27 27

◎Soap Bubbles◎

27

At the time, Ruoyi couldn't understand Francis's feelings. However, thinking that children's illness and death were often more heartbreaking, she didn't pay much attention.

She patted her bottom and stood up from the bench.

"If Francis wants to learn this song, you can find it on YouTube. My house is a bit far from here, so I'll be going now—"

“Okay.” Francis replied, reciting the last line of the song “Soap Bubbles”.

"I won't let the wind keep blowing."

Kawakami Ruoyi: "...?"

"What?"

“It’s nothing.” Francis shook his head.

Afterwards, whenever she thought about it, Kawakami Wakana would think that if she had realized what Francis was trying to say at that time, perhaps she would have told him.

The bursting of a soap bubble may not be the end...

…………

In early August, Hinata Natsu returned to Japan.

Her plane arrived at Narita Airport around 3 p.m. After resting for a day in her rented apartment, the two met up the next day at a family restaurant in Tokyo.

After seeing the "100% Affection (Friend)" tag above Hinata Natsu's head, Kawakami Wakana felt that Dazai Osamu's previous guess seemed to have become even more convincing.

"Nyan-chan—" As soon as she saw Kawakami Wakai, Hinata Natsumi pounced on her and rubbed her face against her. "Finally back home! You know, of all places, the competition had to be held in Sichuan Province, and all the dishes there are super spicy!"

"Now, even a bowl of porridge seems like a delicacy!"

Kawakami Ruoyi: "..."

Is this... really that exaggerated?

Although there are international students from Sichuan Province at her school, I've actually heard them complain before that Japanese food is a bit...too bland.

"How have you been lately, Nyanko-chan?" Hinata Natsumi sighed that she still preferred lighter flavors, then nudged Kawakami Wakana with her elbow and chuckled, "With your Fejia."

Huh...?

"Natsu-chan..." Before Ruoyi could tell Hinata Natsu, who wasn't an ability user, about her own ability, she picked up a French fry with her head down, staring intently at it, and said, "Feijia, he..."

"It seems like she likes me a little bit too."

60% favorability rating...

There should be a little bit...

“Really?” Hinata Natsumi asked instinctively.

"Isn't that a good thing? So how far have things progressed between you two? Dating? Holding hands? Or—"

A hint of ambiguity instantly appeared in her pupils.

Kawakami Ruoyi: "..."

So it is said that—

Let alone holding hands, it seems that she and Fedia have never even had a proper date.

Both times after Fei Jia came to Japan, she personally went to that coffee shop to wait for him.

She even...

I don't even know where Fei Jia lives now.

This is definitely not something you can call dating, right?

After listening to Hinata Natsu talk about things related to China, Ruoyi parted ways with her at the family restaurant and returned home alone.

Yes! Since she's already decided not to let Feda be so lonely, having a meal together, watching a movie, or going shopping together is fine, right?

She didn't need Feda to pay for her shopping or carry her bags like other guys would when they went shopping with their girlfriends. She could carry them herself and didn't need Feda to pay for her things.

For some reason, Kawakami Wakana suddenly thought of Francis, who blew soap bubbles for the first time.

The result is—

A few minutes later, Fyodor received an invitation from a cat.

[Feijia! Feijia! Do you want to blow soap bubbles together?]

The tone was exactly like, "Do you want to go jellyfish catching together?"

Fyodor: "..."

"Naive." That was his only reply.

However, the stubborn kitten seemed unwilling to give up and soon sent another long string of messages—

[Waka playing cards? Beanbag? Shuttlecock? Fencing? Or maybe a ghost game?]

Ah, it's not very fun if there are too few people at the end.

"..."

"Why are you suddenly thinking about all these things?" Fyodor couldn't help but ask.

[Because these are all traditional Japanese games! You've probably never played waka or card games before! If Feijia wants to play, I can have Natsumi help host.]

This is really going on and on...

To be honest, Fyodor wasn't interested in anything the kitten was saying. Even if he were, if it were a contest of pure physical strength rather than intellect and strategy, he wouldn't be able to beat the cat.

"I won't do anything I can't win," he replied decisively.

Moreover, compared to these noisy "games," I prefer things that can be done quietly, like reading.

The other party remained silent.

Just when Fyodor thought the other side was about to give up—

[Kawakami Wakai: So, would Fei Jia be willing to read my articles?]

"...?"

Fyodor was a little skeptical: "You can write novels?"

What he received was a series of question marks.

Are you looking down on me?

[It's true I've never written a novel, but I have written essays! I've written papers and reports!]

Besides, even if I've never cooked, I've eaten food. And who hasn't read a novel or two?

[Anyway, Fedia, just you wait! I will definitely write a short story that will satisfy you!]

"..."

“Novels are not the same as papers or reports.” Fyodor did not reply, but stared at the last line sent by Kawakami Wakana and muttered to himself.

For some reason, the image of the kitten suddenly popped into his mind.

