The thing she found was a fossil. Yup… a fossil of a perfectly preserved being that was still alive inside that stone.
It was a being that was technically lost, but right now, there was one before me in the unidentifiable object section of this treasury.
The things in this place were all very, very, rare, unbelievable, and something that even my eyes could provide little information about. But this one was the most amazing of them.
It was something that I would only be able to use in the future and, as it was a parasitic being, I had to be strong enough to gain control over this thing.
I was confident I could do that much, but not now.
'If I actually free it and try it right now, I would just be committing a dumb suicide.
It was some of the few old Solnova-using creatures that could only live by relying on a partner, host, or… a weak individual that they could use as a temporary shell.
They vanished long ago, but this one before me… I knew I could resurrect it with appropriate things.
'But… not now.'
The hosts of the parasites received tremendous strength. But at the same time, the sacrifices would be just as great…
It consumed the total energy of the individual, so death would be just a step away from them if they were weak or had low energy pools.
'Anyway…'
I found my three things and returned just in time.
Rein was already here, happily chatting with mom…
They looked good together, but Rein had found something good for herself.
It was a skill, naturally, and it was perfect for her too.
"Found something good?" She asked as she hugged me.
She was now open enough to do this stuff before some close people, but she was still shy.
'Cute…'
Nodding at her with a smile, I patted her back.
"Something good, something good for Chry, and something very good for the future."
She shook her head as we finished our little hug and looked into each other's eyes.
'Bastard. Thinking about someone else even in this kind of moment. Haaa…
So? What did you find in this treasury?'
'A secret~.'
I grinned, and she knew I wasn't going to tell her anything, so she just nodded and ended the question.
"Huhu. Looks like Eon got some good things~. Mama's happy~!"
She hugged me and then added her in this hug, too.
"So now dinner with the jerk emperor?"
Mom was upset while saying that, but she couldn't do anything about this.
She actually didn't like the emperor, but she didn't argue about the invitation from the emperor himself.
I didn't mind it, he wasn't totally a bad person yet, and she knew I would be fine even if something happened there.
Nothing would happen, but still…
"It will be fine, mom. I will be alright and be back by the time the ball starts."
I reassured her and if that wasn't enough…
"Celes and I are with this dummy, too. At least nothing would happen before he enters the dining hall."
[[ "Yes~! I'm here~!" ]]
Celes set down on her head and reassured herself.
And that much was enough to reassure my worry-worry mom.
It was going to be fine, hopefully, so I just hugged her back.
'There's emperor's crystal butterfly too. It would be fun meeting an older one…'
I was excited to meet some of the four current highest authorities of this empire.
Empress Madeleine also known as (The second coming of Pochimi), empress Aina the (Blue healer), empress Vera (Witch of immortal winds), and emperor August, are some of the greatest characters this empire had ever had, also well-known as (The ruler of flames).
They were at the very least strong people, so my heart was jumping in excitement.
'It is going to be a good experience. And I would meet the imperial princes and princesses so…'
"He's excited."
"I know, sweetie. I know."
It wasn't obvious. They just knew it…
But it was true. The day was about to end after all…
***
"Brother! Did you hear-"
"Yes, yes, Sophie. I heard father invited someone for dinner with him."
In a large, lavish, and shiny hall room, two young boys and a girl were reading some books when this little young girl hurriedly ran in while shouting.
"Sophie! How many times do I have to tell you to not run like that? Sit down!" The other girl shouted at the little one.
Both girls looked similar with their matching light brown hair that looked like a fresh breath of earth, something different from normal brown, but similar.
But the little one had fresh blue eyes while the older girl had golden eyes like the young boy beside her.
The young girl was startled to see her sister, the other girl, in this place. Only the boy she sat beside was usually there, so she wasn't expecting her sister and another brother here.
Well, it was better that all of them were here, so the little girl started talking with even more excitement.
"Yes~! So, I heard that dad and moms met this amazing person and were so interested that they invited them for a private dinner! Can you believe that~?"
The young girl with little pointed ears was excited. It was natural, after all. Even they haven't had a private dinner with their father aside from some special occasions.
