Chapter Four: Shopping for Baby Supplies

Anima awoke to an enjoyable morning. Stepping outside, it wasn’t too cold, but it wasn’t too warm either. It was the very definition of pleasant.

Maybe we can eat outside today.

He planned a picnic in his head while hanging the laundry to dry under the clear blue sky. Going to some faraway field would only tire Luina out, so he figured that the garden would suffice.

With the laundry finished, he took his idea into the house. Marie was still lying in bed, half-asleep and barely listening, but the moment the word “picnic” left his mouth, her eyes sprang open. Bram, lying next to her, leaped off the bed when she heard that magic word.

“Yaaay! I love pinnic!”

“I wanna roll around on the blanket, m’kay?!”

They went down to the dining room, where Myuke and Luina were setting the table for breakfast. On the morning menu was ham and eggs, salad, and bunny-shaped apples, all of which were being prepared by Myuke while Luina kept an eye on her to make sure she was safe. Based on the apple slices, though, her knife skills had improved quite a bit.

“Bun-buns!” Marie cheered, standing on her toes to see atop the table. Seeing how excited she was, Myuke couldn’t help but to smile.

“Better eat ’em up before they run away!”

“I eat! I’s hungy!”

Luina watched with a smile as Marie sat down, waiting to dig in.

“You’re in a good mood this morning. Did you have a nice dream?”

“We pinnic!”

“‘Picnic’?” Luina asked, tiling her head.

“It’s nice outside, so I was thinking we could have a picnic. Or, I suppose just a normal lunch outside.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely! Let’s do it!”

It had been getting warmer with each passing day, so they took whatever chances they got to bask in the sun and enjoy the warmth after months of cold. Despite that, they always ate inside, so Luina really seemed to enjoy the idea of a picnic as a change of pace.

“I wanna have a picnic right now, m’kay? When are we doing it?”

“The doctor will be coming to visit this afternoon, so we’ll have it before then.”

They had a big day ahead of them, and Anima was incredibly nervous. About a month earlier, the doctor had said that both Luina and the child were perfectly healthy and that there were no signs of any complications. As such, Anima and Luina tried to stay calm and collected on the outside, but worries over what-ifs ran through their minds more and more often as the next check-up approached, which was exactly why he had proposed the picnic. He wanted to take everyone’s minds off of that, even if only for a couple hours.

“We’re gonna have to start making lunch right after breakfast! Time to show off my skills!”

“I’ll take care of it; you should go play.”

“I can play during and after the picnic!”

Myuke was excited to make lunch.

During her daily practice, she’d learned to make all sorts of food, and enjoyed cooking even more than when she’d first begun. Anima liked to think that he could make any dish taste just as delicious as she could, but he was the first to admit that her technical skills had already surpassed his.

“Why don’t we make it together, then?”

“Sure! We have to figure out what to make, though.”

“I’m happy you’re all excited for the picnic, but we should start eating. Your eggs will get cold.”

“You’re right. Marie, would you do the honors?”

Marie nodded, then clapped her hands together.

“Thanks for the meal!”

The other four mimicked her, then they all started eating. After they finished and cleaned up, Myuke and Anima got to work on lunch. Normally, Luina would supervise their meal-making, but since Marie was playing outside, she’d gone out to the garden with her and Bram. Bram had found a perfect spot on the grass to lay the blanket the moment she’d stepped outside, so she was sure to have already started basking in the sun.

Back in the kitchen, Anima and Myuke mulled over what would make for the perfect picnic meal. The absence of Luina severely restricted their options, and they couldn’t default to making soup since they were going to be eating outside, which left them with only one option.

“Should we make sandwiches?” Anima suggested.

“That’s a great idea! I’ve made them before—they’re easy, and perfect for outside!”

The pair began preparing plenty of sandwiches. Before long, they were all made and stacked on a plate, so the chef duo headed outside with their meal. When they opened the door, they were greeted by a gentle breeze and sunlight shining peacefully on the green lawn.

“Daddy! Myuke! We’re over here, m’kay?!”

