NOVEL NEXT Chapter 57: Name
Might contain some mild graphic yuri descriptions
Mira took a bath towel and wiped her very slightly burned skin before wrapping it around her pure rabbit, who pushed its head out of a small gap and squeaked comfortably. She gently placed the rabbit bundle on one of the shelves and then opened the basket she had left in the changing room. Inside she found a rabbit onesie, a baby’s doll, and other similar trinkets, which Mira pretended to ignore as she pushed her hand further inside where the underwear was stored.
(Hm? Did they increase somehow… ah, it must be because of what Mariana washed the other day.)
She was starting to run out of underwear sets she liked, so she mentally thanked Mariana as she took out a pair of panties and returned the basket to her Item Box.
Wearing only that, Mira began untying her hair when she recalled the Concept Magic White had taught her.
(…Yeah, let’s try drying it.)
White had taught her many more things that time, including how to do her hair, all of which began to resurface in her mind, but she pushed everything to a corner of her memory while focusing only on the Concept Magic.
「Ohhh..!」
As she combed her hair while applying the skill with her hand, individual strands of beautiful glossy hair came loose. She then tried it on the pure rabbit as well, who quickly looked like a soft cloud in the blue sky.
It was a skill solely focused on making life easier, a skill that felt very human. As Mira used it, she felt like she was watching an epic movie unfold in the magic academy. The realization of a fantasy, and the discoveries brought forth by research into skills that were not devoted to war. Thinking of all that, Mira was impressed all over again.Mira wore the robe left for her there, and together with the pure rabbit left the changing room.
The living room was filled with the particular scent of spices, dinner was already cooked, and it just needed to be served. Mariana was just placing everything on the table when Mira came out.
「Lady Mira, dinner is almost ready so please sit at the table.」
「Alright. Also, I saw you put the clothes from last time back in my basket, thanks.」
「No need to thank me, I’m just doing my job.」
Thanking Mariana, Mira walked closer to her, examining her hair. Mariana’s hair was of a glistening blue, just like a sapphire, and with every movement it would flutter around. After checking what she wanted, Mira walked away looking a bit disappointed and sat on a couch. The pure rabbit followed her and jumped on her lap, curling up.
「Is something wrong?」
Mariana tilted her head while asking that, Mira’s actions looked somewhat odd. Her hands kept moving though, pouring black tea onto a cup with a completely natural motion, showing just how used she was to that action.
「Oh it’s nothing, I just learned this skill to dry hair. So I thought that maybe I could do that for you if yours was still wet. But it looks like you already dried it yourself.」
Mira replied and brought the cup to her lips, while Mariana took her apron off and quickly ran to the changing room like it was the obvious thing to do.
「Huh, what happened?」
Mira called for her from behind, Mariana replied while turning around.
「I’ll wash my hair again.」
Saying that, she opened the changing room’s door. 「Wait wait wait」 Mira tried to hurriedly stop her, picking up the apron and handing it to her.
A bit NSFW「I’m sorry. I guess dinner takes priority.」
「That’s not what I mean at all.」
Mariana took the apron, fastened it on her and resumed getting things ready for dinner. Mira could only force a smile watching her.
「But you never touch me except for things like that. I want to feel you more, I want you to touch me more.」
Mariana spoke with a low and lonely voice, looking away as she exposed her true feelings.
She wanted Mira to have more direct contact with her. Her heart still recalled the warmth of her hand when she wiped away the tears Mariana shed. But after that, she never felt that touch again, and then Mira offered to touch her hair without any suggestions from Mariana. She was fully aware that talking in such a way to her master was very disrespectful, but her desire was too large to keep quiet. After all, thirty years was such a long time that mental restraints could easily fade away.
Hearing that, Mira also realized something. She had felt Mariana’s touch in the bath or in bed many times already, but all of those times it was only Mariana doing it. Still, thinking about touching a girl like that made Mira awfully conscious about certain things, and even she was surprised she had wanted to dry Mariana’s hair. Even more considering how aware she was of her existence.
Mira followed Mariana with her gaze. Watching a girl so devoted to her brought forth an impulse to hug her lovingly, while also increasing the desire to protect Mariana with all her might.
「Lady Mira?」
Noticing Mira’s gaze, Mariana looked straight back into her eyes.
「Ah, no, it’s just…」
Mira felt lost for a bit, her gaze wandering around before she reaffirmed her thoughts and focused on Mariana again. All the emotions welling inside Mira were condensed into a single feeling. It was not the most resolute of thoughts, but Mira was aware it existed inside her, and filled her chest with warmth.
「I know… I might have been a bit distant.」
Saying that, Mira slowly reached for Mariana’s cheek, feeling her warmth spread through her palm. Mariana also slowly closed her eyes, cherishing that touch.
