[Episode 151] - Veronica and I (1)
"...Nngh, cold."
The chill seeping into my skin made me curl up without realizing it. Even though I had wrapped myself in a blanket in front of the campfire, the cold wind slipping through the gaps seemed to sap the warmth from my body.
Before I knew it, late autumn had passed, and full winter had arrived in the capital. Every time I spent winter here, I felt the same thing, but I thought the cold of this place was truly hard to get used to.
And... even though late autumn had passed and winter had come, my curse showed no signs of lifting yet. Even now, when I kissed Titania, I could only remain an adult for a maximum of two hours.
I knew well, just as Veronica had said, that the reason the curse wasn't lifting was a problem with my heart. But how to accept that heart was an entirely different matter. Besides...
'For some reason, it feels like I'm being forced to acknowledge this heart of mine to lift the curse, which is a bit...'
No one was forcing me, but the situation felt like it was forcing me. To lift the curse, it felt like I was being demanded to accept this still ambiguous and tiny emotion without any doubt.
That might be why I was even more unable to lift the curse...
'...I still have plenty of time.'
Was it because I had been spacing out staring at the campfire? For some reason, stray thoughts began to fill my mind. In a sentimental mood, I hugged my knees, rested my chin on them, and watched the campfire burning with crackling sparks with a hazy gaze. Then—
"Mother? What are you doing sitting on the floor?"
"Yeah, what are you doing with that foolish expression?"
I had been staring blankly at the campfire with my mouth open when the terrace door opened and Veronica and Titania entered the room at the same time. Lately, the two of them had been going around together, but they hadn't told me why.
Was there something they couldn't tell me? Lately, it was a bit vexing that they spent time together excluding me. I pouted, then turned my head with a huff to avoid their gazes.
Then Veronica and Titania giggled together, approached, and sat on either side of me. As if soothing a child, they sandwiched me between them and began stroking my head.
'Honestly, these children...'
How much did they plan to treat me like a child? Should I really return to being an adult at least once a day? When I made a sullen expression and puffed out my cheeks, Veronica smiled softly and asked,
"Vivian, could you spare about a day for me?"
"Huh? All of a sudden?"
My eyes widened instinctively at the sudden request. Since Veronica had never asked me to make time for her before, I momentarily wondered what she meant.
"Yeah, because you look bored. I thought I'd play with you."
"You keep treating me like a child..."
So there was no need for questions after all. When I let out an exasperated sigh, Veronica giggled. Well, one day should be fine, right? I hadn't gone outside much lately.
"...What are we going to do?"
"Who knows? Is there anywhere you want to go?"
Somewhere I wanted to go... Since I spent most of my time in the royal palace, there were always many places I wanted to go. It would be nice to tour the capital, or some place with a good view. But was there anywhere worth going on such a cold winter day?
As I looked up at Veronica, I was suddenly reminded of when Veronica first came to meet me. The blue sea visible the moment the terrace opened. The open sea where white foam rose with the sound of waves. The sea from that time seemed to overlap around Veronica.
"...The sea."
"The sea?"
"Yeah, the sea would be nice."
It would be cold at the sea since it was winter, but winter seas had their own charm, after all.
"We'll all go to the sea and walk along the shore. The wind will be fierce and cold, but if the three of us walk close together, it won't be that bad. Titania in one hand, Veronica in the other. And Ainsel around my neck, all together."
"What about Katarina?"
"Would she come? She probably won't because it's cold? No, she'll definitely say she hates going outside."
"That's true."
Pffft. We laughed at the silly talk in front of the campfire. Imagining everyone going to the sea together made me really want to go. Come to think of it, we had never traveled together before.
When I let out a small sigh, Veronica stood up, raised both arms above her head, and stretched. Letting out a pleased sound, she smiled slyly and looked down at me.
"Then get ready."
"Huh? Ready for what?"
"You said you wanted to go to the sea? Then you have to get ready to go."
