Ch.8888. Peach Blossom and Vine (1)

“Ahh… it’s all ready. Oh my, I’ve already set out the spoons too? All that’s left is to eat.”

“You’re a strange one. Taking care of me like this on a day when you could just order me around.”

“Would you believe me if I said this is what I wanted to do?”

“Well… it’s not really up to me whether to believe you or not. I’m comfortable, so I’m happy. Though my mind isn’t entirely at ease.”

“Whyyy. Be comfortable in your mind too. Do we really need to go out todayyy?”

“Huh. Spoken like a true unemployed person.”

“Call me by my nameee… ‘unemployed’ sounds so patheticc…”

“Homebody, unemployed, Yuri. They all refer to the same person, don’t they?”

“I’m not a homebodyy though…?”

“Enough. It’s already firmly imprinted in my memory. Please eat. The ramen will get soggy.”

“Tch…”

Yuri picked up the tongs and occasionally grabbed some noodles to place on her plate.

“But stillll… I do go out a lott… I attend various meetingsss…”

She added another comment while serving me some noodles.

“Honestlyyy… aren’t you more of a homebody than I am…?”

At those words, I showed her the necklace around my neck and refuted.

“No, I’m someone who can’t even go out alone without you all, aren’t I?”

“…Aha. But you can still go out if Hyewon or Yunseul are with youuu.”

“Wouldn’t I be a burden to them… It’s better if I just don’t move around.”

“What burdenn… the kids are actually waiting for youuu…?”

“What…? Ah, hot…!”

Flustered, I forgot how hot the ramen was and ended up burning my tongue.

“Pfft… You still don’t get ittt…? Why the kids are setting dates like thisss…?”

“Well… isn’t it that they’re taking turns spending time with me? I think I heard from Blanc that they’re giving me a vacation of sorts to let me rest.”

“In all of thatt… do you really think there wasn’t a single desire of theirsss…?”

“What kind of desire are you talking about?”

“You’re so obliviousss, really obliviousss. Vine is smart, but whyyy are you like thisss?”

“I, I’m actually quite perceptive…”

“Nahh… that’s a liee. You don’t know anything. Well… maybe it’s better to just let you experience it firsthanddd…”

“Hmm… are you referring to how people who should be hostile to me are being kind instead?”

“Yeahh… you really don’t knowww? It’s okay, it’s okayyy. I like you just the way you are.”

Really… she’s just saying things I can’t understand.

…Why is this ramen so well-cooked?

“Hehe… seeing you enjoy your food makes this big sis feel relieveddd. You’re eating well, our Vineee?”

“What’s with the ‘big sis’? If you’re my big sister, shouldn’t you at least be stronger than me?”

“Hey. I might be stronger than you right nowww? You’re wearing that necklace, aren’ttt you?”

“Even with limited output, I think my chances of winning in combat against you are higher?”

“Vineee… aren’t you underestimating me too muchh?”

“I’m speaking based on data from our last battle at Riverside Park.”

“Riverside Park… Ah, that’s rightt. I didn’t participate in Ragnarok, did III? Was that really the last time?”

“Yes. Based on that battle data, I also analyzed your post-Ragnarok combat data by watching Arin’s training videos.”

“Ahaa… so you’ve already seen all thatt? How embarrassinggg.”

“…And, I have much more data on you than on other magical girls.”

“Vine. It’s not good to bring up things I don’t want to rememberr?”

“Well… that’s what I mean. Since I have a lot of information obtained while ‘corrupting’ you, I have the upper hand in terms of information warfare.”

“Vineee? It’s not nice to dig up big sis’s dark pasttt?”

“Dark past… I suppose it is a dark past. Well, if you don’t want to hear about it, I’ll refrain… anyway, I’m saying I would win?”

“Vine, reallyy… you don’t plan to lose at allll…”

“I’ve already lost once, and losing more would be sad. Besides, if I lose to you, wouldn’t I have to call you Plum? My pride won’t allow that.”

“Youuu. Didn’t you say you’d help me trainnn? Want to fight after your vacation? Ah… that’s rightt… magic depletion… once we solve that, let’s fight right away. I can really win, you knowww?”

“Even without removing your necklace, you would win.”

…Though I’m not sure if that match will ever happen.

In a month, I won’t be with these people anymore.

I’ll be returning to my original position.

…I wonder if I could give her one match.

The magic depletion problem will be solved somehow when I return to the new Eden.

No, when I go back, such constraints will be resolved automatically.

I’ll be gathering energy again at Eden.

Since there’s nothing that can extract as much energy as negative emotions.

If I go around collecting energy like that, we’ll inevitably meet again.

