Kays Translations

Chapter 23: Spoiled?

They quickly changed locations and headed to the warehouse that Klonoa had mentioned. They had walked a few minutes from the classroom where they had their lesson, first heading towards the back of the school building. The stone-built warehouse looked quite impressive, almost like a temple, and was of a size comparable to only a few regular houses side by side.

Licia remarked, “I didn’t know a place like this existed.”

Fiona, who had joined them on-site, tried to open the warehouse door, and Ren offered to help.

“I’ll do it.”

“Thank you very much.”

While he didn’t cover her from behind as if to shield her, the position they were in was somewhat embarrassing for Fiona, who had reached out from behind, possibly because she had seen what had transpired while Licia was talking to Klonoa.

When they opened the warehouse door, a dusty breeze rushed out from inside. Ren and Fiona exchanged wry smiles, then turned to look at Klonoa.

“Klonoa-san, what are we looking for?”

“Well, you see…”

Klonoa, with Licia by her side, went to the front of the warehouse. She swung her staff gracefully, as she usually did, causing several floating letters to appear in the air.

“I want you to gather documents from this time period written here.”

“So, you didn’t plan to organize the warehouse yourself?”

“No, that’s right.”

Despite her cheerful demeanor, Klonoa had a certain forcefulness about her.

“It’s incredible, isn’t it? They contacted me out of the blue, asking me to retrieve old documents from this place, even though I’m busy. They want it done by today.”

She seemed to have been very busy, as she mentioned how they had contacted her from a government organization, and there seemed to have been some miscommunication about the submission date.

The submission date was set for this evening, and responsibility for the mix-up would be determined later. For now, they wanted to prioritize finding the necessary documents.

Klonoa suddenly bowed her head.

Her pointed witch’s hat bobbed as she did so.

“I’m really sorry! I think everyone was looking forward to spending the afternoon together, but…”

“It’s alright! We’ll help with this!”

Ren hurriedly reassured her, followed by Fiona and Licia nodding multiple times and saying, “That’s right!”

Klonoa lifted her head again, looking genuinely apologetic and as if she might bow again at any moment.

They couldn’t let her feel that way, so Ren stepped into the warehouse. Unlike the small room at the back of the library before cleaning, this place stored various items.

(Documents… Documents…)

Although it seemed cluttered, it was well-organized inside, with bookshelves neatly arranged where books and bundles of paper were lined up. Ren changed course and headed for the stairs inside the warehouse. Since there were windows on the second floor of the warehouse, he thought about opening them for ventilation.

When he opened the windows, a cool breeze circulated through the warehouse. He returned to the shelves where the three were waiting.

“…Strange, it should be around here.”

“Could it be this?”

“Ah! That’s it! Licia-chan, you’re amazing! To find it so quickly!”

“No, it’s just a coincidence. But there are still more necessary documents.”

As they split up to search the shelves, they found the desired documents one by one. 

Suddenly, Klonoa said,

“Adults can be so cunning, right? Thinking that even if there are misunderstandings, if they speak strongly, everything will be okay…”

She murmured with a strangely poignant tone and a forlorn expression. Ren had thought this about her before, but she seemed to have the qualities of someone who had faced hardships.

Ren and the others would be allies to someone like Klonoa, he thought.

In less than two hours, they successfully found the documents they were looking for, and Klonoa was deeply grateful. She took the wooden box she had found in the warehouse and brought it outside, thanking Ren and the others repeatedly.

“Thank you so much! Let’s go out to eat together next time! I want to thank you somehow!”

This time, as Klonoa left, she repeatedly turned back to them and bowed. Ren and the others watched her until she disappeared from view, then…

“Shall we go?”

Inside the wooden box that Klonoa brought out were costumes that had been considered for use in past events, such as a school festival-like event for students’ performances. Inside were sample costumes that a merchant had prepared in response to an order.

Now, Ren and the others were going to take these costumes to the document room inside the school building. They had offered to help because Klonoa seemed busy. The three of them returned to the school building and headed for the document room.

The evening sun that had been shining through the windows had turned into a deep crimson.

The document room inside the school building, unlike the warehouse from earlier, was not dusty. When they arrived at the storage location indicated by Klonoa, Fiona, who had taken out a costume from the wooden box, noticed.

