Charlotte has grown a bit since before, and the kindergarten on the ship has slightly expanded too.
She isn’t even two yet, but compared to a year ago… wow, she’s really grown.
Will she surpass one meter soon?
Of course, it still feels like she has a long way to go before reaching that height.
“Daddy!”
“What is it?”
“Turn that off!”
“Why? Isn’t it fun?”
“It’s boring!”
It could be that Charlotte has grown a bit and there are fewer things to play with at home.
For some time now, Corbin has been playing games while letting Charlotte sit on a pillow.
He’s kept the room lit to protect her eyes and maintained a distance between the sofa and the monitor.
“It’s not fun at all!”
“Uh… really…”
“Yeah!”
Since she’s Corbin’s daughter, he thought Charlotte would surely love games just like him.
But, contrary to Corbin’s expectations, she didn’t seem to like the games that much.
In fact, it felt more like she disliked them.
Honestly, just like Corbin, I thought she might enjoy it, so I left her to it.
But she consistently didn’t seem interested.
If Corbin wasn’t right next to her, I bet she’d have jumped off the sofa.
“Isn’t it fun at all…? I think it’s fun…”
“It’s boring!”
“…Then, what can we do? How about watching TV with Dad?”
“Okay!”
She seemed to really enjoy watching TV instead of playing games… Kids’ tastes are just so hard to figure out, I couldn’t help but think.
“…It’s fun.”
Corbin, rejected by Charlotte, looked super disappointed.
It seemed like he envisioned a future where he could play games with her.
Well, it felt like those dreams were almost shattered.
“Why did you keep doing it if she didn’t like it from the start?”
“Ah, Lindera.”
I embraced the somewhat glum Corbin from behind and spoke.
Charlotte was already focused on the animation on TV, and I was bored.
“Why would a one-year-old find anything that amusing?”
“Still, I thought she’d like it like watching TV.”
“I think it might be better to wait until she grows a little older.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Right now, she preferred cute and colorful things.
Besides, the games Corbin had been playing felt slightly dark compared to that bright vibe.
Not that they were gruesome or bloody, but they definitely weren’t the kind of cheerful, wholesome content kids would go for.
I personally prefer this style, but I guessed it wouldn’t appeal to baby Charlotte just yet.
Maybe later when she’s more mature.
“But I never expected Charlotte to dislike it this much.”
“It’s a bit… tacky, so it’s better to stop now.”
“…Alright.”
I understood Corbin’s feelings, but there was nothing to be done.
Truth is, the games didn’t exactly give off a vigorous, healthy vibe.
It probably would be better to try again after Charlotte grows a bit.
“Do you remember we have an operation tomorrow?”
“Of course, isn’t that obvious?”
“Then, we’re good.”
“Anyway, we can wrap up work in a day, right?”
“Well, that’s true; the exact details are uncertain.”
While Charlotte watched TV in Corbin’s game room, we talked about work.
The fact is, since we work at the same place, it was hard to avoid discussing work at home.
And we were not just regular employees; we were the highest ranks on the ship, so it was unavoidable.
Before returning to work, such discussions occurred less often.
Recently, whenever we ran out of topics, we ended up talking about this.
While we were chatting, Charlotte was having a great time watching TV by herself.
Completely uninterested in the game Corbin had shown her earlier, now she was glued to the screen.
“Still, tomorrow after the operation, we get a day off, right?”
“That’s true, isn’t it?”
“Taking the weekend to rest and having a day off right after an operation is obviously great, don’t you think?”
“That’s true. It’s like working and then immediately getting to relax.”
“I think Charlotte personally enjoys playing with her friends more.”
“Really?”
Charlotte turned towards us, perhaps since her name was mentioned.
But it wasn’t wrong.
She far preferred playing with her friends at the ship’s kindergarten over just lounging around at home.
She probably liked going to work rather than taking a break after the operation.
Although, she wouldn’t actually go.
“Mooom!”
“What?”
“This one right here!”
“What do you mean?”
Charlotte kept pointing at something on the TV and talking to me.
I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but she seemed to want something.
I released my embrace from Corbin and approached Charlotte.
“That one!”
“What on the TV?”
What appeared on the TV was just… an animation.
A scene from one of her favorite cartoons featuring the main character and other characters… just that?
“Action figure!”
“Uh… a character figurine?”
“No!”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want that in her hand!”
“Hand?”
When I heard her words and turned my eyes back to the TV, I saw the main character holding a sword.
It was a sword that looked very much like a Japanese katana.
