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Lily actually called it. Akatsu came to see me, probably because I looked like I could be easily bought.
I’m not about to be taken in, but It’s still nerve-wracking since one mistake could put Lily at a disadvantage later.
“I-It has been a while.”
“Please, no need to be scared. Could we speak for a moment?”
I nodded, and Akatsu continued.
“My daughter…. Lily, to be direct, I wish for her to give up on becoming a hero.”
He just said it outright with a puffed out chest and no shame. If he’s going to be this honest, I’ll start worrying he is trying to trick me in some other way.
“Why is that?”
“Because she’s my daughter. I thought she was simply a bit of a tomboy in her youth, but even though she’s at this age, she still has this strong sense of exploration and adventure. Her senses are already far outside the realm of the noble world. If she doesn’t get wed soon, she really will spend the rest of her life alone.”
“I don’t think she’ll end up alone even if she doesn’t marry some noble.”
He really believes that Lily will never be happy in life if she doesn’t end up marrying guy he chooses for her. It’s annoying, and I end up snidely responding without thinking too much about it.
“You think so….are you sure that’s what you mean though? Perhaps what you really wish to say is that she will be staying with you, Liffy-san, for the rest of her life?”
Akatsu grinned with a look in his eyes very similar to what Lily sometimes makes.
It felt like he was looking into the deepest depths of my heart. There’s already been several other people who’ve called me out for my relationship with Lily, but the tension is on another level when the person bringing it up is Lily’s dad.
Eventually, I’m going to need this man to acknowledge me, but this isn’t that time.
“I….don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“Come now, there’s no need to hide it. Even I understand how close two people need to be in order to share a vault in the treasure house together.”
So he had us pegged even before we started wearing matching earrings or the like. At that point then there’s no reason for me to play dumb. Since I wasn’t saying anything, Akatsu continued on.
“If Liffy-san were to cooperate with me, I’d be willing to annul that girl’s engagement. My heart will be at ease so long as she is able to live a comfortable life with her partner, and whether that partner is a man or woman means little. And if it’s for my adorable daughter, I’d be willing to assist in her day to day living.”
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be fine for Lily to become a hero? I’m willing to wait for her.”
“That is the one thing that will not work. She cannot become a hero.”
“Because the next head of your family is such an ordinary guy that he won’t be able to stand out when compared to her?”
Akatsu’s eyes narrowed.
“So you already know that much….you’re right. Lily is the most elite of all my children, but she is ultimately still a woman. No matter how hard she tries as the family head, no other family will ever recognize her authority. That being said, my son is adequate enough in his own right and will become a competent head. It is merely when he is compared to his sister that he comes across as lacking.”
This guy really does just say what he’s thinking. I’m starting to feel bad. I hope he hasn’t said any of this directly to his son.
But he’s just as Lily described him. He’s someone who is always looking towards the future. The choices he makes now are probably being made after considering the situation of his grandchildren’s grandchildren.
Since I wasn’t talking, he continued to press me for an answer.
“Besides, if she were to become a hero, she’ll be incredibly busy. And traveling with some tagalong will naturally not be allowed. You understand right?”
There are four different possible endings after the final round.
Lily and I both fail. This is the result Akatsu wants. He said he won’t force Lily to get married if this is what happens, but I have no way of knowing how honest he’s being with that.
Next, Lily becomes a hero, and I fail. This is the most realistic outcome and what Akatsu wants to avoid. I’m acting tough, but when I’m forced to be honest with myself, there will be a lot of misunderstandings between us. I can’t see a future where things go well between us.
There are also the patterns where we both become heroes or the result where I become a hero and she fails. No miracle is going to get me in the top four, so it’s a waste of time to even consider those two options.
Put it all together, and it is obvious that the best future is one where we both end up failing. Out of everyone, I’d be the person who would benefit the most from that result too. I could spend as much time as I want with the person I love while living under the protection of the country’s minister. Akatsu seems to be aiming to imprint that thought into my brain.
But Lily would never want to get her freedom that way–if you can even call that freedom. It’d be shameless to choose a future for her based off of what works best for me. If anything, the fact he thinks I’d choose anything else shows how much he’s looking down on me. It kind of pisses me off.
“I don’t understand it at all. Lily-san is trying to spread her wings with her own strength. The only thing I see is Akatsu-san using his power to get in the way of that. Is it so fun, using all your free time and resources trying to make a young person’s life worse off? It doesn’t matter how many times you try to pull this, it’s not going to amount to anything!”
I spat out my honest feelings and stormed off to the dorms. I actually did it.
I might’ve been able to handle that situation a little better though, and I have no idea what I should say to Lily.
But I returned to the dormitories without ever looking back.
♠
When I made it back home, the first thing I did was head straight for Lily’s room. Now that we’re down to only 16 people, there are more than enough rooms for each of us to get our own, yet I still end up heading towards Lily’s room.
When I opened the door, the girl herself was sitting in her usual spot while drinking tea.
“Welcome back. You’re late. Did something happen?”
“Your father contacted me.”
Lily quietly set down her cup.
“Okay. I won’t ask you what he said. Because I trust you. You turned him down, right?”
When I nodded, Lily smiled happily and stood up from her chair. She crossed the room and motioned me towards the bed.
When I sat down, she sat on my thighs and wrapped her long arms around my neck. The light of the afternoon is still leaking into the window, and the thought of starting this early excites me.
