A sudden wave of drowsiness hit Noel, and a yawn slipped out before she could stop it. She turned her gaze toward the window, squinting against the sunlight streaming in.
I’m so tired...
She had gone through the entire night without sleeping, and now it was nearly noon. Of course she was exhausted. But even knowing that, she didn’t feel like sleeping. It wasn’t that she couldn’t; she just didn’t feel the urge. And there wasn’t any clear reason for it. It was just...one of those things.
Well...I guess it’s more that there’s something I want to do before sleeping.
Strictly speaking, that wasn’t quite right either, but it wasn’t far off. Perhaps it was because her mind was still lingering on where she had been just moments ago. When she opened the door in front of her, she blinked several times at the scene in front of her.
“Hm? Noel? What’re you doing, just standing there?” Anriette asked.
“Good morning...” said Mylène.
“It’s a bit late to be saying ‘good morning,’ don’t you think? Feels more like ‘welcome back,’ really.”
“Maybe?”
As Anriette and Mylène exchanged words, Noel blinked a few more times, then let out a steadying breath.
“This is an unusual sight,” she commented.
“Huh? Do you think so? Well, maybe. But we live in the same house, don’t we? Nothing strange about it,” said Anriette offhandedly.
“Yeah,” Mylène added.
“I suppose...” said Noel. Even so, something about it didn’t sit right with her.
Sure, they lived under the same roof, but she hadn’t spent that much time with Anriette. In fact, the whole arrangement had been more than half happenstance. And Mylène...well, despite how she looked, she had a shy streak and wasn’t the type to go out of her way to engage with others. So to see her relaxing on the sofa with Anriette in the living room felt...odd.
“You’re one to talk about being weird, though,” said Anriette.
“Me? What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Noel. She tilted her head in genuine puzzlement.
Surprisingly, Mylène nodded in agreement. “True,” she said.
“You think so too, Mylène?” Noel asked.
“Ah, you’re serious. Well, guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” said Anriette.
“What are you even talking about?” said Noel, getting progressively more frustrated.
“We’re talking about where you’ve been ’til this hour,” said Anriette.
“Ah. That,” said Noel.
When they put it that way, she couldn’t exactly deny it. But to not even realize it until someone pointed it out clearly...maybe the sleepiness was getting to her more than she thought.
“It’s fine. I got permission from the current owner,” said Noel.
“Never said it wasn’t. Just that maybe you should take a look at yourself before you go judging others,” Anriette shot back.
“Fair point,” muttered Mylène.
“I mean, it’s not like I was doing anything that weird in the first place,” said Noel.
In truth, she hadn’t done anything at all. She had simply gone to Vanessa’s old forge, stood there without doing a thing, and stared into space. Before she knew it, time had slipped away. There was no meaning to it; she had just felt like being there.
“You’ve no room to talk here, though,” said Noel.
“Huh? Me? I haven’t done anything odd,” said Anriette.
That much was true. She hadn’t done anything odd, but... “Your whole vibe is weird,” said Noel.
“Are you trying to insult me?” asked Anriette, shocked.
“Nope. Ask Mylène, she’ll say the same.”
“True. Can’t deny it,” Mylène agreed.
“You two are cruel, you know that? Look at me! I’m the picture of a normal, beautiful girl,” Anriette whined.
“Oh, please,” Noel scoffed. She shrugged flippantly, but the thought remained. Anriette was acting strange. More precisely, she had been acting strange the past few days, ever since the day they had gone to see the so-called Hierophant.
Nothing particular had happened that day—or so Noel thought—but from then on Anriette’s attitude had changed. Not in a bad way, exactly. Just...enough to be noticeable.
“They exchanged a word or two at most, but there’s no way she was actually moved by that, right?” Noel muttered to herself.
“Did you say something?” asked Anriette.
“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
If she had to say exactly what had changed, it was her attitude and the atmosphere she gave off toward them.
Not that it was a bad thing. But the change had been so sudden, the only way to describe it was “strange.” Still, as far as their own group was concerned, it was the lesser issue. Her change toward Allen was on another level altogether, so much so that it bordered on incomprehensible.
On the surface, there wasn’t much difference. But living together made it obvious. It was easy enough to see that something had shifted. If something really had happened, they could have understood it. But there hadn’t been any sign of that either. Allen and Anriette had talked about something that day, but that alone wouldn’t explain the extent of the change.
“Actually...when I think about it, we could just ask directly,” Noel pondered aloud.
“Huh? Ask what?” asked Anriette.
“Whether something happened between you and Allen.”
“Now that you mention it, I’d like to know too,” said Mylène, nodding in agreement.
