The Doll and The Prince - v3 Chapter 77, v3 Chapter 78, v3 Chapter 79

Hiiro (58)
Since yesterday, Naruhito, who had been unable to stay calm, entered the shop, left his mouth agape for a while, simply gazing around.

"The candy's over here."

Called by Rikimaru, he finally began to move in that direction, still looking dazed. He must be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of candy. I was surprised, too. Was a candy store always like this?
I’m not particularly interested in sweets, and I only came here a few times as a child with Hitachimaru and others, so I barely remember.

Naruhito was struggling to choose at the candy section. Since they won’t spoil right away, he could just buy whatever he wanted, but he probably wanted to pay with his own money.
He seemed to like the ramune candies in the plastic container, turning them around in his hand to look at them. Rikimaru informed him that ramune candies melt in your mouth, so he’d be able to eat them.

"This is fascinating! Such a bold color."
"Whoa! Do they really taste good with colors like this?"

I heard Mother and Otoha chatting excitedly. It’s been quite a while since Mother has gone out. Her illness seems to have stabilized, as though her previous fear of meeting unfamiliar people was just a memory. Recently, I heard that she went looking for Naruhito when he didn’t come to her room. Although the whole castle was shocked, we issued a directive to keep things quiet and ensured people only greeted her normally in passing, allowing her to walk outside without any issue. Apparently, Naruhito had been chasing butterflies on his way to her room. He excitedly told me at night that he saw them fluttering around. After they safely met up, I heard they spent their walk chasing butterflies together, surprising both Father and my older brother.

Naruhito, who had been hesitating in front of the candy, started to sway. It’s amusing to think he could get lightheaded from overthinking it. I caught him, telling him to calm down, and he began contemplating further within my arms.

"Riki, it's your birthday tomorrow, right? Let me buy you something!"

Otoha, standing by Rikimaru, held a big candy in her hand and asked, "How about this?"

"I think I’d rather pick something from a general store. Food disappears once you eat it, you know."
"Alright, we’ll do that later."
"Is it your birthday, Rikimaru?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow, I’ll be eighteen."
"I have a birthday, too."
"... When?"
"March thirteenth."

Naruhito said this with a big smile. Come to think of it, I hadn’t told everyone about that.

"It’s coming up soon! Sister-in-law, Naruhito’s birthday is also coming up soon."
"Oh my, congratulations, Naru! If there’s anything you want, let me know."
"Why?"
"Birthdays are a happy occasion; you get presents for them."
"Hmm?"

It can’t be helped that he’s tilting his head in confusion. Without knowing about birthdays, he probably never had one celebrated. And he doesn’t really understand what it means, either.

If we celebrate Rikimaru's birthday grandly, it might get him excited about his own birthday, ten days later. Tomorrow, let’s throw Rikimaru a celebration.

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Naruhito (74)
I've decided what to buy.
With a pounding heart, I took my items to the payment counter. "I’d like this, please." I can do this.
A woman around Yoshino’s age said,

"Welcome."

Just like in practice.

"I’d like this, please."
"Alright, that’ll be ninety coins for three."

I need to pay. Taking out my wallet, I carefully placed nine ten-coins on the counter.

"Thank you, that’s exactly right. Thank you for your purchase."

She handed me a bag with the ramune candy, a stick candy with powder, and two square candies. I put my wallet in my bag and held the bag in my hand.
When I turned around, Hiiro was watching with a cheerful smile.

"I did it! I bought something on my own."
"Well done."

Even though I managed to do it, my heart kept pounding. It was so much fun. I actually shopped with my own money.

Afterward, we walked to a place called a general store. They sold everything. So many things that I couldn’t make sense of it. What was I looking for again?
For now, I wandered around. There were many tools for studying. Pencils weren’t just black and red, I realized. I looked at a box labeled "colored pencils" and thought how beautiful it was.

Then, I saw a glass goldfish.
It was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, shaped like a goldfish. Transparent glass with a delicate red pattern that sparkled when the light hit it.
I want it.
I want the goldfish.
It cost 350 coins… it was expensive. But it was so beautiful, so I couldn't help it. It looked like Shizuku’s goldfish—round and cute.
I’ll come back to buy it after saving up a bit more.

I remembered I came here to buy a box, so I headed to the section with items that looked like that. The boxes had various elegant patterns, and they looked pricey.
When I opened the lid of one, music started playing.
Why? Huh? Why?
A slightly high-pitched sound played a tune and then suddenly stopped. I opened the next box, and a different song played. After a short while, it, too, stopped abruptly. I opened every box, and each one played music before stopping. Closing the lids and reopening them didn’t make the sound come back.
Then Hiiro reached over and wound the spring on the side of a box.

"Try opening it."

The music played again. So you wind the spring! Winding it makes it play music. This is so nice. I think it could even hold my candy. I looked at the price. 1,800 coins! No way.
I gently placed it back on the shelf.
Looks like I won’t be able to buy anything from the general store…

"Which one did you like?"

Hiiro asked. Which one?

"The sound. There were different songs, weren’t there?"

Hmm? Hiiro wound it for me again, and I listened once more. Even if he asked which, I didn’t really know.

"I don’t know. I can’t buy it, so it’s fine."
"Then, did you like any of the patterns?"

I did have one. A box carved with a butterfly. I pointed to it, and Hiiro nodded, saying, "Hmm."
At the general store, I bought a single glass marble. It sparkled beautifully. Starting tomorrow, I’ll work hard again.

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Naruhito (75)
The next morning, on my way to breakfast, I ran into Rikimaru.

"Happy birthday," Hiiro said. Rikimaru smiled brightly, bowing deeply with his hands clasped in thanks.

"Thank you very much!"

Oh, right. His birthday.

"Happy birthday..." I repeated, mimicking Hiiro. Rikimaru thanked me, and this little exchange repeated itself with everyone we encountered. So, birthdays aren’t just for dumpling parties...

After breakfast, Rikimaru went off to his school, where he’s studying to get a driver’s license. Meanwhile, I worked hard at my tasks. Until now, I thought having just ten coins was enough to buy candy, so anything more felt like a lot. But I’m different now. There are so many things I want.
I never thought I'd want something more than candy. I took out the sparkling marble I bought yesterday from the bag I always carry, admiring it. It was beautiful, but I wanted the glass goldfish. That shining glass goldfish.

"It's beautiful.”

Hiiro remarked, sitting beside me as we gathered for lunch.

"Yeah."

I wanted to keep working through the afternoon, but Hiiro wouldn't let me, and I ended up being taken to my bed. Despite resisting, I fell asleep in his arms.

When I woke up, they told me to head to the dining hall.
When I got there, I found a mountain of dumplings waiting. It was a birthday party. Like last time at snack time, bowls of kinako, red bean soup, mitarashi syrup, and fruit syrup surrounded the table. People from the whole house began to gather, and juice was passed around. Aoba was there, too. Everyone encircled Rikimaru and, in unison, said,

"Happy birthday!"

Glasses clinked all around as people raised them, saying "Cheers!" and "Congratulations!" Rikimaru kept laughing, saying thank you, thank you, to everyone.

Birthdays are amazing...

As people drank juice, many handed Rikimaru beautifully wrapped gifts. I stood there, a bit dazed, when Aoba came up beside me and said,

"Next, it's Little Naru’s birthday, huh? Aren't you excited?"
"… Yeah."
"I'm so happy you were born. That’s why birthdays are such a big deal. It’s the day you came into this world."
"... Huh."
"You'll understand someday."

After some thought, I decided to give my marble to Rikimaru.