Uketsukejo ni Kokuhaku Shitakute Guild ni Kayoitsumetara Eiyu ni Natteta

Chapter 40: High Heels

POV: Dorami

T/N: This chapter’s POV is even weirder than last time, but the winner of the poll was “third person” by a pretty close margin, so I’m just going to convert it to that (though there are exceptions, they’re pretty obvious though so I’m not gonna point it out). I’m also going to delete the poll and edit that chapter.

The next day.

Right before the Cute Contest.

Dorami was restless in the waiting room behind the stage.

Until just a little while ago, she was acting as usual. When Jade saw her off at the stageside, she was still thinking about lunch.

However…

Everyone is acting restless…

As Dorami continued watching, she saw the fidgety girls and a sense of tension welled up in her.

At times like these, just do what you usually do. That will calm your heart.

Dorami gripped the flute tightly.

In the contest, apparently, we have to do some sort of “appeal” with a “special skill”, so Dorami brought the flute with her.

Dorami cleared her throat and blew on the flute. She started to play as she usually did.

At first, Dorami struggled with her fingers, but she’s already mastered it with repeated practice. She didn’t cover the wrong holes, and she was able to calmly play ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’.

Then, the girls all started applauding.

“You’re really good!”

“You played it really well!”

“No, no, Dorami’s not that good. She’s still a beginner.” (Dorami)

“You don’t feel like you’re just a beginner!”

“Dorami’s really just a beginner. After all, it hasn’t even been a month since she got a flute.” (Dorami)

“Wow, you’ve made that much progress in just one month?!”

“You must’ve practiced a lot!”

“As expected of an experienced contestant… That’s a pretty good skill, isn’t it…?!” (Delmo)

There was a girl with her arms crossed standing by the wall looking at Dorami.

Dorami stared back at her…

“…Who are you?” (Dorami)

“W-what? Did you already forget? It’s Delmo, Delmo.” (Delmo)

“You look very different from yesterday…” (Dorami)

“I put on a lot of makeup. That’s normal, you’re the weird one for not wearing any.” (Delmo)

“Dorami will win with how she is now.” (Dorami)

“Kuu… I can feel that confident aura again…” (Delmo)

“T-that Delmo-chan is faltering…?”

“This may not just be a possibility anymore…”

A contest that Delmo had won for two years in a row.

The children’s eyes were glued to the supernova that suddenly appeared.

Dorami became nervous again as people were staring at her with looks of anticipation.

Dorami tried to calm herself down by playing ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’ again but applause resounded after her performance.

Delmo’s body shook and she groaned in frustration.

“I-I’ll admit that you’re pretty good, but I’m sure I’ll win again this year!” (Delmo)

You’ll see! Delmo walked away while attracting everyone’s attention.

Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!

“I-it appeared! Delmo-chan’s Delmo Walk…!”

“Her gait is too elegant…!”

“Last year, Delmo-chan won the championship because of that…!”

Hearing the children’s voices of admiration, Delmo laughed.

“Fufu. You don’t seem too surprised. I was going to reveal it for the first time at the actual performance, but I’ll give you the privilege of seeing it first. The Delmo Walk (modified) that I learned after a year of special training!” (Delmo)

Delmo took a big step forward, but then…

Paki!

A sound echoed and Delmo staggered.

“A-are you okay?!” (Dorami)

Dorami rushed over but Delmo didn’t say anything.

She sat down and held her feet.

“A-are you injured? Oh! Dorami has bandages for times like this! It’s a must-have for adventurers!” (Delmo)

Delmo shook her head as Dorami was rummaging through her pouch.

Then, she spoke in a tearful voice.

“My heel broke…” (Delmo)

Kotsun kotsun.

She tried to attach the broken heel to the shoes, but it kept falling off.

Dorami let out a bright voice to try and cheer Delmo up.

“A-at least you didn’t get hurt!” (Dorami)

“B-but, I won’t be able to use the Delmo Walk like this…” (Delmo)

Dorami feels bad for her.

Even though she practiced it for an entire year, she can’t even perform it…

“It’s almost time to start! The first participant, please get ready!”

The attendant’s voice echoed and Delmo’s eyes moistened with tears.

“Can’t you buy shoes now?” (Dorami)

“It’s impossible… I’m the second participant…” (Delmo)

Dorami wants to do something, but she’s going first.

And, even if she did have the time to go buy it, she doesn’t have any money…

“The first participant—”

“You’re up first, aren’t you? Just leave someone like me alone and go…” (Delmo)

So she says, but Dorami can’t just leave the crying Delmo alone.

Then, Dorami put her head to work.

“Oh, right!” (Dorami)

Dorami took off her shoes.

These were the high heels that she bought at Delmo’s store yesterday.

The size seems to match Delmo so these should be perfect.

“You can wear these!” (Dorami)

“Eh? B-but, what about your shoes…” (Delmo)

“Dorami can go barefoot! It’ll be a lot easier to move, anyway!” (Dorami)

In order to reassure Delmo, Dorami walked around.

“I-is it really okay…?” (Delmo)

“Don’t worry about it. Dorami’s looking forward to seeing the Delmo Walk (modified)!” (Dorami)

Saying that with a smile, Dorami headed to the stage.

Dorami was greeted with applause, played ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’ then told stories about fighting various monsters with Jade, and was sent off with another round of applause.

POV: Jade

After the contest ended, I waited near the waiting room for a while.

“Jade! Did you see me~?” (Dorami)

Dorami rushed over.

“I was watching properly. You played well… but, where are your shoes?” (Jade)

“Dorami gave it to Delmo!” (Dorami)

“Delmo-chan is the girl from yesterday, isn’t she? Why did you give her your shoes?” (Jade)

“Dorami gave it to her because her heels broke and she was in trouble!”

I see. She was helping people in a place I couldn’t see.

“Good job, Dorami.” (Jade)

“I-it’s not that great…” (Dorami)

To the embarrassedly smiling Dorami, I handed her the shoes she usually wore.

Well then, she was able to do well so I should give her some delicious food as a reward.

“You did your best, so you can eat whatever you want today.” (Jade)

“Yay! Dorami wants some of the skewers from yesterday!” (Dorami)

Dorami seems like she’s in high spirits.

As soon as we were about to head for the stalls—

“W-wait!” (Delmo)

Delmo-chan stopped us.

She walked up to us and timidly asked.

“W-why did you lend me your high heels…?” (Delmo)

“It’s only natural to help those in need.” (Dorami)

“B-but, if you didn’t lend them to me, you would have gotten first place…” (Delmo)

Dorami got second place.

As Delmo said, if it weren’t for the high heels, Dorami might’ve won.

Nevertheless, Dorami responded with a satisfied smile.

“Dorami wasn’t interested in winning from the beginning.” (Dorami)

“Eh? Really?” (Delmo)

First I’ve heard of it.

Didn’t she want to participate so that Marin would say “A-amazing…!”?

Dorami showed the ribbon to us, who were confused.

“Dorami just wanted to give this to her friend.” (Dorami)

The ribbon was a prize given for participating in the contest. It was a reward anyone could get by just participating.

So that’s why Dorami was going to participate without preparing anything, huh…

Delmo seemed to have become more comfortable after seeing Dorami’s refreshing smile.

Then, with a soft smile of her own,

“Your song was very good!” (Delmo)

“Delmo’s Delmo Walk (modified) was also really beautiful!” (Dorami)

They praised each other and then exchanged a firm handshake.

“See you again, Dorami-chan!” (Delmo)

“Bye-bye~!” (Dorami)

We cheerfully waved goodbye and left the place.

Since they’ve become friends, we should come back next year too.