…What should I say if we meet like that?

Thinking about it now is probably just wishful thinking.

“We’ll see when we get thereee?”

“Well, yes. We’ll see. Whatever it is.”

After the meal, I decided to clean up.

I didn’t give in this time. When she insisted on doing it herself, I honestly told her that I would feel really uncomfortable if I didn’t do at least this much, and only then did she give up and flop down on the sofa.

…Thinking about what will happen a month from now makes me very uncomfortable.

It wasn’t much work. I quickly washed the dishes and cleaned the table.

Oh. There’s fruit.

Since Yuri likes sweet things, I should cut some melon for her.

Strangely, she doesn’t eat sour things.

Peaches aren’t in season yet, so there aren’t any at home.

I took out a melon and cut half of it.

I removed the seeds and neatly cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces.

For nice plating, it’s best to use the rind as a decorative base.

It stands upright and makes it easy to eat.

I carried it on a tray with a fork to Yuri on the sofa.

“Have some dessert. By the way, do you really not plan to go outside today?”

“Hmm… maybe we could go out just for dinnerrr?”

“Earlier you said you’d go out for lunch, or after lunch. Now this.”

“I got lazyyy. *yawns*… Vineee… ah, want to play with meee? I’ve never seen you play games beforeee?”

“That’s because I don’t particularly enjoy games. Well… Arin was playing some strange Roblox? Some game I’ve never heard of before. Said it was trending. I don’t really play such things.”

“Hehhh… you’ve wasted your life, Vineee? Not playing games!”

“Well… I did play a lot with friends before I became this body. I just don’t play now. Even if I did, it wouldn’t be that fun… so that’s why.”

“But you don’t play now, right? That makes you a complete gaming failure. Come, sit here!”

As she said this, she patted her lap.

…Surely she doesn’t mean for me to sit on her lap?

“Hah. Fine. I don’t know what game you want to play, but bullying a newbie is bad. You know that, right?”

So I sat next to where Yuri was patting her lap, but…

“I know thatt. But Vineee. Not there, hereee.”

“What?”

“Here, on top.”

“…I’m heavy, you know?”

“If you’re heavy, what about meee? Come on, over hereee. Big sis will teach you how to playy?”

“Um… that’s a bit…”

“Come on. Big sis doesn’t like repeating herselfff?”

“What kind of unreasonable demand is that…”

“Today’s the day to indulge such demands, isn’ttt it? So, here.”

I had no choice.

How much more annoying would Yuri be if I didn’t comply?

No, she’d probably forcibly lift me onto her lap if I didn’t sit there myself.

There was nothing more to think about.

Still, as a last act of dignity, I complained while climbing onto Yuri’s lap.

“Really. As I always say, I feel like the frequency of my sighs has increased since living with all of you. Hah… I used to rarely sigh…”

“Aww. Big sis is soft-soft~ warm-warm~ squishy-squishy~ so Vine must feel good toooo? Of course, I also… hehe…”

Yuri hugged me tightly with a mischievous grin.

“Squishy-squishy~ As I thoughttt… hugging Vine feels so gooddd… Ahh. I can’t resist thisss…”

“Why are you hugging me? Do you know that back then, when you sealed my memories, you also came to hug me like this? No, you must know, right?”

“Yes yes, we’ll talk about that later. A little bit later. Okay? Right now, we just need to be squishy-squishy~ with each otherr?”

“…No, wait. The issue isn’t about being squishy. Weren’t you going to play a game…!”

“Ah, that’s rightt… Can’t we stay like this a little longerrr…?”

“Urgh…”

Yuri continued to hug and play with me for dozens of minutes, ignoring my reactions.

I gave up and just went limp, letting her do as she pleased. Either she realized she had gone too far, or she was finally satisfied enough to play the game. She sat me down beside her and went to get the game controllers.

“Hmm hmm… Let’s play a racing game. It’s easy to controlll.”

“A racing game… you mean the kart racing game I know?”

“Yes. The characters are cute tooo? Well… you’ll see when you play, but those cute characters can be frustratingly good. It’s a game that can turn a household upside down when played with kids.”

…That game. I know it well.

Before I became this body, I used to play it with my younger cousins when they visited.

I’ve made some kids cry playing it too.

“I’m confident in that game. I’ve played it before.”

“Oh? Reallyy? Then I don’t need to explain the controls to youuu? Let’s play together with big sisss?”

“Let’s bet on that ridiculous ‘big sis’ title of yours. Just for today.”

“Hooo… you seem confidenttt?”

“Yes. Bring it on. I’ll crush you properly. I’ll definitely tear down that self-proclaimed ‘big sis’ title.”