The Macadamia Nut Dilemma

“Eh—!!! It hurts!—Ugh!!!!!”

An indescribable agony suddenly seized my lower abdomen again.

Though I pressed down with all my might, it proved utterly useless; the pain resonated from deep within!

“I’m going to die! I’m going to die! I’m really going to die!!!”

Involuntarily, tears streamed down my face once more!

How many days, how many times had this happened now?

Why did it feel as though my insides were being blasted by a celebratory cannon every single time?!

I was going to die! I was going to die!

“Here, grab this to ease the pain!!!”

Leidi, who stood nearby, immediately thrust something into my hand.

“Ugh-mm!!!”

I had no strength left to discern what it was.

With all my remaining might, I squeezed the object in my hand!

“Crack! Snap! Snap! Snap!”

The crisp sound of something shattering echoed incessantly through the bedroom.

I was going to die! I was truly going to die!!!

****

“Hah—hah—hah—hah—”

Breathing in ragged gasps, I felt as though I had just completed an entire city marathon, utterly devoid of even the strength to wipe away the tears from the corners of my eyes.

My gaze remained hollow, fixed silently on the ceiling.

“Feeling any better?”

“Hah—hah—hah—”

Managing only a slight rotation of my eyeballs, I saw Leidi, her face etched with concern, gently dabbing away the tears and sweat from my face with a warm towel.

‘Thank you, Leidi… It’s good to still see you here… I almost met my maker again just now…’

“I never imagined it would hurt this much… Suddenly, I feel quite lucky that the magic didn’t work on me back then…”

“That joke—hah—was—hah—not clever at all!!!”

‘I was just thanking you in my thoughts! Don’t immediately foist your luck onto my unfortunate self! Counting this, I’ve suffered twice on your behalf!’

“The fact that you can still retort means you’re fine, haha.”

Leidi’s expression suddenly shifted, and she smiled at me.

‘Uh…’

‘Was she doing that on purpose…?’

‘Well, thank you anyway, I suppose…’

“What exactly did I just squeeze? It sounded incredibly brittle.”

Feeling the pain gradually subside and my breathing stabilize somewhat, I laboriously pushed myself into a sitting position.

“It’s still in your hand; take a look.

You should be able to eat it.”

Leidi smiled, pointing downwards with her finger.

‘She actually gave me something to eat to squeeze this time…’

‘Never mind… As long as I can eat it, it won’t be a waste!’

I picked it up and saw that I was holding a tightly-bound cloth bag filled with numerous small fruits.

‘What could it be?’

I slowly untied the bag.

‘Uh… this seems to be…’

“Macadamia nuts…”

A complex expression began to form on my face.

I had a rather vivid memory of these things; they were far tougher than walnuts.

When I was still at the orphanage, the volunteers there had given some to the children.

Yet, no one, whether by biting or smashing, could get to the white kernel beneath the macadamia nut’s hard shell.

Faced with my younger siblings crying and insisting on eating them, I suggested we try cracking them with the doorframe, much like walnuts.

Consequently… under the eager gaze of my siblings… the macadamia nut lodged itself stubbornly within the door.

‘They were incredibly infuriating nuts…’

“Remembering old times?”

Leidi chuckled, settling beside me and reaching into the bag to pick out a few broken nut pieces, which she began to eat.

“Yeah…”

Recalling something, I turned my head to glance at Leidi.

“Speaking of which, you also ended up at the orphanage back then, didn’t you?”

‘Back then, I had no idea Leidi was incredibly wealthy…’

“What do you mean ‘ended up’?

I was genuinely an orphan then, alright?”

Waving her hand at me, Leidi popped a few nut pieces into my mouth.

“Mm—thank you.

And also, that’s really not something to be proud of, you know…”

‘Mmm, crunchy and delightfully sweet and sour—delicious.

Just a hassle to open.’

‘Hmm? Can I eat this right now?

Ruka sister seemed to tell me not to eat random things…’

‘It should… be fine, right?

Leidi must have considered it for me; I’ll just eat it without worry.

Otherwise, having only the taste of brown sugar ginger tea in my mouth would be quite upsetting…’

“Speaking of which, why haven’t you recovered yet?

