I’m Not Even an Otome Game Mob Character - Chapter 34

“Then Flora was so happy, she started trotting around. I was just happy she didn’t step on the flowers.”

“Fufu, your gardening dreams are as enjoyable as ever Elias.”

Daniel-sama’s wife, Annika-sama, twisted my story like always. Today was one of my shifts for my part-time job at Marquis Viito’s mansion. Recently, on days like this, I’ve been making sure to have lunch with her and Daniel-sama so she would eat.

I didn’t know any table manners so I thought they’d be uncomfortable, but Elias didn’t get to eat on the dining table often because of his sickness. So Annika-sama told me that I just have to learn from now on. And she taught me happily. I feel like I now know the very basics of table manners. Now I can drink soup without making a sipping noise. I can’t stop making that noise when I drink tea so I gave up on that.

Lately, Annika-sama has been spending less time laying in bed. It looks like she eats all three of her daily meals now. And she even goes outside, though just into the garden, plus it feels like her complexity has gotten much better. Daniel-sama seems happy about that. I see him smiling a lot recently. That makes me happy too.

“But is it okay to tell us about your secret garden? Not even Gerald knows about it.”

“It’s okay. You seem like tight-lipped. And I’m… too shy to tell my dad about it.”

Dad is the one who gave me permission to use the private garden, so we had nothing to talk about. We had nothing to talk about, but when I compare my garden to the gardens my dad makes, it’s shabby. So I’ve never talked about it at home.

Right now I’m doing my best for it and Ojou likes it, but I’m still not confident enough to show it to my expert dad.

“I see. It’s an honor you chose to disclose it to me.”

Daniel-sama smiles softly and doesn’t touch on the subject anymore. At times like this I can really tell that he’s a kind person.

“Um, was that not boring…?”

I can only talk about gardens, so I belatedly realized that I might have been the only one enjoying this conversation.

“The gardens you make are interesting. It’s always a joy to hear about them.”

“That’s right. The gardens in your dreams are always wonderful, Elias.”

“Th-Thank you very much…”

There’s no lies in Daniel-sama’s eyes, and though she thinks they’re just daydreams, Annika-sama really does listen to what I say. It makes me embarrassed. I stutter my thanks.

“Ah, yes. Consider this a reward for telling us such interesting things, though it’s not really.”

As we started having our tea after eating, Daniel-sama had a maid bring something over. Miss Maid didn’t give that something to Daniel-sama but to me.

“This is…”

A thick book with the covers sealed tightly on it. The reason it was so thick was written on the cover, and my eyes sparkled.

The title written there was, Illustrated Plant Encyclopedia.

“It’s your birthday isn’t it? We were thinking of what to give you when Annika said it had to be this.”

“Annika-sama…”

“You like books, don’t you, Elias? Now you can see more flowers inn your dreams.”

Annika-sama smiled as if she’d just made a joke.

I heard from Daniel-sama that Elias busied himself with stories, especially adventure stories. He might’ve liked vegetation too, but if she hadn’t heard me then Annika-sama would’ve probably picked an adventure book.

She still hasn’t acknowledged that I’m not Elias, but knowing that she’s not completely ignoring everything I say makes my happiness well up inside.

Then I took the weight of the book in my hands and returned it.

“I’m very happy, but I can’t accept something this expensive!”

That’s right. I’d have to pay both of my legs to buy something like a book. Especially an illustrated encyclopedia as thick as this. That’s why I’ve been reading in Ojou’s library until now.

Recently, whenever it was Chairwoman’s turn to guard Ojou, she’d bring us both to the library so we’d be forced to observe silence and not fight. I get so happy reading plant encyclopedias there that time passes before I can say ah.

Ojou always tells me that I can borrow, but I’m afraid of damaging such expensive books so I never do. That’s how expensive this book is so as a commoner I can’t accept it.

Daniel=sama smiled broadly as if he expected my answer.

“It makes you happy, huh?”

