On the first day of the early November holiday, in the early afternoon, we arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark.
“Wow, we made it to Denmark! Copenhagen! Mermaid! Andersen! And the houses are so cute!” I exclaimed.
From above, we could see cute toy-like houses, a castle and a wide park, squares and the sea. The colors were chic and European, but seemed warmer than France.
“It’s cold, but the air feels fresh!”
Obviously, there was a reason for coming to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark in Scandinavia, at this time of the year when it wasn’t the winter break. Of course, we were looking for Yume-chan.
Since the missed encounter in Okinawa during the summer break, Hana-chan had been researching in the library and on the computer while attending school, as previously mentioned. That’s how we stumbled upon Copenhagen.
We never expected to find her by searching with her name in the human world. Even Hana-chan was surprised.
Sakura Mirai-san has been moving from one glass workshop to another. We don’t know where her base house is. However, the only keyword that has remained the same is “glass”. There must be other ways to escape from Hana-chan if she really wanted to.
So I think that the reason why she deliberately stayed connected to glass-making while wandering around the world is that she always has a means of contacting the magical world. Especially since we found out that Majoavenir is Sakura Mirai-san, it feels like she’s guiding Hana-chan. She hasn’t even changed her name.
However, since Hana-chan’s magical power is strong, if she were to search only for Majoavenir and Yume-chan without thinking about anything else, there is nothing she couldn’t do. But Hana-chan deliberately chooses not to do so, knowing the impact it would have on those around her.
If Hana-chan prioritized only meeting Yume-chan and used her magic, we and Majorika would surely be unable to stop her. I think her cautiousness is a testament to her growth. Therefore, I think maybe Mirai-san also left her footprints. When you think about it, neither the Queen nor Mirai-san were forcing themselves to meet. However, I think they are still somehow connected because they are sisters.
That aside, Hana-chan found an exhibition of Japanese glass artisans at the Danish Museum of Decorative Arts in Copenhagen when she searched the Internet, and found a glass artisan named Sakura Mirai-san among the members.
“Wow, what a beautiful city!”
“Doremi-chan, you’ve been too excited since earlier. Try to calm down a bit.”
Hazuki-chan scolded me, and I lowered my tone of voice.
“But don’t you think it’s a really neat and clean city without all the clutter?”
Momo-chan nodded, agreeing with me.
“Indeed, it has a chic feeling and is cleaner than New York.”
Ai-chan let out a sigh and looked at me.
“Doremi-chan, you’ve had a lot going on before we left. It’s impressive how quickly you switched gears to come on this trip.”
“That’s right. We were all worried about you. By the way, Doremi-chan, didn’t you do any preparation for this trip?”
I got caught, huh? Onpu-chan was perceptive.
“Doremi was just stringing together vocabulary words, that’s all.”
Even Hana-chan chimed in. That means…
“You won’t be able to see the mermaid statue from the museum. And, Hans Christian Andersen’s birthplace is an island in the west of Copenhagen.”
As expected of Hazuki-chan. Everyone seemed to have done some studying.
I had a reason why I didn’t have time to research Denmark or the museum.
“Well, I was training hard for Dodo.”
“We’re so far away. It’s worrying. But I’m sure she’ll do great.”
I think Dodo will be fine if she is as firm as the partner of Hazuki-chan and the others.
“It’s been a while since she had such an important role. I think she’s doing her best,” Ai-chan said.
“Dodo has been really excited since yesterday,” Hana-chan said.
“In any case, it’s the players of the soccer team who have to work hard,” Momo-chan said.
That’s right. Tomorrow is the day of the prefectural qualifiers for the National High School Soccer Championship, and it’s even the semifinals. The opponent is a private powerhouse school that made it to the finals last time. Although they’re different from last year’s team, they won the national championship a few years ago and have never missed the top 8 every year.
As part of the manager’s preparation, we needed to investigate the opponent’s members and formation, but it was easy. Because they’re a powerhouse school, there’s a lot of data available.
“Sorry, Doremi. Hana really wanted to come.”
“No, no, Hana-chan, it was my decision.”
Even a moment of silence made me think about the upcoming match.
“If you make that face, it’s not good for Hana-chan. You did your preparation properly, and we have to trust Dodo more.”
By the way, the time difference between Japan and Denmark is eight hours except during daylight saving time. Hana-chan consulted us about wanting to go to Denmark on Friday night in Japan time. The match started on Sunday afternoon, so I was really conflicted. My close friends were also worried and told me that it was okay if I didn’t go.
