“You’re late. Did you take a nap in there?”
That night, after taking a bath later than usual, I returned to my room only for Hakurei to greet me. She was lying down on the bench, reading an old book and relaxing. She’d let her hair down and was wearing light-pink sleepwear.
I’d long since given up on her actually paying attention to my warnings, but I tried again anyway. “I was just dozing off a little in the bath. That’s not important, though! This is my room! I can’t believe how casual you are about acting like it’s yours. You’re almost seventeen, you know?”
“This is hardly the first time I’ve lounged about in your room, so I don’t see why you have to make a fuss about it. And besides...”
“What?” I sat down in a nearby chair and crossed my legs.
Hakurei sat up. “I believe you’d be the one feeling down if I started to put too much distance between us.” Despite her calm tone, there was a delighted sparkle in her eyes.
“That’s not...” I poured some tea from the pot decorated with flowers and birds, then took a sip to calm myself. It’d been ten years since we’d started chatting at night like this and I couldn’t disagree with her. The thought of times like these suddenly being taken away from me was... As soon as I imagined it I was running a hand through my hair, messing it up, and I glared at Hakurei. It was the least I could do to express my displeasure. “You’re really not as cute as you think you are, princess!”
“That’s strange. I could have sworn that earlier in the day, a certain freeloader said I had ‘natural good looks.’”
I growled. I can’t win. No matter what I do, I simply can’t win. Why must humans suffer through such adversities? And this isn’t even the first time I’m going through life.
I walked, meandering this way and that, towards a nearby shelf and took out an angular glass bottle and cup. They were overseas imports that I’d purchased in Rinkei. I liked their dark blue hue.
“What are those?” Hakurei asked, keen interest clear in her voice.
“It’s bayberry wine. There’s a winemaker near Keiyou who came up with this last year. He sent a few samples of his product to the capital and I had him give me some as well.”
“Huh? Oh, you mean for father.” Hakurei nodded.
Military affairs weren’t father’s only passion. He was also interested in promoting the various industries of Keiyou. The winemaker in question was a retired military officer and he was determined to sell his products in the capital. According to Meirin’s letter, reception to the samples had been quite positive.
I held the bottle up to the light. “Indulging in liquor once in a while won’t hurt anyone. Want some?”
Hakurei had shifted in clear anticipation and nodded with a “Yes.” I sat down next to her on the bench by the window. Removing the lid from the bottle, I handed her the intricately designed glass.
“What a beautiful cup,” she said.
“Meirin sent this to me a while back. Apparently, it’s from a country to the west—one farther than Seitou and across the desert. She’s got a pretty keen eye, even though she acts the way she usually does.”
“I see.” Hakurei’s tone was cold again. She couldn’t conceal her emotions at all.
I poured some bayberry wine into the glass and said in a soothing tone, “C’mon, don’t take it out on the wine. It didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know. I’m not a child.” Despite saying that, Hakurei’s lips jutted out in a pout as she picked up the glass. It was probably best not to point out the irony in her claim.
“To father, doing his best in the capital,” I said as I picked up my own glass.
“To the generals carrying out their duties on the front lines.”
“Cheers!” we said in unison as we clinked our glasses together. Then, we drank. A mouthful of the wine carried the sweetness of a year’s worth of fermentation and it had a sharp yet unique fragrance. Hakurei, holding the cup in both hands, widened her eyes but didn’t say anything.
“How is it?” I asked. That reminds me... Has Hakurei even had alcohol before? Don’t tell me she got drunk from a single mouthful...
Before I could really start to worry, Hakurei gave me a wide smile. “It’s a lot sweeter than I thought. It goes down very easily.”
There wasn’t any change to the color of her cheeks. Considering father also had a high tolerance for alcohol, she might be all right thanks to her genetics. What a relief. The moon was reflected in my cup, but I swallowed the rest of the alcohol without taking time to admire it.
“That’s good. I’m sure the winemaker would be glad to hear you say that. Oh—make sure you don’t drink too much, though. It’s apparently quite strong, so drink a glass of water for every glass of wine!”
“I know,” Hakurei said, extending the vowel with a childish inflection. “Please stop treating me like a kid.” Still, with an unhappy pout playing on her lips, she drank the entire glass in one go.
This could be a trick of my mind, but it looks like she’s having a hard time focusing her eyes. Not to mention last time I’ve heard her talk like this was back when we actually were kids too. Realizing the state she was in, I slowly stood up. Hakurei looked up at me with a curious expression.
