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âYouâre so persistent; in that case, letâs just go sleep togetherâŚ?! The bedâs a semi-double so though itâll be a narrow fit, just bear with itâŚ?!â
I always tend to stop resisting and go with the flow whenever something gets too troublesome but right now, all I wanted to do was punch myself for falling into that kind of bad habit.
Why? How did this happen? From behind, two sturdy arms embraced me. From above, I heard gentle, sleepy breathing. In front of me, the wall loomed. I wonder, just why did I end up in this dakimakura-like position⌠<sup id="fnref-117-1"></sup>
Letâs go back in time to a few hours ago. After Ilias and I came back from shopping, we each started to unpack our loot. While I removed tags from the clothes, Ilias washed the newly-purchased dishes. Once that was done, I taught Ilias how to use the rice cooker and the stove, and then started on making dinner. We leisurely watched TV while eating dinner. Later I hopped into the bath.
âWell, nowâs the time to go to sleepâŚâ Just when I said those words, I realized that I had forgotten to buy the most crucial thing.
Another argument about our sleeping arrangements followed. I had already gotten fed up with repeating this every night, and thatâs exactly why I had gone to the furniture store in the first place: to buy a futon⌠Despite that, Iâd gotten sidetracked by that classy general goods store and ended up buying a set of dishes instead. Upon seeing that guyâs happy face I had felt filled with a sense of accomplishment and had gone home without a care in the world, not remembering the whole reason Iâd gone furniture shopping in the first place.
And so, the second round of our battle began. âYouâre still not in prime conditionâŚâ I attempted to say, but Ilias wasnât having it. Without listening to me, he said that tonight heâd be sleeping on the couch. I somehow felt that I would be obligated to apologize for making a man who looks like a prince sleep on a sofa, but this guy had been even more stubborn than Iâd thought. He was the type that wouldnât be swayed once heâd decided on something, so after feeling that arguing was too annoying I let him have his way and just carelessly replied, âFine, itâs settled then.â
For the first time in a while I headed back to my bedroom, but for some reason I looked back. There, what greeted my eyes was the sight of two big legs sticking out of the sofa. The sofa was just big enough to fit someone of my height, so it would take some severe determination for a giant like Ilias to sleep there. After peering over the back of the couch, I saw Ilias desperately trying to squeeze into the small space while wrapping himself in the blanket. I couldnât bear to watch that sight any longer.
Collecting myself, I called out to him and said, âGo back to sleep in the bed,â but as expected, Ilias stubbornly refused to give up. When I asked why he was being this headstrong about it, he replied that as a freeloader, he couldnât accept receiving better treatment than me, his host.
âThough Iâm thankful that you have lent me the use of your sofa, in truth, I would be fine with even sleeping on the floor,â he said.
With that, Iâd finally had enough of this circular and meandering bickering. Raising my voice, I said the very thing that started this whole mess: âYouâre so persistent. In that case, letâs just go sleep together. The bedâs a semi-double â itâll be a narrow fit, so youâll just have to bear with it.â
I really thought Ilias would say something along the lines of âThereâs no way I can do something like thatâ. Instead, his face turned surprised, then slightly angry, then shy. A sad look came over him, and he kept quiet, a hundred expressions passing over his lowered face. Ilias then sat up, and upon making eye contact with me, firmly raised his head.
Youâre freaking me out here! Can you stop being silent like that? I thought, glaring irately at him. Ilias regarded me somberly, and stood up on the spot. The difference in our heights changed immediately with me being the one to look up at him now.
âDo you say that kind of thing to just anyone?â
âHuh? Donât try and act like youâre comfortable like this. That sofa looked really pitiful with your big body covering it.â
Jeez, what the hell. I really wanted to sleep on the bed, if Iâm honest. But after seeing this guy agonizingly folding up his body like he was trying to fit into kids-size furniture, compromising was just a matter of being an adult. Even I had a painfully difficult time falling asleep on that sofa, but since tomorrow I would probably be buying another futon, it was possible to bear with it until thenâŚ
However, since tomorrow was the end of my vacation and I had to go back to work, this guy might as well just put up with sharing a bed for a night.
âNo, thatâs not what I meant⌠Azusa, would you just invite anyone to sleep in a bed with you?â
âThatâs why, for someone as big as you, you should⌠uh⌠eh?â
⌠What?
No, wait⌠what?
What the hell is this guy saying?! I donât get what he means? What is he trying to get at?!