However, I thought that maybe not just Mirai-san, but Yume-chan might also be there. It was really painful for me to think that I couldn’t be there at such an important time, and I didn’t even know what Hana-chan would do. But not being able to participate in the match as a manager was also painful.
But since I was the only one who had met Mirai-san in person, I thought I had to go.
Chinami-chan was reliable as a manager, so I decided to rely on Dodo as my replacement. After making that decision, I was with Dodo all the time, teaching her about the manager’s work, Chinami-chan, Kotake, and the team members until late at night.
There was a club activity and a meeting on Saturday morning, so I secretly took Dodo with me to teach her, and after the club activity was over and we arrived at MAHO-do, I taught Dodo again.
Dodo was just like me a little while ago.
I did my best to prepare in my own way.
Together with Chinami-chan, I prepared materials for meetings to study and strategize against our opponent, Konan High School. Since reaching the top 16, we’ve been playing against strong schools, and not only are our members physically tired, but also mentally exhausted.
We had experienced this in the spring, so we as managers made an effort not to put pressure on the team. For me, I maintained my usual smile and energy, while Chinami-chan provided cool and positive analysis.
“It’s an important match. It’s natural for Doremi-chan to worry. So, let’s at least resolve Yume-chan’s issue quickly.”
Hazuki-chan encouraged me, and I felt a warm sensation.
“Doremi-chan, how are the important players like Kotake-kun doing?”
Onpu-chan asked me. I thought about Kotake and the faces of our team members, who were about to play an important match.
“I asked about it too. Kotake seemed very confident, with a very satisfied expression on his face.”
“Yup, the team members also said they would give it their all.”
Kotake looked cheerful when Ai-chan asked him about it. They decided to do their best and use all their strength for each match, without thinking about the next final match. That was their conclusion.
It'll be okay, if we give it our all, the results will come.
“The results will come” is a common phrase, but when you hear it directly, it’s different. I thought they really had confidence. Plus, they have the advantage of not having anything to lose.
“So, I’m not worried about Kotake and the others. The team members have great teamwork, Chinami-chan is there, and we have both the coach and Leon.”
Yeah, for me who can’t play on the pitch, it’s just a difference between watching up close, cheering from the stands, or watching on TV. Once the match starts, there’s nothing I can do.
Believing only in victory, I came to Copenhagen with everyone using the Magical Stage.
But──,
“I’m still worried about Dodo~~!”
As I grumbled,
“Doremi-chan, Dodo will do it when the time comes,” Ai-chan said.
“It’s okay. I saw Dodo turn into Doremi-chan, but she didn’t look any different from your usual self.”
I knew Momo-chan’s smile was just to reassure me, but still,
“I’m not like that~!”
“Don’t worry. Doremi-chan is usually like that.”
Ai-chan patted my shoulder and I shrugged. Was I really like Dodo, who seemed more simple-minded than positive?
“She was just like your usual self.”
Hazuki-chan looked into my eyes and said seriously. Onpu-chan didn’t have much of a chance to see Dodo, but she seemed to be holding back laughter with her back turned.
In any case, after a short training session, I think Dodo had reached the point where she could be accepted as the soccer team manager without any discomfort.
So, I arrived in Copenhagen with very little prior knowledge, leaving it all to Dodo. I couldn’t afford to get lost now. It was important to meet with Sakura Mirai-san and Yume-chan.
We were on the rooftop of the Medical Museion, across from the Museum of Decorative Arts. Once we were out of sight of the museum, we transformed into mice. We didn’t want to stand out as humans.
“I wonder if Mirai-san is here today?”
I asked while looking at the museum. Hana-chan nodded, but her expression was cloudy.
“…There’s no sign of Yume-chan.”
“Come to think of it, a few years ago, when she disappeared without saying goodbye to me, Mirai-san said she was going to Venice.”
When I recalled it, Hazuki-chan continued.
“Venice is famous for Venetian glass, so maybe Yume-chan is staying there.”
Hana-chan’s expression grew even darker.
“Even if that’s the case, we can’t just go meet Yume-chan out of the blue. It will only cause confusion. Let’s talk to Mirai-san first.”
Onpu-chan said calmly, and we took off our mouse transformations, changed from our witch apprentice uniforms back into our regular clothes, and headed towards the museum.
However, Momo-chan suddenly stopped and said,
“A Japanese high school girl who can speak Danish might be a bit unrealistic.”
I hadn’t even noticed because I thought we could communicate just fine with Hana-chan’s magic.
“That’s right. I remember reading in the guidebook that English is quite widely spoken in Denmark. So if we’re a group of East Asians who can speak English, I don’t think we’ll stand out too much.”
