SHC_C76_ARCHIVE_CHAPTER 76: MY HEART, TO YOU

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Chapter 76, "My Heart, To You":

The party carried on in a warm and lively atmosphere. The plan was to wrap things up once all the food and desserts had been eaten.

The conversations flowed across many topics—one that got everyone particularly animated was about the imperial palace party that the three elves had attended.

“Aatan’s gifted hair accessory was just perfect! All the noble ladies couldn’t take their eyes off it, and it’s even being recognized as a groundbreaking technique that’s now legally protected.”

“Wait, there was a law passed about it!?”

“Yes, it was officially issued today and will take effect starting from the fourth month. Techniques must be registered with the Merchant Guild, and handling of already-known techniques will be managed by the Artisan Guild. That’s how they’ve decided to coordinate it.”

“Effet Papillon’s—well, more like Manmaru-chan’s—technique will be publicly announced in the fourth month too. We should really stock up on those tsumami-zaiku pieces before then. We can’t exactly interrogate the princess, so all the young ladies were swarming Marie instead, asking her to be a go-between.”

“Got it. I’ll let Elise know too.”

I nodded, and so did the three elves.

The conversation then shifted to the strange phenomena that had occurred from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day. Apparently, the residents of Kikunoi had all assumed I was the one behind it.

“Why does everyone think it was me?”

“’Cause we heard you singing, Young Master. And there were flower patterns in the sky and falling stars. Grandpa said, “Maybe the teachers helped you pull it off.”

“Well, I was singing, yes. But the magic part—I got help from the gods.”

“For real?!” Gods are amazing!”

“Yeah, but… can you keep that part a secret?”

“Then maybe it’s better if people just think you did it with the teachers' help.”

“...Yeah, I guess that’s safer.”

I did feel a little guilty, but if this led to too much attention, I might not get to meet the gods anymore.

And honestly, I didn’t want to lose someone I could talk to freely about musicals and theater.

Maybe I should talk to the teachers about it.

When I brought it up, Romanov-sensei said, “I was just thinking it was about time.”

“Time for…?”

“For questioning, of course.”

“Yeah,” Viktor chimed in. “When did you get so close to Princess Hiryuu anyway? While gods often appear unexpectedly, the sudden appearance of Princess Hiryuu was truly remarkable.

He wasn’t wrong—she had appeared right beside me out of nowhere.

As I tried to figure out how to explain it, both Romanov-sensei and Viktor-san tilted their heads.

“But are we even sure that was Princess Hyourin?” Romanov-sensei asked. “’Princess’ is a title usually reserved for women, and that person…

“Didn’t really look like a princess at all, huh?”

Yeah, I got that.

To be honest, I’d kind of projected my own image onto her, and she had ended up looking like a beautifully stoic man—basically, like one of the male-role actresses from the Violet Garden troupe.

Just then, Lara-san’s eyes went wide.

“Alyosha, Vitya—are your eyes broken!?”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

“I can tell! That person is just like me! Right, Manmaru-chan!?”

“J-just like you?”

“She’s a woman who just likes dressing as a man, right?! You can see the detail and dedication in that look!”

“A-ah… so that’s the interpretation…”

I hadn’t thought of it that way.

Although that look was actually tailored to my tastes, not hers, However, clarifying this would require discussing the Violet Garden troupe, a topic I was apprehensive about addressing.

So instead, I just silently apologized to Princess Hiryuu and said,

“…That’s right!”

“I knew it! I could tell just by her eyeliner—those cool, almond-shaped eyes!”

Lara gushed with excitement while the boys, including Kanade, gave her a wary look.

Meanwhile, Regulus-kun, unfazed, toddled over with a dessert plate in hand.

“Niini, when did you get a new friend? Did you go out without telling me?”

“I didn’t go anywhere. You were with me the whole time, remember?”

“Then how come you have a new friend?”

“Well, she heard about me from the princess and came to visit.”

“Really? She’s the princess’s friend… Is the princess doing okay?”

