◇35 A Game of Hanetsuki on Break
A week has passed since training under Yuria’s guidance began.
For me, it’s not an everyday affair—I’m training about once every two days for three hours or so. Though, at the moment, it’s just stamina-building, running around the estate with Estelle. Bianca, on the other hand, seems to be training every day. While she’s at it, I’m studying dance and etiquette alongside Estelle.
Estelle is incredibly talented, absorbing everything like a sponge soaking up water. As expected of the [Saintess], I suppose. Determined not to fall behind, I’ve been putting in a lot of effort myself—and surprisingly, it’s pretty fun.
Geography and history, in particular, are fascinating. For me, it’s like reading the game’s lore book. The founding of nations, political upheavals, revolutions, and the struggles of legendary heroes—it’s all so captivating. That said, we’re not always studying or training. The three of us often play together too.
"Take that!"
"Hya!"
At the training grounds, Estelle and Bianca are smacking a shuttlecock back and forth with hanetsuki paddles—kakon, pakan. It’s a game of hanetsuki, traditional Japanese battledore and shuttlecock. The paddles and shuttlecock were bought from a pawnshop I summoned with [Shop Summoning].
Both of their faces are already marked with ink—circles and Xs drawn as penalties. At first, they were hesitant about this game, but now they’re completely engrossed in it.
What? Why aren’t I joining in, you ask? Just look at my ink-covered face—it’s obvious I’ve been losing spectacularly! So now, I’m watching the finals unfold.
"My lady, His Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Gean have arrived…" came the voice of my maid, Arisa.
"Huh?"
I turned to see Arisa grimacing, alongside Elliott and Gean, who both looked startled.
Oh no. They saw me.
"My lady…? What in the world are you doing…?" Arisa asked, her tone pressing.
"Uh, well, just a little competition! When you lose, this happens!" I replied, forcing a smile.
Arisa’s smiling interrogation was intimidating. I get it—I know this isn’t something a duke’s daughter should be doing! I understand, but those are the rules of the game!
"Sakauraile… you’re up to weird stuff again…" Gean muttered.
"Pfft! What’s that! Even Bianca…!" he burst out laughing.
"Sh-Shut up! You try it! It’s harder than it looks!" Bianca snapped back at Gean, who was cracking up at my ink-smeared face.
That’s right, that’s right—give it a shot!
"Hmph, so you just hit that feathered ball back and forth, right? Easy enough," Gean said, rolling up his sleeves and taking the paddle from Estelle.
Oh, really? The shuttlecock’s air resistance makes its trajectory unpredictable, and controlling your returns is no simple feat. The basic rule we set is a line drawn between the two players—if it falls on your side, you lose. You’ve got one swing to return it.
Bianca served the shuttlecock.
"Here!"
"Whoa!?"
Apparently, it didn’t fall where Jean expected, and though he barely managed to return it, the shuttlecock arced high right in front of Bianca. Her eyes seemed to gleam—kiran.
"Gotcha!"
With a sharp kako!, Bianca smashed it back like a pro, and the shuttlecock stabbed into the ground right at Gean’s feet.
"Urgh…!"
"Heh heh heh. Estelle, the ink!"
"Here you go!"
Estelle cheerfully brought over the ink, and Bianca dipped a brush into it, drawing an impressive Kaiser mustache under Jean’s nose. Pfft.
"Kh… khehe, it suits you pretty well, Gean," Bianca said, stifling a laugh.
"Here’s a mirror," Estelle added, holding one out.
That mirror’s another pawnshop find.
"What the—!? What is this!? Bianca, you little—!" Gean yelped, staring at his reflection.
"Hey, you lost fair and square, so no complaints. What’s it gonna be? Want another round?"
"You bet! Don’t cry about it later!"
Once again, the kakon, pakan of the paddles echoed through the training grounds. They’re bickering, but they sure seem to be having fun.
Bianca and Gean are childhood friends, and they’ve got that no-holds-barred dynamic. Could it be that Bianca hasn’t fallen for Jean yet? Even in the game, her reactions to him always felt like she was confused about her own feelings. It was only when Estelle appeared as a romantic rival that Bianca seemed to realize her love for him.
