The Girl Who Woke First
Unlike every other morning, Charlotte woke before Ed.
Rubbing her eyes, she pushed herself upright, stretched once, then checked the window.
Realizing how early it still was, she braced herself on her cane, rose carefully, and opened the door toward the living room.
"..."
The living room was still.
Someone was clearly asleep on the sofa—yet the quiet held all the same.
Charlotte stood in front of the sleeper and watched him for a while, until she nearly lost her balance and had to shift her footing.
She took the book she had been reading from the living-room shelf and sat down across from him.
Before opening it, she rested the volume on her knees and simply studied the sleeping face opposite her.
He lay utterly still, eyes shut and nothing more—and still Charlotte looked delighted.
After quite some time had passed that way, she finally stopped watching and opened the book.
A bookmark and a note that said Use this had been left at the page where she had folded the corner, so of course she glanced up at the seat across from her again.
Ed woke and opened his eyes without a sound.
Like her, he turned toward the window and checked the hour.
He started to rise to prepare breakfast—then stopped cold when he realized Charlotte was sitting opposite him.
The cane. The book on her knees. The loose posture. The closed eyes.
From those details Ed concluded, quite neatly, that Charlotte had woken first, come out to the living room to read, and dozed off again.
Armed with that discovery, he stretched lightly, stood, brushed a hand over Charlotte’s hair for a moment, and left her there.
"..."
What he did not know was that Charlotte was awake.
She had only wanted to see how he would react if she pretended to sleep—and the very next instant, Ed had stroked her hair.
Color rose faintly in her cheeks. She opened her eyes with care and looked around.
Ed was gone.
Charlotte took up her cane, rose, and set off toward wherever she guessed he had gone.
She hesitated briefly between the kitchen and Ed’s room—then headed for the kitchen first.
"Ah… good morning, Master… haaah…"
"You look half-asleep. Good morning."
Sure enough, Ed had just finished cooking breakfast. Charlotte offered him her morning greeting.
Ed sat at the kitchen table with the food; Charlotte sat across from him.
"I woke up so early I thought I’d read for a bit… but I must have fallen asleep again."
"Sleeping upright is bad for you. From now on, take the book to your room when you read."
"But you sleep sitting up, Master. When you do that, it makes me uneasy."
"I told you before, didn’t I? The work I do involves lost travelers and wild beasts.
There’s no law that says those two only appear during the day. So I always sleep lightly.
Besides, Charlotte—the room you’re using is the guest room. I’m grateful for the concern, but I won’t accept the guest room being given up for me."
"Well… that’s true, I suppose," Charlotte said, though she did nothing to ease her worry about him.
She seemed determined to find a reason for Ed to sleep properly in a bed.
If she used the guest room alone, didn’t that make it her room? The thought crossed her mind—and then she found a reason she thought might stick, and opened her mouth again.
"Then… won’t the fatigue pile up until you can’t do your work when you need to?"
"I may not look it, but I know how to make magical tools. I get plenty of help from my own devices."
"Ah—right. Now that you mention it, this prosthetic, too…"
"No. That one isn’t my work. I had help from someone else."
"O-oh, is that so," Charlotte muttered, scratching her head in mild embarrassment. Ed soothed her, saying the misunderstanding was perfectly reasonable.
"Ah! Then that ring you’re working on… is that the magical tool you just mentioned?"
"It is. I shaped it as a ring, with a prayer for peace and rest in mind."
"It’s a pretty design. It’s amazing that something so small can hold magic."
"Want to try it on for a moment?"
Ed slipped the ring from the ring finger of his right hand and set it on the table. Charlotte thanked him and picked it up.
She moved quite naturally to put it on the ring finger of her left hand—so Ed stopped her.
His sudden urgency startled her for a second, but once she heard the reason she apologized.
"I-I just… wanted to try it in the same place as you, Master…"
"Mine was the right hand. Put it on that side."
"Ah—yes…"
Cheeks still pink, Charlotte slid the ring onto her right hand and let out a soft little "Ohh" of wonder.
"Well? How does it feel?"
"It’s like the tiredness has eased a little. It’s really strange."
She turned her hand this way and that, studying the ring for a moment longer.
"About this ring… I’d like to try it on my left hand too. Which finger should I use?"
"Anywhere but the ring finger will be fine."
"Ah—understood."
Hearing that, Charlotte took the ring from her right hand and set it on her left.
Her expression shifted from expectant to openly curious.
"What is it?"
"Even on my left hand, the effect still seems to work. Do ordinary prosthetics usually do that?"
"Ordinarily, no. I can only marvel at how finely made that arm is."
"So something incredible is attached to my body…"
Charlotte flexed the prosthetic, opening and closing her left hand—then, as if suddenly remembering herself, pulled the ring off.
"Ah—I’ll give the ring back."
She set it on the table. Ed picked it up and slipped it on again.
He seemed to notice her watching the motion. After a glance at her hands, he spoke.
"Do you need one?"
"N-no? Ah—no! I was only looking. You don’t have to go that far for me."
"One tool related to stamina shouldn’t hurt, though."
"…I can’t argue with that."
"Settled, then. Today we go buy a tool."
"Today? Right away…!?"
The day’s plan decided, Ed rose at once and began clearing the empty dishes.
"Th-then! I’ll go change…!"
Charlotte scrambled up as well, grabbed her cane, and hurried off at a quick walk.
What she was wearing now was the same sort of easy, practical clothes as last time.
Even so, she had said she would change. Ed tilted his head for a second—then seemed to decide it wasn’t worth fretting over.
