| Author: SS Samurai | Original Source: Syosetu |
| Translator: rm31439 | English Source: Re:Library |
The five of them had left Karua’s room, so now only her, Mika and I remained.
“Alim, Father sent me a message just now, he gave me his permission!” Karua exclaimed with a big smile on her face. “Once this conflict is over, please won’t you let me partake in your special training?”
Good, she was able to get permission.
“That’s great, Karua! See, Alim. Let’s end the war quickly and then go train with everyone.”
“Yeah, that’s right!” I nodded with a smile.
“…And, before that, Alim, you should decide what clothes to wear tomorrow, shouldn’t you?”
“Huh… what? Isn’t the stuff I’m always wearing fine? My clothes, you know, are of the highest quality!”
“Haah…”, Mika breathed a big sigh.
I think my clothes would be fine… Clothes similar to what I wore today, with a neat-and-elegant-celebrity atmosphere should be sufficient.
“Sure… Even your normal clothes would probably be fine, Alim. However, look, aren’t you the hero? The hero! Isn’t that awesome? Then, wouldn’t it be even better, if you somehow were to wear legend grade clothing? After all, this might go down in history, you know?”
“That is true, is it not? Mika, that most likely would be a great idea!”
Because of what they said, Mika, Karua and I made full use of Dark Matter and arranged a full set of clothes and accessories for me to wear tomorrow. All of it legend grade.
It was also enchanted to the point where I could have left for the war, still wearing it, with mostly stat multipliers.
Oh, and that’s not all.
There’s also an effect attached to the skirt, that makes the Forced Contract of that clown useless, right? For now, it’s called “renders mental abnormalities directed towards the wearer ineffective”.
Of course, probably since we gathered so many different ideas with three people, it turned out the best fitting design I ever had.
“Would it be better, if I put on makeup tomorrow?”
At my inquiry, both of them shook their heads almost at the same time.
“No need, you’ll be fine, just like this.”
“She is right. It would be better, not to apply any cosmetics, you see.”
Since they both said so, I wouldn’t use it.
Don’t you usually need makeup in these situations? Since I’ve never used it before, I don’t really know.
After that, I practiced how to act and talk as the hero for a bit. In conclusion, I’d act normally, even when I stood in front of the public as the hero.
There probably is no need to be brave. According to Karua, a hero can also be cute.
After I finished practicing how to act as the hero, it was already 11 pm.
I’d better get up at 6 am tomorrow.
For that reason, the three of us changed into our pajamas and went to sleep in Karua’s large bed. Same as when we came here before, I was in the middle.
I don’t think it’s particularly hard to sleep like this.
Well, I’m a girl, too, right?
It had been roughly 15 minutes since we went under the covers, when, suddenly, Karua sent me a message.
If she sends me a message in such a situation, it’s probably about something only the two of us can talk about.
[What’s wrong?][I… I am worried, Alim. Even though yours and Mika’s power is probably incomparable to other people…]
…So, despite showing her my status to quell those insecurities, some worries still remain, don’t they?
[I’ll be alright! Look, for arguments sake, if it looks like I might die, I’ll immediately create a potion. I tell you, there’s no way anything’ll happen to Mika or me!][That is true, is it not? After all, I can depend on you, Alim… with your strength.]
[Yep, if it’s about fighting…]
[That is not it, you know, I meant mentally.]
My mental strength?
Is that true…? I don’t think so myself.
Mental Power… MP, in other words; I accidentally collapsed today when I used too much of it. And, just supposing… if I think of Mika, Karua or the others being injured during the war, my chest hurts an awful lot.
[I’m not strong, you know, mentally, that is.][Is that so? Then, how can you stay so composed?]
Oh, right.
It looks like I’m calm and she judged that to be because of my mental strength, didn’t she?
Still, that’s just something I got used to, or rather…
Back on Earth, thanks to usually getting to the level cap before reaching the final boss in RPGs, I wasn’t nervous about it at all.
Same for the demon god Samaeyl… From what people told me, and what I read in books, she looks like a final boss.
In addition to that, as usual for me, I’ve reached the level cap 181 times.1
Because of this, you know, I’m not feeling nervous at all, am I?
