Julietta Longest side: Stanley
--- Longest Estate.
“Welcome, Brother.”
The lady of the house, Julietta Longest, greeted Stanley Lampail.
“Ah, Julietta, it’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Of course, I’m doing well. Gil was disappointed he couldn’t meet you.”
“Ah, I’m disappointed too. Tell him we’ll share a drink together next time.”
He was led to the parlor.
After being served tea by a maid, Julietta dismissed everyone else from the room.
“So, why are you here all of a sudden? Knowing you, you wouldn’t visit without a reason.”
As sharp as ever.
“Ah, well…”
He explained about Joan being judged as possessing the Null attribute, the fact that she retained memories of her previous life, her unusually high number of seven skills, and his desire to learn more about the texts Noel had mentioned.
“I see, my darling niece has the Null attribute, seven skills… and even memories of a past life…”
Julietta lowered her head, muttering something to herself.
“H-hey, Julietta?”
“Ohhhhh~~~~ how marvelous that isssss~~~~!!! Ahahaha, hahahahaha!!!”
Julietta stood up and shouted.
“Hah, you haven’t changed, Julietta.”
She was, as ever, a magic fanatic.
Still, when it came to Joan, he trusted Julietta to be the one who would understand her best.
“So, what about it? Is what’s written in those texts true?”
“Yes, according to my research, the Null attribute could mean an average ability across all attributes. In other words, whether someone can use attributes depends on the individual.”
“And how can you determine that?”
“Hmm… I’m still studying that part. What I can say is that it’s acquired later in life. Somehow, people with the Null attribute can start using magic, but there’s no common pattern in who or when, so I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“I see…”
“So, what are Joan’s skills?”
“Ah, they are Search S, Storage S, Repair, First Aid, Aqua, Dry, and Assist.”
“What!? Two S-rank skills? What are their capabilities?”
“Search S can analyze and appraise anything in sight, including people. It can even detect whether someone is hiding something—Gene’s secrets were exposed because of it. And Storage S has unlimited capacity and keeps stored items in a suspended state.”
“What!? And what about Assist? I’ve never heard of that before.”
“It’s surprising that even you don’t know it. Apparently, Assist allows the user to search for anything within their thoughts. Also, possessing it makes all skill activations chantless.”
“What kind of outlandish skill is that…”
Even a magic enthusiast like Julietta was stunned by the sheer abnormality of Joan’s skills.
“Furthermore—”
“There’s more!?”
“Yeah, Search can be shared with others. Joan claimed Assist made it possible, so we tried it… and it worked.”
“Huh!? Sharing Search is unbelievable enough, but… she can communicate with her skill, Assist?”
“Apparently, yes…”
“…”
“…”
“Hey, Brother.”
“What is it?”
“With skills that extraordinary, does she even need attributes?”
“You think so too, huh?”
“Yes, especially since she also has memories of a past life. Do you know anything about that?”
“Ah, her past life included being married and having a family. She enjoyed traveling, eating, and cooking.”
“So, she didn’t possess any notable skills or extraordinary martial abilities?”
“No, she said she was an ordinary person.”
“Well, then—”
“However… the dishes she’s made…”
“What about them? Are they meals from her past life? I mean, she’s only five, right? She can cook?”
“Yes, she can cook, has knowledge, and even taught Abe and the others, improving the quality of meals at the estate…”
“Well, with past-life memories, I suppose that’s possible.”
“But it’s not just cooking—it’s effective.”
“What do you mean by effective?”
“She made something called dried fruit, using her Dry skill to dehydrate fresh fruit…”
“Ew, dried fruit? It doesn’t sound tasty.”
“No, Joan said that moderate dehydration concentrates the flavor and nutrients. We tried it, and it was delicious. But the next day… Brape’s effects caused Maggie to lose weight, Milange’s effects cured my fatigue, Pluberrey’s effects restored Noel’s eyesight, and Nababa’s effects resolved Gene’s constipation…”
“What? Wait, weight loss? Restored eyesight? Brother, don’t think you can fool me!”
“Yeah, that’s the normal reaction.”
“What!? It’s true?”
“It is. There’s no point in lying, is there? Search confirmed that anything Joan makes with her skills has effects three times the normal strength.”
“……”
“Here, I brought some of the dried fruit. Try it.”
He took out all the dried fruit mix he had stored and placed it on the table.
Julietta hesitantly tried it.
“Oh? It’s actually delicious. I might prefer this to fresh fruit.”
“It’s also long-lasting, making it ideal for maintaining nutrition during extended expeditions.”
“Yes, expeditions often lead to nutritional deficiencies.”
“The effects usually take about ten minutes. We’ve tested it on our household staff, so it’s confirmed.”
“Then I’ll conduct experiments at our estate as well. Of course, everyone will sign confidentiality agreements.”
“I appreciate that.”
“I’ll contact you once the tests are complete. I’ll also search for more documents on the Null attribute.”
“I’m counting on you. See you later.”
Leaving the matter to Julietta, Stanley departed the Longest estate.
While part of him wanted information on the Null attribute, he also wanted to gain allies for Joan.
He didn’t want to see her suffer just because she had the Null attribute. Having only his household as her support wasn’t enough.
He trusted Julietta and her husband, Gilbert, as reliable comrades. They would surely stand by Joan’s side. Julietta would likely bombard Joan with questions once the dried fruit experiments were complete, and just imagining that brought a smile to his face.
For now, he’d wait for the results.
Once Julietta contacted him, he would reach out to their retired parents. He’d explain the situation and gain their backing.
But first, he’d return to the estate, hug Joan, and ask for more dried fruit.
What do you think about this chapter?