「This is the second time.」
A bright smile sprouted on Mariana’s lips as she muttered.
Mira’s hand was touching the cheek of the girl in front of her. When she moved her fingers slightly, Mariana reacted like it tickled her and both looked each other in the eyes.
(…Why do I feel like I’m crossing too many barriers?!)
As Mira looked at Mariana, she realized she had leaped through many steps leading to a moment like that. Usually, the first step would be holding her hand or patting her head, and she realized that was where she should have started. But the first time Mira had touched her was to wipe her tears, so she instinctively touched her the same way again.
Still, gently caressing a girl’s cheek like that was a pretty bold act.
「Anyway, let’s eat before it gets cold!」
Trying to mask her internal struggle, Mira quickly put her hand away and sat on the couch again.
「Yes, of course.」
Mariana bashfully brought her own hand to cover the spot where Mira’s palm was, dearly keeping the lingering heat for as long as possible, then resumed getting things ready in higher spirits than before.
The food Mariana prepared and brought to the table looked extremely exquisite, making Mira feel like she had just walked into an expensive restaurant.
「This looks amazing.」
「I just had really good ingredients.」
They spoke while Mariana cut a beautifully seared steak. As she had explained, everything used to make that dinner was of high quality as well.
「It really looks perfectly done.」
Even with her limited cooking knowledge, Mira could tell from the steak’s cross-section that it was good, her mouth watering just from looking at it.
Other than the steak, there was also a colorful salad, an amber-colored soup, small pieces of bread and large cuts of steak. There were also some vegetable sticks for the pure rabbit.
「Please enjoy.」
When everything was laid out, Mariana bowed indicating Mira could eat, who promptly stabbed a piece of meat with her fork and carried it to her mouth.
(So tasty! I never understood what people meant when they said the food melted on their tongues, but I guess this is it!)
「Mm, it’s delicious.」
| Author: Ryuusen Hirotsugu | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 2267 characters |
| Translator: Nomad | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1278 words |
| Editor(s): Fire | ||
Mira stopped herself from blurting out her true feelings of delight, pretending to stay composed. But all she could control were her words, since a really wide smile adorned her cute face showing just how much she enjoyed it.
「Thank you very much.」
Hearing and seeing Mira like that, made Mariana smile as well as she nodded slightly before grabbing a napkin and cleaning Mira’s lips. Mira said that was something she could do herself, but Mariana shook her head and insisted on doing it for her.
「And so, aren’t you eating as well? Let’s eat together.」
「I’ve already eaten.」
Mira’s suggestion was shut down instantly, but Mariana was still in a very good mood throughout the meal, constantly spoiling Mira with any little thing she could. Mariana’s care, or maybe her very nature, made her care about every single thing, which included the pure rabbit who remained in Mira’s arms enjoying a good time with them.
After Mira filled her stomach, the sound of silverware being washed filled the living room, while Mira lay down on the couch staring at her map.
(I never thought traveling could take this long without a floating island. I can’t go too far or it’ll be too late in the night before I arrive at a good city. Or maybe I’ll even have to camp out in the open.)
Mira compared the distance to the Forest of Praying Children and how long it took her to get there to calculate how long it would take to travel to the Forest of Four Seasons where the Fifty Bells’ headquarters was located. Taking into account rest and sleep breaks, it would take around three days to finish the trip. Thinking about that made Mira lay limp and lifeless on the couch.
(I feel like my body won’t last if I have to ride for three days straight.)
That was something Mira had also noticed on her return trip from the Forest of Praying Children. While flying on Pegasus was fast, traveling for even half a day like that placed a heavy toll on her body. She had no confidence at all that just a few days later she would be able to travel like that for three days without rest.
(Well, I guess I’ll have to postpone that visit. I’ll go once my wagon is made.)
If the wagon was made the way Mira wanted, she was completely sure she could stay inside it for an entire day without problems. Thinking of her plans after she got her wagon, Mira started daydreaming about her travels through the sky, staring at the ceiling as she hugged the pure rabbit on top of her.
「You think that would be great as well, don’t you?」
She spoke to the blue rabbit happily squeaking in her arms. At the same time, Mariana had just finished washing the dishes and her face peeked from beside the pure rabbit. That caught Mira off-guard, whose relaxed expression quickly stiffened up.
「By the way, Lady Mira.」
「Y-yes?!」
Mira sprung up hearing Mariana’s voice, sitting upright with the pure rabbit on her lap as she gently petted its back. She desperately tried to figure out how to pretend she was not acting like a little child spoiling their pet, but there was no way of erasing the past. Either way, Mariana did not seem to care.
「What’s the rabbit’s name?」
She asked something completely unrelated to Mira herself. But that also made Mira think, she had never given the rabbit a name.
