Chapter 179
Chapter 179
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Dancing with Alice (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Friday evening, always blazing with year-round heat.
The fact that tomorrow was a day off seemed to be a universal truth.
Nighthaven was no exception, its Friday evening heat palpably intense.
The air was electric, the kind that made staying cooped up at home feel like a waste, but…
I was, as usual, leisurely rolling around inside my closet.
Raven, my housemate, wasn't the type to go out on days like this.
And neither Alice nor Sabrina had come looking for me.
Besides, Nighthaven was a city where a crisis could strike at any moment.
So, handling the rift's energy from the closet was a rather important task in its own right.
‘The only shame is that I can't just keep feeding the Tesseract energy indefinitely. Hmm, I never thought its storage capacity would have a limit.’
An item imbued with the special power of an Invader—an Object, as they were called.
The Tesseract was particularly special among the two Objects I owned.
It had the ability to draw out possibilities from other timelines, multiplying one's power severalfold.
It was, without a doubt, the most worthy investment for the rift's energy.
Unfortunately, however, the Tesseract wasn't the one connected to the rift at this moment.
Now that I knew the Tesseract couldn't hold any more energy, there was something else I had to do.
‘I wonder what kind of power this one has.’
The object I was carefully lifting with both hands was shaped like a crescent moon.
It was the Object from the Archmage's orb at the Saint Maria Hotel.
Just as the Tesseract and the Echo boasted power beyond measure in their respective domains,
I couldn't help but have high expectations for this crescent-moon-shaped Object.
Of course, I couldn't possibly tell what kind of ability it had just by its appearance.
The only thing I could do was keep pouring energy into it until it awakened.
‘Hmm, I guess I'll just have to wait for time to do its thing... Maybe I'll play on the Echo for a bit. I've gotten really into this game lately.’
I curled up like a pill bug and picked up the Echo from the fluffy blanket.
For the record, the game I was playing was online mahjong, which had managed to survive even in this world.
It was a multiplayer game, but it felt like single-player since all I had to do was tap the tiles I wanted to discard.
It was a game even I, unable to communicate, could easily play.
As for my username, I'd pestered Raven into setting one up for me.
When I pestered him about wanting to play, trotting after him, he set it up for me right away.
‘Well... I'm not particularly good at it, but it's a great way to kill time.’
*Hee hee.*
As I lay on my stomach, legs kicking idly, engrossed in my game,
the closet door suddenly slid open with a rattle, and a familiar face appeared.
Needless to say, the face belonged to the owner of the house, Raven.
“Yuria, stop lazing around and come out. You have a visitor.”
“Huh?”
A visitor? At this hour, without an appointment?
Dressed casually in a T-shirt and shorts, I tilted my head, fumbled for the mask I'd set aside, put it on, and hopped lightly to the floor.
Well, considering they showed up unannounced without even a message, it had to be either Alice or Sabrina.
With that thought, I trudged out of the closet and into the office.
Sure enough, there was Alice, waving at me, dressed in only a thin kimono with no overcoat.
‘Wow, Alice looks sexy today, too.’
Perhaps it was because winter had passed and spring had arrived, leading to lighter clothing.
Despite wearing a Japanese-style kimono that looked rather restrictive, Alice exuded an incredible charm.
I could only imagine how devastating she would look come summer...
I couldn't help but marvel at the presence of her chest, which already boasted an absurd offensive power.
“Ah, Yuria! I'm here!”
“Alice, meow.”
“Hi! Hehe, sorry for dropping by without notice. I was just in the neighborhood and thought of you...”
*Plop.*
Shuffling over in my slippers, I plopped down next to Alice as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She then slipped a hand under my bottom and lifted me onto her lap.
It wasn't winter anymore, so this would surely get sweaty and hot...
I thought to myself, enjoying the feeling of the soft cushions behind me as I slowly closed my eyes.
Putting everything else aside, this sensation alone was enough to make a person blissful. I had no complaints.
“Yuria, I brought you some pastries... You like these lately, right? Chocolate donuts.”
“Mhm.”
“I'll feed you! Say ah~”
“Ah~”
I took off my mask for a moment, set it on the table, and opened my mouth like a baby bird.
A perfectly sized piece of donut traveled from Alice's hand right into my mouth.
This chewy sweetness... it had to be from the old baker's shop.
It seemed Alice was a frequent customer at the shop I recommended.
I hope she visits a lot. It would be a pain if the old man's shop went under again.
I suddenly understood how Shiroko must have felt when she gave me bread.
I wonder what he thought of me being held and treated like a princess.
Raven, who had plopped down nearby, shook his head and spoke.
“You two are quite close. Anyone would think you were actual sisters.”