"What? Now? All of us?"
"Yeah, now. But..."
Veronica slightly bent at the waist and held out her hand to me.
"Not all of us. Just you and me, the two of us alone."
At the words that just the two of us would go, I turned my head and looked at Titania sitting beside me. I looked at her, wondering if it was okay to leave Titania behind and go alone with Veronica, but—
"...I'm fine. The two of you go together."
Titania simply looked at me and smiled. I looked back and forth between Titania and Veronica, and realized that the matter had already been decided between the two of them.
"...Just the two of us...?"
*
Swoosh— Swoosh—
The sound of waves pleasantly tickling my ears and the cries of seagulls in the distance. When I came to my senses, I had already arrived at the sea.
Really, when I came to my senses, it was the sea.
Just as Veronica had said about going out just the two of us, the moment I was trying to get ready in my own way, Veronica grabbed me under both arms, lifted me up, and headed straight through the terrace toward a cabin.
The moment we arrived at the cabin, my thick winter dress was taken off and I was forcibly changed into a thin, fluttering one-piece dress. On top of that, a big hat with a wide brim on my head. It was completely a summer outfit.
The moment I tried to ask Veronica what was going on, she lifted me up again and headed outside the cabin. And when I came to my senses...
"...It's the sea."
I had arrived at the sea.
And a sea where the season had been reversed, at that.
It had definitely been a bone-chilling winter just moments ago, but here the weather was blazing summer with sunlight scorching enough to sting. Summer weather with heat rising from the sand enough to be surprising.
I blankly watched the waves breaking on the sandy beach, then without looking at Veronica standing beside me, I asked.
"...Where is this?"
"It's not the kingdom, at least."
I know that...!
That wasn't what I wanted to ask; I wanted to know the exact location of this place. Where the heck was this that the seasons were reversed?! How far had we flown to get here in that cabin?
I looked up at Veronica with an absurd expression, but soon couldn't meet her eyes and bowed my head deeply. Because—
"What are you embarrassed about? Never seen someone in a swimsuit?"
"...It's not embarrassment, it's absurdity. What kind of getup is that? If there were other people around, I'd make you change immediately! What would people around us think?"
"That we're close sisters?"
It was hard to look directly at Veronica flaunting the black bikini she wore so boldly. I grabbed the wide brim of the hat and pulled it down for no reason. What kind of figure was that...
Was it because I had only been to the sea a handful of times in my life? In both my previous life and now, this was the first time I had seen someone wearing a real bikini swimsuit at the sea. Veronica wore it as if to say, 'Of course you wear a swimsuit at the sea,' but...
From the viewer's perspective, Veronica's swimsuit was quite an embarrassing outfit. Was it because I had only seen clothes that wrapped the body tightly for over ten years? Veronica's black bikini was hard to look at directly.
"Sigh... Really. I said I wanted to come to the sea, but winter sea would have been enough. Winter seas are charming enough."
"I couldn't understand that. What's charming about a winter sea? The wind is biting, you can't enter the sea, is the bleak cold supposed to be charming?"
"...You don't know because you're still young."
"I think you forgot, but if you count the years since my regression, I've lived longer than you."
"...Sure, you're so great."
...Honestly, she doesn't concede a single word.
I let out a small sigh, took off my shoes, and dipped my bare feet where the waves crashed and white foam rose. The cool sensation sweeping across the tops of my feet felt nice.
As I stepped on the white foam and began walking step by step, I felt the waves tickling my feet and the sand slipping between my toes. That sensation was somehow ticklish, so I wiggled my toes trying to catch the sand between them, but it was swept away by the waves. Indeed, as Veronica said, you have to enter the sea to really enjoy it.
As I began walking along the beach immersing myself in the summer sea, Veronica, who had been watching me with her arms crossed, slowly approached and asked.
"Aren't you going into the sea? You even borrowed Brownie's swimsuit for the occasion."