“It’s a little dirty.”

It appeared to be some sort of costume, but it had gathered dust inside the wooden box. Ren picked up the documents that seemed to have been included when they were delivered inside the box.

Licia, who had been watching the situation, made a suggestion to Fiona.

“Shall we clean them in the changing room?”

“Yes… That sounds like a good idea.”

The academy’s changing room was equipped with a shower room and a large vanity area. It also had magic tools to tidy up uniforms.

“In that case, I’ll go talk to Klonoa-san about these documents. I can’t enter the girls’ changing room, of course.”

“I’m sorry, Ren-kun.”

“No problem. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Ren said goodbye to the girls and they went to the changing room as they had been talking.

The mysterious costumes that was inside the wooden box was folded and carried around.

The vanity in the large changing room had a beautiful mirror that ran all the way across. In front of the mirror, the two unfolded the costumes in their hands.

Looking at the costume that Licia had spread out,

“So, this is for waitresses, right?”

“I think so, but the skirts are a bit shorter than usual. Maybe it was what the girls wanted.”

Fiona answered with a cute smile. 

Licia was holding the same costume in her hand, just slightly different in color from the one Fiona held, but they looked almost identical. It was an outfit based on the attire that waitresses would wear, with a cute twist.

Although there were many nobles’ children, they were still young girls who might take an interest in cute clothes. It seemed that the history of how these costumes came to be prepared was something along those lines.

The two of them started cleaning the costumes as planned. If the costumes were dusty, they could simply run a comb-like magic tool over the surface, and it would clean them nicely.

While cleaning the costumes, the two of them talked.

“I wonder why the Demon King’s Cult was looking for the Water Goddess’s Ring.”

Fiona said.

“Fiona-sama, you have also heard, haven’t you? Recently, the demon cult has been active again in various places.”

“Father and the Third Prince have been working hard, haven’t they? But don’t you think Ren-kun might be involved?”

“…I do.”

It wasn’t dissatisfaction; it was more like anticipating how Ren would act in his own way again. Recently, the Demon King’s Cult, said to be active worldwide, often targeted Leomel.

Why? It felt like there was more to it than just because Leomel was the world’s top-ranked major nation. If they thought that way, then it might be because of the past incident in Roses Caitas or when Eupheim’s old town sank underwater. The Demon King’s Cult had a history of targeting Leomel, especially.

“…I wonder why.” 

Licia pondered as she remembered what happened in Roses Caitas. Why did she use such power, separate from her own will? Why did her body not listen to her, and why did she feel like her heart was going far away? Unconsciously, she stared at herself in the mirror.

As if searching for something deep in her eyes, the anxious feeling from that time briefly resurfaced. At that moment, Fiona held Licia’s hand.

“Are you okay? Feeling unwell or something…”

“N-No! I’m fine!”

“Really?”

“I-I mean it!”

Licia strangely noticed that she had regained her composure. Whether it was because of Fiona’s body warmth or some other factor, all the restlessness in her heart had disappeared.

Afterward, Licia started folding the costumes. While adapting them to her body after removing the dust, she changed the subject.

“The skirt length is not much different from our school uniforms.”

Therefore, the length is short.

“That’s true. Plus, there are lots of frills, making it look cute.”

“These types of waitress uniforms are quite rare, so it might be a bit unusual.”

Fiona raised her index finger as if she had come up with something.

“…Want to try them on?”

It was half a joke and half serious proposal. It should be fine to do that much. As long as they didn’t damage anything, no one would get angry. Ren probably wouldn’t be back yet, so they should have enough time to at least put on the costumes.

Fiona, who had made the suggestion, thought it was quite unusual herself since she had never worn such clothing. Licia shared the same curiosity.

“…Seriously?”

In the same manner as the other day, she couldn’t help but sound a bit broken. Fiona didn’t mind at all and smiled, showing a smile that conveyed not only her lack of concern but also a sense of delight “Quite serious, actually.”

“I don’t usually wear cute clothes like this.”

“Me neither, Fiona-sama.”

It was just a bit of curiosity about wearing such clothes once. The two picked up those clothes and, turning their backs, began changing. 

In just a few minutes, they turned around to face each other. Licia and Fiona were now dressed in the short-skirted waitress outfits.

