"Thank you, Butler-san, for dropping us off!"
"It's no trouble at all, Ardan-ojousama. I wish you and Kagura-sama a pleasant day. Please call me when you're ready to return."
With the Mejiro family's private car available, Ardan and Kagura quickly arrived at their destination.
It was a spacious park, and after walking a bit further inside, they saw a large building—the art gallery Ardan had mentioned.
They strolled leisurely through the park. Kagura glanced at Ardan, noting that her casual outfit looked particularly nice, much more suitable than the middle-aged-auntie style Rudolf had worn.
It really was Maruzensky-senpai's fault, wasn't it!! Kagura thought to herself.
"Wow… It's been so long since I last came here. Back then, I stayed at the hospital over there."
As they walked and chatted, Ardan pointed toward a tall building in the distance. Kagura knew that place—she'd occasionally pass by it when taking detours during her grocery runs.
"Did Ardan-ojousama come here often in the past?"
"Not exactly… Only occasionally, when someone brought me out for a stroll. Most of the time, I could only watch this place through the hospital windows."
"Were you hospitalized since childhood, Ardan-ojousama?"
"Yes… I was always very weak, so I couldn't endure intense training. For me, it's about achieving the best results with the minimal amount of training."
Kagura rarely saw Ardan heading out to train, especially after she returned to school. The Mejiro trainers had mentioned that in the past, Ardan would often sneak out to train alone, startling everyone each time.
"Training, huh… Now that I think about it, the first time we met was at the racetrack. You were so frail, yet you ran under the blazing sun—I was terrified when I saw you like that."
"In the past, my family was extremely strict with me. I didn't want to be treated like a bird trapped in a cage. Back then, I was impulsive, so I often did things like that…"
Walking slowly toward the art gallery, Ardan chatted openly about herself, following Kagura's gentle prompts.
"Later… although Speed-sama asked you to watch over me, Kagura-san, you never really restricted me. Instead, you supported and guided me in countless ways. You helped me tremendously… so I didn't want you to worry about me."
As she spoke, Ardan gave an embarrassed smile.
"It's strange, really. Ever since you stayed by my side, Kagura-san… I don't seem to act as impulsively as before."
"Hehe, it just shows you've grown and matured recently, Ardan-ojousama. That's a wonderful thing."
Kagura nodded encouragingly, smiling warmly at Ardan's evident growth.
Ardan opened her mouth but wasn't sure how to phrase her next words. Kagura always supported her unconditionally, encouraged her constantly; it was Kagura's patience and gentleness that calmed her inner anxiety. Recently, she had been able to carefully adjust her training regimen based on Kagura's advice, slowly rediscovering the faint possibility of debuting again.
Though Kagura herself might feel that these were small acts not worth mentioning, to Ardan, Kagura was just like Wudi-san—someone who had become one of the most important people she had ever met.
"The 'Setsuna Exhibition'… Such an unusual name for an art show. Is this the one you came to see, Ardan-ojousama?"
As they got closer, Kagura could finally read the exhibition's title. The name was indeed distinctive, and though she had no idea why Ardan chose this exhibition specifically, Kagura wasn't opposed to browsing through art shows—though she couldn't claim any special interest.
Kagura's voice pulled Ardan back from her wandering thoughts. She felt her sleeve gently tugged and looked down to find Kagura peering up at her curiously:
"Ardan-ojousama, were you spacing out? Is something troubling you?"
"Mm… Ah, no, it's nothing. Kagura, let's keep going."
Maybe some kindergarten or school was having a field trip—this gallery, usually empty in Kagura's memory, was unusually crowded today. The two stood near the entrance for a while, searching for a way in through the dense crowd.
Worried that little Kagura might get separated in this crowded place, Ardan instinctively reached out to hold Kagura's small hand. But just before their hands touched, she suddenly remembered that dream from the other night—she had also held Kagura's hands then, but in the dream, she'd pinned Kagura's wrists firmly above her head…
Wait, no! What am I thinking? That was just a dream!!
She hurriedly shook off the strange thought, pulled her hand back again, hesitated for a moment, then finally gathered enough courage to ask:
"Kagura-san… I—I'm worried you might get lost in this crowd. Is it okay… if we hold hands?"
"Hm? Sure~!"
Kagura readily reached out, gently holding Ardan's hand. Perhaps due to her frail constitution or another reason, Ardan's hand was icy cold, and Kagura's warm, soft little hand felt like a heated pouch, tempting Ardan to squeeze and rub it gently.
"Your hand is freezing, Ardan-ojousama… You really should wear gloves from now on. Your health isn't great; it'd be terrible if you caught a chill."
Feeling Ardan's hand was as cold as ice, Kagura rubbed it between her own hands and playfully blew warm air onto it, making Ardan shiver slightly from the ticklish sensation.
"O…okay, thank you for worrying about me, Kagura-san…"
Ardan's pale face flushed lightly, feeling a bit floaty. Simply being here with Kagura made her incredibly happy.
After waiting a short while, they finally managed to enter the gallery.
The art exhibition featured a wide variety of works—sculptures, paintings, photographs, videos—filling every corner of the gallery. Initially, Ardan felt somewhat reserved, but as she discovered more artworks that captured her interest, she gradually loosened up, pulling Kagura enthusiastically through the bustling crowd.
Come to think of it, whenever I went to art shows before, artists often stood by their works, giving introductions. But here, there's not even one creator present.
Compared to exhibitions Kagura had attended before, the works here weren't particularly unusual—in fact, they seemed rather simple. Though Kagura enjoyed viewing these modest pieces, one thing puzzled her: despite viewing so many artworks with Ardan amidst all these people, not one artist appeared to be present.
"Hehe… Actually, I forgot to mention it earlier. The Setsuna Exhibition… Its special feature is that every piece shown here is a 'posthumous work.'"
"'Posthumous work'…"
Kagura froze slightly. This unexpected answer explained why no creators were present.
"Shall we continue onward? There's one artwork… I absolutely must see, no matter what. Kagura-san, will you come with me?"
"Mm-hm~ Of course."
...
——Why did Ardan look so shy just holding Kagura's hand? It's only holding hands, isn't it?
——Such a pure-hearted ojousama…
——There's really an exhibition specifically for posthumous works now? Actually… now that I think about it, the paintings from my era would all be posthumous by now…
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T/N: ohohohoho cant wait when kagura reaches honkaku
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