The following day, from Supaa’s viewpoint.
“Rokuro, please wake up~. It’s morning already~.”
“Uhh… Good, good morning…”
“Yes, good morning~.”
Usually, it’s Miharu who wakes me up. It’s not that I have trouble waking up or anything… I’ve just become accustomed to relying on her in this regard. The clothes I choose to wear are always the same. Perhaps it’s a remnant of my time in the institution, where I was always made to wear the same clothes.
“Phew…”
The scenery upon waking has changed significantly in recent times. This is because we moved into an empty room in a tower mansion owned by Rinne. The vast space, so immense that it feels silly to count the number of living/dining/bedrooms, is filled with high-class furniture that must have been prepared in anticipation of our move.
We haven’t abandoned the house where Miharu and I used to live, but the thought of living here for a while is slightly dizzying.
“The meal is already prepared, so let’s head to Lady Rinne’s room~”
Miharu, who previously worked at the Takajou residence, seems unphased by this extravagant space, so far removed from common sense. We just returned from a trip the day before yesterday, so we haven’t spent much time in this room yet. However, being surrounded by expensive items everywhere, I can’t help but feel nervous. Despite having lived a life so far away, it appears I still hold some semblance of a “normal” value system.
“Rokuro?”
“I-I’m coming.”
☆
“Ah, morning, Suu-chan. Morning, Miharu.”
“Good morning, Nana.”
“Good morning~.”
As soon as we entered Rinne’s room, we bumped into Nana, who had just woken up. Despite having been unconscious until yesterday, she seemed utterly composed now. In contrast to Rinne, who had been in bed all day yesterday, Nana appeared completely rejuvenated.
Nana usually dresses in a somewhat gender-neutral manner, often wearing plain t-shirts with shorts or sweats. I’ve rarely seen her in overtly feminine outfits, save for the gear she wears in WLO. In contrast, I think Rinne, like me, doesn’t take much interest in her clothing, even though she’s quite stylish.
“Time for breakfast, right? We’re about to eat, too. Let’s eat together.”
“Ah, yes.”
Following Nana, I could see Rinne at the table, looking somewhat dazed and fixated on her tablet.
“Good morning, Rinne.”
“Oh, good morning. You seem well today, which is great.”
“Are you still not feeling well, Rinne?”
“Well, I’m not at my best, but that’s alright. I’ve taken the day off from all my work.”
Rinne, making a languid yawn as she spoke, seemed quite different from her usual self-assured manner, exuding a much softer aura. She’s always a striking beauty, but her slightly weakened state now carried an alluring, almost pitiable charm. Had I been a boy, I might have been in a difficult situation.
“Supaa, have you made plans for today and tomorrow?”
“Well, not really. I was thinking about playing Zero Wars if I have free time.”
“I see. Then keep tomorrow free. It’s Nana’s birthday.”
“Oh right, I remember now.”
I had known, but it had slipped my mind. Nana will be turning 22 on July 7th, which makes her eight years older than me. It’s a bit surprising, but Nana was actually born before Rinne. Rinne appears more mature due to her leader-like disposition, while Nana looks younger for her age.
“Last year, Rin-chan was too busy to celebrate, huh?”
“Well, it’s not like you want to be celebrated every year, right?”
“Well, yeah…”
As Nana said this, she was eating about five times the amount of breakfast that anyone else was. Nana’s unique physical abilities require a corresponding amount of calories to maintain effectively, or so it seems. It’s like needing a certain amount of power to operate a high-performance machine. I suppose that’s why Nana’s fuel efficiency is poor.
“Nana and I are going to go shopping a little in the afternoon. You’re welcome to join us if you’re free, Suupa.”
“Then I’ll go too.”
“Then it’s a trip for everyone~”
Breakfast proceeded in a relaxed atmosphere like that.
☆
A day off for both Nana and Rinne. I was curious about their usual lives, so I decided to observe their daily routine. However…
(Both of them… are doing almost nothing…)
It’s not so much that they’re doing nothing. It was more of a feeling of being let down because I had thought they would be doing something more… affectionate or playful. {tn: me too}
Rinne was sitting in front of her computer, seemingly working on editing or checking a video. Nana was fiddling with her smartphone in an unaccustomed way, seemingly just surfing the net. Occasionally, Nana would prepare a drink and give it to Rinne, but they hardly spoke to each other.
