The first thing I need to think about is Aisha and Snow.
Something so obvious, and yet I had forgotten…
And now, remembering it…
It feels like being struck by lightning.
“Fate, Sofia, stop thinking only about yourselves. Aren’t those girls your family? Then pull yourselves together!”
“…Yeah, you’re right.”
I couldn’t argue back at all.
It was completely my fault.
While we were fighting, Aisha and Snow must have been so anxious.
Now that I think back, I feel like their smiles had disappeared.
And it was because of me.
“Ugh… I feel so pathetic. I promised myself I’d do my best for the two of them, and yet…”
“Well, no one’s perfect.”
Licorice’s voice softened a little.
“Unlike the invincible super fairy Licorice-chan, humans are supposed to make mistakes. What happened this time… it can’t be helped, right?”
“But…”
“Come on, don’t sulk there. If you understand it was a mistake, then a little regret is enough. What matters is thinking about what comes next. Next. And then act on it immediately.”
“…Licorice…”
“Your answer?”
“Yeah!”
Thanks to Licorice, I was completely awake now.
I’ll do what I need to do—right away.
I hurried toward the door, but stopped in front of it and looked back.
“Thank you, Licorice.”
“Forget thanks. A super delicious cookie will do.”
“Ahaha, got it. I’ll look for some when we get to the capital.”
“Also, I want honey. The natural kind.”
“I can’t promise that, but… yeah, I’ll try to find some. And also…”
“Hm?”
“You’re an important part of my family too, Licorice. If anything ever happens, I’ll always be there for you.”
“…”
“Okay, I’m off!”
――――――――――“Sofia!”
“Hya!?”
I rushed straight into Sofia’s room.
She let out a startled little yelp, as if she’d been knocked over.
“W-What is this all of a sudden…? At least knock first, would you…?”
“Sorry!!!”
I bowed my head deeply, full of energy.
“I don’t want to fight with you, Sofia. Can we make up?”
“…So, are you saying you admit that your opinion was wrong?”
“No. I still believe I was right.”
“Huh?”
“But… that doesn’t mean I want to fight with you. If we had different opinions, we should’ve just kept talking it through. Instead, I got stubborn and said those things… so, I’m sorry!”
“…Fate…”
The harshness faded from Sofia’s expression.
She stood gently, walked over to me… and then—
“Fate!”
“Wahp!”
She hugged me tightly.
“I also… I also don’t want to fight with you, Fate. I was just being stubborn. I’m sorry too.”
“…Sofia…”
“Maybe I thought you would always agree with me, no matter what. Maybe I was depending on you too much. I really am sorry…”
“No, don’t worry about it.”
“And also…”
Sofia spoke with a sorrowful look.
“Because of this, we ended up making Aisha and Snow worry. We have to apologize to them too…”
“I see… So you were thinking about them from the very start. Haah… I’m no good.”
“Fate?”
“I didn’t even remember the two of them until Licorice scolded me… That’s really pathetic.”
“It can’t be helped. I only thought about Aisha and Snow a little while ago myself… so I’m just as bad.”
“…”
“…”
A moment of silence.
Then—
“Ahaha.”
“Fufu.”
We both laughed at the same time.
“I guess… we still have a long way to go, huh.”
“Yes. But…”
“Yeah. As long as we’re together, I think we can do anything. So…”
“Let’s make up, then.”
Sofia held out her hand with a smile…
And I smiled back, taking it in mine.
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