Ending Maker Episode 440
SS #36 Regina Bayer
Baylun, the greatest metropolis in the North.
This city, where two of the three great clans of the North, Bayer, Chase, and Hresvelg, are located, was in fact one of the largest commercial cities not only in the North but also on the entire continent.
People called these Bayrunes by various nicknames, such as the Heart of the North, the Jewel of the North, and the Holy Land of the North, each with its own reasons.
First of all, the heart of the North.
The most populous city in the Kingdom of Cailun was not the royal capital.
It was not the capital of the Duchy of Spencer, which bordered the Silates Plain, the continent’s greatest granary, nor was it Port Argonne, the southern’s greatest trading port.
The city with the largest population and the largest number of visitors was Baylun, which was looked down upon as a border city until a dozen years ago.
There were three reasons why Baylun had grown so large that it could even surpass the royal capital.
First, it is a center of industry.
This is the land where Bayer Industries, which started out with hit products such as shampoo and rinse that took the continent by storm, beyond the kingdom, is located.
Second, it is the center of the financial industry.
It was the law of nature that money gathered where people gathered.
The Crossbell Counts, who had been dominating the financial industry in the North, settled in Byrun through a union with the Chase Counts, one of the two major rulers of Byrun, and brought the financial industry, which could be considered a family business, to full bloom in Byrun.
Sylvia Crossbell, who was Countess of Chase and Countess of Crossbell at the time, took control of the finance industry of the entire kingdom beyond the north with the full support of the Counts of Chase and Bayer, and established the central bank in Bayrun, which was neither in the Crossbell County nor the royal capital.
Third, it is literally a holy place.
Baylun was the holy place of the Cordelia Cult, the most powerful religion on the continent.
That is because it was the land where the incarnation of the goddess was born, as well as the land where the companion of the incarnation and the pope of the religious order were born.
The Cordelia Order was spread across the continent, and the number of people who gathered from all over the continent each year for pilgrimage was incalculable.
The heart, because it is the center where people and money circulate.
A jewel because it is the most prominent city in the North.
The holy place where the incarnation of the goddess was born.
The most famous place in this city, which was so large that it surpassed not only the capital but also the system, or rather, it was comparable to the two combined, was of course the residence of the Count Chase.
It was the holy land where the incarnation of the goddess was born, and also the residence of the Count of Crossbell, a big shot who controlled the kingdom’s finances.
And the second most famous place.
Although it is slightly less than the birthplace of the incarnation of the goddess, it is still the birthplace of the Pope, and although it is still slightly less than the Count of Crossbell who dominates the financial industry, it is still the residence of Count Gale Bayer, who leads Bayer Industries, and the residence of the guardian deity and mascot of Bayrun, Rough Avalanche.
Far away, in the heart of the North, in the castle of the Counts of Bayer, a battle fortress that seemed like it should be on the front line against the Empire, a girl was stretching.
“Whoa… … .”
Dark blue hair reminiscent of the night sky and golden eyes reminiscent of soft moonlight.
Her flowing hair was long enough to reach her waist, and her face, which was as beautiful as a painting, stood out for its innocence thanks to the youthful expressions that lingered here and there on her face. However, the girl was not wearing a beautiful dress, but a rough shirt and pants – and it was more like a tracksuit that only the servants of knights liked to wear.
The girl stretched and stood up in a shady spot in the garden, yawned heavily, then rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked around.
“hmm.”
Judging by the shadow of the spire adjacent to the garden, it seemed to be just past noon.
The girl, who got up while scratching her stomach, stretched again and skillfully tied up her messy hair into a bundle.
The girl, who shook her shoulders and neck like a calf wagging its tail and her tied hair, said with a satisfied expression.
“Perfect. Now let’s go play at Count Chase’s house.”
Originally, it was time to go to the tea party hosted by Elena Youngae of the Duran Marquisate and chat over tea, but the wind was always free.
Rather than sitting around in a stuffy dress, forcing a smile and listening to boring stories about how this dress was and what was popular in the capital these days, it would be much better to go to Count Chase’s house, get some pocket money, eat cookies, and run around with my nieces and nephews.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
It was a pun like an old man’s, but the girl, who was at an age where she would laugh just at the sight of rolling leaves, chuckled to herself and turned around, but unfortunately, she couldn’t take a step right away.
As soon as I turned around, I was met with a cute white creature standing there with a sullen face and looking at me.
“Regina. You said you were sick again and skipped Elena Youngae’s tea party.”
“Ugh.”
It was a small and cute creature that didn’t even reach the girl’s waist, and its voice was cute as well, but Regina couldn’t help but flinch and shrug her shoulders as if she had met a scary adult.
That’s because the cute creature that just appeared was the guardian deity of Baylun, one of the girl’s many teachers, and a giant bear god who once ruled the wild lands, a being that everyone often forgets, even himself.
