Lily held up the fiddle. The beautiful curve drawn by her straightened spine caught my eye.
I’ve seen people play the fiddle countless times in bars before, but the difference between them and her is obvious.
Upbringing, dignity, confidence, and ability. I’m hit by the way she just oozes out every single one of these things. You can just see that she is beyond anyone I’ve worked with before in every single way.
“Liffy, will we start?”
“Ah….yes. Let’s begin!”
It’s my first time taking the lead, and I was already forgetting that I was the one who had to signal our start. I shook off the image of Lily that had formed inside my mind to focus solely on my dancing.
We didn’t shout or anything, but when someone starts playing the fiddle and it is a song you recognize, most people will respond.
After a few repetitions of the short tune, the crowd became excited, and any need for percussion was made up by their clapping hands and slapping tables.
It’s an amateurish tempo, but while the beat is all over the place, it is more than enough for Lily and me to play along with.
Lily’s hair fluttered in the air each time her body shook alongside the jumbled rhythm. I’m smiling because I enjoy the dance, but I would love to be watching Lily play right now. I wondered if someone in the crowd would be willing to swap with me.
It was a small moment of madness, and from that point on, I was wholly focused with entertaining our guests. I moved around the audience, getting everyone there to stand up. Even the other hero candidates looked like they were having fun dancing along. Olive wasn’t sure what all the moves were, but Peony and Melia were helping her along with it.
This is my first time seeing something like this since coming to the capital. My days here have been so chaotic I forgot what it felt like, and even though it honestly hasn’t been that long, I’m feeling a little homesick for the bars back home.
Even if I fail the audition, there will be other jobs out there for me. After tasting this kind of pleasure, there is no way I could ever be satisfied with becoming a farmer or selling stew in the markets.
Remembering my roots makes me feel even more passionate about my dance. The crowd’s loud voices have already replaced the fiddle, so I grabbed Lily’s hand so we could dance together.
It’s a quick and rough step that nobles are apparently not used to doing, but Lily used her natural ability to follow me. It irked me to see her relaxed smile. I was hoping to cause some frustration for her at least.
Our dance came to an abrupt end. We’d drank too much before starting, and our legs eventually got tangled up together. After my butt flashily collided with the floor, the audience slipped back down into their own seats.
“Are you all right Liffy?”
Lily reached out her hand to pull me up, so I thanked her while standing to my feet.
“I’m okay. It was a lot of fun! We should do it again some time!”
“Yes, it was fun. Everyone is waiting for us though, so let’s hurry back.”
When we got back to the table, everyone greeted us with a smile.
Seeing them all together, it reminded me of the group Lily talked about on the first day. Commoner or noble, mage or not, it doesn’t matter.
Right now, both Dahlia, who had teased me for being a dancer, and Olive, who tripped me while dancing with me, were now greeting me with a smile.
I can’t say if this relationship will continue after the audition is over, but I don’t think we’ll go back to being strangers at the end either. It’s like, the number of people I feel like I can trust has gone up.
♠
A couple hours after Rose’s bar was about to explode with excitement, we were the only customers left.
Now that we have more room to ourselves, I’ve been leisurely chatting with random people including Rose, and it’s at the point where I’m not sure when to return home.
My head is feeling really out of it after how much I drank, so I took a step outside to clear my head a bit. The late night air is cold enough to make me feel chilly if I had dressed any lighter.
“Welcome Liffy”
The sudden voice made me jump, and when I looked, I found Lily sitting alone on an outside bench.
“Ah…. thanks. Are you by yourself?”
“Taking a break. It’s hard to see Olive this drunk.”
“Yes…. I’m sure a lot has been piling up for her….”
Apparently Olive is the kind of drunk who gets very kissy kissy after having a few. Ran has been desperately trying to stop her from going out of control, but it is a hard fought battle.
Lily stared up at the sky the whole time she was talking.
“You can’t see many stars here in the capital. My hometown is pitch black at night since it’s in the countryside, but that means you can see the stars really well.”
“I would like to go there someday. It sounds beautiful.”
“There’s not much in the countryside….”
“It’s here in the capital that has nothing.”
