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Early in the morning, a little girl popped her head out of a warm blanket just as the sun was rising outside. Although spring was approaching, the morning air was still cold and crisp. It wasn’t cold enough to need the stove anymore, but it was enough to make her shiver.

“Good morning~.” 

The little girl who worked hard to get up despite that was named Koume. Waking up early in the morning was a great achievement, and if any gentleman saw it, they would be applauding and showering her with praise for being such a cute little girl.

“Are you sleeping? Is Papa-shan sleeping?” (Koume)

“Ugh… ugh… It’s hot…”

She tried to wake up her Papa-shan by shaking his shoulder, but he showed no signs of waking up. He seemed to be sweating and hot, probably because of the bunny that was stuck to his face while sleeping.

“I can’t eat anymore-usa…”

“Snooze, munch, munch…”

“I am the ace-usa…”

Not only on his face, there were also bunnies sleeping on his chest and at his feet. Recently, many bunnies have been sleeping with her Papa-shan, so it was warm even in winter.

However, Papa-shan always seemed hot. It seems the bunnies love sleeping together in a group. So, Papa-shan looked like he was covered in white fur.

“Maybe I should sleep a little longer.” (Koume)

Since everyone was still sleeping, Koume’s resolve, which was as firm as ice cream, wavered as she considered going back to sleep.

“Good morning, Koume. You’re up early today.”

“Good morning, Chihiro-oneeshan.” (Koume)

But since Chihiro-oneeshan, who was sleeping next to Papa-shan, had woken up, Koume decided not to go back to sleep and greeted her cheerfully. About one out of three times, Chihiro-oneeshan would wake up as well, so Koume’s second sleep would be canceled.

“Why did you wake up so early today?” (Chihiro)

Chihiro-oneeshan asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and Koume puffed out her chest proudly.

“I’m going to collect eggsh! It ish work, play, and training! I need to get ready first!” (Koume)

“Can you do it by yourself? Do you want help?” (Chihiro)

“It’s oka~y! I can do it by myself.” (Koume)

Koume leaned against the edge of the bed, stretched her short legs, and touched the floor. 

Koume is now 5 years old. She could get dressed all by herself. An adult lady that can brush her teeth and comb her hair. She headed to the closet while avoiding the bunnies sleeping on the floor.

The closet was filled with many treasured clothes of Koume’s. Before, she didn’t even have pajamas or any clothes to change into. But Papa-shan had bought her a whole ton.

She worked hard to get dressed, and just as she was about to head to the bathroom, she heard a cry from the corner of the room and stopped in her tracks.

“I’ve learned my lesson-usa~. Let me out~.”

A bunny stuck out its nose and whimpered from a small hole in a cardboard box labeled ‘Jail’ .

“I’ll let you out!” (Koume)

Koume opened the box, feeling sorry for it.

“You saved me there-usa. Thanks. That was a terrible experience-usa yo.”

“You’re welcome!” (Koume)

The bunny with a hat that came out of the box bowed its head. This bunny was known as Admiral Bunny. Koume waved her little hand back at it, saying, ‘Don’t worry about it’. She felt proud of herself for doing a good deed.

“………”

Admiral Bunny sniffed the air and looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds.

“I’m going back to sleep-usa. Give me a bit of space~.”

And so, it crawled back into the cardboard box. Inside the box, there were many other bunnies sleeping, and even though Admiral Bunny had finally gotten out, it crawled back in, curled up, and went to sleep.

Bunnies loved small, cozy places, and the cardboard box was very popular. It was unclear why it wanted to get out only to crawl back in, but it seemed to be a bunny’s habit. This happens every time.

Koume didn’t quite understand, but she was proud of doing a good deed, so she didn’t mind. 

After brushing her teeth, washing her face, and combing her hair -though she did make a bit of a mess at the sink- her morning preparations were complete.

“I’m going to collect eggsh before breakfash!” (Koume)

“Be careful. Don’t hurt yourself.” (Chihiro)

“Kay~” (Koume)

She waddled off while being seen off by Chihiro-oneeshan. She is heading to the farm.

She walked through the hallway, heading to a certain room in the farm. 

Even though it was early in the morning, many people were already up, moving around the hallway, and the smell of freshly baked bread from the bakery for the residents tickled her nose.

The baker noticed the cheerful Koume walking by and called out to her.

“Oh, Koume-chan, good morning. You’re up early. Are you working?”

“Yup, I’m going to collect eggsh!” (Kouma)

“You’re such a good girl. Here, have some bread. It’s freshly baked, so it’s delicious. The wheat flour is natural, but the sugar and milk are synthetic though. Still, it’s much tastier than synthetic bread. Give it a try.”

He handed her a piece of bread while saying, ‘It is freshly baked, so it tastes its best right now’. It was so soft and fluffy that it made Koume’s mouth water.