As Regina flinched, the rough snowball put strength into the tall hand on her waist and continued to speak while tapping the floor with her foot.
“Elena was lamenting, lamenting. Haven’t you seen Miss Regina? Does Miss Regina hate me? Lady Snow Avalanche, do you think I… … am hated? That’s what she said.”
Regina flinched even more and broke out in a cold sweat as Rough Snow Avalanche spoke in a female voice – specifically, the voice of Elena, one of Regina’s etiquette teachers and vice president of the Rough Snow Avalanche fan club.
Rough Snow Avalanche looked like a cute baby bear, and he was cute, but he was very, very weak towards young, pretty, and kind girls. Elena was young, pretty, and actually kind.
“Ah, no. It’s… … It’s not that I hate Elena-sister, no, it’s not that I hate Teacher Elena… … .”
“No?”
“No… … .”
Regina, who immediately responded to the stinging gaze of the rough snow avalanche, pouted her lips and then wiggled her fingers again as she spoke.
“That… … the wind always… … .”
“Just say you’re free. Okay? Just say it.”
Regina slumped her shoulders, unable to finish her father’s famous words as the rough avalanche clenched her fists again and let go of her grudge.
Then, the rough snowball laughed and tapped Regina’s leg as he spoke.
“Okay, let’s go. Even if it’s late, we have to participate. I heard they’re doing embroidery today.”
“Huhhh… … .”
Elena Youngae’s tea party had a more complex meaning than a simple social gathering, and among them was the educational meaning of having the young ladies of nearby families gather together to learn etiquette from Elena, the young lady of the Duran Marquis.
This happened when several nobles from the north came to have mansions in Baylun, as it became a large city that could practically be called the second royal capital.
As the nobles gather, there is a need for educational institutions for the nobles.
Although there were ‘academies’ in the system and the capital, there was no academy established in Bayrun, so some nobles like Elena were acting as the academy’s agents.
Anyway, Elena’s tea party.
It’s torture enough to have to wear a stuffy dress for hours on end, but having to do it on top of that.
Regina bit her lip slightly, clenched her fists, and attempted a small resistance.
“But, uncle.”
“why.”
“I’m a wild god, after all, right?”
“No, it’s just a wild god.”
“Anyway, then maybe we don’t have to do things like embroidery? And etiquette classes too.”
“No, no. You have to take embroidery lessons, etiquette lessons, and dance lessons. And since you’re a wild god, if you don’t need embroidery and etiquette lessons, then you don’t need swordsmanship lessons either, right?”
“Ugh… … .”
“You’re a hundred years too early to be trying to talk me out of it. You’re not that dark-hearted.”
Regina blinked and asked as the rough snowball clicked its tongue with a smug expression.
“Are you talking about Oppa Yuder?”
“Yeah, that guy with a dark heart. When you say you have a dark heart, that guy comes to mind first.”
“No, my brother is really cool, handsome, and an amazing person.”
“Yeah, right. He’s cool, handsome, and great, but he’s got a dark side.”
Regina pouted her lips in displeasure as the rough snowball repeatedly emphasized, but did not really argue further.
The rough snowball looked up at Regina and then spoke with a face that seemed to be comforting her.
“Anyway, Regina, before your mother left on her trip, she asked me to take good care of Regina. So I have a responsibility to take care of you. Do you understand?”
“……yes.”
“Oh, good. Would you like to squat down for a moment? I’ll pat your head.”
“I don’t like it. My uncle thinks I’m a lover. And girls don’t like having their hair stroked. It ruins their hair.”
“Are you an adult, kid? Even in the kingdom and the wild lands, a thirteen-year-old is a kid, kid. And who doesn’t like their hair messed up, walking around with it like that?”
This time again, it was an undeniable avalanche of harsh truth.
That’s why Regina decided to use the Aidaun method.
“Chichichi.”
When I pout and pretend to be pouty, the rough eyes laugh again and speak in a gentle voice.
“Since you were born pretty, wouldn’t it be nice to dress up? Your hair is so nice, too.”
“Uncle, sometimes I feel like you’re not my uncle, but more like my aunt.”
“Stop talking nonsense, you’ll be late. Go to Luna first. Don’t go astray. Got it?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
Regina still had a puzzled expression on her face when told to go to Luna, her exclusive maid, but she answered honestly and started running towards her true self.
“Ugh, my little one.”
The wild avalanche laughed as it watched Regina’s blue hair swaying like a horse’s tail.
* * *
Five hours later.
Regina, who had returned to Count Bayer’s house, spoke in a distraught voice, lying sprawled on the bed.
“It was hard… … .”
Elena Youngae’s bright eyes added to the words, ‘I believed in you, Regina.’
Those times when I couldn’t bear to look at those eyes and just sat there, unable to move.
It was hard.
It was really hard.
So much so that Regina herself felt the need to give the award to herself.
