The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent

“But honestly, it feels a little unfair.”

Claire grumbled while doing the dishes after dinner.

“The dishes?”

“Huh? Oh, no no, not that.”

When I asked, a bit startled, Claire quickly shook her head.

For a moment, I’d been worried she was unhappy about taking turns with house chores, and I inwardly sighed in relief.

“I meant Charlotte’s hobby.”

“You mean cooking?”

“Yeah.”

Claire tilted her head as she spoke.

“It’s just... she feels kind of on a different level from us. Like she’s the only one acting like an adult.”

So, it wasn’t really a complaint—just a bit of envy, it seemed.

“Don’t you think being jealous like that is more childish?”

But to be fair, she really was a kid. We were only adults on paper—legally, at least. Well, I had actually been a real adult once.

At my words, Claire puffed up her cheeks.

“Being adult-like isn’t always a good thing. Sometimes life’s more fun when you keep a bit of your inner child.”

I tried to soothe her gently.

“If Claire were all grown-up and said things like ‘Santa isn’t real’ or ‘ghosts don’t exist,’ we probably wouldn’t have any pumpkins or Christmas trees in the house. To enjoy the end of the year properly, you need a heart willing to enjoy that stuff.”

“...Is that so?”

Just because you get older doesn’t mean you automatically become an adult.

The things you {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} admired as a child, the things you wanted, the places you dreamed of going—they linger in your heart. And once you grow up and get a little money and freedom, you find yourself finally trying out those things, one by one.

And honestly, it’s surprisingly enjoyable.

Not having those things doesn’t make someone pitiful. If cooking brings you joy, then cook. That’s all there is to it.

Besides—

“If you think about it, Claire’s hobby is actually really wholesome.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes. Building a fit body through exercise is a hobby many people pursue.”

At the very least, it’s healthier than just sitting and playing games all day.

“But my ultimate goal is to do a body profile shoot.”

“That’s not considered embarrassing in this world.”

In Azerna, it might be a fairly scandalous photo.

A baron’s daughter posing half-naked for a photo—honestly, in the next century she might be featured in a book titled Women Ahead of Their Time. Not that Claire would ever make those photos public.

“...”

Claire didn’t say anything for a while and just focused on washing the dishes. It looked like she was turning over my words in her head.

“Still, it’s unfair.”

But in the end, she pouted and said it again.

Told you—she’s still just a kid.

*

Where there are outsiders, there are insiders. Statistically, insiders probably outnumber outsiders. After all, they form groups. And within those, there are nerds and non-nerds alike.

To me, Charlotte was clearly the latter. Not into subculture, but also the type who didn’t judge others, listened well, responded politely—a genuinely warm person.

Her hobbies were squeaky clean. She’d probably do just fine in any social situation.

She once said she didn’t have many friends, but judging from her personality, that wasn’t because of her character—it was because her circumstances forced her to doubt everything and everyone around her.

Claire had grumbled about it before, but I never thought we needed to force some “nerdy” side out of Charlotte.

That was what I used to think.

That day’s morning was a little different than usual.

Claire and Mia were editing videos in the streaming room. Alice was in her room, browsing cosmetics. I didn’t know what Charlotte was up to, but she was in her room alone too.

At some point, I looked at the clock—it was almost lunchtime.

For some reason, I didn’t feel like cooking or doing dishes today, and the idea of ordering food crossed my mind.

Actually, I just really wanted a sandwich.

I grabbed my phone and opened the delivery app. First, I went to Alice’s room—my room too—and asked her what she wanted. Then I headed to the streaming room to get Mia and Claire’s choices.

Coming back through the living room, I picked my own menu and headed toward Charlotte and Mia’s shared room.

I opened the door without knocking.

“...”

“...”

And locked eyes with Charlotte, who looked completely startled.

I looked at her face, and then at what she was holding.

Charlotte was holding up the shoulder of a magical girl outfit—one Mia had bought—and pressing it against her body.

It probably wouldn’t fit. Mia ate a lot, but she had a body type that just didn’t gain weight.

More than that, their body types and bone structures were completely different. No matter how you looked at it, that magical girl costume—which was clearly not very stretchy—wasn’t going to fit Charlotte.

And yet, the reason Charlotte was holding it up to herself was obvious.

She wanted to try it on.

“...”

“...”

Charlotte’s lips twitched, like she was trying to explain—but no words came out.

I just stood there silently, staring at her, then slowly stepped out of the room and reached for the door.

“Wait a minute!”

Thud.

Charlotte lunged forward and stopped the door with a thud.

“It’s fine. Go ahead and keep doing what you were doing. I’ll ask about the menu later.”

“W-What are you saying?! You’re totally misunderstanding this—it’s not what it looks like!”

Oh, please.

“Everyone has private hobbies. Whether to share them with others is entirely up to the person. If you were secretly holding up a magical girl outfit to yourself, that just means it’s something you didn’t want to tell us.”

“That’s not—! Okay, it kind of is, but that’s not the point!”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone else.”

“No! That’s not the issue! The real problem is when people who do find out totally misinterpret it! And stop looking at me like you feel sorry for me!”

Charlotte yanked the door open and grabbed my wrist, pulling me inside.

Click.

She closed the door quietly. If she’d slammed it, the others would definitely come check.

“Let me explain.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I’m going to anyway, so listen.”

Her eyes were blazing with determination, so I kept my mouth shut.

“First of all, I don’t want to be a magical girl.”

My eyes drifted toward the bed. She must have put the outfit down while pulling me in. It wasn’t tossed or crumpled—it looked like she’d placed it carefully, probably because it belonged to Mia.

“It’s because of the design of the outfit!”

As my eyes narrowed, Charlotte’s cheeks flushed red.

“I mean, that outfit has so much lace!”

“Well, it is a magical girl costume.”

“No, I mean—!”

Charlotte sounded frustrated.

“It looks like the dresses the princesses wear in this world’s fairy tales!”

“...”

It took me a second to process what she meant.

Slowly, I turned my eyes toward her.

“So, you were holding it up because it reminded you of a princess dress?”

“Yes!”

“But Charlotte, aren’t you already a princess of Belvur? Why long for it when you already are one?”

“That’s... it’s different.”

“...”

“It is different. My title is a political one. That’s not what I meant.”

Ah.

Now I was starting to understand.

“Is this because of that Di●ney movie you watched the other day?”

“...”

Charlotte’s eyes darted around. When my gaze followed hers, she quickly turned her back to me.

“F-Fine! So what if it is?! Those stories I dreamed of as a child come to life so vividly—how could I not get swept up in it?”

“...”

A princess longing to be a princess?

I couldn’t help but be impressed.

“But is there really a reason to hide it?”

“It’s... it just sounds so childish... And I know what being a real princess actually means...”

Wow.

She’s literally a princess out of a video game.

And now that I think about it, it is kind of strange. In reality—in our world, Earth—princesses often live under immense pressure. The image of Charlotte is probably influenced by fantasy-world princess tropes from this side.

And now, this seemingly perfect Charlotte secretly idolized the kind of princesses you see in American animated films?

“Just so you know—this stays between us.”

Charlotte pointed at me with a firm gesture.

“...Understood.”

I nodded without hesitation.

Charlotte let out a long breath.