“Oh, we're closer than real sisters! I can't even stand my own sister touching me.”
“That's a bit harsh. Try to be nicer to Lily. You owe her a lot.”
“But it'd be awkward to start now... Still, I'm cutting her some slack since she hasn't done anything awful to Yuria.”
If she'd bothered Yuria the way she bothers you, Jin, I would've folded her in half.
Alice said this with a beaming smile, though her tone was anything but a joke.
Thinking back, it was true the two didn't seem to have much in common, despite being sisters.
If Alice was a diligent, sincere, rule-abiding model student, Lily was more of an impulsive, rule-bending delinquent.
I wondered what the Sakuragi family was like to produce two sisters who were so different.
Munching on my chocolate donut, I quietly pictured the two beautiful, yet utterly different, sisters.
“Oh, right. This is what I came to ask. Yuria, do you have any plans tomorrow?”
“...!”
“You don't? Great! Then do you want to go flower viewing with me tomorrow? There's a spring flower festival happening nearby. We can look at the flowers and eat lots of tasty food!”
A spring flower festival. I mulled it over from the comfort of Alice's lap.
I didn't have any plans for tomorrow anyway, and I could never say no to festival food.
After a moment's thought, I gave a big nod, figuring it couldn't hurt.
I was neutral about flowers themselves, but I was all for having fun.
Perhaps feeling left out by her suggestion,
Raven, sitting across from them, asked Alice with a somewhat lonely expression.
“Hey, how come you're only inviting her? It's not fair to go to the festival with just the two of you. Ask me, too.”
“You should come too, Jin! In fact, let's invite everyone who's free! Like David, and Greg!”
“Hmm, on such short notice, I bet a few people will have to say no.”
“Then we'll just go with whoever can make it! I'll contact everyone right now!”
With that, Alice immediately took out her terminal and started sending messages.
Putting a sudden idea into action just like that. She was the very incarnation of decisiveness.
However, perhaps because she'd asked so suddenly the evening before,
most people replied with their regrets, saying they already had plans.
David and his group had a family outing planned.
Greg had to be out of town all weekend...
Thankfully, a few of the girls were free,
which resulted in the unexpected combination of me, Alice, Raven, Karen, and Lily.
“Karen... is that the young lady from the kid's shop? The one who always keeps her eyes closed.”
“Yes. She happily accepted when I contacted her. Hehe, this will be a good chance to get to know her.”
“...”
They barely interacted in the original story, so for Karen to join this group...
It really hit me then that not even a trace of the original plot remained.
Anyway, Lily's coming too. Hmm, I hope nothing goes wrong.
I let the last piece of donut melt in my mouth, praying for an uneventful weekend.
And time passed without incident until the next day.
Saturday morning arrived.
With no rain and a cool breeze, it was the perfect day for a festival!
The wonderful weather had me grinning from ear to ear early in the morning.
*
You couldn't find a trace of winter anywhere you looked.
It was a gentle day that brought to mind spring, flowers, and life.
Metahumans of all kinds strolled the streets in pairs, leisurely heading where the sunlight led.
Children held their parents' hands, cotton candy in their own, as they wandered about.
Couples linked arms, warding off the chilly spring breeze with their shared warmth.
Even Nighthaven was completely immersed in the season of new green.
A modified street sweeper, clanking with extra parts, tore down the wide-open road.
“Hyahaha! Spring? Flowers? Who cares! Outta the way! No insurance if I hit ya!”
“Block the roads in Sectors 7, 8, and 13! The target is on a rampage, swerving across the center line!”
Nighthaven, as always, defied common sense.
Spring flower festival or not, those who wanted to run wild still ran wild.
But if there was one misfortune for these hooligans, it was that today saw a large influx of outsiders for the festival.
“Uh, boss! There's a guy on the road ahead...”
“What?! Can't slow down now! Just run him over!”
“Uh... Yes, sir!”
The modified street sweeper scraped violently against the asphalt as it sped down the road.
The vehicle charged straight toward the unfortunate out-of-towner who was trying to cross the street...
*CRUNCH!*
The street sweeper's bumper crumpled grotesquely as the vehicle folded in on itself and screeched to a halt.
The impact was so immense that the hooligan inside vomited blood and collapsed!
But the one who'd been hit simply continued walking, casually dusting off a fist.
“Tsk, is this how this city treats outsiders? How unpleasant. It seems far too dangerous for my delicate daughter to live here.”
The man muttering to himself was old, with streaks of white in his hair.
His hair was a deep, blood-like red, mixed with white.
Two horns jutting from his forehead revealed he was not human, but a metahuman.
The giant who had come to Nighthaven began to stride forward.