Becoming Sleeping Friends with the School's Sleeping Princess - Chapter 2
Kanata’s consciousness awoke.
He soon realized that he was in an unfamiliar room, on a bed that he did not remember lying down on.
An unknown ceiling.
Unable to muster up the energy to mutter the cliché phrase, I spent a number of seconds in a daze.
My thoughts were hazy, as if shrouded in a mist, and I could not comprehend my current circumstances.
For now, I try to raise my body, which felt as though it was made of lead.
“Eh…?”
The edge of a bed.
To Kanata’s right, there was a sleeping angel by the name of Yumekawa Shirane, using her arms as a pillow and breathing softly in her sleep.
I remember now.
I was on my way home from my part-time job without an umbrella despite feeling under the weather.
As I sat there like a puppet with its strings cut, Shirane called out to me and said…
She said, “Please hang in there a little longer. My house is just around the corner.”
That’s right.
Shirane dragged me by her shoulders and brought me somewhere.
And by somewhere, I mean this place.
“My house.”— that is to say, this is the home of Yumekawa Shirane, the “Sleeping Princess”, and this bed is her bed.
Hmm… I think I’ve worked out the situation.
…No, “Hmm” is wrong.
For the time being, I turn my attention to my body.
I was still feverish and light-headed, but my condition had improved somewhat after getting some sleep.
I had been living an erratic life lately, so the combination of the change in seasons and fatigue might have weakened my immune system.
My whole body, which was supposed to be drenched, had been dried at some point.
Memories of my head being scrubbed with a fluffy bath towel and my hair being dried with a hair dryer flooded through my mind.
“Hey.”
I call out to her. Her small frame quivers, but she doesn’t seem to wake up.
“Um…”
Sssshh…
“…”
I shook Shirane’s shoulder with my hand, which was covered by the futon.
I felt guilty about touching someone of the opposite sex directly, however, as it made me feel like I was a suspicious person.
“Nn…-ah!”
Shirane leapt up like a freshly caught fish.
Her sleepy eyes looked around and then fixed themselves on Kanata, who was directly in front of her.
When he drew back in spite of himself, Shirane suddenly approached him, her eyes still only half-open.
“Eh, don’t tell me… I was asleep!?”
“…You fell asleep while you were watching me, didn’t you?”
Responding to Shirane’s question as she said it, Kanata simply stated the obvious.
I didn’t intend to fall asleep, but I did anyway… I’m so sorry!
I guessed that she felt a sense of panic and guilt.
“Ah… I knew it…”
No, I might be off in my guess.
Shirane languidly rubs her hands as if to ascertain the sensation.
The emotions that are apparent from her expression are… wonder, and joy?
“Ah, I’m sorry! I feel a tad unwell.”
“No, it’s…”
I asked Shirane, who quickly turned around.
“What time is it?”
“Well, it’s 1 a.m…”
Shirane replies, glancing off to one side of the room.
“I’m so sorry, it’s so late.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
She smiled a bright smile that would put anyone at ease.
Feeling it was more dazzling than the light in the room itself, Kanata involuntarily squinted.
“Oh, right.”
Shirane rummaged around and pulled out a convenience store bag, showing it off to Kanata.
“I’ve bought a lot of food, so shall we put some of it in our stomachs?”
She handed me a bottle of Pocari. (TLN: Pocari is a Japanese sports drink.)
“How’s your appetite?”
“I might be able to eat a little…”
“Thank goodness. Oh, you don’t mind porridge, do you?”
“I don’t, but…”
“Well then, I’ll go prepare some!”
“Eh, wait…”
Wait.
I was unable to stop her as her back disappeared into the distance.
To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable accepting more charity, even if it’s out of goodwill.
After letting out a small sigh, I put my finger on the cap of the Pocari, but hesitated for a moment.
However, my thirst won out in the end, so I slowly untwisted the cap and took a sip.
It’s sweet.
The refreshing liquid slowly moistens my parched throat.
Following my natural instinct to drink more, I raised the angle of the plastic bottle.
“Ackgh, ach!”
I swallowed more Pocari than expected.
“A-are you alright?”
Shirane came back and knelt down beside Kanata. Then, she patted his back as if trying to soothe him.
Kanata, who had never experienced kindness from others, was unable to properly respond to Shirane’s actions.
He felt warm and yet bitter, a strange sensation in his heart.
“I’m really sorry about… various things.”
“Don’t worry. You’re a sick person, so it’s only natural to take care of you.”
…Even if it’s a classmate you’ve never interacted with?
Even I knew that it would be wrong to say the question that had come to mind.
A little while later, Shirane finished up and brought me a bowl of porridge.
“Are you able to eat it on your own?”
“Of course I am.”
With a wry smile on my face, I accepted the steaming hot bowl of porridge.
The porridge was garnished with toppings such as kelp and pickled plums, which were supposedly beneficial to one’s health.
The sight of food that I hadn’t seen in a long time made my empty stomach clench.
As my appetite took over, I brought a spoonful of porridge to my mouth.
It was delicious. The delicate ingredients filled my weakened stomach.
As Kanata continued to savor the porridge, Shirane gave him a warm look as if she was looking at her own child.
TLN: Hey guys, Unu here. Sorry about the wait, this week has been kind of weird for me. Hopefully I’ll get the next chapter out quicker, although I won’t make any promises. As always, if you enjoyed the translation and feel like supporting me, you can do so through my Ko-Fi. And if you want to be notified by me when future updates release, join the NeoSekai Discord and follow the instructions given. Thanks for reading!
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Thanks for the chapter