I feel trapped between my parents’ delighted chatter and my sister’s terrifying aura.
Wh-What should I do?
The situation’s quickly devolving in a way I never could have imagined. Are we really going to leave the village?! There’s no way we can say no now that our parents are completely onboard. It’s always been like this with our parents. And since I know their intentions are good, it’s easy enough for me and Claire to get swept away in their plans.
Ahaha… I wonder what will happen next?
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🦊 🦊 🦊
“PLEASE take care of yourselves. And try not to cause any trouble!”
“Make sure to get in touch with us from time to time. Come back for the next festival!”
And so, here we are. I’m standing next to Claire as we say goodbye to our parents. A part of me feels sad… Although a part of me is too preoccupied with Claire, standing next to me with her cheeks puffed out in annoyance!
“Leave everything to us. We’ll be sure to take great care of your little princesses.”
The source of her annoyance is Ektor, beaming happily and cheerfully promising our parents he’ll watch out for us. According to Claire, this is all a deviously crafted plan by Ektor to get us to follow the original story.
Having successfully saved the village from destruction and diverted the story onto a different path, she’s clearly disgruntled at not knowing exactly what Ektor is up to. Is it possible he has no ulterior motives at all? If she just calms down, she’d realize this is a pretty nice deal.
For starters, it’s not every day that someone from a small village like ours can just head off to a large city like we’re about to. Without enough money saved up, you’d quickly become lost, homeless, and hungry. If you can’t defend yourself, you’ll quickly become monster chow.
Although Claire and I are, more or less, strong enough together, we don’t have any savings. Without the guarantee of a stable source of income in the city, there’s no reason to go. It’d be one thing if we were so poor that we had to go off looking for work, but that isn’t the case here.
Still, as long as you have food, clothing, and shelter, then you have much better prospects in the city than in a small village. The best thing of all is the endless opportunities that await us. I was willing to give it a shot, considering I can get over my fear of big city life… Or at least, that’s what I accidentally told Claire yesterday. Knowing my careless choice of words might’ve partially led to her present grumpiness makes my stomach turn just thinking about it.
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🦊 🦊 🦊
“YOU really want to go, Miku? Ugh!” Claire sighed when I told her yesterday. “Fine. Okay. The story’s different enough now, I guess. Yep, it’ll be fine, I’m sure. I’m coming, too! Ugh, for gosh sakes! Ektor, you jerk!”
Claire finally decided to do the exact thing she’d been fighting so hard to avoid. How could I not feel guilty?!
“I-It’ll be okay, Claire. I promise I’m only thinking about myself! I’m not in love! Okay?”
I hoped my words might help calm her down, but…
“You’re such a doofus, Miku. You’re so sweet and the type of person anyone would fall for. Which is why I can’t let my guard down, not even for a second!”
Ugh! She doesn’t trust me at all! I know I’m oblivious, but still!