Ch.33. Sione Sianella (3)

For the past week, Sione had shown the epitome of laziness.

As if she wanted to show off how fat had accumulated all over her body, I had never seen her do any proper exercise.

Her daily routine consisted of the simple yet irritating behavior of burying herself in blankets and munching on snacks, just like the first day.

The fortunate thing was that after the incident in front of the dining hall, she had been showing me a smiling face every day and had refrained from making snide remarks like before.

Of course, I did receive unpleasant stares from two men while waiting for her in front of the dining hall.

But aside from that, things were better than expected.

And so, Sione and I spent our days keeping to our own territories without much conversation.

My assessment of Sione Sianella after observing her for a week was simple.

She was a soulless person living a purposeless life like a shut-in, just passing each day.

Sione was lethargic no matter what she did, and she was always on edge trying to protect her room as her territory.

Then today at noon, for whatever reason, she came out of her room.

“The sunshine is warm and the breeze is cool. The weather is nice.”

“It’s perfect weather for a light stroll around the area.”

“Indeed.”

She must have been in a good mood, as she unusually responded normally to my comment.

Not only that, though it was barely noticeable beneath her fat, the corners of her mouth were slightly turned up.

She began to walk around with leisurely steps, unlike her previous hurried pace.

“Where are you heading?”

“I’m thinking of going to the garden. Around this time, daffodils and irises bloom there, making it quite beautiful.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Anticipation is a form of entertainment too. Besides daffodils and irises, you’ll also be able to see tulips and daisies.”

Sione was undoubtedly excited.

For the first time, her usually dull eyes seemed to sparkle with life.

I never imagined Sione would casually name flowers like this…

Does she have some connection to the garden? Or is it simply a hobby?

Whatever it was, it was refreshing to see that she wasn’t just a glutton interested only in snacks she could devour by herself.

She had been going back and forth just to get snacks after all.

After walking a bit more, we arrived at a small garden.

As Sione had said, yellow daffodils and purple irises beautifully adorned the garden.

Tulips and daisies were also blooming vibrantly between them.

“They’re in full bloom. It was worth looking forward to.”

“You’re stating the obvious.”

“Do you like flowers, Lady Sione?”

Sione stopped in her tracks and turned around at my question.

As a result, I, who had been following right behind her, had no choice but to stop as well.

Ah—did I step on a landmine?

Sione quietly looked at me.

I started to feel unnecessarily tense.

I just tried to make conversation because she seemed to be in a good mood.

Surely she wouldn’t respond in that prickly manner again, would she?

Fortunately, she said nothing, turned her gaze away from me, and looked at the vast cluster of daffodils blooming to the side.

“Yes, I do quite like flowers.”

This is truly unusual.

To think there would be a day when Sione would be this docile.

The thought crossed my mind that this was an opportunity I wouldn’t normally have.

Would it be okay to continue the conversation a bit more?

“…May I ask why?”

“Because flowers bloom. Breaking free from their tight, dark seeds, they take root, sprout, and continuously strive until they finally bloom.”

Sione’s gaze returned to me.

“Isn’t that quite admirable?”

I nodded in response to Sione, who asked with a smile on her face.

It was so awkward how different her demeanor was from usual.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t say anything more and spent a while just looking around the garden.

In the midst of this, the corners of Sione’s mouth, which had been slightly raised while looking at the flowers, dropped as if they had never been up when another person arrived in the garden.

“Sion…”

A growling voice came from Sione’s mouth.

It was a voice filled with more wariness than any I had heard so far.

Sion, if it’s Sion…

The Sianella family, a martial house renowned for their sensational sword talents and distinguished knights.

Sione’s younger brother, who was born with exceptional talent as a priest rather than with a sword in such a martial house.

And not just mediocre talent, but talent that could definitely be called prodigious.

After all, his high-purity Divine Power was by no means that of an ordinary priest.