Bram, lying flat on the blanket, waved at them. She’d put it just far enough from the house that it was completely out of the shadows. Marie looked their way with shimmering eyes as they arrived. She was barefoot, her shoes set aside so they wouldn’t dirty the blanket.

“Nummy!”

“I wanna eat, m’kay?!”

“First we have to wash our hands. Luina, how are you feeling?”

“I’m pretty hungry.”

He wasn’t exactly asking if she was hungry, but it was a fact that she’d had quite the healthy appetite as of late. She’d barely wanted to eat in the first several months of her pregnancy due to the nausea and vertigo, but she was in the start of her fifth month, and her body seemed to have gotten well over that. Her appetite had returned to normal.

The family went to the well to wash their hands, and on Marie’s signal, they gave their thanks and ate their second meal of the day.

“Buttafye!” Marie exclaimed as she started munching away at her third sandwich. The butterfly gracefully fluttered past them on its way toward the house. “I love buttafye!”

“All right! C’mon, Marie, we’re gonna catch it, m’kay?”

“Make sure you don’t wander too far.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on them. Chase that butterfly all you want, Marie!”

Myuke, also excited to see the butterfly from up-close, quickly put her shoes on and chased after her sisters. The three of them chased the fluttering little bug all over the garden, marveling at its beauty. They still had some sandwiches left, but the girls were way too preoccupied to come back and finish them. Myuke would have been disappointed to see food go to waste, so Anima decided to eat them all. Just as he finished stuffing the last one into his mouth, a soft gust of wind fluttered Luina’s long blue hair.

“This breeze feels really nice.”

“It does. It’s so peaceful out here—we should do this more often.”

“The girls are loving it, too. They all love nature.”

Anima and Luina snuggled up to each other under the sunlight. The light wind carried the comfortable smell of grass and greenery, enveloping them in the comforting embrace of nature. As they watched the girls chase the butterfly around the garden, Luina started to doze off. With his beloved wife resting against him, Anima was ready to doze off as well, but something caught his attention.

“Ah! Ena!”

Marie’s happy yelp boomed through the garden. Luina’s eyes flew open, and she looked toward the main entrance, where she noticed two people—Ena and the doctor—walking their way, hand in hand. They had probably knocked on the front door, but walked around back when there was no answer and they heard lively voices from the garden.

“Marie! I comed to pay!”

Marie and Ena had become friends about three months earlier. After discussing the future of their cooking lessons, Anima had brought Camilla a gift to thank her for her efforts, told her about what they’d been learning at home, and invited her to lunch. She’d brought Ena with her, and as she was about the same age as Marie, the two had immediately hit it off.

They both enjoyed playing with someone around their own age, so every time the doctor came to the Scarlett house to check up on Luina, she brought Ena with her. Ena let go of the doctor’s hand, and she and Marie trotted over to each other. Watching the two girls happily run toward one another warmed Anima’s heart.

“Please keep an eye on them,” Luina requested, which pulled Anima back to reality. The time had come: Luina was about to get the check-up they were so nervous about.

“I will, don’t worry.”

He watched the two of them disappear into the house, then turned back toward the girls, eager to join them in hopes of slowing his racing heart. Of course, that was only if the girls wanted him to join. If not, he would have to sit back and wrestle with his thoughts.

“Pay with us!”

Ena’s invitation came with a bright smile. Even though they only saw each other once a month, the fact that she remembered him put a smile on his face just as bright as—if not brighter than—Ena’s. Not many things in life rivaled the euphoric feeling of being loved by children.

“Are we going to chase the butterfly?”

“It flew away,” Myuke explained. “We’re gonna play tag now.”

“It’s the perfect game ’cause even if I lose, I get a hug from you, m’kay?”

“So yeah, that’s what we were thinking. What do you say, Ena? Are you okay with Daddy hugging you?”

“I love hugs!”

She wasn’t just okay with it, she outright loved the idea.

“Watch, Daddy!” Marie shouted. “I’s super fass!”

She dashed off and cheekily glanced back at Anima, fishing for compliments. It would only be a matter of time before she fell if he let her keep it up.

“Wow, you are fast!” She stopped after Anima’s compliment. “The rest of you had better start running too! If you don’t, I’ll catch you!”

