A Small Commotion
After rummaging through the mountain of stuff piled around her, Journey finally gave up on cleaning it up.
Straightening her back, she looked at Aaron and asked, “Where’s Canaria?”
For the past few days, every time Journey logged into Silia Online, Canaria’s face had been the first thing to greet her.
Not that she could actually see Canaria’s face, thanks to the hood, and not that Canaria had really been greeting her, either.
Still, maybe that was why this morning—an uncharacteristically lonely one—felt so awkward.
And that was saying something, considering she’d spent far more days alone than not.
“She’s probably still asleep. That girl does love her sleep.”
“Huh?”
Journey let out a shrill squeak at Aaron’s answer.
“Canaria sleeps a lot? I’ve never even seen her asleep!”
“Didn’t she come here with a caravan? It wasn’t exactly an environment where you could sleep soundly.”
“Ah….”
So that was it?
Aaron had known Canaria far longer than Journey had; unless he was lying, he was probably right.
Besides, Canaria still hadn’t shown her face, which only made his words seem more credible.
Aaron glanced at the clock and said, “We should wake her soon. Are you coming?”
“C-can I?”
“…What? Aren’t you having breakfast with us? Unless you have other plans….”
“No! I’ll eat with you! Please let me!”
“….”
At Journey’s excited reaction, Aaron gave her a baffled look, then led the way.
Before long, he stopped in front of an antique-looking door and gave it a light knock.
Knock, knock.
“Canaria.”
“….”
“….”
He waited for a moment, then knocked again.
Knock, knock.
But there was still no answer.
“Looks like she really is still asleep.”
“Could she already have woken up and gone out?”
“Does she seem like the type?”
“Hmm….”
Journey seemed to think it over for a moment, then shook her head at once.
“No, not really.”
Maybe if she were holed up in a corner somewhere, curled up and hiding from the world. But Canaria wasn’t the sort of girl who’d just wander around on her own.
Aaron reached for the doorknob.
“I-is it okay to just go in like that? What if she gets mad that we came in without asking?”
“By now, Canaria probably already knows we’re here.”
Creak.
“She’s just not getting up because she doesn’t want to.”
Ignoring Journey’s concern, Aaron pushed the door open.
The room Journey had been given by Aaron the previous night had been quite luxurious.
Luxurious enough to make even Journey, who had stayed in upscale hotels more than once, gasp in admiration.
But Canaria’s room was even more lavish.
For one thing, it was much bigger, and that went without saying for the furnishings and decor inside.
It felt as though someone had taken a royal chamber from a history book and converted it into a hotel room. Journey’s eyes shone as she looked around.
“Canaria, wake up.”
Either way, Aaron walked to the bed and spoke softly to the lump under the covers.
Journey stopped sightseeing and moved to Aaron’s side.
“Mm….”
...Gasp!
At the rounded edge of the blanket, a tiny head peeked out from under the covers.
Every time Canaria made a faint breathing sound, the little mound of blankets rose and fell with it.
Seeing Canaria sleeping with her body curled up tight, her face peaceful and utterly free of worry, Journey swallowed the sound of an involuntary squeal.
She had been adorable even when she slept leaning against Aaron’s arm, but curled up like a little animal like this, her destructive power was terrifying.
I have to take a picture of this…!
Before taking the screenshot, Journey switched the broadcast feed to the standby screen.
“Ahem. I’m going to hide the screen for just a second for Canaria’s privacy.”
There’s a saying that the cruelest thing in the world is to give someone something and then take it away.
People know how ugly and unpleasant that feels, so even if they’re sorry to lose what they’ve given, they usually don’t dare snatch it back casually.
Unless, of course, they want to end their relationship with that person entirely, like a couple breaking up after a bad fight.
That was exactly how the viewers felt.
The warmth in their eyes as they shared Journey’s perspective and smiled at Canaria’s cuteness vanished beneath a sudden curtain of darkness.
Unable to process the abrupt change, the chat exploded.
Of course, the real reason Journey had blocked the screen had nothing to do with the noble pretext of protecting Canaria’s privacy.
That was only a convenient excuse to justify her actions; the real reason was to keep her own embarrassing behavior from showing.
Not a single gullible soul believed Journey’s words at face value.
While the chat erupted in flames, Journey happily fed her own appetite. Only after Canaria’s pink eyes slowly appeared between half-open lids did she stop stuffing the data pantry.
Seeing her screenshot folder swell in an instant, Journey grinned with bloated satisfaction and turned the screen back on.
“Come on, get up. It’s time for breakfast.”
Aaron’s voice was gentle in a way it never was when he spoke to Journey.
There was a brief stir in the chat at the kind, almost child-talking tone he used—though in truth, he was speaking to a child.
The hazy eyes looking up at Aaron slowly closed again.
“Mm… I don’t wanna eat.”
“Ah… so cute….”
At that sleepy protest, so close to a pouty whine that it might as well have been a tantrum, Journey clutched at her chest.
“You have to eat breakfast if you want to grow tall.”
“…I told you not to talk about my height.”
Her closed eyes opened again, and Canaria glared at Aaron in annoyance.
“I’ll feed you some meat dishes you like, so get up.”
“Mm….”
Unable to resist the continued prodding, Canaria finally pushed herself upright, groggy and disheveled.
