Is My Absolute Fave a Genius? I Already Knew It!

After that, the greenhouse and the library became my playground and study area, while Brother and Bruno-kun started to meet up to research the melons.

These guys are nine years old, right? I’m not mistaking their ages, am I? Their conversations were not what nine-year-olds should be having.

Apparently, Bruno-kun could read detailed data for plants1, and he was going to submit a report to Father about the melons; it contained much more meticulous details compared to data collected by normal Appraisal magic. 

I was also looking at the report from the side.

“Because it retains mana, when using magic that releases mana outside the body, the effect will be less powerful. On the other hand, if magic is used to improve the physical ability of internal circulation, it will be extremely powerful…”

“Amazing, Alba. You can read it properly.”

“I’m happy to be praised by Brother…! But I’m already five years old, and I’m also studying hard.”

“Yeah, I know. You’re always doing your best. You’re doing great. But, do it in moderation.”

“Yes!”

He stroked my head and I couldn’t help but be enraptured. Because, you know. He was smiling and patting me on the head. It must be a dream, right? Haa, maybe I’m dreaming right now…

As I pinched my own cheek and realized it was reality from the pain, Bruno-kun, who had laughed with a dumbfounded look on his face, muttered, “You guys are doing it again.” 

“You guys are really close, aren’t you? Aren’t you getting sick of it?”

“Nope.”

When we both answered at the same time, Bruno-kun looked even more fed up with us.

Bruno-kun, who usually wore fake smiles on his face, had stopped doing that when only in front of the two of us. But that didn’t change the fact that he was a caring person.

If I choked or coughed even a little bit, he and Brother would fly over and grow cough medicine plants on the spot. By the way, these cough medicine plants were still growing in about five places in our yard. 

Father told me to let them grow because then they would be ready to use if I got sick on the spot. It was quite funny to see big, leafy plants growing in the middle of a well-curated garden, but I was glad to see that he prioritised me over appearances. I still felt sorry nonetheless.

“Isn’t Bruno also very close with your little brother?”

“Our relationship isn’t bad, but it’s not as good as it is with you guys. And my brother is still young too… That’s right. He’s five years old, same as Alba. Eh, Wait. Actually, Alba-kun, are you a genius…?”

“Huh?”

When Bruno-kun muttered as if he had just realized what he had said, my brother and I both stopped moving.

Wait. Where does he get the idea that I’m a genius? I’m even struggling to listen to my tutor’s lessons. I can’t remember anything, especially history. When asked about each territory’s specialty products, I could only name those of father’s territory.

“Because you can understand our conversation, Alba-kun. Whenever I talk to my little brother about this kind of research, he just looks at me like ‘What the hell is he talking about?’.”

“Ahh… I thought it was a given for other kids his age to understand since it’s so natural with Alba.. I’ve hardly ever had a conversation with other children than Alba. We rarely even go visit houses of our relatives or those we’re connected to.”

“It’s not a good idea to have Alba-kun travel long distances. But look at this. I’m sure he understood the meaning of this report when he read it. Isn’t that right, Alba-kun?”

“I did understand the content, but…I’m not a genius or anything like that. Please stop overestimating me, it’ll make me feel down after my real ability is revealed and you get disappointed. The geniuses here are Bruno and Brother. This is not the kind of report a nine-year-old would write.”

“But look at the way you said that. No normal five-year-old would say something like that. If it were my brother, he’d probably get all excited and make a big fuss by exclaiming, ‘I’m a genius!’ and get scolded by our father.”

“That’s a little… embarrassing. Normally.”

It was definitely impossible for me to get excited just by this. Because I knew my own capabilities. My memory only showed amazing power when it came to my brother; I was hopeless in anything else.

In the large greenhouse, besides us at the table, there were a few people walking around. They all seemed to be people that Father trusted. Some of them were apparently Bruno’s relatives, and sometimes they gave me sweets. It was a strange sight to see two nine-year-olds running the greenhouse among the adults.

