Night, after dinner.
Having spent the afternoon in special training, everyone was feeling particularly sluggish now, chatting idly among themselves and enjoying a brief moment of leisure.
Click.
With a soft sound, an insect-repellent incense, burning and emitting a faint trail of white smoke, was placed under the long table by Nearl.
Moments later, several common flying insects had already vacated the area.
"Thanks for that. Hate to trouble you with such a small thing."
Maruzensky smiled toward Nearl after seeing this.
She had been annoyed by those pesky bugs for a while now and had wanted to take action earlier, but the feeling of fullness in her stomach had stopped her.
Couldn't be helped. Dinner was just too delicious.
Nearl's cooking skills far surpassed those of the hired chef, making even the usually diet-conscious Maruzensky unconsciously help herself to several extra bowls.
'So incredibly tasty. What a shame to only get to eat this for a few days. No, I've got to find a way to snag a few more meals.'
'It seems Nearl has been working at the academy cafeteria regularly. Maybe I should start visiting the cafeteria more often from now on?'
Ever since buying an apartment off-campus, Maruzensky hadn't been visiting the cafeteria much.
Mainly, a vague sense of unfamiliarity and exclusion affected her, like accidentally walking into the wrong classroom.
But right now, Maruzensky's craving for good food was strong enough to overpower that discomfort.
"It's nothing, just a small thing," Nearl replied casually, her gaze sweeping around the surroundings. A certain figure who should have appeared was still nowhere to be seen.
This demeanor made Maruzensky narrow her eyes slightly, a playful smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
"Looking for that Rudolf fellow?"
"Yes. Do you know where she is, Maruzensky-senpai?"
"Hmm… I have no idea~"
Nearl's hand paused for a moment. From Maruzensky's tone, she understood instantly.
"...Since you're saying that, senpai, it's most likely the president won't be coming."
"Hehe."
Maruzensky just chuckled, making Nearl give her a resigned look and sigh silently to herself.
Combined, these two were past half a century old. How could they still be so petty, acting like middle or elementary school kids?
"Senpai, it's been a whole day of this. How about we call it quits? You need to set an example for everyone. They all joined because they trust you two."
"Or have you both completely stopped caring about your own images?"
"Ah, well... You all actually guessed?" Maruzensky's ears twitched back and forth sheepishly as she unconsciously fiddled with the smooth ends of her hair.
"All?" Nearl shook her head. "Oguri Cap hasn't noticed at all. So not all."
"What difference does that make?!" Maruzensky helplessly covered her forehead, a rush of heat flooding from her face to the top of her head.
"Ah, my mature and reliable senpai image is completely ruined now."
"???" A string of question marks flashed through the mind of Agnes Tachyon, who happened to be passing by.
Maruzensky, are you feeling alright?
Ahem. After noticing Agnes Tachyon's strange look, Maruzensky coughed awkwardly a few times and straightened her posture again.
"Alright, alright. I'll go have a talk with Rudolf. But only because it's you asking, little Nearl. Not because I'm admitting I was wrong."
"Sigh." Nearl didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Once again, she was reminded of both the charm and the hassle of Uma Musume.
They weren't exactly young anymore—by age, they were practically obaa-sans. They usually acted mature too. But when it came to certain things, they still had that petty, stubborn streak of a girl.
"At least Maruzensky-senpai is willing to make peace, right?" Ardan came over, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Nearl.
"From here on, we can leave things to them."
"That's true. Too much persuasion just becomes annoying." Nearl glanced at the distance between herself and Ardan and instinctively wanted to take a step away.
This was a long-standing habit for Nearl. One should maintain restraint when interacting with others; crossing the line too easily leads to offense.
Words must be carefully weighed, actions must mind boundaries, and one's attitude toward others must stay balanced—too polite creates distance, too familiar breeds misunderstanding.
Such courtesy was necessary. Humans are creatures who need a sense of distance to define themselves.
That way, she could get along with anyone, and communication would be easier—easier for Nearl herself, at least.
Nearl was someone gentle with others but strict with herself. Not a single action overstepped her principles. Her way of conducting herself was so antiquated it seemed lifted from a history book.
So she felt that if she ever got too close to someone, it must mean a special relationship had formed between them.
In that case, her own sense of morality would restrain her, making her unconsciously erect a solid wall. Acts of caring for others, like what she was doing now, would also gradually stop.
For example, she would gradually cease the assistance for Agnes Tachyon that was written as 'assistant' but read as 'babysitter'. She would also stop giving massages to her teammate Oguri Cap.
So distance must be maintained.
Lift her leg, shift about ten or twenty centimeters to the left. The movement must be subtle, at least not noticeable to Ardan.
Then carefully set it down, let her body's center of gravity shift accordingly, leave the spot soundlessly, creating a reasonable gap.
Doing it this way was correct, Nearl subconsciously judged.
She wasn't as oblivious as Oguri Cap. She had noticed Ardan's closeness. And she herself didn't actually feel any aversion or resistance toward it.
Facing this elegant yet resilient young lady, could anyone who disliked her even exist?
But Nearl still instinctively chose to create distance. This didn't mean dislike. Rather, it meant Ardan had taken the first step.
In reality, Ardan didn't notice Nearl's quiet, shifting steps. Right now, she wanted to invite Nearl to climb this small hill.
The training camp nights didn't offer much entertainment, so going to the top of the hillside to admire the night sky had become the best option.
Nearl readily agreed, and they walked together toward the woods.
The forest was like a secret realm, ethereal and quiet. Among the gaps between the trees, specks of green fire densely wove together, forming a painting of fireflies.
"Wow." Ardan let out a soft gasp. Everything before her eyes was a rare sight for her, possessing a kind of comic book-like beauty.
Scattered fireflies emitted faint green light, illuminating the hazy darkness around them. The forest at night, which should have been frightening, now had a warm, gentle curve to it.
Compared to her, Nearl was much more composed.
"Quite a lot of fireflies. Well, it is the season for them. The environment here is good, sparsely populated, giving them a guarantee of survival."
"Nearl, you seem very familiar with this. Are fireflies common for you?"
"That's right, very common." Nearl moved freely through the woods, a stark contrast to Ardan, who followed carefully behind, afraid of disturbing the fireflies.
"Do you remember what my home was like? The one that raised me, I mean. I loved it there, but I'll admit the orphanage was poor. To save on costs, it was built in a rather remote countryside. The environment there wasn't much different from here."
Gently extending her hand, she cupped it softly, then brought it before Ardan. Between her relaxed fingers, a docile firefly flickered with each breath.
"I grew up with this scenery from childhood."
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T/N: This is the last free chapter on trxs and the author dropped this fic, and i found out too late. So yeah. Arknights yuri uma stops here(unfortunately)
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.