The next day, I arrived at the Dvor Hotel early again, avoiding the reporters. I settled into a seat and studied, but it seemed Furina was not coming to look for me this time. After crying so much in front of me yesterday, she had no choice but to feel embarrassed. So I studied until the bell rang. This time, I had been assigned a seat by the window, and I could see the reporters outside asking each other why I was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey. Did you see that little kid yesterday?"
"I caught a glimpse of him when he came out after the exam, but the moment I tried to interview him, he ran off like an arrow."
"Then he came to take the exam and must already be inside, right? Doesn’t that mean there’s no point waiting?"
The reporters whispered among themselves. You people only need to see the results of the third exam. Furina was the only one who knew I had moved to the Bouf d’ete Residence. Once the third-round results came out, the other reporters would probably rush to the House of the Hearth again. Only then would Kujavina tell them, "The child has become independent, so he is no longer my responsibility." The reporters who had made the trip for nothing would then run all over the place looking for me. Just imagining it was hilarious.
"Hmm-hmm~ Hehe-hmm~ Hmm-hmm~"
Furina entered, humming to herself. It seemed she had gotten over it. The goddamn second day of the exam had begun...
The fourth period ended. Now all I could do was leave it to heaven... No, wait. Would heaven here mean the Heavenly Principles? I did not really want to pray to the Heavenly Principles. Should I pray to Focalors instead?
I finished my exam and stepped out in front of the Dvor Hotel. A barrage of camera flashes went off, and reporters swarmed toward me.
"How was today’s exam? It was essay-based, so it must have been difficult!"
"My arm hurts, but I had no major trouble writing."
"What would you estimate your chances of passing the third round to be? Do you think you will take first place this time?"
"I have to pray to God. It seems that is all I can do."
What I meant was that I had to pray to Furina. If it were Furina, she would probably try to make me take first place.
"I’ll be going now. I’m too tired..."
"Ah, yes! Understood!"
"Avrora! I’ll be counting on you in two weeks!"
Ugh, that Euphrasie from The Steambird... Now that she knew me a little, she was flaunting our acquaintance. Maybe I should not have done that interview...
"Good work, Avrora. Have dinner and get plenty of rest tonight."
"Yes, thank you, Sergei."
"Angelina? I smell something spicy. What is that smell?"
"This? I found out Liyue has a dish where they boil seafood in a stew, so I tried making it!"
Liyue food? A spicy smell? Could it be?
"It’s a soup made by boiling fish and pickled peppers together."
Spicy fish stew!!!
I let out a cheer. How long had it been since I had eaten something so rich and spicy?!
"Give it to me now! Hurry! I want to eat it!"
"Wait a little. It hasn’t finished boiling yet. This is the first time I’ve seen him get so excited."
"Seriously. Did he always like spicy food?"
"It’s not just spicy, it has that hearty kick! When you eat something like this inside on a cold day... ahhh..."
"Did you live in Snezhnaya or something? You look exactly like some old man from a Snezhnayan harbor."
My eyes had practically rolled back at the prospect of eating a home-style dish for the first time in ages. I tossed my bag into my room and immediately sat down at the dining table. Spicy fish stew? There was no way I could resist that.
The children gradually came down to the first floor and took their seats. Then Angelina brought out a huge pot of spicy fish stew.
Steam rose from the stew. The fish must have been caught in Fontaine. I was practically drooling.
"Doesn’t this look kind of fishy? Is it actually edible?"
"Mister, this goes amazingly well with alcohol, you know?"
"Really? Is this drinking food?"
"Avrora? How do you know something like that? It’s not as if you have ever drunk alcohol."
"I know what I know. And what I don’t know, I can’t help not knowing. Let’s eat, come on!"
I scooped up a spoonful of broth and tasted it. That sharp, warming flavor and the savory richness unique to fish... It tasted just like what I used to eat back home.
"Ahh... This is incredible..."
"That face of his really looks like he’ll grow up to love alcohol. See? I told you he must be from Snezhnaya. We should soak him in booze from now on—cough!"
"Quit yapping and eat, pig."
The children seemed unsure what to do with a food they had never seen in their lives. Well, then. I would have to teach them. Come to think of it, Fontaine did not have chopsticks, did it?
"Hey, I can’t pick the fish apart. It’s too hot."
"In that case, take the fish out first and let it cool before eating it. Liyue has something called chopsticks, which they use for this, but we do not have those here."
"Is that so? Then it feels like we need something to eat with the fish..."
"Just a moment."
Rice would go well with spicy fish stew, but Fontaine did not have rice, so we would have to eat it with bread at least. I had heard French fish stew was eaten that way, but this was Liyue-style spicy fish stew, so I was not sure how it would turn out.
"For now, let’s try it with bread."
"All right... We have no choice."
I picked apart the cooled fish with my hands and distributed it among the children. My hands might smell afterward, but what could I do?
"Can you really eat this? It’s not some weird thing the lady made, is it?"
"Citra? Do you want me to hit you?"
I could not forgive anyone for insulting spicy fish stew.
"No! It’s just... I’ve never seen anything like it before!"
"It’s because Angelina made it Liyue-style. It might have been a little different if it were Fontaine-style, but so what? Think of it as trying foreign food and eat it."
