Chapter 52
“Have you found anything out?”
“……Not at all.”
By now, it was completely dark outside the window. I let out a deep sigh and covered my face with both hands. Soon, Ellie's gentle touch came to rest on my shoulder.
“But we still have plenty of time left. So don't be too discouraged.”
“……Yeah.”
Easy for her to say, but to be honest, I felt utterly hopeless.
I'd already read well over twenty books, yet I couldn't find even the slightest clue, let alone a clear lead, about soul transference.
Worse still, most of the books I'd examined treated soul transference magic as essentially a legend—something used by demon kings or great heroes of antiquity.
If even these ancient grimoires treated it that way, it was obvious what the other ordinary magic books would say.
“Would you like to head to your room soon?”
Ellie asked cautiously.
“No, I'll read a little longer.”
I lowered my hands from my face and let out a deep sigh.
“Oh, Ellie, you're already in your pajamas?”
I didn't know when she'd changed, but Ellie was now wearing fluffy-looking pink pajamas.
Ellie nodded with a giggle.
“Yes. Once the sun goes down, we generally spend our time at home in comfortable pajamas.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It's not as though there's anyone to run into inside the estate, anyway.”
Then Ellie slightly spread her arms, as if to show off her new clothes. The hood even had rabbit ears.
“It's really cute.”
I chuckled and gave her an honest compliment.
“C-cute?”
Ellie lowered her head slightly, blushing adorably.
I nodded and continued.
“Yeah, they're cute because they make you look like a rabbit. Can I touch them?”
“T-touch….”
Ellie looked momentarily flustered, but she gave a slight nod as though she didn't mind.
I quietly reached out and gently stroked the area around the sleeve of her pajamas.
“They're really soft. The material seems nice.”
“They're made from horned-rabbit hide.”
“What... that monster?”
“Yes. Big brother hunted it himself a while ago.”
I had heard that monster hides were considered the finest among ordinary leathers….
“Oh, Big brother, would you like to change into pajamas too?”
“I didn't bring any pajamas.”
“Of course I prepared some for you ahead of time.”
Ellie nodded confidently.
When she said she'd prepared some, surely she didn't mean….
“Ellie, they're not the same as yours, are they?”
“They are.”
“I-I don't want them!”
“Hmm?”
Ellie looked at me as if wondering what I was suddenly talking about.
“Those are women's clothes!”
I hurriedly continued.
Ellie glanced down at the pink rabbit pajamas she was wearing, then tilted her head as if she couldn't understand.
“So?”
“W-what do you mean by that…?”
“The clothes you're wearing right now are women's clothes too, Big brother.”
“No, these are... I mean... outerwear….”
“Besides, loose, soft clothes like these would be just right for your current figure, wouldn't they? When it comes to pajamas, comfort is the most important thing, isn't it?”
“…….”
If she put it that way, I had nothing more to say….
When I pressed my lips together and lowered my head, Ellie continued asking questions.
“Then how were you planning to sleep tonight?”
“……In my underwear.”
“…….”
Ellie quietly looked me up and down.
“Well, I wouldn't particularly mind that either….”
“N-no! I'll wear the pajamas after all.”
I hadn't prepared pajamas because it had never even crossed my mind that I'd be sleeping in the same room and on the same bed as Ellie.
Now that I thought about it, I had to put on something proper if I was going to sleep with Ellie.
“Ahem, so mine are made from monster hide too?”
“Yes. They're exactly the same as the ones I'm wearing.”
“Pink?”
“Of course. They're cute.”
Wearing pink women's rabbit pajamas at my age….
“……Fine. I'll wear them.”
They say that if you can't avoid something, you should enjoy it. I'd even worn evening dresses that left my shoulders completely bare at home, so this was nothing.
“Since we're talking about it, would you like to change right now?”
Ellie asked with a beaming smile.
I glanced down at the grimoire I'd only gotten halfway through, then finally let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“Fine. I suppose I can take a short break.”
Time should always be used efficiently. There was no way I could properly absorb the book's contents in this state anyway.
Reluctantly, I rose from my seat and stretched.
For the moment, I followed Ellie back to her bedroom, with her humming happily for some reason.
“……Hmm.”
The pajamas waiting for me really were exactly identical to the ones Ellie was wearing.
As I stood looking down at the pink rabbit pajamas, Ellie closed the door and approached me, still grinning.
“Now that you've seen them up close, aren't they even cuter?”
“Hmm… I suppose they are.”
In any case, now that I'd decided to wear them, there was no reason to hesitate anymore. I nodded and turned to Ellie.
“Fine. I'll try them on.”
“Yes.”
“…….”
Ellie, aren't you leaving?
When I simply looked at Ellie, she stared right back at me.
After a brief staring contest—or something like one—I was the first to speak candidly.
“Could you step outside for a moment? I'll change quickly.”
Ellie could be a little dense sometimes. Apparently, she'd even used to burst into the bathroom asking to bathe together until she was ten.
“Step outside?”
“Huh?”
“Go ahead and change. I'll just wait here.”
Ellie said it as though it were obvious and sat down on the bed.
“Um… Ellie?”
“Yes, Big brother.”
“You haven't momentarily forgotten who I am, have you?”
I wasn't even sure how I was supposed to respond.
Ellie nodded with a smile and answered.