Well, Momo-chan and Hazuki-chan could probably get by without using magic.
“Foreigners probably can’t tell which East Asian country you’re from. Speaking too fluently might be memorable, so I think our level is just right.”
Onpu-chan, aren’t you pretty fluent yourself~?
I looked at Ai-chan as my only ray of hope. Ai-chan gave a firm nod and thumbs up. As expected, she understands perfectly.
“We won’t talk too much. Instead, please cast a magic spell to help us hear conversations.”
If I stayed here for a few years, I think I could get used to Danish and English, but this trip was short. I hope I could see Mirai-san soon, but since we’d be walking around the city,
“I’d like to at least hear better. I don’t care about Danish, but please keep casting magic so my English grades improve.”
I ended up blurting out my true feelings. It’s scary how magic makes me want to use it for selfish reasons.
Since this was also a magic for my own benefit, Hana-chan cast it for me, and I was able to make out people’s conversations as I passed them. There were unfamiliar words mixed in, but I could grasp the general meaning.
“Anyway, it’s gotten pretty dark. It’s not even evening yet.”
The surroundings were already indicating the approach of dusk. Although the museum was located north of Copenhagen’s city center, it was undoubtedly a part of the central district.
“Because it’s located at a higher latitude than Japan, the sun rises later in the winter,” Momo-chan said.
“On the other hand, in the summer, it’s called ‘white nights’ and it’s bright even at night.”
Even Ai-chan had come prepared with such information. I was impressed.
While we were talking, we entered the museum grounds. Hana-chan stopped and said,
“Majoavenir is inside. Hana can feel it.”
“Alright! Let’s go then.”
We entered the Museum of Decorative Arts through the front door.
Unlike other museums I had been to, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Copenhagen had a very fashionable feel to it.
As Hazuki-chan had taught us, all of Scandinavia is known as the land of design, and what caught our eye first were the interesting shapes, clean lines, and familiar forms of chairs, chairs, and more chairs. Tables and furniture in various colorful shades were also on display.
“It’s like a furniture store.”
“It really is. I want to try sitting on all of them… Oh, what’s over there?”
Onpu-chan pointed to an open space that sparkled and glinted.
“Wow, what is it? It’s so bright.”
The lighting was focused on one spot where glass was exhibited, and it shimmered like a diamond.
“It’s beautiful. Everything is made of glass.”
Hana-chan ran ahead, and we followed her.
“There are so many of them. It says ‘Japanese Glass Art’.”
Hazuki-chan pointed at a poster on the wall. There was no doubt about it. Momo-chan looked at the group of people standing in the middle of the room and asked,
“Are they visitors or staff?”
“I see her! Doremi, everyone!”
Hana-chan aimed for one of the people in the group. She must have noticed her presence. The woman slowly turned around.
“Mirai-san…!”
I held my breath. Just a few meters away, there was Sakura Mirai-san, or Majoavenir. She looked exactly the same as when I met her in elementary school, smiling at me.
“Long time no see, Doremi-chan.”
Mirai-san slowly walked towards us.
“I had a feeling you had arrived in Copenhagen. Everyone’s here together, I see…”
After saying this, Mirai-san walked slowly past us. Maybe she wanted us to follow her. We followed her.
Mirai-san led us to a cafe inside the museum.
“Is everyone hungry? This place is quiet and the desserts are delicious.”
We sat at a table in the back, where there was no one else around. Although there were a few customers at the other tables, the seats were spaced out so it wasn’t bothersome. Displayed on the windowsill were glass and small objects. I thought they would sparkle and look beautiful in the sunlight.
I was feeling restless and couldn’t stop thinking about Yume-chan, even though I was also hungry. And I was worried that Mirai-san, who was right in front of me, would disappear like a mirage. Each of us ordered a set of dessert and drink, and just as the waitress left to take our order,
“Where is Yume-chan?”
Hana-chan asked with excitement. She had been quiet the whole time, but she was holding back because there were people around us.
Mirai-san smiled softly and said,
“You must be Hana-chan. My older sister Queen and I aren’t that alike, but you and Yume-chan look a lot alike. In a few years, she’ll probably look just like you do now.”
Our drinks were brought over, so we stopped our conversation. But I couldn’t help wondering what it must look like to have six Asian girls and one young woman all sitting together. It must be quite a memorable sight. I turned to face the cafe staff, who seemed completely indifferent and focused on their work.
“Did you know we were coming here with magic?”
I asked, my curiosity piqued.
“I don’t use magic. But I knew you were coming a few hours ago.”
