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Chapter 130: Warmly, Spring Harvest Festival

Translator: LynneSuzuran

This year, I went outside a bit too late, but it was still within the right timing that I was able to see the parade floats just right before lunch time. It was so hectic last year, so I didn’t get to properly see it. Nah, it was my fault, though.
I firmly grasped Taiga-san, so that I won’t get separated even if I was among a crowd of people. His hand was placed on my shoulder, so there was no way I could just carelessly get separated.

“It seemed to be quite disastrous last year, huh?”

As I clung to Taiga-san tightly, he whispered to me. Ugu, as expected, the story of last year really got conveyed to him, huh? It couldn’t be helped, so I just lightly nodded.

“Yeah, well. However, everyone helped me, so…”
“This year, I’m here, so it’s going to be all right. However, please don’t leave my side.”
“Yes. I don’t want to experience something that scary again, after all.”

Auu, I ended up recalling how I got involved with the delinquents. At that time, I hadn’t completely become a real woman, so I didn’t really understand my own body, too.[1. To make things clear, at that time, Seiren was still in denial, thinking that she was still a man inside, and she ended up forgetting that as a female, she had less physical power to fight against the delinquents.]
Ah really, as expected, after overcoming many dangers… or rather, I understood that I received helps each and every time. I was so powerless, that I couldn’t do anything in that kind of situation without receiving the others’ backing.
Even so, Taiga-san was willing to be by my side.

“We’ve arrived, Seiren.”
“Eh?”

When I was called, I raised my face in a fluster. Eh, since when did we arrive at the very front row-? Taiga-san, you’re amazing.
The parade floats decorated with various flowers proceeded just right in front of us. The ones who pulled them were horses who were usually pulling the wagons, and as expected, they were also decorated with flowers. They were mainly placed on the torso, perhaps it was so that the scent won’t get too close to their noses.
I see, so these were the parade floats, huh?
There were children dressed up in fluffy clothes riding on the vehicles, and they were scattering flowers from the basket hanging down their arms to the spectators. Several flower petals formed something similar to a small flower bouquet. This, would it be good for me to bring them home and make them into dry flowers? I heard that they could be fine for another year that way.

“Ah, waa…”

I reflexively reached out my hand towards the scattered flower petals right next to me. I thought that I could get a bunch of them, but I ended up only catching the edge of it.However, Taiga-san also reached out his hand quickly, and he did a nice catch.

“Here you go, Seiren.”
“Wa, thank you very much.”

In response to him who handed it over to me as if it was obvious, I also expressed my thanks naturally. Ah- yup, I no longer cared about how the others saw us anymore. At any rate, the maids were only making the faces that seemed like to say, “Aaah.”
Look, Saya-san was bitterly smiling with one of her hands touching her cheek under the tree’s shade slightly away from us. Speaking of which, her other hand was clenched in a fist and it sent off a delinquent flying—where did that delinquent appear from? I thought that it would be better to call the guard as soon as possible.

After seeing the parade floats safely, we decided to move in order to eat something.
There was an open cafe at the clock tower’s square, and perhaps due to the fact that a lot of people were out to see the parade floats, they were slightly less crowded at this moment.

“Last year, I had a tea and a cake here, and they were delicious.”
“Hoo. If Seiren liked it, how about eating here this year as well? I don’t know much about cakes, though.”

Well, it seemed to be normal for men to be like that. I was an exception since I had always been a person who was fond of sweet things even from before.
When I took a seat at an empty spot, the waitress quickly appeared. Ah-, thank goodness, it wasn’t a face that I’ve seen somewhere in the residence before. Nah, last year’s impact from how Yuzuruha-san became a waiter nonchalantly was quite strong, you know.

“Ah, Shiiya’s princess and Shikino’s young master, welcome.”
“Good afternoon. Uhm, I’d like to have a banquet flower’s tea, then Viola and Cheria cakes.”
“Understood. What about young master?”
“Aah, I’ll order the same thing. Last year, Seiren ate the food here and said that they were delicious after all.”
“We’re honored to hear that the princess liked our meals. Please wait for a moment-.”

