Pancakes and First Snow
"Ahem. My apologies. I'll give you extra service next time you come, young man."
"Ah... Yes. Thank you..."
-So that's what it was? Sorry about that!
-...I didn't recognize my benefactor!
-I'll buy you a drink next time!
The meal ended—whether we were eating food or swallowing the townspeople's hostility, I couldn't tell. Fortunately, whether Erielle intended it or not, she spoke up in my defense, and the citizens along with the shop owner wore awkward expressions. Regardless of anything else, I was just relieved that those hostile gazes had disappeared. For a moment there, I really thought I might get stabbed while walking down the street.
"Haa..."
"Why the sigh?"
"It's nothing. Really, it's nothing..."
She asked with a genuinely puzzled look. ...Not knowing what to say, I just brushed it off.
"Well then. What are you going to do now?"
"Me? I should head back to the castle and get back to work. It seems... about time."
Before leaving the stew shop, I'd glanced at the wall clock and seen it was around 1:10. If I started walking to the castle now, the timing should work out.
"Hmm... Don't go just yet."
"....Pardon?"
"I said don't go. Right now... I'm in the middle of getting to know you."
"But..."
As the newest hire, skipping work already wouldn't look good to the other servants, and more than that, it felt wrong to neglect my duties. I was about to refuse when—
"Are you defying me right now?"
"....Understood."
Erielle's eyes flashed, so I had no choice but to obey. No matter what anyone said, I was currently her personal butler. Her orders took priority.
"Hmm... You show a strong sense of responsibility toward your assigned duties. I'll remember that."
Erielle's mutter, as if observing some kind of test subject, grated on me slightly... but what could I do?
"So, what should we do now?"
"Just do whatever you want. Anything at all."
Seeming pleased by my obedient reply, her flashing eyes returned to their usual emotionless state. I'd seen her so often that I was starting to catch faint traces of emotion in those eyes.
....Joy?
Nah, surely not.
"Um... Then shall we find a dessert shop? I heard there's a pancake place that's popular lately..."
"Pancakes?"
When I mentioned the pancake shop I'd heard about from the maids, Erielle's ears seemed to perk up with interest.
"Yes, pancakes. Do you like them?"
"No. Not particularly."
Hmm. That reaction just now... she seemed to like them quite a bit.
"Well then, let's go check it out together!"
"Okay."
Well, she'll know once she tries them! With that, I led the way toward the rumored pancake shop, Erielle trailing behind me.
'There should be one if we take the left path from the central statue... right?'
In the very center of Frost Territory stood a grand statue of a hero. A man gripping the hilt of a sword thrust into the ground with both hands, gazing straight ahead. From what I'd heard, he was the first lord of the Frost family. Anyway.
As we walked along the path, a pretty little shop that clearly sold desserts came into view. Whether it was truly popular lately or not, there was already a line forming out front.
"Mmm~ The smell of pancakes! Lady Erielle, let's hurry and get in line!"
The sweet scent drifting from afar had me excited without realizing it. I grabbed Erielle's hand and pulled her toward the shop.
"............."
Erielle said nothing, simply staring at our joined hands as she followed along.
-Whoa... That looks delicious...!
-Nom nom... Wow...! This is really good!
A couple leaving the shop wore happy expressions as they ate their pancakes. Fluffy pancakes topped with just the right amount of syrup and a small pat of butter. Gulp. I felt drool threatening to escape. They were just pancakes, so why did they look so mouthwatering?
'...This body seems to really like sweet things.'
In my original body, I hadn't particularly sought out sweets. Yet the craving I felt now made it clear this body desperately wanted those fluffy pancakes.
"Haha... I'm actually looking forward to it a bit."
"You... seem to like pancakes quite a lot."
"I suppose so. I've never had them before."
It wasn't a lie. I couldn't even remember if I'd ever eaten pancakes in my life, and since coming to this world, I hadn't even known they existed here.
While lost in thoughts of pancakes, our turn finally arrived.
'Finally... Finally I can eat them...!'
With an excited heart, I approached the pancake shop, only to be met with a sign posted right in front of my eyes.
Sold Out
"....Ah."
That day, my world crumbled.
".......Ah."
Erielle watched Venice, whose face was filled with despair as though the sky itself had fallen. Following his gaze to the shop, she realized the pancakes were sold out.
'He's making that devastated expression over something so trivial?'
