A Partner for the Lonely Bear
Even on their travels, the pair continued their usual back-and-forth as they strolled along the street. A rather familiar sight soon caught their eyes. It resembled the street performance they had watched together when Ariel last visited Ardenum, though the number of performers was noticeably larger this time. Since Ardenum was little more than a rural village compared to this place, it stood to reason that even the scale of street shows would differ.
“It’s similar to the one we saw before, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Looks a bit bigger in scale, though.”
Back then there had been no giant ball or the heart-stopping spectacle of fire-breathing. The performers had simply done backward jumps in place or shown off movements as light as feathers to draw the crowd’s attention. Ariel’s eyes sparkled instantly. She hesitated for the briefest moment before giving Edgar’s sleeve a sudden tug. He had expected as much, and a smile curved his lips of its own accord.
“Ed, can we go watch?”
“Nothing says we can’t. Let’s go.”
Edgar slipped an arm lightly around Ariel’s shoulders and guided her into the crowd, glancing down at her without thinking. If his memory served, the last time had been roughly four years ago. Ariel had been much shorter then, easily swallowed by the press of bodies and unable to see the show at all. In the end he had given up watching himself and carried her on his shoulders so she could enjoy it.
Fortunately, it seemed that wouldn’t be necessary this time.
“Pfft.”
Wedged among the spectators and focused on the performance, Edgar suddenly let out a burst of laughter he couldn’t quite suppress. Ariel tilted her head at him. There hadn’t been anything especially funny that she could see; she wondered if he had swallowed a bug.
“Why are you laughing?”
“When we first saw a show like this together, you were only this tall. Thinking about it was too funny.”
“I-I wasn’t that small! Do I look like a dwarf to you!?”
When Edgar held his palm at a rather low height, Ariel burst out indignantly. Thankfully the performance was loud enough that their exchange didn’t draw any stares.
“Come on, it’s the truth.”
“It is not! You’re just ridiculously tall, that’s all!”
Edgar grinned slyly, clearly fishing for agreement, but Ariel refused to let him off so easily. She had every right to feel wronged—there were plenty of people around her who were shorter. Yet he always treated her like some stubby little thing. By the time she turned seventeen she had already overtaken her mother, Helene. Shuri, a year her senior, had been smaller than Ariel from the very first day they met. Edgar, on the other hand, was exceptionally tall even among men. Within the Robeheim family, almost no one matched or exceeded him except for Creed. Yulken had once been taller, but as Edgar grew he had surpassed even him.
In short, Ariel only seemed small in Edgar’s eyes. By ordinary standards for women, she was above average. She dearly wanted to land a solid blow on this foolish man who teased her endlessly without realizing that simple fact.
And then another thought occurred to her.
Does he prefer taller women?
Ariel placed her hand on top of her head and measured the distance. It reached roughly to Edgar’s chest. She told herself the difference wasn’t that extreme, yet an odd anxiety began to stir inside her all the same.
“Ed.”
“Hm?”
“Do you like them bigger?”
“…What?”
The abrupt question nearly sent Edgar’s gaze drifting downward before he realized she meant height. He shook his head quickly to banish the stray thought. The problem was that Ariel had caught even that fleeting glance.
“W-where do you think you’re looking, you idiot!”
“You suddenly asked something weird. What did you expect?”
Knowing retreat would do no good, Edgar went on the offensive instead. After all, she was the one who had blurted out a vague question without any context. Ariel’s face flushed scarlet as she shouted again. It was absurd that the same man who had just called her short was now pretending he had no idea what she meant.
“Ugh…! I was talking about height!”
“I know. I figured it out a second later.”
Edgar answered calmly and beckoned her closer with a small gesture. Ariel pouted for a moment but eventually stepped toward him. The sight reminded him so much of a haughty cat that he couldn’t help chuckling.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind.
“Eek!”
Ariel let out a startled squeak.
“Why so surprised? We were doing the same thing in the carriage.”
“B-but there are people around…”
“They’re not paying us any attention.”
And indeed they weren’t. The crowd was utterly absorbed in the performance, sparing the couple not a single glance. As long as public affection didn’t cross into outright indecency, no one in an open place like this would care.
“Mm. It really is just right.”
“What is…?”
Ariel wriggled as though demanding to be released, but there was no real strength behind it. Edgar itched to tease her about that very fact, yet he decided to let it pass just this once.
“The feeling of holding you. This height difference feels perfect.”
“Am I a pillow now?”
“You’re in no position to complain. Who was it that clung to me and fell asleep on the way here?”
“T-that has nothing to do with right now!”