After Mirai-san finished speaking, she quietly sipped her coffee.
“I heard about you from Doremi-chan, but you really don’t use magic?”
Onpu-chan’s question made Mirai-san just smile faintly, but she seemed to remember something and her expression turned serious.
“…I’m sorry for what happened in Okinawa.”
Mirai-san shifted her gaze to Hana-chan and bowed her head.
“Why did you disappear like you were running away?”
When Hana-chan looked at Mirai-san with pleading eyes, Mirai-san had the same kind of eyes and replied,
“Can you wait a little longer to meet Yume-chan?”
“What~, we’ve come this far!”
Hana-chan was about to raise her voice, but Ai-chan restrained her and said,
“If you didn’t want us to meet her, why did you do something that made it easy for us to find you?”
“If Yume-chan’s magic was as powerful as Hana-chan’s, she could have escaped ahead of us, right?”
Hazuki calmly interjected,
“I think it’s more likely that she wants us to find her. Is it because she wants to request us not to meet Yume-chan?”
Onpu-chan asked, and Mirai-san smiled a little.
“That’s right. I thought that if you were constantly searching for Yume-chan and me, you would eventually find us. If you can’t find us, I’m okay with that too. It’s certain that I wanted to meet and talk with you, but…”
“……”
Mirai-san’s unexpected reply left us stunned.
The silence continued and time passed quietly.
Mirai-san began to speak quietly again, choosing her words carefully.
“We left Okinawa in a hurry because I needed time. Time to think about whether or not to let you meet Yume-chan.”
We exchanged glances and the silence continued once again.
But I couldn’t bear it anymore and asked,
“So, have you decided not to let us meet her?”
Mirai-san nodded quietly and said,
“I want Yume-chan to wait for about five years before meeting her. That’s my conclusion. Yume-chan is too young to think about important things.”
“Why five years?”
Mirai-san didn’t answer and instead said,
“When Yume-chan turns twelve, Hana-chan, please come and visit my glass workshop in Venice. The address is written here. Please have Doremi-chan to keep it for you.”
With that, Mirai-san handed me a note with the address and said,
“So let’s make a promise here. We won’t meet until Yume-chan turns twelve.”
Her resolute expression seemed to reject any other conditions, and everyone probably thought the same. However, Hana-chan said,
“…Even though she’s my little sister, Hana’s only little sister.”
“Hana-chan…”
Hazuki-chan gently hugged Hana-chan, who was about to cry. Mirai-san looked apologetic as she looked at Hana-chan.
“I’m sorry, Hana-chan. I want Yume-chan to live a more ordinary girl’s life for a little longer, just like you.”
Mirai-san lifted her face and looked into the distance.
“My older sister came to see me before she became Queen. She was about Doremi-chan’s age now, I think. That was when I first learned of her existence as a candidate for Queen.”
The growth of a witch during childhood is not so different from that of a human. You can see it by looking at Hana-chan. And, after becoming an adult woman, they age slowly, Mirai-san explained.
Mirai-san knew from a young age that she wasn’t an ordinary human, and her magical power was great. Although she was raised by witches, she grew up without using magic because she thought she would live in the human world forever.
“If I had known about my older sister when I was younger, what would I have done? When I look at Yume-chan, I sometimes think about that.”
As the Queen’s little sister and a candidate for Queen, Mirai-san’s words were convincing. Even Hana-chan couldn’t ask her for more.
The age of twelve that Mirai-san mentioned was the age I was when I met her. It was when we were deciding whether or not to become witches. If Hana-chan and Yume-chan were to meet now, Yume-chan would have to make a tremendous choice without even realizing it.
If Yume-chan becomes a witch, will she have to compete with Hana-chan for the throne as the next Queen? I hadn’t thought about anything like that. It’s natural for Hana-chan to want to meet her little sister, Yume-chan, and I can understand her feelings. However, Hana-chan probably hasn’t thought about Yume-chan’s future.
“For us witches, five years is just a blink of an eye. It’s such a short time.”
Mirai-san said with a lonely expression, and the dissatisfied Hana-chan reluctantly stood up.
The sun was already setting, and the museum had also reached closing time. We were going to stay at a hotel that Mirai-san had arranged.
The hotel that Mirai-san booked was right in front of Tivoli Park.
There is also an amusement park inside the park that Walt Disney is said to have used as a reference when he created the first Disneyland.