If I werenât a man, Iâd understand. When I thought about what itâd be like for a woman to just bring some unknown guy into her room⌠well, under the circumstances it couldnât have been helped. But say she invites him to stay and live together for a while. Being in the same position, her actions would still be acceptable. Since there was only one bed, the guy would take the couch because normally anyone would say, âHey, this is your place after allâ. But if the woman says, âThe sofaâs too small for you. My bed is a semi-double, so though it might be a bit of a tight fit, why donât we sleep together?â, that would totally be an invitation, wouldnât it?! Damn, what a thirsty lady.
After coming to that conclusion, I gathered myself and refocused on Ilias, whose face said he had thought about the exact thing that had just gone through my mind.
âIâm not a thirsty lady, okay?!â
The words burst from my mouth. Ilias didnât understand what I meant and tilted his head, and a sad expression came over him. Stop it, stop looking at me with that face like you want to say Iâm easy!
âTelling another guy that we can sleep together isnât some sort of pass, alright?! And in the first place, Iâm straight!!â
â⌠I see. So you wouldnât just invite anyone?â
âIf youâre asking about inviting people, then youâre my first one, you dumbass!â
Iâd never met someone that made me argue this much about damn sleeping arrangements! Back home, my older sister slept on the bed while I just took a futon, and even on my school field trips I usually ended up in the corner of the corridor since anywhere was fine, you know! Thatâs why, how come Iâm feeling so embarrassed over something like this. Ah, I got all sweaty again because Ilias went and said something so weird. And Iâd just taken a bath, too. Damn it. It was stupid of me to worry over him. Fine, I donât care anymore; this guy could just go sleep on the couch even if it was a tight squeeze.
I began bringing my tired body back over to the bedroom when a clear voice desperately called out my name.
âAzusa⌠Iâm sorry for misunderstanding. Certainly we should sleep together.â
Uh⌠Could I please ask that you stop your cheeks from turning red, and your face from lighting up with such a happy smile?
I was powerlessly ushered over to the bed. The sheets had been arranged and tucked prettily, and the light bulb that I didnât remember turning on lit up the surroundings. Since I wouldnât get into the bed, Ilias pushed me onto the side next to the wall and climbed in after me. Even though this is my bed, why does it seem like youâre the one whoâs more comfortable in itâŚ
Right now, I regret that I had gotten a long pillow for my room. âGood night,â Ilias said, smiling at my moonlit back⌠Just what the hell was up with this scenic picture of two guys sleeping together. If possible, could you put a pretty girl in there instead. Seriously, thatâs it⌠I wonât think about it anymore. Time to sleep.
Turning my gaze away from reality and over toward the wall, I simply responded âYeahâ before closing my eyes. A few second later I heard the soft, steady sounds of breathing behind me.
I abruptly sat up and saw that this guy had really already fallen asleep. Amazed at his speed, I looked at his contented, slumbering face. Somehow my own face loosened at the sight of it, and closing my eyes, I laid back down.
I restlessly changed my sleeping position who-knows-how-many times, grumbling. I found my most comfortable pose when I turned to the side and kept my arms together: this was how I usually woke up in the mornings, I realized. Finally, I can sleep⌠Or so I thought when an impact coursed through my body.
Annoyed, I opened my eyes a sliver. Something warm was at my back. Sleepy breaths brushed against my ear. Ilias had tightly grabbed and held onto me from behind. Was I a dakimakura now⌠I gathered strength in my arms and tried to push back, but even though Iâd tried to escape five times, after a while we were still entangled.
No helping it, might as well give up. Heaving a huge sigh, I closed my eyes. Itâs true that youâll be able to sleep better when itâs warm, so though I was irritated at first, this time it was easier to fall asleep than my previous attempt earlier.
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It was morning. Even without the alarm going off, just by habit I woke up at the usual time. As always, I woke up facing the wall with my arms held together. Changing my posture, I rolled onto my back and stretched my arms out. One of them hit something soft. I looked over and saw Ilias, his big body curled up in his sleep. Ahh, thatâs right⌠Iâd slept with this guy through the entire night⌠Even though all weâd done was sleep beside each other on the same bed, my blood pressure rose with the same âOh god, I really did it nowâ reaction you got when you woke up in bed next to an unknown woman. It was that kind of horrible feeling. As if my gaze had woken him up, this guyâs eyes slowly opened and he looked at me with a drowsy face. When his eyes fully widened, he called out my name, âAzusa,â and giggled.
âMorninâ.â
âGood morningâŚâ
I had done something that I definitely shouldnât have done, or so I realized on that Saturday morning. <sup id="fnref-117-2"></sup>
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Translatorâs Note
Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!!!
Exciting news!\n
(Well, heartstopping at the time, but now it has become a peaceful happy event).
A few days ago, I noticed that there was an unusually high number of views coming from Japan (44, when normally there should be 0) . Wondering if something had happened, I went to <del>stalk</del> check the authorâs twitter again, and lo and behold she had realized that someone was translating her story.
