Chapter 42: Is it funny that I can’t even outrun my little sister?

After Mashiro left the basement, she dyed her hair back to orange and returned to the mansion, ready to continue supervising little Charlotte and little Shaula.

However, when she returned to the mansion, she found that both little Charlotte and little Shaula were nowhere to be seen. Uneaten plates of food were still on the table.

At that moment, a maid carrying a watering can walked into the mansion from outside. Seeing Mashiro, she greeted her.

“Miss Shiro, you’re back!”

Mashiro nodded slightly.

“Where are Miss Charlotte and Miss Shaula?”

“They… huh? They were just here! How did they disappear in the time it took me to water the flowers?”

****

A few minutes earlier.

“Hey, hey, Sister Charlotte, let’s go play in the back hills after we finish eating!”

Little Shaula, whose mouth was covered in rice, clutched her chopsticks and stared at little Charlotte with wide eyes, filled with unrestrained excitement, like a child who had found their favorite toy. No, this little kid was a child.

“Huh? Going out to play again?” Little Charlotte frowned slightly.

“The weather is so good today! Of course, we should have a blast and play!”

As expected of a child, she was full of boundless energy.

As for herself, a man with the mental age of twenty-five, all she wanted to do was lock herself in her room and get a good sleep on her soft bed.

Such good weather was perfect for sleeping! Besides, there was nothing else to do!

This world had no technology and no magic. She could only rely on sleep to pass the boring time.

Even if she wanted to go on a grand, unknown adventure in the forest behind the hill, that person named Shiro wouldn’t let her sneak out.

Being constantly monitored by Shiro for twenty-four hours a day was her lot in life.

“Hey, wait a minute, where did you just say you wanted to go play?”

“The back hills! Is something wrong, Sister Charlotte?”

“Why go there?”

“Because I heard there’s a very beautiful black butterfly there. I want to catch that butterfly, Sister Charlotte. Come help me!”

“But Sister Shiro won’t let us go!”

“That’s why,” Little Shaula leaned in and whispered softly into Charlotte’s ear. “We’ll sneak out!”

“No way, no way!” Little Charlotte quickly refused. “We can’t sneak out. I’ve tried many times. Every time, that… Sister Shiro catches me and drags me back!”

“Sister Charlotte, you’re so silly! Haven’t you noticed that Sister Shiro disappears for a few minutes every time we eat lunch?”

“Eh?” Hearing little Shaula’s words, little Charlotte realized Shaula was right. “Yeah, Sister Shiro is gone!”

“That’s our chance! Hurry and eat, Sister Charlotte! We need to hurry and sneak out after we finish!”

Little Charlotte was stunned. She couldn’t believe that little Shaula, who looked like a child who just liked to play, was actually so smart. In just a few days, she had completely figured out Miss Shiro’s routine.

“Sister Charlotte, why are you just sitting there? Hurry and eat! Aren’t you hungry? I can help you eat it!”

Under little Shaula’s urging, little Charlotte also nervously shoveled food into her mouth. Then, while the maid was busy outside watering the flowers with a watering can, little Charlotte and little Shaula, with cheeks puffed full of food, secretly slipped out through the back door.

Just as little Shaula had said, they made it all the way to the back hills. Sister Shiro hadn’t come out to catch them and drag them back. It seemed Sister Shiro really did have something to keep her busy during this time.

Although little Charlotte wasn’t particularly interested in the black butterfly, the mention of the back hills sparked her desire for an adventure in the forest.

She was really looking forward to the unknown things waiting in this forest!

She didn’t know why, but ever since entering the forest, she felt a chill creep up her spine, as if someone carrying a great halberd was lurking, plotting mischief against her.

It was probably just that the forest itself was very cool.

Little Charlotte didn’t pay much attention to it and continued to walk deeper into the forest with little Shaula.

Little Shaula walked ahead of little Charlotte, staring wide-eyed at her surroundings, trying to find the trace of the beautiful black butterfly. But after searching for a long time, she couldn’t find it.

“Huh? That’s strange! The beautiful black butterfly should be here, shouldn’t it? Why can’t I find it?”

Little Shaula looked bewildered. She turned her head and stared at little Charlotte behind her with watery eyes, seemingly wanting her sister to offer some advice.

Unfortunately, little Charlotte wasn’t good at finding small things. After scanning the area, she shook her head regretfully.

“Could the black butterfly be deeper inside?”

Little Shaula looked toward the depths of the forest. A cold wind blew out from inside, making it clear that the forest looked very dangerous and unsuitable for children their age to play adventure games in.

“How about we go back! We can explore the area ahead later!”

Although little Charlotte also wanted to see what was in the forest, with the mental age of twenty-five, she naturally knew when to retreat and what it meant to live to fight another day.

If they stubbornly continued deeper, they might be caught by an old witch hiding in the depths of the forest and used as fresh potion ingredients.

For some reason, the thought of being kidnapped by a bad woman made little Charlotte shiver, as if she had been through something like that before.

Under little Charlotte’s persuasion, although little Shaula was reluctant, she listened to her sister and, with visible disappointment, followed little Charlotte out of the forest.

However, just as little Shaula turned to leave, a small black shadow suddenly flashed past through the trees.

Sharp-eyed little Shaula immediately recognized the shadow as the black butterfly she had been desperately searching for.

“It’s the black butterfly! Sister Charlotte, I saw it! It’s right there!”

Little Shaula chased after it without hesitation.

“Eh? Ula-la! Wait for big sister! You’re running too fast!”

Although Shaula was only five years old at this time, she was running faster than little Charlotte.

It had to be said that little Charlotte, who had been cooped up in her room sleeping all the time, really needed to get out and exercise her body.

And so, little Shaula ran quickly ahead, and little Charlotte chased desperately behind.

She couldn’t catch up to her sister, who was three years younger than her, even though she was running with all her might.

Little Charlotte had no choice but to stop, panting heavily, to rest on the spot.

“That little kid can run too fast! By the way, did she really see the black butterfly? Is this black butterfly that fast? Is that even reasonable?”

But she couldn’t just stand by and let little Shaula run out of her sight. She chased after her again.

After pushing through a patch of tall grass, she finally caught up to little Shaula.

“U… Ula-la… you run too fast… Big sister… Big sister can barely keep up with you…”

However, little Shaula gave no response, which made little Charlotte feel very strange.

“Ula-la?”

She looked up at little Shaula.

Shaula’s eyes were filled with tears, and her face was pale as she pointed ahead.

“Si… Sister Charlotte…”

Little Charlotte looked in the direction little Shaula was pointing and was horrified to see a massive black bear standing not far in front of little Shaula, looking down at the “small snack” below.

“The black butterfly was eaten by the big wild bear!”

“Why are you still worried about the black butterfly now!”