Ch.9893 – Imperial Princess Handling Manual

After finishing adjusting his clothes, Hiasen spoke to NoName in a suddenly serious tone.

“Estasha… Honestly, I wish you would stop coming to see us.”

NoName couldn’t understand what he meant. She decided to hear him out first.

“…Why?”

“You only come here when you’re pushed to the edge of a cliff… You said you finished everything you wanted to do. What more are you trying to accomplish?”

Here we go again. It was the same old worry Hiasen always cuckoo-clocked about.

But Hiasen’s eyes looked so sad that she swallowed the dismissive response she was about to give.

“That’s not why I came today.”

“Then why?”

NoName looked at her friends on the hill, receiving desserts from the Kaizen Empire that Niobe was handing out.

“I’m not having any particular difficulties. I’m eating well, sleeping well. I have many cute friends, even if they’re a handful. I just genuinely wanted to see you all lately.”

“We’re not real. Don’t let yourself be tied to the past anymore.”

“I know… I know… But what can I do when I keep thinking about you all?”

NoName wasn’t ignorant of the truth.

That the Alchemist was nothing but an illusion from beginning to end.

At first, you could enter your memories and briefly feel that happiness again, but the emptiness that follows when you realize you must return to reality comes right after.

Also, the more the characters implemented by the Alchemist became self-aware, the lower their implementation rate would become, and they were destined to never meet again.

The thirteen-year-old Hiasen knew this, but the ten-year-old Niobe didn’t.

In this precariously maintained false world, Hiasen genuinely worried about his half-sister.

“I just came today to cheer up our friends, so don’t worry.”

“Can I really believe that?”

“The kids apparently heard me using Raul-Sist magic in my sleep. So I felt bad for worrying them and brought them here for a fun experience.”

NoName couldn’t allow the pajama party she had organized to go to waste because of her mistake.

Since the conversation had drifted this way, NoName decided to bring up her new life.

“By the way, in the world I’m living in now, magic costs money?”

“…? What do you mean magic costs money?”

“I’m living in a world where they tax mana. Isn’t that interesting? That’s why I won’t be able to visit often even if I want to.”

NoName slapped Hiasen’s back a couple of times to lighten the gloomy atmosphere.

“I’m already struggling to pay off my debts, so be grateful I came to see you all without thinking of the consequences.”

She already had to pay for the Akashic Record, and now she had used the Alchemist too.

As long as Professor Cheon was there to pay any amount immediately, the constraint called capital that controlled NoName was practically nonexistent.

“Esha, you still haven’t fixed your habit of spending money recklessly!”

“I’ll never fix it. Why think about saving when you should think about earning as much as you spend?”

Through experiences across multiple lives, NoName had learned that saving money ultimately left her with nothing, which explained her excessive spending habits.

Back at the picnic spot, Yuna and Haru were huddled with Niobe, whispering among themselves.

Niobe’s shoulders were shaking with laughter about something amusing.

Usually, this was a precursor to some mischievous prank.

NoName approached quietly on tiptoe to find out what they were talking about.

“Hehe. Should I really tell you? What color panties Esha likes best?”

“Niobe, do you want a smack? What are you telling them while I’m gone?”

“Eeeeeek! E-E-Esha? When did you get here…?”

* * *

Niobe, who had received a knock on the head from NoName, made snipping sounds with scissors in the air.

She was still rubbing the spot where she’d been hit, as if it was still sore.

“Drum roll please! Now, let’s begin!”

Niobe decided to cut NoName’s messy hair as an apology.

NoName’s vehement refusal was irrelevant.

“Esha really hates when someone touches her hair carelessly. There are a few procedures. You should all remember them well!”

NoName gently closed her eyes, letting out a small laugh as she watched Niobe showing off in front of the children.

Yuna’s eyes, in particular, grew serious. NoName was known to extremely dislike anyone touching her hair.

From what they’d heard, she never went to hair salons and always cut her hair herself.

Niobe claimed she had methods as she sat NoName on a makeshift chair and wrapped a white silk cloth around her neck.

