“Good morning, fa...”
After waking up, Anna had started to mumble her morning greeting—a newfound habit of hers as of late—only to remember that she was all alone in the room.
“Oh... That’s right.”
After yesterday’s conversation, Anna had been led to a room that had been prepared for her in the main Socom Co. building. As they had no idea what form the assailants’ next attack might take, they couldn’t have Anna stay all alone at Watt’s home.
“And here I thought I was used to this.”
Back when she’d been living in the capital, Anna had always spent her time alone. As a royal, while she’d had instructors and people to take care of her needs, she never even saw her stepfather or her half-siblings. Her mother was the only one who was kind to her, and even then, their time together had always been extremely limited. In the words of Lezamer, her stepfather, it had been to equip her with the sort of character that wouldn’t bring her shame as a royal, but she knew well enough it was because they wanted nothing to do with her.
Anna looked back on the week—only one week—she’d spent in the city since her arrival. Her real father was unkempt and rough around the edges, and living together with him had proven a challenge. If she hadn’t said anything, he would’ve tried to go on living in that messy room, filling his belly with whatever he could get his hands on. He had practically no belongings of his own. It was a far cry from her life in the staunchly beautiful and clean palace. It was too much—unable to bear such slovenness, Anna had discarded the humility that had been pounded into her and made her objections known.
“But that’s your fault, father!”
Anna had never planned on butting in like that in the first place. It was only after having come to the city for the first time that Anna realized that she was the type who could put things so frankly. Eating together with someone... Spending time with the people of the city... It was all so colorful and vivid that she couldn’t even start to compare it to the ashen grays of her days at the palace. There were no servants who treated her like a piece of furniture around now. The city had marked her first encounter with others who met her with warm, loving care.
“If I could... I wish I could just stay h—”
Knock-knock-knock-knock!
Anna found her time wallowing in her own thoughts brought to a swift end by the energetic knocks repeatedly sounding on the other side of the door. Anna rushed to the door, but before she could even open it, Meddié burst into the room, smiling from ear to ear.
“Top of the morning! Starting today, I’ll be keeping you safe in master’s place!”
“Good...morning.”
Anna remembered that there’d been talk of such an arrangement. Given that Meddié was also a girl and was close to her age, she’d been recommended as the perfect fit for the job.
“I truly appreciate it. But, now that you mention it... Will everything be okay with your job, Meddié?”
“No need to worry!” she answered. “Pops is the lord of the land, and this is the official role he assigned me to! Not to mention all the Hunters’ Guild members got summoned here! There’s no work for me to do over there now. So let’s go grab some breakfast together!”
Anna didn’t even have the time to nod back before Meddié swiftly grabbed her hand and led her out. Meddié was bold in a different way than Watt was—the type to pay no heed to trivial matters...even though she didn’t have to imitate her master to quite that extent.
“So what’re we gonna go for? Got any favorite foods, Anna? Oh, better yet, anything you can’t eat?”
“There’s nothing I’d rather avoid,” Anna answered. “And in terms of what I like...there’s nothing in particular. Back in the capital, they always told me to eat whatever I must.”
“Whaaaa? Well, I guess we’re fine with my pick, then! There’s a joint with some seriously good soup just up ahead. Oh, actually, the place got caught in the middle of the battle and wound up destroyed, but still!”
Meddié said it so cheerfully that Anna didn’t know quite how to respond. With Meddié leading her by the hand as she went on chatting about this and that, Anna hurriedly proceeded through the city.
All throughout town, efforts to remove the rubble had been underway since the crack of dawn. Even if an enemy were to come tomorrow, it was just as important for the people of the city to live through today. The Mild Bulls were taking charge of the cleanup, making full use of their strength. They were doing a fine job demonstrating just what work machines were capable of.
Watching the stumpy Mild Bulls busily carry off debris from destroyed buildings, a faint pain stole across Anna’s heart. Watt had told her not to let it eat at her, but she still wasn’t quite that strong.
“Um, if it might be all right, could you perhaps lend me a Mild Bull?” Anna asked.
“Whaaa?! I mean, I could pull some strings, but...why?”
With nothing but breakfast on her brain, Meddié was startled at the sudden question. Were they going to go grab food in their Mechsteels? No, surely not!
“I figured I might be able to help them clean up too, so...”
“Oh, so that’s what you were getting at! Hmm... I think that might not be the best idea.”
“Why not?” Anna asked. “Wouldn’t I be good enough?”
Puzzled at the desperate look on Anna’s face as she doubled down, Meddié shook her head. “That’s not it. It’s just, we’ve got all the Mild Bulls out working right now. We’d have to push somebody off the job.”
Anna paused. “I failed to consider that. I’m terribly sorry...”
“H-Hold on just a sec! You don’t have to get so down about it! What’s wrong? Are you feeling really uneasy without master around?”
With Anna’s head hung low as she stared at the ground, Meddié rushed to support her. Even then, however, Anna’s expression remained dark.
“No, that’s not it. It’s just...” Anna started. “Part of the responsibility for the attack on the city rests with me. Everyone here has been so kind to me, so I thought cleaning up the city was the very least I could do...”
“Whaaa? Look, Anna, you’re taking things just a little too seriously!”
Meddié’s eyes were round with surprise, but Anna couldn’t help but wonder if she was truly being too serious. In Anna’s eyes, it would be far more unbearable to do nothing.
“All righty, then! Let’s hurry up and get some breakfast first!” Meddié said. “That just now? You get down in the dumps when your stomach’s empty, see?”
Meddié picked up the pace as she made her spirited declaration. Entirely at Meddié’s mercy, Anna followed after her, only for her eyes to widen in shock at the sight of Meddié’s “pick.” The restaurant had been destroyed in the attack the other day, so they’d set up a simple tent instead. Anna dashed off toward the owner, who was serving up soup, as soon as she laid eyes on her.