“Of course.”

Getting this from Daniel and Annika-sama made me very happy, of course.

“We already have the exact same illustrated plant encyclopedia. If you don’t need that, we’ll just have to throw it away.”

The sentence ‘throw it away’ robbed me of my words. It was okay for Count Daniel to throw this away, but not okay for me, a commoner.

“…Daniel-sama, you’re unfair.”

Of course I don’t not need it. Telling me you’ll throw it away is pretty much the same as threatening me. I can’t refuse now.

I looked at Daniel-sama with a little resentment, and he looked back at me with a kind smile.

“If you’re happy then simply accept our goodwill.”

After thinking about it for a few seconds, I decide to receive it thankfully.

“Daniel-sama, Annika-sama, thank you very much. I’ll treasure this.”

I bow my head and thank them both.

Then I asked if I could take a peek inside. Daniel-sama allowed me to, so I flipped the illustrated plant encyclopedia to some random page.

I saw intricate pictures of plants alongside detailed descriptions of them, from their origins to their habitats. It made me happy. It was incredible that this was mine. That meant I could read it whenever I wanted to. That’s incredible.

I didn’t know how Daniel and Annika-sama looked at me as I lost my mind over the plant encyclopedia. When I looked up, I locked eyes with Annika-sama who seemed a little dumbfounded. I wondered what that was about.

But even after that, she continued calling me Elias, so I knew that nothing much changed there. I’d become used to her interpreting what I said in her own way. I couldn’t really imagine Annika-sama realizing that I’m not Elias anymore.

On my way home from the Viito mansion, I realized that I was almost giving up and slapped my cheeks. If Daniel-sama’s not giving up, then what am I giving up for?

Again I tell myself to keep doing my best.

When I went home, I found out that my cheeks must have been swelling more than I thought. Mom cooled them for me while laughing.

 

A few days later, I was working on a flower bed that hadn’t finished transitioning into the summer.

Dad was working on the lawn’s transition at the lawn area. He was just gonna inspect them and switch out the parts of the lawn that had gone bad, so though it was a big area he’d be able to get it done himself. He also told me that next year, he’d teach me the basics of inspection and switching out plants. So now I’m doing the work he entrusted me with quietly.

“Zaaac.”

“Owaa!?”

I felt a sudden weight on my back and stumbled forward, shoevl in hand. I recognized the arm around my neck and called its owner’s name as I turn around.

“Nico.”

“Your work is as plain as ever.”

Good job keeping at it, he praises me instead of a greeting. I’m not looking for a flashy job to replace my gardening. As you keep on working you get to make pretty things, but the work itself is a compilation of simple tasks.

I say that, but I understood where Nico was coming from. That’s what I thought about my previous dad who kept on working so devotedly in the tofu trade. What the hell is so good about such boring and thankless work, I said.

Now I feel like I get it.

“It makes Ojou and the others happy. That’s enough for me.”

It’s to make people from the Ernst house, family and employees, happy. That’s why I’m a gardener, and that’s why I don’t mind doing simple, plain things everyday.

My stubborn dad and mother in my previous life also kept on doing the same thing. I think it’s because there were always customers who called their work delicious. Now, I’m aiming for my dad’s job and I think it’s cool. And I think my previous dad was cool too as a worker. Though at the same time I’m so ashamed of how unsightly my previous self acted that I want to disappear.

I’m still just an apprentice, but I’ll become a gardener. I realized that unexpectedly, once you have a clear goal in mind, you stop caring about what other people think. In my previous world, my stubborn dad would never worry about my words no matter what I said, and that always made me angry. But being on this side now makes me feel like nothing else matters at all.

“Hahahah, you are caked not just with dust but even with dirt as well, how unsightly! Lydia-sama, you can’t come near such a dirty fellow.”

Yes, just like this.

It was Ojou’s boy bodyguard, the one with the hard-to-pronounce name. For now, I guess I’ll call him Pochi like Nico does. Pochi always says something when we meet, but I don’t really pay it any mind.

