Volume 5 Chapter 229, Women’s Bath_2 (: Lavender)

Translator: Nonon

Proofreader: Silavin

 

POV: Violet

 

“Well then, if I may, there is something I want to ask.”

“Uh, yes, that’s fine. Please ask me. As someone who’s lived longer than you, albeit only by a year, I will try to answer you as much as I can.”

 

Mary had been acting strangely flustered, but after hearing Apricot’s words, she composed herself for a moment and then put on her usual gentle smile.

No matter how she tried to cover it up, seeing that reaction from earlier and the way she was urging for… love stories? I thought Apricot would either talk to somebody else, or show a slightly hesitant expression.

 

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

 

However, Apricot didn’t even bat an eye, thanked Mary sincerely and even bowed lightly to her.

Cyan and I were puzzled by her unusual response, but we waited for Apricot to speak without voicing our doubts.

 

“I have a question for you, Ms. Mary, who has many boys wrapped around her finger without accepting their feelings, and who’s gathering followers until somebody who can stir her feelings of love appears.”

“… P-please go ahead.”

 

I see, so that’s what Mary’s strained expression looks like. She maintained a smile, but you could sense that she wanted to deny it but couldn’t.

 

“The opposite sex…. males… what kind of creatures are they?”

 

 

Then, in response to Apricot’s question, not only I but also Kriemhild looked puzzled, unable to grasp the situation. Cyan remained expressionless and said nothing. As for Mary,

 

“The living beings have a basic instinct to leave offspring in order to ensure the survival of the species, and the males are necessary for the females to do that. This would be my answer if you were asking biologically, but I don’t think that’s the case.  First, can you please tell us the circumstances of what led you to ask that question?”

“… I guess you can’t answer unless I explain.”

 

She responded with a smile and inquired of her own.

Her gentle, saintly smile conveyed a loving, generous heart, even though she is not much different in age from me.

 

“You know that earlier my Disciple declared that he would be attending Azalea Academy, right?”

“Yes, I heard that he received a recommendation to skip grades.”

 

I think I heard that Gray had decided to enroll in the academy.

When I first heard about it at dinner, I was worried that it might be better to wait a little longer, but Gray’s resolve was firm and Lord Clo also supported him. So I figured there was no point in me opposing it and I decided to support him as much as I could.

 

“If my Disciple accepts that offer, he may be viewed with suspicion and there’s a chance something bad could be done to him.”

“…”

 

…. After all, he is considered my Son.

Now that we’ve shown up at the school festival, the people from the academy will surely hear about Gray, so it’s highly unlikely that his days there will be uneventful.

Gray tends to trust people without question, which is my biggest concern regarding his time at the academy.

 

“Ms. Mary and Ms. Kriemhild could protect him, but you’re in a different grade. So I decided to enroll in the academy myself to protect my Disciple. I was undecided about enrolling and thought this was a good opportunity.”

“Right.”

“But… According to Mr. Clo, ‘he won’t mature if I’m constantly by his side, and there’s no point in sending him’ and besides…”

 

Apricot paused there and she reached for her head, only to find that the hat she usually wore was not there, and lowered her hand again.

 

“I was also told that we are of different genders and it’s impossible for us to always be together.”

“That’s right, the differences will inevitably arise between two people of the opposite sexes. Social and physical gender differences. Even if you try to understand it, it’s probably impossible to grasp it fully.”

“… But just because we can’t understand it doesn’t mean that we should give up on trying to understand.”

“Yes. Precisely because it’s difficult, we mustn’t stop trying to find common ground.’

“… Hmm.”

 

Mary smiled happily, drawing closer to Apricot her words.

… As always, even though she’s supposed to be the same age as me, she has a maturity that makes her seem older. She has a similar air to Lord Clo, as if they’re peers.

Still, Apricot’s question about Gray means…

 

“Are you perhaps concerned about Gray?”

 

Yes, she was asking for Gray’s sake. It was as if she wanted to understand and learn about gender differences, so that she could protect him a little better when they entered the academy.