In addition, his appearance, which resembled his mother’s, was close to beautiful.

Sion’s silver hair was even more neatly and prettily arranged than Sione’s.

And his eyes weren’t dull like Sione’s usually were.

Sion raised the corner of his mouth in a sinister smile as he looked at Sione.

Sione stood still, showing a cold, numb expression toward Sion, who was slowly approaching her.

“What brings Lady Sione here with that heavy body of yours? I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“…I didn’t expect to see you here either. If you have no business with me, I’ll be on my way.”

“Sister, really. You have all the time in the world, yet you rush. Do siblings need a specific reason to talk to each other?”

Sion began to taunt Sione quite maliciously.

What he was subtly disparaging was clear.

Sione’s terrible lethargy and laziness, and her lack of talent that made it hard to believe they shared the same blood.

Seeing Sione not react at all to such blatant insults, it was clear she had been subjected to such harassment for a long time.

It was obvious without even having to see it.

“Ah, right. Have you heard the news lately, Sister?”

What news could Sione possibly hear when she’s cooped up in her room all day eating snacks I bring her?

The only news she could hear would be the types of refreshments prepared each day.

As expected, Sione, who had no opportunity to know anything, remained silent.

“Big Sister has already reached a level where she can match Duke Diolia, unlike someone else. Isn’t that amazing? At this rate, I think Big Sister might become a Sword Master before Mother.”

This time, there was definitely a reaction from Sione to Sion’s words.

Wrinkles formed on her forehead when she heard the term Sword Master.

At the same time, Sion’s unpleasant smile deepened as if he had been waiting for this.

“…Sion, why are you telling me this specifically?”

“Isn’t it natural for you to know how well your family is doing? After all, you are still a member of the Sianella family, no matter what.”

The corner of Sion’s mouth twisted unpleasantly as he said this.

He looked down on his sister and elevated Siabel and himself.

If he had spoken in a more playful manner, it wouldn’t have been so uncomfortable for me to just stand here…

The savage silence made it really awkward for me, a third party, to remain in this place.

“And these days…”

Sion’s words, boasting of his superiority and comparing Sione’s inferiority, didn’t end there.

He mentioned how Siabel had recently gained some new insight about swords, or how his own Divine Power purity had increased even more.

Each time Sion brought up their achievements, Sione’s sense of inferiority seemed to inflate.

This must be why Sione growled as soon as she saw him—because Sion had been taunting her like this all along.

Even I would have punched him in the temple if my younger sibling had been grating on my nerves like this.

But Sione didn’t get angry even once; she just clenched her chubby hands into round fists.

Other than that, she showed no reaction.

“Well, that’s the update on me and Big Sister… and I see you’re still the same as always, Sister.”

“Is that the end of your story?”

“Well, more or less? I wish you’d share something about yourself too, but… looking at your state, I doubt there’s anything worth hearing. Even though you lack talent, wouldn’t it be better to at least swing a sword than sleep all day?”

“…I’ll take note of that. I’ll try to make an effort from now on.”

It was clear that her promise of effort was just empty words.

In response to Sione’s words, though no sound escaped, it was evident to anyone that Sion was mocking her endlessly.

Sione, seemingly tired of this conversation, began to move.

“If there’s nothing more to discuss, I’ll be on my way.”

Sion responded with a sneer, simply shrugging his shoulders.

Sione brushed past him, and I quietly followed her.

As we tried to leave that place where such an unpleasant conversation had taken place…

Sion, who had been boasting about his magic to his sister to the point of annoyance, addressed me.

“By the way, Mother mentioned that the man who became Sione’s personal servant can actually handle Mana? And that despite his birth, he has various talents…”

When I looked at him, he smiled brightly.

“Mother seemed to find you quite interesting. For someone like that to end up as just Sione’s personal servant, fate is truly cruel.”

I couldn’t readily respond to Sion’s words.

