The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Maybe because we moved into a bigger place—

No, maybe because we moved into a bigger place?

We spent most of our time in the living room. Whenever we were home during the day, we always gathered there, watching TV together or chatting. Well, most of our stuff was still around the living room rather than in the rooms.

The pile of snacks we had stocked up was in the kitchen, and most of the things we used in the studio before moving were also set up in the living room. A lot of the things I bought intending for myself ended up being shared among the four of us anyway.

...Come to think of it, leaving something like a hairdryer out in the living room for everyone to share was a little weird, but since that’s just how it turned out, we’d probably keep doing it unless someone complained.

In this house, the only ones you could call introverted were Mia and me.

"Unni, how about this?"

Claire, needless to say, had a completely extroverted personality. She preferred going out over spending time at home, and she had no hesitation striking up conversations with strangers. It wasn't that she had zero caution when dealing with others, but whether it was in Azerna or Earth, Claire always gave off the impression of a lively puppy.

I gave her some advice as she picked up an air freshener.

"If it's an air freshener, it's better to buy a slightly more expensive one. If you buy a cheap one, the scent can be divisive or too strong to use for long. Those are better suited for places where you use a lot of them at once."

"Really?"

Claire tilted her head but put the item back.

"What about cups and plates? Since there’s five of us living together, wouldn’t it be better to buy a lot?"

"That's true. Given our budget, I'd suggest going for something a bit pricier, but if you start looking into expensive ones, there's no end to it."

At Alice’s idea, Charlotte nodded in agreement.

Alice and Charlotte were a bit different from Claire, but they were still fundamentally extroverted.

Charlotte had developed her sociability attending countless social gatherings since childhood. Alice, while originally portrayed as uncompromising and stubborn in ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) the original story, had grown much softer—probably because I was by her side from a young age—and now could be called "sociable."

"Until now, we've mostly been eating instant food or getting delivery, but it’s about time we started cooking for ourselves, don’t you think? The kitchen’s big enough now that it won’t feel crowded even if several of us are there."

Charlotte smiled at me as she said that.

If it were me back in my Earth days, that smile would have felt extremely awkward. It’s not like pretty girls smiled at me often back then.

But ironically, now I was one of those "pretty girls," too.

Still, smiling back was a little embarrassing.

"H-How about this? It feels a bit too empty inside the rooms..."

"If it’s for decoration, feel free to buy as much as you want. Some people buy loads of little ceramics and set them up all over the place. As long as it's within what you can manage, I won’t say anything."

I answered Mia, who brought over a small rabbit-shaped ceramic figurine from somewhere.

Mia and I, at our core, were introverted but also surprisingly sensitive to loneliness.

When I lived alone on Earth, I was too busy surviving to really notice it, but after coming to Azerna, making friends, and gaining sisters, being alone... started feeling different.

Claire wouldn’t leave me alone, and Alice always got suspicious that I was scheming something if I was by myself, so one way or another, being alone became difficult.

It was the same for Mia. At first, she was very introverted, and it was hard to get her to go outside, but after she started mingling with the others, she naturally began sticking close to the group.

Being alone in a room must have felt lonely to her.

So, in the end, despite having separate rooms, we mostly stayed out in the living room.

Not that it was a waste. The living room was spacious enough for five people anyway.

Even though we didn’t have parents around, having the five of us made it feel a bit like a family, which was nice.

Still, since we had rooms, it felt wrong to leave them totally undecorated.

Which led to Claire's idea: going to Daiso.

At first, I thought it was named because "it has everything everywhere," but actually, it borrowed the name from a Japanese company — that famous store where you could find just about any everyday item.

There were Daisos all over Seoul, and even one in our own neighborhood, but it was obvious why Claire insisted we come all the way to Myeongdong.

No one said anything about it, though.

It was fun, after all.

"Every time I come to a place like this, I'm amazed all over again at the marvel of mass production."

Charlotte said that as she approached me carrying a basket with a few plates inside.

When I was young, people used to say the 21st century was the era of small-quantity, multi-variety production. Sure, there were more kinds of goods now, but honestly, I couldn’t help but wonder if this really counted as "small quantity." Even during the Industrial Revolution, did they mass-produce stuff this much?

"Economies of scale are really something."

When I said that, Charlotte nodded as if truly impressed.

Even while out shopping, she thought about things like that. Definitely a princess—though not in the fairy tale sense. In the politician sense.

If a princess from the Industrial Revolution era met a fairy tale princess, the fairy tale kingdom would probably end up colonized.

*

Yeah.

Now that I thought about it, in the apartment where I lived, there were three people who could legitimately call themselves princesses. And one of them literally shared blood with a "princess-position" figure.

And among them was me. I was an imperial princess, after all.

But the rooms we had decorated didn't feel like princess rooms at all.

"...It’s so gloomy."

"Alice, I’m seriously curious—what exactly is that book over there, ‘How Steel Was Tempered’?"

The spine had a bold hammer and sickle on it. Couldn’t be a good sign. What the hell kind of book was that?

"Oh, this?"

Alice pulled it out from the shelf next to her desk, revealing a cover even more suspicious — an imposing portrait of Lenin.

It looked like a book that certain government agencies would love.

The publisher was one I vaguely recognized, so at least it wasn't outright illegal.

"It hasn't happened yet in Azerna, but it’s not a bad idea to learn about these things in advance, right? I don't agree with the ideology itself, but knowing how the other side thinks makes it easier to deal with similar events in the future. And for the record, despite the cover, it's not some pure glorification of that ideology."

"...I see."

I was worried she might try to start a communist revolution when we got back, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Well, next to it were plenty of books about capitalism too, and generally, it looked like she was trying to build broad social knowledge.

"Ugh."

Claire grimaced.

"You had good grades too, so why are you reacting like that?"

"Just because I had good grades doesn’t mean I liked studying..."

Claire shuddered at Alice's question.

Claire's desk was simple. Our desks were lined up Alice–Claire–me, and since Claire's didn’t have a wall on either side, it was awkward to extend a bookshelf onto it. Not that Claire seemed to mind.

A small one-shelf rack on her desk had a few novels lined up, most with pastel covers.

"I'm planning to put a doll there later."

Claire said.

"A doll, you say?"

"Yeah. One that Unni’s going to buy me."

She declared it proudly.

Not that I minded. I had the money for it anyway.

Thank you, lottery. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Then I’ll buy you one soon. Any preference?"

"Just pick whatever you like. That’s part of the fun!"

Is that so?

The only woman I’d ever given a gift to before was my mother. And she always preferred cash.

"Your desk... wow, there’s really nothing there."

"There’s no need to fill it unnecessarily."

I didn’t plan on studying here. I just wanted to relax.

Maybe I’d read a book, maybe do a bit of studying if I felt like it, but for now, no plans.

"Want me to fill it for you?"

Claire beamed.

"Since you're buying me a doll, I'll buy one for you too!"

"That's a good idea."

Alice said as she shelved her book again.

"Since you don't usually decorate, it'd be nice if we did it for you."

I mean, guys around my age generally didn’t decorate their rooms either.

As long as everything worked fine, wasn’t that enough?

"Then I’ll go tell Mia and Charlotte too!"

Before I could say anything, Claire had already dashed out of the room.

Alice gave a wry smile watching her go.

...Well.

It’s not like I hate getting gifts.

Thinking back to what Claire said, my heart skipped a little.

When was the last time a girl gave me a present?