And the fact that Mary deliberately added ‘perhaps’ to her question, suggested she was trying to give Apricot plausible deniability.

 

“Even though we share the same last name, our backgrounds, ways of thinking, and ages are all different. As his mentor, I can’t give him careless guidance, so I’m always mindful of that. I am but…”

“Yes?”

 

Apricot paused again, returning to the unfocused, vacant expression she had earlier, as if gazing in the distance.

 

“… Should I say that I hadn’t understood until now that my Disciple was a boy, or should I say that I understood it but wasn’t conscious of it…?  Even though I understood the concept, I suppose I should say I couldn’t fully grasp it….”

 

And with still the same expression, she muttered, almost as if talking to herself.

In other words, Apricot knew that Gray was the opposite sex, but…

 

“… So, you mean until now you thought of him as “Gray, the Disciple” and not “Gray, the boy?”

 

According to Mary, she didn’t see him as a member of the opposite sex, instead only interacting with him as her apprentice Gray. It means they were able to build a relationship that transcended gender, but…

 

“Is that how it is? But gender doesn’t matter when it comes to a Master interacting with their Disciple. However, the fact remains that my Disciple is a boy, so it’s important to keep it in mind. That’s why I thought I’d ask Ms. Mary about boys, even just a little… No, I think I’ll refrain after all.”

“What’s wrong?”

 

Instead of speaking in her usual decisive manner, Apricot mumbled a few hesitant words before deciding not to ask the question.

 

“I’m sorry, this is my problem, and not something I should consult others about. Even if I put him in the same mold as a typical man, my Disciple is still my Disciple.”

“But…”

“I know. I’m not going to stop trying to understand him. It’s just that I want to know more about my Disciple and not a typical man… man…”

“Apricot?”

 

This time, Apricot’s pauses were not just pauses between words like before; she stammered as if remembering something, her voice gradually becoming softer at the end of each word. Eventually, her voice faded away, and as we watched her with curiosity, she lowered her body slightly, so that her chin was submerged in the water.

 

“That’s right. My Disciple is of the opposite sex… he’s a boy. He’s different from me, and I hadn’t given it much thought until now, but things can’t stay like this…. Even in this hot spring… no, he didn’t seem to mind it much, so I shouldn’t worry about it… either…”

 

This time, she muttered to herself, not really speaking to anyone in particular, as if her thoughts had unconsciously slipped out.

Could it be that… Apricot is…

 

“Apricottie, are you perhaps conscious of Gray as a boy?”

 

Kriemhild casually voiced what everyone present was thinking.

Apricot was the first to react to her words. Without changing her expression, she simply answered the question that had been posed to her.

 

“Yeah, I’m conscious of him. As long as my Disciple is a boy, I can’t treat him the same way I used to, so even now I’m…”

“Um, I mean, do you like him?”

“I do like my Disciple.”

“Umm…”

 

Kriemhild was racking her brain, trying to figure out how to put it. It was probably because the ‘like’ Apricot meant was different from the ‘like’ Kriemhild meant. She might have been willing to explain it thoroughly and politely, but she seemed unsure of just how far she could go.

Mary also looked a little troubled. While she knew a bit about Apricot’s personality, they hadn’t spoken much. Her expression suggested she was trying to gauge how far she could go.

I suppose I could step in, but I was also a little unsure of how to say it.

 

“That’s not what we mean, Cottie.”

“Hm? What do you mean, Ms. Cyan?”

 

While we were still struggling, Cyan was the first to step in.

I felt a little relieved by that.

 

“In other words, Cottie, what we’re trying to say is–“

 

Cyan was sensitive to the feelings of others and had helped many people find solutions to their problems.

Just as I had decided that I could safely entrust the situation to her,

 

“Do you want to have babies with Ray?”

“What a minute, Nun.”

 

Unable to contain myself, I interrupted Cyan’s words.

What was this Sister even saying?