The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Bang.

“!”

The door opened with a bang, and a metaphorical exclamation mark popped up over Charlotte’s head.

“Um, excuse me—did you finish ordering?”

It was a bit funny seeing Mia, even though it was her own room, cracking the door open slightly and peeking inside so cautiously.

“No, we’re still deciding Charlotte’s order.”

“Y-Yeah! We were just thinking about what to eat.”

In reality, we had been discussing something entirely different. But since Charlotte had just asked me not to bring it up, I switched the subject immediately.

“Thank goodness.”

Mia let out a sigh of relief and walked into the room.

“Should I change my order?”

“No, nothing like that—I just wanted to add something extra...”

Mia proceeded to double the ingredients on her sandwich. It was going to be thick—would she even be able to fit that in her mouth?

But then again, Mia had always found a way to finish whatever food was in front of her, so I didn’t need to worry.

Looking satisfied, Mia stepped back.

“Want to add anything else? I can throw in an extra cookie.”

“No, that won’t be—wait, huh?”

Mia had been answering with a smile, but her gaze suddenly drifted toward her bed.

Lying there was the magical girl outfit—hers—which Charlotte had tossed aside when she’d followed me out of the room.

In that instant, Charlotte’s face froze—no, solidified.

“...Huh?”

Mia walked over, picked up the outfit, and tilted her head. Then she tilted it again.

“What’s the matter?”

“Oh, I just thought I left this hanging by the wardrobe...”

It made sense. Charlotte had seen it and held it up because it was out in the open. If it had been inside the closet, she probably wouldn’t have gone out of her way to take it out.

“Do you usually hang it there?”

“Ah, yes. It’s a bit embarrassing to actually wear it, but just looking at it makes me feel happy.”

So it was kind of like a poster. I could understand that. Some people hang character-themed clothes on their wall like decorations. They’re not for daily wear, but locking them away would feel wasteful too.

“Maybe I just remembered wrong?”

“Y-Yeah! That could be it!”

Charlotte quickly jumped in.

“You often hold it up and look at it too, right?”

“Right? There’s no reason Charlotte would’ve touched it, after all.”

Smiling, Mia hung the outfit back up and left the room.

“Let me know when the delivery arrives.”

“Thanks!”

As Mia walked away, I slowly pushed the door closed again.

“You should be grateful Mia trusts you. Her memory’s really good. Honestly, this was more like she let you get away with it.”

Mia was sharp. Not just academically—she once plotted to assassinate me, after all. She might be living more casually now, but if she wanted to, she could probably recall exactly where all her things were placed.

She just didn’t bother because she didn’t have to.

“...I know.”

“Since it’s come to this, wouldn’t it be easier to just come clean?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I have to maintain my dignity as a princess. Besides, everyone here is royalty or nobility from another country.”

“Didn’t you once say you consider me just a friend?”

“...”

“And if we’re getting technical, I once danced while shaking my butt in front of hundreds of people.”

“...”

Charlotte fell silent for a moment after hearing that.

“S-Still, no.”

She sounded like a child stubbornly clinging to pride.

Up to now, I’d thought Charlotte was the most mature among us—but maybe not entirely.

I shrugged and held out my phone to her.

“So, what would you like to order?”

“...”

Charlotte seemed momentarily speechless at how calmly I asked.

*

The reason I wasn’t at all shaken by Charlotte’s little... eccentricity... was that I could relate to it.

Where do you think I get the strength to keep speaking so politely to girls ten years younger than me?

That’s right.

It’s all part of the persona.

Back then, unless it was unbearably hot, I always wore my coat draped over my shoulders. I never removed the winter lining, even when it was barely cold. I didn’t actually wear it—just draped it. All of it, just to maintain my “cool sniper girl” image.

I may have lost my time-rewind powers—the most critical part of that concept—but even so, I managed to uphold the identity of a cold, stoic beauty for quite a long time.

So Charlotte’s royal princess act? I could understand and respect it.

*

“Then, what do you think about the princesses from cartoons?”

And yet...

“Princesses in cartoons?”

“Yes. Especially the ones from American cartoons. Would you say those princesses have dignity?”

I had to tease her a little.

It was a stretch of a question—barely tied to the movie we were just talking about—but no one seemed to find it odd. Maybe it was just that the question was interesting enough.

Alice, who had spent her whole life as an imperial princess, and Claire, who once held a similar role in a goddess-created illusion, both fell into serious thought.

Mia, too, seemed intrigued.

Even in Azerna, princesses were a symbol of admiration, albeit not to the extent of this world. There were fairy tales too. For anyone not born into nobility, imagining what it’s like to be royalty is almost impossible.

Most just idolize the elegance and mystique.

Mia liked magical girls because she held onto her childhood wonder. She wouldn’t necessarily admire real royalty—having once been entangled with it—but cartoon princesses? That was a different story.

“Dignity? Hmm, I’m not sure.”

That was Alice’s answer.

“I think they’re capable, sure, but it’s hard to say they have dignity. Don’t they act kind of childish most of the time?”

She tilted her head, continuing,

“Probably because the target audience is kids. The characters are designed to be relatable to them.”

Several ideas for teasing Alice popped into my head, but I held back. If I pushed it, she might actually get mad.

“Still, they’re cool. Honestly, I get why they’re popular here. The stories are like fairy tales, so you just have to accept a bit of that whimsical feel.”

Claire offered her take.

“What do you think about adults liking them?”

“Who cares? If you nitpick every little thing, we wouldn’t be allowed to enjoy games either. And the people making those cartoons are adults themselves.”

Alice answered coolly.

Well, if she weren’t okay with it, she wouldn’t be collecting those figurines—especially the ones of anime girls.

Even if she still thinks they’re like busts from the imperial palace hallway...

“I like them because they’re like magical girls.”

Magical girls were aimed at young girls anyway. Cartoons need a bit of that childlike absurdity to be fun. That’s what makes them resonate. If a parent falls asleep beside their kid during a movie, the kid’s bound to be disappointed. That’s why they’re made to appeal to adults too.

So there’s no reason to be ashamed about enjoying them.

After hearing the three of them speak, I nodded and looked toward Charlotte.

Charlotte was deliberately avoiding eye contact and chewing her sandwich with intense focus.

I suppressed my laughter and focused on my own sandwich.

*

“A... manga convention?”

At my suggestion, Claire’s eyes lit up.

Mia’s eyes sparkled too.

What I showed them on my phone was one of those subculture ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) events that happen regularly around Seoul. Most people go there to sell or buy fan comics, stories, or merchandise. Some go to enjoy the festival atmosphere. And others— 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Cosplay.”

Mia read the word aloud and nodded.

“Did you know? The event staff can be a bit strict, and if your clothes stand out too much, they’ll assume it’s a cosplay and charge you extra at the gate. It happens a lot. So I thought, if we’re going to get flagged anyway, we might as well pay up front and actually cosplay properly.”

“Ohh!”

Claire’s eyes lit up.

Alice chuckled in disbelief, while Charlotte looked at me like she wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“If we all dress up together, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, right?”

I offered the idea while looking straight at Charlotte.

We’d come this far. Might as well take home a few memories.

And if they didn’t want to? That was fine too.