Lily’s biting response left me dumbfounded, unsure of what she really meant, but she just smiled and patted my head.
“Something’s worth always changes depending on the person. Also, there is a place here where you can see the stars as well. It is necessary to do astrology.”
“Really?”
“Would you like to go with me sometime?”
“Is that okay!?”
“You jumped on that quickly….”
Lily was taken aback. Honestly even I was surprised by just how excited my voice had come out there. But I understand why. Lily just asked me to go out with her.
“But…. would it be just the two of us?”
“That was my intent. Although if you would like to invite your friends, we could talk to….”
“No no no! I don’t have any friends!”
“I can hear everyone’s cries echoing off the walls right now. Including mine.”
Lily chuckled while needling me in the side with her elbow. Maybe she’s drunk because she is being kinder than usual.
I know she said it before, but I guess this means Lily really does see me as a friend.
It makes me happy, but it has its downsides too. For one thing, the line between what is okay and what isn’t has become clearer now. It was a lot easier when I was a pet and could just follow my instincts.
There is a certain level of shame that is required when being someone’s friend, and it makes me feel a little bitter.
It’s suffering is what it is, and as a small act of rebellion against that suffering, I rested my head on Lily’s shoulder. Things continue like this, and I am going to have a weird idea of what a friend is.
“It’s light, isn’t it?”
“Because it’s all empty up there….”
Lily’s whole body shook underneath me from laughter. This might be the first time I’ve seen her laugh like that.
When I glanced up at Lily’s face, she was still staring at the night sky. Her nose, lips, and chin were well-defined, creating a beautiful portrait. We aren’t at a place where I can just say that to her though. For some reason, even though we’ve only been getting closer, I can only worry about how far we still are.
I won’t say I’d like us to stay like this forever, so can we at least be here, together, until I’m satisfied? Unfortunately even that fragile wish soon crumbled.
“Aha! I found someone flirting! Nerine-chan! Arrest them!”
“Roger! Lily-san! Prepare yourself!”
Someone had their arms around my stomach just as I recognized the voices as Melia and Nerine. I was caught by surprise and tried moving away, but my back ran into Lily’s who was also locked in place, unable to move forward or back.
“Fufufu…. hold on Lily-chan….”
Melia rubbed her face against my sides. I could tell just from smelling her that she had drunk a ton. Slowly, the face buried into me rose up. Moving past my breasts, she climbed higher and higher until Melia’s face appeared right in front of my eyes.
“Lily-chan, you look beautiful today~”
“Lily-san, you look beautiful tonight too!”
With my back against hers, I assumed Lily was put in the same situation I was. She tried backing up some like I did before, but all she got from her effort was a small groan when her head hit the back of mine.
“Nerine, are you old enough to be drinking?”
“That doesn’t matter right now! Kiss me!”
“Me too Lily-chan!”
Maybe they were influenced by Olive, but the two kissers gradually strengthened their efforts. I started to feel a sense of danger.
“Liffy, when I give the signal, relax your muscles and dodge to the right.”
“Huh? My right or yours?”
“Your right is right! Now three…. two…. one…. now!”
I relaxed the arms Melia was pushing against and dodged to the right. Melia’s momentum carried her past me, and she rushed towards Lily.
Immediately afterwards, I heard a dull thud like someone just slammed their head into something.
“Uuu….ouchie”
“Nerine-chan, your head is hard….”
Timidly turning around, I found Nerine and Melia crouched down on the ground and holding their heads. Lily must have dodged the same way I did, and after a second of watching the two drunkards, we shared an amazed look with each other.
“So…. I will go grab some water. Liffy, please take care of these two in the meantime.”
Not wanting to get involved with the drunks anymore than this, Lily dropped the whole affair on me without giving me any time to object and ran back into the bar.
“I feel sick….”
Before I could even try to take care of her, Melia fell to her hands and started puking on the street. Melia going down must have pushed Nerine over the edge too because a second later the two girls were puking right next to each other.
I really don’t want to watch someone vomit, so I looked up at the sky. The two people’s groans coming from right behind me didn’t make it look any better.
Lily did eventually come back with the water, so we ended our wonderful night out together taking care of Melia and Nerine.
