https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5562hc/43/
Knee Kick
I was thinking too much last night and never fell too deeply asleep. Plus my body apparently remembers how early I got up yesterday because I suddenly woke up on my own. I had rolled around at night at some point and woke up laying on my side.
I rubbed my eyes, clearing the morning eye gunk off of them. When I opened them up again, I found Lily’s face right in front of mine, her eyes wide open and staring back at me.
I jumped back from the surprise. Unfortunately I had somehow ended up sleeping on the very edge of the bed and was about to fall off, but Lily reached out her arm and pulled me forward before I did. She saved me from another rude awakening, but when she pulled me back, I ended up closer to her than before.
“Ah….um….good morning.”
“Morning, Liffy. You had a beautiful sleeping face today as well. If the morning never came, I could spend the rest of my life watching it.”
“R-Really….”
Lily is one of those people who can never decide if she wants to push people away or keep them close. But shit, that’s not important right now. I glanced down at my mouth and turned my head down. I would hate it if Lily were to smell my morning breath.
“I just got up….”
“Oh, I do not care about something like that.”
Lily removed the hand I was using to cover my mouth and with one finger, she tilted my chin upwards so I would face her. I used all the strength I had in my jaw to shut my mouth tight and blocked all the air coming in and out of my nose.
“Are you holding your breath? I wonder how many seconds you can last?”
Lily smiled and just watched me. I was mesmerized by the way her long eyelashes moved every time she blinked. I love it when Lily praises me, but I also admire the fact that she can give out those kinds of compliments without ever feeling embarrassed.
I can only hold my breath for a few tens of seconds before I have to exhale all that stinky breath and gasp in some more fresh air. Despite this being such a tight space though, all I could smell were some fresh, fragrant herbs.
“Huh? What smells so good?”
“That would be this. It helps to clear my head in the morning when I chew on it after first waking up.”
Lily stuck out her tongue like a girl who got caught doing a prank. There was a small green blob resting on the tip.
I looked at it strangely for a second before Lily stuck out her tongue even further.
“What’s up?”
Lily immediately put her tongue back in her mouth at my question.
“You are terrible at reading the mood. Take it off my tongue. It will clear up that morning breath you are so worried about while also clearing up that sleepy head of yours.”
Lily’s words came out quickly, maybe because she is embarrassed having to explain herself. Once more she stuck out her tongue, this time with her eyes closed.
Staring at the tip, I wondered how I should receive it. If I stick out my own tongue, I might screw up picking it up and dropping it on the bed. But I don’t know if I have the courage to use my lips and cover Lily’s tongue entirely.
I looked at Lily’s tongue from various angles, but I must’ve made her wait to long because eventually Lily grabbed the back of my head and shoved her tongue into my mouth. She didn’t pull back right away either, and for a few seconds, she devoured my lips.
The taste of the herb Lily had chewed and hardened with her saliva now spread in my mouth. That fresh scent travelled up and through my nose. She was right; my head definitely cleared up after this.
As my mind became more aware, my heart grew disturbed because of how incoherent Lily’s actions are. Our relationship is ‘dust’ as she put it. And yet, Lily spends her time loving that dust.
After devouring my lips for a while, Lily pulled back with a deep look of satisfaction and regret mixed together. Looking at her face, I realized for the first time that Lily might be as worried about things as I am.
We were able to smooth things over with Olive yesterday, but still, it’s a wakeup call that we aren’t going to be able to hide this relationship forever.
Will this relationship continue, if so, for how long, and will we even be allowed to stay together? I’ve put real thought into how the world is going to see us and worried about what will come for us in the future.
“Lily-san. I’m with you.”
“What are you talking about? You should be focusing on yesterday’s homework. Now come, let us begin training.”
I was coldly rejected. I was happy to hear she was thinking positively about a relationship between us, but I can also see the part of her that is trying to get through all this on her own.
I’m being swept away with the tide and don’t have the ability to do anything myself, so I guess it’s natural that she’d see me as unreliable. The fact I can’t do anything is true of course, but still, I can’t get rid of these regrets.
♠
After finishing my new morning routine, I went to the usual hall with Melia and Dahlia to examine today’s requests. We ended up once again making our way to the slums.
Our workshop today was just a little past the home of the old lady whose shelf Andy broke. Occasionally some people in town actually called out to me as we walked past. I’m happy to see my name has at least some kind of recognition to it even though I’m last place. Or maybe it’s because I’m last place that I stand out.
“This one seems like it’s going to be tough….the points had me hooked, but I have no idea what we’re supposed to do.”