[Hm… well, it’s thanks to my self-confidence… I guess?] I replied.Karua stayed motionlessly in front of my eyes, I could see her somewhat, even in the darkness.
[Is that so? Of course, you are strong, Alim! I… Until a short time ago, I was afraid, too, but… Somehow, I feel courageous now, thanks to you, Alim. I wonder why?][Oh? That’s good, isn’t it?]
[Indeed! Then… since we need to wake up early tomorrow, we should sleep now, should we not? I wish you a good night.]
[Yeah, good night.]
Karua closed her eyes.
So, Karua had still been worried?
But now it looks like I managed to dispel those concerns.
Then what about Mika?
Incidentally, it seemed like Mika hadn’t fallen asleep either.
If she were completely asleep, Mika would have her arms closely around something.
I learned this after coming to this world. Maybe it was the same on Earth and Mika slept hugging the stuffed bear I’d given her. When we slept next to each other in our home, Mika usually clung to my arm.
But now she didn’t.
Being in front of other people… probably wasn’t the reason. When the three of us slept in Karua’s room before, she’d clung to my arm.
For all those reasons, I judged Mika wasn’t asleep and tried to send her a message.
[Mika… are you awake?][Mh.]
As she sent that in reply, Mika, who’d been facing the opposite way, turned over to me.
It was the same with Karua, but our faces were so close, there was practically zero distance.
[Mika… You’ll immediately start to meditate once you wake up tomorrow, right?][Yeah, I will.] Mika nodded. [Oh, that’s right. Can you make a video of when you’re proclaimed the hero in public, Alim? So I can watch it, once the war is over.]
Mika made a strange request.
What the… Who’d want to watch that?
[Why do you want to see that?][…Not sure? I just want to watch it, can’t I?]
[Huh? Erm, well, I’ll set up a recording, but…]
[Eh-heh-heh, thank you.]
While thanking me in her message, Mika took my hand in hers under the covers.
[Hey, Alim, I say it again, but… really, really, don’t do anything reckless, alright? I don’t want to see you collapse again.][I won’t, you know. You, too, don’t do anything impossible, Mika. If you were to collapse or something… That’s not something I’d want to see, either.]
[I’ll do my best.]
Unconciously, I’d gone back to the old way of referring to myself2, even though I was still “Alim”.
I wonder why? That usually doesn’t happen.
Could it be?
Maybe I have some left-over worries, too?
I told Karua, I’ll be alright, to reassure her.
Fighting with Samaeyl…
[Alim, we should sleep already, right?][Yeah, good night.]
As she said that, Mika suddenly kissed me. It caught me completely off-guard.
[Eh?!][Heh-heh, I wonder, are brooding over something?]
[How the hell do you know that? And why did you kiss me?]
[Just how many years do you think we have been together? And for the latter… Don’t worry about it.]
It looks like she completely saw through me.
…Somehow, I feel like, before long, I won’t be able to rival Mika with words3…
Moreover, telling me not to worry about the kiss is kinda unreasonable.
Still, I feel like I calmed down somewhat.
[Well, anyway. Good night, this time for real.][Yeah, good night.]
Mika, like before, turned her body to the other side.
I fell asleep, with the feeling of the kiss still remaining on my lips.
TL notes:
I remember reading some time ago (I think it was in one of the Two as One Princesses chapters here) how the mandatory dress-up scene with an unwilling/distressed protagonist is somewhat of a trope in Japanese gender-bender stories. I really like how different it is here; instead of putting him through scores of outfits to try on, they brainstorm and decide on what would be best together.
I guess the main difference is that Alim willingly chooses to be a girl and is himself interested in engaging with more girlish things like pretty clothes and makeup.
Footnotes:
- I get the feeling Alim severely underestimates the potential threat of the demon god. He may be in for a rude awakening once it comes to a fight, since he assumes way too much that his inflated level will carry him through anything.
- He talks about using 俺 (ore) in place of his usual 僕 (boku) for “I/me” two sentences ago. I don’t really see a good way to reflect this in English here.
- Before long? Just cut your losses already. You even admitted a few chapters ago that she was always the smarter one in school.
