CH 199

Chapter 199 : Brighter Than The Dawning Blue

After the three of us went out of my house, I strengthened the door and locked it with earth magic.

Well, I don’t think it’s necessary but Nicola left her personal belongings inside. Besides, this house is pretty conspicuous and there’s no guarantee that no one will pass this area.

「Mark, Nicola, are you guys ready to go?」(Ester)

「Un!」(Nicola)

「Yeaー Aa, wait a minute. I just remember I need to water the field first. Can you guys wait for me for a moment?」(Mark)

「Sure.」(Ester)

Before leaving, I wanted to make sure that my field had enough water.

I took out the watering can, filled it with the remaining hot water I stored in the ground, and quickly watered the field.

It didn’t take me long to finish it.

After that, we headed for Ester’s house.

When we walked through the woods, Nicola talked to me via telepathy.

『Say, Onii-chan… There’s something bugging me…』(Nicola)

『What’s wrong?』(Mark)

『I’ve always thought that I was an ‘S’ type of person, but it seems that I’ve discovered that I’m also an ‘M’ type of person.』(Nicola)

『Huhh…?』(Mark)

『When Ester watched us changing clothes, I felt an excitement I’d never felt before. Does it mean that I’m an ‘M’?』(Nicola)

『Like hell I know!』(Mark)

*/TL : S = sadism, M = masochism

Geez… I feel stupid for worrying about her for a second.

『Eeehh… But this is a serious problem!』(Nicola)

Yeah. I think she has a serious problem with her head…

I ignored her and kept following Ester walking through the woods.

「By the way, Ester, is your house far from here?」(Mark)

「My house is on the other side of the village square to the west. This village is small so I’m not sure if it’s far or not.」(Ester)

Assuming that the village square is in the center of the village, the distance from my house, which is on the east side of the village, to her house, which is on the west side, is far in my opinion.

By the way, Celine’s house is on the same side as mine, which is east, and when Celine and I went to the village square the other day, I felt like we walked quite far, and Ester’s house is even further away.

「Umm, Ester, I think it’s pretty far. I feel bad if you have to walk a long way every day to pick up Nicola. I will walk Nicola to your house, so you can just wait for us at your house from tomorrow on. 」(Mark)

Ester was surprised when I said that. She then looked at me with a sad face.

「Eh!? Why? I don’t mind at all. We’re friends, right? Besides, it feels great to walk in the morning, and… I want to see you as soon as possible every day… Umm… If you feel annoyed that I come to your house every morning, I will stop then…」(Ester)

While saying that, Ester stared at me with puppy eyes.

She is taller than me, but at that moment, I felt like she looked smaller than me somehow.

To be honest, I said that because I didn’t want to trouble her, but if she likes doing it, then there’s no reason for me to stop her.

「N-no, I’m not annoyed at all. You’re always welcome to my house.」(Mark)

「Then…」(Ester)

「Un. You can come to my house every morning if it doesn’t bother you.」(Mark)

「Yaay~! Thank you, Mark!」(Ester)

Ester gave me a dazzling smile that was brighter than the morning sun and grabbed my hand tightly.

We then continued walking while holding hands.

『Hyuu~ Hyuuu~ Delica and Pamella would surely be jealous if they were here.』(Nicola)

As I expected, Nicola teased me.

『Oh, come on. It’s not like what you think. We’re just friends.』(Mark)

『Friends, huh…? Gaaah! I want to be her friend too!! Onii-chan, I’ll ask her now. Wish me luck!』(Nicola)

『Yeah, good luck…』(Mark)

Nicola quickened her pace and walked in front of Ester.

「Ester-chan, you’re friends with Onii-chan, right? Can I be your friend too~?」(Nicola)

Saying that, Nicola jumped forward, trying to hug Ester’s waist, but Ester dodged her swiftly and looked at her apologetically.

「I’m sorry, Nicola. I’m happy but my heart is not ready to have more friends… Having two friends, Celine and Mark, is more than enough for me.」(Ester)

「I… I see…」(Nicola)

While looking down, Nicola stopped for a second and then continued walking next to me.

『Hwaaaa…!! Onii-chan, she turned me down…! HuUuuUuu…』(Nicola)

Somehow she looked like a girl whose love was rejected.

I kinda feel sorry for her.

『W, Well, there’s still another chance. Cheer up!』(Mark)

『HuuUuuUu… I feel so sad and lonely… Onii-chan, can I hold your hand…?』(Nicola)

『Alright, alright, so stop crying.』(Mark)

I held Nicola’s hand with my free hand, and the three of us walked while holding hands with me in the middle.

Ester turned Nicola down but she didn’t treat Nicola coldly. She talked to Nicola with a gentle smile as usual.

We were happily exchanging conversations while we were heading for Ester’s house.

*/TL : By the way, when I read the title of this chapter, which is “夜明け前より瑠璃色な (Yoake mae yori ruri iro na)”, I was a bit surprised because it’s the title of an old visual novel game. The English version is called “Brighter than the dawning blue”.