It’s already been four days… and tomorrow’s Saturday…”

Leidi, looking slightly annoyed, picked out many broken nut pieces from the bag.

“What can I do when she insists on staying with me…? It’s like a banana peel at her grandma’s house…”

As if in a huff, I shoved a few more nut pieces into my own mouth.

‘I’m the one who squeezed these out; leave some for me!’

“You’re cursing so cutely; it seems your temper has mellowed considerably.

Maybe you’ll be better tomorrow?”

Leidi smiled, tilting her head and lightly tapping my forehead.

“If only that were truly the case…”

I gently leaned my head back.

‘It’s anything but good…’

Though I hadn’t been to school since being carried back because of this, if I were to recover by tomorrow, Ruka sister and Brother Mingdao might just subject me to a “mixed doubles beginner’s annihilation package.”

Yet, this pain, akin to a cannon exploding, was equally unbearable… I was so conflicted!

‘Ugh… why does it feel like I even have a choice in the matter…?’

“By the way, how did you end up flying horizontally off the stairs last Tuesday?

If it weren’t for that Aoyama guy, your head would’ve been cracked open, you know.”

As she spoke, Leidi took the bag from my hand and placed it aside.

‘She’s not letting me eat anymore?

I haven’t had enough yet…’

“I vaguely recall Ruka sister kicking me in the forehead, and then I don’t remember anything after that… I think that’s how it went…”

I truthfully recounted the fragmented memory, believing it to be accurate.

“She actually hit your face… Luckily, you weren’t disfigured…”

Leidi, looking relieved, brushed aside my bangs to examine my forehead.

‘I also felt it was a complete blessing… This era truly valued appearances… Just look at Prince Aoyama, and you’d understand.’

‘Hm?’

‘Prince Aoyama?’

“Wait a minute! What did Prince Aoyama do back then?

Why did you say my head would’ve been cracked open if it weren’t for him?!”

‘How am I only noticing this now?!’

“Just as you were about to hit the ground, he lunged out and saved you… He also helped me catch up to you two; he was carrying me while chasing you the whole way.”

“Wait, wait, wait a minute!”

“My skirt was too long, which prevented me from running at full speed, but my pace shouldn’t have been slow, right?!

He actually kept up?!”

‘This is crucial; I need to clarify this.’

“Not only did he keep up… don’t forget I just said he caught up to you while carrying me.”

‘Oh my god!’

“That guy definitely isn’t human, is he?!”

‘I could only come to this conclusion.

Does that guy have demon blood?! Could he be an enemy?!’

“I know what you’re thinking.

It’s too soon to say; Ruka sister is helping us investigate.

I hope he isn’t, though; he seems like a pretty good person.”

“…”

‘Was it my imagination…? Leidi’s face seemed a little flushed…’

“May I ask how he was holding you at the time…?”

‘Don’t tell me…’

“A princess carry.”

‘I… I’ll be damned…’

“…”

“…”

The silence was so profound that only our breaths were audible, as Leidi and I fell into a brief quietude.

‘I should speak first now.’

I adopted a very serious expression, looking directly into Leidi’s eyes.

“Leidi, even if you’ve swung that way, don’t fall for this guy, ahhh!!!!

What are you doing?!”

Before I could finish my sentence, Leidi delivered a sharp flick to my forehead, causing me to immediately shield myself with both hands in pain.

“You’ve been kicked senseless by Ruka sister, haven’t you…?”

Leidi gave me a look of exasperation mixed with indifference.

‘I… I guessed wrong?!’

“Then why was your face red just now…?”

‘My forehead was probably red; she hit me so hard…’

“What girl wouldn’t be flustered by a ‘princess carry’…”

Leidi said, a little bashfully, as she lowered my hands and blew gently on the spot where she had flicked my forehead.

‘It seemed I, perhaps… didn’t need to worry after all.’

“……Seriously… huh?!”

‘Oh no… not again!’

Feeling cold sweat begin to trickle, I immediately pulled Leidi into a hug.

“Hey! What are you doing, ahhhhhh!!!!!”

Leidi shrieked as I held her captive!

‘But!’

‘I’m sorry!’

‘I didn’t have time to find that bag of macadamia nuts!!!’