“She seems to be doing well.”

His furrowed brows relaxed a bit at that.

He seemed to understand the mention of the princess, and he didn’t ask anything more. Instead, he handed me a cream puff.

LOOK AT REGULUS DESPERATELY WANT THE PUNI-PUNI (pudgy) Ageha😂

Thinking he wanted me to feed it to him, I brought it to his mouth—but he said, “Niini, you eat it.”

So I did. Then he handed me another one. And again. I couldn’t keep eating nothing but cream puffs, so I eventually passed one to Romanov-sensei.

While nibbling on it, he tilted his head again.

“So, you first met her on the day the princess introduced you?”

“No, actually it was the day I completed ‘Sisi’s Star Flower’ and presented it to the princess.”

Viktor frowned.

LOOOL REGULUS IS STILL AT IT!

Regulus handed me yet another cream puff, which I passed to Viktor-sensei this time.

“You’ve known her for a while, so why keep it secret?”

“I didn’t mean anything by it, but since she only comes at night, I figured she didn’t want to cause a fuss… Like last time, she was here long before the fireworks but made sure not to show herself.”

“Ah, I see. I suppose it's challenging to remain silent when a god unexpectedly appears.

I nodded, and that seemed to satisfy them.

Viktor ate the last cream puff, and I noticed Regulus pouting at him—but who knows what that was about.

IT'S OK LIL CHICK!!

In any case, that last cream puff marked the end of both the party and my interrogation.

Later that night, after a bath and changing into pajamas, I was just about to get into bed when…

A figure emerged from the shadows.

“I do not dress as a man for fun, you know.”

“Yes, of course. I sincerely apologize.”

I bowed my head. Hyourin-sama didn’t seem frustrated, just… confused.

When I asked why:

“No reason. Just… imagining people gossiping that I enjoy dressing as a man… I am unsure whether I should feel amused or terrified about the kind of image that will be created.

“You don’t need to worry—you’re stunning, after all!”

“Only because you projected your beautiful actors onto me. Look, it’s happening again…”

With a soft glow, she took on a physical form.

Her hair was midnight blue on New Year’s, but now it was shimmering silver, with a sleek, cool gaze to match.

“Truly… I cannot maintain consistency.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. I find it rather amusing.”

She waved her hand and gracefully sat on my bed, crossing her long legs and patting the spot beside her.

When I climbed next to her, a swirl of magic appeared before her, and she reached into it without hesitation.

She pulled out a box so large it would spill out of any adult’s arms.

“From Igor and Hyakka.”

“From the princess and Lord Igor…?”

She motioned for me to open it. I undid the ribbon, opened the inner box, and inside was—

“A… a sewing machine!?”

Its body was lacquered black with inlaid flower patterns like mother-of-pearl. Even the removable table section was decorated.

Bobbin and needles were included too. It looked just like the machine I had cherished in my previous life.

Hyourin-sama nodded.

“According to Hyakka, a reincarnated soul protected by Igor shared the design with him. Momoka mentioned that you would enjoy it, given your interest in sewing. Some second son, apparently, who wanted to repay a favor. When Hyakka couldn’t decide what to get you for your birthday, Igor told her to just make it already.”

“The princess, Lord Igor… and even that second son…”

“They asked me to deliver it. It runs on magic. Instructions are in the box.”

“Thank you so much.”

I bowed. She gave me a slightly puzzled look and stroked her chin, then reached back into the magical swirl.

“Do you have a problem with spiders? The many-legged kind?”

“Not really. They’re beneficial insects, and they usually don’t bother you if you leave them alone.”

“Good. Then take this.”

She handed me a cage containing a spider as big as my head.

“That’s… huge.”

“It’s called an Abyss Tarantella. Lives in the underworld. Its silk can be woven into the finest fabric.”

“Really? But how do you even harvest spider silk…?”

“Just feed it magic. It’ll make usable threads on its own—or spin them into cloth.”