It was just dessert. A snack to cleanse the palate after or between meals. Erielle didn't particularly care for desserts. She didn't dislike the sweetness, but it wasn't something that interested her enough to seek out. Well, I can just have some next time, she thought, about to say as much to Venice.
But Venice's entire body had gone limp. His usual confident, mischievous expression was drenched in gloom, and upon closer inspection, his downcast eyes glistened with moisture.
If it had been any other time, Erielle would have told him to stop being foolish and go back. Whether it was her father, mother, or brothers—no matter who the other person was, she would have ignored them and forgotten about it soon enough.
Thump-!
Yet what was this feeling she sensed now?
The moment she saw Venice's tears, something deep in her heart seemed to resonate.
'....What is this?'
She wanted to comfort him for no reason at all. She wanted to grant whatever he desired. She simply wanted to hold him. Faced with emotions and a situation she couldn't understand—something she'd never experienced in her life—Erielle didn't know what to do.
"Let's... go back..."
Still looking dejected, Venice turned away as if reluctant to leave the pancake shop behind, trudging off. Erielle, moved by his pitiful, small-animal-like appearance, found herself walking toward the shop before she knew it, the words spilling out.
"L... Lady Erielle...?"
"Two pancakes. Bring them out."
"H... But we're out of ingredients..."
"I'll pay double. No, five times the price. So just—"
Make the pancakes right now.
The shop owner, eyes wide upon recognizing her, threw off his apron and dashed off somewhere. Returning shortly with ingredients in hand, he began making pancakes at a frantic pace.
"Huff... Huff... H-Here you are..!"
"Mm. Thanks."
Holding the finished pancakes, she approached Venice, who was still trudging along. Even after walking for a while, his steps remained sluggish—he must have been quite upset.
"Venice."
"Yes..."
"Eat this."
"Y... Yes? Th... This is..!"
The moment he saw the pancakes, his gloomy expression brightened in an instant. How could his emotions shift so quickly?
"Th... Thank you...!"
And then she watched as Venice practically inhaled the pancakes, looking as though he might cry from sheer emotion. It was just pancakes. Could they really make someone that happy?
"Nom nom... Lady Erielle, you should... have some too..!"
"Okay."
At his words, she scooped up a small bite with a spoon and placed it in her mouth. The fluffiness and sweetness spread across her tongue. It was an ordinary pancake, no different from any other. The kind of pancake the old Erielle would have taken one bite of before discarding.
"....It's good, right?"
She looked at Venice, who wore a blissful smile as if he possessed everything in the world. She could feel his desire to share that happiness with her.
"Yeah. It's delicious."
Thump. Thump.
Today, for some reason... the pancakes tasted especially sweet.
Letting the falling snowflakes brush against her, she surrendered herself to an indescribable yet not unpleasant feeling. Gazing at your smile—sweeter than any pancake.
"Commander!"
"Vice-Commander Cerise."
Winter had arrived after autumn passed. I walked the streets with the Commander.
"It's cold out."
"Ah...! Hehe.."
The Commander personally wrapped a scarf he'd embroidered around my neck. In that moment, I felt as though I possessed everything in the world. I needed nothing else. If only this moment could last forever.
Then the first snow of the year began to fall. I stared blankly at the snowflakes before turning my gaze to the Commander, who was also looking up at the sky. Though the weather was cold, the warmth of being with my beloved made me forget the chill entirely.
And that warmth drew out the feelings I'd been desperately hiding.
"Commander...."
"Hm? What is it, Vice-Commander Cerise?"
"I... I lo—"
The words I'd kept hidden went unsaid as the world shattered into pieces.
"................"
Without even thinking to wipe away the tears that had begun to flow, Cerise simply stared blankly at the ceiling. The dream—sweeter than pancakes, one she never wanted to leave—faded away, leaving only the miserable reality to jolt her awake.
"..........."
For no reason at all, she gazed out the window beside her bed. Outside, the first snow of the year fell beautifully, leaving its traces upon the world.
Her reflection in the glass. Those clear, ocean-blue eyes were dead, reflecting only an endless abyss.
"Your eyes are beautiful."
Suddenly, she remembered the Commander saying that about her eyes. Was that a real memory, or a sweet lie from a dream? Without even trying to determine the truth, only tears continued to fall from Cerise's lifeless eyes.
"Hic... Sniff.... Hic...!"
Feeling as though her heart might burst from the crushing pain, she endlessly repeated the words she'd never been able to say...
Recalling that face and voice she would never see or hear again.
The first snow began to fall.