Anima tried to scare the girls into running with his teasing tone, and it definitely worked. The girls scattered in all directions, and their game of tag officially began. While keeping an eye on the area so they wouldn’t go outside, he went after Bram.

“Eek! You caught me! Ooh, new rule, m’kay?! You’ll have to carry anyone you catch until you catch the next person, m’kay?!” Anima obliged, and helped Bram on his back. She energetically cheered him on as he went back on the hunt. “Full steam ahead! Ah, Daddy! Myuke has been spotted, m’kay?!”

He easily caught up to the sluggishly jogging Myuke and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Caught you!”

“I know you got caught on purpose, m’kay? Are you that excited for Daddy to carry you?”

“N-No!” Myuke went bright red in response to Bram’s teasing. “I mean, there are days I want Daddy to hug me, but this time I wanted to get caught to make you feel better! I didn’t want you to start crying ’cause you’re the only one who got caught, understand? S-So, get down, I’m next.”

“Jeez… You should open up more, m’kay?”

Bram climbed down, and Anima, abiding by the rules, picked Myuke up. As soon as he did, Ena jogged up to him on her own and tugged at his sleeve.

“Amima! Up!”

“All right, come on up here! I caught you!”

“So tall! I love up!”

A bit farther away from them, Marie jealously watched as Anima lifted the happy girl high up into the air. Their eyes met, and she immediately made her way over to them.

“I want up too!”

“Well then, come here and I’ll— Sorry, Marie. You’ll have to wait a minute.” Anima swallowed his words as Luina and the doctor returned to the garden. He rushed straight over to them. “That was fast. How did it go?”

“There’s no need to worry, dearie. They’re both perfectly fine.”

“Thank goodness.”

He let out a sigh of relief, but the doctor wasn’t quite finished.

“However! She must take it easy. You mustn’t let her stand around for long periods or carry anything heavy. Make sure she has enough support to allow her to relax.”

“I will. Luina, you just focus on taking care of yourself. I enjoy doing the housework, so you can leave it all to me.”

“I know. Thank you.”

After his cooking lesson with Camilla, Anima had promised himself that he would never make Luina feel alone again. She was aware of his resolve, and that allowed her to trust him with anything and everything. He would do all the difficult chores by himself, only letting her help with the easy ones so that she didn’t put too much strain on her body.

“We’ll visit again next month. Ena, we’re going home.”

“Okieee! Bye-bye, Marie!”

“Bye-bye! Come ’gain soon!”

Even though they didn’t get to play for very long, both of them seemed to have been satisfied with all the running they’d gotten in, and said goodbye to each other with beaming smiles.

“All right.”

Anima switched gears. He looked around to find the deserted picnic blanket flapping in the wind, and the empty plates on top of it on the brink of flipping over. He had to put some weight on the blanket to stop it from flying away, and take the empty plates inside.

“Daddy, up! And piddybag! And tag! I wanna run!” Marie pleaded, looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes. He picked her up, raised her up high, then promptly put her down.

“I’ll give you a piggyback ride later, okay? Go play with your sisters while I start cleaning up.”

“I’ll pick you up as much as you want!”

“My back was made for giving piggyback rides, m’kay?!”

Anima got to work while keeping an eye out on the girls. Myuke lifted Marie up as high as she could, then Bram gave her a piggyback ride. Once he’d secured the blanket to the ground, he brought the plates to the well, and he and Luina washed the dishes together.

Later, that evening, Anima was in the dressing room with Luina and Marie. Marie, in an attempt to impress her daddy, took her clothes off as fast as she could. She definitely deserved praise for her incredible display.

“When did you learn to take your clothes off so fast?! I’m amazed!”

“Watch! I do this too!”

Marie put her clothes on the floor, neatly folded them up, and set them in the clothes basket. Once done, she proudly looked up at Anima.

“Wow! You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?! Well done!”

“I help Daddy?”

Marie had secretly practiced folding clothes as a way of helping Anima, a gesture that was sure to put a smile on any father’s face. Anima pet her head, which prompted a cute giggle from the ticklish little girl.

