ILTV (FF). morning just for us

※ From Claire François’ perspective.
※ Takes place after the Epilogue, beware of possible spoilers.

The past few months had flown by as we hurried to inform the world’s current leaders of the situation. As might be expected, the initial reactions were not good. Even with the credibility we had built up as the Revolutionary Maidens and later also acting as key figures in humanity’s confrontation with the Demon Queen, there was simply too much to unpack. Though we had been making steady progress, the road ahead of us was still quite long.

Rei and I were on our way back to Bauer after an extended international summit. Rodd-sama had come along with us to provide a military escort. Though we passed the time talking about the summit and our path forward from here, the conversation was starting to die down and silence had begun to settle. Just as I turned to face out of the window of the carriage,

“Hey, let’s have a barbeque!”

Rodd-sama blurted those words. Though I didn’t know what a barbeque was, Rodd-sama’s excitement and the glint that suddenly appeared in Rei’s eyes were enough to tell me that it was far away from anything that had to do with our work. Considering humanity’s current situation, I didn’t feel that we could afford much time for distractions, but it couldn’t hurt to at least humor the idea.

“My apologies, I’m not familiar with the concept. So, what is this, bar-be-que?”
“That TAIM told me about it! So it’s a party held outdoors where everyone grills fresh meat together. The savory smell fills the area while everyone just hangs out. Doesn’t it sound like a blast!?”
“TAIM?”

TAIM, that piece of junk AI, didn’t we decide to avoid introducing too many concepts from the other culture into this one! As I called her name, she suddenly appeared in the carriage next to Rodd-sama, facing me. Her flowing silver hair and ruby eyes made her seem like a fairy. Even simple gestures, like the way she was tilting her head now, appeared angelic.

“Yes?”
“Didn’t we decide to refrain from introducing too many concepts from the other culture into this one?”
“Hey, cut her some slack.”

To my surprise, Rodd-sama was the first to come to her defense. To think that just months prior, he was one of the most active voices of distrust. Things really had changed a lot over the past couple of months.

“That’s too soft! One small cultural shock could lead to the next…”
“Precisely, we want to avoid a large shock all at once. By my calculations, if we slip in smaller concepts here and there, there will be a gradual shift which will soften the blow.”

TAIM spoke with a serious expression and tone, as expected of an AI, even introducing something that sounded silly as this “barbeque” was a calculated action. Her words did seem to make sense, but could we really rely on this girl’s calculations? In the end, if TAIM’s calculations were so reliable, how did she fail to see that we would overcome her? To me, it was clear that there was some sort of human factor that couldn’t be represented or accounted for in such calculations. While that kind of unpredictability was dangerous and could also lead to our downfall, at the same time, it was perhaps the only ace we had up our sleeve. After a short pause, TAIM continued, pulling me away from my thoughts.

“Besides, if we’re talking about culture shock, don’t we have the two main figures behind the Revolution right here in this carriage?”

Momentarily throwing a glance at Rei, TAIM returned her gaze to me and smirked. She had truly developed into such a cheeky AI. Come to think of it, Rei did seem to be uncharacteristically quiet. Considering the earlier glint in her eyes, it seemed that she might have some part to play in this as well. While TAIM did state the truth-

“Might I remind you who instigated our actions in the first place?”

In response to my retort, TAIM only offered an innocent giggle. It seemed that I wasn’t going to get any further with her so I heaved a sigh and directed my attention toward Rei. Considering that she was likely the only one who had first hand experience with this, “barbeque”, it was definitely strange that she had kept completely silent.

“Rei, you’re hiding something aren’t you?”
“Not particularly?”
“Then why have you been so quiet?”
“I’ve just been doing some thinking.”

That was a little unusual coming from Rei, she was usually one to act on her impulses. Considering the flow of the conversation, her thoughts had to have something to do with barbeques. Perhaps she was reflecting on some memories of her past life, or more accurately her life in the previous loop.

“Hmph, I bet you were reminiscing on these, ‘barbeques’, then?”
“Eh? Ah, no… Wait, Claire-sama, are you jelly!?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Don’t worry Claire-sama, let’s have plenty of barbeques from now on!”

As she spoke, she turned to face me, placing her hand over my own. Her eyes were sparkling as she leaned in, gazing into my eyes with joy in her own. In response to our little exchange, TAIM puffed her cheeks while Rodd-sama whistled loudly. As rude as it may be toward a prince, I wished that the gallery would keep quiet.