"All right... Mm... It’s not bad?"
"Right? Cravie, you should eat too."
"Okay... Thank you, Avrora."
To Peruel, her brother looked strange. Seeing her brother, who was normally so blunt, enjoying himself this much felt strange to her. She found herself believing that a single dish could change a person so completely.
"I’ve picked all the fish apart, so I should eat too, right?"
Tonight’s dinner felt like it would remain in my mind for a long time.
Two weeks later, June had already arrived. I bought a copy of The Steambird from a newspaper stand and unfolded it. The Bouf d’ete Residence did not subscribe to the paper, so it was not delivered there and I had to buy one myself. Then I promptly shuddered.
[First Place in the First Round, Second Place in the Second, First Place in the Third! The March of the Youngest Title Holder]
[Who Exactly Is Avrora?]
[Avrora Suspected of Being a Snezhnayan Spy... Lady Furina de Fontaine: Do Not Make Jokes About His Name]
I was a Snezhnayan spy? They must have suspected me because my name sounded Snezhnayan. On my way back to the Bouf d’ete Residence with The Steambird in hand, I saw someone running toward me from up ahead. That person was...
"Pant... pant... There you are! Avrora! It’s me!"
"Fuck, Euphrasie..."
She looked exactly like someone who had gone all the way to the House of the Hearth and come back. Kujavina must have told her off, leaving her stunned. Euphrasie looked as though she had run all over Fontaine, and with the single-minded conviction that she had finally found her scoop, she charged straight at me.
I started running too. I had a gut feeling that I would be screwed if she caught me now. I ducked into a side street, then soon reached the Bouf d’ete Residence and locked the door behind me.
"Brother... How did the exam go?"
"Peruel? Today, do not open the door for anyone except Citra, Cravie, Mister, and Missus."
"Okay..."
Citra and Cravie had gone out to play, while the two Fatui agents had gone out on a mission. They said they would return in a few days, so they would not be back today. I gulped down water to soothe my throat. I thought I was going to die trying to shake her off...
"So, Brother... the exam?"
"Who do you think I am, little sister?"
"Did you get first place?"
"Yeah..."
"Just as I expected from you, Brother."
Leaving my exhausted body behind, I went up to the second floor and looked down through the window. I could see reporters running around in search of me.
"Did you find him?!"
"Euphrasie did find him, but she says he got away!"
"Damn it! Where did he hide?! They let him become independent from the orphanage! Is that director out of her mind?!"
She was out of her mind, all right. Absolutely.
"We have to find that kid first! How can a fifteen-year-old get scores like that?!"
"The moment we find him, it’s guaranteed to be a huge scoop! Search every inch of the Court of Fontaine if you have to!"
They could not even dream that I was in this residence. The reporters were probably all thinking, Where could an orphan possibly hide? Now that I had confirmed my results, I was about to prepare for a nap in my room. But that peace did not last long.
Knock knock knock.
I heard someone knocking on the door. I checked who it was through the second-floor window. The moment I did, I sighed, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do with that girl.
"Avrora! It’s me! Furina! Open the door!"
Seeing Furina walking around outside, the reporters would probably rush over thinking that they could at least photograph Lady Furina. Then they would discover where I was too, and after that, all I could picture was Furina and me being interviewed together. I rushed down to the first floor and opened the door.
"Avrora! You were here—Eek!"
I pulled Furina inside and immediately locked the door.
"Hey! What are you doing coming here now?! Can’t you see the reporters running around outside?!"
"O-Obviously, I came because of our piano lessons! You told me to come here today because it was the day the results would be announced!"
"Oh, dear..."
This was entirely my fault. Still, who could have expected me to take first place again...?
"Brother...? Is it that bitch again?"
Peruel descended on us before I could even catch my breath. Please, just let me rest...
"Peruel? We’re taking the day off from piano lessons, so could you go up to your room? I think Furina and I need to talk for a bit..."
"Okay..."
Peruel went up to her room with an unhappy look on her face. I took Furina into my room.
"I think this is my first time coming into your room?"
"Right... Isn’t this your first time entering this house at all?"
"You turned me away at the door the very first day I came here..."
"Sorry about that..."
Furina and I sat on the bed, allowing a wordless silence to linger.
Then Furina broke that silence.
"I saw today’s paper before coming here... They said you got first place in the third round?"
"Yeah... It went exactly the way you wanted. How does it feel?"
"I don’t feel anything... I just... want our lives to continue like this forever."
"I’m worried about the interview, while you’re still trapped in your dream?"
"It’s not a dream?! It’s a future that will come true?!"
"Want to say that exact same thing to the girl in the room next door?"
"Hic!"
Furina was still afraid of Peruel. That was an unchanging truth. But there were truths that changed as well. Just as people believed it was an unquestionable truth that Furina was the Hydro Archon, while I did not.
"Furina? You said you wanted to date me, right?"
"Yeah... Huh? Of course I do! You and I are destined for each other!"
"What kind of destined couple has a five-hundred-year age gap?"
"Anyway! About dating you... why are you asking...?"
"Furina..."
"Are you sure you can handle getting hurt?"
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register