Chapter 75
There's a Haniwa
Translator : PolterGlast
It was around this
time that I started to wonder if Ichi and the others were enjoying imitating me
or if their goal was just to spin around.
Anyway, Lotus, who was
gathering the trembling them, saying, "Stop it, it's dangerous,"
asked me without looking my way, "What's with all the groaning since a
while ago?"
"I wasn't... I
wasn't groaning!"
I wished he would stop
asking questions that sounded like I wanted attention. No, that's wrong,
"I was groaning because I wanted attention!" "You're being too
honest." When I looked deep inside my heart, that's how it felt, so I
puffed out my chest.
Even pathetic words
feel somewhat sparkly when said with confidence, I thought with a complicated
feeling, and sat down on a log at the edge of the hall, looking around. It was
the place where Lotus and I had munched on skewers before.
"So, what is
it?"
Feeling pathetically
spoiled, I glanced up at Lotus, who was completely ready to listen. Ichi and
the others were wriggling contentedly in our laps, having danced to their
hearts' content. What should I do? I looked at my feet, took a breath, and
exhaled. But I still couldn't say it here. Saying it would just make it more
ambiguous.
"It's about
Yuko... the Saint!"
And so, I blurted it
out impulsively.
"Oh," Lotus
nodded quietly.
"...I wonder if
it's okay for me to stay like this. If I don't want to get involved in the
game's main story, I've already got the Mirror of Foresight, so I know I should
probably just go somewhere else quickly. But Yuko is different from the Yuko I
imagined, and somehow, um..."
It was difficult to
convey the words in my heart. "Worried" wasn't quite right, and
"anxious" was closer, but still not it. "I'm feeling...
uneasy." I'm sure the listener would feel the same way. Besides, the fact
that Yuko was different from the game might be my fault. Lotus should have been
with Yuko originally. Because I had blurted out those words while clenching my
fist, I cautiously looked up at Lotus. Then, he had an even deeper furrow in
his brow than usual, so I flinched. "Listen," I was afraid to hear
what he would say. What if he was exasperated?
"Didn't I tell
you before? If it's just about escaping with you guys, I can manage that
however many times you want. You're feeling uneasy, right? If you're going to
have regrets, you should just do what you want."
Lotus stood up with
the same casual tone as always. Ichi and the others, "Are we going
home?" they bounced and trembled around his feet. What was it? I
wonder...What should I say?
"Let's hurry
back... nngu, hey El, you're heavy. No, you're not heavy! Don't suddenly stick
to my back from behind, you brat."
"Lotus, I
loooooove you!!!!"
"Your voice is
loud."
"I know
that," he replied with his usual line, but with a wonderful jump, I leaped
onto his back. Even though it should have been forceful, I found myself being
carried piggyback towards the Magic Tower. "Nice, El, nice nice
nice," Ichi and the others trembled, and I said, "We'll take turns
later," and rested my cheek on his broad back with a uhe-he. I was happy.
So, at that moment, I
didn't notice Yuko, who was making a new save pose, furiously scribbling on the
wall with paintbrushes in both hands while her legs were wide apart, looking at
us blankly with a face like a haniwa figure, saying, "Did... did she just
say... Lotus...?" --But I eventually found out. Yuko, still holding the
paintbrushes, stood in our way as we returned to the Magic Tower.
"You! You guy
over there!"
It was Lotus who
turned around. Yuko strode towards us, looked him up and down, turned him
around to the right and left, and stared intently at Lotus. Then she trembled.
Behind her, it was as if the words "No mistake!" were floating.
"Lo...
Lotus...?"
It was a stunned
voice. Lotus's brow twitched as he looked at Yuko. "A-a-ah..." That's
right, Yuko was a hardcore player. No matter how different Lotus's atmosphere
and appearance were from his game counterpart, anyone would click if they heard
his name. I hadn't thought enough. I should have been more careful, I bit my
lip. Then, Yuko groaned, "Nnnn," and clenched her fist. She was still
holding the paintbrushes in one hand, of course. Why was she holding them?
Yuko trembled. And
then, a powerful emotion surged up.
"My
interpretation!!!! Is different~~~~~~~!!!!"
Like a volcanic
eruption.
Facing Yuko, who
recoiled, screamed, and then froze solid, Lotus nodded quietly.
"Oh. Is that
so."
"Hey, you're
replying way too normally!"
It was Lotus, replying
to things he didn't understand. It was very humiliating that I ended up being
the one to give the retort.
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