“Well, what's the problem? We're both girls right now.”
Ellie continued in an utterly calm voice.
“It's not as though you're taking all your clothes off. You're even wearing your panties properly.”
“P-panties?!”
I couldn't believe a word like that had come so naturally from Ellie's mouth….
“Besides, you're only borrowing Rene's body for a little while. So would it really hurt you to show me that body for a moment?”
“No, it's not that, but….”
“And I've already seen Rene's naked body during swimming practice. So even if you showed me that body for a moment without Rene knowing, wouldn't that be completely fine?”
“…….”
It sounded like sophistry somehow. But it was also oddly difficult to refute logically.
After thinking for a long while, I eventually let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“Fine. I suppose I was overthinking it.”
To be honest, even if I had originally been Evan, I wouldn't have minded briefly letting Ellie see me in my underwear.
As I always say, Ellie was like a little sister to me….
“W-wait a second!”
“Go ahead and take them off~ If they don't fit properly, we'll have to find you another outfit~”
Ellie began taking off my clothes as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
“W-wait! No, I'll take them off! I will!”
Though I shuddered at the intense revulsion I felt for some inexplicable reason, Ellie's hands undoing the buttons of my blouse never hesitated for an instant.
“Ugh…!”
Before I knew it, I was left wearing nothing but my underwear.
I instinctively covered my chest and crouched on the floor. Ellie giggled in satisfaction and handed me the pink pajamas.
“That's an incredibly cute reaction.”
“Ellie, you really….”
“But you really don't have to be that embarrassed, do you? Not when it's me.”
“Even so… I can't help feeling strangely resistant to it.”
Maybe it was some sort of instinctive aversion.
I couldn't even tell what exactly was causing me to feel that way.
“Phew….”
I steeled myself with a sigh and stood up.
Fortunately, putting on the pajamas wasn't difficult.
“Wow! They look perfect on you, Big brother!”
“It's Rene they suit, not me.”
Well, once I had them on, they were warm and soft, and actually felt quite nice.
As I idly fiddled with the edge of the hood with its rabbit ears, Ellie came over to me again with another giggle.
“They're matching pajamas.”
“Hah, what do you mean, matching?”
I laughed it off and continued.
“Anyway, what do you usually do at home?”
“It's not much different from when I stay in the dormitory. I mostly read, make clothes for my dolls and dress them in new outfits, and sometimes spend time taking quiet walks through the garden.”
“Don't you get bored living like that?”
“Not particularly. Sometimes I sleep with my mother, too.”
Ellie answered matter-of-factly.
I quietly looked around her room and asked.
“Well, once engagement talks for you start getting serious, you won't have that kind of free time anymore, either.”
Even as the Klostermann family's only daughter, she couldn't be completely exempted from the duties of a noblewoman and lady of the house.
By the time Ellie reached around her third year, she would certainly be much busier than she was now with bridal lessons and the like.
“Marriage talks….”
“You said there isn't anyone you're seriously discussing an engagement with yet, right?”
“Yes.”
Ellie thought for a moment, then cautiously spoke to me.
“You haven't had any talks about your own engagement yet, either, have you, Big brother?”
“No. Men generally tend to discuss these things a little later.”
It was customary for men not to seriously begin discussing engagements until after graduating from the academy.
“Is there a young lady you like?”
“Hmm… I don't know. Not particularly, for now.”
Of course, it wasn't that I couldn't find someone. I simply hadn't pursued anyone.
“Well, to be honest, the young ladies who could win my father's approval are pretty limited.”
The only name that came to mind right then was Ellie, who was sitting right here.
Christina would also fall far short of my father's lofty standards.
“Ahem, in any case, now that we've taken a short break, shall we head back to the library?”
We'd had enough time to rest.
I turned to head back to the library, but then a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I turned back to Ellie.
“Oh, right, Ellie, do you have any plans to go to the capital during this vacation?”
“The capital?”
Ellie thought for a moment, then tilted her head.
“Why the capital all of a sudden?”
“I wanted to visit some of the antiquarian bookshops in the capital.”
Asta had definitely said they would be waiting for me at ‘Asta's Antiquarian Bookshop.’
So I wasn't exactly lying to Ellie.
“Hmm… I'm not sure.”
Ellie quietly considered it again, then shook her head this time.
“No, I don't have any particular reason to go during this vacation.”
“I see.”
To enter the capital, one needed an official pass, and a commoner student like Rene would need a noble's recommendation or guarantee to obtain one without a legitimate reason.
So there really was no easy way to get to the capital… As I nodded quietly, Ellie continued.
“Would you like me to go with you?”
“No, it's fine. You must have your own schedule too, Ellie.”
Besides, if possible, I needed to go to Asta's Antiquarian Bookshop alone.
“I was only asking. Don't worry about it.”
I answered nonchalantly and started walking toward the library again.
A moment later, Ellie asked from behind me.
“If you can't find a clue about soul transference magic by tomorrow, what will you do after that?”
“…….”
I wondered what I should do then.
If I couldn't find any clue through my own efforts, I would truly have very few options left. Either I could depend on Asta, or else….
Teacher Justina, Big Sister Erica… and Kairos.
As I thought over the faces that came to mind, I forced a carefree smile and answered.
“I can only hope it doesn't come to that.”