I actually feel the power going around my neck more, so I tap Nico’s arm, telling him to calm down.

“That’s right. Ojou’s pretty dress will get dirty.”

I didn’t feel like denying it. I replied to Pochi with a smile and he lost his words. Maybe that wasn’t the reaction he was hoping for, but I don’t want to argue against a colleague. I just spoke my mind.

“…Y-You, you’re not worthy of Lydia-sama!”

“Yeah.”

Pochi earnestly tried to wring out whatever it was he wanted to say, then pointed at me and said in a loud voice.

I don’t know what he means by worthy, but it’s true that she’s better than me not just in status but as a human being. I agreed there.

For some reason Pochi seemed to get shocked by what I said. He was once again left searching for words. Nico relaxedly got off me, made a fist and started popping his knuckles. So I grabbed him by the collar.

I looked at Ojou so she’d stop Pochi. She was quietly biting her lips, trying to hold back her anger. Her cheeks were a little red.

“Ojou?”

“…! W-What!?”

I didn’t know why, but when I tried calling to her, she paused for a bit before raising her head at me. It looked like she didn’t hear our exchange just now.

“Uh, I’d like you to do something about Pochi while I’m holding Nico back.”

I asked her. Ojou instantly guessed the situation and threw words at Pochi.

“Jorg, this again!? I said that Zac is my friend, didn’t I? Refrain from saying things out of line!”

“Yes!”

Pochi got scolded, bowed, and stood diagonally behind Ojou.

“Good grief, that’s the only thing good about him.”

Nico clicked his tongue. Then Pochi stuck his tongue out at him from somewhere Ojou couldn’t see. That made Nico’s veins pop out. Couldn’t I do anything about Nico being so short-tempered when it came to me?

Partially because I wanted to distract him, I asked Nico something I was curious about.

“Hey, Nico.”

“What is it?”

“Is Ojou not feeling well or something? She’s been looking like she’s thinking really hard about something since a while ago.”

Nico looked like he got so exasperated that all of his hostility left him.

“…Is it not because of the first thing you said?”

“Me?”

The only thing I said to Ojou was to do something about Pochi. Was that bad? I was worried about her before I said that though.

“Was it bad because it sounded like a tattletale?”

“It’s amazing how you can just drop bombs without even noticing.”

“Did I say something that dangerous??”

As I tilted my head for the umpteenth time, instead of answering, Nico placed his hand on my shoulder. In the end, he never told me what the bomb was. What did I say? I thought I was just talking normally though.

Anyway, if today was Pochi’s day then we couldn’t go to the secret garden. It wasn’t a big problem for me if he found out, but I think Ojou wants to keep it a secret. And Nico wouldn’t wanna show Pochi either.

At first, dad taught me to keep it a secret, but I’ve shown it to Nico and spoken about it to Daniel-sama. It’s really not much of a secret anymore, so I’m already prepared to get scolded for abusing my authority over the Ernst house’s garden, even if it’s just a little piece of land.

For now, they wait for me to finish working on the flowerbed as we chat. Then I have Ojou sit on a bench near the promenade covered by the shade of a tree. While we chatted, Pochi prepared a cloth for Ojou to sit on and a parasol to cover her, but we shouldn’t have to use them.

“So what is it today?”

I crouch in front of Ojou, look her in the eyes and ask. She looks away, then down, then she starts thinking. We always talk like this, so I don’t know what she’s thinking so hard about.

I waited and the hands on Ojou’s laps clench into fists as she looks away.

“~~Am-Am I not allowed to come here without any business?”

“No? It’s fine by me, I’m happy to see you.”

Until now she’s always had something to tell me when she came and I thought that today was the same. But I don’t mind if she doesn’t.

All I said was that I didn’t mind, but Ojou’s whole face turned red.

“Why – do you have to say such unnecessary things!?”

“Like what?”

