Shinku must be broken.
That was the only explanation Suigintou could think of, watching Shinku sit across from her with that ever-present smile plastered on her face.
Not only had she been wearing this strange expression lately, but she'd even stopped reacting to Suigintou's usual provocations. She'd even started helping with little things here and there.
It seemed that ever since Suigintou had 'died' that one time, Shinku had become incredibly lenient with her.
Suigintou's fingers traced the blue-feathered bracelet on her wrist, her own expression growing increasingly peculiar.
After a moment of silent contemplation, she gave up thinking entirely.
Slouching in her chair, she lazily crossed her right leg over her left.
"Shinku, pass me my teacup."
Shinku's smile tightened almost imperceptibly. She shot a sidelong glance at Suigintou and slowly pushed the teacup toward her.
Suigintou took the cup and sipped its contents with evident relish.
"Shinku, now the sugar bowl."
The smile vanished from Shinku's face entirely as she wordlessly slid the sugar bowl in front of Suigintou.
"Shinku, now—"
Before she could finish, a balled-up handkerchief smacked her squarely in the face.
"Don't push your luck," Shinku said, her face a mask of displeasure.
"Tch." Suigintou clicked her tongue in annoyance and tossed the handkerchief aside. She picked up a pair of tongs, dropped a few sugar cubes into her tea, and began sipping her now-sweetened black tea with contentment.
For a moment, the only sound between the two dolls was the delicate clinking of teacups... or it would have been, if not for the rather noisy clatter of objects echoing around them.
Today was the start of the new term, and the other dolls were busy packing.
Once enrolled at Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart, student-owned dolls were not permitted to leave the campus grounds for the duration of their studies.
The dolls, of course, had chosen to follow Alice, so they were all busy packing their belongings to move into the school dormitories.
And then there were these two, leisurely enjoying their tea.
Suiseiseki, standing by the door with her own luggage in hand, looked at them with irritation. "Are you two even packed yet?"
She pointed at Alice, who was meticulously checking over her own suitcase. "If you make us wait for you later, Alice is going to be furious."
"Of course we've packed."
Suigintou and Shinku answered in unison, displaying their uncanny synchronization at the most bizarre of times.
Hearing this, Suiseiseki furrowed her brow in confusion. She'd been packing since yesterday, but these two had just been sitting in the sunroom drinking tea the whole time.
Before she could ponder it further, she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, the Volumen Hydragyrum carrying two familiar suitcases down the stairs.
They were Suigintou's and Shinku's.
"...I see. You got the Volumen Hydragyrum to help you."
Suiseiseki's eyes widened in belated realization, a pang of annoyance hitting her.
Oh, right. That was an option. She wished she'd thought to ask the Volumen Hydragyrum for help.
But her own luggage was already packed and ready.
She pouted, directing her gaze at Shinku. "Shinku~ Why didn't you tell me?"
Facing her accusatory look, Shinku slowly set down her teacup.
She looked at Suiseiseki with disdain. "Don't think I don't know it was you who brought that green tea and put it in my black tea."
"How did you know?!"
Suiseiseki's eyes immediately shot wide open.
"And now it's confirmed."
Shinku calmly finished her tea and put the cup away, refusing to look at the now petrified Suiseiseki.
Robin, for all his troublemaking, always had reliable information.
Said Robin was currently lying half-dead on top of the television set.
He gingerly touched the newly bald patch on his back, feeling like he might cry. Suigintou beat him up every single time she saw him now.
He peeked through the doorway, stealing a glance at the distant Suigintou, then fluttered over to Alice's side.
"Miss Alice, if this goes on any longer, I'm going to be completely b—"
"Shut up."
"Right away."
Alice cut him off without a shred of mercy. She took the luggage belonging to Suigintou and Shinku from the Volumen Hydragyrum's hands and placed it on the floor.
Then, she handed her own suitcase to the Volumen Hydragyrum.
The Volumen Hydragyrum glanced at the luggage on the floor, then, without hesitation, accepted Alice's suitcase.
Suigintou and Shinku had only asked her to pack their things, not to carry them for them.
Seeing the Volumen Hydragyrum's action, Alice gave a satisfied nod.
She was the first to head for the door, calling out over her shoulder without looking back. "Let's go."
Kirakishou, empty-handed, came darting out, her footsteps a light 'pat-a-pat,' and flew right into Alice's arms.
Though she'd lived with them for a while, she didn't have any luggage to speak of.
The other dolls all had things they wanted to bring due to their own hobbies and interests.
Kirakishou's greatest joy, however, was simply sitting in Alice's lap while she read, even if she couldn't understand the words.
She just wanted to be close to Alice.
The moment they stepped outside, they saw Charlotte crouching in the garden, fiddling with the plants Suiseiseki usually tended to.
Hearing the commotion at the door, she slowly stood up.
"Where are Suigintou and Shinku?"
"They're coming right out."
No sooner had she spoken than two sets of light footsteps sounded from behind, stopping at the genkan.
Suigintou and Shinku were standing there in silence, staring at the luggage on the floor.
"...Shinku, that suitcase looks an awful lot like yours."
"It is mine... and the one next to it is clearly yours."
After a moment of stunned silence, Suigintou and Shinku each picked up their own luggage and stepped outside.
As soon as they emerged, their eyes fell on the Volumen Hydragyrum.
Seeing Alice's suitcase in the Volumen Hydragyrum's hands, they both sighed inwardly in unison.
Just as we thought.
Suiseiseki, who had come out behind them, couldn't help but let a smirk creep onto her lips, delighted to see them getting their comeuppance.
Souseiseki patted her sister's shoulder in mild exasperation. If that expression was noticed, she was in for a double-team beating.
Seeing that everyone was now present, Alice said softly, "Let's go."
"Okay~"
"Boo hoo, my plants that I cared for so long... I'm going to miss you!" Suiseiseki tearfully gazed at the plants in the garden.
Seemingly infected by this mood, the other dolls also began to wear expressions of varying degrees of melancholy.
"Yeah, we've lived here for so long. It's hard not to feel a little sad," Souseiseki said, looking back at the mansion with a hint of longing in her eyes.
Alice abruptly stopped walking and turned back, a puzzled look on her face.
Seeing the nearly identical wistful expressions on all the dolls' faces only deepened her confusion.
"Do you all think we're never coming back?"
Her flat, matter-of-fact tone easily sliced through the sentimental atmosphere.
As all the dolls turned to look at her, her expression grew even more peculiar, and she pointed toward the school gate, which was just a few steps away.
"It's literally right there. We can come back anytime. If you want to come out, just use one of those little bottles I gave Charlotte before. If anything, we'll probably still be living here most of the time."
"..."
The air instantly froze solid. Charlotte, who had watched the entire scene unfold, pressed her lips together tightly to keep from laughing out loud.
Robin was doing the same. Under normal circumstances, he'd have been cackling already, but if he laughed now, he feared the remaining feathers on his body would meet a terrible fate.
Without another word, the dolls turned and began marching toward the school gate.
A silent smile played on Alice's lips as she followed them out.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, 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.