Last night, Mirai-san treated us to dinner and even paid for our accommodations, so we decided to stay at this hotel. I actually wanted to go back on Saturday night because there is a match for the soccer team…
Because there is an eight-hour time difference between here and Japan, if I want to make it back in time for the prefectural tournament semifinals of the National High School Soccer Championship, which will be held on Sunday at 2pm, I can just make it back in time by using the Magical Stage at 6am on Sunday local time. Well, it’s cutting it close, so I set my alarm on my phone for 4am and went to bed.
I shared a room with Hana-chan, while Hazuki-chan, Ai-chan, Onpu-chan, and Momo-chan shared another room.
Due to the jet lag, by the time we finished dinner, Hana-chan and I were hit with an intense drowsiness and fell asleep as soon as we got into bed.
I dreamt that Mirai-san was playing with a girl who looked like Yume-chan. They were walking on the surface of a pond as if they were dancing. Every time they took a step, ripples would spread out, and it was a very surreal dream.
However, it was when Mirai-san lifted up the girl and spun around that I saw the girl’s face clearly. It was Hana-chan, not Yume-chan.
“Huh? Hana-chan?”
Mirai-san and Hana-chan looked surprised at my voice, but soon they started walking together on the pond again. They kept increasing their speed and moved away from me. Only ripples were left behind.
“Hana-chaaan!”
Even though I screamed with all my might, I woke up from the dream.
“I’m surprised. Was it a dream…?”
But in the dim light before dawn, there was no sign of Hana-chan who should have been sleeping in the bed next to me.
I got up and called out,
“Hana-chan, are you in the bathroom?”
But there was no answer.
“Hana-chan…?”
Could it be a lucid dream!?
I turned on the light in the room and put my hand in the futon on Hana-chan’s bed, and it was still warm.
At that moment, a faint breeze flowed into the room.
When I looked at the window, it was open and the lace curtains were swaying in the wind.
I ran to the window and saw a small figure floating in the air around the Ferris wheel at Tivoli Park. It must have been Hana-chan.
──Taking a walk in the air even though it’s not yet dawn?
I thought of something carefree, but it was too dark to take a walk.
At that moment, the dream I had just seen flashed through my mind.
──Could it be that Hana-chan went to see Yume-chan in Venice…?
I quickly changed into my witch apprentice uniform and flew out of the hotel room on a magic broom.
──We promised with Mirai-san, this is bad, Hana-chan!
I increased the speed of the broom and headed straight for the Ferris wheel.
Hana-chan turned around at my presence.
“Doremi!? Sorry! Hana really wants to see Yume-chan.”
She shouted and started teleporting without a spell.
“Hana-chan, that’s not okay!”
Hana-chan’s body emitted a flash of light.
“Please, let me make it in time!”
I shouted and jumped into the light.
The next moment, Hana-chan and I were flying over the coast of Venice.
I was clinging to Hana-chan’s waist, desperate to stay on the broomstick.
“D-Doremi!?”
My relief was short-lived when I realized that both of our broomsticks were gone.
At the same time, we heard the sound of broomsticks hitting the sea surface below us.
“This is…”
In that instant, Hana-chan and I fell into the sea, causing a column of water to shoot up.
We struggled to swim to the surface, flailing around in the water after sinking about five meters deep.
“Puhh!”
Even in the Adriatic Sea, the November water was cold.
We recovered our magic broomsticks and swam to shore doing the breaststroke.
Several fishing boats heading out to sea crossed our path.
Each time we had to dive underwater to avoid being seen. We swam about fifty meters and finally reached the shore, where we sneezed loudly three times.
“Ugh~, Doremi. Why did you come with me?”
“I can’t let you break the promise with Mirai-san.”
“But we came all the way to Europe. It’s only human nature to want to see her.”
“Human nature… You’re a witch, Hana-chan. That kind of thing doesn’t matter to you. Let’s wait until Yume-chan turns twelve.”
“No, no, no! Can’t wait that long!”
Although her body was seventeen years old due to magic, Hana-chan’s natural age of seven couldn’t be helped. I sighed as I watched her throw a tantrum like a child.
“I understand, Hana-chan. But it’s not okay to meet Yume-chan directly.”
Hana-chan stopped in her tracks.
“What do you mean?”
“If you want to meet Yume-chan, you have to transform into an animal or something. And you can’t talk to her either.”
“Hmm…”
Hana-chan thought for a moment and said,
“…Got it. Hana will turn into a puppy and meet Yume-chan.”
“Okay, that way you might be able to avoid being noticed by Yume-chan.”
First, I tapped my Parara tap and summoned my Sweet Poron.
“Pirika pirilala poporina peperuto! Dry Hana-chan and my witch apprentice uniforms!”
