Extra Chapter – Birds of a Feather [Part 7]
Carne’s POV
A-Artifact? With my hands trembling, I took that piece of paper from Wiliam-kun as if clutching at straws.
The moment I opened the paper that had been folded into four, I understood completely. ‘This is the one I have been searching for all this time.’ I could feel my heart, body, and soul tremble from joy.
“T-This is?!”
“Cardcaptor Sakura–tan.”
“L-Lovely…”
Drawn on the paper was a girl clad in a pink outfit never seen before in this world.
A bashful smile and big eyes that were gazing at me wholeheartedly.
An innocent girl with 100% purity was perfected to a level that easily surpassed all reality, dreams, and ideals… This was already god-level.
“By the way, her catchphrase is ‘Hoeh‘.”
“Ho-Hoeh?!”
“Yes. Hoeh.”
*gulp*
What was that… A girl… saying… “Hoeh”…? T-That’s awesome!
What is this?! Just what is this?! It was only a picture of a girl drawn with a special touch I had never seen before, and yet, why did I feel so moved?
Moreover, “Hoeh”?!
“Only 2D can save us now. Oh, how much pain did I go through to get this picture drawn…”
End of Carne’s POV
William couldn’t help but become teary as he spoke. With heartbreaking sorrow, he decided to give his treasure to Carne, the first comrade he met in this world.
“…Why are you carrying that on your body everywhere, Peita… Ewww…”
Emma was creeped out.
William’s treasure, the one and only artifact, was actually drawn by Emma. She miraculously completed this illustration by utilizing Emma’s tracing skills that she had cultivated since a young age by sketching insects and Minato’s past memories.
It was a picture of Sakura-tan that Peita, aka William, finally got after weeping and begging his older sister to draw it for him because he knew that she theoretically could do it.
“If it was possible, if I had the chance, ‘PreCure’… I wanted ‘Pretty Cure’ too!” *slump* William dropped to his knees.
The despair surrounding William was many times more sorrowful than that of Carne earlier.
“Like I said, I don’t know PreCure. Just how many times do I need to say it?!”
There was a generational difference.
Those who knew PreCure well in Minato’s generation either had kids or were adult fans who liked children’s anime.
Minato was neither of them.
“…The one who can draw this in this world is only my older sister. I have many images of girls other than Sakura-tan (mainly PreCure characters) in my head, but I can’t introduce them to you… How vexing…”
“Y-You’re the one… who drew… this picture…? Emma-chan…”
*thump thump* Carne could hear his heart pounding. The girl drawn on the paper was the embodiment of purity and innocence itself. It was more wonderful than the ideal girl he pictured, and there was a vague feeling that it held the answer he had been searching for all along.
‘William-kun said he would give this treasure with only one copy in the world… to me?’ Carne had come to a shocking realization.
“E-Emma-chan? Can you draw another picture of this Sakura-tan?! I can’t possibly rob my comrade of his sacred item!”
Carne couldn’t let go of that paper once he got his hand on it. Even so, he felt sorry to impose such a painful memory on the young William. He was his only comrade in this world, the only one who supported and understood him. He knew full well how William felt.
“Nee-sama! I beg of you! Please draw one more picture.”
“P-Please, Emma-chan!”
William and Carne prostrated before Emma and begged. Even when they could feel her scornful gaze, as if she were looking at trash, on the back of their head, they remained relentless and continued pleading, “One more piece of artifact…” desperately.
♠♠♠
The picnic preparation on the hill was finally completed with George’s help.
Rose and Jadwiga nodded in satisfaction as they looked at the warm-colored mats, fur, and cloth stretched around the gazebo to block the wind.
“Meggg? Can you go and invite Emma-sama and William-sama here?”
Asked by the senior maid, who was grinning strangely, Meg headed to the mansion.
This time, she could see clearly the crest on the luxurious carriage parked in front of the mansion, and the moment she recognized it, all the color drained away from her face.