“Because I trust you, I will tell you our strategy for the final round of the exam. I want you to drive everyone insane with your dance. Even our enemies.”
“Eh….but then they’ll become strong too.”
Lily laughed out loud.
“Not necessarily. You have a dance that can make them feel good, and I doubt there is anyone in the world who can stand against it.”
She means the twerk? I’ve never thought about using it in battle before, but it would certainly be effective. And if I can choose who is effected by my dances, I could hypothetically neutralize just the opposing team in an instant.
But, there is a part of me that’s hestitating which I can’t get past.
Twerking is the specific dance that has brought dancers down to their current status. I guess it’d be fine if I were using it for what it’s originally meant for, but what kind of rumors are going to spread if the twerk gets used to defeat warriors in the final round of a competition watched by the entire country?
That dance…. has its pluses, but there are negatives to think about too. I’ve never really thought about raising the social standing of dancers, but that doesn’t mean I want to do anything to make their positions even worse either.”
“Liffy. We’re going to win. We win, and we become part of the governmental army. We win, and we decide what is justice. Coming this far and walking away with nothing is unacceptable.”
“So you can survive?”
“So we can both survive.”
“I…. the fact that I’m here now is already its own miracle.”
“Miracles are something created by human hands. They don’t just happen by chance.”
In the end, it’s the citizens who vote with their own hands for the hero candidates they prefer. That’s probably what she’s trying to say.
For better or worse, if I don’t stand out, I won’t survive. For a while now, I’ve been having the same dream every night–one where Lily and I are heroes together. Maybe if it’s for that dream, it’s okay to not worry about appearances.
“Ultimately, you will be the one dancing. It is your choice to make. Rather than worry about that, we should focus on rewarding you for making it through the second round.”
Lily suddenly cut off the conversation before kissing me so hard our teeth smacked against each other.
The force pushed my back down onto the bed. My mind immediately jumped to whether or not I locked the door when I walked in, but Lily smacked my thighs.
“Were you thinking about someone other than me? Now’s not the time for that.”
Lily saw through me. It would be nice to have her just throw me on the bed and do whatever she wants like she usually does, but this is supposed to be a celebration for me. It’s only right then that we do something a little different from the usual.
“Lily, today I’m going to take the top.”
Lily thought about it for a minute before nodding. She laid down next to me, so I stood up on the bed and moved overtop her waist.
I got a curious look from Lily who had to lower her chin to see me.
“My coach told me that twerking is a dance created to help people with any erectile dysfunction. I’ve always wondered how well it would work on you.”
“W-….Who knows?”
It looked like Lily was already regretting allowing me to go on top. Her eyes were swimming in her head, and it felt like she might try to escape if she has a chance.
So I don’t give her that chance, lowering my waist and swinging it back and forth. I danced harder than I ever have before, determined to not stop until I’ve made Lily happy.
I had my back to Lily, and with my hands set on the bed to stabilize myself, I kept swinging my hips back and forth. After a while, I began hearing a heavy breath different from my own.
When I glanced back, I saw Lily looking at me, but the face she was making froze me. Her eyebrows were knitted together, and it looked like she might start crying.
When our eyes met, she extended her arms and pulled me down with my back hitting her breasts. Lily’s mouth came right next to my ear, and her voice came out alongside her hot breath.
“You won’t look at my face when I cum for the first time?”
How could she even ask something like that? There’s no way I wouldn’t want to capture that sight with my eyes.
I shook off Lily’s hands and got back up, this time straddling Lily’s body while facing her directly. I once again started shaking my hips up and down, slamming my hips over her waist over and over again.
The first climax of Lily’s life. I would do what I need to to make that something she’d remember.
A tinge of red gradually rose up Lily’s neck. She’s not going to have a leg to stand on the next time she wants to talk about how I usually look during times like this.
My movements grew even more erratic as my hips began banging against her limbs. Her moans grew louder, but her eyes stayed locked onto mine.
But soon, it became too much even for her. For an instant I could see the whites of her eyes, and with a whimper, her back arched with her navel lifting up towards the sky. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her beautiful face crumpled and distorted. I wanted to see more of that screwed up face.
Instead, I was physically thrown off Lily’s bed.
I rubbed the back of my head and clawed my way back onto the bed to find Lily’s body writhing around.
Her right hand gripped the bed so tightly she was pulling the sheets off the mattress as her left hand was shoved into her mouth to muffle her voice.
After several minutes of twisting her legs around as spasms ran through her back, Lily finally managed to calm down.
Her body was on its side, sunk into the bed, as she breathed into her shoulder.
When I lied down next to her and tried rubbing her back, she brushed me away.
“I-I’m still sensitive….”
“Should I do another dance for you?”
She shook her head. This is the first time she’s felt this sensation before, so it isn’t imprinted on her body yet. She’s overstimulated. Either that, or she’s afraid. She’s told me before how she never feels anything, so it might feel like her body is changing on her.
“If it’s this effective, we could take victory in the final examination easily.”
Lily’s voice sounded happy as she stared at the wall.
“As you learned first hand.”
Lily slapped my body to try and shut me up.
Honestly, I was worried when I started whether it would work on Lily or not.
But if it has this much effect on Lily, someone who rarely feels anything, it would probably be more than enough for the others as well.
Somehow, I had grown so excited over beating Lily that I couldn’t wait to show off for the final judging.
Experimental Translations 