| Author: SS Samurai | Original Source: Syosetu |
| Translator: rm31439 | English Source: Re:Library |
“This feels kinda lonely…”
“Yup, it sure does. Besides, we got nothin’ to do.”
This was Orgo’s room in Mephilad castle. In here, there currently were Orgo, the knight commander’s son, and prince Ruin.
“All three of them went to pay a visit to Alim.”
“I think they currently have Princess Karua, Lilo, Myuri, and then that dragonkin friend of Alim and Mika stayin’ with ’em.”
“Six of them… Orgo, would you be able to mingle with six girls?”
“No way. Alim probably wouldn’t refuse if we asked whether we could come visit, too, but…”
Those two youths found themselves with too much free time. Some difficulties with another country had arisen, so both Karua and Ruin ended up unable to set out any further than the royal capital for the near future. Consequently, the promised training with Alim had been postponed.
The girl had felt bad for that, so she invited Karua to her home. And two days later, Lilo and Myuri also went to Alim’s mansion to join the princess. Obviously, they were unable to do any quests in the current situation.
“Hey, Orgo. I heard from Karua that they had fun putting Alim in suggestive clothing yesterday.”
“…Yep, no way we’d fit in there.”
“Absolutely…”
Both breathed a deep sigh. It usually wasn’t just the two of them; they either went to do jobs with their party consisting of the four childhood friends… or they spent time together with Karua. The two men couldn’t think of much else than practice swordsmanship and magic, or play Othello. However, they had already done all of that yesterday and the day before yesterday.
“…Do you have anything we could talk about?”
“Nope, I don’t… You?”
“Nothing… Oh! Wait, there is something. You know, I learned about that recently, but there seems to be a fad among girls to talk about their love interests. I happened to overhear the maids talking about it.”
“So, though we’re men… you thought we could do that?”
Orgo didn’t seem very enthused, but they truly had nothing to do, so, ultimately, they went with Ruin’s suggestion. They were a bit too embarrassed to start talking about their own love interest from the get go, so they’d begin by guessing who other people might be interested in.
“Then… who’ll we talk about?”
“My older brother.”
“Alright… I’m curious ’bout Tuhl, too, after all.”
On that note, Tuhl, who had turned 22 years old and was known as quite good looking, hard-working, and, most importantly, the first prince of a large kingdom, had received numerous marriage requests from young noble ladies and princesses of foreign countries Mephilad was on good standing with.
“Let’s start with people my older brother is interested in… I’m sure there are some.”
“Alim…?”
“Not her. She refused him.”
“But it was Alim who refused him, not Lord Tuhl, y’know.”
“I guess… But no matter what, I can’t see my brother acting like that.”
They fell silent for ten seconds. Then, they realized they didn’t know of anyone else who might be the target of Tuhl’s romantic affections1.
“That’s harder than I thought, ain’t it…? In that case, let’s pick someone else. Who should we talk ’bout next?”
“At this point, I guess there’s only Alim.”
“Alim, huh…?”
Both youths immediately knew what answer the girl would give them.
“I’m pretty sure it’s Mika.”
“Definitely Mika.”
“Still, I wonder, is Mika really her love interest…? Karua told me that she saw them kissing.”
“I think so… I’m positive that Alim, popular as she is, is a lesbian.”
“True enough… I wonder what would happen, if the people from the “Association of Earth Member Adorers” learned about that.”
“They’d probably be happy for her. They’d root for her if she’s in love with someone of the same gender, rather than goin’ out with some weird man, won’t they?”
Afterwards, the two talked about their memories of Alim and the taste of her cooking.
It had to be noted that, more than a dozen years before Alim’s rise to fame, Karuna had also been rather well-known. Regardless of her being married, she prided herself on a popularity close to what Alim currently commanded.
“…I just realized; we did nothin’ but talk ’bout Alim.”
“She truly is an incredible girl, isn’t she…?”
“So… do we gotta talk ’bout ourselves now…?”
Orgo and Ruin both put themselves on guard.
“You’re right. Orgo, is there someone you’re interested in?”
Ruin had been the first to speak up. While Orgo felt regret about having been too slow, he had no choice but to answer.
“…Well, yes, there is.”
“Is it a person I know?”
“Yep…”
“Is she close to us in age…?”
“You got it.”
“Has she been to the castle…?”
“Yup.”
“Is she cute?”
“R-Right… Well…”
“Awfully cute?”
“…Yes.”
“Understood. What might happen, if I tell Myuri… ‘Orgo said that you’re awfully cute.’? I’m sure that would make her happy…”
“Damn, if you knew all along, say somethin’!!”
