Charlotte’s wish was simple.
At first, I thought she was just trying to cosplay as a princess, but it turned out she had just booked a movie instead.
“If it featured a princess, that would have been great, but unfortunately, there are no good releases timed just right. Guess we’ll just have to settle for this anime.”
Watching Charlotte, with her hands in her coat pockets, I briefly wondered if she was considering us.
However, looking at the expression on her face, that didn’t seem to be the case. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement.
We packed our hands with carbonated drinks and popcorn and sat down, taking up five seats. Since it was a weekday afternoon, there weren’t many other viewers. Given the nature of the anime, it was unlikely that many people would come at all.
The movie itself was from a company that Charlotte liked. Therefore, I was able to watch it without too much pressure.
There weren’t any significant twists, it didn’t try to denounce society or anything like that, just a plain old happy ending.
The visuals were stunning, and there was a decent amount of humor sprinkled throughout.
Of course, we had devoured almost 30% of the popcorn and cola before the movie even started, during the ads.
“That was fun!”
Mia’s eyes sparkled as she shouted that when we came out.
Instinctively, the folks in our group ruffled Mia’s hair. She seemed a bit startled again, but it looked like she had adapted to us quite a bit over the past few months. She didn’t twist away or shy away like before.
We went home and had a slightly late lunch.
This time, the menu wasn’t anything fancy.
We enjoyed chatting casually while munching on burgers from a nearby place.
“In that movie earlier, the main character…”
“Speaking of which, that brand recently released limited edition shoes…”
“Look at those couples sitting over there…”
This was nothing but the mundane everyday chatter.
There wasn’t anything special about it, just simple stories that, once spoken, would easily be forgotten within minutes.
Charlotte leaned on the table, resting her chin on her hands, or propped on the chair with legs stretched out, sharing in our conversations.
I began to understand what Charlotte truly wanted.
After finishing our meal, we wandered around until sunset.
We had no particular destination.
We just strolled through the streets aimlessly.
Along the way, we passed by a famous brand store with large glass windows and ducked into narrow alleys.
We spotted and bought some fish-shaped pastries from a street vendor, proceeded to enjoy the famous tasty buns on the subway.
While walking through the narrow alleyways, there were areas where no buses or subways played, yet strangely, tourist spots formed. Some streets were incredibly beautiful too.
We dropped by a café to drink a strangely long-named beverage or whiff the scent of coffee beans we didn’t even recognize.
We even found ourselves in a coin karaoke booth. It was too cramped for all five of us, so we split up into pairs or groups of three, mixing our songs.
Honestly, seeing Japanese game characters singing our country’s idol songs was a refreshing sight.
We took a lot of photos, equipped with smartphones in our hands.
Taking turns to snap shots, we squished together for those group selfies, sticking our faces close to the camera.
It was fun. Really.
“How about eating dinner at home?”
As the winter sun fell faster, Charlotte suggested.
“I want to treat you all… but oh, I need to stop by the market quickly before heading home.”
We followed her lead.
Instead of a large supermarket, we bought ingredients at the local market near home.
Charlotte carefully selected each piece of meat and vegetable, while we cluelessly trailed behind her, wondering what dish she was planning to make.
When Charlotte was carrying bags full of groceries, I tried to help her—
“I want to carry it myself.”
Seeing Charlotte refuse with a gentle smile made it hard for me to insist.
The dish Charlotte made was something we had tasted before.
I thought she was just hiding a hobby she really wanted, but it seems she was genuinely into it.
Beef bourguignon.
Even though we had had it before, it was different in a fundamental way.
“Did you change some ingredients?”
“Yes. I purposely bought them from our neighborhood store. Of course, the wine had to be just wine though.”
Charlotte replied with a smile to my question.
While we relished our meals, Charlotte just watched us happily, her plate in front of her barely touching her food.
“Is it strange?”
“No, not at all.”
I responded, and the others quickly nodded along.
Beef bourguignon is said to be a typical French home-cooked meal.
With as many recipes as there are homes in France, Charlotte’s method—making it her way, rather than following someone else’s recipe—could be considered the true essence of it.
“I’m relieved.”
Charlotte smiled sincerely as she continued to eat slowly.
“I wanted to feel this atmosphere one more time before going back.”
At Charlotte’s words, the spoons that were energetically moving all paused for a moment. The rest of us looked at each other.
It seemed everyone had a similar expectation.
Charlotte loved fairy tale princesses.
However, it didn’t mean she wished to be a princess for real.
It was an unwavering wish under normal circumstances.
In fact, it was probably a long-held wish that could never come true because she is a princess. Those precious moments spent here meant so much to her.
Just like how I felt.
“I see why cooking is enjoyable. Watching someone enjoy the meal I cooked makes me so happy.”
“Sometimes, when I visit, you should cook for me.”
Alice said a little playfully.
“Would a reigning emperor really have time to frequently visit another country?”
Charlotte asked cheekily, to which Alice shrugged.
“Well, if I retire, I won’t have much to do anyway. It might actually help strengthen the ties between our nations as an envoy.”
She answered.
“…That’s true. If I do live that long, it would be nice to meet together again.”
Alice’s second response made Charlotte nod seriously with a thoughtful expression.
“Shall we promise that then?”
Claire spoke with a smile.
“Whenever it may be, let’s make sure to carve out time to meet, even if we return.”
“Don’t say that, it makes it sound like I’ll be going back tomorrow.”
At Claire’s words, Mia chimed in, pouting.
“Tomorrow is when we follow my orders!”
“That’s right. Sorry, sorry.”
Claire apologized.
“So, Mia, what are you thinking? Have you decided what you want to do?”
“Yes, I know what I want to do. But… I’ll say that tomorrow.”
Mia said, her face slightly flushed.
Just like Charlotte, Mia might dream of something unrelated to being a magical girl.
After all, she has her own share of loneliness in the past too.
“Wh-what about Sylvia?”
Mia inquired, seemingly diverting attention back to me.
“It’s your last day. Do you have something in mind?”
…
Well, not particularly.
Honestly, I was so content with this life that I didn’t have any thoughts like, “I must do this!”
But it’d be a good idea to come up with something, wouldn’t it?
Well, wandering around with Mia tomorrow to brainstorm ideas wouldn’t be so bad.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Charlotte said brightly.
“Just wandering around today was so enjoyable; I wonder what you all would think.”
“Uh, um, uh…”
“……”
Charlotte’s anticipation was dazzling.
Of course, I knew it was just pure excitement, but still, it felt a bit heavy.
“After our meal,”
So, I decided to change the subject a bit.
“How about we all go watch a movie? A favorite of Charlotte’s.”
“Oh, that sounds good. When watching at the theater, we can’t talk.”
Charlotte nodded with a smile.
I couldn’t tell if she knew I was trying to change the subject or if she was genuinely excited about it.
It might be a bit of both.
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