“First, you hug her from behind like this!”

“Hug her?”

“Yes. Hug her tight! Esha isn’t ticklish on her neck, so it’s okay to embrace her like this.”

With scissors hooked on her pinky finger, Niobe wrapped her arms around NoName.

The tension in her shoulders seemed to ease a little.

“How is it, Esha?”

“A bit suffocating…”

“Did everyone hear that? You need to hug this tightly, okay?”

After what felt like two minutes, the arms wrapped around NoName finally loosened.

Next, Niobe worked her fingers through NoName’s hair, grabbed her shoulders, and began massaging them.

“You also need to massage her shoulders thoroughly so Esha won’t be startled later!”

Though her small hands seemed too tiny to be effective, her expression showed she was more enthusiastic than anyone.

“Is that it now?” Haru asked.

“No! There’s still one more thing! Would you all like to make your hands into pincer shapes like this?”

Niobe demonstrated first.

She then used her fingers to pinch and rub NoName’s earlobes that were visible through her hair.

“Like this, tickle tickle~ Now you try. Tickle tickle~”

Wondering if they really should, the girls cautiously touched their fingers to NoName’s ears, which kept twitching.

“It’s so soft…”

“It really is.”

“Be careful not to let wind get into her ears! They’re super sensitive!”

Her earlobes, teased by the girls, turned slightly red with warmth.

But the expression of the girl with closed eyes remained calm.

“When you’re done, you ask for permission. Esha, can I cut your hair now?”

“Yes…”

“That means success! Brother, come help!”

“Why am I always the one who has to cut it?”

“Because I’m not good at cutting, hehe.”

Hiasen took the scissors from Niobe.

Snip, snip~

Hiasen began trimming NoName’s hair slowly so as not to startle her.

With the sound of crossing scissors, the hair that had grown unevenly gradually found its proper place.

Black hair showered down onto the grass like rain.

“Would you two like to brush her hair?”

Yuna and Haru helped remove the remaining loose hairs by brushing from both sides.

“All done. You can open your eyes now.”

When the gentle voice reached her, NoName softly opened her eyes.

Beside her, Yuna and Haru were looking at her with sparkling eyes.

“How is it? Is it okay?”

Without a mirror, she couldn’t check her appearance.

NoName asked the girls with an uncertain voice.

“Yes! NoName, you look pretty!”

“Aren’t you going to cut more? It still seems long.”

“No. If we cut too much, you won’t be able to come back next time.”

Hoping that someday they would meet again.

NoName kept stroking her hair for a long time, as if pleased with it.

* * *

NoName said goodbye to them.

There was still some time left for the Alchemist to remain active, but she wanted to give Yuna and Haru a chance now.

“It’s your turn now. Yuna, would you like to go first?”

“Me? Um… what do I need to do?”

“Just think of the happiest moment in your life. Then we’ll transport there.”

“Huh? I don’t know…”

[Recursive Casting: Alchemist]

* * *

A familiar scene unfolded before their eyes.

Cephiron Academy, Class 2-A.

Yuna was extremely flustered by the unexpected situation.

The date March 28th was written in the upper right corner of the blackboard.

It wasn’t difficult to recognize it was from this week.

“Hurry up and come play gonggi! What are you doing?”

The children at the back of the classroom were shouting loudly.

They were calling to the three girls.

Yuna buried her face in NoName’s back, embarrassed, and said in a small voice:

“I don’t need to see any more…! Let’s move on to Haru.”

“Oh… so playing gonggi was fun? I’m glad I taught you.”

“Yes… because we can all play together…”

Perhaps Yuna was renewing her happiest moment day by day.

NoName gently patted Yuna’s head as she seemed genuinely embarrassed.

“Haru, are you ready?”

“Huh? Yeah…”

It was Haru’s turn last.

It wasn’t easy to predict what scene the Alchemist would show.

The happiest moment determined by the subconscious might differ from what one currently thinks.

Haru kept her eyes tightly shut and continued to wish.

For a moment when her mother was still alive.

There were too many things left unsaid, including “I love you.”