“Indeed. But, Dahlia-san is our expert in these kinds of marriages!”
“I’m not married though….”
Melia seemed fully intent on pushing everything onto Dahlia again today. I say that, but our first request today is rehabilitating a husband who refuses to do any of the housework. Dahlia has the most life experience out of the three of us, so she really might be the right person for the job.
The paper the request is printed on actually has a separate column where the client can write down any extra details. In real small letters, they had written down how hard their current life is.
No matter how I think about it, this really doesn’t seem like a situation that’ll benefit from having several hero candidates stick their noses in it. This job gave out more points than the others for a reason, and I have no idea if this is going to turn out well or not.
We tried entering the client’s house, but the door opened on its own. When we saw who walked out from the other side, Dahlia held her head in her hand and sighed.
“Haa….stop following me Andy.”
I didn’t expect to see the guy two days in a row. Don’t tell me he’s the husband we have to set straight.
“I’m doing my job too. Oi! Have the money ready the next time I show! Don said he ain’t giving you another extension!”
Is Andy a debt collector? He was screaming back into the house like some low-level thug.
I could just let Andy go like this, but I need to have some kind of answer to Lily’s homework tonight. How should I handle Olive’s revenge? I need to come up with my own answer to that question.
I sympathize with Olive, but I am also interested in how Andy is actually living his life.
“Andy-san, there is something I want to talk to you about. Do you have some time?”
Melia and Dahlia both looked at me with surprised faces, but neither of them moved to stop me.
“Liffy, look, you really shouldn’t put your hands on a guy like this.”
Dahlia is apparently under a grave misunderstanding and tried lightly scolding me with a wry smile.
“Y-You’re wrong! Just…this…”
I never thought up any kind of excuse in advance, but Andy smiled.
“It’s tough being this popular. How about over there? Um….Dancer-san?”
Andy led me away while rubbing my back. Having his hand touch me made me want to puke, but when I brushed it away, he whistled at me like it was all part of the game. I’m seriously starting to regret trying to talk to him when I really didn’t need to.
When we reached a suitable, deserted alley, Andy stopped.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
Despite joking about it earlier, I guess Andy already knew this wasn’t some kind of sexy talk. His eyes were sharp and put me on edge.
“Do you remember someone named Elm? A boy who died in a river accident a long time ago.”
Andy’s face hardened. He remembered all right.
“Oi oi. Why now is that…. ah, now that I think about it, that older sister showed up in the Hero Audition too. Did you hear about it from her? Then what’s your aim? Money? I don’t got any. No point in threatening me either.”
After thinking about it, Andy came to the conclusion that I heard about what happened from Olive, and I am now trying to blackmail him. I have no idea how he came to that conclusion, but here we are.
All I’d like to know is whether or not Andy is remorseful for it. And right now, while it looks like he wants to hide what happened, I’m not getting the impression that he feels bad about it.
“I don’t want your money.”
“Then, what?”
“Well….do you remember that time? Do you still think about it?”
“Hah! There’s no way I’d forget it. That boy was promised happiness the day he was born. Don’t fuck with me. Even now, it’s still hilarious.”
“…..hilarious?”
“He was always hiding, trying to get his big sister to protect him. Even in the end, he just kept yelling “Onee-sama, Onee-sama!” over and over again. Plus, even though a commoner killed a noble, there was no punishment! Nothing better in the whole world than that.”
He….He was there. Andy watched Elm die. Without ever helping him. And, he used that word: killed. Maybe it was just a slip of the tongue, maybe he didn’t mean it like that, but….at no point does it look like he’s reflecting on any of this.
I went into this keeping in mind that I was going to be biased for Olive. I’m aware of that even now, but….I can’t stop shaking. I don’t care if it’s not going to do any damage. I want to hit Andy in his smug face as hard as I can.
But that is Olive’s right. So instead, I did my best to fake a smile.
“I didn’t know….but thank you very much for the precious story!”
When I turned around to try and return to Melia and Dahlia, Andy wrapped his arms around my body. The discomfort I was feeling earlier turned to goosebumps.
“Oi oi, Dancer-san, hold up. That was a lot of trouble, so can’t you entertain me a little?”
Sensing the danger, I spun around, brought up my leg, and kneed Andy right in his crotch. He let out a voiceless groan before collapsing on the ground in a heap.
“P-Please do not touch me without permission!”
I took a high-handed attitude, but I was afraid of what was going to happen afterwards. So convincing myself that my body just moved on its own, I left Andy alone in the dirt before he could recover.
Experimental Translations 