“Zac, it’s how you say it.”

“How I say it?”

For some reason she scolded me. Nico gave me advice, but I still have no idea what was unnecessary with my answer. It was so short and straightforward.

Nico pats Ojou’s head while she’s all red, saying ‘you did your best.’ She did have a strong tone, but what on earth was he talking about?

Pochi glared at me for making her mad but that was okay. Chairwoman’s stare was sharper and more painful. If I had to say, he looked more like Johan getting pouty.

“That’s right. I have something to give you, Zac.”

After comforting Ojou to some degree, Nico stands from the bench, takes something out of his pocket and makes me hold it.

“It’s my birthday present for you.”

“Oh, tha-”

He gave me the present with a broad smile, and I tried to thank him though I was being lied to. The thing I saw in my hands put me at a loss for words.

“Nico, this is…”

“You’re a gardener. You can’t afford to let your hands get hurt.”

He had a point, but…

Much of our work is done by hand, so there was no such thing as too much protection for them. But these four linked golden rings I got from Nico didn’t count as everyday equipment.

These were knuckles.

But I didn’t intend to bash anybody’s skull in…

I had no idea how to react to this present which was even more combat-oriented than the wooden sword I got as a souvenir from a field trip once. There was also that time my friends in the past life gave me a cheap all-purpose knife, saying that they wanted to buy a butterfly knife, but I never wanted a weapon. By the way, that all-purpose knife came in handy at camp. Especially the can opener.

I looked at the knuckles in my hand and raised my face to look at Nico. He was smiling so brightly.

“…Thanks. I’ll keep it safe.”

“If you want you could even use it.”

I won’t. But if I think of it as a charm or something like that, I can accept it gratefully. Instead of saying that, I reply with a smile.

“Now, it’s Lady Dia’s turn.”

Nico claps his hands and calls her, to which Ojou is startled and tries to shrink her body.

After hesitating, she clears her throat and gestures for me to sit at the spot beside her that Nico was sitting at just now.

“Zac, sit here.”

“? Okay.”

Her eyes looked so intense that it was like she was glaring at me. I sit on the bench, not sure what her intentions were. The promenade bench was prepared for the people of the Ernst house or its guests, so I wondered if was okay for me to sit here as a commoner, even if was just at the tip. I wiped the dirt off of myself.

After I sit, I look at Ojou, wondering what she’ll do. But when we meet eyes she flinches.

“D… Look away!”

“That’ll only make me even more curious.”

“Geez, just shut your eyes!”

I got scolded so I obediently closed my eyes. For some reason, I heard her take a deep breath beside me. Why all the fuss? Is she gonna play a prank or something? I waited patiently, and after a few beats I could feel hair touching me. It was a little ticklish but it gently enveloped my face.

Unlike dad’s rough ones or mom’s which feel like they’re trying to cover you, these ones are small, and I realize that she’s stroking my head right away.

“Ojou?”

Once I notice she’s touching me, I open my eyes and look at her without her permission. Startled, she stops her hand for a second and it looks like she’s about to pull back, but she doesn’t.

“Z-Zac does well despite only being an apprentice. J-Just for your birthday, I’ll praise you directly…”

Saying that, she starts caressing me a little less hurriedly than before. It’s a bit hard to do sitting down normally so Ojou sits on her knees and her eyes are a little higher than mine.

Looks like this is her birthday present. I’ve just been doing the things I could do, but because of that I was able to gain something she acknowledges. That gave me pure happiness.

“I’m so happy. Thanks, Ojou.”

“…! Don’t look here, this’ll get harder to do.”

I looked up and thanked her to which she scolded me again. I got it, I nodded, before facing forward and shutting my eyes again.

Ojou continued to pat me for a while. When we were done and I opened my eyes, Pochi looked extremely frustrated at the corner of my vision.

 

A few days later, Katherine-san called me.

I’d heard in advance that a guest was coming today, so I didn’t think I’d see Ojou. It was rare for me to be called when a guest was over.

