Princess Connect! IF: The Future Pecorine Never Chose - Yuuki's Bread — The Promise from 12 Years Ago, Behind the Smile

The pre-dawn silence still wrapped the city of Landosol. The two-story building on the outskirts of the guild district—the Gourmet Guild's headquarters—was usually already leaking light from its kitchen by this hour, the sweet smell of baking bread beginning to drift through the air. But this morning, it was dead silent. In his room on the second floor's living quarters, Yuuki suddenly woke. His short black hair, streaked with red, was slightly mussed from sleep. His amber eyes gazed sleepily at the ceiling. (...It's quiet.) There was a small unease in the depths of his chest. Normally, there were sounds that should be coming from downstairs. The sound of Pecorine humming as she kneaded dough, the sound of pots being put on the fire—nothing. Yuuki sat up. The cord of the amulet hanging from his neck swayed faintly. It was a gift from Pecorine—a small pouch made of worn cloth. Inside was a star-shaped stone she'd apparently picked up somewhere. (Could she have overslept? Her?) In all fifteen years, Pecorine had never once skipped morning prep. Yuuki rose without a word and left the room. The hallway was cold. The chill of the wooden floor seeped into the soles of his bare feet. He descended the stairs. One step, then another, the old wood creaking. When he opened the door to the dining hall, the smell of something burnt hit his nose. "...What is this?" His voice was swallowed by the empty room. On the dining table lay a folded apron. Pecorine's apron, engraved with the Gourmet Guild's crest. On top of it was a single note. Yuuki slowly approached and picked up the note. "Everyone, thank you for everything. I'll definitely come back. —Pecorine" Round but careful handwriting. The ink was smudged in places—perhaps she'd rewritten it many times. Yuuki clenched the note. The paper crinkled. "...What the hell is this?" He muttered again, this time in a strangled voice. Something in his chest tightened. He couldn't breathe properly. (She's gone.) (Without saying anything.) (Not a word to us.) Yuuki didn't notice that his fingertips were trembling. When he stepped into the kitchen, the oven door was left wide open. Inside, half-baked bread remained as it was. The surface was nicely browned, but the center was still white. The burnt smell came from breadcrumbs that had fallen to the bottom of the oven and carbonized black. (She stopped halfway.) (Making the bread.) That Pecorine. The Pecorine who loved fresh-baked bread more than anyone, whose greatest joy was serving it to her comrades. She'd abandoned baking bread halfway through. That alone conveyed the severity of the situation all too well. Yuuki placed his hand on the edge of the oven. It was still faintly warm. (Last night, or early this morning.) (Either way, she was here until just a little while ago.) He traced the surface of the oven with his fingertip. "Are you okay?" The words weren't directed at anyone, and they fell into the quiet kitchen. A faint sound came from the second-floor hallway. "...Big Sister?" He turned to see a girl standing there, her long pale green hair braided and tied with ribbons. Her deep green eyes blinked sleepily. On her back, small fairy wings were just barely visible in the dim morning light. Kokkoro. The fourteen-year-old elf-beastfolk girl who served as the Gourmet Guild's herbalist. "Good morning, Yuuki-sama." She bowed politely. On her wrist, an old bracelet engraved with the crest of the Granverdo royal family swayed. "...Yeah." Yuuki replied briefly. "Has Big Sister already gone out?" Kokkoro tilted her head. At that innocent question, Yuuki lost his words. (She doesn't know yet.) Of course. He'd only just found out himself. "...Kokkoro." "Yes, what is it?" "Pecorine is gone." Yuuki said it in as calm a voice as he could manage. Kokkoro's deep green eyes flew wide open. "...What do you mean?" Her voice was trembling, just slightly. "I don't know. But this was left behind." Yuuki held out the note in his hand. Kokkoro received it with both her small hands. He could see the color draining from her face as she followed the words. "...Big Sister, why?" She clutched the note to her chest. Her deep green eyes grew moist by the moment. "Did I... do something to make Big Sister sad?" "No." Yuuki denied it immediately. "It's not your fault." "But..." "Kokkoro, Pecorine doted on you more than anyone. I guarantee it." Kokkoro bit her lip, holding back tears. "...Yes." She nodded slightly. But her shoulders were still trembling. Yuuki gently placed his hand on Kokkoro's head. "It's okay. I'll find her, no matter what." At those words, Kokkoro looked up. "Yuuki-sama..." "So don't cry." Yuuki said it as if convincing himself. Just then, the door at the far end of the second floor burst open with a bang. "Hey, you're being way too loud!" Silver twin-tails swayed with anger. The tips were dyed purple, and her mismatched eyes—one purple, one gold—glared sharply at Yuuki and Kokkoro. Kyaru. A seventeen-year-old half-elf mage. Her pointed ears were half-hidden by her hair. On the back of her left hand, a magic circle insignia floated. "What are you making a fuss about first thing in the morning? I'm exhausted from magic training yesterday, so could you be a little quieter—" She came down the stairs complaining, but when she saw the state of the dining hall, she stopped dead. "...What's with that face?" The thorns disappeared from Kyaru's voice. "Kyaru-sama, Big Sister..." Kokkoro held the note out to Kyaru. After a moment's hesitation, Kyaru snatched it. Her expression shifted from surprise to anger as she read. "...Huh? What is this?" "Pecorine left it behind." "And so what?! This doesn't make any sense!" Kyaru's voice echoed through the dining hall. "She was laughing normally until last night! She made stew, baked bread, said 'Eat lots so you can do your best tomorrow too'! So why would she just disappear?!" Her hand trembled as she gripped