Extra Story: The Three Girls See the Capital Part One

Extra Story:
The Three Girls See the Capital
Part One

 

BECAUSE LADY NOIR invited me out, I am going out with Lady Noir and Lady Misana. I tried to invite Yuna, but she said no. I wonder if I will be able to stomach it. Ughhh, it makes me nervous.

I was stewing on the sofa, waiting for the time to come, when Yuna put money on top of the table. She said that I would need money if I was sightseeing around the capital, so I should bring it with me.

She was right that it might cost money to go see the capital. We might eat somewhere. I got money from my mom already, but Yuna said that since she invited me to the capital, she would pay for everything.

It was just that Yuna gave me a lot of money. I think it’s because she trusts me, but I think it was too much. She told me I could use it however I wanted, but I couldn’t use that much money.

I wanted to say “Yuna, you can have it back. This is strange.” In the end, I couldn’t say no and I ended up taking it. I would like to make sure I spend as little of it as I can.

 

When I left Yuna, I went to Lady Noir’s residence on my own. When I got to her house, the maid bowed to me and gave me a very polite greeting. I also automatically bowed my head and said hello back. I just couldn’t get used to this, no matter how many times it happened.

“Fina, welcome.”

“G-good morning, Lady Noir.”

“Once Misa gets here, we’ll head out.”

Once I got there, we didn’t have to wait very long for Lady Misana to come.

“My dearest Noa and Fina, good morning.”

“Lady Misana, good morning.”

“Misa, morning. So shall we head out?” Lady Noir said, but I wondered where we would go. Even though Yuna gave me money, I really didn’t want to go anywhere that would cost a lot.

“Dear Noa, where will we go?” Lady Misana asked.

“I know one place we’re going, but are there any places you two would like to go?”

I didn’t know what to say when she asked where I wanted to go. I didn’t know what there was in the capital, so I didn’t know where I would want to go. I thought that walking around the capital would be enough sightseeing for me, but I wasn’t sure if that would work. If there was one place I did want to go, it was the castle. I knew you couldn’t go inside, but I wanted to see the castle from nearby. I couldn’t say that out loud, so I held back my words.

“Is there not anywhere you two want to go?”

“Actually, where were you thinking of going?” Lady Misana asked.

“That’s still a secret.”

It seemed like Lady Noir wouldn’t tell us where she wanted to go. When I saw Lady Noir smile, I felt nervous. I hoped that it would be a place where I wouldn’t get a stomachache from going.

“I’ve come to the capital many times before. It’s your first time at the capital, isn’t it, Fina? Isn’t there anywhere you’d like to go?” Lady Misana asked me. What was I to do?

They were both looking at me, so I decided to confess.

“I would like to see the castle from up close…”

“The castle?”

“Yes, I was hoping to see the castle when I came to the capital.”

When I answered honestly, Lady Noir thought for a bit and nodded.

“In that case, let’s see the castle first.”

“Are you sure?”

“I said it before, but we’re doing this to become closer friends, so we can do that.”

“Of course, I am okay with that too.”

“All right, let’s go.”

Lady Noir held my hand and Lady Misana’s and started running. You could see the castle from far away, but when you saw it up close, you could see how terrifically big it was. Was this where the king lived? I wonder if there were princes and princesses there? I wanted to see them, but since I was a commoner, I would never see them in my entire life. I heard I would be able to see the king and queen from very far away during the parade.

If I did see them, I would have a good story to tell my mom and Shuri. Of course, I would tell my dad, too.

There were a lot of people like me around, looking at the castle.

“There really are a lot of people,” said Lady Noir. She wasn’t looking at the castle. She was looking at the people around us.

“It’s the birthday celebration, so that’s just how it is. There are people coming from far away too.”

That meant that there were people like me there. I heard a family talking nearby.

“Mom, what is the inside of the castle like?”

“I wonder. I’m sure that it’s a beautiful place.”

“I’d like to see it.”

I was curious about what the inside of the castle looked like too, but I couldn’t go inside. And, because it was the birthday celebration right now, you could see a lot of guards. Because of that, you couldn’t even get close to the castle gate.

“Well, since we can’t go in, how about we go around the castle?”

It was a very charming idea, but was that really okay? I did really want to see the castle from all kinds of spots.

“It’s since we can’t guide you inside. And since we want you to have fun, Fina.”

I think Lady Noir was trying to be considerate of me. She really was very kind. Lady Misana said okay too, and they guided me around the whole outside of the castle. The two of them told me about what it looked like inside.

“The training grounds are ahead of that wall.”

“There’s even a pretty garden in there.”

They were both very kind. I thought aristocrats were bossier, but they weren’t like that. Or maybe they were just special? After that, Lady Noir and Lady Misana told me about what was over there and how pretty the scene looked from up high, and we finished our fun look around the castle.

“Lady Noir, Lady Misana, thank you so very much. It was very fun. I will tell my family all about it when I get home.”

“I really wish we could have shown you around the castle, though.”

“Not at all, this was fine. You both told me so much that I already had a lot of fun.”

That was how I felt from my heart—like I had gone into the castle with their explanations.

“If that’s true, it’s fine. In that case, where should we go next?” Lady Noir asked, but I was already satisfied from seeing the castle, so I looked at Lady Misana.

“I’m a bit tired, Noa.”

I move a lot more every day, so I wasn’t that tired, but Lady Misana was.

“Right. In that case, how about we go to the eastern central square and rest?”

I couldn’t tell if that was close, but I followed what Lady Noir said. When we went to the square, there were a lot more people around. I needed to be careful, so I wouldn’t get separated. If I did, I would probably get lost. I mostly remembered how to get home, but just barely. I didn’t want them worried about me, anyway.

I almost ran into someone, and it separated me a little from Lady Noir. When I tried to jog to follow after her, Lady Noir turned around and took Lady Misana’s hand, and then she took mine.

“Lady Noir?”

“It would be bad if we lost you.”

Lady Noir pulled on my hand.

Her hand was very warm.

When Lady Noir did that, I broke into a smile.

“Also, don’t call me Noir—call me Noa. Anyone who is close to me calls me Noa.”

“In that case, you can call me Misa too.”

I could hardly believe what they were saying. You couldn’t call people by their nicknames unless you knew them well enough. If they were letting me call them by those, then did that mean they thought of a commoner like me as a friend?

“Lady Noir, Lady Misana…”

“No, it’s Noa.”

“Yes, it’s Misa.”

They both smiled and waited for me to say something.

Apparently I had to call them by their names.

“Lady Noa, Lady Misa…”

I was a little embarrassed, but when I said their names, they seemed happy.

“It’s a pleasure, Fina.”

“Fina, it’s so nice to know you.”

“Yes!”