https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5562hc/25/
Delicacy
Nerine used her whole body to beckon me over, so I crouched down beside her to look at the flowers together.
“You’re not going to sleep?”
“I have trouble falling asleep. That’s why I always have so much trouble getting up…..”
Nerine scratched her cheek and confessed to an irregular sleep schedule while smiling wryly.
“Everyone has days like that. How is your training going?”
“It’s okay! The lecturer is from my family, so it feels like I can do whatever I want!”
“That….I wonder if that’s okay…..”
I would think having a relative as a teacher would mean they’d be able to be even stricter on you, but from how Nerine’s acting, I guess she is actually spoiled.
Nerine was staring into the flower bed in a daze.
“The flowers are beautiful. The all look the same from afar, but if you look at each one up close, some of them have curved stems and some have larger petals while others are smaller. They’re all different.”
“You’re right. But isn’t that normal? It’d be harder to find two that are exactly the same.”
“I suppose. If there is a weed mixed in there, you would definitely be able to tell though.”
The flower bed in front of us is well taken care of, and I don’t see a single weed growing in there. Nerine threw in what looked like a small ball of rolled up grass into the flowers.
“Doesn’t it stand out in there? And it wouldn’t be good to stand out. It might get yanked out because it’s in the way.”
I’m a weed that has slipped in to the flower garden known as the Hero Audition. Heath is the only one who knows the details, but it’s something that has never left my mind.
“So weeds need to do their best not to get yanked out! As long as they survive, they win!”
Nerine was smiling, but my heart ached thinking she was trying to use the weed metaphor to insult me. Because I’m both a commoner and a dancer.
It’d be one thing if it was Olive saying it, but it is depressing to think that someone as sweet and innocent as Nerine thinks so too.
When I ran my fingers through the soil without saying anything, Nerine raised a loud voice.
“Ah! I’m not saying Liffy-san is like a weed! I swear! I’m…stupid…so I always say things without thinking about how other people feel. Sorry”
Realizing what she did, she laughed to try and smooth things over. I immediately forgive her because she’s cute, but it sucks to see she is apparently used to apologizing like this. Instruction in the Candy family must be harsh.
“It’s fine, nothing for you to worry about.”
Nerine looked at me and smiled. She really looks harmless like this. Olive is the loudest voice, but there are many others in noble circles who are just like her. It’d be inevitable then that someone who says whatever comes to mind without thinking like Nerine would face a ton of criticism.
Nerine must’ve felt awkward too because she started playing in the soil alongside me.
“When I was little, I used to play with my friends, digging up the soil and looking for bugs. It didn’t matter if we were commoners or nobles, we just wanted to have fun.”
She immersed herself in nostalgic memories, letting the words flow from her mouth. It must have been a lot of fun.
“Really? I would’ve thought things would be more stuffy.”
“Dad isn’t a demon, so he decided to let me do whatever I wanted until I was ten years old. But as soon as it was my birthday, my happy dad became as scary as a monster. ‘From today on, you will train as a wizard!’ he yelled.”
It can’t be easy calling your parents a monster. That said, I can imagine how she might’ve felt. I called my grandma a “Damn Old Bag” a lot after I asked her to teach me how to dance.
“It must’ve been hard, but at least all that hard work is going to pay off right? You’re much closer to becoming a hero compared to someone like me.”
“Well…..I’m trying to become a hero because my father told me to stand out and find a good noble family to move into. I’d like to try falling in love though, at least once.”
“You have time. Any kind of marriage is still far off.”
“You’re right, but…..is Liffy-san dating anyone?”
As the older girl here, I would like to take the lead during a time like this, but unfortunately, I have absolutely zero experience here. Lily’s face flickered in my mind for a minute, but we don’t have that kind of relationship. She is a friend, a collaborator, and someone I hold a contract with.
“Sorry to disappoint you. I don’t.”
“I knew it!”
I really wanted to yell, “What is that supposed to mean!?” at her, but I pulled it back, calming myself down by reminding myself over her lack of delicacy.
“And what about you Nerine? Maybe you can’t forget about that commoner boy you used to play with?”
“There’s no way. Liffy-san seems to like fairy tales.”
Maybe it’s because she’s being genuinely open with me, but Nerine has lost any semblance of a filter. Seeing my face, she quickly apologized by saying, “Not that that is a bad thing!” If she had the willpower for it, she could go tit for tat against Olive.
“But Lily-san is so perfect it feels like she came out of a fairy tale herself. She is tall, pretty, strong, has beautiful hair, and is always dignified. I admire her so much.”
That’s her face on the surface. When people aren’t looking, she is someone who loves legs so much her reason flies away even though she can’t vent those feelings well. Despite that, she has a strong desire to dominate the people around her, and she might be as perverted as I am. Of course, I’m obviously not stupid enough to spread that around. I’m the only who who knows what Lily is really like.
No, am I really the only one? There’s nothing to say that Lily isn’t holding on to some other girl as well. When that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly found myself feeling restless. My hair is still a little wet from when we were in the shower together, but I still would’ve run straight to Lily’s room if Nerine hadn’t spoken up to stop me.
“I might…..like Lily-san. Is that weird, when we’re both girls?”
“It’s all right. There is nothing wrong with it. It is normal.”
When I patted Nerine’s head, she leaned against my body like a dog.
“Thank you. I’m happy just to hear that. I should head back to my room soon.”
Seemingly satisfied, Nerine stood up by herself and returned to her room on her own. She ran her hand through my hair as she left, so I thought she was still there for a minute.
Since this was a good chance, I decided to lose myself in thought while I stared at the flower bed by myself.
It is fine if Lily has another partner. That doesn’t mean the way she attacks me will change.
That’s how it should be, so why is my head getting all fuzzy? The word monopoly ran across my mind. But why do I want to monopolize Lily?
I couldn’t come up with a reason no matter how much I thought about it, and after the cold air made me sneeze, I left the courtyard behind me.
Experimental Translations 