I wasn’t sure why there was such a sword in a children’s cartoon, and I had no idea why she was bringing it up suddenly.
“A sword…? Why…?”
“Cool!”
“………”
Hmm.
So this is her taste…?
I had no idea until that moment since Charlotte had never once asked for a toy before.
Liking a sword, huh.
I was honestly quite surprised.
I mean, who would expect a two-year-old girl to think a sword was cool?
Sure, Corbin and I didn’t think swinging such weapons in games was uncool…
But still… it caught me off guard.
“…I’ll think about it next time.”
“Really!?”
“Of course. Do you think Mom lies about stuff like this?”
“Yeah!”
“…Did I?”
I couldn’t recall having lied to Charlotte about anything.
What did I say to make her think like that…?
“…You promised me snacks before but didn’t give them because it got late.”
“Ah.”
“Gimme snacks!”
“…Sorry about that.”
Thinking back, I guess that incident did happen.
Well…
Of course, I couldn’t just let Charlotte snack all day.
I felt bad, but honestly, it was unavoidable.
Plus, I probably said that after she had already eaten dinner.
“Anyway, I’ll get you some next time, alright?”
“Really!?”
“Yep, this time it’s not a lie.”
“Yay!”
“…….”
Who knew she’d like toy swords this much?
Disliking games but loving swords, what kind of taste was that?
I personally found it hard to match a baby’s sensibilities.
“Corbin.”
“Yeah?”
“Um…”
His expression was anything but ordinary.
After hearing I’d buy a toy sword for Charlotte, his face looked like… something strange was brewing.
Like when you discover a new item in a game, especially a cool or powerful weapon?
“…I would never buy something that could potentially harm Charlotte, like if it accidentally fell or touched her.”
“No, I wasn’t planning to buy that kind of thing…?”
“I thought you were getting that kind of idea.”
“Of course, I thought it would be cool to buy an awesome sword and hang it up in her room…”
“……..”
“I just thought about it. Really.”
Ha…
I can’t seem to tell who here is the real adult.
A grown-up buying cool swords to display in their home?
I genuinely felt like I was the one whining more about toys than Charlotte did.
Oh, perhaps it’s all Corbin’s fault for instigating Charlotte to suddenly ask for a toy sword?
Even if it’s not a game, I suppose this sentiment could align.
“How about when we get Charlotte a toy, you buy one for yourself too?”
“That doesn’t sound cool.”
“How about we spice it up a bit!?”
“…Alright.”
Corbin did make a solid statement, but Charlotte shut that down right away.
Well, next time, shouldn’t I just buy different-colored toy swords for Corbin and Charlotte?
The size… should be adjusted to fit Charlotte’s hands.
Honestly, I didn’t plan on buying it immediately.
Even if it was a toy, in the end, it’s still a sword.
It’s better to teach Charlotte about safety and those kinds of things first.
Though I really wasn’t sure how well she’d grasp it at such a young age.
Personally, I wanted to buy it right away, but I felt it could lead to trouble.
So, postponing it seemed wise…
“Corbin.”
“What now…?”
“Next time you get a chance, how about we give Charlotte some safety education?”
“…Me?”
“Yeah.”
Since that thought crossed my mind, I brought it up.
Of course, I was a bit lazy about doing it myself, but teaching Charlotte this kind of lesson was unavoidably a good thing.
Safety education for kids is a surefire, 200% good deed.
“Charlotte.”
“Yeah?”
“…You shouldn’t do anything Mom says not to do.”
“Can’t do it?”
“Yeah.”
“Got it!”
“End.”
“……..”
Hmm.
What I said to Charlotte wasn’t exactly wrong, but for her to respond like that right after.
I could only feel bemused.
“…Sigh. It wasn’t wrong, so I’ll let it slide.”
“Oh.”
“Why the surprise?”
“I thought I was gonna get scolded.”
“…Do you want to be scolded?”
“Umm… not really.”
“…I’m just worried she might learn something weird.”
I genuinely felt that way.
I’m not a completely reckless dad, but still, sometimes I worry about these thoughts.
Like with games, and just now, trying to take shortcuts at work.
“Charlotte, you shouldn’t believe everything Daddy says?”
“Daddy’s a jokester?”
“Umm… maybe?”
“Daddy’s a jokester!”
“It seems like Lindera is the one teaching her the strange things…?”
“So just say sensible stuff instead of the weird nonsense like before.”
I sat Charlotte on my lap and told her that.
Honestly, saying to keep things safe while only telling her to follow Mama’s rules felt a bit shady, don’t you think?
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