blows a fond kiss toward Nein and Neiad.]
“Then, what about Iliad Oppa?”
“Ah, Iliad is…”
Uncle paused for a moment. Then, looking at Iliad, he said, “Hmm, showing you is better than explaining, but… would you like to hear it?”
“Yes, Dad!”
But what was I supposed to hear?