Chapter 47: Lunchbox Arrangements

"What? A swordsmanship tournament?" asked Mia as she was having lunch one day in the cafeteria with her usual group of girlfriends.

"Yes, the boys have been talking up a storm. The academy is apparently helping to host it, and it's taking place during the last week before summer vacation or something..." answered one of the girls.

"Haven't you heard?" asked another.

"Hm... I don't seem to remember ever hearing anything of the sort— Ugh, my head."

As soon as she tried to recall past memories of the event, she was struck with a terrible headache.

Swordsmanship tournament... Alone...

Words flashed ominously through her mind. Something about them made her feel like these were memories better left unearthed...

"Traditionally, if a girl has a boy she likes, she'll bring him a lunchbox that day, so we were wondering if Your Highness has already placed an order..."

...Lunchbox!

A scene from her memories burst vividly into her mind. It was from the previous timeline, and in it she was eagerly inspecting the extravagant lunchbox she'd ordered...

"Oh, I can see it now! I'm going to hand this to him, and he'll be so impressed that after he wins, he'll come tell me this lunchbox was the fuel for his victory!"

She had it all planned out and was raring to go. Her enthusiasm, however, was immediately doused with a bucket of cold water when Prince Sion adamantly refused to accept her lunchbox. Making things worse was the fact that she couldn't possibly confide in anyone about the rejection. In the end, she had no choice but to eat it herself. In her room. Alone. Sniffling to herself.

How awful that was...

A single tear fell from her eye.

"Wha— Y-Your Highness! What's wrong? Wh-Why are you crying all of a sudden?!"

"S-Someone! Bring a handkerchief!"

Seeing Mia shed a silent tear sent all the girls into a fit of panic.

"Oh, no, it's nothing." Mia wiped the tear away with her finger. "I'm glad you told me about it. Thank you," she said with a smile.

Unlike Prince Sion — who is an idiot — Prince Abel is a perfect gentleman, so he'll eat my lunch. I know he will! Things had changed since then, and so had she. This was not the Mia of old. With that said, though, I should first make him promise me that he'll accept my lunch.

Indeed, Mia Version 2.0 came with an important upgrade — the ability to plan ahead. She was now aware that people could have prior obligations and it was important to arrange things in advance. It was possible, for example, that he was going to prepare lunch himself that day, rendering Mia's efforts extraneous. That was why it was necessary to first communicate her intent to bring him a lunchbox.

I should go tell him as soon as possible!

After school, Mia went looking for Abel. The horsemanship club was meeting that day, so she went straight there and found him in no time.

"Prince Abel."

"Hey, Princess Mia. Here again? Looking to practice horse riding some more?" he asked as he looked her over. She was dressed in a sleek set of riding clothes made up of a vest and long pants. "Malong spoke very highly of you, you know? He said he'd thought you were just here on one of your princess-ly whims, but turns out you're taking practice very seriously."

Participation for club members was, in general, not mandatory. There was no need to come every day, and with nobles — who were used to going about their day however they wished — making up most of the student population, attendance was never high. The frequency with which Mia showed up was, if anything, an oddity. She came every day, but to be honest, she'd rather have spent the time lounging in her room. She was only there because she considered horsemanship an essential skill for making a quick escape, so she had to learn it.

"Anyway, this is the only horse available right now. Would you like to ride it with me?" he asked, taking one glove off and offering her his hand.

"Really? I do think I'd like that..." Mia placed her hand in his. "My..."

"Hm? What's the matter?"

"Your palm..." she said as she ran her fingers along it, "has grown rather firm."

She gave him a winsome look.

"Uh, I guess. It's probably because, you know, there's a swordsmanship tournament coming up, and I've been practicing..."

"Mm. I see you've been working hard..."

It occurred to her that the skin on the palms of knights from back home were all similarly calloused. She regarded the boy standing before her again. Though his features were still those of a child, from a certain angle, there was something decidedly masculine about the way the shadows fell across his burgeoning jawline. It sent a small flutter through Mia's heart.

She hopped on the horse, behind Abel, made sure to wrap her arms firmly around him, then asked in a timid voice, "Um, Prince Abel, about the swordsmanship tournament..."

"Hm?"

"Have you... made any arrangements with anyone for lunch that day?"

"Uh, not especially..."

Upon hearing his answer, Mia felt a wave of relief.

"Perfect. In that case, would it be all right if I prepared a lunchbox for you that day?"

"Huh? For me?"

"Yes. I'll do my best to bring you something wonderful. I do hope it will help you win."

She had, unfortunately, neglected to consider one issue. This negligence was brought about by her relief. Feeling safe in the knowledge that she wouldn't suffer last-life's fate of a lonesome lunch, she let down her guard. Furthermore, her newly-acquired common sense was not substantial enough to alert her to this oncoming pitfall. For most people, the problem was obvious, requiring no more than a moment's thought. For Mia, it never even crossed her mind.

Lunchboxes had to be ordered. And orders had to be placed in advance.

Blissfully ignorant of the fact that every store in town would be swamped with work on the day of the tournament and therefore stopped accepting orders a week in advance, Mia smiled happily to herself as she imagined a future that would never come to pass.

"Oh, how wonderful. I can hardly wait!"