Volume 4 Chapter 2: Where the Journey Takes Us Part II

Lahna had apparently picked out the hotel while Sora reserved us rooms. They really are reliable.

We reserved two rooms, so we divided ourselves into two groups – me, Lahna, and Maria, then Sora and Jared.

“I apologize for being unable to reserve a room for one – there were not many empty rooms available,” Sora said, but personally I was a little happy because it felt like I was on a school trip like in my past life.

In this life, I’ve always had my own room after all. So, I got excited on entering the room.

“Would it be alright for me to take this bed?” I ask excitedly.

I jump on the bed once I get permission.

Normally, I wouldn’t really do something like that (since Anne would get mad at me), but the excitement of a school trip has gotten me pretty cheerful.

Maria looks surprised at my actions. Lahna smiles, saying “You look like you’re having fun.”

But when I happen to meet the eyes of the bear standing next to Lahna, it looks down at me condescendingly in contempt again.

Seriously, what a nasty bear.

After verifying the state of our rooms, we eat dinner in the dining hall.

I grow even more excited as together, we cheerfully eat dishes I’ve never seen before…

“Ah, this looks good. This does too. Oh, and this.”

… and end up eating way too much. Jared did warn me midway through that I would get a stomach-ache if I ate too much, but I was just so excited his warning went through one ear and out the other.

At times like this, if Keith were with me, he would look at me coldly and forcibly remove food from my grasp, saying “You’re eating too much, sis.”

… But Keith isn’t with me right now – and so, by the time I returned to my room, my stomach was very full and it was painful for me to even move.

Jared looked at me like he was thinking that things turned out the way he expected. The bear shot me a cold gaze that made me feel like it was calling me stupid.

… I’ll be more careful from now on.

Somehow avoiding throwing up, I return to my room. But even standing up was a struggle, so I lay down on my bed, waiting for my stomach to finish digesting.

In all honesty, I wanted to go talk about girl things with Lahna and Maria after this and had expected that would be tonight’s main event… but my stomach hurts so much there’s no way I can do that. I’m sad.

And as I was moaning on the bed, gripping my stomach, Lahna says “I have something to do, so I’ll be going,” and leaves.

Perhaps she went out to see night tourist attractions?

After moaning on the bed for a while, before I knew it, I fell asleep.

When I wake up, the room is dark, lit only by the light of a lamp.

It seems that Lahna is still out. Only Maria is sitting on her bed. She’s probably already wearing her nightwear – she’s changed into a comfortable one-piece dress-like piece of clothing. Her golden hair, illuminated by the lamp, seemed paler than usual, letting out a sexier feel that felt different than normal.

As I admire Maria despite myself, she notices my gaze or something and looks towards me.

“You’ve woken up? Is your stomach feeling fine now?” she asks, her expression rather saint-like.

I kind of feel embarrassed.

“I’m fine! I’m completely better!” I cry, jumping up from bed with a needless amount of energy.

“I’m glad,” Maria says, smiling happily.

As I gaze at Maria’s amazing smile, I think again that Maria really is an alluring woman.

I was shocked at her adorableness when I first saw her at the academy, but I feel like the closer we get, the more alluring Maria becomes.

At first, I thought that she was just what I expected from an otome game’s protagonist – she was born with amazing features… but that wasn’t the case.

Everything good about Maria is all stuff she obtained herself through her hard work, not things she had to begin with due to being the protagonist. When I realized this, I started to feel like Maria was even more amazing than before.

I love Maria, who’s so kind, considerate, and hard-working. If I were a guy, I would definitely want her to be my wife.

Whenever I think this, it’s truly a mystery to me that the game ended with a friendship ending.

How could Maria, splendid as she is, not have gotten together with anyone? I had even thought it wouldn’t be strange if she got a harem ending.

Either the men around me have no eye for women, or they’re hesitating because don’t know how to confess to her.

Even though if the latter were true, I would definitely give them advice if they came to me.

After all, even though I’ve had zero experience with romance in both this life and my last, I’ve gained a plethora of knowledge from manga and, otome games, along with the romance novels I’ve read in this world. So I’m sure that I’d be able to give great advice.

In both this life and my last, no one has come asking me for romantic advice. Even when I try to ask the girls myself when we’re talking about girly things, they just avoid the question and say, “I like you, Katarina-sama.”

I really have no experience with romance in real life.

But well, we’re staying somewhere new for once after all. Today for sure, I want to talk with Maria about romantic stuff. Alright, here I go!

“Um, Maria, do you – huh? Maria, what are you doing?”

When I look at Maria again after I resolve to start talking about romantic stuff, Maria looks to be doing something.

“Ah, yes, I’m just cleaning him a little,” says Maria, gesturing at the bear plopped on her knee. It looks as though she’s carefully wiping the bear with a cloth.

She looks rather cheerful, as if she’s having fun, and the bear looks rather content as well.

“He’s just so cute, isn’t he?” she says, petting the ugly thing caringly.

