Unlike my cramped apartment in the "real world," where I'd bump into a wall after just a few steps, my bedroom in this isekai game is incredibly spacious. It includes a balcony, bathroom, and dressing room, making it an enormous area – the kind you only see in mansions.
When I first arrived, this setting felt more like an unrealistic dream than a game.
To put it hyperbolically, the stark difference from my "real world" setup was a bit startling.
Initially, the room was a typical pink nursery, filled with dolls. Later, I gave most of them to the newborn Illumi, keeping only a small selection that I particularly liked. Kikyō then gradually disposed of the worn-out dolls, and since I didn't want new ones, only the pink rabbit I'd insisted on sleeping with since childhood remains in my room.
Kikyō doesn't quite understand my preference for keeping old things and not wanting new ones. Well, she doesn't get it; this is the traditional virtue of "frugality."
The rabbit doll's color has long since faded, and it's washed to a slight paleness, but it's the only surviving doll I managed to keep from Kikyō, so I cherish it dearly. Aside from it, almost everything else in the room has been replaced several times at Kikyō's behest.
In recent years, to match the dresses she made me wear, Kikyō rapidly transformed my room into the Rococo style. The color scheme has also changed a few times, and the current one is light blue.
I feel like my room is a giant Barbie doll dressing room, existing to fulfill Madam Kikyō's endless girlish desires, plus me, her genuine and beautiful daughter, who serves as her dress-up doll.
Illumi, you should thank me. Otherwise, according to some fanfiction, you would have ended up like Kalluto, a victim of Kikyō's desire for a daughter, spending your entire childhood in girls' clothes.
In exchange for letting Kikyō fiddle with me and my room, I'm allowed to keep some things that Kikyō considers worthless but that I personally want to keep.
Setting down the birdcage, I opened the cabinet in the corner of the room where I kept the things I didn't want disposed of. Kikyō guaranteed she wouldn't throw away anything from there.
The cabinet's capacity represented her tolerance for my private space; well, her tolerance is pretty decent.
I asked the butler for a cardboard box, took the hawk's specimen out of the birdcage and placed it into the box, then I took inventory of the items to be removed from the cabinet.
A quill made from the hawk's feathers.
A clay stamp made from the hawk's claw print.
Some childish scribbles drawn with the hawk as a model.
Oh, and three specimen books made from leaves it helped me find.
A bookmark made from the hawk's feathers was the first craft I made after getting the hawk. I couldn't bear to part with it, so I didn't put it in the cardboard box and instead tucked it back into a book.
Carrying the box, I walked to my favorite path that led to the back mountain and chose a suitable tree to start digging.
In the original work, Illumi used his claw-transformed hands to quickly dig a deep hole and bury himself, showing readers that the Zoldyck claws could be used for more than just the "Heart Steal" ability.
So, I followed suit and dug the soil directly with my claws.
I recall that Killua once said his claws were sharper than blades. Well, they were indeed convenient for digging, and I could feel it firsthand.
Just as I closed the opening of the box, I thought about it, took off the whistle I wore around my neck, and put it into the box.
This whistle came with it, and it should leave with it.
After filling the hole, I tamped down the ground, leaving no trace.
I hope that it, along with my most carefree times, can rest in peace, undisturbed.
"..." I stood still in silence.
The cool autumn wind rustled through the trees, and fallen leaves covered the freshly filled ground. I believed that soon, no trace would be visible here.
"Miss Millus." It was the voice of an elderly woman.
Looking up towards the sound, her height was probably comparable to Silva's. Due to her considerable bust, she blocked my view. From my child's perspective, I couldn't even see her face.
However, with her unusually large physique and those distinctive braided pigtails, it wasn't hard to recognize a character from the original work: Zeno's direct butler, Kikyo's attendant for generations, Canary.
So far, all my training had been handled by Kikyō, while Silva was busy teaching Illumi. Therefore, I didn't have many opportunities to see Silva, let alone his direct butler.
Facing the butler, whom I was supposed to "not know," I skillfully put on my most adept expression of bewildered ignorance, "?".
"It's nice to meet you," she said, squatting down so I could see her face clearly. She wore a monocle, and her expression, like in the original work, wasn't very friendly and exuded a sense of pressure. However, she offered a smile that was almost kind, greatly easing the seriousness around her. "I am Canary. Master Silva instructed me to look after you while Madam Kikyō is in confinement."
"..." I nodded.
"Excuse me," she said, reaching out to adjust my slightly wrinkled dress from after I had buried the box, while explaining, "Madam Kikyō can see you through this monocle. Please pay attention to your appearance at all times. Even in confinement, she is always watching you."
"..." I knew about the monitoring function of this monocle from the original work.
Madam Kikyō really doesn't like to be idle. She must have been reincarnated as a surveillance camera!