In an instant, our witch apprentice uniforms were dry.
Then we changed back into our regular clothes and decided to search for Mirai-san’s glass workshop.
Looking at my phone clock, it was still only 4:30, and there were no people in the coastal town.
For now, I called Hazuki-chan on my cell phone.
I heard Hazuki-chan’s surprised voice when I told her Hana-chan and I were in Venice.
After calming Hazuki-chan down and telling her what Hana-chan and I had talked about earlier, she finally asked,
“What about the soccer match, Doremi-chan?”
“It’s still early in the morning here, and I think it will take some time to find Mirai-san’s glass workshop. Unfortunately, we can’t go back to Japan yet. Can you and the others go back first and cheer us on?”
“What about the promise with Mirai-san?”
Hazuki-chan asked me worriedly.
“I’ll make sure we keep the promise. That’s why I followed her.”
“Are you sure you and Hana-chan are okay on your own? Should we come with you?”
“We’ll be fine here by ourselves. Anyway, I think Hana-chan will be satisfied just seeing Yume-chan’s face even for a moment.”
“Okay, we’ll wait here until you come back.”
“Please give my regards to Ai-chan and the others.”
After hanging up my phone, I decided to contact Dodo, who was taking care of the house while I was away.
Dodo does not have a phone. The only way to contact Dodo was to call her at home.
However, I couldn’t use my own phone to call myself as Dodo, so I asked Hana-chan to make the call. Mom answered, but upon hearing Hana-chan’s voice, she quickly transferred the call to Dodo. After understanding the situation, Dodo kindly agreed to help cheer for the soccer team.
But still, this was an international call, right? I was afraid of my cell phone bill next month.
“Doremi, what’s wrong?”
Hana-chan asked as she handed the phone back to me.
“Uh, it’s nothing. Anyway, it’s impossible to find the glass workshop until dawn. Let’s kill time around this area.”
With that, Hana-chan and I started walking towards the pier.
From here on, I will tell you about what happened in Copenhagen while Hana-chan and I were away.
I heard later from Ai-chan that after they had breakfast, they left the hotel and deposited a thank-you note for Mirai-san at the front desk.
They decided to do some sightseeing in Copenhagen until we returned, and first went to see the famous statue of the Little Mermaid, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s story.
It was there that Ai-chan met the person who would change her destiny.
The statue of the Little Mermaid was smaller than she had expected, and beyond the statue, she could see a factory. Ai-chan said,
“I was a little disappointed.”
It turned out that, later on, when she searched the Internet, she found out that the statue of the Little Mermaid is one of the three most disappointing tourist attractions in the world.
By the way, the other two are the Merlion in Singapore and the Manneken Pis in Brussels.
Even so, when Ai-chan and the others finished taking commemorative photos in front of the disappointing statue of the Little Mermaid, a blonde-haired female athlete in a racing wheelchair came running towards them, her hair fluttering under her helmet.
“Ahh, I’ve seen that person before.”
Ai-chan remembered her photo in a track and field magazine, and couldn’t help,
“Good morning.”
She called out.
The woman stopped her wheelchair and returned the greeting with a smile.
Ai-chan asked Momo-chan, who is fluent in English, to be the interpreter, and they were able to talk for about ten minutes.
The woman’s name was Brigitte Mikkelsen-san, a Danish representative athlete in the 400-meter track and field event at the Olympics four years ago.
She was the strongest candidate to represent Denmark in this year’s Olympics, but just before the final selection, she was involved in a traffic accident, which left her lower body disabled and shattered her dream of representing her country.
Ai-chan also shared through Momo-chan that she also suffered an Achilles tendon rupture while achieving the same Japanese record. She recently started walking again.
Then Brigitte-san said,
“Well, unlike me, you can run again as long as you do your rehabilitation. Of course, you will continue to pursue athletics, right?”
Ai-chan fell silent.
“Are you thinking of quitting running? Why? Don’t you like running?”
“Well, I do, but…”
“If you love it, then run. I can’t run anymore, but I’m aiming for the gold medal in the next Paralympics, using this wheelchair that has become my legs. You should know better than anyone how wonderful it is to feel the wind while running.”
Ai-chan nodded in agreement.
“But the doctor told me that I can’t run the 100 meters…”
“What are you talking about? Track and field athletics is not just about the short-distance events of 100 and 200 meters. There are middle-distance events and even a 10,000 meters race. If you love running, you could try hurdles. I’m aiming for the representative of the 400 meters, the same distance I ran when I could run.”
Ai-chan’s heart was filled with burning passion at Brigitte-san’s words, and her body grew hot with excitement.