「Oh right, I haven’t thought about that yet… hey, do you have a name?」
They both stared at the rabbit, who seemed to understand their question and replied by shaking its head.
「Ohh, did you see that? It just told us it doesn’t have one!」
Excited by that smart reaction, Mira held the pure rabbit up and showed it to Mariana. When Mira tried asking the same thing, the rabbit once again replied by shaking its head.
「What a clever little one.」
「Yes, it’s really smart.」
She placed the pure rabbit on her lap again, clearly amused by the current situation. Mariana watched her act like that with a gentle gaze and a kind smile. Mira had entirely forgotten to maintain her persona.
She stared at the blue rabbit on her lap, who also looked back at her and squeaked happily. A moment later it turned its head and began licking Mira’s fingers that were wrapped around it.
(Ahhh, why do you have to be so cute!)
Mira had returned to her usual self for a second when she had to struggle again to maintain a serious face, when she shouted out the name that popped up in her head.
「How about Pyonsaemon!」
Hearing that, Mariana looked at her with the most emotionless eyes she ever had for Mira, and even the pure rabbit looked away realizing that was the name she thought for it.
「Forget about that, I was just a bit distracted.」
Maybe because she had spent some time with Blue, an onmyoji master, Kagura’s personality had leaked into Mira’s thoughts. Mira grimaced at herself for getting influenced by Kagura’s naming sense, even though she was nowhere near her, and thought about a different name.
「What name would be good though. Pyonnoshin…no, I’m just kiddingg… hmm… pyon… rabbit… blue…」
Mira’s gaze focused more on the blue rabbit while constantly groaning at herself. Meanwhile, the pure rabbit looked at her with eyes full of expectation. Then at one point, Mariana interrupted again with another question.
「Also, is it a boy or a girl?」
Since Mira’s first suggestion 「Pyonsaemon」 sounded masculine, she assumed the rabbit was a male, but it looked more round and with shorter ears than the usual description of pure rabbits she had heard.
「…I wonder which?」
Even the thought of finding that out had never crossed Mira’s mind, her head slowly tilting to one side as she stared at the pure rabbit. Mariana’s head also started tipping along with Mira.
「Well, I guess it’s faster if we check it out.」
Saying that, Mira turned the pure rabbit upside down on her lap before grabbing its legs and spreading them apart. But everything was covered in fluffy tufts of fur, so it was impossible to tell. That was when Mariana leaned forward and began checking from closer.
「Can you try being a little more gentle?」
Mariana said that while calming down the pure rabbit that had been suddenly turned around, gently checking if it was a male or female.
「It’s a girl.」
When they freed the pure rabbit, she stood up on her hind legs and placed the front ones on Mira’s stomach to support herself, looking up at Mira.
「Is that so… then, maybe Pyonko- No I’m kidding okay?」
The pure rabbit had turned around in dejection again. Mariana also stared coldly at her, so Mira quickly forgot about that and began thinking of a better name.
「What would be a good name though. Pyo-… hmm. Blue Rabbit, Footsteps of Luck, Blue Thunder, Blue Trail, Noriko, Aomarimo, Alive or Alive…」
As Mira thought of a new name, she enumerated the other names given to the pure rabbit by players years before. The pure rabbit remained looking at Mira with her rotund and cute eyes, her ears shaking a bit every so often when she squeaked. Seeing that cute creature in front of her robbed Mira of her ability to focus, making her pet the head, ears, back and legs of the pure rabbit.
| Author: Ryuusen Hirotsugu | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 2641 characters |
| Translator: Nomad | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1280 words |
| Editor(s): Fire | ||
「Umm… Lady Mira..?」
That low whispering voice made Mira snap back to reality.
「I swear I’m actually thinking of a name. I just need to research things like this a bit to figure out her true name.」
She quickly made up an excuse and looked up. When she saw Mariana’s face, Mira realized she looked like she was trying really hard to hold something back. Mira had thought maybe Mariana was looking at her with cold eyes again, but seeing that was not the case she sighed in relief before checking what Mariana was looking at.
「…You can touch her too if you want, no need to hold back.」
「Okay!」
As soon as Mira gave her permission, Mariana nodded vigorously and began petting the pure rabbit. Soon after a bright smile overtook her lips.
「By the way, have you decided on a name already?」
Since Mariana had leaned down to the same height as the pure rabbit, her eyes were turned up when she looked at Mira and asked. That alluring position made Mira’s brain freeze for a few seconds, until she deviated her gaze and replied 「not yet…」 with a wavering voice.
「Calling her without a name will be a bit tricky for a while, but you don’t have to think of one right away. A name received from an important person is a very prized treasure after all. I’m sure she’ll be happy with any name you give her, as long as you think of it with all your heart.」
Mariana’s fingers traveled through the blue fur like a comb as she spoke. Her face looked very gentle, like a mother taking care of her child. The pure rabbit seemed to enjoy that a lot as she closed her eyes, squeaking for slightly longer as if agreeing with Mariana’s words.
