Chapter 208 - 3-12 アンナ視点
Margaret-sama, who remained silent at my question, gradually filled her eyes with large tears and began to wail like a small child. Panicked by her incessant crying, we apologized for pushing her too hard and tried to soothe her many times. Still, there was no way to calm Margaret-sama, whose beliefs had been shattered in an instant.
"You people... you people can just turn into potatoes!" she cursed, before locking herself in the pantry across the kitchen.
"...Sami-kun, if I turn into a potato, will you find me?"
"That's... yeah, I'll try. I'll try, but... I might be a potato too by then."
Staring blankly at the pantry door where Margaret-sama had vanished, those were the only words I could manage. Sami-kun was also pacing back and forth in front of the door, looking flustered.
"Maybe I pushed her too far."
Realizing she was a reincarnator had made me happy. A sense of camaraderie had sprouted on its own. But for Margaret-sama, it wasn't like that. For me, realizing this world was a game felt like hell. I wanted to go back to my previous world, and I didn't care about the game world at all. It's a harsh thing to say, but I had no love or attachment to the characters; there was no ideal world for me here.
But for Margaret-sama, it must have been different. The game world was a brilliant light, a world she wanted to believe in. The sparkling eyes she had directed at me were surely for the protagonist Anna, whom she loved. To suddenly be shown something so far removed from the Anna she imagined must have been a shock.
"...Why didn't I realize that? I always act on emotion and fail. ...I messed up again."
Even though I had boasted to Rachel-san that she should leave it to me, this was the result. A warm, large hand rested on my head. Looking up, I saw Sami-kun's kind eyes.
"I know. You wanted to reach out to Margaret-sama as a fellow reincarnator."
"...Sami-kun."
"But to do that, you wanted to be sure if she was a reincarnator or not."
"Yeah. ...But by leading her on like that, I hurt her."
"I've had my memories since I was very young, and you went through a lot before getting yours at seventeen. That girl... the Princess is only twelve. She might have a different kind of suffering than we do."
The tightly closed door was just like my heart used to be. A heart that stubbornly excluded others and refused to accept this world. Should I wait until she opens the door? Or should I keep calling out to her? Even so, the fear of making another mistake kept me from doing anything.
Then, Sami-kun grabbed both my shoulders and looked into my eyes with a determined expression.
"I'll go in for a bit."
Go in? Where? Surely...
"Sami-kun! Wait, I'll—"
"Anna, wait here. It's okay, I'll go talk to her."
Sami-kun gave me a reassuring smile and headed not for the door, but for the stove. He began warming milk in a small pot, adding chopped chocolate and stirring with a whisk. He prepared a mug and poured the liquid in. Finally, he topped it with several tiny marshmallows, placed it on a tray, and headed for the pantry.
As Sami-kun passed me, the faint, sweet scent of chocolate drifted by. The comforting aroma was just like his personality.
"Sami-kun, you really can't leave someone in trouble alone, can you? Thank you. ...I love that kindness about you."
"Me too."
Just before opening the door after a knock, he gave me a thumbs-up and a grin. That smile made my heart squeeze. I watched Sami-kun's broad, sturdy back disappear into the pantry, accompanied by the sweet scent of hot chocolate.