The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent

It’s been ages since I dressed up in a suit!

Even in Azernar, suits that resemble those from my world exist.

Since it’s a Japanese game and the background era is just starting to normalize such outfits.

But honestly, I rarely wore such clothes on purpose in Azernar.

Unless you count uniforms or military attire.

“How do I look? Does it suit me?”

“Yes, it looks good on you.”

The kids nodded as they looked at me all suited up.

My outfit was black, making it a bit gloomy, but the colorful attire of the other kids balanced it out, so it wasn’t a big issue.

At least I wouldn’t look too somber in the photos.

Right. Photos.

Mia requested that we take a family photo together.

“My Father and Mother weren’t the closest since I was little.”

Mia didn’t have a proper ‘family photo.’

… And that was partly because I messed up big time. Even if they were that kind of people, in the end, he was still Mia’s father.

If he hadn’t died so early, Mia might have had such paintings or photographs.

If we were just casually wandering around, we might have all worn something decent enough to not look too out of place.

But for the family photo Mia wanted, we needed to dress a little nicer.

We were going to a photo studio for big prints.

The shoot itself was quite expensive, so it was better if it turned out great.

“Uh…”

I had contacted the studio in advance, but when we walked in, the photographer blinked up at us in a bit of confusion.

“We have a reservation.”

“Oh, yes.”

When I spoke fluently in Korean, the photographer finally snapped out of it.

He checked something on the computer before looking back at me.

“Oh, so you must be Mia… Crowfield?”

“Not me, but…”

Turning around, Mia raised her hand slightly and said shyly, “I’m Mia.”

The photographer nodded.

“I thought it was a nickname! You speak Korean so well on the phone…”

“I’m also Korean.”

Hearing that, he chuckled a bit awkwardly.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry.”

“It’s something I hear often, so no need to be that sorry.”

Rubbing his head sheepishly, he looked at us and asked.

“Are you all going to take the photos in your current outfits?”

I glanced back. All the kids nodded.

It was mostly just me and Claire in suits, while the others wore modest skirts and blouses.

Overall, we looked very proper. Even Claire.

“Well then, please wait a moment. I’ll get things ready and we can start shooting right away.”

The photographer wiped his forehead with his sleeve as he stood up.

*

There were plenty of photography studios, but the one Mia reserved didn’t seem too big or famous.

Well, it had a nice atmosphere and appeared decent enough.

Maybe it reflected Mia’s personality, considering she didn’t like strangers talking to her that much.

If we’d gone to a big studio with tons of people, we might have had to deal with a crowd.

“Alright, the person in the middle, give a big smile! You look way too stiff.”

With Mia seated in the center, Charlotte sat beside her, and I, Claire, and Alice surrounded them, striking a pose.

A family photo—going for that sort of vibe.

I told the photographer that we were all sisters, and no one objected to that.

Maybe because Mia looked too tense, the photographer pondered for a moment before turning and walking somewhere.

He came back with a long-necked yellow rubber duck.

“Hey, Mia, look at this!”

He squeezed it, and quack, the silly sound filled the room.

Pffft

We all burst into laughter.

“Great! Hold that expression! Alright, say cheese! One, two!”

The camera clicked rapidly.

The photographer looked at the results for a moment and said,

“Let’s take another shot!”

He squeezed the toy again.

Since we were all laughing, we managed to smile a bit more calmly for the second round.

Mia seemed to ease up a bit after that first shot. After the second shot, the photographer nodded in satisfaction, stretching his back.

“Let’s check the photos.”

He led us to a laptop connected to the camera.

I understood why he had taken so many.

Trying to figure out who had their eyes shut, or whose expression was odd would be much easier by just taking several shots and picking the best.

“How about this one?”

We all smiled comfortably at the camera.

“Looks great.”

Mia nodded.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t answer easily; she sought the best photo seriously as it was her wish.

“Oh, by the way,”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Can I choose one more?”

Mia looked at me earnestly.

Right, it’s not easy to have a large print.

“Yes, it’s totally fine to choose one more.”

“Oh, I’d appreciate that!”

The photographer beamed at my response.

The second photo Mia picked was a different vibe from the first.

The first shot had us smiling comfortably; now, the second was taken when we were laughing at each other, not looking directly at the camera.

I understood why Mia chose it.

“I would like both a small and large print. Just one large for each, but can we get one small for each of us?”

“Yes, that’s possible. The small prints can be done today, but the large ones might take a bit longer.”

“Okay, that’s fine.”

“Then follow me to discuss frames…”

After that, we talked about what sizes and styles of frames for the prints.

*

“……”

Once we returned home.

Mia still hadn’t come out of her room.

“Is it really that good to take photos?”

Claire muttered.

“Well, she doesn’t have such kinds of photos or portraits, so it makes sense she’d be excited.”

Charlotte, who shared a room with Mia, mentioned that Mia was happily staring at the two photos on her desk.

I bet she’s planning to take them back with her.

“I need to learn photography once I go back.”

Claire said.

“I’ll help with the big fancy camera; I’ll take the photos for you when the time comes.”

“I heard it’s supposed to be way harder than the cameras here.”

“Which is why I want to learn, sis.”

Alice chuckled softly at Claire’s comment.

“I’ll be looking forward to it!”

“Yeah. It would be nice if we could regularly get together for more photos.”

Yeah, that would be great if we could pull it off.

As we chatted, Mia and Charlotte’s door silently opened.

Mia, her face a bit flushed, stepped into the living room.

Mia bowed to us, looking a bit shy.

“Thank you for taking the photos together.”

“Of course. We wanted to do it together anyway.”

Charlotte said with a warm smile.

“Let’s buy albums for each of us to hold the ones we’ve printed so far. We can sort out those old photos too, right?”

Mia’s face lit up at Claire’s suggestion.

“Sounds good.”

Alice nodded and looked at me.

“Well… Sylvia.”

“Yes.”

“Tomorrow’s your turn.”

With a smile, Alice stared at me.

“Do you have anything in mind?”

Uh…

I thought that by doing what Mia wanted today, something I desired would come to mind, but that didn’t happen.

Hmm.

“It’s hard if you just say, ‘I’m fine.’”

“Exactly, sis. We want you to tell us what you want too.”

Claire backed her up.

That doesn’t happen too often.

“Surely you’re not saying this moment is what you wanted, right? That would mean it’s the same as what I wanted.”

Charlotte chimed in.

Well, it could overlap a little.

…

Should I have spoken up first?

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