Chapter 346 - An Indigo Harmony
The Sword Queen, a.k.a. Iris, a.k.a. Alicia White, a.k.a. Ashe, was someone who acted without a moment's hesitation or pause.
After saying what she needed to say, the princess finished her friend registration with Nia with an unstoppable momentum—
"Well then, see you later."
—and with that extremely simple murmur, she used her 'key' and left in a flash.
It was the same kind of ranker-exclusive teleportation key I'd gotten from Goldow. The destination it connected to was likely, no, definitely the 'Southern Throne'.
And so, Nia and I were left behind, either sighing in relief as the storm passed or just staring blankly into space—that was the scene a few minutes ago.
Now that the source of her stiff tension, which had made her act like a timid cat in her own room, was gone...
"I demand an explanation."
"Too close, too close, too close!"
It was only natural that this would happen... I tried to push back Nia as she cornered me on the sofa, but of course, she wasn't about to let me escape, planting herself in front of me like a sentinel.
"Since when?"
"Since when what?—Oof, hey, stop...! C'mon, wait, calm down, stop it...!"
I wasn't feigning ignorance, I was just asking for clarification, but a cushion was slammed into my face, followed by a rain of muffled blows.
"The day after... no, the day after the day after the Four Pillar War. She contacted me, and it's been since then..."
"Was she like that from the start?"
"Yes."
"That's a full-blown crush... she's going straight for it..."
"Ah, um... whoa, careful—!? Hey, c'mon, seriously...!"
And after that exchange, the real heavy ordnance came flying. I instinctively caught the living projectile to protect myself. Of course, I'm not talking about a fist or a punch, but her actual body.
This is a hundred-percent out, on all fronts. I shall now commence the merciless removal operation—
"Just for ten seconds... I'll take one off your date tab..."
"..., ..."
Her voice sounded somewhat lonely, and that alone—was enough to stop me from pushing away the slender body that was leaning its weight on me, not even hugging me.
I was thoroughly disgusted with my own weakness of will.
—Alright, ten seconds.
"Hup!"
"Whaaa—!?"
Grabbing the body that was pressing down on me over the cushion, I sprang up from the sofa, pivoted on my heel, spun around, and released Nia back onto the sofa.
As a finishing touch, I tossed the cushion, which she caught before turning to me with puffed-out cheeks and a look of pure dissatisfaction.
"What the heck! It's okay to just grab me in that situation, you know! Nia-chan has absolutely no problem with that, you know!?"
"Are you an idiot?"
Don't underestimate the reasoning of a healthy young man. It's as thin as ice.
"By the way, what did you mean by 'take one off your date tab'? I kinda just let it slide, but is there some secret stockpile I don't know about?"
"Of course there is. Even after subtracting that one, there's still easily double digits left."
"Oh... wanna go for a stroll in the sky? The stars are beautiful and romantic at night."
"What's the speed?"
"About five hundred kilometers per hour, I'd say."
"Like hell I'd go!!!"
That's a shame—anyway, I'm glad to see you've got your energy back.
"Jeez... what the heck... calling her 'Ashe' and all, like a nickname..."
"That was practically forced on me, so cut me some slack. If you call her by her normal name, she'll just ignore you, you know? She's even more selfish and does whatever she wants than you are."
"Ehh... that's kind of surprising—Who are you calling selfish and willful!"
"You know you are, right?"
"I do, but!!"
It's fine by me, though.
I've already steeled myself to face all of it, head-on.
"...It's not fair, a special way of calling her."
"Even if you say that... If you have something you want me to call you, I will."
"..............................What's a nickname for 'Nia'?"
"Don't ask me???"
Whether I shorten it or add to it, I feel like no matter what I do, I can't avoid it sounding silly... but while I was thinking something slightly rude, Nia ignored me.
Her pouty expression still in place, she mumbled for a moment before muttering quietly.
"...Then, Lilia."
"What?"
Where did that come from—
"My name."
"......................Ah, eh... your real... one...?"
Faced with my stunned reaction to her sudden self-introduction, Nia gave a clumsy nod. Don't just drop personal information on me without any warning...
And what's with that look? Stop it, don't look at me with those eyes...!!
"Hey... take my advice, back down. You're just gonna get yourself flustered if you make me say your name, it's your usual pattern...!"
Besides, you can't just use a real name as a nickname—a perfectly valid argument that she completely ignored. At this point, she just wants me to say her name. I knew it.
"It's fine, you're a boy, what are you getting embarrassed for! C'mon, say it, say it now! Preferably whispered, like you're throwing it away!"
"Are your desires on full display!? Ah, hey... don't come closer, what, you wanna go...? Fine, I'll take you on, bring it on!"
—Five minutes later.
"I told you to stop, Lilia."
"Ugh, gyu..."
"I'm used to it now, how about you, Lilia?"
"Fuguu...!"
"What's wrong, Lilia? Are you okay, Lilia? Your face is red, Lilia?"
"Y... You bully! There's a bully here!"
"In Japan, we call this karma, Miss Liliania Vroubel."
"Stop using my full name...!"
By the way, when I asked if it was a common name in Russia, she told me her mother named her after a princess from a favorite fairy tale.
Liliania, huh... which means 'Nia' was the nickname from the start.
What is this impossibly cute princess trying to accomplish—
...Well, even I'm not so lost in my role-playing as to blurt out such a cliché line.
So, well, for now...
"So... I'm gonna go check in on Kagura-san. You wanna come too, Lilia?"
"Just get going already!"
"Whoa, you really put your back into that shove."
Now that we've had a good time messing around, I guess it's time to hit reset.