At this moment, in these outfits, how captivating could they be to others? However, they would change back into their school uniforms before leaving the changing room, so the opportunity for anyone to see them would not arise.

Licia wondered what kind of reaction Ren would have, but she didn’t have the courage to wear them in front of him.

Just as they were thinking about that…

*Click.*

They heard the sound of a doorknob turning from a distance.

“Eh?”

“Someone is coming now…”

Someone had arrived, but it wasn’t that surprising. This was the academy’s changing room, and any girl might enter. The problem was their attire. Licia and Fiona were wearing these short-skirted waitress outfits, not their school uniforms, and it would be embarrassing to be seen like this, especially by someone they knew.

Their fears were realized as soon as they thought about them.

“Yes?”

It was Sarah Riohard.

She was surprised and seemed to freeze in place, but she didn’t say anything. She had returned to the academy alone, having remembered that she had forgotten something in the changing room. There, she stumbled upon the adorable sight of Licia and Fiona.

Ten seconds—it felt like a long time. The three of them exchanged glances through the mirror. Sarah finally mustered up the courage to ask in a voice full of hesitation.

“D-Did I…interrupt something?”

Primarily referring to their first loves.

It wasn’t an outfit you’d normally wear at the academy. Licia and Fiona blushed, and Licia quickly responded.

“N-No interruption happened here!”

“But then, why are you wearing clothes like that?”

“That’s not it! It’s just a misunderstanding!”

“In this situation, I don’t really understand what you mean…”

Sarah took a step back. Not exactly retreating, but with a quiet pace.

“I-I’m… sorry!”

Apologizing as if she had seen something unpleasant, she turned her back on them and left the changing room. However, as she was walking away, Licia rushed to her and grabbed Sarah’s arm. But… with too much force, both of them ended up exiting the changing room.

And there, Ren, who had accompanied Sarah to this place, was waiting.

“Umm…?”

Ren, who had fallen silent, scratched his cheek with a wry smile. The current appearance of Fiona, who stood slightly deeper into the room beyond the open door, was also etched in his mind.

There was no need to mention that both of them had turned even redder than before. Licia had never expected them to self-destruct to this extent just because they wanted to try on something cute.

Without saying anything, Licia quietly closed the changing room door with wide eyes.

At that moment, Sarah was still outside.

“I couldn’t find what I forgot.”

“I think it might be better to wait a little longer until the two of them come out.”

“Alright, I’ll do that.”

However, Sarah didn’t feel bad about having witnessed something unusual.

“Wasn’t Vane with you?”

“Yeah. He’s doing sword training with Father at the mansion. So, I came here secretly without telling Vane because I didn’t want to disturb him.”

With her profile illuminated by the setting sun, Sarah had the person she cared about on her mind.

“Vane is working hard, so I have to work hard too.”

Ever since it was revealed that he was a descendant of the Hero Ruin, Vane’s growth had been particularly remarkable, exactly as Ren had predicted. Ren also had high expectations for the future of his friend, who was expected to become even more reliable.

“We talked earlier, right? Vane said he’s nervous about greeting everyone at the Imperial Council.”

“I understand how he feels. But I think he’ll do it in a cool way.”

Surely, in front of many nobles, he would show a brave figure.

Someday, Vane might take up a sword alongside Ren, or… maybe as an opponent…

A few minutes later, Fiona appeared from the changing room before Licia.

She peeked out of the door as if trying to sneakily show her figure, with her cheeks still slightly red.

Then, Sarah said. 

“See you.” 

And entered the changing room in exchange. She must have felt that there was no need to be reserved if it was Licia who remained.

Ren was unsure how to start a conversation with Fiona.

For the past few years, anything unrelated to battles had been a significant source of hesitation for him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to peek.”

Starting with an apology was the best course of action.

“N-No! I’m the one who showed an embarrassing side…”

“No, you looked very cute.”

“Wha…!?”

Hearing Ren call her cute made her happy. She was indeed pleased, but being called cute in such a situation, especially by surprise, caught her off guard.

Fiona, who was flushed with both joy and embarrassment, hid her face in her hands without trying to conceal it. There were faint tears in her eyes.

While harboring many emotions, she said.

“Thank you. Also, I’m sorry for making you wait.”

By voicing her gratitude and apology, she gradually calmed her heart.

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