「Hmm… that’s still a heavy responsibility.」
A name is like a treasure. Mira had never thought of it that way, and Mariana seemed to have one hidden emotion throbbing in her heart when she said that as well. Mira pulled her thoughts together and looked at the pure rabbit again.
「Ah, look at all this.」
Mariana muttered as she picked all the fur that stuck to her hands and piled it up on her palm. It was of a very vivid blue color, and even one single strand stood out on Mariana’s hand.
「Hmm, I guess it got stuck on you while you were petting her. You can keep it, they say it brings good luck.」
「Can I really keep it?」
「Of course.」
「Thank you very much, I’ll make sure to treasure it.」
In a way, Mira would end up having more fur than she knew what to do with, so she had no problems giving it away. She watched how Mariana happily stored the blue fur inside a handkerchief while her mind still thought about a name for the pure rabbit. When Mariana looked at Mira again, she noticed something else.
「Ah, there’s a lot of it all over your clothes too.」
Mariana said while pointing at Mira’s robe, it was covered by many blue strands. They had probably gotten stuck there from how long Mira held the pure rabbit on her lap.
「I wonder if cleaning will get harder in the future…」
Whether Mira was home or not, Mariana would be the one in charge of cleaning everything. That was part of an aide’s work. Mira was slightly hesitant to look at Mariana thinking about that, but she gently picked up all the blue strands.
「I guess this place will be blessed with a lot of good luck in the future then.」
She smiled saying that. Mira was captured by her attitude for a bit, before snapping back to reality and nodding quickly saying 「That’s true!」. Mira gently patted the blue rabbit’s head, when a certain name floated in her head. The pure rabbit was a blue rabbit that brought good luck.
「I got it! Your name will be Fortuna! And your nickname will be Luna!」
The name of a goddess of good luck popped up in a corner of Mira’s mind. After announcing the name, she turned to look at Mariana.
「Fortuna. That’s the name of a goddess known amongst fairies. It fits perfectly for her.」
Hearing her decision praised, Mira exclaimed 「I know!」 as she happily picked up the pure rabbit and held her high. The rabbit also understood what Mira said, showing a completely different reaction to the rejection she showed hearing Pyonsaemon, instead squeaking happily receiving that valuable treasure from Mira.
(Somehow that was really tiring.)
Finally relieved from that stressful task, Mira yawned and let her body lie limp on the comfortable couch as her eyes closed, but soon after she felt a hand shaking her shoulder.
「Lady Mira. If you want to sleep, go to bed. You could catch a cold if you sleep here.」
「Mm… ah, right. You’re right.」
Mira had already started falling into her dream world, so she put Luna to the side on the couch and stood up with unsteady movements. Then Mariana carefully guided her through the preparations for bed. Luna followed them the entire time. Once she was ready for bed, Mira hugged Luna to sleep with her and went to the bedroom.
「…You want to do that tonight as well?」
「If you hate it then I’ll sleep elsewhere…」
Mariana’s voice turned lower really quickly.
「Mm… it’s okay, I don’t mind.」
「Thank you.」
There was only one bed, with a cushion and two pillows on it, one of which was the same Mariana had used the other night. Behind Mira, Mariana had also started getting ready for bed herself. Mira did not hate sleeping with her, she actually enjoyed it. She was simply not used to sleeping together with someone else.
「I have to go to the castle tomorrow in the morning, so let’s sleep soon.」
「Okay.」
Saying that, Mira placed Luna on the cushion, switched the places of the two pillows and lay down on them. Mariana did not think much of that, laying down as well. Seen from above, Mira was on the right side of the bed, and Mariana on the left.
「Ah… Lady Mira…」
「Mm, you know, we didn’t renew it again. So…」
Mira’s cheeks flushed red and her gaze wavered around, though the lights were turned off and the moonlight filtering through the window was not powerful enough to show it. Below the blanket, Mira had stretched her right hand out and held Mariana’s left hand. Mariana’s Divine Protection could only be renewed by Mira holding Mariana’s left hand with her right, so Mira had changed the location of their pillows so they could do it while lying looking up.
「That’s true, let’s do it then.」
It was hard to see from the lack of light, but the warmth of Mira’s hand was all Mariana needed to know what was happening. Mariana was not ignorant to relationships between men and women, she even was aware of certain behaviors Mira showed from time to time. But it was hard to say she fully understood them, but she firmly believed that her body and mind belonged to Mira. And that was a feeling that superseded gender.
She was happy Mira treated her like a lady, but she also wanted to be pursued.
A soft light shone between the blankets. Feeling the warmth of Mira’s hand, Mariana closed her eyes, praying that that warmth would never go far away again.