Actually, itâs not a very polite thing to translate someoneâs work without permissionâŚÂ I was very afraid to see what her reaction would be, but what she said was this:\n\n<blockquote>âI was really surprised, but it seems like thereâs someone whoâs translating my work âPicked up a Strange Knightâ to English⌠amazing~..!\n
Is this their hobby? They wouldnât do it if it werenât their hobby, right? lol, I feel sorry about how my slapped-together sentences must be giving them a really hard time⌠(pray)(pray)(pray)â
</blockquote>
Sheâs so sweet!! Super super super sweet!! Taro-sensei is the best!!!!
Also, one of the really funny responses to her tweet said:
<blockquote>Ee?? Itâs getting turned into English?! ((ăâă)Incredible~~!! As expected of Azusa-san, heâs going worldwide!!
</blockquote>
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In any case, I decided to contact Taro-sensei, and with Caelâs help we managed to whip together a reply. (The reply sounds a little weird because I, with my gaijin weeb anime Japanese, attempted to write it, and then Cael took pity on me and corrected all of the wrong grammar and impolite forms while keeping the words that I had used. Cael is a masterâŚ!)
<blockquote>Hello, Taro-sensei! Uh, I am that person who had been translating the story âPicked up~â. To be honest I donât really speak Japanese, but I really love Taro-senseiâs story. So that people who can only read in English can enjoy Taro-senseiâs story, Iâm working hard to translate! When I read about Azusa and Iliasâs love, I become very happy. However, when the story ended, I felt moved and cried. Um, just now I made a drawing of Azusa and Ilias. Itâs a portrait of newlyweds hahaha. Thank you so much for making this beautiful story!
</blockquote>
<figure data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_119" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-119" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-119" class="wp-caption-text">Tsundere salaryman and puppy knight. The earrings they wear are explained in the sequel.</figcaption></figure>
I attached a piece of fanart that I quickly made that night. Actually, in my spare time at work I had been trying to make a better set of drawings so that I could show Taro-sensei in the future, but it seems that fate wanted to speed up the plot progressionâŚ
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Taro-sensei had a really amazing reaction to my tweet! Cael translated her direct reply:\n<blockquote>ars-san, nice to meet you! Thank you for your message! To translate my âPicked up a Strange Knightâ into English, Iâm so happy..!! (heart eyes) It must have been difficult with my many unique expressions. Sorry about that. Iâll cheer you on! And to even make a wonderful illustration, thank you so much<3<3 Allow me to have some pride! (more hearts)
</blockquote>
Cael: I think the last part is very humble, so like âthank you for allowing me to take pride in my work reaching youâ? or somethingâŚ.
CuteâŚ! So cute, rightâŚ.?!!?
Furthermore, she retweeted the fanart with some more adorable comments and also tweeted out the translation site. Actually I felt a little ashamed for the quality of my work⌠Iâm certain that I get many details wrong in my translation, but all I can do is try my best to make Taro-senseiâs story as enjoyable in English as it is in Japanese.
I got especially nervous upon seeing that, on her tweet about my site, one of her friends and a fellow BL writer named Onigiri-sensei commented that they went to read chapter 1⌠(sweating) Good thing Taro-sensei is as unfamiliar with English as I am with Japanese, otherwise I wouldnât be able to raise my head when she saw just how much I messed up her writing⌠:(´ŕ˝`ă â ):
Anyway, sorry that this is such a long note this time. I really wanted to share with you guys the amazingness that is Taro-sensei!! Sheâs as kind and lovable as her characters⌠ă°ďźÂ°Â´Đ´ď˝Â°ďźÂ°ă
Taro-sensei might end up reading you guysâs comments through google chrome translate, so letâs wave at her~ (waves at screen) Thank you, Taro-sensei!
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And back to our regularly-scheduled programming, once again we must thank our Lord, our Queen, our Secret Agent Psyx for her stellar completion of the mission of editing this chapter. At first Psyx said she would only proofread, but I feel that sheâs really getting into it now to the point where she deserves a promotion. (Letâs not mention it to her so she can keep working hard! I thought in my heart).
And of course, thanks to our resident Japanese translators at Blob-T for always explaining and translating the tougher lines for me! Theyâre not into BL at all and this isnât even a Blob-T project, but out of the kindness of their hearts they still answer my questions anyway⌠I feel like these two must be angelsâŚ\n
(If you guys want to show some support for them, go read the stories theyâre translating, Herscherik (Reincarnated Prince Series) and Demon Lord, Retry!)
In the next chapter, Ilias fully embraces the househusband life. Please look forward to it.