A girl of about ten.
Aside from the color of her hair and eyes, her face was identical to Jenna’s own at that age.
Jenna was stunned.
’No wonder she looked familiar even though we’d never met.’
Then she turned to Walfred.
If anyone knew why that child had her childhood face, it would be her uncle. And just as she was about to press him for an explanation...
"Daddy."
The instant the girl, who had drifted over to Walfred without anyone noticing, called him Daddy, Jenna froze in place like she’d been struck by lightning.
And a moment later.
Jenna mumbled blankly.
"D-Daddy...?"
Her face was painted with shock.
She stared hard at the child clinging to Walfred’s arm. The attention must have been too much, because the girl ducked behind his back.
"Uncle? Did she just say Daddy...?"
"She did."
Walfred admitted it without hesitation.
Calm, without a trace of unease.
Which meant this wasn’t a slip of the tongue or a misunderstanding. Jenna asked again, still wide-eyed.
"H-how did this happen?"
"It’s kind of a long story..."
"I don’t care how long it is. Tell me all of it."
Every last detail, nothing left out!
At her forceful tone, Walfred quietly nodded. Then he laid out the story of how he’d met Elsa in as much detail as he could.
From the first time he found her asleep inside the ice crystal, all the way to the moment they joined forces and took down the Bone Drake.
"And after that, we started traveling together."
He went on to recount everything else they’d been through since. Then he ruffled Elsa’s hair and let out a soft laugh.
"If it weren’t for Elsa, I never would have made it this far."
He would have been hunted down and killed by the Bone Drake long before that. Walfred wrapped up the account as evenly as he could manage.
Once the full explanation was finished...
"..."
Jenna turned and walked toward Elsa.
Maybe she was a little nervous?
Elsa shrank her shoulders slightly and stepped back. Jenna stopped in front of her, bent down on one knee, and met her eyes.
"Hi, Elsa."
"Huh? U-um. Hi."
"My name is Jenna. Thank you so much for saving my uncle."
She bowed her head, and she meant it.
There wasn’t a shred of pretense or show in it, just genuine gratitude. Elsa seemed to sense that, because her eyes went round.
With the thanks out of the way, Jenna finally voiced the strange familiarity that had hit her the moment she first saw Elsa.
"But, Uncle."
"Yeah?"
"Elsa. She looks exactly like I did when I was little. What’s that about?"
"Ah, that’s..."
Just as Walfred started to answer, Elsa beat him to it.
"I did it because I wanted to look like Daddy."
"Uh-huh? What do you mean by..."
"So I borrowed the shape of the person with the strongest presence in Daddy’s memories."
It was the same thing she’d said back when she changed from a hatchling dragon into a human. Meanwhile, Jenna’s eyes slowly widened at the answer.
"...The strongest presence?"
"Mm-hm. To be more exact, I borrowed the face of the person Daddy treasures most."
The words were barely out of Elsa’s mouth before Jenna’s eyes went wide as saucers.
She hadn’t expected that at all. And the moment she turned her head to look at Walfred...
"Ahem! Ahem!"
Walfred cleared his throat.
Then he looked off into the distance like he was studying a faraway mountain.
Exactly like someone flustered at having his private feelings exposed. Seeing her uncle like that, Jenna couldn’t help but smile.
"I see."
Hearing it made her quietly happy.
She’d never imagined she meant that much to him.
Feeling loved, Jenna broke into a happy smile. Walfred, on the other hand, just kept clearing his throat while his ears turned bright red.
And then...
"Hey, um."
Elsa piped up out of nowhere.
Her face full of curiosity.
"Are you Elsa’s big sister?"
"Uh-huh?"
What was this about now?
Jenna gave her a puzzled look.
"Elsa’s big sister?"
"Yeah! Daddy said so. He said you’re like a big sister to Elsa. That’s why I asked."
She had a rough idea of what that meant.
Her uncle must have introduced her to Elsa as her ’big sister.’ When Jenna glanced back at him to confirm, he nodded and said,
"You’ve got it right."
"What? Why would you..."
"Because that’s how it felt to me."
Walfred gave a faint smile.
Then he said, plainly,
"I never brought it up before, but I raised you thinking of you as my own daughter."
"...!"
"Same goes for Elsa. So it seemed natural to introduce you as her big sister."
"Uncle..."
Jenna’s eyes reddened at the rims.
A moment later, after wiping her eyes with her sleeve, she spoke in a slightly gruff voice.
"...Next time, don’t just keep something like that to yourself. Say it out loud, clearly."
That he thought of her as his own daughter.
That was what she asked of him. Walfred, for his part, wore an awkward expression and scratched his cheek.
"I wasn’t sure I had the right to."
"What? What’s that supposed to mean?"
"I thought I gave you everything you needed, but when I look back, I didn’t really do all that much..."
He was trailing off, stumbling over the words, when a fierce denial cut him off.
"That is not true!"
"...Huh?"
"Do you have any idea how much you’ve done for me?"
"I-I have?"
"Yes! You’ve given me so much, so you have every right to say it."
Jenna’s voice left no room for argument.
After wiping away the last of the tears at the corners of her eyes, she turned back to Elsa. Then she answered the earlier question.
"That’s right. I’m Elsa’s big sister."
"Hmmmm?"
Elsa, however, looked doubtful.
Narrowing her eyes, she circled around Jenna, sniffing at the air. Then, after a moment, she muttered with a puzzled frown.
"But..."
"But?"
"You smell different from us."
A different smell.