Ariel’s face burned crimson as she protested. Edgar, expression unchanged, simply signaled for her to be quiet and watch the show. In other words, he had no intention of letting go. In the end Ariel hung her head and remained silent until the performance finished. Edgar never loosened his arms. It was, in every sense, a viewing posture perfectly suited to the two of them.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the performance, the pair soon wandered into a nearby street lined with shops. They passed the time browsing the displays in the windows, savoring a leisurely moment together. One shop in particular caught Edgar’s eye—a doll maker’s. A bear doll exhibited outside drew his attention at once; its material and overall quality suggested a rather high price.
“A doll? Since when did you like dolls?”
Ariel, who had followed his unconscious steps, voiced her confusion. Edgar gave a wry smile as if to say of course he didn’t, then stared again at the items beyond the glass. It wasn’t that he had any particular interest in dolls; the sight had simply reminded him of the one he had once given Ariel. Whenever he visited her room, he remembered seeing it still neatly displayed on one corner of her bed, though it had grown quite worn with time.
“What do you think? Shall I buy you one?”
“A doll? Is that really necessary…?”
The sudden suggestion made Ariel tilt her head. She had liked dolls once, but her interest had faded long ago. There had been a time, before she reconciled with Yulken, when his scolding—that the woman who would inherit the Robeheim name had no business playing with dolls—had only made her want them more out of spite. But that was in the past. She could have bought more if she wished, yet she no longer felt the urge to collect them. The few she once owned had been discarded after becoming dirty or threadbare. The only bear doll that remained was the one Edgar had given her, and she kept it for that reason alone.
She saw no need for another. Yet today Edgar, who normally disliked unnecessary spending, was unusually insistent. Ignoring her opinion entirely, he took her hand and strode straight into the shop. Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Welcome, welcome. Hehe, what a fine young couple.”
A small bell tinkled overhead as an elderly man appeared from the back. The workshop was filled with tools for crafting dolls; he clearly specialized in this craft.
“Pardon us. Is the bear doll displayed outside for sale as well?”
“Yes, of course it is.”
Asking them to wait a moment, the old man retrieved the doll from its glass case. The bear Edgar had given Ariel years ago had worn a playful smile much like his own. This one, adorned with a ribbon, had a gentler, more feminine charm.
“Ah, but carrying it around might be cumbersome.”
“Can’t we leave it here for now?”
“That works.”
The doll was rather large, so Edgar had hesitated, but Ariel’s suggestion solved the problem neatly. He paid the shopkeeper and asked if the item could be held for them. The man nodded without hesitation.
“It’s cute, don’t you think?”
“Yes, I like it.”
Though the appearance pleased her, Ariel couldn’t help but wonder. Why a doll, of all things? If he wanted to give her a gift, there were countless other choices. Unable to contain her curiosity, she decided to ask him outright. Brooding over it in silence had never been her style.
“Why a doll, specifically?”
“What, you don’t like it?”
“That’s not what I mean. I’m just curious.”
There was no chance she would dislike something he chose for her. She simply wanted to know why he had picked a doll—and why he was giving her a gift on an ordinary day. Edgar smiled softly, moved behind the bear doll, and gently cupped its cheeks. He rubbed them together as though showing her and said,
“It reminded me of the one in your room.”
“And?”
“That was a gift so you’d think of me whenever you felt lonely. But now that I think about it, I’ve found my partner… and that one is still alone.”
At the word “partner,” Ariel unconsciously compared their own situation to the two bear dolls. She had thought the same thing herself. The plump little bear that reminded her of Edgar every time she saw it deserved a friend so it wouldn’t be lonely. Nothing had quite caught her eye before, so she had never bought one. It seemed Edgar had been thinking along the same lines.
“Is this one good enough?”
“…Well, it’s not quite as good as me, but it’s not bad.”
Imagining the doll as herself, Ariel nodded without protest. She had long outgrown playing with dolls, but this much was acceptable. The only problem was that seeing herself reflected in it made her strangely reluctant to leave it behind in the shop all alone.
“Shall we carry it? It might be a hassle.”
“Are you planning to abandon me just because I’d be a hassle?”
“Good grief, how deeply have you projected onto this thing?”
Edgar laughed as if astounded by her logic, then shrugged and nodded. With Ariel’s magic it would be trivial to carry the doll without letting it gather a speck of dust. They could simply take turns holding it.
“Then shall we call this one Rieli?”
“…Hmph. It’s only a doll. Why would I bother naming it?”
Ariel sniffed haughtily. Yet the scene Edgar had witnessed before rather contradicted her words.
“For someone who says that, you call the bear doll in your room ‘Ed’… mmph!”
“W-when did you see that, you idiot!”
In the end, even after traveling far from home, the commotion between these childhood friends turned lovers showed no sign of stopping. The chief culprit, as usual, was Edgar and his thoughtless tongue.