“Considering the current situation, we don’t have the time to entertain such a frivolous affair.”
“Come on Claire-sama, occasionally cutting loose is important. Plus, I’m sure Mei and Alea would enjoy it too!”

Rei knows that bringing those two up is unfair! But it was true that I hadn’t been able to spend as much time with them as I had wanted to. With another sigh, I conceded. It seemed that Rodd-sama was already set on the idea, so it’s not as though I really had a chance to sway him anyway.

“Do as you please.”
“Heck yeah! I’ll need some time to prepare so what say we have it at the palace courtyard three days from now?”
“The palace?”
“Yeah, I’ve actually already cleared it with Sein, he’s down!”
“Well then I suppose that’s fine, but three days from now is…”

As I spoke those words, Rei’s hand seemed to tense up slightly. I know that there’s absolutely no way that she would have forgotten, could this be…?

“I’m still not sure I understand the concept, but I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Shifting the position of my hand, I held Rei’s hand and sent her a smile. In response, she loosened up and smiled back at me. Was she always so bad at hiding secrets? How did she manage to hide her intentions regarding the revolution so well? Perhaps I simply had a better understanding of her as a person now, if that was the case, I felt happy.

★☆★☆★

“Claire-sama, wake up, breakfast is almost ready.”

Rei’s gentle voice called out to me, rousing my consciousness. From the other side of the window, I could hear the sound of birds chirping. Next came the savory smell of bacon stimulating my appetite. As I opened my eyes, I realized that my surroundings were quite a bit brighter than I would usually expect. Looking outside of our bedroom window, I realized that I had slept in. For a moment, I wondered why Rei hadn’t woken me up earlier, but thinking back on the last couple of days, I realized that this was intentional on her part.

“Good morning, Rei.”
“Good morning, Claire-sama.”

As I moved to sit up in our bed, Rei leaned down toward me at the same time to give me a peck on the lips. This short but sweet good morning kiss had become something of a routine on mornings that we were able to take it easy. Rei’s usual comforting fragrance mixed with the aromas of the breakfast she so lovingly prepared to make a very appetizing combination. Once things settle down, perhaps I should try my hand at cooking once more. Otherwise, this could be a bliss that Rei never understands.

“I’ll finish preparing breakfast.”

Rei looked as though there was something else that she wanted to say, but she suppressed it. I watched over her as she returned to the kitchen before going about my usual morning routine.

“Where are Mei and Alea? Ah, I’ll help too.”

I asked Rei as I entered our dining room. It seems that she had just about finished plating everything and was about to carry the last few items to our table.

“Ah, Claire-sama, these are the last couple of plates so please, just take a seat.”

Usually she’d let me help even if just a little, but it seems that she wouldn’t today. Just as I thought, though she had a tendency to forget about her own, she’d never allow herself to forget mine. I saw no reason to push the issue, so decided to play along and take a seat.

“Mei and Alea just had some things that they needed to take care of before the barbeque. I made sure to send Relaire with them, so don’t worry.”

Just as I had expected. Ever since we got home a couple of days ago, Mei and Alea have frequently gone out on their own. Whenever I tried to inquire about the specifics Rei would always offer some sort of follow up, assuring me that they were okay, but never giving a specific answer. As expected the table was also set for two, but then I noticed something else.

“Strawberries? To my knowledge they shouldn’t be in season…”
“Yes, I’m sure it was difficult getting ones of this quality. We should really thank father.”
“Father… father-in-law…!?”

Rei finished setting the table and sat across from me. She had slipped it in pretty casually, but considering the status of each of our fathers, the only one who could procure strawberries of this quality out of season would be my father, Dor François. But Rei had never once referred to him as father, so why all of a sudden?

“Why are you so surprised?”

She asked with a slight smirk on her face, it seems that she had every intention of teasing me. Even though it was my birthday, she really had no intention to hold back.

“I mean until now, you’ve always continued to refer to him as Dor-sama!”
“Well, I just didn’t want to lose to that rose-tinted version of me that Claire-sama made in the imagined world.”

That’s right, I had tried to forget about it, but something like that had happened…! The Rei that I had imagined while in that space, what could I have been thinking!? Worst of all, Rei had actually seen all of it! My cheeks adorn their own strawberry-like hue as I momentarily clammed up.

