Chapter 503 - Thoughts on the Road
—Her eyes opened.
Resting against the comfortable seat, her body felt only a slight, minute vibration, likely due to the consideration of the excellent driver. It wasn't that faint sensation that had stirred her from her slumber; she had simply completed the amount of sleep she had set for herself.
Two hours had passed since their departure. If her trusted internal clock was not mistaken, it should be just about that time. She glanced to her side and saw Nia breathing softly, just as she herself had been a moment ago.
She had been so obviously nervous before getting into the car… Had she fallen asleep from the exhaustion of her nerves, or had she pretended to be asleep and then simply drifted off? Who could say.
To think that the heiress of Russia's Vrubel family, a name that would be more unusual not to know for anyone with a deep appreciation for the art world, would be in this state.
When they had greeted each other in the real world, Iris had maintained a composed expression, but in truth, she had been thoroughly surprised. The impression she had in her mind of the entity known as 'Lilianier Vrubel' had been flipped on its head in a way that was almost comical.
From the perspective of someone who knew of her as an artist through her 'works'—though whether 'fan' was the right word was debatable—it was only natural to be taken aback.
However, seeing her as an acquaintance, and hopefully, a future friend, Iris felt a pure sense of fondness for Nia.
She was bright, intelligent, honest, and courageous. Above all, despite holding a special position in both the real and virtual worlds, there was nothing pretentious about her demeanor.
To be special, yet to remain ordinary, is a surprisingly difficult thing. At least, it was something she herself could not do—which is why the specialness of being ordinary shone so brightly in Iris's eyes.
And that, strangely enough… or perhaps, it wasn't strange at all.
It was a quality that the person they both shared feelings for also possessed. As someone who, no matter her age, wanted to believe in 'fairy tales,' she couldn't help but think, setting aside her feelings as a romantic rival…
That two people so alike had been drawn to each other.
It was a beautiful, faint, and sweet story, just the way she liked it. But her most important feelings, kept separate, were now, with a childlike expression she had never shown anyone—
It's unfair.
I'm jealous.
I don't want to lose, they screamed.
For a long, long time, they had been shouting at the top of their lungs.
"—…………"
She turned her gaze to the other side. As for the heiress of the famed Yotsuya Development, she would reserve her thoughts for now, as their acquaintance was still new in both the real and virtual worlds. Thus, she looked diagonally ahead, to the passenger seat.
Her eyes fell upon the object of her affection, who seemed to have grown even more charming since that day. As she watched, he, who had been vaguely gazing out the window, twitched and turned to look back.
His sharp intuition was unchanged in the real world. After effortlessly accomplishing the difficult feat of sensing her gaze, his chestnut-colored eyes met hers.
No words were exchanged.
For two, three seconds, they simply stared at each other—until finally, as if embarrassed… no, defeated by embarrassment itself, Haru gave a vague smile and turned his face back toward the window.
…She wasn't sure if it was an appropriate word to use for a boy, so she wouldn't say it out loud. But she knew that the whispers of her heart would not be heard, and so…
"…………—"
Letting the single word, adorable, melt into her chest, Alicia White closed her eyes once more, a small smile escaping unnoticed by anyone.
◇◆◇◆◇
—Suddenly, she awoke.
How much time had passed since she started feigning sleep out of unbearable nervousness, only to actually fall asleep? Frantically gathering her senses, she checked her appearance after dozing off, while also paying attention to the presences on either side of her, sneaking a glance sideways.
The princess on her right—still sleeping, as before.
Her breathtaking beauty, which seemed more like a work of art than anything human, was so perfect that the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed felt almost unnaturally human-like.
Up close, every single feature was beyond perfect, achieving an ultimate quality that was almost frightening. You could point to her and say, 'That's a painting,' and people would probably believe it.
Really, she couldn't find a single thing about herself that was superior, and it made her want to cry every time they met. The innocence and playfulness that had become apparent since they'd gotten to know each other had only launched her already sky-high charm into the stratosphere.
She was in danger of carelessly falling in love with her every move, even though they were both girls—well, that was an exaggeration, of course, but in terms of combat power as a romantic rival, it was no laughing matter at all.
She had no idea how it was possible, but even her black-haired appearance was so beautiful it defied all logic.
Letting out a sigh in her heart, a mixture of countless emotions starting with admiration and sorrow, she turned her head to look in the opposite direction.
The young lady on her left—sleeping peacefully.
From what she remembered just before she started feigning sleep, she had been gazing out the window with an excited, cheerful face… Had she fallen asleep from the excitement, or had she wisely decided to pace herself and conserve her energy by closing her eyes?
In any case, this one was also something else. What was with this fictional-level beauty, a girl who looked like the very essence of innocence and loveliness boiled down into human form?
Setting aside her neighbor on the right, who seemed to have transcended humanity from the perspective of 'beauty,' the one on her left was, to be frank, the incarnation of cute.
Her silky black hair, her sky-blue eyes that sparkled just like her name. Her small nose was cute, her cherry-pink lips were cute, her soft-looking cheeks were cute—in fact, it was no exaggeration to say that her slender neck, her shoulders, her entire body was overwhelmingly cute.
And all of this was the exact same impression she'd had of Sora in the virtual world. She'd suspected it from the first time she saw her avatar, but seeing it exactly the same in real life was still a huge shock.
She had a feeling that, like herself, she was likely of mixed heritage.
She didn't just have the charm and modest beauty of a Japanese person; she must have inherited other outstanding traits to turn out like this… well, regardless of that.
—Real-life Sora-chan is also so super cute it's dangerous in all sorts of ways, help me,
Nia, who couldn't see either of her neighbors as simple romantic rivals due to the special circumstances, held her head in her hands, overwhelmed by how excessively charming both girls were.
It wasn't just that they were attractive as girls.
It was that, from her perspective, both of them were so charming that she couldn't help but feel a great fondness for them.
Iris, who was beautiful, straightforward, and cool, and Sora, who was cute, honest, and innocent—at this point, there wasn't a single reason not to like them. And that was a huge problem.
Because, no matter what, these two were her romantic rivals.
Diagonally in front of her, the heart and body of the person she loved, who was casually watching the scenery flow by outside the window, was, by any means, one of a kind in this world. That alone was an unchanging and absolute reality.
Therefore, in the end, they would have to fight—and yet—
"…, …, ………………"
She looked right. She looked left.
I can't help but like them—what am I supposed to do about this?!
Her hands, raised by the force of her emotions, were about to unconsciously slam down onto her knees… but to protect the lovely, sleeping breaths coming from either side of her, she gently, gracefully suppressed the outburst.
Wondering what to do with her heart, thrown into turmoil by this self-inflicted blow right after waking up, she groaned internally for a few seconds, then…
"………………—"
Under the pretext of 'postponement,' Nia tossed aside her various thoughts and closed her eyes once more.
Meanwhile, fifteen-year-old Sora-san, distracted by the trip, is just purely excited and sleeping soundly.