A Birthday I Nearly Missed
Beep beeeep beeeep beeeep—!
After that day, Eve gradually started going out to play with her friends more often. At first it was about once a month, then once every two weeks, and now it had settled into once a week. The usual group was Nina, Lucia, and Chris. Even though Eve had been a bit awkward with them at the beginning, she seemed to have grown closer. Whenever she heard her friends’ voices, her face would bloom into a bright smile full of energy.
“Good day to you, is what it is-wa yo! I’ve come to see Eve!”
“Ah, it’s you, Lucia. Come on in.”
With a cheerful jingle of the bell, the bold little girl with the drill-style hair stepped inside. Her name was Lucia. I’d heard she was the daughter of a baron who managed his estate in a rather distant province. By chance, I was already acquainted with the baron himself, so after chatting with him a few times, somehow it ended up that Lucia was the one who came looking for Eve from then on.
“Eve’s in the back right now, getting her hair brushed by Caramel. Can you wait just a little?”
“Of course. Patience is a virtue every proper young lady must cultivate, is what it is-wa yo.”
I handed her a glass of juice. True to her noble upbringing, she accepted it with elegant poise—though there was still a touch of clumsiness about her. As she took careful little sips, Lucia suddenly spoke up.
“There is one thing I would like to ask you, is what it is-wa yo.”
“Oh, sure. You mean me?”
“Yes.”
“Is someone around you feeling unwell?”
“Hehe! My older brother is far too sturdy for that to be a concern, is what it is-wa yo.”
That’s a relief, I thought, smiling gently as I played along. But it seemed that wasn’t what Lucia actually wanted to ask.
“Will Eve be attending school starting next semester?”
“…Hm? School? Well… nothing’s been decided yet.”
“Is that so?”
“If Eve wants to go, of course I’ll send her… but it doesn’t seem like she’s thinking about it that seriously right now.”
Lucia tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“That’s strange. Lady Eve told our teacher she would speak with you about it.”
“…Eve said that?”
“Indeed, is what it is-wa yo.”
Lucia’s answer left me completely flustered. Ever since the school visit, Eve had barely mentioned the word “school” again. Caramel had occasionally hinted that playing with friends might make her want to go, and I’d secretly held onto that hope—but Eve had shown almost no interest.
“I haven’t heard anything about it from her…”
“She will probably bring it up soon.”
Since it came from one of Eve’s closest friends, I couldn’t simply brush it off.
“Thank you, Lucia. For looking out for Eve.”
“Eek?! Th-this much is nothing…! It is simply what any proper lady should do, is what it is-wa yo!”
Apparently embarrassed, Lucia quickly drained her juice and sprang to her feet. Just then, Eve emerged from the back with Caramel, hair neatly done.
“……Eve?”
Eve had been toddling out with her usual bouncy steps, but the moment she saw Lucia her smile softened—then her expression stiffened. I wondered what was wrong until I noticed her wedging herself between Lucia and me. That gave me a pretty good idea.
Eve clung to the hem of my clothes like a cicada stuck to a tree. Tug, tug—she was putting every ounce of effort into trying to pull me even a little farther away from the other girl. I gently stroked her forehead.
“Have fun, Eve.”
“…Yes~”
Eve gave me a polite little bow.
“Now then, Eve, let us be on our way, is what it is-wa yo. Today we shall—”
“……….”
“Huh? Eve?”
Jingle~
“Eve?? Where are you going by yourself?! Please don’t leave me behind! Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“……….”
“W-wait! At least say goodbye to the others… Aaaah…! Farewell, is what it is-wa yo!”
Lucia chased after Eve, who had marched straight out the door without a word. Even in her panic, she still remembered to say a proper goodbye. Watching them, I couldn’t help but swallow a quiet laugh.
“Eve’s jealous.”
“…Could you please not say that with such a stupid grin on your face?”
“You wouldn’t be smiling if it were you?”
“If it were me, Eve wouldn’t be going out at all today.”
“…Why are you being so prickly? Are you jealous too?”
Caramel, properly stung, grumbled and sulked.
“……Absooooluuutely nooot, is what I’m saaaaying~?”
Whether she sulked or not, I continued with what I wanted to say.
“Lately it feels like Eve’s opened her heart to me even more.”
“Oh, is that so.”
“If things keep going like this, maybe we really can become a true family. Even if I can’t be her parent, I might at least become something like a real older brother.”
“You dream big, don’t you.”
Caramel’s tone was sharp. As usual, whenever Eve was involved, her jealousy kicked into high gear.
“Now that I think about it, Caramel.”
“……Hmph.”
“Have you heard anything from Eve about school?”
“………School…? Um, no, I haven’t. Is something going on?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t really know either.”