The other girl with similar pointed hair was interested in this news, but there were certainly qualified people to have a private audience with their father.
And their father and mothers had gone to the annual auction where many famous, rich, and important people gathered. It wasn't unnatural that they met some interesting person and invited them for dinner.
The weak-looking boy beside her was looking at the little girl with a smile, enjoying her happy face and cheerful expression.
The other one though, for who she had run this far, wasn't much interested in this talk.
"Yes! I also heard they are someone young like you~!"
Now, this piece of information surprised the older girl. It was their first time hearing that their father, the great emperor of the greatest nation, would invite someone young for a private dinner.
They must be too extraordinary to have gained this amazing reward that even they hadn't been able to achieve.
She was surprised and if the one saying this all was this little girl with special gifts; she knew she could believe those words.
Still, she was surprised and there was some anger boiling up inside her, but she didn't let it out. She just set there and continued reading.
The boy beside her was still simply smiling as he handed the little girl a glass of water.
The little girl thanked him with a warm smile and looked at the brother that was still not interested in anything she was saying.
He was indifferent to all this, despite the matter being of such great impotence.
But she knew her next words would attract the attention of this indifferent person, and she was excited to see his reaction. So, a smirk appeared on her face as she put down the glass of water.
"I also heard that miss Reinelle was there, and she looked gorgeous~!"
"What?! Really!?"
And as she knew, as all three of them knew, the stoic boy with light indigo hair and golden eyes jerked his head towards her and asked that with wide-open eyes.
The young girl giggled at this reaction and nodded with confidence.
"She greeted father and mothers with the lady auction master and her family for some reason. But I'm not sure about this because there were only very small rumors."
She wasn't sure. It was a rare word from the mouth of this youngest sister of theirs.
It meant that the information could only be half true. But that was enough to believe that there was a solid probability that it was true.
"And… I think she might attend today's dance you all will be going to~!"
She thought. It meant there was a greater probability that it would come true.
And this excited the boy even more.
"Really?! Thanks, Sophie! Just tell me if you need anything and I will bring it when returning!"
And after saying that, he ran out of the room to start preparing for the night ball. He had to be perfect now that he knew someone special was going to attend that thing too.
His behavior was cute for a little girl, so she laughed and almost fell down from the chair while laughing.
"You dummy..."
But a strange wind blew out of nowhere and caught her in the air.
She flew and landed just beside the older girl.
"Read me a story sister~!" She requested and tried to stand down from the chair, but her big sister shook her head.
"Nope. You will fall asleep like always. You still haven't had dinner, so you can't sleep.
Go help brother Claud. Maybe he will need your amazing expertise."
"Okey~!"
And after that, the little girl ran out just as fast as she entered this room. The energy she possessed was really something else.
"Sophie… Sophie."
She was cute, young, smart, gifted, and loved by all her siblings. They envied her, but more than that, they loved her.
"Hmm? Alph? Isn't that book… upside down?"
The boy with bright red hair with orangish ends and golden eyes who had a visibly weak constitution was reading the book upside down. Well, certainly not right?
"Oh?! Right!"
So he hurriedly turned it back and returned to his reading with an embarrassed blush on his pale face.
"Dumbass…"
She shook her head and returned to her reading, too.
This youngest brother of hers was the same age as her, but he was just too clumsy, weak, and somewhat dumb. But he was a good person, so no one at least hated him yet.
He was also not much special among the imperial princes. Even calling him the weakest would be best.
Still, he was fine and was their brother, so she was fine with him. He wasn't someone who would get a personal dinner with their father anytime soon.
So… she was more interested in this special young person who was so special that even her father couldn't help but want to invite them to a private dinner.
She was interested. And maybe, just maybe, this special person will be present at the night ball today.
She was already looking forward to it because of the usual chocolate fountain of her favorite chocolate, but now there was another reason to attend that boring thing.
'Let's see…'
She continued reading her special book on chocolates and the boy beside her gave her a look as if she was cute.
Not in that way, though. She was a cute sister with cuter habits and reactions.
Still, that was her, so he just shook his head and returned to reading his storybook.
It was a fun story about a rabbit and turtle, so he was having fun…