It’s true that while its face is rather ugly, it acts rather cute (to anyone other than me). Maria seems to have completely fallen for this bear just after one day.

As Maria pets the bear, it snuggles against her knee. It’s acting rather adorable.

It kind of makes me pretty angry. As I stare at the bear in an ill temper, our eyes meet.

The bear’s expression changes – and it’s clear that it means to say, “You’re jealous, aren’t you.”

It seriously makes me angry. And really, what’s been with this bear’s attitude from the first time we met!?

It acts all adorable around other people, but it acts completely differently just around me.

I glared at the bear to the best of my ability. But seeing my glare, Maria completely misunderstands.

“Ah, Katarina-sama, you want to touch him too, don’t you? Here you go,” she says, handing me the bear.

No, I don’t want it. I’m happy that Maria is so considerate, but I don’t think this bear is cute in the slightest.

But I can’t tell Maria, who holds out the bear so cheerfully, that I don’t want it. So I take the bear. The bear makes a disgusted expression when Maria probably can’t see it.

You damn bear, it’s not like I’m doing this because I want to either.

However, the bear seems to have read the atmosphere and obediently sits on my knee.

But when Maria leaves to go to the bathroom a little while later, the bear immediately jumps off of my knee and dusts off its bottom as if it had been sitting on something dirty.

Angry again at its attitude, I dust off where the bear had been sitting on my knee, not wanting to lose.

Then the bear looks at me condescendingly again, and this time, even shrugs in a way that makes it look like it’s sighing.

“W–what is with your attitude!?” I can’t help but cry.

The bear looks at me even more condescendingly.

It seems completely different from the person – or rather bear – that had been snuggling against Maria’s knee just a little while ago.

As I and this bear who won’t stop looking at me condescendingly continue glaring at each other (though I’m the only one glaring since the bear just continues to look at me condescendingly), Maria returns.

Then noticing the distance between the bear and I, she asks innocently, “Oh, Katarina-sama, you’ve already had enough of him?”

“Yes, I’ve had enough,” I say, giving the bear back to Maria.

“Well then, maybe tonight I’ll sleep with him,” she says, hugging the bear. It looks happy, rather like a spoiled child.

How quickly it changes gears. It had just been looking down on me moments ago, but I can’t see it as anything but a cute mascot now. What an excellent wolf in sheep’s clothing – despite being a bear.

In the end, the bear went under the sheets, still hugged by Maria.

And so, I decide to change into my sleepwear as well and crawl into bed.

“Ha ha.”

I hear Maria’s cute laughter a short while after I go to bed.

“What’s the matter, Maria?” I ask.

“I’m just kind of really happy,” she responds.

“Happy?”

Happy about what? About being about to sleep with the bear? Does Maria like the bear that much?

That bullying, two-faced jerk of a bear…

“Yes. Before entering the academy, I didn’t have any friends, so I’ve never slept with anyone like this other than relatives. So I just ended up getting really happy.”

Oh, so that’s what she meant. I let my animosity towards the bear get the better of me.

“… Oh, my apologies. Saying something so inconsiderate a time like this when Keith-sama is missing…” Maria says apologetically.

“I’ve been starting to think this is a bit fun too,” I confess. Maria snickers again.

I kind of feel quite happy that Maria feels the same as me.

“Hey, if we get the chance, let’s go out again together. Next time, we can invite Mary and Sophia and be with everyone,” I say.

“Yes,” Maria responds immediately. Then after a short while, she continues, “Katarina-sama, before meeting you at the academy, I would always get very lonely whenever I went to bed. But now, I always get very happy, and I always feel like I’m having fun.”

Maria seems like she’s always having fun and has a lot more friends now, but before she started school, she probably had a tough childhood. Considering that, I’m glad that she can be happy like this now. Yes, yes.

“So it’s thanks to you that I can be like this right now.”

I was shocked. What, why is it thanks to me!? Is Maria half-asleep perhaps? She must be well on her way to sleep after going under the covers!

“W-what are you saying, Maria, there’s no way that’s true! Maria, you’re the way you are today because you did your best – I haven’t done a thing!” I respond in a fluster.

I see Maria’s cheeks redden even in the dimly lit room. I can also see her eyes are wet.

Huh? Is she yawning? And what’s with her blushing?

“… Katarina-sama, please let me always be by your side,” she says, her words almost like a confession. She turns to me with her wet eyes too – I can’t help but blush as well.

“… Yes.”

My tone of voice kind of betrays me.

No, it’s just that Maria is just much too alluring.

If we keep on gazing at each other, talking, I get the feeling that I’ll seriously venture into a world I rather shouldn’t, so I lay back down and close my eyes.

The moment I close my eyes and lay down, perhaps because I spent the whole day running around excitedly, I immediately feel very tired. I fall deep asleep in moments.

In the end, I never did find out when Lahna came back.

On a side note, I only realized the next morning that I missed out on my chance to talk about romantic stuff.

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