Fuyuu Gakuen no Alice and Shirley Vol 2 Chapter 2.4

The Dialect “Rose Garden” ––

Red petals danced in the wind.

The scenery of the town was completely changed to one surrounded by flowers. This s.p.a.ce was created by the Dialect that Masaki possessed.

A refined fragrance tickled their nostrils.

Masaki and the others were on a circular lawn, surrounded by rose flowerbeds. A rose promenade continued from the other side of the vine arch.

“This is…my world.”

When he glanced at today’s guests, Suou was looking at the cottage.

“Are we going to walk over there?”

“No, here.”

By the time he s.h.i.+fted his attention back there were already wooden chairs and a table on the lawn.

“It’s like a conjuring trick. Are there any insects like ants here?”

“There’s nothing like that. The things that can appear here are limited.”

“…So long as there’s cake and tea, it’s enough.”

Alice sat on a chair as she said that.

Dressed in a tailcoat, Masaki held a silver tray in his left hand. He placed gla.s.ses of water on the table.

“I’ll bring it immediately.”

“Okay.”

Suou also sat down.

Shortly thereafter, he noticed a bouncing sound approaching them.

Alice kept her composed expression.

Suou stared wide-eyed with a puzzled face.

“Hey, is that a rabbit!?”

A rabbit about the size of a human child appeared from the gra.s.s arch. It was walking on its two hind legs and wore a red waistcoat with a bowtie on its chest.

Alice’s lips relaxed slightly.

Masaki placed the teacups that the rabbit was carrying onto the table and poured the tea carefully.

“Here––It resembles the variety of tea that we had a little while ago, but if you compare it you’ll see that it’s a little different. Although it’s a.s.sam milk tea, it goes well with the cake.”

Suou tried the tea while glancing intermittingly at the rabbit.

“Hmm, it’s quite good. If I was to choose, it’d be Mont Blanc.”

“Ye-yes.”

“…Then…shall I have the pear tart.”

He hadn’t intended to go as far as comparing it, but since they hadn’t finished eating what they ordered at Café de Mancio he would give them the same cake that they had a little while ago.

Mixed with a sigh, Masaki said,

“It should get rid of the bad aftertaste.”

He involuntarily let out those fainthearted words.

They waited a little while before the rabbit brought another tray.

“Here.”

“It doesn’t look stiff.”

“Thank, thank you very much.”

The top of Masaki’s Mont Blanc was shaped like a rose petal. Although it was connected to the rose garden, the molding wasn’t perfect by any means.

He felt that he still had some way to go, especially with the small central part.

Even in his Dialect, Rose Garden, those weaknesses were the same.

The edge of Suou’s lip curved.

He might have been smiling or he might have been concerned…

“You should use dedicated utensils for the small part. There are people that say that it’s heresy to use the same utensils for everything; there’s no connection between what you use and the people that eat it, but it’s good to use the right utensil.”

“Ye-yes!”

“The tools that you choose to use are part of the art.”

“I see.”

“…This is stiff like we’re in cla.s.s. Teatime should be refined.”

“Well, it’s just like my junior said.”

Suou moved the cake towards his mouth.

He nodded.

“What is your name?”

“Oh…It’s Kusunoki Masaki.”

“Alright. Hmm, well, I should probably remember it. This cake is delicious.”

“Thank, thank you very much!”

“…What is the meaning of that? Could it be that Suou Reiji doesn’t remember what my name is?”

“No, of course I would remember the name of Alice Clockheart.”

“…Oh, I see.”

“I’ve seen written apologies over and over again. I always think ‘Is it really you guys again?’ when you’re with Sakurazaka s.h.i.+rley.”

“…In this place, should we make it clear who the strongest Globalizer is? You’re also Level 7, but are you treating me like the others because you’re unhappy?”

“Where did the refined teatime go?”

“Let it go Alice. It’s finally recovered…”

It had taken a while for the rabbits to rebuild the cottage and the rose garden after s.h.i.+rley had destroyed about half of it before.

Although the restoration had been many times faster than it would normally take, it had still taken around two weeks before it was restored perfectly.

“…Come to think of it, hasn’t it become slightly wider?”

“The fence seemed to have expanded when we repaired it.”

“…You didn’t intend that Masaki-kun?”

“Although it’s my world, the rabbits are the one who take care of the rose garden and manage the buildings.”

Suou sighed and said.

“It’s just like a cake shop with employees.”

Masaki ended up feeling slightly uneasy about his view of his Dialect, Rose Garden.