[Hanako] Chapter 9: Life in the Estate

[Asta]

There's almost something refreshing about that. Hanako noted to herself as Minette began to unbutton her uniform without any regard for who was around.

"Evening girls." she said with a smile. "How's everything going?"

She had a favor to ask them, but putting it off for pleasantries was a good idea. Plus she liked the girls and considered them her closest friends... probably the closest she'd ever had considering her loner lifestyle.

Hanako was already lounging on the bed and had been killing time thinking about how best to ask her favor. She had taken a page out of Minette's book and had already removed her pants to get comfortable.

[Throndir]

Minette continued to undress, taking off her bra completely, then replacing it with the top that she used as her pajamas.

"元気です。私は日本語の話し方を学びました..."

Translation: I'm fine. I learned how to speak Japanese...

When Minette spoke, you realized that your automatic translation didn't trigger, as Minette's mouth movements matched precisely what she was saying.

Trudy, realizing that everyone was already in their sleep-wear, flushed slightly, turned around so she was facing the opposite wall from the bed, and began to undress as well. While she was undressing, Minette took the opportunity to slip in bed, clinging to your arm. She whispered in your ear.

"彼女が脱いでいるとき、とるうでぃいはかわいいです。"

Translation: Trudy is cute when she is taking off her clothes.

"Okay! All done." Trudy said, a faint pink still on her cheeks as she made her way over to the two of you.

[Asta]

"Ohh!" Hanako exclaimed a little surprised, both at Minette's declaration as well as her fluency.

「なるほど...すごい！ あなたはうまくやった！」 she said, trying to say each syllable distinctly to avoid triggering auto-translate.

Translation: "I see... Amazing! You've done well!"

As Minette slipped into bed beside her, she tried to watch Trudy change on the sly.

"彼女が脱いでいるとき、とるうでぃいはかわいいです。"

Minette's breath tickled Hanako's ear and she turned just a little red. 「はい、それは素晴らしいことです。あなたも二人ともかわいいと思います」

Translation: "Yes, Its wonderful but I think both of you are cute."

She grinned a little as Trudy came over, oblivious to the teasing that was taking place.

[Throndir]

When you said that both her and Trudy were cute, Minette blushed slightly, but responded by squeezing your arm affectionately.

"W-what are you two smiling about?" Trudy asked, confusion written on her face. "Is there something on my face...? Or something?"

[Asta]

"Nope, just enjoying the view." Hanako replied with a smile. She patted the empty spot next to her beckoning Trudy to come join them. "Come get comfortable, I've got a small favor to ask of the two of you."

She said "small favor" but it was probably a much more involved task than she was letting on. She knew they would do their best though, so Hanako wasn't worried about them turning her down.

[Throndir]

Trudy slipped into bed as well, finding your hand underneath the covers, she held on to it. She was still slightly timid about it, and unlike Minette who was a lot more calmer about such things, she continued to be slightly pink.

"What's the favor?"

[Asta]

Hanako gave Trudy's hand a light squeeze. "Nothing major. Just when you have time, I'd like the two of you to make an effort to get to know Falah a little better. By that I mean just hang out with her every now and then around the house. I know she's a demon and that makes things awkward but I've spent a little time talking to her and she seems kind of... harmless."

"She doesn't even know how to read or write." she continued. "If it makes it easier to do so, you can consider it a reconnaissance mission and sprinkle in questions about the demons and their country and report what you learn to me."

She sweetened the pot... "As a reward... I'll offer you both the chance to spend a day doing whatever you want with me. No questions asked, no requests denied."

[Throndir]

"I could... Perhaps teach her? And a whole day... Hmm..."

"A-any request?" Her face became red, thinking about the possibilities.

Minette and Trudy then spoke at the same time.

"Deal!"

[Asta]

Why do I feel like I've willingly walked into a trap...? Hanako thought after the pair so quickly and eagerly agreed. For a moment, the imagery of a rabbit carelessly hopping into a den of wolves flashed through her mind.

"Great, thank you! I think you'll find that she's not a bad person, and I hope when the others see you with her in a more casual way, they'll grow to look at her with less... open hostility." Hanako smiled, she was thankful that her friends were supportive.

"She did say something interesting to me the other day too... Apparently there is a Refedoran woman going around masquerading as a samurai, hell bent on driving the demons out of the country. I don't know if shes crazy or another hero or what, but what IS interesting to me is that she's claiming to be a samurai. I'm obviously not familiar with Isikawan culture, but samurai were warriors from my country's past. Falah actually said the word in Japanese too which I think is even more strange."

[Throndir]

"Samurai... There are similarities with your language of Japanese... compared with the language Isikawan. But structure is... different. Sometimes words are different too. There are parts that sound the same, but they are two separate languages. Maybe..." Minette thought for a moment.

"Maybe it's more like they had the same original language?"

"It is... rare that someone from our country would go to Isikawa, and then come back... We have been here for only about 3 years. Other than you... I'm not aware of any other hero summonings... Maybe there was, but I'm not sure."

[Asta]

"At this point I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case..." Hanako said, shrugging slightly. "Apparently her name is Raina Fuchs, and if Falah's description of her is accurate shes... uhh... how to put this nicely... special. Yes, special. Special, like she may not be entirely in touch with reality..." She was unsure how to explain what a chuuni was to people that might not even have the concept of middle school.

"Does a hero necessarily need to be summoned? There aren't cases of hero's just being normal people that get blessed?"

[Throndir]

Trudy was the one who answered this time around. The subject of heroes being something she was always fascinated in.

"Most heroes are summoned. But... if you're talking about blessings. Sometimes regular people suddenly get them too. But usually not as amazing as a heroes. The gift of foresight for example, was once recorded about a hundred years ago Also, there had been cases of heroes who were just regular people, who eventually gained the powers of a summoned hero. Those are rare though... Even summoning a hero is rare."

[Asta]

"Huh. Well, I'm sure whoever she is we'll eventually cross paths. Provided she lives that long." Hanako mused.

She settled in further on the bed, and put an arm around each of her companions squeezing them in closer. It was pretty bold, considering who she was. "Anyway, I think we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow so it might be a good idea to get some sleep. So lets get comfy."

[Throndir]

Minette took you pulling her in in stride, she even began to wrap her left arm around you, over your waist, and pulled herself close in with you. As for Trudy, she was a bit more flustered, though she instead smiled and let herself pulled in.


Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Hanako's Room
Date: Day 9 - 6 AM

Waking up that morning, both Minette and Trudy were still lying in bed with you, though, sometime during the night, Trudy must have slipped out of her thick sweater, as she was just in her bra and panties.

As you recall, today was the day with the meeting with the Flensberg official about the purchase of the new mining site, along with discussing the lumberyard rights of who would be working there, along with other such details.

Let me know what the plans are for today. Expect the official to come in sometime in the afternoon.

[Asta]

Thank you for this feast. Hanako thought, realizing that Trudy had disrobed herself in the middle of the night.

She gently brushed the hair out of both their faces and pecked a small kiss on their foreheads. Daring, yes, but having been given the opportunity Hanako decided to take it. "Hey, good morning you two." she said softly. "Today is full of annoying meetings, but we should start it off nice with a relaxing bath."

Normally, one might reserve bathing for later in the day but Hanako knew that if she didn't start the day off loose, she was likely to get annoyed dealing with the stress of the upcoming meetings.

Hanako is gonna take a bath, with or without her companions. Then spend some time down at the firing range after a quick breakfast. Then meet with Aldric and prep for the meeting.