“Claire-sama? You know that if you’d prefer I be a little more aggressive, all you need to do is-”
“Shut it!”
“Ahh, it’s been so long since I’ve been able to play Claire-sama like this.”
“At least say play with!”
“Fufu, putting that aside we should eat before breakfast gets cold.”
“Don’t think that you can get away by distracting me with food!”
“Eh, then you’re not going to eat it…?”

Making her disappointment audible, Rei was visibly downcast. Though I knew that it was at least partly an act, I didn’t want her to make that kind of face. She always put a lot of effort into cooking our meals, and I definitely appreciated her efforts. With a slight sigh, I turned my attention back down to the table.

With her culinary genius, Rei had managed to incorporate the strawberries into each and every one of the dishes on the table. First there were eggs done sunny side up, drizzled in what seemed to be a strawberry based sauce. The white and yellow of the eggs paired beautifully with the light pink zig zags, accented by the darker red hues of the crisp bacon which shared the same plate. On a separate plate were fluffy pancakes, also dressed in a strawberry based syrup. Finally, there was an assorted garden salad with sliced strawberries dressed in a strawberry vinaigrette to add some acidity and color. It was clear that Rei had put a lot of effort into the meal before us.

“The strawberries bear no sin…”

With those words, Rei immediately perked up. Somehow this just didn’t sit right with me.

“Well then, shall we?”

Urged along by Rei, we both put our hands together and gave thanks for the meal. Though it was clear that Rei recognized today as special, it seemed that she was trying her best to act as she normally would. While it was obvious to me, I didn’t see the need to do something so boorish as to break the facade. The sweet and slightly acidic strawberries complimented everything that Rei had made very well. With this meal I came to a new appreciation for strawberries. They were such a versatile berry, truly fitting to be my favorite fruit.

“Thank you Rei, that was wonderful.”
“Fufu, I’m glad that you enjoyed it, Claire-sama.”

Though I offered to help with the clean up, Rei instead rushed me into our room to prepare for our outing. It seems that we would be making our way to the “barbeque”, Rodd-sama had organized at the palace courtyard. As I changed, Rei finished cleaning up breakfast before coming back to help me with my finishing touches. Once we were both ready, we left the house.

Come to think of it, it had been a while since we had been able to have the morning just to ourselves. Of course I loved Mei and Alea very much and I was sure this barbeque would be fun too… But part of me also wanted to spend more time alone with Rei. It seemed however that everyone had been preparing for this event, and it wouldn’t do to keep them waiting. Interlocking fingers with Rei, we set out toward the palace together.

“I still can’t quite grasp what this… barbeque will be like.”
“Haha, it’s really not anything that complex. Just sit back and enjoy it.”
“That’s true, it seems everyone’s been hard at work to prepare it…”

Rei momentarily stiffened up once again. Her face indicated that she wanted to say something, but hesitating. With a sigh, it seemed that she finally gave up.

“Claire-sama, you already know, don’t you?
“Why yes, of course.”
“At the very least, in front of Mei and Alea…”
“Yes, that’s my intention.”

A surprise party, organized by my beloved Rei and precious daughters. Though the cat was out of the bag, it had been my intention to play my part from the very beginning. Appearing relieved to have heard me say that, Rei smiled. Giving my hand a quick tug, she stopped walking and leaned into me.

“In that case, I guess there’s no need to hold back anymore!”

Looking straight into my eyes with her own, she gave me a bright sincere smile and said,

“Happy birthday, Claire-sama!”

With those words, our faces drew closer together and our lips locked. It wasn’t a light peck like earlier, but a deep and intimate kiss relishing in the moment. When our lips parted,

“Thank you, Rei.”

I thanked her and returned a smile. Once again, we set off toward the palace. As we walked, we talked about whatever came to mind. Our pace was slow and relaxed, it seems we both wanted to savor this

morning just for us

Author Comment: Happy birthday Claire!!

I actually intended to write another idea, but I started writing this as setup for that idea and things kind of went out of control. Obviously the full idea won’t make it for her birthday anymore, but I hope to work on the continuation when I find the spare moments. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this little story and that we’ll meet again next time too.

I have a ko-fi where I’ve been posting some of the stuff I do for larger projects as I make progress. So if you want to see my progress and what I’m doing, please head over there and give me a follow! If you’ve been enjoying what I’m doing and feel like sending some tangible love, it really does go a long way.

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