There was a great deal to consider when going out for an excursion.
Plane or train?
Within the country or abroad?
Seaside or inland?
Going out was a hassle to begin with—especially for the Nagasaki mother and daughter, who had scarcely gone out to play more than a handful of times. For them, the things to consider were all the more tangled.
"Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
Nagasaki Soyo quite naturally tossed the question back to Chiose. After all, this was the excursion a child wanted—it wouldn't do for the adult to decide it all on her own.
"France!"
"Eh?"
It was a truly crisp, clean answer—as if she hadn't even taken a moment to think. The reply that blurted out of Nagasaki Chiose left Soyo astonished.
Chiose blinked her big eyes; she had completely mastered the art of putting on an adorable act.
These silly adults would never suspect that a little child's every behavior and gesture might be a fabrication—and that was Chiose's finest disguise.
A glint of shrewdness flashed through her eyes.
All these years in Ms. Nagasaki's house, she hadn't just been freeloading!
Through painstaking, roundabout probing she had gleaned plenty of useful intel—and now she was preparing to hurl it all back at Soyo like a boomerang.
Two years of knowing you in the last life, plus all these years in this one fully filling in your past... Nagasaki Soyo, as the intelligence-gathering Chiose I am now, I'm frighteningly strong!
"You actually want to go play abroad, child—do you even know what a country is?"
"Eh? A country?"
Chiose tilted her head and answered Soyo in an uncertain tone: "A country? What's that...?"
"Pfft, you don't even know what a country is and you already want to go abroad? Little Chiose, how silly you are."
"Because Grandma said that when Mama was little she wanted to go play in France, so I want to go to France too."
Who asked you!
Nagasaki Soyo did seem to have some recollection of this.
Back then she had been home alone watching television—ah, her mother had been quite thorough in many respects; for instance, she would allow her to watch a bit of TV and the like whenever she was bored and on her own.
Though television wasn't all that interesting either—only the comedian Wakaba's program was somewhat entertaining.
Back then, while watching a documentary, Soyo came across a concept called the [Côte d'Azur].
The Côte d'Azur lies in the south of France, away from cities like Nice, Cannes, and Monte Carlo; and because it could safeguard privacy and security, it became a place where the wealthy and famous lingered, reluctant to leave—and it has flourished to this day.
As a child, Soyo had once harbored the very fantasy that so many young girls have held.
She fantasized about traveling to the Côte d'Azur—described as a little paradise—together with her parents, where they could enjoy the violet-red evening clouds on the horizon while savoring the legendary chocolate mousse together.
But then her parents divorced, leaving her with a broken family and a broken fantasy.
Later still, the family grew rich and she could eat chocolate mousse whenever she pleased—but by then Soyo had lost all interest in it.
Soyo lifted her head, only to be yanked back into the past by Chiose's words once again.
She really was getting old—lately she often reminisced over every little fragment of the past.
She was only in her early thirties and already like this; what would she do once she reached forty or fifty?
"Mama~ Mama~ Mama~"
Her adorable white-haired little daughter was acting spoiled. She loved being coquettish so much—and she did it so adorably that it softened Soyo's heart.
"Ah, Mama's here... Does Little Chiose want to go play in France? When Mama went on a business trip to Western Europe before, she passed through Provence—the fish soup there was unforgettable."
"Eh?"
"In a few days, once Mama goes back to the company and clears up all the trouble, she'll take you abroad to play, all right? We won't have time today, so let's take Little Chiose to stroll along the seaside first."
Would Little Chiose be sad?
After all, she couldn't take her out right away, and the child probably didn't even grasp what going abroad meant. Hmm... even if she cried and fussed, Soyo wouldn't be troubled—she was only a child, after all.
But Chiose's maturity far exceeded the bounds of Soyo's understanding.
Nagasaki Chiose neither cried nor fussed; she simply went on warming Soyo's ice-bound heart with a radiant smile.
"Okay, okay! Mama's the best! Little Chiose loves Mama the most!"
She threw herself headlong into Nagasaki Soyo's arms, throwing Soyo's heartbeat into disarray.
[Take her to France! Book the tickets right now! Take her, take her!]
Such an impulse surged in Soyo's mind; she truly felt the urge to deliver every single thing Chiose wanted right into her arms.
What an adorable daughter. People always said raising a child was the most troublesome and exhausting thing of all.
So why is my daughter this adorable!
"As for the seaside, I went once before on a university team retreat. If we go today we can even stay at a seaside hotel and take in the night view—the nighttime ocean is very dark, far more interesting than in the daytime."
As she said this, Soyo felt herself grow a few years younger, as though she had regained the vitality of her high school days.
Holding her daughter's soft little hand, she walked toward the garage, ready to set off.
"Mama!"
Soyo relished this feeling of being constantly chased by a little cutie calling her "Mama"—so heartwarming. Was this the taste of the [home] she had so longed for?
Perhaps her mother had known her thoughts too, and that was precisely why she had gone to the trouble of raising Chiose.
Nagasaki Soyo shook her head; she dared not dwell on matters concerning her mother, for the more she thought about it the more it hurt.
Whether it was her mother or friends from the past, whether the things they had done to Soyo had been good or bad—once they had truly gone far away from her, beyond the occasional scattered little grievance, what remained more than anything was an irrepressible longing.
Soyo stopped walking, deliberately letting Chiose—who was tugging at her skirt—bump into the small of her back.
She turned her cheek to look at the child who belonged to her, and a strange thought abruptly surfaced in her mind.
All those feelings she had stored up elsewhere for so long—could they be transformed into [maternal love] and poured out upon Little Chiose?
In other words...
Nagasaki Chiose, my dear daughter, could you become Mama's spiritual anchor?
Surely you can make Mama feel happy.
"Will Little Chiose always stay with Mama?"
Just a few days ago she'd been indifferent and aloof, and now she could less and less bear to be apart—Nagasaki Soyo, how despicable you are.
"Of course! Mama! I want a hug!"
"Okay... okay, let Mama give you a hug."
Whether it was an illusion or not, Soyo always felt that Chiose knew exactly what sense of fulfillment a mother needed, and would often deliberately let her attain it from time to time.
Haha, what was she even thinking—that sort of thing was far too fantastical.
She was nothing more than a child.
Getting in the car, she settled Chiose into the back seat. Uneasy, Nagasaki Soyo even made a point of checking that Chiose's seatbelt was fastened good and tight.
"We're setting off now."
"Mm-hmm!" Chiose waved her little fist. "Let's go!"
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