Trying to shake off the drowsiness that kept rolling over her, she sat on the bed and kept blinking over and over. Every so often, when her eyes drooped shut, her little head would bob forward toward the floor and then jerk back up again.
“Hi, Canaria! Did you sleep well?”
“…Mm. Hi.”
Canaria….
So she really does sleep a lot….
Journey, momentarily startled by hearing Canaria’s morning greeting for the first time in her life, soon smiled warmly.
* * *
Thunk—
I poked the offensive thing on my plate with a fork.
“Don’t play with your food.”
“…You said it was meat.”
“It is meat.”
Aaron said it with total calm while picking up a bite of green leaves and eating them.
And those same green leaves he’d just eaten were sitting on my plate, too.
“Meat cooked with vegetables is not a meat dish.”
How could he not understand something this important?
Garnish on a steak is fine.
That can just be scraped off and eaten.
But this? When it’s all mixed together and impossible to pick out? That does not count as a meat dish.
“Aren’t you old enough to stop being picky?”
I snorted.
“What does age have to do with not eating what you hate?”
“…How admirable.”
“Says the guy who still thinks I’m a kid.”
If he was going to say something like that, he should at least stop treating me like one.
“No matter how old your child gets, they’re still a child in their parents’ eyes. I’m not your father, but I’ve known you since you were very small, so I think that’s close enough.”
“I’ve been like this since I was really little, so it’s not something I can fix.”
“Not a single word of concession from you, is there?”
“I grew up in an environment where losing wasn’t an option.”
“…!”
Aaron didn’t seem particularly bothered, but Journey, of all people, stared at me in shock.
It wasn’t even a lie, and it wasn’t something I couldn’t say, so why was she making that face?
After a thorough excavation, I finally managed to separate every last piece of green stuff and resumed eating.
“How long do you plan to stay in Liberi?”
“No idea. Two or three more days, maybe?”
“Hmm. It probably won’t happen, but if you’re short on money or need anything, let me know. I’ll help however I can.”
“…Who are you?”
This was Aaron, the same stingy man who used to grit his teeth over every cent. Now he was saying things like this?
When I pointed my fork at him with suspicious eyes, Aaron looked at me like I was hopeless.
“Back then it was the knights’ budget, wasn’t it? If you squandered it and the funds ran short, then I’d have to go begging to the treasury department. Do you really think you’d do that well?”
“….”
I obediently picked up another piece of meat.
I had sins to my name, so I couldn’t exactly deny his words.
“Hand over the money.”
“No, do you think money just appears out of thin air? Like I can hand it over if you throw a tantrum and demand it? There’s none! None at all!”
“There is, though.”
“I just told you there isn’t! Look for yourself—see? There’s none, isn’t there!”
“Here it is. The money for the sluggards who do nothing but sit around and eat.”
“…Have you lost your mind?! I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that last part, so please leave for today!”
The treasury officer’s panicked voice was still vivid in my memory.
He had been strict, sure, but he’d been a decent enough guy. Probably dead on that day, too.
“I’m not being strict. You’re the one who goes too far.”
With that last look of pity still fixed on his face, Aaron stood up.
His plate was spotless—every last green thing gone.
“Anyway, I take it you understand. I’ll be off then.”
“Where to?”
“Where else? To work. I’m not a bum like you.”
What a great thing, being a rich bum. He really didn’t know what he was missing.
He hadn’t managed to take the commander’s seat, but he’d worked in the Red Flame Knights far longer than I had, so he must have plenty of money. Still, Aaron seemed unable to even imagine a life where he didn’t work.
After the pitiful, unfortunate Aaron left the breakfast table, Journey approached me while I was moving the green stuff around to see if any meat remained.
“Canaria, Canaria. What are you going to do today?”
“Sleep.”
This bed here was really nice.
The mattress was soft, the blankets were smooth….
If it were up to me, I’d have stayed lying there for hours, but Aaron had woken me up, so I was planning to fulfill the dream he’d interrupted.
“Ehh….”
Journey looked disappointed at my answer.
“You’re not going outside?”
“…Why would I?”
It’s not like I have anything to do.
“If you stay in your room, you’ll get bored.”
“If I’m sleeping, I won’t be bored.”
“Come on, let’s go play together~ okay?”
“…Back off.”
I frowned as I pried off the clingy Journey, who kept pestering me like a burr.
She couldn’t seem to stay still for even a second, as though sitting quiet would make thorns sprout all over her body.
“I’ll buy you something tasty, too. Oh, right—chocolate! There’s supposed to be a shop that sells really good chocolate. Let’s go there. How about it?”
“Fine, fine. Now back up.”
If I ignored her, she looked ready to trail after me all the way to my room and whine at me there, so in the end I raised the white flag.
...Right, I’m probably staying here for two more days, so I can compromise for one day.
Just today, and then I’ll stay put in my room for the rest of the time.
This is only a strategic retreat, and absolutely not because I’m bewitched by the chocolate Journey mentioned.
“If it tastes bad….”
Thunk!
I drove my fork hard into the greens.
“Y-yes…!”
Journey nodded quickly, breaking into a cold sweat.
Apparently, my meaning had gotten across just fine.
Satisfied, I nodded and raised the fork to my mouth.
“…Bleh.”
…Yeah, this was definitely terrible.