Chapter 151: (Self Edited) Reunion at the Secondary Residence

I excused myself from the royal castle and returned to the secondary residence by using the carriage used to come here.As I approached the secondary residence, the carriage slowed down. I wondered what was going on. When I peeped at the window that was to communicate with the coachman, it seemed that the situation was getting more intense than when I went out.

I took out my pocket watch from the pocket and checked the time. It was already 12 AM.

‘What’s with these people? Don’t they know what time it is?’

I could only see thin shadows in the dark, illuminated by the fire of a large lantern that was burned in front of the secondary residence’s gate. The carriage seemed to have slowed down for fear of hitting them.

When I secretly observed it from the window while feeling something terrible, they were different people from the time I left, and their clothes were shabby. They looked like the Kilghina refugees who were homeless in the slumps. They would probably be free because they were unemployed.

‘Do they feel indebted to me for helping Telor? I wish it was that.’

“Yuri-sama!” (??)

“Yuri-sama! Please help us!” (??)

Incomprehensible words that seemed to be a mistake were thrown at the carriage.

‘?? Why are they telling me that?’

While being trapped by a purely mysterious sensation, the carriage forcibly pushed through the premade passageway and passed through the gate. In the first place, it was unknown whether I was riding the carriage. They didn’t have any particular enthusiasm nor did they cling to the carriage.

‘What? So, are they some kind of beggar? Well, is it fine to leave them alone?’

—

When I passed through the door of the secondary residence, a nostalgic face greeted me.

“Yuri-kun!” (Lily)

As I opened the door, it was Lily-senpai who was looking at me while sitting on the sofa at the entrance. Lily-senpai saw my face for the first time in a long time and had a smile full of joy.

“Lily-san, I’m back now.” (Yuri)

“Hey, welcome back.” (Lily)

When I said that, Lily-senpai rushed to me in one breath and hugged me.

‘When we met for the first time, Lily-senpai was taller than me, but now it’s different.’

She stretched her back, turned her arm around my neck, and hugged me tightly.

“Yes, uhm, I’m back.” (Yuri)

Her face was really closed, and her hair hit my right cheek and face. It smelled good.

I instinctively wanted to put my face on her neck, but then, I noticed Shamu was looking. She hid her body in the back of the sofa and looked at me with only half of her face.

‘Is it about three seconds?’

After hugging for a while, Lily-senpai separated.

“I’m really glad. Are you hurt?” (Lily)

“Well, yes. I had a slight injury to my leg, but it looks like it will heal soon.” (Yuri)

‘That reminds me, her boobs are amazing. It gives the feeling of *boin* *boin*.’

“Eh, are you alright? If you can’t walk…” (Lily)

“Don’t worry. It will heal as soon as I rest.” (Yuri)

“Really? That’s good. I was really worried.” (Lily)

Lily-senpai seemed to be really relieved to see me. It seemed that I had caused a lot of worry.

“Come, have a seat.” (Yuri)

At the entrance of the secondary residence, there were six sofas for one person, one sofar for three people and a long desk in between. After all, Shamu was sitting on the sofa before Lily-senpai sat down.

“O-oh. It’s been a long time. I’ve returned now.” (Yuri)

When I said that…

“…” (Shamu)

She was silent and motionless.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” (Yuri)

When I asked her…

“It’s dirty.” (Shamu)

I felt those words stabbed my heart.

‘I wonder if she was watching while I was enjoying the softness of the boobs?’

“W-well…” (Yuri)

“W-wait. Since it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him… Look, it’s like a greeting, you know.” (Lily)

‘Lily-senpai lines sound like an excuse for some reason…’

“Yes, of course. It’s normal since we haven’t seen each other for a long time.” (Yuri)

‘Let’s stay in tune here.’

“You made a dirty face.” (Shamu)

‘Eh…?’

“Well, why don’t you try Shamu?” (Lily)

“Eh?” (Shamu)

Shamu frowned for a moment. She gave an atmosphere of refusal. To begin with, Shamu wasn’t good at skinship.

“I’ll do it.” (Shamu)

‘Does she want to do it?’

She said it short, but then, she quickly got up from the sofa and stood in front of me.

Since she was short, she didn’t look like Lily. She slowly opened her arms, so I knelt on one knee and hugged Shamu.

“Hmm… Yuri, welcome back.” (Shamu)

“I’m back.” (Yuri)

After a short exchange, Shamu immediately separated and returned to the sofa with a slight embarrassment. Originally, she wasn’t the type that stuck too much, so it was brief.