“Of course! We’ll do the laundry together tomorrow, okay?”

“Yaaaaay!” Marie cheered, her hands thrown high in the air.

While watching Marie’s joyful smile, Anima took his clothes off, then waited for Luina to finish doing the same. She took her dress off, but started glancing around bashfully instead of removing her underwear.

“It’s hard to take my clothes off when I’m being stared at so intently…” she pointed out with flushed cheeks. They saw each other naked on a daily basis, but something was apparently different.

“I’m worried you might trip on your underwear.”

She looked Anima in the eyes and pouted her lips.

“I learned a long time ago how to take my clothes off! I’m twenty-one already! Bring Marie inside, we don’t want her to catch a cold. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

She was absolutely right—Marie was standing in the chilly dressing room buck naked. He took Marie’s hand, they stepped inside, and he immediately proceeded to check the water temperature with his hand. It was only lukewarm, but that was already much better than standing outside, so they got into the tub. Just as they submerged themselves, they heard voices coming through the window.

“I hope it’s not too cold.”

“They didn’t scream, so I’d call that a win, m’kay? It definitely isn’t boiling hot, at least.”

The voices belonged to Myuke and Bram. Ever since Myuke had gotten her fire rabbit stone, she’d taken every chance she could get to use it. She’d taken over the lighting of the fireplace and stove, and even adjusting the temperature of the bathwater.

Ever since the resolution of their fight, Bram was closer to her sister than ever before. She loved watching her work tirelessly to help the family.

“Make sure you don’t burn yourself, m’kay?”

“Don’t worry, I’m an expert at this!”

However, she was also too afraid to leave her alone.

“Warm!”

“Give it two, maybe three more minutes!”

“Gotcha! Two, maybe three minutes!”

Myuke went completely silent after that. She was probably too focused on the flame to talk.

“Sorry for the wait.”

Just as Marie held onto the edge of the bath and started splashing around, Luina entered the bathroom. Even though she was pregnant, she still retained her slender arms and legs. Due to how far along she was, though, her breasts had started to get larger, and her stomach was clearly inflated.

“Can I pet?” Marie stopped her splashing and asked.

“Yes, you can. Pet it all you want.”

Marie gently stroked Luina’s stomach and whispered sweet nothings to the baby growing inside. She was going to be a great sister once the baby was born.

“Can I rub it too?”

“Of course.”

Anima touched her stomach. It felt very soft, but it wasn’t squishy. In fact, while it wasn’t about to burst, there was clearly some tension under her skin, as if she were flexing her muscles. The doctor had said that that could be dangerous if it went on for a long period of time, but it usually subsided rather quickly. The tension had only been temporary the day before, and the day before that, too.

“Your stomach has gotten pretty big.”

“It’s only going to get bigger.”

“My tummy big too!”

Marie stood up and smacked her stomach. Anima rubbed her full, round tummy, which prompted a ticklish giggle.

“Your tummy is big too. And it’s not just your tummy—you’ve grown a lot. Are your clothes still comfortable?”

“Uh-huh! I love the clofes you buyed me!”

“I’m glad to hear that. How about you, Luina? Do you feel your clothes have gotten too tight lately?”

“Hmm… Not yet, but I’ll definitely grow out of them soon.”

“Right. Then we should—” Anima cut himself off when he realized that Luina wasn’t in the warm water yet. “Come in first, then we’ll talk.”

“Thank you. Excuse me.”

She carefully lowered herself into the water and let out a comfortable moan.

“How’s the water?”

“It’s perfect. We should call the girls in soon.”

“Hear that, girls? Come on in!”

“Loud and clear, m’kay?!”

“We’re coming!”

The soothing crackle of the fire faded, and their lively conversation got quieter and quieter.

“What did you want to say before?”

“We should go out and buy you maternity clothes.”

Luina's wardrobe was nothing to scoff at, but all the clothes she had were from before she’d gotten pregnant. All she had that was still loose enough around the waist was the blue dress she’d worn the day she and Anima had met, but that had become too tight around her chest a couple of months prior. She definitely couldn’t wear it with the pregnancy making her even bigger; they had to get her some new clothes that didn’t suffocate her.