Silva told me to rest for two days, but I didn't expect it to mean "forced rest." Canary stopped my rare enthusiasm for learning, forbidding me from doing homework, reading textbooks, or training, and told me to play freely.
"..." What? Silva, can you find anyone else in the world who forces their children to play like this, you eccentric?!
With the learning segment gone, the daily schedule Kikyō had made for me was basically useless. Under Kikyō's indirect surveillance, I didn't dare to act rashly, so I sat in my room, daydreaming until I was so bored I even considered visiting Kikyō proactively.
Well, I didn't need to be proactive; Kikyō was always by my side.
This was very similar to my mother in the "real world."
No, I'm not saying I truly consider her my mother. I'm just extremely bored, and without the whistle, my chest felt empty, and my heart felt hollow as well.
"I apologize, Miss Millus." Upon learning of my intentions, Canary stopped me again. "Master Silva has instructed that Madam Kikyō also needs to rest, so there is no need to disturb her."
"..." It really was "forced rest"!
It seems my estimation was wrong. Silva still cared about my attacks on him and Illumi. Perhaps it's the saying, "A daughter's misconduct is the mother's fault," so he's separating me and Kikyō under the punishment of "forced rest."
I can imagine how restless and difficult it would be for Madam Kikyō, with her controlling nature, to watch me do nothing all day through Canary's monocle.
Wouldn't this be bad for the child in her belly? If Milluki were born prematurely because of this, would it cause a butterfly effect, impacting the original storyline?
However, the due date isn't far off, and Milluki doesn't appear much in the original work. He's basically a tool, so a few days early birth should be fine, right?
After two days of "forced rest," I resumed my cultural and training lessons on time. The cultural lessons were, as usual, with Illumi. We exchanged the necessary polite greetings and then had no further interaction. Except for Kikyō's "forced rest" period due to her pregnancy, everything was back to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Milluki was born six days later. I don't know his original birth date, so I can't tell if he was born early or late.
When I received the notification, I was in the prison cell using the electric shock equipment, with crackling, buzzing sounds, and sparks flying.
I call it "using" because I was determined to steal, oh no, to learn from Killua's valuable experiences in the original work. I wanted to feel what it's like to be electrocuted early, so I could later transform Nen into electricity and, by the way, copy some of Killua's subsequently developed applied techniques. Those skills were cool and practical, making me, an older sister, extremely envious. (Laughs)
Although I'm not smart, I can stand on the shoulders of giants. I believe in the intelligence of Killua, one of the main protagonists. He's one in a million, or perhaps one in ten million. Sorry, I can't remember exactly, but he's a super genius, the best talent in the Zoldyck history. Copying his homework is definitely the right move!
Based on my memory, I think the two impressive-looking energy spheres that Silva conjured in the original work seemed to have electric arcs. "Transforming Nen into electricity" might be a traditional specialty for Manipulators in the Zoldyck family.
Of course, I'm self-aware. Killua's transformation of Nen into electricity at the age of twelve amazed the experienced Bisky. So, when I, an ordinary person, achieve this, I should at least consider myself starting at age twelve... three or four years older than Killua, or maybe four or five? It could be even longer. I don't have Killua's talent, so I need to be patient and not get conceited.
Perhaps because of my resolve, the game system responded to my call. After I turned off the power, a text prompt appeared:
[Electrocution: Level 0]
That's it?
Oh, this is infuriating! I haven't just been electrocuted today; I've been electrocuted for three years cumulatively, and the level is still 0? Is this a reminder of how untalented I am?!
No way. According to the original work's settings and fan speculations, members of the Zoldyck family with silver hair generally tend to be Manipulators. If I don't seize this opportunity to research "transforming Nen into electricity," what else can I research? Don't expect me to innovate; that's for geniuses. If I try, it'll be a waste of time and energy, leading to a dead end. I'm very slow!
Never mind, let's stop the chatter. Before heading to the family gathering to "visit the newborn Milluki," I'll rush to the faucet, cup water with my hands, and try to flatten my electrocuted hair with water.
"Miss Millus." Canary, who had been following me, her tall figure having no presence, suddenly spoke, nearly scaring me to death.
"..." I think her ability to conceal her presence is too good. Every time she speaks unexpectedly, it's like she's emerging from the void.
"Madam Kikyō instructed not to use your hands, but a comb," she said, taking out a comb and holding the ends of my hair with her other hand, carefully beginning to comb it for me. "Madam Kikyō also said..."
She didn't continue, and I tilted my head curiously to look at her, "?".
"She said she misses you very much," Canary said, her wrinkles smoothing out as she smiled at me. "She can't wait to see your new baby brother with you."
I blinked.
Yes, I also want to see if the Zoldyck's only chubby character is born a little larger than average right from the start.