That marked the end of our order. I was honestly saved that the waitress received us normally. Nah, putting aside about myself, if she were to go “Kya-, kya-,” upon seeing Taiga-san… How should I say it? He is my fiance, alright?
Fortunately, it didn’t take so long before the tea and the cakes were brought here quickly. Since Taiga-san quickly settled the bill while saying, “I’ll pay for it,” I obediently received his treat. …I had been treated by him so far, huh?

“It’s fine. I’m bringing quite a lot in my wallet after all.”

It seemed that Taiga-san was happy to spend money on me. …Could it be that this date was his first date? Nn well, it was also my first date, though.
Regardless of the money, the tea and the cakes were delicious, as expected. Ah-, as I thought that I should make some excuses because I wanted to come here again next year, I also slightly pondered about what kind of things would be sold in the territory of Shikino. With the season being spring, I thought that the line-ups would be similar.
Anyway, Taiga-san’s impression as he ate the cake here was…

“Hmm. It is certainly delicious. It’s kind of too sweet for me, but since the tea is refreshing, they make quite a good combination.”
“Ah, I see. I like sweet things from the beginning, so the sweetness is just right for me.”
“I see.”

I see, so this was a little bit too sweet for ordinary men, huh? I understood well why there were mainly females who swarmed in the cake buffet in the other world. Even if there were individual preferences, the sense of taste was quite different, I guess.[2. I think Seiren is referring to the difference between females and males in general in terms of the sense of taste here, even if individual preferences might vary.]
Well then, let’s try telling Taiga-san roughly about why I recommended this cake.

“Minoa-san is really fond of this cake. Look.”
“N, guh!”

Nah, I could tell how she was emitting the bloodlust aura—or rather, the aura that she couldn’t wait any longer to eat it from behind me.
Nonetheless, I thought that it was kind of bad how she looked like to be stuffing it into her throat. Minoa-san who somehow managed to drink the tea to wash down the sponge cake then had a coughing fit as she glared at our direction with teary eyes.

“Oh?”
“I-I, uhm…”

Taiga-san was so surprised. Haha, as expected, he had no clue that Minoa-san was so fond of sweet things.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You were also looking forward to it last year, weren’t you? Eat them slowly.”
“Wa, t-that, thank you very much…”

Even when I tried to calm her down, Minoa-san was still with her teary eyes as she ate the cake again, while bowing her head repeatedly. Aah no, really sorry, that was my bad.[3. So, the reason Seiren recommended this cafe was because she wanted to tease Minoa? Haha, bad Seiren!]

After leaving the clock tower’s square, Taiga-san and I walked briskly through the path leading back to the Shiiya residence. A little far away from us, there were some familiar faces walking. Yup, everyone was here.

“…If we didn’t take this chance to go together like this, I wouldn’t know that there were still things I didn’t know about.”

Taiga-san muttered. Now that he said that, it might be the case.
A trivial thing such as how the cakes I liked were a little too sweet for Taiga-san, I had no knowledge of it up until now.
I wonder if there were more things like this that would appear once we lived together in the same residence, from now on?

“That’s right. Whoa, I’m concerned about the future.”
“What? We were originally different people who were raised in different residences. Things like this were quite natural, don’t you think?”

In response to me who was troubled by it, Taiga-san lightly clapped his big hand that was on my shoulder.
Then, he slowly continued his words.

“Besides, as for Seiren, you were in a different world. When you returned here, you had to memorize this world’s common sense first thing first. It was truly difficult for you, right?”
“At least, it was quite hard memorizing the alphabets and the proper way to walk.”

My answer to his words was more or less, my true opinion. Nah, those two were the things I had troubles to learn the most, after all. Unexpectedly, the mannerism here didn’t differ so much from the other world, so it was quite easy to learn, if I might say so.
Ah, but there were also some differences between the Shiiya and the Shikino. Things like the maids’ rooms and so on.
That was why, I slightly leaned on his chest and whispered.

“Once again, I’ll be in your care.”
“It is I who should say so.”

Just a little while after the Spring Harvest Festival is over…
I will leave the Shiiya residence, and I will become one of the Shikino’s people.