Chapter 41: The villainess’ happy walk (part 2)

It was clear that she was planning to entice Kayla to come to the Azbel family’s mansion one day.

Then Kayla looked at me, then she hugged me and handed me a small box.

“Is this…?”

“A gift!”

It was not an ordinary gift. I was sensing a tremendous amount of mana from the small box.

I wasn’t even able sense it before Kayla handed it to me.

Sensing that it was something strange, I immediately opened the box.

What I saw was a golden pearl.

I immediately turned my head towards Kayla. But Kayla, who was in front of me a moment ago, had disappeared.

So I hurriedly asked Shael, “Kayla! Where is she?”

“I was about to ask you that as well…”

Fortunately, I was able to find traces of using magic. Tracing Kayla’s mana signature, I hurriedly spoke to Shael.

“Let’s go to the mansion first.”

Shael nodded and we went to the teleportation magic circle leading to the mansion. Shael agreed so readily because she wanted to cook the recipe as soon as possible.

After confirming that Shael had entered the mansion, I immediately turned around and started running.

I must find Kayla! 

The pearl Kayla gave me was the reason I was feeling so desperate.

This was a world of a romantic fantasy novel with no logic. This was a world where the male protagonists had strange personalities and just a cough from the female protagonist could resolve everything.

But most readers didn’t really care. Because it was all about fun.

So there were a lot of things with settings that made no sense at all. And one of them was a golden pearl that could be found on the Fahebrus Beach.

A pearl that allowed its user to travel to the past at any point in time for 3 days.

In other words, it was an incredibly cheat item.

In the original novel, the only person who would use such cheat item was, of course, only the main character, Clie.

But now, it was in my hands. I was so sure of it, because I could feel a massive amount of mana flowing out of it.

This pearl was exactly the item that was mentioned in the novel.

And it was Kayla who gave me this pearl.

So, naturally, a question popped into my head.

She has the same hair color as Shael, and incredible strength for a five-year-old.

Even that ferocious beast became tame in front of her. She was similar to the villainess, and had a weird taste.

And, most importantly, it was the desserts she cooked. The desserts that the villainess liked more than the ones I made.

Those were the reasons why I was feeling doubtful. So I ran while thinking about Kayla’s actions.

And then, I was able to find Kayla. She was waiting for me, holding an old journal.

“Kayla.”

“Take it!”

Kayla passed the old journal to me. It was a journal written in my unique handwriting.

My doubt was gradually replaced with confidence, and I immediately used detection magic.

If my guess was right, Kayla’s parents wouldn’t have let her come unprepared, or without any protection.

However, the detection magic found nothing. In response, I poured all my mana into using the detection magic.

Then, I saw many magic circles stacked on top of Kayla’s body.

There were protective magic circles that I couldn’t even grasp the power of.

So, there was a reason why the ferocious beast became quiet.

Suddenly, my doubt became a certainty, and I looked at Kayla. 

Kayla looked at me as well.

I said, while gazing into Kayla’s eyes.

“Kayla Baslett.”

“No! Kayla is my alias.”

At those words, I looked at the child again. If the name Kayla was an alias… I had to ask for her real name, not an alias.

But the child shook her head. Rather, she asked me instead.

“Can you guess?” 

She had a familiar smile that was similar to Shael.

‘She’s asking me to guess her name?’ 

How would I guess her name without any clues? It was impossible.

But, maybe what I had to do was not guess. 

If I’m right… if this child is really going to be born because of me… then her name will also come from me.

Then what would be a good name? I didn’t want to just casually think up a name without any thoughts.

But there was one name that immediately popped into my head. It was like fate.

It was something no one could understand. Naming a child was a matter of a moment’s thought.

However, I was convinced that it had to be this name.

I said at the same time, reflecting on the name that I would’ve come up with someday.

“Ruelle.”

The child just quietly watched me. She was waiting for me to say more.

So I said, while engraving each letter in my heart.

“Ruelle Baslett.”

Ruelle finally smiled.

At the same time she smiled, her body began to glow with a golden light. And suddenly, Ruelle disappeared.

She had returned to the future. To be precise, to the future me.

I looked at the vacant seat where Ruel had been sitting a moment ago, which was still glowing with light.

That’s one more reason to rehabilitate the villainess.

It was now my goal that I had to achieve somehow.

***

[Shael’s POV]

Shael was walking around her mansion. 

Then Shael lowered her head. It was to check if the recipe was safe.

“…?”

The recipe, which was obviously fine a few moments ago, had turned into a blank piece of paper. However, Shael didn’t get angry.

Because she had memorized the recipe.

Actually, she didn’t remember the exact quantity. But she remembered the ingredients and order.

‘Wouldn’t the taste be similar even if I added more than the intended amount?’

So Shael was able to walk happily.