“What do pregnant women usually wear?”

“Clothes that hide—or at least don’t emphasize—your form. Loose dresses are quite common.”

“Dresses, huh? I fear you would be cold in a simple dress; is it okay if you put something on over it?”

“Of course. The coat you got me is very nice and warm. I could wear that over a dress.”

“I’m happy you like it, but that would be too hot.”

Even Bram, the most squeamish about the cold, had given up her winter clothes in recent weeks. If Luina were to wear that coat over a dress, she would likely boil alive. It was tucked away in their closet for a reason.

“Let’s go to the tailor tomorrow. Maybe we’ll find something nice.”

“We go out? I wanna go out!”

“Don’t worry, we won’t leave you behind. I didn’t get to give you a piggyback ride today, so I’ll carry you around all day tomorrow!”

“Yaaay! I love piddybag!”

Marie’s cheer resounded in the acoustic bathroom.

“Sorry we took so long!”

“We’re here, m’kay?!”

Myuke’s and Bram’s arrival was welcomed with another, even livelier cheer from Marie. They rinsed themselves down and entered the tub, causing the water overflow. By normal standards, their bathtub was quite large, but having five people in it at the same time certainly pushed its limits. Their days of full family baths were soon to be over, just like their nights of snuggling up together.

It was a bittersweet realization for Anima, because though it made him sad, it also proved that the girls were growing up nice and healthy. Seeing them grow and develop day by day, week by week, and month by month made him the happiest man in the whole wide world.

“We’re going out to buy Luina new clothes tomorrow. Do you girls want to join us?”

His proposal was met with two excited nods.

◆◆◆

The next morning, the family set off for Garaat after a quick breakfast with, as promised, Marie riding on Anima’s shoulders. She’d walked the road countless times before, but seeing it from a new point of view was as if a brand-new world had laid itself out before her. She excitedly looked around, taking in the new experience to the fullest.

“You’ll get dizzy from whipping your head around like that.”

Myuke’s warning went in one ear and out the other. She was so absorbed in the new experience that her sister’s words didn’t even register. However, that wonder could only last so long. Bored of the unchanging forest road, she looked to a different activity.

“Daddy, run!”

“All right! Hold on tight!” Anima started running, answering Marie’s request. He kept it slow so she wouldn’t fly off his back, but for the little Marie, even his jogging speed was like using a magic stone that granted super speed. “We’re turning! Hold on tight!”

“Go, Daddy!”

Anima took a turn, kicking dust up in his wake, and returned to Luina and the others.

“Welcome back.”

“That looks super fun, m’kay?”

“Uh-huh, it was! Daddy suuuper fast! I wanna be fast like Daddy!”

“I’m sure you can be. You have a real talent for running. You’ll catch up to me in no time, that’s for sure.”

“I can? I wanna pactice tag!”

“You do? Does that mean you want to get down?” Anima asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice. He thoroughly enjoyed pampering Marie.

“Uh-huh! But, but, I want piddybag later!”

“Of course! I’ll give you a piggyback ride whenever you want!”

With that promise made, and with Myuke and Bram chasing after her so she wouldn’t be alone, Marie got down from Anima’s shoulders and immediately started running. She ran full speed ahead for a couple of seconds, then, copying Anima, turned around and ran back.

“I back!”

She buried her face in Anima’s stomach.

“I was right, you’re really fast.”

“So fast that your hair got ruffled in the wind.”

Luina fixed Marie’s hair with her fingers—to Marie’s absolute joy. Practical purpose or not, she loved having her head pet.

“Daddy, up!”

“Okay, here we go.”

She wanted to be carried in his arms for a change of pace, so Anima picked her up and they made their way to Garaat. Once there, they made a beeline to the tailor via the busy main road.

“What tailor are we going to? They better be pretty good, m’kay?”

“I was thinking we would go to our usual place. Unless, of course, Luina wants to go to a different one.”

“No, that sounds perfect. I know exactly what I’m looking for, so we probably won’t take long. I’m confident they’ll have a loose dress in stock.”

“How about we grab something to eat after we’re done shopping?” Anima proposed.