When I looked at Lily-senpai, she had a subtle face that couldn’t be taken as joy or resentment. As our eyes met, she smiled as if she regained her mind.

Perhaps, Shamu was concerned as she sat on a sofa that was in front of Lily-senpai, so I sat on the sofa where Shamu was sitting.

“Still, you have returned safely. I was told that you might not be alive at one point.” (Lily)

“There were occasions that made me think that I was going to die, but I managed to do something. I’m sorry, I caused you to worry.” (Yuri)

“Yeah, yeah. If you come home safely, then, that’s it.” (Lily)

“I wasn’t worried at all.” (Shamu)

And Shamu said so.

“I thought you were definitely alive.” (Shamu)

She said nonchalantly.

‘Well, she isn’t quite sure of that. Or rather, she may not understand war or something like that well. I mean, maybe, she was thinking about me going on a business trip to a somewhat dangerous disaster area or something to that extent. Satsuki was in charge of fields such as history and politics, so I never taught Shamu, and when I think about it, I don’t remember talking about that part to Shamu.’

“She said it well. She was shocked when the news came that he was missing.” (Lily)

Lily-senpai teased her.

‘Is that so?’

“St-stop that. I wasn’t like that.” (Shamu)

“You didn’t have an appetite to eat. And you would bite any students who made strange rumors.” (Lily)

“I told you, stop it! I wasn’t like that, you know!” (Shamu)

‘Shamu is cute when she flustered. I didn’t expect that. I guess she is also anxious like a normal person.’

“Well, whatever it is, isn’t it great? He seems to be full of vigor, right?” (Lily)

“Still, it was a series of failures. The reality is harsh.” (Yuri)

“Is that so?” (Lily)

Lily-senpai was surprised. Perhaps, it was different from what she thought.

“Yes. If not, I should have been able to return more than a month earlier.” (Yuri)

‘It was really painful. I feel that I’ve had a lot of experience, and I don’t think it’s a traumatic experience that I want to forget, but I don’t want to experience it again.’

When I was remembering the hardship, something crossed my mind.

“Lily-san Thank you for the watch. And the lighter too.” (Yuri)

I took out the silver pocket watch made by Lily-senpai, that I had been carrying for a long time, from my pocket. I took out the lighter and put it on the desk.

“Aah… I see. You’ve used it well.” (Lily)

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Lily-senpai took the watch and the lighter. Then, she opened the lid with emotion. It should still click with *tik* *tak* sound. She, then, took out a pocket watch from the pocket of her school uniform and compared the time.

When she compared the dials, she seemed to be entering the ‘work’ mode. Her face became serious.

“Did you set the clock?” (Lily)

‘Speaking of which, I forgot that. I guess I should have matched the time with Reform, but when I checked the time when the bell rang, it didn’t shift for five minutes, so I remembered I left the watch as it was.’

“No, I didn’t.” (Yuri)

“Really? Even if it’s a rough situation, it doesn’t change unexpectedly.” (Lily)

‘A mechanical pocket watch is unexpectedly out of sync. Some of the cheaper ones that are sold to the general public can be off by more than fifteen minute a day.’

“How much different is it?” (Yuri)

‘Lily-senpai’s one should be accurate even if she doesn’t adjust it for a few days.’

“Yeah, by eight minutes.” (Lily)

‘Eight minutes. Is it eight minutes without adjusting it for three months? As a person who knows quartz watches, there’s no surprise about the accuracy, but compared to ordinary watches, it is at a different level of accuracy.’

“Well, I use the one with the movement especially in tune… I’ve also oiled it, so it’s like this.” (Lily)

‘This movement is ten seconds early in a day, and this movement is twenty seconds late. I wonder if I collected a lot of such things and choose the one with the most error. On the contrary, I was moving all the time, so it may have been good in terms of posture.’

“No, it’s amazing. I was impressed.” (Yuri)

“It’s not amazing, you know. For the time being, my goal is within two minutes in a month.” (Lily)

‘As expected, Lily-senpai is particular about watches. When making the chronometer, it should have been difficult and complicated work, but it didn’t seem to be quite painful. However, I feel that the error of two minutes in a month is quite close to the limit if it is a mechanical type. I hear if she is using lubricating oil or river fish oil, but I wonder what it would be like if that was the case.’

“If this is the case, it will sell very well, right?” (Yuri)

‘If the accuracy is so good, the demand would be high.’

“No, it’s too little to sell it. That’s because it’s too hard to make a lot of it.” (Lily)

Lily-senpai said with a bitter smile.