She wore two braids that swayed as she walked, and her hair and eyes were the color of catnip. Most importantly, her complexion was very rosy, giving her a healthy look, and her lips were already a lovely pink even without lipstick.

He glanced at himself in the mirror subconsciously—

Her skin was pale, her lips were bloodless, and the dark circles under her eyes seemed even more pronounced than when she was in Lucia.

"..."

Fyodor raised his hand and touched his face.

If only his complexion were a little better...

…………

Although Kawakami Wakana boasted to Fei Jia that she would write a novel that would interest him, when she actually sat down at the computer and opened the document, she found her mind completely blank.

They couldn't even come up with a suitable subject matter.

Light novels are popular now? Fei Jia probably isn't interested in that kind of thing. After all, when we chatted before about anime, or ACG, he seemed to only know about Chibi Maruko-chan and Doraemon.

A romance novel? She didn't think she could write one based on her own dating experience.

Science fiction... or magical fiction like the boy with the lightning scar who lives in the closet? These kinds of novels are all about "a worldview different from the real world," but now we already have superpowers in the real world... not to mention that the vast worldview that these kinds of novels need to present cannot be written in a short story of a few thousand or tens of thousands of words.

Religion-related? Perhaps Fedia would like it, but that would be a blind spot for her.

Kawakami Wakai discovered—

very good.

She can't write it.

"..."

Or... I could just write about blowing soap bubbles with the kids that day in my essay.

Kawakami Wakana shook her head, realizing that her thoughts were simply an act of escapism.

And so it went, until the weekend when Ruoyi had to go to Yokohama for her part-time job, and her novel was still at 0 words.

Letting her improvise might not prevent her from coming up with something entirely, but when it comes to considering other people's preferences, someone as "well-informed" as Fedya is still the better choice.

It's tough.

Inside the Whirlpool Cafe, Ruoyi sighed as she cleaned the table.

But when the music signaling someone to enter the shop started playing at the door, she still had to put on a smile and greet the customer.

"Welcome, welcome!"

When Ruoyi saw that it was Francis who came in, she really wanted to complain—

Why aren't you running yet?

But this was indeed meddling in her business, so she could only make a "2" gesture and, after Francis nodded, led the two of them to a two-person table.

Francis and the white-haired old man, whose identity was unclear, ordered the same food they had ordered last time. There were no other customers in the restaurant, and their meal was prepared quickly. Kawakami Wakana, carrying her tray, had just approached their table when she overheard the two men conversing in fluent American English.

Her English level wasn't high enough to understand everything the two people were saying, but Ruoyi heard one sentence very clearly.

“I must break Yokohama.”

"...?"

If she heard correctly—

Did Francis Sander mean, "I'm going to destroy Yokohama"?

"..."

"She must have misheard, right?" Ruoyi thought.

After all, English has always been her weak point, let alone two native English speakers conversing in English.

and--

Even if Francis is a very rich man, he probably couldn't... destroy a city, right?

So Ruoyi pretended not to understand and served the food. But then, she hid in the shadows, took out her phone, and opened a translation app.

Translation software these days is much better than it was a few years ago when she first met Federer. You just need to record what the other person says, and it can be translated into the desired language. While there are still occasional errors, at least it's not "artificially stupid."

Soon, lines of Japanese text appeared.

But Kawakami Wakana was so shocked that she covered her mouth.

She didn't mishear.

Francis did indeed intend to use the superpower of the old man named Herman who was with him—the "White Whale"—to attack Yokohama.

Moreover, the goal was to find the "book".

"...!"

Is this why the Port Mafia has their eye on Francis, and why he's still staying here despite all that?

Who is "that gentleman"...?

This was the first time Kawakami Wakai had experienced the cruelty of the world of superpowers since discovering that she might be a superpower user.

Is this also why Feda wanted to create a world without people with superpowers?

As she was thinking this, her phone was suddenly snatched away.

"I spoke to Herman in English precisely to prevent anyone from overhearing anything they shouldn't. I never expected someone would use translation software to try and find out what I was saying?"

"...!"

Ruoyi's pupils dilated involuntarily as she looked up at Francis in front of her.

[Author's Note]

Curiosity killed the cat (not really).

I just realized that JJ allows you to use custom images as backgrounds!

However, text cannot be backgrounded, making most images look tiring and frustrating.

Today's Mini-Theater

November 11th is both Wakana Kawakami's birthday and Fyodor's birthday.

After winter set in, Ruoyi started thinking about what gift she should give Fyodor.

After all, it's hard to choose what Feda would like, and she couldn't possibly give the "book" away to someone else.

So, by cultivating a good relationship with Fyodor's subordinates, she learned that Fyodor's biggest insecurity was his poor complexion.

That's very simple!

After all, a poor complexion can be improved through proper care!

The result was...

On November 11th, Fyodor received...

It's a set of cosmetics.

Fyodor: ?