Lily held up the fiddle. The beautiful curve drawn by her straightened spine caught my eye.
I’ve seen people play the fiddle countless times in bars before, but the difference between them and her is obvious.
Upbringing, dignity, confidence, and ability. I’m hit by the way she just oozes out every single one of these things. You can just see that she is beyond anyone I’ve worked with before in every single way.
“Liffy, will we start?”
“Ah….yes. Let’s begin!”
It’s my first time taking the lead, and I was already forgetting that I was the one who had to signal our start. I shook off the image of Lily that had formed inside my mind to focus solely on my dancing.
We didn’t shout or anything, but when someone starts playing the fiddle and it is a song you recognize, most people will respond.
After a few repetitions of the short tune, the crowd became excited, and any need for percussion was made up by their clapping hands and slapping tables.
It’s an amateurish tempo, but while the beat is all over the place, it is more than enough for Lily and me to play along with.
Lily’s hair fluttered in the air each time her body shook alongside the jumbled rhythm. I’m smiling because I enjoy the dance, but I would love to be watching Lily play right now. I wondered if someone in the crowd would be willing to swap with me.
It was a small moment of madness, and from that point on, I was wholly focused with entertaining our guests. I moved around the audience, getting everyone there to stand up. Even the other hero candidates looked like they were having fun dancing along. Olive wasn’t sure what all the moves were, but Peony and Melia were helping her along with it.
This is my first time seeing something like this since coming to the capital. My days here have been so chaotic I forgot what it felt like, and even though it honestly hasn’t been that long, I’m feeling a little homesick for the bars back home.
Even if I fail the audition, there will be other jobs out there for me. After tasting this kind of pleasure, there is no way I could ever be satisfied with becoming a farmer or selling stew in the markets.
Remembering my roots makes me feel even more passionate about my dance. The crowd’s loud voices have already replaced the fiddle, so I grabbed Lily’s hand so we could dance together.
It’s a quick and rough step that nobles are apparently not used to doing, but Lily used her natural ability to follow me. It irked me to see her relaxed smile. I was hoping to cause some frustration for her at least.
Our dance came to an abrupt end. We’d drank too much before starting, and our legs eventually got tangled up together. After my butt flashily collided with the floor, the audience slipped back down into their own seats.
“Are you all right Liffy?”
Lily reached out her hand to pull me up, so I thanked her while standing to my feet.
“I’m okay. It was a lot of fun! We should do it again some time!”
“Yes, it was fun. Everyone is waiting for us though, so let’s hurry back.”
When we got back to the table, everyone greeted us with a smile.
Seeing them all together, it reminded me of the group Lily talked about on the first day. Commoner or noble, mage or not, it doesn’t matter.
Right now, both Dahlia, who had teased me for being a dancer, and Olive, who tripped me while dancing with me, were now greeting me with a smile.
I can’t say if this relationship will continue after the audition is over, but I don’t think we’ll go back to being strangers at the end either. It’s like, the number of people I feel like I can trust has gone up.
♠
A couple hours after Rose’s bar was about to explode with excitement, we were the only customers left.
Now that we have more room to ourselves, I’ve been leisurely chatting with random people including Rose, and it’s at the point where I’m not sure when to return home.
My head is feeling really out of it after how much I drank, so I took a step outside to clear my head a bit. The late night air is cold enough to make me feel chilly if I had dressed any lighter.
“Welcome Liffy”
The sudden voice made me jump, and when I looked, I found Lily sitting alone on an outside bench.
“Ah…. thanks. Are you by yourself?”
“Taking a break. It’s hard to see Olive this drunk.”
“Yes…. I’m sure a lot has been piling up for her….”
Apparently Olive is the kind of drunk who gets very kissy kissy after having a few. Ran has been desperately trying to stop her from going out of control, but it is a hard fought battle.
Lily stared up at the sky the whole time she was talking.
“You can’t see many stars here in the capital. My hometown is pitch black at night since it’s in the countryside, but that means you can see the stars really well.”
“I would like to go there someday. It sounds beautiful.”
“There’s not much in the countryside….”
“It’s here in the capital that has nothing.”