“What a useful spider!”

“Indeed. That’s why it’s also called a “tailor spider.”

Wow, what a convenient creature.

I wondered if it was one of Hyourin-sama’s familiars, but she shook her head.

“It’s a kind of magical beast. Harmless unless attacked. It feeds on monsters like tempest killer wasps and poison moths.”

“Hmm…”

But she said I could keep it, so I’d need to prepare food for it.

“I, uh… need monsters to feed it? I can’t catch any myself…”

“There’s a dungeon nearby, is there not? Once a month is enough. These creatures can live a year without eating. Just ask the guild to supply you with corpses from time to time.”

“Oh! That might actually work!”

I nodded and thanked her, taking the cage.

I thought I saw a faint blush on her cheek, but I had something important to do.

I got out of bed and pulled out four rosettes I had prepared.

A crimson one with a peony for the princess, a blue-and-white striped one for Lord Igor, a pale pink one for the second son, and a navy one with a crescent moon for Hyourin-sama.

“I was planning to give these in person. Happy birthday.”

“Gods don’t have birthdays.”

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate, right? You told me once, —It’s the heart that matters.”

“True.”

She smiled—a smile so radiant, so beautiful, I had to look away.

To distract myself, I went to the dresser again, pulled out a paper bag, and placed it on her lap.

A plush cat tumbled out, black with white paws.

“This is…?”

“A handmade plushie. When I was making rosettes, you seemed so interested. I thought maybe you’d like this too.”

“I see… yes, I suppose so. Human creativity is endlessly fascinating. If that’s what it means to like something… then yes, I do.”

Her gaze softened as she looked at the plush, filled with a gentle light.

There was a bit of difference in the manga and in the WN.

The flow of the scenarios are different.

like for example, after Romanov-sensei asked Ageha about Princess Hyourin, the scene where Regulus asked Ageha if he's been sneaking out without him is inserted as a panel/page and after that was sorted out that's when Lara-san comes in, the talk about Princess Hyourin's appearance. Here, Romanov-sensei starts asking, jumps to the appearance of Hyourin-sama, then Regulus.

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 eun: hi. I'm sorry something came up. So I couldn't update or post the extra chapter for the dono. There was this stranger (who we later find out to be a neighbor who lives three streets away...) and she got a concussion cause she was trying to get/steal? avocados from our tree and while she was in the middle of the avocado heist, a huge one, like an avocado bigger and thicker than a bowling pin apparently hit her in the head? or was it in the face anyway my dogs found her sprawled on the ground like a frog ready to be dissected. My parents weren't around so I had to like fix the situation. Not gonna lie, I panicked. Like what do I do in situations like that? 

Its considered breaking in right? Do I call the police or the ambulance should I go near the body and check her pulse or something but at the same time I didn't want to touch her body cause I was thinking "nope I'm not gonna leave my fingerprint" or some DNA to a person who might be a murderer or something. Yes, yes, I overreacted but I couldn't help it I've been binging docu-series. She didn't have any IDs or phone with her and there was only a half filled bag of avocados. My brother was still asleep and my parents weren't answering.  Siiiigh it was a mess.

We don't sell our avocados, its just for our personal consumption. sometimes we freeze it so we can eat them all year around but we do share some avocados to our neighbors so imagine my shock for this avocado heist. Like ummm, lady you could have asked and I'd be more than happy to share some avocados.

I'M REALLY SORRY FOR THE DELAY!! I really wanted to update, read and reply to the comments. Like imagine how surprised I was when I logged in and saw there are actually people commenting. I've posted over a hundred chapters here in my new site and there was like only 4-5 comments and yes, I DO REPLY even if its from an anonymous comment. I allowed anonymous comment for all the introverts and lazy people like me who couldn't be bothered to log in to comment 🤣 the only downside is that you can't receive notification if I or someone else replies~^^

Thanks for reading, commenting and for the donos~ I really appreciate all the support

AND Happy 4th of July~  

PAYPAL

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