the note. "...I don't know." "'I don't know'—you think that's good enough?!" "Kyaru-sama, please calm down." Kokkoro gently touched Kyaru's arm. "Shut up! You stay out of this!" Kyaru shook off Kokkoro's hand. But deep in her eyes, something deeper than anger was wavering. (...She's scared too.) Yuuki understood Kyaru's true feelings. She couldn't forgive betrayal because she'd been betrayed before. To Kyaru, Pecorine's disappearance was the same as being betrayed again. "Kyaru, it's not your fault." "Of course it's not! It's her fault! Disappearing without a word—she's the worst! What an idiot!" Kyaru shouted, then spun around. "...I don't care anymore. That woman can do whatever she wants." She spat those words out and returned to her room. The sound of the door slamming echoed through the quiet dining hall. "Yuuki-sama..." Kokkoro looked up at Yuuki anxiously. "...Leave her. She'll calm down a little with time." Yuuki said that and returned to the kitchen. (There has to be a clue.) (A reason Pecorine would suddenly disappear.) He carefully scanned the kitchen floor. In front of the oven, under the counter, in the gaps of the cupboard. And then he found something that had fallen at the foot of the counter. "...A scrap of paper?" Yuuki picked it up. It was a fragment of a black envelope. The edges were charred—perhaps it had been burned. But some of the writing was barely legible. "Nocturne Empire." "Veilhorn." And part of the Kaiser Insight crest—one eye of two intertwined serpents. "...Kaiser Insight." Yuuki muttered low. The Nocturne Empire, a military dictatorship ruling the northeastern part of the continent. Its core intelligence agency was Kaiser Insight. Experts at grasping people's weaknesses, threatening them, controlling them. (Pecorine was threatened by these people.) (And so she went to the Empire alone.) The scrap of paper in his grip grew damp with sweat. "...You idiot." Yuuki muttered in a shaking voice. "Are we really that unreliable to you?" (No.) (That's not it.) (She's always been like that.) (Shouldering everything alone, smiling, deflecting.) (That's how she's always been. Alone.) Yuuki closed his eyes. Memories from twelve years ago surged in like a muddy torrent. —Twelve years ago. The day the Void Erosion swallowed the Kingdom of Granverdo. That nation, located in the western part of the continent, was reduced to ash overnight—the entire territory including the capital Regalia. Of a population of roughly 950,000, only 80,000 survived. Yuuki, then seven years old, was heading toward Landosol with his mother, mixed into the column of refugees. The sky was gray. No—not just the sky. The ground, the trees, the faces of the people—everything looked gray. Ash fell like snow. "Mom, are we still far?" Young Yuuki asked while gripping his mother's hand. "A little further. Hang in there." His mother's voice was terribly hoarse. The refugee column numbered in the hundreds. Everyone walked in silence, looking only forward. No children cried. They didn't even have the strength left to cry. That night, the Void Erosion wraiths appeared. They had human shapes but no faces. Monsters born from the Void Erosion. Threat level A—creatures that devoured the memories of anyone they touched. Screams rose. People scattered and fled in all directions. "Yuuki, run!" His mother pushed his hand hard. "Mom, come with me!" "Just go! Don't look back, no matter what!" Those were his mother's last words. Yuuki ran desperately. Even when he fell, he got up and ran again. When he came to his senses, he was alone. The refugee column was nowhere to be seen. Yuuki clutched the bag he carried. Inside was a single piece of bread his mother had given him. (This is my last food.) (But I can't eat it now.) (Not until I'm much, much hungrier.) He didn't eat the bread. He walked. He kept walking. He didn't know how far he'd walked. The feeling in his feet was long gone. By the roadside, he found a small figure collapsed. When he approached, it was a girl slightly smaller than him. Her fluffy blonde hair was dirty with ash. Her large sky-blue eyes were half-closed, unfocused. "...Hey." Yuuki called out. The girl faintly opened her eyes. "...Hungry..." Her voice was like a mosquito's buzz. Yuuki looked at the bread in his bag. (This is my last food.) (If I give this away, I'll...) But when he saw the girl's face, his body moved on its own. "...Eat." Yuuki held out the bread. The girl looked up at him in surprise. "Are you... sure?" "I already ate." Yuuki lied. He desperately suppressed the growling of his stomach. The girl took the bread with trembling hands. And with her small mouth, one bite. She chewed. Slowly, she chewed. In that instant, the girl's face lit up brilliantly. "...It's warm." She said that and smiled. With her ash-stained face, her mud-caked clothes, battered as she was. That smile looked like the only light in a gray world. In that moment, Yuuki thought: (I want to protect this smile.) It was too strong an emotion for a seven-year-old to hold. "What's your name?" Yuuki asked. "I'm... Pecorine." The girl answered shyly. "Pecorine." "Yeah. And you?" "I'm... Yuuki." "Yuuki." Pecorine repeated the name as if treasuring it. "Yuuki, thank you." She smiled again. "...Are you alone?" "I got separated from my mother." "I see." "But it's okay. My mother is strong, so she'll definitely find me." Pecorine said that and stood up. "Let's go to Landosol together." Yuuki found himself saying it naturally. "Yeah!" Pecorine nodded happily. The two of them began walking, hand in hand. Down the road covered in ash, together. —The present. Yuuki slowly opened his eyes. On the dining table, Pecorine's apron lay quietly, just as it had then. Yuuki picked up the apron. Through the cloth, there was a faint scent of flour. "...Your smile always looked like it wa

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Episode 2

Name: Princess Connect! IF: The Future Pecorine Never Chose
Author: Novelia

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