They both stared at Anriette, who eventually gave a wry smile, as though resigning herself.
“Ah... I wasn’t trying to hide it, but is it really that obvious?” she grinned.
“Wait...so something did happen?” asked Noel.
“Did it?” added Mylène.
“Well, I can’t say nothing happened. But don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough,” said Anriette mischievously.
At that, several thoughts flashed through Noel’s mind. Surely not? But Anriette didn’t look like she was lying.
“Seriously?” said Noel.
“‘We’ll ‘find out soon enough’? Are you pregnant?” asked Mylène.
The idea was absurd, but it had crossed Noel’s mind. Anriette didn’t deny it—at least, not immediately. But then her shoulders started to shake before she burst out laughing.
“Excuse me?” said Noel.
“Were you lying just now?” asked Mylène.
“Hey now, that’s unfair. I never lied. You two just jumped to conclusions.”
That might be true, but she had said it in a way that begged for misinterpretation. They glared, but Anriette only shrugged it off.
“Even if it were true, it wouldn’t concern you,” she said dismissively.
“It would,” said Mylène.
“Of course it would. We live in the same house,” said Noel.
If Allen and Anriette really were in that kind of relationship, of course it was relevant.
“Fine, fine. Think whatever you want,” said Anriette.
Noel realized she wasn’t getting anywhere and sighed. Still...whatever it was, Anriette had changed. That much was undeniable. And then, the door opened, and a familiar face appeared.
“Oh? The gang’s all here. What’s going on?”
It was Allen. He tilted his head in mild confusion, completely unchanged. Noel couldn’t help letting out another sigh. It suddenly all felt silly.
“Nothing. I just happened to come here and found these two already around. Whatever they were doing, I don’t know,” Noel said.
“Same for me. I was relaxing, and Anriette showed up,” said Mylène.
“Yeah, same here. Walked in, found Mylène, stuck around. That’s all,” said Anriette.
“Huh...” Allen looked curious, but Noel said nothing.
When she thought about it, it was true. Having the three of them together like this was rare. And yet, the fact that they could talk so normally now... Noel had the vague feeling it might be because Anriette had changed. If it had been the Anriette of before, such a conversation never would have happened. She wouldn’t go so far as to call it a wall, but they certainly hadn’t trusted one another enough to open up.
Even though they’d shared intense experiences together in a short time, no one expected things to change overnight. The same was true for Noel’s comfort with Anriette. But even if it was natural, that didn’t mean it was something she liked. And thinking about it that way...perhaps this really was a good thing.
“Anyway, that’s life when you live together,” said Anriette.
“True. By the way, what were you three talking about?” Allen asked.
He had probably only asked out of idle curiosity. Judging by his expression, he hadn’t been listening to their earlier conversation. But Noel faltered. It wasn’t anything serious; Anriette had just teased them and led them on. Still, she hesitated to tell Allen.
Before she could decide, Anriette spoke up. “Nothing important. But I’m not telling!” she teased.
“Nothing important, but you won’t tell me?”
“Exactly. Girl talk. Not for your ears. If you wanna know, go turn yourself into a girl,” she retorted.
“I think Allen could pull off being a girl,” murmured Mylène.
“No. Definitely not, okay? And Mylène, what exactly am I in your mind?”
“You’re Allen. That’s why.”
“Yeah, you can pull off being a girl simply because you’re Allen. I get what she means,” Anriette chimed in.
“Anriette, you too?!” Allen turned to her, shocked. He made a face that was hard to describe, and Anriette and Mylène smiled.
Noel watched the three of them, narrowing her eyes slightly. It was nothing. Just a trivial exchange. The kind of silly moment that could easily be forgotten by tomorrow. Something that wasn’t important at all. And yet, in the middle of all that, Anriette suddenly turned her gaze on her, as if to say that what had just happened was their little secret. Not that it was something that needed to be hidden. Truly, it was nothing. And Anriette surely knew that too. She knew, but she gave Noel a look anyway.
It was another moment that could just as easily be forgotten tomorrow. But something being trivial didn’t mean it was meaningless. At the very least, Noel didn’t dislike their new dynamic. No, if she was being honest, she actually enjoyed it a little. She liked their exchange just now—and the fact that it had become a fun little secret. It was something that never would have happened back when it was just her and Mylène living together.
Their life as a group of four had started in a haphazard way, and she still wondered why Anriette had changed. But even so, if moments like this, meaningless but a little fun, could become part of their daily lives, then Noel thought that her choice hadn’t been wrong after all. And with that thought, her lips softened into a faint smile.