Lily’s biting response left me dumbfounded, unsure of what she really meant, but she just smiled and patted my head.
“Something’s worth always changes depending on the person. Also, there is a place here where you can see the stars as well. It is necessary to do astrology.”
“Really?”
“Would you like to go with me sometime?”
“Is that okay!?”
“You jumped on that quickly….”
Lily was taken aback. Honestly even I was surprised by just how excited my voice had come out there. But I understand why. Lily just asked me to go out with her.
“But…. would it be just the two of us?”
“That was my intent. Although if you would like to invite your friends, we could talk to….”
“No no no! I don’t have any friends!”
“I can hear everyone’s cries echoing off the walls right now. Including mine.”
Lily chuckled while needling me in the side with her elbow. Maybe she’s drunk because she is being kinder than usual.
I know she said it before, but I guess this means Lily really does see me as a friend.
It makes me happy, but it has its downsides too. For one thing, the line between what is okay and what isn’t has become clearer now. It was a lot easier when I was a pet and could just follow my instincts.
There is a certain level of shame that is required when being someone’s friend, and it makes me feel a little bitter.
It’s suffering is what it is, and as a small act of rebellion against that suffering, I rested my head on Lily’s shoulder. Things continue like this, and I am going to have a weird idea of what a friend is.
“It’s light, isn’t it?”
“Because it’s all empty up there….”
Lily’s whole body shook underneath me from laughter. This might be the first time I’ve seen her laugh like that.
When I glanced up at Lily’s face, she was still staring at the night sky. Her nose, lips, and chin were well-defined, creating a beautiful portrait. We aren’t at a place where I can just say that to her though. For some reason, even though we’ve only been getting closer, I can only worry about how far we still are.
I won’t say I’d like us to stay like this forever, so can we at least be here, together, until I’m satisfied? Unfortunately even that fragile wish soon crumbled.
“Aha! I found someone flirting! Nerine-chan! Arrest them!”
“Roger! Lily-san! Prepare yourself!”
Someone had their arms around my stomach just as I recognized the voices as Melia and Nerine. I was caught by surprise and tried moving away, but my back ran into Lily’s who was also locked in place, unable to move forward or back.
“Fufufu…. hold on Lily-chan….”
Melia rubbed her face against my sides. I could tell just from smelling her that she had drunk a ton. Slowly, the face buried into me rose up. Moving past my breasts, she climbed higher and higher until Melia’s face appeared right in front of my eyes.
“Lily-chan, you look beautiful today~”
“Lily-san, you look beautiful tonight too!”
With my back against hers, I assumed Lily was put in the same situation I was. She tried backing up some like I did before, but all she got from her effort was a small groan when her head hit the back of mine.
“Nerine, are you old enough to be drinking?”
“That doesn’t matter right now! Kiss me!”
“Me too Lily-chan!”
Maybe they were influenced by Olive, but the two kissers gradually strengthened their efforts. I started to feel a sense of danger.
“Liffy, when I give the signal, relax your muscles and dodge to the right.”
“Huh? My right or yours?”
“Your right is right! Now three…. two…. one…. now!”
I relaxed the arms Melia was pushing against and dodged to the right. Melia’s momentum carried her past me, and she rushed towards Lily.
Immediately afterwards, I heard a dull thud like someone just slammed their head into something.
“Uuu….ouchie”
“Nerine-chan, your head is hard….”
Timidly turning around, I found Nerine and Melia crouched down on the ground and holding their heads. Lily must have dodged the same way I did, and after a second of watching the two drunkards, we shared an amazed look with each other.
“So…. I will go grab some water. Liffy, please take care of these two in the meantime.”
Not wanting to get involved with the drunks anymore than this, Lily dropped the whole affair on me without giving me any time to object and ran back into the bar.
“I feel sick….”
Before I could even try to take care of her, Melia fell to her hands and started puking on the street. Melia going down must have pushed Nerine over the edge too because a second later the two girls were puking right next to each other.
I really don’t want to watch someone vomit, so I looked up at the sky. The two people’s groans coming from right behind me didn’t make it look any better.
Lily did eventually come back with the water, so we ended our wonderful night out together taking care of Melia and Nerine.