“Um, the one who called you wasn’t Lady Lydia…”

“It wasn’t?”

“It was the guest.”

“Ha?”

Though hesitantly, Katherine explained. I let my confusion show in my voice. I couldn’t think of any of her guests who would go out of their way to call me. Nico would just come on his own.

It was definitely a higher-class noble, and it’d also be rude to Katherine-san if I didn’t come. So I let her take me to the garden where Ojou and the guest were having tea.

“I have come according to your call.”

Before seeing who it is I lower my head and bow. Katherine-san bowed once and left.

I thought I should wait for permission first so I kept my head down until I heard stifled laughter.

“I see. Your manners are unexpectedly good.”

I could recognize that voice anywhere. Sure enough, I looked up to see shiny blond hair, bathing in the sun.

“…Don’t I see you enough in your inspections?”

I lost all my sense of tension knowing who called me here. Ojou was making a complicated face, peeking at Leo as he laughed. It seemed that he ordered her not to tell me that he called me.

Matteus’ brows were furrowed in perplexity as he stood back. Pome was… chasing a butterfly. I think she should really do that in her free time.

“I could only give this to you today.”

“Give what?”

I tilted my head. Leo took out a rose-colored cloth bag tied with a white ribbon. It seemed to be expensive just from how it was presented, and the colors were way too girly. My face and I grew suspicious.

“It’s from Phil.”

“From Erna?”

Leo answered the doubt in my face, then we heard a clank. We turned towards it and saw Ojou with her hands on the table, about to stand but pausing.

She noticed us looking at her, sat back down and cleared her throat.

“It was nothing.”

She encouraged us to continue talking, so Leo explained.

“Phil knew it was your birthday today, so she wanted to give you something as thanks for the other day and as a present.”

“How did Erna find out?”

“I talked to her about getting a present for you.”

Leo answered nonchalantly. I had no idea why he decided to talk about me. Nor why he thought Erna would know anything about my tastes.

Even in the previous life, she’d use my birthday as an excuse to buy the things she wanted. For example, she’d say something like, you should have something fashionable, as she gave me a hairclip. She wound up using it herself.

I should call him out on that. Anyway, I undo the ribbon to find out what’s inside. What I saw inside were two odd eyes, one fresh green and the other yellow. They were on a pure-white teddy bear.

What the hell am I supposed to do with this?

Looks expensive, looks like it’ll get dirty, way too fancy, I really have no idea what to do with it. If I hold it directly it’ll get dirty right away so I put it back in the bag.

“I kinda helped with making it, so it’s also from me.”

“Wha… are royals taught how to sew?”

“Pretty much.”

Being faced with his bright smile, the eyes on my already bitter face narrow even further.

“…I’m not happy.”

“Yeah. I felt like you wouldn’t be happy to get something from me so I let Phil in on it too.”

I didn’t need you to try so hard. Just don’t give me anything.

Leo’s super smile was so bright that my eyes physically hurt. It holds no malice but I felt like he found this funny. He had a cheeky personality.

“Oh well. Thanks.”

“I’ll tell Phil you said that.”

I’m grateful for the thought so I thanked him, to which he replied with another bright smile.

As I tried to reseal the bag, I felt someone looking at me for a second. I looked back to find Ojou staring at the teddy.

“Ojou, do you want it?”

“N-Not at all.”

I know she likes cute things so I thought she might like this bear, but she looked away and denied it. Then why was she looking?

As I continued putting it back in, I remembered something.

“Come to think of it, weren’t you supposed to meet me later this month for an inspection??”

Leo said that he could only give this to me now, but the date he mentioned for his next inspection in his letter should be tomorrow. If he wanted to give it to me for my birthday, then he could’ve done it then.

Leo smiled broadly.

“It’ll be much more useful with you.”

What did he mean byy that?

I never understood, but Leo didn’t seem like he wanted to elaborate any further. In the end I never understood what those words meant.