And then, seeing Regina like that – or rather, the girl who had taken off her clothes one by one from the room to the bed as if she had taken off some kind of skin – and then sprawled out on the bed in her underwear, the exclusive maid Luna felt a mixture of despair, pity, and sorrow. She said with a sigh.
“It was a short dream, as always.”
The lady who is dressed up nicely is really, really beautiful and elegant.
While Luna was sighing and picking up the clothes, Regina, who had returned to her usual male attire, sat down on the windowsill instead of the bed and spoke.
“I want to go to Count Chase’s for dinner.”
“You didn’t make an appointment to visit?”
“You’re going to your uncle’s house. Your aunt is going to see her nephews. It’s okay if that doesn’t happen.”
Luna, who had once again slumped her shoulders at the sight of Regina waving her hand as if nothing was wrong, asked in an unexpected voice.
“Are you going first again?”
“Yeah, so come slowly.”
Regina answered brightly and laid down, falling out the window – no, throwing herself out, casting a quick exit, and Luna let out a sigh.
And then another half hour later.
“Nephews! Auntie is here!”
“You’re here again?”
“Why does it seem like I come here every day?”
The twins, who were sitting in their room reading a book, narrowed their eyebrows and let out a sigh as they watched Regina appear from the balcony window instead of the main entrance.
And at that gaze – or rather, at that pitiful expression, Regina shrugged her shoulders, but soon pouted her lips and said.
“What, you don’t like your aunt anymore? You used to cry and moan every time I went by.”
When Regina spoke in a baby voice, Aiden, the older twin, immediately frowned and said.
“Hey, I often forget, but we’re older?”
Ember and Aiden were fifteen, two years older than Regina.
But Regina shook her head and crossed her arms as she said.
“Anyway, that’s not your aunt. Huh? That’s not your aunt.”
“Oh, really. This is the only time you call me aunt.”
“You’re my aunt, so you’re my aunt. Anyway, do you really hate me coming here? Should I stop coming?”
Regina asked with a slightly frightened voice, wiggling her fingers. Aiden pursed his lips, and Ember laughed and opened the window, saying,
“What are you talking about? How could you not like it? Aiden also skipped dinner while waiting for his aunt. It’s just because he’s going through puberty these days.”
“Really? Really?”
“Ugh, I just wasn’t that hungry today. And I’m not going through puberty.”
When Regina asked with a smile, Aiden immediately started talking excitedly, and Regina burst out laughing and hugged Aiden tightly.
“I love my nephew so much!”
“Oh, really.”
Aiden was excited again, but his flushed cheeks said it all.
Ember chuckled again as she looked at Regina and Aiden, then caressed Regina’s cheek and said.
“Welcome, Aunt.”
“Yeah, hehehe.”
Aiden, who resembles Adelia’s personality, and Ember, who resembles Gail’s personality.
But in terms of appearance, they both looked just like Adelia, and were as pretty as dolls.
Originally, these two were supposed to live at Count Bayer’s house, but due to Count Chase’s strong will, they ended up living at Count Chase’s house. To Regina, they were the most precious childhood friends in the world.
Of course, there were more if they were childhood friends.
Like Bella, the twin’s cousin, or the ‘children’ of the Count Hresvelg family, or Yuria, Yuder’s older brother’s niece.
“But aren’t we the best?”
“Huh, of course.”
Aiden started to giggle as Ember asked with a grin, and instead of answering, Regina hugged Aiden once more.
“Anyway, Aunt, it’s good that you came. I think something quite surprising will happen today.”
“Huh? Amazing?”
“Yeah, it’s amazing and very enjoyable.”
Amber smiled brightly at Regina, who asked with a blink of an eye, and even winked playfully as if to show her anticipation.
What on earth is going on that makes him do that?
Regina turned to Aiden instead of Ember, who just seemed to be smirking with a smug expression on his face, not looking like he was going to answer.
“What? Huh? What’s going on?”
Regina, whose curiosity was exploding, tried to hug the easy(?) Aiden and bombard him with questions, but Ember was a little faster.
She blocked Regina’s hug offensive by pushing her brother away and taking a step to the side at the same time. She waved her index finger as if it was impossible and said.
“Wait while your heart races. It’ll be more fun that way.”
“Ooh… … Okay. Then let’s eat. I’m hungry.”
“Huh, how rude. By the way, the main dish for dinner tonight is beef burgundy.”
“Wow, really? This is what I like?”
“Aiden asked the chef. His aunt is coming.”
“Huh, never mind that. It was just a coincidence.”
“Let’s say that’s true, aunt.”
“Yes, nephew.”
Regina, who had smiled at Ember, hugged Aiden again, and Aiden groaned, telling her to stop hugging him, but Regina ignored him.
That’s because it was cute and funny how her face would turn red every time she hugged him.
One hour, two hours, three hours like that.
After a good dinner, Regina, who was dozing off next to her twin who was studying magic, found out what good news Aiden had been talking about – or rather, what ‘good news’ he was talking about.