“You’re being awfully vague……”
“It does seem like she’s considering going… Ah, I just heard that from Lucia a moment ago.”
Caramel rubbed her chin thoughtfully at my words.
“You haven’t heard it directly from Eve?”
“Not yet.”
When I nodded, Caramel flashed a knowing grin.
“Hehehe! It just means Eve has reached the age where she finds her friends more comfortable than her teacher! Puberty is beginning! You’d better start mentally preparing yourself, Teacher!”
“…What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?”
Caramel raised a finger as if lecturing me.
“Puberty is a terrifying thing, you know. Kids who used to run around saying ‘Big sis! Big sis! I love you!’ suddenly start snapping, ‘Ugh, seriously! Stop coming into my room!’ Or you plan a nice birthday party like always, and they go, ‘I’m hanging out with my friends that day, so no thanks.’ If I imagine Eve… Eve turning out like that… Hic… Sob…!”
Apparently the memories of her own younger siblings had triggered some kind of PTSD; Caramel began swallowing back noisy tears.
“Nooo…! Eve! I’m begging you! Please don’t abandon this big sister Caramel like all the others!”
…She was throwing a full-blown tantrum all by herself.
It had already been half a year since I met Eve. She was still a little young to talk about puberty, but children grow up so fast that if you take your eyes off them for even a day, they seem to shoot up overnight. In our small studio apartment, Eve measured her height once every two weeks. I’d thought she would get tired of it quickly, but she kept every promise she made to me, standing on tiptoe to reach the mark. Eve was still growing more slowly than other children her age, but she was steadily getting taller. This year, next year—she would keep growing little by little. Even if the number of secrets she kept from me increased, there was nothing I could do about that.
“It’s fine… She’s still young. If she gets any older, puberty really might hit. …When she gets older……”
A sudden, chilling thought flashed through my mind.
“……Wait a second. ‘Age’…?”
Eve’s age. To be precise, something in the stream of words Caramel had been muttering had caught my attention in a strange way.
“…Caramel.”
“…Hahaha, so big sis is too scary and you don’t like her? I don’t want to scold you either… I want to be a good big sister, a good big sis, you know? I just—”
“Caramel!”
“………Y-yes? Yes?! Did you call me?”
“…Now that I think about it, when is Eve’s birthday?”
“………….”
The chatterbox who had been talking to herself fell completely silent. I had done the same the moment the words left my mouth. Birthday. Why hadn’t I realized it until now? It had already been half a year. I first met Eve around the end of last year, so nearly half a year had already passed. The seasons had turned once, and the weather was now close to late spring, almost early summer. The four seasons here were quite cool, so even when the temperature dropped it was still comfortable enough to wear a light jacket… which meant…… Ah, no. This wasn’t the time to be thinking about any of that.
Eve. Eve’s birthday. If it had already been half a year, there was nearly a fifty-percent chance that her birthday had already passed.
“What do I do?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Should I ask her directly? Eve, I mean?”
“At this point?! You’re going to ask her when her birthday is? I couldn’t do that! Wh-what if it’s already passed…! Eek!”
“Right? J-just wait a moment… Um… In times like this… as an adult… Ah! That’s right!”
I had fallen into a complete panic at the possibility that I might have missed Eve’s birthday. I had almost no experience celebrating birthdays. I had stopped caring about my own a long time ago. At best, the only person who ever remembered mine was my part-timer, Caramel. But if the person in question was Eve, that was a completely different story.
“Hold on. There’s someone I can ask.”
I hurriedly spun the dial on the counter phone. After a few rings, a familiar voice answered. I got straight to the point.
“Hey, it’s me. I need to ask you something real quick…… Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll call you normally from now on too. It’s not like I only contact you when I need something. I mean it. You’re the only one among my old colleagues I can ask, that’s all.”
The person on the other end wasn’t easy to deal with. A sharp, irritated voice immediately stabbed at my eardrum. Still, among all the people I knew, no one was better informed than her. Finding out the birthday of a girl who had once been the hidden young lady of a famous ducal house would probably be as easy as drinking water for her.
“You found it? Ah, yeah. Thanks. Yeah, let’s catch up later.”
After barely managing to soothe her and get the information I needed, I hung up the phone.
“Hmmm~ It was a woman, wasn’t it~”
Caramel’s voice carried a meaningful tone.
“When you say old colleague, is she also a pharmacist? Or a doctor?”
“No, she’s a mage with a rather unique personality. We worked together a long time ago. She’s one of them.”
“Now that you mention it, what exactly did you do before you came here, Teacher?”
“Caramel. That’s not important right now.”
I quietly cut her off. It might have sounded like I was dodging the question, but there was something far more urgent on my mind. I covered my face with both hands and said,
“……Eve’s birthday is in two days.”