Leo glanced at Ojou, silently asking for her to agree with him. But she looked away again, saying, it’s none of my business.

Until I finished work, I left the bear to the people in the employee waiting room. I brought it home and saw a message card attached to it after fully taking it out.

That night, before I went to sleep, I did just as the message card said. The eyes of the bear – more accurately, the magic stones it had for eyes, were poured with some wind magic from myself.

Then its eyes lit up.

“SO slow. I’ve been waiting forever!”

The bear talked.

“Erna. You’re bothering the neighborhood so lower your volume.”

Though it was written in the card, I was actually kinda surprised she was able to do this. But more than that she needed to keep her voice down.

“Looks like it works even across long distances. As expected of the magic circle Roy onii-sama helped me make.”

Erna’s voice sounded out with pride one step quieter than before. I could easily imagine her smug face, and I closed my eyes halfway in exasperation.

“Your idiotic amount of magic power is nothing to sneeze at, either.”

“What do you mean idiotic!? If you’re gonna compliment me do it properly!”

“Yeah yeah, you’re so great.”

You’re not putting your heart into it, Erna tells me through the bear. But I did think it was great.

This bear had two magic stones for eyes which were infused with wind and light magic, making them into receivers. So if you put even a little bit of wind magic into them, it notifies Erna’s bear, and if Erna puts magic into her bear we can then start talking through them. They’re pretty much cellphones.

“How did you do this anyway?”

I knew how to use it, but its mechanism was such a puzzle to me. I poke the bear.

“I told Roy onii-sama that I wanted to do this and he taught me the magic circle to use. Wind is the sound, and light flies away like pyuuun, so it’s probably kinda like a light phone.”

“Leo is amazing for making this work out with an explanation like that…”

Erna said that she wasn’t not so good at difficult things, so she entrusted that part to Leo and just put magic into it. It was strange how he could make magic circles as he wanted to at that age. He’s even made magic tools before. He shows a lot of skill at the strangest times.

“So. Why a bear?”

The mechanism should work as long as there’s magic stones. So why put them in a stuffed animal? I’m really suspicious. Though maybe I’m still just bitter accepting this since magic stones on their own are already so expensive.

“That’s because it’s cute. And it’ll look completely normal for me to carry around.”

“I won’t look normal at all.”

If my mom or someone else sees me using a teddy bear at this age I’ll be way too embarrassed.

Erna said it like it was obvious. I retorted, but she didn’t listen, telling me it wasn’t her problem.

“Anyway, now we can chat anytime 24/7.”

“Calm down. Both of us have other things to do 24/7.”

I don’t have a hobby of carrying a bear around with me, and Erna should leave hers in her room. I have work to do and Erna, like Ojou, is learning things. Surely we’ll only be able to talk every now and then at night.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff! Anyway, make sure to call me from now on okay?”

And don’t think of it as a hassle, she said, but I think this is already quite a hassle. I don’t really have anything to talk to Erna about.

“Response!”

“Got it. Good grief, why did you send me this?”

She forced me to reply and I grumbled, not particularly to her. The bear muttered in a pouty voice.

“…I mean, I can’t see you as easily as Roy onii-sama and onee-sama.”

Not expecting Erna to say that, my eyes widened. We were siblings in our previous lives, but I didn’t think she’d be that lonely. A princess not being able to meet a commoner is just a matter of course.

I knew she was probably mad at the other side of the bear, and I smiled wryly. I know sensations don’t get through, but I pat the bear’s head anyway.

“I won’t forget to call.”

“Good you know.”

“Thanks for the present.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The bear’s expression doesn’t change, but it’s funny how I can more or less imagine what face Erna is making through her voice.

“…Come to think of it, the bear is only half as cute now that I’ve heard Isaac’s voice from it. Do something about that.”

“Not my problem.”

It looks like Erna’s rudeness towards me hasn’t changed in the slightest.