Memory (5)

Truly, and to my great surprise, the embarrassment arrived one beat late.

At first, I'd actually thought, what was the big deal about wearing some dress?

I'd already worn a bunny-girl outfit. It was an outfit that left most of my upper chest practically bare, and honestly, if we were going ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by the standard of sheer mortification, it was the kind of outfit most ordinary people wouldn't even consider putting on. So I figured, a dress of the sort that people commonly wear out and about couldn't possibly be that embarrassing.

It didn't expose my chest, and it didn't even particularly expose my shoulders. It was just... a perfectly ordinary outfit of the kind any other noble young lady might walk around in.

The skirt portion was even far longer than the school uniform I usually wore. Which was only natural. Honestly, as befitted a game where the female character designs were a major part of the core content, the uniform skirt was on the short side even compared to real-world school uniforms. So, by the standard of 'mortification,' there was no objective reason I should have felt embarrassed wearing this.

When Alice had seen me in the morning, she'd only been a little surprised, and she hadn't made any particular fuss.

But I only understood once I'd gone out for breakfast.

That embarrassment wasn't determined by some 'objective degree of exposure,' but by the reactions the people around me showed upon seeing my outfit.

When I'd worn the bunny-girl outfit, Alice had been beside me, and though it had been honestly quite mortifying, Claire's reaction to seeing the two of us like that had been closer to 'flabbergasted.' On top of that, there had been all sorts of excuses to lean on.

But this dress was something I had taken out and put on by my own will.

And the other people who saw this outfit focused precisely on that fact.

"Wow!"

Claire, who had stared at me with a blank expression for about three seconds when she first saw me, had her face brighten in an instant. Then she clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling, and came up to me.

"Sis, it suits you incredibly well!"

At the familiar address ‘Sis,’ I saw the eyebrows of the Baroness standing near Claire rise ever so slightly. She did not openly reveal her reaction, however, and approached with graceful composure before speaking.

"The attire I saw yesterday suited you well, but the outfit you wear now suits you quite splendidly as well."

"Does it?"

And those reactions were far more, well, ticklish than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back when Leo had blushed upon seeing me in the bunny-girl outfit.

Even Leo's reaction was similar this time.

Normally, Leo would have stood there slack-jawed upon seeing me like this, but maybe it was because he was at his own home, or perhaps because we'd now known each other for an entire semester and he'd decided we were somewhat close. Leo approached me with a 'protagonist smile' on his face and said,

"It really suits you."

And it was only then that I could recall.

There had been no character named Sylvia Fangriffon in the original story, but if a scene like this had existed in that original game, it would definitely have been a Bond Event for 'Sylvia Fangriffon.'

As I imagined empty heart containers sitting beneath the name I used in this world, and one of those heart containers filling about halfway with a pink color, goosebumps broke out all over my back.

"Does it."

But what could I do? If I said 'No, it doesn't' here, that would be a cliché in its own right.

I could look on the bright side that my character framing was working its way in well, but that didn't mean I wanted to feel like I was being 'won over as a target.' I might have lived ten years in this world inside a woman's body, but my soul was still a man's.

"The children will definitely feel much more comfortable meeting you too, Sis."

Claire said that, seeming not to have noticed my thoughts at all. Actually, no one around here had. They probably couldn't even conceive of this world as a game world... In the first place, the very concept of a video game did not exist in this world.

Even if it did exist, I doubted they could have imagined it.

"Does it."

Beside me, Alice was staring intently at me as I could say nothing but 'Does it.' This was the same Alice who, just a short while before we'd left the room, had given a whole speech about achieving a 'ladylike,' soft shoulder line.

Alice's expression didn't give away much either, but for some reason I thought I detected 'satisfaction' settled within it.

*

Daniel still reddened a little when he faced me.

I seriously considered, once again, whether Daniel might have recognized me.

Never once in my prior life had I entertained the thought that I might be someone's first love. The original me, in order to become anyone's first love... well, I hadn't been particularly handsome.

But 'Sylvia Black's' appearance was different.

All the children from that orphanage had been quite decent-looking, but there hadn't been many who were clearly growing into the overt form of a 'beautiful girl' like Claire or me. The rest were all too young for that.

On top of that, I had been one of the very few people in that place, which calling an orphanage felt too generous, who had treated the children kindly.

I wouldn't have been surprised if he held feelings of admiration toward me. Just as Claire had.

"It would be... this way."

The Baroness had excused herself early after the meal. They'd said she was busy, but half the reason was probably simply that she didn't intend to intrude on my reunion with the other children.

"It looks like everyone's gathered."

"Ah, yes."

As I followed behind Daniel and asked, he nodded.

"They aren't all in the exact same room, but the ones with similar duties end up living in similar spaces regardless."

That was certainly true.

A butler's quarters couldn't be the same as a maid's, nor could a guard's quarters.

And no matter how small the territory was, it wasn't so small that two or three people could guard it. Assuming there needed to be people keeping watch around the clock, the numbers would have to be quite high, and if they'd hired all the children from the orphanage, most of them would have become guards.

Even considering that over half the children at the orphanage had been girls.

"It's here."

The spot where Daniel stopped was an annex, set apart from the main building. It was also one of the places I'd spotted immediately upon entering the territory.

It was quite a fine building to simply call 'lodgings.' If this was where the servants lived, then the Grace Barony truly offered its servants rather decent welfare.

Daniel immediately opened the door and stepped inside, holding the door and waiting until we had all entered.

Seeing a boy even shorter than me do such a thing felt somehow awkward and uncomfortable, but this world worked that way, so there was nothing to be done. Especially since Claire, Leo, and Alice all acted as if it were completely natural.

Once we were inside the building, the hot air ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seemed to subside a little. There appeared to be some kind of cooling system here as well. Be it a steam engine or magic.

Unexpectedly, the interior resembled a hotel. It wasn't exactly an expensive hotel, but more like an old, classic, rustic inn you might find somewhere in the European countryside. There was no one at the lobby counter, however.

"Two people share each room. The people Your Highness wishes to meet, they are, well..."

As Daniel's gaze shifted toward Claire, Claire's face lit up with a beaming smile and she nodded.

"The kids who used to stay together with me and you."

"I understand."

Daniel glanced at me once more for my reaction.

"Then... I will go and call ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them."

I nodded at Daniel's words.

*

After we had been sitting in the lobby chairs for a few minutes, faces began to appear in the lobby one or two at a time.

The number of children who had escaped together back then had been twelve, including me, Claire, and Daniel.

The kids who came out shyly, one by one, didn't seem to have a very large age gap with Daniel.

Though most of them were bigger than Daniel. Whether girl or boy.

"Hi!"

"Sis!"

As Claire waved her hand, a girl with short dark brown hair and a lively, outgoing look cried out like that, then spotted us behind Claire and quickly shut her mouth.

Ah, I realized.

It seemed all the children who had fled together back then had lived leaning on one another. Like siblings.

Judging that Alice and I were 'nobles' the moment she saw us, the girl who had been about to dash forward quickly moderated her steps and walked toward us demurely.

Then, lightly holding her skirt, she gave a polite greeting.

"Good day to you."

"......"

I was trying to recall this child's name, and so I had no room to spare to answer her greeting.

Before that child could even say her own name, more children continued to emerge from the corridor.

Red hair, blonde, grey, blue... Now that I looked, the hair colors were quite diverse. Could it be that the criterion the old woman had used to buy children back then had included hair color?

While I was lost in my own thoughts, all the children had gathered.

They numbered nine.

Not a single one was missing.