Flower Viewing (2)
“Alright, I’ll take you up on that.”
Kirke says it and drops heavily onto the picnic mat. I sit down beside her.
…But what exactly are you supposed to do at a flower viewing?
When I think about it, my life has always been far removed from this sort of thing. Back when I was a hero, I never had the chance.
I look around. Flowers bloom brilliantly on the trees. The mat is covered with food. Irene has already wandered far off and is fiddling with something in the distance. Only the four of us remain on the mat.
I have no idea what people usually do during flower viewings. Kirke probably doesn’t either. Do Cecily and Yuria know?
I ask anyway. “Hey, what do you actually do at a flower viewing?”
“You suggested it without even knowing?”
“Uh… yeah…”
I didn’t know, but I still wanted to try it. It’s spring, the flowers are in full bloom, and the weather is perfect.
Cecily’s face lights up with unexpected excitement. “Noel, a flower viewing is a drinking party.”
“…Huh?”
“You admire the blossoms and drink yourself silly in broad daylight.”
“That’s what it was?”
So flower viewings were such a decadent affair? The elegant, picturesque scene I’d imagined was nothing but a fantasy?
But we don’t have any alcohol. I hadn’t brought any because I didn’t realize that was part of it. Looks like I’ll have to take responsibility and fix this.
“Want me to run down and grab some drinks right now?”
“No way. Don’t joke around.”
Yuria gives Cecily’s shoulder a playful tap.
“…I was being serious,” Cecily mutters under her breath.
It seems we all have completely different ideas of what a flower viewing actually is.
I doubt she knows, but I ask Kirke anyway. “Kirke.”
“What?”
“Do you know what a flower viewing is?”
“I do.”
“…You do?”
Kirke knows about flower viewings? No way. There’s no chance someone like her would be familiar with something so girlish. She’s the last person I’d expect to know.
“You actually know what people do during them?”
“Not only do I know, I’ve done it myself. Back in my knight order days.”
“During your knight order days? Did the whole order go on a picnic?”
“Of course not. It was training.”
“Training?”
“We sparred with swords in a landscape of fully bloomed flowers. A spring-only form of entertainment.”
Kirke’s experience doesn’t seem particularly useful either. That kind of sweaty activity doesn’t suit a young girl at all. And more than that, none of us needs training anymore. No one here requires that sort of thing.
Let’s put our last hopes in Yuria. She’s probably the closest thing we have to a normal girl.
“Then what about you, Yuria? What does a flower viewing mean to you?”
“…None of you know what a proper flower viewing is, do you?”
“Looks that way…”
A former adventurer, a knight commander, a hero. None of us knows how young girls are supposed to enjoy flower viewings. But Yuria should be different. She’s lived as a girl her entire life.
Yuria raises her index finger. “Shepherd’s purse, mugwort, rhododendron roots, red plum branches.”
“Huh?”
“Young magnolia leaves, white cherry blossoms, daffodil stems, wild garlic, dandelions. We need to gather all of these. They’re all potion ingredients.”
This doesn’t seem right either. Flower viewing probably isn’t the same as herb gathering.
Former adventurer, knight commander, hero, and now a professional potion maker. Not a single one of us knows what a proper girl’s flower viewing looks like. There isn’t one real young lady among us.
Kirke must be thinking the same thing, because she says exactly what I was about to. “It appears none of us here truly knows what a flower viewing is.”
“What’s wrong with gathering potion ingredients? There are materials you can only get in spring, you know.”
“…Noel, should we just go get the alcohol? The church has plenty stored away.”
Everyone’s opinions collide. What exactly is the correct way for girls to enjoy a flower viewing? I have no idea. After all, I wasn’t originally a girl to begin with.
“Noel.”
A voice suddenly calls from behind me. It’s Irene. Now that I think about it, what has she been doing this whole time? It looked like she was messing with something far off in the distance.
“Noel, close your eyes for a second.”
“Huh? Okay.”
I close my eyes. Irene’s hand gently touches my head. The sudden contact makes me flinch slightly.
“There. All done. You can open your eyes now.”
I open them. Something feels strange on my head, like I’m wearing something. I reach up and take it off to check. It’s a flower crown woven from blossoms. The size is perfect for my head.
So that’s what Irene had been fiddling with earlier.
I turn the crown over in my hands. It’s quite pretty. She did a good job. I place it back on my head and ask everyone, “How does it look?”
Everyone stares at my head. When Yuria sees the flower crown, she makes a strangely frustrated face.
“It’s a little… damaging to my pride.”
I ask the suddenly sulking Yuria, “Why? What’s pride-damaging about it?”