They had come into town with a specific goal in mind, but they’d had very few chances to go out as a family as of late. They were going to have some fun before going home.

“I want wapples!” Marie exclaimed, to the surprise of absolutely no one. She loved waffles to the point that they had even become a motif in many of her drawings. Anima wasn’t about to forego seeing her smile as she munched away at one.

“That sounds great to me. How about you, girls?”

“I’m totally in. Waffles are yummy!”

“I really like them too.”

“I’m starving, m’kay?! Mine’s gonna be doused in chocolate sauce!”

“Honey for me!”

“I’m, I’m, I’m, umm…”

There was no shortage of topping choices, which was making Marie panic.

“You don’t have to pick right now.”

“Anima is right. In fact, why don’t we each get a different topping and then split them all into five pieces? That way, we get to try all kinds of different toppings.”

“Uh-huh! I try aaall the nummies!”

They reached the familiar tailor just as Marie’s conundrum was resolved. Inside, the shop was covered wall to wall with all kinds of colorful, mostly women’s clothes. Anima had a hunch that finding maternity clothes wasn’t going to be an issue, and sure enough, they dug out a nice-looking black one-piece mere seconds into their search. It was a bit larger in size than her usual clothes, which meant that it would likely fit her perfectly.

“What do you think of this?”

“I like it. It’s really nice to the touch, and it looks thick. I probably won’t need to wear anything above this to stay warm.”

“I’m glad to hear that. We should get a couple more, just so you have options.”

“Hmm, let’s see…” Luina muttered as she went back to looking through the clothes.

“How ’bout this?” Myuke asked, holding up a dress.

“I love it, m’kay?”

“Cuuute!”

The girls rifled through clothes as well, and they definitely had an eye for fashion. Every single piece they suggested looked great, leaving only the question of whether they would fit Luina.

“These all look very comfortable, and I like the colors, too. The girls were kind enough to pick them out for me, so we should get them.”

“Sounds like a plan. Go try them on; we’ll wait here. Will you be okay by yourself?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t trip over my clothes.”

“That’s good to hear, but don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Just say the word and I’ll be there in a flash.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll go now; I shouldn’t be long.”

Luina took the clothes to the tailor and disappeared into the back of the shop. After a few minutes, she returned with the clothes in hand.

“They’re a bit baggy, but that’s okay because all of them are really comfortable.”

“Great! Let’s get them, then.”

Anima took the dresses from Luina and went to the counter to pay.

“Time for our well-deserved waffles, m’kay?!”

“Woo-hoo!”

Bram and Marie cheered for the upcoming treat the moment they stepped out of the store. Marie had even started to drool at the thought of them—Anima’s cue to hurry up.

Excited to see their smiles as they all got their hands on their waffles, he and the girls started making their way toward the plaza when they heard crying nearby. He looked around and found a woman panicking in front of a baby stroller. She was trying to calm her crying baby by dangling a rattle in front of them.

“Is something wrong?” Luina asked him.

“I was looking at that.”

Anima pointed at the baby crying in its stroller.

“The baby stroller? We’ll need one once our child is born.”

“Why don’t we get one now?”

“This early?”

She was surprised, and rightfully so. She still had about five months until childbirth, so there was no need for them to buy one so soon.

“I don’t want to drag you around town right after you give birth. And who knows, maybe there will be a baby boom right around the time of your delivery and the strollers will be sold out.”

It was highly unlikely, but there was a chance of that happening nonetheless. Leaving such an important purchase until right after delivery would only put unnecessary stress on them, so he wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible.

“Seriously? C’mon, Daddy, that’ll never happen. But still, I agree with you. We should get everything as soon as we can. Having a bunch of baby supplies at home will really make it feel like the baby’s coming soon, which’ll help all of us prepare for it.”

Myuke’s sound argument managed to convince Luina.

“Okay, let’s go buy some supplies now.”

“Thank you. Sorry, girls, but you heard your mother. Waffles are going to have to wait a bit.”

“It’s fine, m’kay?”

Marie was a little bit sad, but Myuke and Bram readily agreed.