Wait a sec… does that mean if Estelle and Jean don’t get close, Bianca won’t fall for him? And come to think of it, their bond in the game deepened through training together in the knight order—something that’s not happening now. Hmm… if that’s the case, it might conveniently eliminate the route where Bianca turns against me. But it also feels a bit like I’ve stolen her first love, which leaves a weird taste in my mouth…
"My lady, please wipe your face already," Arisa interrupted my thoughts, holding out a steaming towel.
"Oh, sorry."
Arisa scrubbed my face vigorously. Since we’re using watered-down ink, it came off easily enough. Phew, refreshing. Estelle was wiping her face with a similar towel, while Bianca and Jean kept trading wins and losses.
"So, Elliott, did you need something from me?" I asked.
"Not exactly a pressing matter. I heard Bianca became your attendant, so I came to check in," he replied.
As Jean’s liege, Elliott’s pretty familiar with Bianca too. Guess he’s just stopping by to see how his friend’s doing?
Estelle smiled and spoke up. "My, my. There was no need for His Highness the Crown Prince to go out of his way. It seems you have quite a bit of free time on your hands?"
…What’s this? I can’t shake the feeling there’s a barb in Estelle’s words toward Elliott. Isn’t she basically saying, "Stop showing up all the time, you idle prince?"
"Haha, well, the Founding Festival’s over, so I’ve got some time to spare," Elliott replied cheerfully.
Thankfully, he didn’t seem to catch the subtext. Or maybe I’m just imagining it. In the game, these two end up together—though Estelle also ends up with Jean in some routes.
"Oh, right! Elliott, there’s something I wanted to ask you," I said.
"Something you want to ask?" he replied, blinking in confusion.
"I want to go to the castle."
"…? Can’t you just go? It’s not like the Philharmonie Ducal family is banned from entering, right?"
"It’s kind of a secret matter…"
When I lowered my voice, Elliott leaned in closer. For some reason, Estelle squeezed herself between us too. It’s not like I mind her hearing this, though.
"What would you do if I told you there’s hidden treasure sleeping in the castle?"
"Wha—!?"
Elliott and Estelle’s voices harmonized in shock. Yeah, it’s a surprising claim—but it’s true.
"Hidden treasure…!? I’ve never heard of such a thing… Wait, hold on. Could it be the secret collection said to have been left behind by the First Emperor?" Elliott ventured.
Exactly. The First Emperor of the Symphonia Empire—our shared ancestor—started as the leader of a single tribe. After traveling the world and undergoing countless adventures, he united many tribes to establish the Symphonia Empire. During his journeys, he collected various magical artifacts and treasures from ancient ruins across the globe. It seems he had some sort of exploration-based ‘Gift,’ though the details aren’t recorded in history.
Anyway, our ancestor amassed a ton of treasure. But when he passed away, some of it went missing. Some say it was secretly sold off to fund the nation, others claim it was stolen by opportunists amid the chaos of his death, and still others believe he hid it in a secret place to prevent misuse.
Generations of emperors searched for this lost treasure, but not a single clue was found. Nowadays, most assume it was either sold or stolen. But! I know where it is—thanks to a game event involving the two people in front of me!
"Why would you know about this, Sakurariel?" Elliott asked, skeptical.
"Uh, well, it’s a long story. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, so I want to check it out. It’d be bad if I started poking around the castle’s stuff on my own, right? That’s why I thought you could help me look for it."
If I went around messing with the castle’s belongings, it’d cause all sorts of trouble. But with Elliott, as long as it’s not the king’s personal property, it’s fine. If we frame it as Elliott searching for the treasure and me tagging along, there shouldn’t be an issue.
"You’re not planning anything dangerous, are you?" he asked cautiously.
"No danger. …Well, uh, I don’t think so. We’re just finding a hidden room."
Elliott thought it over for a moment before nodding slightly. "If it’s true, finding it is our duty as descendants of the royal bloodline. Alright, I’ll help."
"W-Wait, I want to help Lady Sakuraile too!" Estelle piped up, raising her hand.
There’s not much for her to do, but this was originally her and Elliott’s event in the game, so I suppose she’s got the right to join. Still, we can’t exactly have a bunch of kids wandering the castle alone, so I’ll bring my guard knight, Tanya, along.
Alright then—everyone, let’s head to the castle for a treasure-hunting adventure!
–