With bloodshot eyes, Orgo grabbed Ruin’s shoulder and shook him back and forth. In a rare show, Ruin displayed a grin that seemed to make fun of his friend.
“Hah, damn you. How long did you know?”
“A long time. At least since a year ago.”
“Seriously… Did… did Myuri notice?”
“No, she hasn’t yet.”
“I see… hah…”
Orgo took several deep breaths to calm down his raging emotions. He hadn’t noticed for all this time. that his best friend knew who he had feelings for. Incidentally… at this point, Lilo was close to realizing that Myuri also had feelings for Orgo.
Orgo was about to go on the counterattack, so this time it was him who raised his voice.
“Now it’s your turn! Fess up!”
“Alright. The person I’m interested in has shortish pink hair. Also, she’s quite lovely… and gentle, though at times somewhat clumsy. She likes adorable things and people, she’s the daughter of this country’s minister, and…”
Orgo stopped Ruin’s monologue with a “Just hold on a second.” He had realized who it was, the moment the prince had mentioned her hair.
“…It’s Lilo, ain’t it?”
“You got it. You never realized, did you?” Ruin smiled at him, as if he had just won a battle.
“Yep… Myuri once told me that Lilo might have feelings for you, but…”
“…!”
Ruin, who up to this point had fully controlled the pace of their conversation, switched to a completely different expression. His eyes, which had been large from the start, opened even further, and his face seemed to express a wordless “Impossible.”
“H-Huh? Ruin?”
“Is that… true?”
“Yup. It is, but…”
“Isn’t Lilo interested in my brother Tuhl…?”
“…No? She ain’t. Even I know that.”
“Eh… huh…”
Still with an expression of surprise, Ruin covered his mouth. For him, the information just now had come as a shock.
“What happened to all your earlier vigor, Ruin?”
“…”
“Hey~…”
“Mhwha~…!?”
“Hey… get a grip, man…”
When Orgo waved his hand in front of Ruin’s face, the latter seemed to regain his senses a little.
“Were you so shocked, you ended up spacing out?”
“Yes… I’ve had feelings for her for twelve years… I wouldn’t have thought they’d be mutual.”
“That’s great. Why not take the chance to confess to her, then? You may be a prince, but she’s the daughter of the minister, so I don’t see any issues lineage-wise. Moreover, we’re already 18 years old. It wouldn’t be strange for you to become lovers… and, to take it to the extreme, get married.”
When he heard that, Ruin suddenly regained his dignified bearing and, for some reason, took Orgo’s hand.
“O-Oi. The hell are you doin’!?”
“Orgo. I will confess my feelings to Lilo.”
“T-That’s good.”
“But you also have to confess yours to Myuri. On the same day, at the same time, we’ll ask them to come to different places each.”
“Wha-… what~!? Me too!?”
“Yes.”
Ruin’s suggestion gave Orgo a shock. He didn’t feel like confessing himself.
“No… I don’t really…”
“You’re fine with that? Weren’t you the one who told me ‘If you’re a man, you gotta live like one’ about three years ago? Are you waiting for Myuri to confess to you? Or for when you turn 20? During that time, maybe she’ll get a good marriage proposition and decide to follow that man…”
“…U-Understood, I’ll do it!”
“That’s the spirit! What day and time should we choose? I think the day of the meteor shower a week from now would work.”
“…R-Right! Let’s do it on that day!”
Would the love of the two youths ever bear fruit…?
Authors note:
Since the phrase “putting Alim in suggestive clothing” came up in this chapter, it bears mention that the clothing standards between Earth and Anazumu are obviously different.
-Normal Clothing
Earth: As everyone should know, a wholesome, normal attire.
Anazumu: Similar to Earth, but with the navel, thighs, and shoulders (plus part of the chest) exposed.
-Suggestive clothing
Earth: Clothing that shows more skin than normal clothes.
Anazumu: Even more exposing than normal clothes in Anazumu.
TL notes:
I won’t lie, this chapter feels like a filler and doesn’t give us anything new apart from the fact that Ruin and Orgo are planning something on the day of the meteor shower. Though I guess that applies to most of the Mephilad chapters since the Yggrasil arc has started (and will stay so until the second half of volume 12).
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing that we get to hear something from characters that haven’t shown up in 78 chapters or to hear it (somewhat) from their PoV, but switching the PoV is normally either used to give information the MC wouldn’t have access to or give insight how other people’s thought processes and viewpoints are. Neither of those are really the case here, so it feels… wasted, I guess?