“Itadakimasu. Nom nom. It ish sweet and delishos!” (Koume)

She eagerly ate the bread while repeatedly saying it was tasty. The baker smiled warmly as he watched her enjoy it.

“It’s made with real wheat flour and eggs after all. You won’t find bread this delicious often.”

The baker had recently moved here. He unbelievably sold his shop in the Surface District after hearing from Sage that he could use natural wheat flour, and he decided to move here. 

He had always used synthetic ingredients and was eager to bake bread with real wheat flour. His dream had come true, and now his bakery was so popular that it sold out by noon.

Of course, Koume didn’t know any of this. But seeing her happily munch on the bread brought joy to the baker.

“Hmm? What’s wrong? Did it taste funny?”

The baker tilted his head in confusion when Koume tried to save half of the bread and put it in her pocket. But for Koume, this was just normal.

“I’m saving it for later in case I get hungry. My big brother taught me to alwaysh save half for later.” (Koume)

Before winter, before she met Papa-shan, her big brother had taught her to save food. Koume had always followed that lesson, and she always kept something to eat in her pocket. Though sometimes the food would go bad, which made her sad.

The baker felt a pang of sadness for the 5 year old little girl who had clearly lived a harsh life. He had come here seeking the perfect taste of bread, while her reality had been much different.

“Don’t save bread; it can go moldy. I’ll make some cookies that will last longer for you next time instead.”

But now, such hardships weren’t necessary -is what the man who was changing the world of the slums said as he called out to her.

“Papa-shan! You’re awake?” (Koume)

“Yeah. It ended up getting all moldy the other day too, right? Come on, give it to me. If you eat it all, you won’t have room for breakfast.” 

“Kay! Here you go, Papa-shan! Pick me up, pick me up!” (Koume)

Papa-shan was standing behind Koume, looking sleepy with half-closed eyes and yawning.

Koume was thrilled and clung to him, begging to be picked up. Koume loved being carried by Papa-shan. She clung to him and jumped into his open arms, where he gently caught her and held her close. 

She was so happy that she smiled contentedly. Even a bunny jumped in for some reason to snuggle up beside her.

“Good morning, Lanpeach-san. Thank you for always supplying us with affordable wheat flour.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. I don’t want anyone to go hungry after working hard in harvesting them. Besides, we have plenty of wheat flour, so giving some here isn’t a problem.” (Lanpeach)

Papa-shan waved his hand dismissively, and the baker smiled as he put several pieces of bread into a bag and handed it to him.

“It’s not something everyone can do. You’re really a scam artist of first impressions, Lanpeach-san.”

“Should I take that as a compliment?” (Lanpeach)

Papa-shan chuckled wryly as he accepted the bread.

People greeted Papa-shan warmly as they continued walking down the hallway, showing that he was very popular. Koume was so happy that she began to nod off to the rhythm of Papa-shan’s gentle movements. The bunny was already asleep.

“We’re here.” (Lanpeach)

“Thank you very mush.” (Koume) 

When they arrived at the farm, Koume grabbed the basket at the entrance and ran inside to collect the eggs. The farm was still dim, and the chickens were still sitting and sleeping.

Two bunnies stood as guards in front of the field.

“No anomalies with the vegetables-usa.”

“No anomalies-usa.”

One bunny stuck its paw into the soil and pulled out a carrot. It examined the dirt-covered carrot closely, sniffing it.

“No signs of theft-usa.”

“Confirmed-usa.”

After brushing off the dirt, it bit into the carrot.

“It’s not a fake-usa.”

“Tasty-usa.”

Then, with a wry smile, the other rabbits carried it away. It was probably the end of their shift as guards.

“Might end up in Jail-usa.”

“Small spaces are so comforting, right?”

The rabbit was happily taken away while carrying a carrot.

Koume couldn’t lose either. She had to get the eggs and show Papa-shan what she could do.

“Papa-shan, I’m going to put the eggsh in the basket!”

“Yeah, go for it~.” (Lanpeach)

Koume was full of energy with Papa-shan clapping and watching her from behind. She had learned this trick when Papa-shan lifted her high up. She was going to use the same power as Papa-shan.

She focused on the eggs she could see under the chickens and held out her hand. She groaned as she put all her strength into it and shouted. 

“I’ll collect the eggsh! [Telekinunus]~!” (Koume)

It was psychic energy. Koume was also a Transcendental, so she could use psychic energy.

With a pop, the egg disappeared and reappeared in the basket.

“Did you shee? Did you shee that? Koume can use telekinunus too now!” (Koume)

“Yes, you did well, Koume. But you can only use that power when Papa is with you, okay?” (Lanpeach)

“Kyaa~ I understand! I promish!” (Koume)

Papa ruffled her hair roughly, and Koume giggled happily, overjoyed.

This is how Koume’s morning started.

“[Apport] wasn’t necessary since I had a Dimension Pouch. But it might come in handy.” (Lanpeach)

Koume is determined to continue improving her telekinususu.

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