I wasn’t sure if he was complimenting me or insulting me to my face.

It was hard to tell.

“As time passes, you’ll naturally start to get sick of Sione too. When that time comes, come find me.”

“…”

I silently bowed my head to him.

Right now, catching up to Sione, who had already fled far away, was more important than thinking about Sion’s words.

If Sione gets upset because I talked with Sion for too long, I can’t imagine how much she’ll torment me in her room.

Besides, I’ve already messed with Sion’s personal attendant once.

There’s no reason for me to voluntarily go to a place where there’s a workplace colleague I’ve had a confrontation with.

I hurried past Sion to chase after Sione.

I successfully caught up to her again.

“…If you walk like that, you’ll suffocate again.”

Unlike before, she was walking at a fast pace without stopping, and it was obvious she would soon stand still and gasp for breath.

Yet, the fact that she wasn’t easily panting this time and just kept moving suggested that what she had just heard from Sion had quite disturbed her.

I shook my head as I watched Sione waddling hurriedly to take refuge in her room.

“I should bring her some cold water.”

Her way of suppressing her anger wasn’t by shouting, but by retreating to her room, which, at least to my eyes, looked pitiful.

It would be good to let her cool her head by quietly drinking some cold water.

* * *

“I’ve brought cold water.”

I quietly entered Sione’s room.

I was about to head to the bed where she would usually be lying, but this time, I couldn’t find her there.

For some reason, she was sitting on a leather chair in her room, deeply lost in thought.

I carefully placed a glass on the desk in front of the chair and poured cold water.

While doing so, I could hear her muttering to herself.

“Has my sister already reached the level of Sword Expert…?”

She had mentioned that her eldest sister, Siabel, had become skilled enough to match a knight named Diolia.

Siabel’s personal attendant had been boasting about it endlessly.

It seems the knight Siabel had dueled with was at the level of a Sword Expert.

Sword Expert…

Hunters on Earth, especially those who used swords, also categorized themselves in similar ways, like Sword Runner and such.

Among them, Expert was just below Master.

Though there seemed to be differences within the Expert level—high, middle, and low—being at the Expert level itself was a testament to being an outstanding knight.

In the past, unless they were high-level Experts, they weren’t much of a threat to me.

But for the current me, who can’t even summon spirits, let alone use the power of a spirit archer, it’s an unattainable level.

I really wonder how I ended up in this state…

Breaking free from my momentary distraction, I observed Sione again.

She was looking at her round hands, which she had spread out.

“…Compared to that, no matter how hard I try to wield a sword, I’m barely at the entrance of Sword User. Isn’t this too unfair? Haha.”

A weak laugh escaped from Sione’s mouth.

The level of perfectly timing Mana usage to enhance one’s physical abilities during combat.

Even the level of a high Sword User seemed like a distant mountain for Sione.

Sword User is not a low level, as it’s a stage where one can fight using Mana.

But if the standard becomes the Sianella family, it would be different.

From what I’ve heard, all members of the Sianella family so far have been strong individuals who have at least reached the level of Sword Expert.

Perhaps because of this, self-contempt could be felt from Sione’s expression, hidden beneath her fat.

It was then.

[A quest has been generated.]

“Persuasion”

“Your Sione Sianella wasn’t always a hopeless, lazy noble from the beginning. However, unlike her family members, the diligent and persistent Sione didn’t have talent in swords or Divine Power. Consumed by public evaluation and self-loathing, she has fallen into self-contempt due to the ever-widening gap with her sister. Encourage Sione Sianella and help her regain her old vigor within 3 days.”

“Success: Increase in Sione Sianella’s affection towards you”

“Failure: Acceleration of Sione Sianella’s collapse”

“If only I had proper talent.”

Sione’s whisper, with her expression completely distorted.

After reading the status window that suddenly appeared, I calmly began in response to Sione’s lament-like mutter.

“Then why not find a talent other than swordsmanship?”