“Daddy, what we buy?”

The postponing of the waffles must have temporarily blocked Marie’s hearing, as she apparently missed their conversation. Either that, or she didn’t understand what was happening.

“Clothes and toys for the baby.”

“We buy toys?”

“Yes, so we can cheer up the baby if they start crying.”

“I like toys! I choose!”

Anima had feared that she would be upset over the waffles, but the mention of toys took her mind right off of them.

“That would be perfect! You’re an expert on toys, after all! Do you think you can find the best ones for the baby?”

Marie’s eyes sparkled, set on rising to the challenge.

“I’m glad you guys’re excited, but I dunno where to buy baby stuff, m’kay? Do you?”

Anima’s drive was halted by that simple question.

“Good point; I have no idea. Do you?”

“Sorry, but I don’t know either…”

Luina was stuck as well. Anima had figured that running an orphanage would have prepared her for situations like these, but it was likely that her parents had furnished the place before she’d taken it over.

“It’s okay, I’ll show you where it is,” Myuke said.

“Way to go, Myuke! You’re like a walking map, m’kay?!”

“Myukey ’mazing!”

“Aw, jeez. It’s nothing.”

She tried to play it off, but her flushed cheeks betrayed her.

“I don’t know what we’d do without you, Myuke.”

“You always come through when we need you the most.”

“S-Seriously, you guys…”

Myuke went bright red as they kept piling on the praise, then started guiding them through the town with a big smile on her face.

“It’s right there.”

The baby supplies store was right behind the tailor’s. While they didn’t visit the area very often, they were sure to have walked past the place a handful of times. Anima had definitely passed by when he was hunting for Marie’s birthday present and ran into the lost Ena. He had escorted her to the toy store, which happened to be right next to the baby supplies store.

Following Myuke’s lead, they entered the store. Anima was immediately taken aback by the sheer quantity of goods he had never seen at any point in his life.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“It’s a baby blanket,” Luina responded. “You wrap the baby up in it.”

“So it’s baby clothes?”

“No, it’s for keeping them warm. It also helps keep their head upright when they can’t hold it up themselves.”

“You’re surprisingly knowledgeable about all this.”

“My parents told me about most of it years ago, and there were even times when I would change Marie’s diapers.”

“That’s reassuring. All right, what about this?”

“That’s a cloth diaper. You need to keep babies clean, so you have to change it every time it gets dirty. I remember we’d have to change Marie’s fifteen times a day sometimes!”

“They get dirty that quickly? In that case, we’ll need at least thirty, assuming we can wash them every day. Maybe we should buy forty instead—that way we’re covered for rainy days, too.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“I’ll count out forty of ’em, m’kay?!” Bram offered.

“I’ll count bibs!” Myuke jumped in to help, using her knowledge from the time Marie was still little. “We need a bunch of those too, right?”

“That would be great. Could you count out thirty, please?”

Anima and Luina left the two of them to get them the necessary number of diapers and bibs, and started walking through the store until Anima finally found something he was familiar with.

“These are clothes, right?”

“Yes, they are. Some can be opened at the front, which makes changing the baby much easier, so I think we should get those. Seven should be enough to start.”

“Seven of those, a baby stroller… ah, and perhaps a rattle to calm them down when they start crying?”

“Hmm… Sure, I don’t see why not. It never hurts to have one.”

Anima set off in search of a rattle, pulling a baby stroller he’d found behind him. By the time he found one, Myuke and Bram had finished their quests of gathering the necessary supplies.

“Well done, girls. It must’ve been difficult to count out so many.”

“It was a walk in the park!”

“I can’t wait to learn how to change a diaper, m’kay?!”

“Me too. I think we’re ready to pay and go get waffles. Do we need anything else?”

“Nope,” Luina answered, “we’re all set.”

“Yummy waffles, m’kay?!”

Seeing the excitement in his daughters’ eyes made his heart dance, but it quickly tensed up with shock as he came to a grave realization.

“Where’s Marie?”

Marie hadn’t answered the call for waffles, and that definitely wasn’t normal. When he thought more about it, he noticed that he hadn’t heard her voice at all since they’d entered the shop. The girls also caught on, and immediately began scouring the building.