My hand was still clumsy as a five-year-old, and my writing was ridiculously messy. As I was practicing my writing skills in order to write the letters beautifully, Brother and Bruno-kun had left their seats and were headed towards the melon tree. They were both under the tree looking up, touching it, and talking to other adults.

If they’re not geniuses, can anyone else ever be called one?

My ability was simply that I had knowledge of my previous life wherein I adored Brother. I didn’t have a detailed memory, so I couldn’t even say that I had full life experience that included the number of years I had lived in my previous life. Even if I could grow up into an adult at this rate, I think I would only be a burden to Brother and the Duke’s family, with my half-baked studies and lack of any outstanding qualities. 

…Perhaps, it would be better for the world if I became the little brother in Brother’s fleeting memory like how the original story went.

I plopped down on my desk while falling into my occasional negative mode.

As usual, my writing was messy, to the point where I almost sighed. Fuu, I exhaled, raised my head, and picked up my pen again.

In the past, I used to draw a lot of sketches and post them on SNS2 because of my adoration for my absolute fave, but now I didn’t draw sketches at all. I got too busy adoring my absolute fave who was right in front of me, smiling, talking, and moving.

But then I saw the two of them side by side, and I moved my hand.

I figured that now I wouldn’t be able to spend as much time with Brother as before. Even at this moment, I was the only one who couldn’t keep up with their conversation, so I had been left sitting at this table alone.

By the way, I had drawn a sketch of Orsis-sama having tea with Bruno-kun with a big smile on his face, and for some reason, it had suddenly become a big hit on SNS, and that was how I became famous. However, my SNS account was almost exclusively about Orsis-sama, so my followers were filtered, gathering only Orsis-sama’s fans; every night, we were heated up with passionate talks about Orsis-sama. How nostalgic. 

People, you know what, I’m now adoring my Orsis-sama in real life.

The lines on the paper were still poorly marked, but I was relieved to see that I still had sense in drawing. If I were a painter in this world, I would probably have no other raison d’etre except for my brother.

I was so excited that I was continuing to draw when my brother returned to the table.

“I’m sorry I left you alone. Did you miss me?”

“I was drawing. I’m fine.”

“Drawing? Alba can draw? Let me see.”

“I’m not very good at it, so it’s not worth showing.”

If it was a drawing in my prime, I would have been happy to show it to you already. Just as I was thinking that, my brother peeked through my hand.

“Uwaa… eh, did Alba draw this?”

“Yes.”

“Is that, me? And Bruno?”

“Eh, how’d you know?”

I got carried away and had drawn my absolute fave with his buddy. I felt uncomfortable that my drawing of the adult version of Brother had been seen and even noticed by him.

Bruno-kun peeked in and muttered, “Eh, you’re so good!”

“Alba-kun, you’re amazing. Is this me and Orsis? But I look so mature. I’m sure we’ll look like this when we grow up. Are you a genius?”

“You give me too much credit, Bruno-kun…”

“I was just stating a fact. But why did you draw us as adults?”

“I just wanted to see a grown-up Brother.”

He’s going to be absolutely cool and beautiful and amazing and wonderful and unbeatable. I’d love to see that.

The moment I replied in a carefree manner, I was hugged by Brother and Bruno-kun.

Although I was flattered, I was feeling confused about what was going on until Bruno-kun muttered in a nasal voice, “I’ll do my best.”

He then continued, “I will do my VERY best so that Alba-kun can grow up with us.”

“Me too. I can’t imagine my life without Alba. I’ll also do my best, so Alba, believe me, you can grow up properly.”

My brother’s voice also sounded a little nasally.

”Oh,” I said, realizing my blunder.

It was as if I had unknowingly implied that I wouldn’t live long enough until then. That certainly was heartbreaking for the both of them. 

But you know what, I never intended to die, at all. Even if I had to crawl on the ground or hide a melon under my clothes, I’d still shamelessly cling on to life. That’s why I’d gone on that trip in an attempt to prolong my life. Although in the end, I couldn’t do anything without my stepfather and had only returned home with a heavy heart.