Once every dish was put away, Ed rinsed his hands briefly and headed for Charlotte’s room.
He caught the doorknob, ready to open it—then stopped when he heard the rustle of someone changing inside.
She must have heard him too; Charlotte’s voice rang out from beyond the door.
"J-just a moment, please! I’m almost finished!"
"In that case, I’ll go change as well."
"Ah—yes…!"
At her answer, Ed turned toward the wardrobe in the living room.
Why keep a wardrobe in the living room? he wondered for half a second—then saw it was packed with outerwear and accepted the arrangement.
His choice was a blue coat.
His current top was gray, his trousers black; the combination worked well enough on its own terms.
"S-sorry to keep you waiting…!"
Before Ed could return to her door, Charlotte appeared, already changed.
A light-brown skirt that fell to her ankles, a white short-sleeved top, and a pale-pink cardigan over it.
Her slightly tousled hair had been combed smooth; she had swept her bangs a little to the side, giving her a different air than usual.
"…You bought clothes like that as well?"
"I got several everyday outfits, and this one. Is it pretty?"
The long skirt and cardigan hid the prosthetic arm and leg; at a glance she looked like anyone else.
Well. They may be my own work, but to an ordinary person they’re still a bit much. Can’t be helped, he thought.
"It’s the sort of outfit a straw hat would suit. It looks good on you."
"Hehe… I’m glad."
To Charlotte, swaying a little with pleasure, Ed said only, "Shall we, then," and led the way.
She followed with a bright, contented look on her face.
So dwarves and elves really do marry, Ed thought.
The place he and Charlotte had reached was a jewelry shop run jointly by a dwarf and an elf.
The sign even said they were married. All he could do was marvel.
"Everything here has the same effect. Pick whatever looks pretty to you."
"Understood. Gloves… or a pendant, maybe."
Balancing carefully on her cane, Charlotte used her free hand to sort through the pieces.
She wavered between gloves and a pendant—and in the end chose the pendant.
"If I’m going to wear it for long stretches, a pendant is better. Gloves would hide the prosthetic, which is a plus… but still."
"I don’t think you need to hide it, personally."
"I’d like that, but… on the way here we passed some children, and they were scared of my arm. It stuck with me.
When I didn’t have the prosthetic, they only looked at me with pity. It’s a strange feeling."
"Do you really need to care what brats think?"
"If you say so, Ed, then I suppose it doesn’t matter… but back when I was a slave, I was the older sister, the big-sister figure.
That’s why I was still alive even though no one bought me—looking after the little ones’ hearts. So when they dislike me, I get a little sad, I guess…"
Charlotte’s gaze slid aside; her grip on the pendant tightened.
Ed listened in silence, then paused and picked up a pair of white gloves.
"These will be more convenient for everyday life."
Charlotte didn’t seem to realize the gloves were meant for her; she murmured under her breath that black might have suited better.
"Try them on."
"Huh—yes!?"
Ed tossed her the gloves. Charlotte braced carefully against the wall and pulled them on.
They ran a little longer than ordinary gloves, so the cardigan covered the tops of them completely.
"Well? Do they suit me?"
She spread both hands and brought them up near her face—almost like she was offering a two-handed greeting.
"They suit you well."
"Then I’m glad."
Right there, Charlotte took off the gloves and the pendant and handed them to Ed. He headed toward the dwarf who seemed to be the shopkeeper.
Unable to pick up the cane she had dropped, Charlotte simply waited where she stood.
"Miss, did you drop this?"
Charlotte turned toward the voice from the other direction. A woman elf stood there, holding her cane.
She looked just like the elf painted on the sign. Probably the very same person.
"Ah—yes, that’s mine. Thank you."
"Think nothing of it. You’re a customer; this much is only proper."
Charlotte gave a small bow and took the cane.
She started toward Ed, leaning on it—but he was already walking back, so she stopped.
"I’ll put the pendant on for you. The gloves I’ll give you once we’re home."
"Understood."
When Ed stepped in front of her, Charlotte quietly closed her eyes. He fastened the pendant around her neck.
Once it was on, she opened her eyes again and touched the pendant with her left hand.
"Shall we head back, then?"
"What about… buying a straw hat?"
Ed, about to leave the jewelry shop, checked his step at her words.
"I don’t know where a hat shop would be."
He seemed mildly put out by the suggestion, lingering in thought for a moment.
It didn’t feel like a lie. He genuinely didn’t know the location, and that alone was enough to leave him awkward.
Whether she noticed or not, Charlotte caught his sleeve with her left hand and pointed with her cane in a particular direction.
"It’s right next to the clothing shop. I spotted it last time."
"In that case, we’ll go that way."
When Ed accepted the idea, Charlotte broke into a small, bashful smile.
"Ed."
"What is it, Charlotte?"
"Thank you for always putting up with my selfishness."
"You may have been the older sister once—but when you’re with me, you’re just a little kid."
Ed smoothed her hair gently, then went on.
"And I’m not so cold that I’d ignore a child’s words. You can always tell me things like that."
"I just… wanted you to know. Thank you. Always."
"I’ll gladly accept that feeling. Let’s be on our way."
"Yes. Shall we go, then?"
The conversation finished, the two of them set off for the hat shop beside the clothing store.
Walking a half-step behind Ed, Charlotte touched her own hair now and then and smiled to herself.
"They’re awfully cute kids, aren’t they?"
"I don’t know. We were probably like that when we were students. Cute, though, I’ll grant you."
Leaving the elf and dwarf’s conversation behind us, I followed the two of them as well.
They really were cute kids.