“I’m going to continue track and field! I will definitely stand on the track at the London Olympics.”
Ai-chan said to Brigitte-san with tears in her eyes.
Brigitte-san nodded with a smile and said,
“Do your best, Aiko. Let’s meet again in London in four years.”
With a wink, she cut through the wind, turning the wheels of her wheelchair with both hands as she went away.
“That was really cool~!”
Ai-chan told me about it after returning home.
Hazuki-chan, Onpu-chan, and Momo-chan also celebrated Ai-chan’s comeback with smiles.
Ai-chan can make it to the London Olympics even if it’s not the 100 meters, definitely.
While Ai-chan was taking a new step, Hana-chan and I were walking around the city of Venice in the morning.
This city is crisscrossed with waterways throughout the town, and the roads are so narrow that no cars run. The main means of transportation are gondolas and water buses called “vaporetto.”
Interestingly, although there were shops selling Venetian glass and souvenirs, we couldn’t find any building that looked like a glass workshop.
This was because the address note that I received from Mirai-san in Copenhagen had ink that had smudged and became unreadable when it fell into the sea.
“Well, that’s no problem. We can just use magic to make it readable.”
“Oh, right.”
I lightly tapped my head.
“Let’s go! Pororin pyuarin…”
“Stop!”
I interrupted her as a couple emerged from a nearby alley.
The couple were Japanese tourists and as soon as they saw us,
“Good morning.”
They greeted us.
“Oh, good morning.”
I replied, and the woman, who looked to be around 27 years old, smiled and asked us,
“Are you here for sightseeing too?”
“Well, yeah… are you two on your honeymoon?”
“Yes, that’s right. Can you tell?”
“Mm-hmm, you both look very happy.”
As Hana-chan spoke, the man around 30 years old scratched his head, and the woman blushed.
“By the way! Do you guys know a lot about Venice?”
“We just arrived here yesterday, so not really…”
“Um… we’re looking for a glass workshop in Venice, but we can’t seem to find it…”
“Oh, in that case, you won’t find it here. We also went there yesterday, but they only make them on the island of Murano.”
The woman took out a guidebook from her shoulder bag and showed us the page about Murano Island.
Murano Island is an island located about 1.5 kilometers northeast of Venice, which can be reached by a water bus called “vaporetto” from Venice.
We thanked the couple and hurried to the “vaporetto” station.
We arrived at Murano Island after about 20 minutes. The vaporetto shuttles back and forth frequently between Venice and Murano, and most of the passengers are tourists. We also saw several Japanese tourists there.
Murano Island was lined with glass workshops of various sizes to the point that the entire island could be called a glass workshop.
With the help of Hana-chan’s magic, we were able to restore the note Mirai-san had given us and use it to find his glass workshop without any trouble.
As we walked to the glass workshop, I remembered Mirai-san, whom I had met when I was in the sixth grade.
I remembered the time when Mirai-san hurriedly left for Venice because her lover, who taught her glass art, was aging and dying.
Mira-san, the ageless witch, was believed by her elderly lover to be the granddaughter of the woman he once dated.
For Mira-san, it must have been a painful and heartbreaking separation.
As I was thinking about such things, Hana-chan, who was peering into the workshop,
“Yume-chan isn’t here.”
She spoke to me.
When I looked into the workshop too, three craftsmen were making vase-like objects using a method where they blew air through long pipes into the red-hot glass material, as Mira-san used to do in the past.
At that moment, a chubby woman, estimated to be around 40 years old, who was one of the craftsmen, approached us calling out Yume-chan’s name.
Hana-chan was surprised, and I also thought it was bad.
However, the woman, upon seeing Hana-chan’s face, made a big gesture and said in Italian,
(I’m sorry. If you look closely, it’s not Yume-chan.)
She probably said something like that and then went back to work.
“It’s Sunday today, so she might be playing nearby. Let’s look around a bit.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
As we searched for places where children might play, we soon found a park nearby.
In the park, many children were playing soccer and other games like tag.
Hana-chan and I searched diligently for Yume-chan.
But we couldn’t find her among the children.
Just when we were about to give up, we noticed a girl around seven years old sitting on a bench away from everyone else, drawing in a sketchbook.
Although she had a short bob haircut, unlike the Yume-chan in the photo we received from the glass workshop craftsman in Okinawa, we immediately recognized her as Yume-chan.
Her face really resembled Hana-chan’s.
“Yume-chan!”
Hana-chan called out and started to run towards her, but I shouted,
“No, Hana-chan! Remember our promise!”
