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Once it was clear this was a game world, I found other convenient game features besides Hime-chan’s status screen.
The “Map” feature.
Not only can I view a map of this world, but since it is centered on Hime-chan’s position, I can instantly pinpoint her current position.
For example, just like this.

“Hime-chan, found you!”
“Ah, you got me~”
She was crouched down in the shadow of the park bushes, her cheeks puffed out in a pout. It was adorable.

“I thought you wouldn’t find me this time…”
“Fufufu, wherever Hime-chan is, I’ll always know.”
“That’s because… Matsuri-chan is my prince?”

Recently, she’s been repeating that lately. Since she always asks with such an innocent expression, I can’t just say, “I’m not a prince.” at this point.
“Ahh, yes. Something like that,” I reply offhandedly.

Well, as she grows older, there will come a time that she realizes, “Ah, this girl isn’t a prince, but my childhood friend, Ichinose Matsuri.”
That in itself might be somewhat sad.
But it’s still far better than her continuing to mistake me for a prince and ending up unable to fall in love with the actual love interests.

I’d gotten bored of hide-and-seek, so we then headed to the sandpit to build a castle.
There was something I wanted to check while we were here as well.

In this game, there was a boy with a childhood friend background, the most popular love interest among fans, if I recall correctly.
And they should’ve already met by this point, at age six. A certain event is also supposed to trigger around now.
I know his name as a romance option, but at this stage, we’re all just six-year-olds, whether it’s kids at preschool or those playing in the park, everyone looks like a child.
The game didn’t even show what he looked like back then, so even I had no idea who was who.

So, I figured I should identify him now, while I still can, with a little help from the person herself.
That event should be coming up any minute now.

“Hey, Hime-chan, among your preschool friends or the kids you usually play with, do you have anyone you like?”
“Huh? Matsuri-chan! I’m totally against cheating, you know!”
“You know quite a big word there. Well, that’s not exactly what I meant.”
“It’s not?”
Well… it’s kind of correct, but also not really.
More importantly, cheating… where did she even learn that word?

“Hmm, a childhood friend, was it?”
“Hm?”
What am I even doing, asking about childhood friends to a kid who’s only been alive for six years?
This isn’t going anywhere.
Oh, right.

“Is there anyone who’s moving away soon?”
“Ah, there is. Shin-kun! He’s a friend from preschool that I play with sometimes.”
“By any chance, is his surname ‘Kagami’?”
“Mm, I think so. I always hear the teacher call out ‘Kagami Shin-kun’ when someone comes to pick him up.”
Bingo. That’s probably him.

Love interest number one, Kagami Shin.
There’s a particular trait shared by all the love interests in this world.

Their surnames are all exactly three characters long.
In other words, anyone not a romance target will have a surname that isn’t three characters, which makes them easy to distinguish.

And the only one who has any connection to young Hime-chan right now is this Kagami Shin.

Kagami-kun will call Hime-chan out to the big cherry blossom tree in the neighborhood park the day before his move. There, he’ll make a promise to her beneath the tree.
That someday, he’ll definitely return to this town, and that when they’ve grown up, they’ll get married.

As a token to remember that promise, Kagami-kun will give Hime-chan a toy ring as a present.
It becomes a sort of “promise ring” and even comes up again when they’re in high school.

Kagami-kun grows up to be a truly charming young man, and the reason why he’s a fan favorite in the game.
So I’d really love for this to leave a strong impression and become a beautiful memory.
A six-year-old boy giving a girl he likes a ring and saying “I’ll come back for you”, isn’t that just unbelievably cool and sweet?

“I don’t know Shin-kun that well since he’s in the class next door, but it’s sad he’s moving away.”
“Yeah, but he said it’s because of his dad’s job transfer, so it can’t be helped.”
So what kind of shape should the top of the castle be? Is it okay if I build it? Hime-chan asks me after that. I can’t help but think… she’s surprisingly unfazed about it.
Come to think of it, the heroine of this otome game isn’t the dependent or obsessive type.
She’s a natural airhead, kind, honest, and unintentionally charming.
She doesn’t fixate on any one person, but it’s precisely that warmth and freedom that wins people’s hearts.

“Wha~at is it, Matsuri-chan? You’re grinning.”
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking how Hime-chan really is such a wonderful girl.”
I answer with a dopey smile, and in return,
“Eh? …E-Ehehe~ When Matsuri-chan says it like that, it makes me happy.”
She gives me this soft, melting smile that’s just irresistible.
I want to cup those cheeks with both hands and squish them.

Ah, no, no.
I need to guide Hime-chan properly.

“Alright! Hime-chan! Let’s come up with a present for Shin-kun!”
“Shin-kun likes acorns. You can find them all over the place.”

…Well, I guess that’s just the kind of stuff preschool boys like.
“Uh, is there anything else? What else does Shin-kun like…?”
“Oh, he likes pinecones too. He always stuffs his pockets full of acorns and pinecones until they’re bulging.”

He also likes pill bugs.
Hearing that reminds me that just the other day, Hime-chan and I were collecting pill bugs when we fell off the jungle gym.
Why do little kids love acorns and bugs so much, anyway?
…Well, I guess for a childhood memento, that’s fine.

“Ah, but then I, want to give him flowers too! Cute ones! The other day, when I went on a picnic with Mama, Papa and my big brother, we found this place with tons of them on the hill past the park!”
“Hime-chan is a genius! Alright! That’s your first step toward being a wonderful lady. Before he moves away, let’s gather lots of flowers, acorns, and pinecones and give them to Shin-kun!”

“Yaay, yaay! Then I’ll ask Mama where that flower place was!”
“I’ll get ready as well!”

The park beyond the hill is pretty big, with some deeper woods in it, but since Hime-chan could go there for a picnic, I’m sure the two of us will be fine.
And even though I’m physically six years old, I still carry the mind and thinking skills of the 17-year-old I used to be.
We’ll surely be fine.
Definitely, it’ll be our first trip on our own, but surely—

I’ll bring some cookies and chocolate for snacks.
And so, we promised to go searching together another day to find the perfect present for Kagami-kun.

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