Chapter 20: Sunglasses and flower shop

A joyful way to school, a happy classroom.

Pretty and cute girls.

Just until yesterday, my world was sparkling in pink, but now it sat gloomily, drenched in black and gray.

Like a once-glorious city’s downfall, the classroom, now void of color and vitality, was eerily quiet.

Like a sketch left unpainted. Or as if it had always been designed that way.

More like a backdrop in a black-and-white photo than reality.

Even the lovely cherry blossom tree had dropped its dark petals, exposing its bare branches.

I lifted my eyelids, heavy with fatigue, and thought.

It’s all because of what I heard yesterday.

I never imagined I’d come to face reality like this.

“Lily. You’re early?”

“Oh. Alicia.”

“Are you okay today?”

“Hmm… Not really?”

Sitting quietly in the back corner, Alicia came over and showed interest in me.

I responded as indifferently as I could.

Even her brilliant blonde hair and intelligent blue eyes were no exception—she looked dark too.

All I could perceive was her shape and outline.

Heh,

The dark flame dragon in my right arm has awakened…

“But Lily.”

“Hm?”

“…What’s that?”

“What do you mean?”

“No, it’s weird.”

“What is?”

“I mean the sunglasses. Why are you wearing them?”

Jeez. I seriously can’t see.

Do you know how precious a flustered face of a lily-girl reacting to someone’s bizarre behavior is?!

Who the hell made these sunglasses like this? They work too well.

As for why I ended up wearing sunglasses to school,

like I said, it’s because I came to a certain realization yesterday.

I totally failed to understand how the girls felt…!

Of course, if a TS girl like me sits in a shady spot, staring at them with a pervy face and drooling, it would make anyone uncomfortable. I didn’t even consider that.

Actually, I did, but I ignored it. Just for the sake of my yuri fantasies!

Die, you trash. I’m an irredeemable piece of garbage. I don’t even deserve to be called a yuri fan, waaah…!

But after listening to Dana and thinking it over, I realized the girls might understandably find me gross.

So while Dana was punishing me last night, I had a long think.

The result? Sunglasses, to hide my twisted eyes.

Some might call it creepy, but it’s a time-honored technique.

Now I can ogle the girls all I want without being noticed. And if someone asks why I’m staring? I can just play dumb.

Guys don’t wear sunglasses at the beach for no reason, you know.

And if I spot a cute girl couple being sweet, I can go “Hehe, good for you~” and whistle cheerfully.

Even better if I can play matchmaker and help other girls connect…

Wait, am I a genius?

Just wearing these can help me observe yuri development without making others self-conscious.

That way, more yuri blooms. An endless loop of free yuri love.

Therefore, I am invincible.

Sunglasses are divine…!

“I asked why you’re wearing them… Hello?”

“Ol?”

“Lily. Don’t tell me…”

While I was basking in my sunglasses genius theory, I noticed Alicia blinking rapidly.

She looked extremely nervous all of a sudden.

As if she’d realized something big.

Or maybe both.

Her hands started trembling,

It looked pitiful to even witness.

“No, I just… didn’t want to make the girls uncomfortable, that’s all…”

“Did someone hit you?”

“…Huh?”

“Your face! Did someone hit it!?”

What kind of misunderstanding is this?

Who hit my face?

Alicia was so shocked she’d lost all her usual composure.

I was dumbfounded, frozen in place, as Alicia began frantically turning her head, searching for something.

I had a feeling I knew what—or who—she was looking for.

“Dana will take a while to get here. She stayed up all night scolding me.”

“Scolding? It was her, wasn’t it? Dana hit you, right?”

I mean, if you put it that way… maybe?

She did land a gut-punch screaming “JUST DIE!” after I harassed her, so yeah, kind of.

“Then why are you here alone?”

“I called her a milkless cow this morning and got kicked out of the room…”

“Lily…!”

Ah.

I finally realized what was going on.

Alicia was looking at me like a poor schoolgirl who got beaten and had to wear sunglasses to hide the bruises.

Her face was full of sympathy, worry, and anger.

It’d be idiotic not to catch on now.

…I really did say some easily misunderstood things.

To Alicia, I now looked like a poor victim being gaslighted by a so-called “friend.”

Nooo, I don’t want this kind of misunderstanding.

How vivid is her imagination!?

I didn’t want Dana, who’s just a bit violent, to be turned into some evil monster.

So I dramatically took off my sunglasses, revealing my perfectly fine face.

“That’s not it. You idiot.”

“Huh?”

“Sigh.”

But seriously though—

Why is she so pretty?

Maybe it’s because I’ve been seeing the world without color until now,

but seeing her fair face and blue eyes all at once hit me like a truck.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her honey-colored hair.

As expected of my top yuri prospect.

Just seeing her makes me happy.

Actually, that’s a lie.

While we’re at it, just go full lewd. Show me something spicy, girl.

I don’t even mind if Dana takes her and uses her as a floor mat until she’s satisfied. Please!