“It’s love, love.” (Shamu)

Shamu interjected from the side.

“I can’t make five such annoying watches just for that without love.” (Lily)

Shamu took her pocket watch out of her pocket and put it on desk.

It looked almost the same as mine except that there was no lid to cover the dial. The lid was intended to prevent the glass from getting hit and breaking, so it wasn’t attached to Shamu.

‘It’s surprisingly troublesome to open the lid every time though.

Besides, there is a complicated arabesque pattern carved in the metal part of mine, but it has a flat mirror finish that isn’t perfect. However, the shape of the dial and hands is exactly the same as mine. Judging from Shamu’s remarks, this is probably one of the five siblings of my watch.’

“Shamu, stop it.” (Yuri)

“But…” (Shamu)

“Didn’t I say I made five to let navigators use it?” (Lily)

‘Is that so? Certainly, there seems to be a demand for navigators.’

“Didn’t you just give out the surplus? Besides, it takes 21 times the average time on maintenance of it. I was watching that.” (Shamu)

“That is… not that much, right?” (Lily)

“No, I measured it with my watch.” (Shamu)

‘21 times…’

“I don’t know about that…” (Lily)

“I’m more concerned whether it’s heavy or not. I wouldn’t know if Yuri didn’t say it.” (Shamu)

“Hmm… uhh…” (Lily)

Lily-senpai looked about to run away.

‘This may be the first time to see such a sloppy appearance.’

“I don’t think it’s heavy for Yuri. Right?” (Lily)

‘From Shamu’s point of view, it is too sad that I don’t know the enormous effort that Lily-senpai was doing behind the scenes, so it seems that she wants me to do something. However, I wonder how I should respond from my point of view… It probably takes several times as much time as knitting a hand muffler.

“…I don’t think so. Because of this, I am still alive now. It was really helpful.” (Yuri)

‘Somehow, it sounded different. I don’t know how to treat women, but…’

“I-is that so? You don’t mind it too much?” (Lily)

‘No, I don’t. If I do, that would be weird. In fact, I’m grateful.’

“I’ll thank you later. Please look forward to it.” (Yuri)

‘Aah, I said something strange. I wonder what I should do to thank her. It would be easy if I just give her an expensive accessory with jewels as a gift, but it wouldn’t be like that. If she is a general employee, I would treat her well in the company, but that’s not the case.’

‘No, before that, would she refuse by saying ‘yeah, yeah, please make up for it later’?  That was the case until now.’

“Really!?” (Lily)

Lily-senpai looked at me with a glittering face of hope.

‘Aah, that feeling…’

“Y-yes. It’s true.” (Yuri)

“Ah… no, no, I wonder if it’s impossible.” (Lily)

“It’s alright. As long as it’s not impossible.” (Yuri)

‘I wonder to what extent that it wouldn’t be impossible. It’s difficult. Should I consult someone? I wonder. Perhaps, Cuffe? I can’t even talk to Carol or Myaro.’

“That’s great, Senpai.” (Lily)

Shamu said with a happy look.

‘I feel like she was looking for a hug with Lily-senpai a while ago, but is it alright for the relationship to develop? I’m not sure. She may be at a complicated age.’

“Yes. Well then, I shall excuse myself soon.” (Lily)

When Lily-senpai said so…

“Eh? Senpai, shouldn’t it be better to stay overnight?” (Shamu)

And Shamu said so.

“No, Yuri-kun is tired, so…” (Lily)

“Where is the proactive attitude of yours that you have at that time?” (Shamu)

“Shamu, can you shut up? Alright?” (Lily)

“Yes, yes.” (Shamu)

‘Anyhow, it’s true that I want to sleep early. I’m too tired today. After a long flight early in the morning, various reports were made, and my mind and body are exhausted.’

Lily-senpai stood up from the sofa, and Shamu also left the sofa to follow her.

“Is Shamu also going back to the dormitory?” (Yuri)

“Yes. That’s because I have to attend a strategy meeting.” (Shamu)

‘Strategy meeting?’

Another unfamiliar term came out again.

“Well then. Yuri, I’ll come to ask you some questions later.” (Shamu)

‘I haven’t used my brain to think about math lately, so I’m not sure if I can keep up with her question… I’m getting anxious.’

“See you later~~ Good night.” (Lily)

“Yes. See you later. Good night.” (Yuri)

When I said that, Lily-senpai and Shamu nodded lightly and went out through the front door. I sat down for a while, and then, I heard the sound of the carriage departing while making a clip-clop sound.