It slows your heart rate down inside of a minute. This is one bonus episode tucked onto the third disc, and it asks nothing of you except that you sit in the Galerie du Roy a little longer with Yune and Claude while the light comes through the glass roof. The show's whole thesis is that a small girl from Nagasaki learning a French word, or fumbling a French custom, is worth as much screen time as any battle, and the OVA doesn't break that promise for a second. The backgrounds carry it: ironwork, shop signage, cobblestone Paris rendered with the patience of someone who actually cared, scored so gently you notice the silences. Alice's fascination with Japan still lands as funny and a little sad. You finish it and want to make tea, which is exactly the point.

Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth OVA is a single slice of life special that is counted as episode 4.5 of Ikoku Meiro no Croisée. It was released as part of the third Blu-ray and DVD volume. Before that release, fans could watch it for a short period on ShowTime, the series' official streaming service.