“Aaaah…”

“What the… I mean, jeez…”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. I must’ve misunderstood.”

“Yeah.”

It seemed like the conversation was over.

Then suddenly, like she just remembered something, Alicia started again.

“Then what’s with the sunglasses?”

“Oh. I thought the girls might feel uncomfortable.”

“Who would? Why? And does that really justify sunglasses?”

True enough.

Her logic is annoyingly solid. I’m at a loss for words.

I couldn’t exactly admit I wore them to freely ogle the girls’ lewd actions in class.

This was getting awkward.

And Alicia clearly wasn’t going to let it slide.

I had no choice but to bluff.

“…I cried a bit…?”

“You cried? Now that you mention it, your eyes are kind of puffy.”

Yeah, I got punched by Dana and bawled like a baby.

I didn’t even need to say more.

Alicia had clearly figured it out.

Her face was gradually contorting in real time.

I like misunderstandings—in yuri fiction.

Watching girls spiral from confusion is funny.

But when it involves me, I’d rather not.

So I spoke firmly.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I liked it, okay?”

“Liked it…?”

Alicia’s face froze.

Of course, I meant that I enjoyed calling Dana flat-chested and watching her freak out in humiliation.

I didn’t really cry because I liked the pain. I cried because it hurt. But how do you explain that?

Ahhh crap. This is getting annoying.

Should I just let her misunderstand?

Maybe being seen as a full-on masochist isn’t so bad.

If people avoid me because of it, it might actually be for the best.

Especially Alicia. Considering our hotel incident, this might be a win.

So I gave in to the impulse and blurted out nonsense.

“…Yeah. I liked it. You know, I told you before? Getting hit felt better than expected. I like the pain… mm, ngh, please, more~”

Alicia’s face hardened even more.

Nice. Just as planned.

That afternoon,

I ran into Alicia again.

It was by chance.

On the way back to the dorm, I found her behind the school, doing flower fortune-telling.

“Hurts her. Cherishes her. Hurts her. Cherishes her. Hurts her. Cherishes her…”

She muttered something terrifying with each petal she plucked.

Honestly, even if she were plucking necks instead of petals, her expression couldn’t have been more grim.

“…Cherishes her.”

That’s how her fortune ended.

As she dropped the last petal, she spoke.

Then, finally, she noticed me watching her.

She stood up from the grass without a care for her dirtied skirt.

“Lily. How long have you been there?”

“Just now…? What were you doing?”

Alicia didn’t answer.

Instead, she seemed to ponder something for a long time,

Then suddenly asked me to pick a flower.

I didn’t know why, but I did as told.

Saying no felt dangerous.

Running away wasn’t an option—I’d already been spotted.

I brought her a white flower.

There weren’t any lilies around, so I just grabbed the nearest white bloom.

“A daisy.”

“A daisy?”

“We’re doing a fortune. Sit here for a bit.”

She spoke as if refusal wasn’t even a possibility.

Very Alicia-like.

Honestly, she was so flustered earlier, I almost didn’t recognize her.

I sat at a respectful distance, and she, eyes fixed on the flower, spoke.

“You choose.”

“Choose what?”

“One: Cherish.”

“…Cherish what?”

“Two: Hurt.”

“What are we even talking about…?”

“What should I start with?”

She meant for the flower fortune.

Cherish or hurt. I wasn’t sure what she was going on about.

Was she that conflicted?

“Then… option one?”

Cherish sounds better than hurt, obviously.

“Really?”

Alicia paused briefly, then smiled with meaning.

Maybe she was mocking me for being too naïve.

Then she plucked petals, reciting,

“Lily. You know?”

“Hm?”

“Daisies have 34 petals.”

Even while talking to me, she murmured “hurts her,” “cherishes her” with each petal.

Creepy.

“…You memorize that stuff?”

“Yeah. Most flowers around here.”

“Wow.”

“The number of petals usually follows the Fibonacci sequence, so it’s not hard.”

Gee, thanks. That’s super helpful info.

Of course the top student knows weird stuff like this.

“There’s no point in doing the fortune for me. I know the outcome already.”

“Then why—?”

“To make up my mind. When I can’t decide, I do this out of habit.”

“R-right.”

That’s a weird habit, girl.

I was nodding along, still feeling a little creeped out.

Maybe it was the whole “yuri girl doing flower fortunes” vibe.

Alicia glanced at me and giggled again.

“Sometimes I wonder what I’m doing. Such a waste of time.”

“H-heh…”

Her eyes—

So scary.

Something is definitely happening here…

“When I feel that way, I ask the person who’s troubling me directly. ‘What should I start with?’”

“O-oh…”

“Then I follow the result.”

So that means the person troubling her… is me.

Wait, what’s going on here?

And could you stop coming closer? Your eyes are terrifying…

“I wanted to cherish you.”

She sighed, genuinely regretful.

Despite only plucking half the petals, she tossed the flower aside.

Then, as if making a declaration, she said,

“Take care of me, Lily.”

…0?