Banquet Beneath the Clouded Moon - Chapter 2

English translation by @raikanata. Not proofread.

Time: A few hours later

Rinne: Blamery-chan, where do you wanna go?

Rinne: Okay-okay, that way. I guess that’s the park.

Rinne: Blamery-chan, everything OK? Can you keep walking?

Rinne: Don’t push yourself, alright? I’ll pick you up when you’re tired, and we’ll go back.

Rinne: Look at me, walking the dog leisurely on a weekday. How peaceful…

Sora: HaHa~♪ Take a look, Yuu-chan! It’s Gambler-oniisan, walking a dog~!

Yuta: Really. Isn’t that a Yorkshire Terrier? Doesn’t suit him at all.

Yuta: Hello, Rinne-senpai ♪ What’s with the little one? Don’t tell me you kidnapped it?

Rinne: I have a reason, y’know. I’m pet-sitting.

Yuta: Huh, like a side-job?

Rinne: It’s not really a side job. Hiyori-chan tasked me with walking his dog, basically.

Rinne: Oop- Because Yuta-kun put his hand out, Blamery-chan hid behind me.

Yuta: Eh? Is it my fault?

Sora: We’re not scary, y’know? C’mere, c’mere~♪

Rinne: Like Hiyori-chan said, she gets scared and starts trembling if someone she doesn’t know reaches out.

Rinne: But she’s all lovey dovey with me since we live in the same room. Right, Blamery-chan?

Yuta: Ahaha, look at her face. It’s like she’s saying “We’re not that close.”~.

Yuta: But being feared by a dog who likes Rinne-senpai just fine, it's giving me mixed feelings…

Sora: HiHi~♪ Don’t feel bad, Yuu-chan. She was only scared because she “met you for the first time”.

Sora: When we aren’t strangers to her anymore, I’m sure we will get along too~.

Sora: Gambler-oniisan, is her name “Blamery”?

Rinne: Nope. That’s what I call her, but her name’s Bloody Mary.

Sora: HuHu~♪ Bloody Mary, got it!

Sora: Nice to meet you, Bloody Mary! Sora is Sora Harukawa, and this is Sora’s friend Yuuchan~

Sora: Sora and Yuuchan both played “Werewolf Game” together with Dazzling-oniisan^[1] before. You might feel scared now, but I’d be happy if we can become friends little by little~

Rinne: Ah, Blamery-chan is sniffing Sora-chan’s hand. Looks like she’s taken an interest in ya.

Rinne: Amazing. When we started living together, she kept her distance from me, and would only barely look at me.

Yuta: It’s like Sora-kun understands the things that animals want to say, huh.

Rinne: Eh, for real?

Yuta: For real, yeah. He interpreted a cat for me before.

Rinne: Interesting. I want to try talking with an animal for once too.

Yuta: Me too. I wonder what kind of stuff they normally think about.

Yuta: Huh? Rinne-senpai, I think a sound came from your phone just now.

Rinne: Oh, it’s a message from Hiyori-chan.

Rinne: “Take a picture while on the walk!”...I almost forgot about that.

Yuta: Picture?

Rinne: Yup. It’s proof that I’m doing the pet-sitting properly.

Rinne: Blamery-chan, c’mere~ Say cheese…☆

Rinne: Ugh, it came out blurry.

Rinne: But still, it’s obviously a picture of Blamery-chan, so… Sent.

Rinne: Hmm? Another reply came.

Rinne: “It’s not cute, redo!”, huh? He’s a client with many orders.

Rinne: Alright Blamery-chan, pay attention to me~☆

Yuta: Ahaha, no picture will be good enough for him, you know~♪

Rinne: It’s hard to photograph animals, though. Yuta-kun, give it a try.

Yuta: Alright~. Sora-kun, could you tell Bloody Mary that we want to take a picture of her?

Sora: HeHe~♪

Yuta: Okay, say cheese…☆

Yuta: Take a look, it looks pretty good.

Rinne: Ah, that’s cheating, Yuta-kun.

Yuta: Not true~. Nobody told me I can’t ask Sora-kun for help.

Yuta: Hey, Rinne-senpai, why don’t you try again like this now?

Rinne: Alright. Blamery-chan, look at me, pretty please♪

Hiyori:...♪

Jun: Ohii-sama, what’s got you smirking at your phone like that?

Hiyori: I’m not “smirking like that”, I am smiling!

Jun: Doesn’t change much either way.

Hiyori: No, they are completely different!

Hiyori: “Smirking” is an expression that Ibara makes, and “Smiling” is an expression that Nagisa-kun makes!

Jun: When you put it that way…

Jun: I got it. I’ll say it the correct way.

Jun: So, what is it that’s making you smile? Did something good happen?

Hiyori: I’d asked Rinne-senpai to take Mary on a walk. I just got a picture from him!

Jun: …Huh? Isn’t that Harukawa-kun in the picture?

Hiyori: Rinne-senpai is the one taking the picture, so he’s not in it. Looks like he’s with Sora-kun and Yuta-kun right now.

Jun: Hmm… In any case, isn’t it pretty unexpected that you’d ask that guy to do this~?

Hiyori: I gave him a job in exchange for money. This is a noble’s duty, and I think he can manage since it’s just walking.

Hiyori: Since I know him, I knew that there was a chance he would slack off.

Hiyori: It’s good that he seems to be taking his job seriously…♪