“Because it looks like Irene knows the most about flower viewings out of all of us.”
Yeah… that is pretty pride-damaging.
Irene tilts her head. “Huh? What’s there to be upset about?”
I explain everything we’d been talking about, including how none of us knew what a proper flower viewing was supposed to be.
After listening to the whole story, Irene lets out a helpless laugh. “What are you all talking about? You just enjoy it however you want.”
Everyone’s expressions turn complicated. We all look completely dumbfounded. Unexpectedly, the one closest to being a real girl among us might actually be Irene.
I sit in the flower field and pick blossoms. I choose the ones that catch my eye from among the many colors, grab their stems, and snap them.
“Good. Break them like that. Then weave them in here.”
I’m currently learning how to make flower crowns from Irene. It’s surprisingly fun. Just like she said, everyone is enjoying the flower viewing in their own way. Irene and I are making crowns, Yuria is off searching for potion ingredients, and Kirke and Cecily are sitting on the mat eating snacks.
“But you already have one crown. Who are you making this one for?”
“Huh?”
There’s already a crown on my head—the one Irene made for me. That’s right. Then who should I give the one I’m making now to?
I examine the crown I’m working on. There’s a single blue flower mixed in. A small, pretty blue blossom that subtly asserts its presence among all the others.
“Decided. This one’s for Kirke.”
“Really? Then I’ll make one for Cecily.”
“…You’re not giving one to Yuria?”
“If I gave Yuria something like this, wouldn’t she just turn it into potion ingredients?”
“……”
It really does seem like something she would do. I have no comeback. The image of Yuria calmly dismantling a carefully made crown to extract potion materials flashes vividly in my mind.
“Alright… Let’s skip Yuria and just make ones for Cecily and Kirke.”
In case she might overhear, I keep my voice low and busy my hands. I keep picking flowers and weaving them together. Eventually, a decent-looking crown is finished.
I compare it to Irene’s. Mine is a bit more sloppy. Well, it can’t be helped. It’s my first time.
“Okay. Noel, let’s go deliver them.”
“Yeah.”
“This is the most important part. The ending is what truly matters.”
“The ending? Aren’t we done once they’re made?”
“Making them and then giving them is the ending. This part is the most important. You have to present it with the right atmosphere.”
She has a point. Giving it with some flair does sound better. But how?
“How should we do it? To set the mood…”
“Do it like I did with you. Approach from behind, tell them to close their eyes, then put it on.”
“Sounds good. Let’s try that. It did look atmospheric.”
We quietly sneak up behind the intended recipients of our crowns. I head behind Kirke. Irene moves behind Cecily.
Kirke and Cecily are chatting while drinking the beverages we brought.
I approach Kirke from behind and whisper in her ear. “Kirke.”
“Hm? What is it, Noel?”
I stop her as she tries to turn around. “Close your eyes for a moment.”
“Ah. Like before?”
Kirke obediently closes her eyes. I gently adjust her hair to make it easier to place the crown, then set it on her head.
“There. You can open your eyes now.”
Kirke opens them and looks at me. “How does it look? Does it suit me?”
The flower crown resting atop her blue hair. Kirke scratching her head shyly. It suits her perfectly. I’m glad I made it for her.
That’s what I was thinking when a caterpillar suddenly falls from the crown. It lands right on Kirke’s face.
“Eeeeek!”
Kirke startles violently and falls backward. The drink in her cup spills everywhere, completely soaking her clothes. She frantically yanks off the crown and brushes at her face and hair.
The sight is so ridiculous that I have to fight desperately to hold in my laughter. If I laugh, I’m dead. I can’t let the corners of my mouth twitch even a little.
Cecily and Irene’s gazes lock onto Kirke. Silence falls for a moment.
Then Irene breaks it.
“Pfft…”
She couldn’t hold it in. I quickly clap a hand over Irene’s mouth.
“……Noel. Irene.”
Kirke glares at us. She growls our names in a low voice. Warning bells scream inside my head. This is about to get bad.
“Did I ever tell you about the flower viewings from my knight order days?”
“Ah.”
She had mentioned sparring with swords among fully bloomed flowers as training. Why bring that up now…
“I’ll show you. My personal style of flower viewing.”
Kirke picks up a branch from the ground. It’s long and sturdy. She swings it through the air. The sharp sound of it slicing wind doesn’t sound like a branch at all. It sounds like a sword.
I immediately grab Irene’s hand and run.
“Stop right there! Accept your punishment quietly!”
If she catches us, we’re dead. It definitely won’t end with a light scolding. I grip Irene’s hand tightly and sprint desperately through the forest.