(Ah… this is the first time I’ve seen Rinne wearing glasses.)
I haven’t heard that her eyes are bad, so I guess they’re light cut glasses for reducing fatigue. She’s not skimping on efforts to avoid accumulating fatigue in small ways. She tapped the keyboard and moved the mouse without emotion, reminding me of the so-called career women I’ve read about in old comics.
(Nana is very quiet…)
In contrast to Rinne, who is diligently doing her work as expected, Nana is, well… very quiet. Not only the sound of flicking her smartphone, but also the natural sounds of breathing, the rustling of clothes, and the movement of her body are absent.
(Even when she was a butler, she was quiet when she was focused… If I’m not watching her, she’s so quiet that I can’t tell she’s there.)
I already know that Nana is not an innocent and naive person. I won’t say that the persona she presents during her streams is a lie or a fabrication, but I thought I knew that her true personality is much calmer than she thinks. But even so… The Nana I saw that day, the most genuine Nana I’ve ever seen, was surprisingly quiet and seemed fragile.
She seemed to be looking at her smartphone, but who knows how much of her consciousness she was dedicating to that. When asked what she was doing, she was just idly sitting there. She was consuming time in vain, not being chased by anything.
(I heard that before joining HEROES, she was constantly working without a break… Is this the reason?)
Not that I’m one to talk, but, no, I understand because I’m a bit similar. Nana just doesn’t know what to do with her free time. She’s the opposite of people who have too many things they want to do and not enough time. Nana has too little to do and too much time on her hands. She was just working part-time to use up the time because she has too much physical energy.
In a sense, it was a day when I could see an aspect of Nana and Rinne that was surprising… or perhaps not so surprising after all.
☆
“Shall we go to sleep soon?”
“Yes. Rinne said we have an early start tomorrow.”
“I’ve prepared your bed already. Just make sure you don’t forget to brush your teeth.”
“I know.”
Earlier in the day, apart from us visiting a commercial facility to buy some new clothes, nothing much really happened. If anything, it was mostly Nana being treated like a dress-up doll. I tagged along and got a few outfits for myself. I don’t have any specific preferences or tastes, so I simply chose several comfortable and safe options for everyday wear. The fact that my height limits my clothing choices also plays a part.
(It was a bit surprising to see Nana being resistant.)
I had thought that Nana usually accepts whatever Rinne says without any condition. So, it was quite memorable to see Nana’s mood visibly dip the moment we arrived at the clothing store. According to Nana, “it doesn’t matter what I wear.” I thought it was strange that she seemed to enjoy choosing equipment in games but hated choosing real-life clothes. Probably, she meant something like “even if I wear them, they don’t affect my status.”
(Considering she mentioned that she doesn’t really feel heat or cold.)
If we believe her words, the perceived temperature barely changes whether she’s in a desert or Antarctica. If you’re not interested in fashion, clothes are nothing more than fur that covers the body and regulates body temperature. Indeed, if she really doesn’t need to regulate body temperature, clothes might just be a nuisance for Nana. I wonder if all of humanity had the same temperature tolerance as Nana, would everyone walk around naked?
While pondering such pointless things, I brushed my teeth and climbed into bed. Of course, when it comes to sleeping, I have a separate bed from Miharu. Nana and Rinne seem to sleep in the same bed. It does seem quite romantic from an outsider’s perspective, but neither Touka nor Miharu make fun of it, which probably means that it’s completely natural for them.
(I wonder what will happen on Nana’s birthday tomorrow…)
I brushed my teeth and got into bed, pondering about tomorrow. Nanaka, Futayado Nanaka. The day this creature was born. In a way, this might be a commemorative day for humanity. As I was lost in these trivial thoughts, sleep overcame me in an instant.
===*
Just as a note, Supaa’s birthday has been arbitrarily set as June 6th, based on her specimen number. She doesn’t actually know her real birthday.
“The day this creature was born.”
😭😭😭
i already forgot who are Supaa, Miharu and Touka 🥲