"...What are you talking about when you forced it on me? Besides, I can't swim. I've never done it."
When I turned my head with a huff, Veronica smiled, raising the corners of her mouth. Then she approached in front of me, closed her eyes as if concentrating on something, and tapped my nose tip, earlobe, and the corners of my eyes.
This feeling from her fingertips was...
"I cast a spell so you can breathe comfortably underwater."
"...Magic?"
Without realizing it, I tilted my head and looked up at Veronica. I tilted my head because I had learned a bit of magic too and I knew. Because witches need the power of "sprites" to use magic.
It was an ironclad rule that a witch had to borrow the power of sprites to use magic. Every time Veronica had shown herself using magic until now, she had borrowed the power of dwarves, after all. But now...
"What are you thinking so hard about? I'm telling you, you can breathe underwater from now on. Then what should you do now?"
"Uh, um, huh?"
"Of course you have to enter the water. You've never walked on the ocean floor, have you?"
As if she wouldn't give me time to think, Veronica grabbed my hand and began entering the sea. When we reached a place where the water submerged up to my chest in an instant, I tightly gripped Veronica's hand without realizing it.
"Don't be scared."
"That's... going to be hard."
I held Veronica's hand and slowly walked into the sea. When the water reached my chin before I knew it, a frightening sensation came over me. The feeling that if I went any further, I wouldn't be able to return.
Fear rose to my chin along with the seawater, and I raised my head to look up at Veronica. Blue waves crashed against Veronica's waist, spewed foam, then sparkled and disappeared.
As if telling me not to worry, Veronica squeezed my hand tightly and walked forward. I squeezed my eyes shut, held my breath, and slowly followed where Veronica led.
Eventually, completely submerged in the sea, I was at a loss, unable to open my eyes due to fear. Perhaps because my eyes were closed, there was no shortage of frightening sensations touching my skin. The bottom was bumpier and rougher than expected, and because I couldn't see anything with my eyes closed, I kept almost falling over. If Veronica hadn't been holding my hand, I would have been swept away by the waves long ago.
In the end, giving up on walking too, I curled my body into a ball and floated around in the water. Holding my breath and curled up, I heard Veronica giggling beside me.
"Vivian, slowly open your eyes. It's okay."
Veronica placed her hand over my eyelids and slowly made me open my eyes along with her hand motions. Slowly, gently, as Veronica's hand moved up, I opened my eyes for the first time underwater.
The moment I opened my eyes, I saw Veronica smiling with the corners of her eyes curved. At the scenery unfolding behind such a Veronica, I unconsciously opened my mouth and began looking around.
The sunlight pouring down below the water's surface was like a curtain made of sunlight. And when I raised my head, I saw small fish swimming in schools at a distance that seemed reachable if I stretched out my hand.
"Wow..."
The sight of hundreds of fish passing by as if dancing was truly a fantastic spectacle. When I reached my hand toward the school of fish, the group swayed and then began to flee.
"How is it? You're okay now, right?"
Veronica chuckled and tapped her own nose tip with her finger. Just as Veronica said, I could really breathe and talk underwater. Magic is truly amazing.
I looked at Veronica, smiled slyly, and took a step just like that. Couldn't this feeling of walking on the ocean floor be similar to walking on the moon?
Slowly and heavily, as if walking on the moon, taking one step at a time, we strolled through the ocean depths. Passing fish approached as if curious, then quickly fled with a swish.
Is this what scuba diving feels like? Since I had never had such an experience in my previous life, I began to get excited without realizing it. With fear gone, I slowly swam and went a little deeper.
Then, large fish began to appear one by one. Was it because I wasn't scared anymore? Once I knew there was no need to be afraid, I began to get an appetite.
"...If I caught and grilled them, they'd be delicious, right?"
Watching blue-backed fish and large fish pass by in the distance, I unknowingly gulped and muttered. Hearing that muttering, Veronica made a disgusted face.
"...You get an appetite looking at this scenery?"