“Where are you goin’?”
“I’m gonna go get some water and snacks from the kitchen. I’ll be back soon, so don’t move, all right? And don’t drink any more wine until I get back.”
“Okaaay.” Hakurei gave a happy nod as she raised her left hand in the air. “Come back soon, please!” With that she stood up, made her way to my bed, and grabbed my pillow. Hugging it to her chest, she buried her face in it.
Yup, already too late. I better go get her some water.
The attendants I ran into in the kitchen teased me but prepared some cold water and snacks regardless. I hurried back.
“Hey, I’m ba— Oh...” I realized how wrong my judgment call had been as soon as I saw what awaited me in my room.
Only half the bottle of wine remained. Hakurei was sitting on the bench with her feet up, the glass in both hands. Her cheeks were puffed out in dissatisfaction and as soon as she saw me, she slammed a palm down on the bench next to her and said in a sulky tone, “You sure took your sweet time. Hurry up and sit down over here.”
“S-Sure.” I placed the tray laden with plates of fried beans and a porcelain bottle of water down onto the table, then awkwardly sat down on the bench next to Hakurei. As soon as I settled, she leaned against me—just like she used to do when we were kids. She smells so sweet...
“This wine is delicious. I would like to drink it again in the future.”
It took me a moment to get the thunderous beating of my heart under control enough to say, “The winemaker said he’s going to gradually start increasing production. Do you want to go with me when I buy some more? I sent some to Meirin and Miss Shizuka, and they enjoyed it too. Same with Asaka.”
I did my best to find a topic we could talk about. Books never taught me how to handle myself in these kinds of situations, and my foggy memories from my past life were of no use. I was able to sort of deal with Meirin, but... I noticed Hakurei glaring at me.
“It’s one thing to bring up Miss Shizuka and Asaka...but you’re talking about the Ou daughter again?”
Is it just me or do her eyes seem a lot darker than usual? I’m scared. I removed the lid from the porcelain bottle and poured water into a cup as I worked up my nerve to ask, “Miss Hakurei, pardon me if I’m wrong, but are you dr—”
“I am not drunk. I am acting the same as I usually do.” After a beat, Hakurei said, “Sekiei.”
“Y-Yes?” To my dismay, my voice cracked. Why do I feel more pressured in her presence than I do on a battlefield?
Hakurei ran her fingers through my black hair and looked up at me with her beautiful jewellike eyes. “What am I to you?”
“Huh?” I blinked. What is she? The answer caught in my throat. Was she my childhood friend? My little sister? My savior? To me, she was all of them.
Hakurei buried her face into my chest. “You went to Rinkei for half a year without even telling or asking me about it, and then you almost never replied to my letters. I was all alone without you... Well, I admit I did enjoy the souvenirs you sent me...”
“I’m sorry.”
I remembered how Hakurei used to do this a lot in our childhood. When she wasn’t able to suppress her feelings anymore, she’d lose control and come to me to vent. She looked up at me, cheeks puffed out to convey her displeasure.
“I don’t believe you are. You won’t stop complimenting the Ou daughter; you only have nice things to say about her, but you’ve never said anything like that about me. This is a most serious felony indeed. I object to this unfair treatment and demand that you praise me more. That’s right. You should say nicer things about me.”
I scratched at my cheek and looked away. She was normally such a cold and unapproachable beauty, but when she acted like this she looked every inch her actual age. It was unfair how cute she was when she let her true self through.
“Do I really not give you compliments?”
“You don’t. You didn’t say anything nice about the snacks I prepared for you earlier in the day either.”
I seriously didn’t know what she was talking about. “The snacks?”
Still with her face against my chest, Hakurei shook her head. “You’re so dense. Dummy. I’m glad that you enjoyed the dumplings. I was really, really happy to see it. But I want to hear you say it too.”
Apparently, Hakurei had been the one who made the sesame dumplings. That was a shock. Chou Hakurei was capable of anything—anything except cooking! So while I was shocked, I had to admit that I really appreciated the effort she put in.
“Yukihime,” I said, giving her a pat on her back. It seemed appropriate right now to call her by her childhood name. “You sure ask for a lot.”
“Only from you. If it bothers you, then I won’t ask you to praise me again. I’ll just pout.”
“So you’ll still pout?!” I joked, but smiled and ran my fingers through her long silver hair.