“I know!”
Hana-chan snapped her fingers with a slightly angry expression, and in an instant, both she and I turned into puppies.
Hana-chan, who had turned into a puppy, ran towards Yume-chan.
She must have really wanted to see her. Hana-chan’s speed was incredible, and the gap between her and me only widened.
However, at that moment, three boys came up to the bench and pointed at Yume-chan’s head, saying something in Italian. They were probably making fun of Yume-chan’s new short haircut.
Yume-chan looked sad and tried hard to hold back her tears, but when the boys continued to tease her, she raised her right index finger from her clenched fist.
──Is Yume-chan trying to use magic!?
In that instant, Hana-chan, who had transformed into a puppy, glared at the boys as if to protect Yume-chan and started barking fiercely.
Hana-chan probably didn’t want Yume-chan to use magic either.
The boys tried to drive Hana-chan away, but she continued to bark loudly.
When I also joined in and barked, the boys ran away while saying something in Italian.
When Hana-chan and I looked at each other and gave a final bark as if to boast of our victory, Yume-chan happily lifted Hana-chan up and thanked her in Italian.
Hana-chan wagged her tail happily and licked Yume-chan’s face over and over.
I guess Yume-chan said it tickled in Italian, but she had a big smile on her face.
Yume-chan placed Hana-chan on her right side and then lifted me up and placed me on the opposite side while stroking my head.
I felt happy too and tried to lick Yume-chan’s arm, but then I noticed the drawing she was working on.
It was a very skillful drawing that I couldn’t believe was made by a seven-year-old. Definitely better than mine.
It looked like she was drawing kids playing soccer, and it was an amazing picture that looked like it could come to life at any moment.
Hana-chan also had wide eyes and seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.
Hana-chan nuzzled Yume-chan’s body and showed a sign that she wanted to play more, but Yume-chan was focused on finishing her drawing.
At that moment, the lady who had spoken to Hana-chan at the workshop approached Yume-chan and spoke to her in Italian.
Yume-chan nodded and stroked Hana-chan and my head before taking the lady’s hand and walking away.
Hana-chan barked until the two figures were small and Yume-chan turned around a few times and waved.
When the two disappeared from view, we went behind the bushes in the park and changed back into our human forms.
“Yume-chan was all alone. I wonder if she has any friends.”
Hana-chan said, looking worried.
“But she seems to be well-liked by the lady at the workshop, so there’s nothing to worry about too much.”
“I hope that’s true… Doremi, do you think we could see Yume-chan’s face one more time before we go back to Copenhagen?”
“Only if you do it quietly so that we won’t be seen.”
I said with a smile.
As we began walking towards Mirai-san’s glass workshop, we saw many people coming out of various workshops and moving towards the church. Among the crowd, we saw both Yume-chan and several glass craftsmen.
“Oh, I understand now. Everyone is going to the church for the mass.”
“That’s right. But Hana is satisfied with just seeing Yume-chan’s face once more. Doremi, let’s go back to Hazuki and the others.”
I immediately contacted Hazuki-chan with my phone to let her know we were heading back. We agreed to meet up at the cafe on the first floor of the hotel where we were staying. We hid in a corner and with Hana-chan’s magic, we quickly flew to Copenhagen.
We arrived at the hotel cafe before Hazuki-chan and the others joined us about 10 minutes later.
“Hana-chan, did you see Yume-chan?”
Hana-chan smiled broadly when Onpu-chan asked,
“Yeah! Her hair was short, but Hana recognized her right away! I turned into a puppy, so I couldn’t talk to her, but I licked her face a lot!”
“Yume-chan didn’t see through your witch disguise?”
Hazuki-chan asked, looking worried.
“It’s okay! Hana used her magic to erase any traces of magical power.”
“As expected of Hana-chan. Amazing, amazing.”
Momo-chan said as she stroked Hana-chan’s head.
“Oh, speaking of which, Doremi-chan, I got a call from Majorika. The soccer team made it to the finals with a 3-0 victory,” Ai-chan said.
“Really!? Yaaay!”
“I heard Kotake scored a hat trick,” Ai-chan added.
“Aww~, I wish I could have seen it~.”
I said regretfully, and Hana-chan looked apologetic and said,
“Sorry, for Hana’s sake…”
“What are you talking about! I knew our soccer team would win, so don’t worry about it at all.”
I smiled at Hana-chan.
And so, our two-day trip to Europe came to an end.
It was a pretty intense schedule, but it became an unforgettable memory of our 17-year-old days.
But my cell phone bill for the next month will be… Boo-hoo-hoo.