“Marie! Where are you?!”

“We’re going to get some waffles, m’kay?!”

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

No matter how much they looked, Marie wouldn’t come out, which only meant one thing: she wasn’t there.

“It’s my fault…”

Anima felt like a failure for not having caught on sooner.

“Don’t blame yourself. I didn’t notice that she was gone either…”

“No, it’s definitely my fault. She didn’t like that I made us wait to get waffles, so she ran off…”

“She would have run away from home countless times already if that was all it took. We don’t know why she disappeared, okay? The most important thing right now is finding her.”

She calmed Anima down with a gentle tone.

“You’re right.” Luina was just as anxious as Anima, and it was his duty to calm her down, not the other way around. Letting her get worked up probably wasn’t good for the baby. “I’ll go look around, you stay here.”

“I’ll go too, m’kay?”

“Okay. Bram, you’re with me. Myuke, you stay here with Luina, okay? It’ll be all right; we’ll find her.”

“Good luck, Anima.”

“Please don’t get mad at her when you find her. She isn’t doing this to upset anyone. There must be a reason she ran off.”

“I know. I won’t get mad.”

With that, Anima and Bram left the store. They glanced around the area, but couldn’t see her anywhere.

“I wanna use the Jade Dragon stone, m’kay?”

“Why?”

“’Cause it stands out, m’kay? Marie’ll totally notice the ruckus outside, and finding a huge dragon in the middle of the street isn’t exactly a hard thing to do.”

“Oh, I see. That’s not a bad idea, but we shouldn’t go that far unless we absolutely have to. The whole town is enjoying their day outside, doing some shopping. We can’t terrorize them all just to find Marie.”

The dragon costume had been popular during the Costume Festival, but a real dragon appearing out of nowhere was an entirely different thing. People would be terrified of her, and Anima knew the repercussions of being viewed as a monster better than anyone else. He wouldn’t wish that on his worst enemy, let alone one of his beloved daughters.

“I can get on the roof and look, m’kay?”

“It would be easier to scan the area from the rooftops, but I don’t want you to slide off and hurt yourself.” He could have gone up there himself, but that didn’t eliminate the danger. Another option was for them to split up, but he wasn’t a fan of that idea either. Were Bram to disappear from his sight while looking for Marie, any remaining doubts about him being a failure as a father would be gone. “Marie couldn’t have gone far. Let’s try calling her name for now.”

“I agree, m’kay?”

Anima and Bram each took a deep breath and screamed at the top of their lungs.

“Marie! Where are you?!”

“We’re going for waffles, m’kay?!”

There was no answer, but they both came to the same sudden conclusion.

“Maybe she went to get waffles.”

“Exactly! Let’s go to the plaza, m’kay?!”

Hand in hand, they rushed to the plaza, but there was no sign of Marie. Anima was starting to get extremely worried. Where could she have possibly gone?

“Amima!”

Ena was jogging up to them with a big smile on her face and a waffle in her hands.

“Hello, Anima. Are you out with your girls?”

Camilla followed shortly behind her, though her husband wasn’t with them. Perhaps it was his birthday, and they’d gone out to buy him a present.

“Have you seen Marie?”

“Marie? No, I haven’t…”

“Oh…”

“Did she run off somewhere?” Camilla asked in a worried tone.

Ena had disappeared on her in much the same fashion just a couple months earlier, so she understood how Anima felt. However, upon thinking about that incident, he came up with another idea.

Ah, right.

He remembered the concept he’d used to find where Camilla had been waiting. Upon finding Ena, his first instinct was to check her absolute favorite place in town. That was the logic by which he was able to reunite the two at the toy store—which just so happened to be right next to the baby supplies store.

“Yeah, m’kay?! Marie just—”

“Let’s go, Bram.”

“Huh? Tell me what’s going on, m’kay? Where are we going?”

“To Marie.”

“You know where she is?! M’kay!”

“Yes! I know exactly where she is!”

Anima took Bram’s hand and they rushed into the toy store. Just like he’d though, she was right there, rifling through toys with a serious look on her face.