Narcissus, Blooming Even in Bud

"How adorable."

Stelle raised her hand, having removed her black gloves at some point. Now, with her smooth, warm fingers, she gently touched the Trailblazer's cheek.

"Your flustered look isn't just amusing to Aha; I find it quite entertaining as well."

"Huh? I, you..."

The Trailblazer instinctively took a step back, avoiding Stelle's touch.

No way.

Could she really be in such a miserable state?

Being a source of amusement for Aha was one thing, but to be a source of amusement for herself too?

What was that all about?

Stelle's fingers remained suspended in the air where the Trailblazer had dodged her touch, but she showed no displeasure, slowly lowering her hand.

"So, what's the situation with the other me right now?"

Hearing the Trailblazer's question, Stelle lowered her eyes, not saying a word, but slowly smiling.

The Trailblazer couldn't understand what her smile meant.

Even though they were the same person, this Elation Stelle was another version of herself.

But she always felt like she couldn't quite figure her out.

She had no idea what the other Stelle was thinking.

And looking at the smile she was giving her...

The only thing the Trailblazer could think was:

Good heavens, Stelle in Elation mode is terrifying!

The Trailblazer couldn't even imagine Sampo, Jing Yuan, and Professor Ratio, whom she had previously seduced using the Elation mode.

What kind of intense pressure did they experience when facing Elation Stelle?

Stelle was acting like a completely domineering sadist!

Being a sadist towards the romanceable characters was one thing.

But why was she showing her sadistic side to herself? Why couldn't she even spare herself?

"You haven't woken up yet. In reality, you've lost consciousness, which is why you can see me," Stelle replied.

"Don't worry, Aha is handling this matter. You'll wake up soon."

The Trailblazer saw Stelle open the Four-Dimensional Pocket, rummaging through it.

"What are you looking for?"

"Your backpack is a mess," Stelle said after searching for a long time. "Every time I take control of your body, I tidy up your backpack for you. How did you make such a mess again?"

The Trailblazer scratched her head.

"What does it matter if it's messy? Everything's in there anyway. It's not like I can't find what I'm looking for."

"Sigh, never mind." Stelle clearly wasn't going to argue with the Trailblazer. She pulled out a Jade Lotus from the bag. "I found it."

"A flower?"

"Yes, a flower. Before you wake up, we have to do something to pass the time."

Stelle glanced at the Trailblazer. "Come over and take a closer look. Your flower arranging skills are truly appalling. Last time you arranged the Jade Lotus, you just shoved all the stems into the vase, didn't you?"

"You really are a neat freak. You noticed that?"

The Trailblazer didn't know why, but she was actually being led by the nose by Stelle.

She didn't realize that since meeting Stelle, the initiative in their conversations had been completely taken over by the other woman.

But she clearly didn't care about it, or perhaps she didn't even notice.

At that moment, the Trailblazer moved closer to Stelle, watching the flower arrangement lesson that was about to begin.

(That's right, the great Narcissus plot, the great stream of consciousness, is finally about to begin!)

"The first step in flower arranging is to trim the roots."

Stelle casually grabbed a pair of scissors from the backpack and snipped off the slightly cracked roots of the Jade Lotus with a snap.

The flower seemed to have been in the Four-Dimensional Pocket for too long and needed to be revived.

Fingers as green as scallions placed the flower stem into the vase.

This variety of flower couldn't bloom without some artificial means.

The Trailblazer obediently stood next to Stelle, watching her flower arranging techniques.

She saw Stelle holding the flower bud with one hand while reaching out with the other.

[CENSORED]

"Wait a minute!"

The Trailblazer suddenly spoke up.

"Is this really necessary for waking the flowers? I've never artificially opened the petals of a Jade Lotus before."

"That's why I say you don't understand floral arrangement at all."

Stelle turned her head to look at the Trailblazer. "Watch carefully, learn well. In the future, when you buy flower branches, don't just toss them into a vase and be done with it. When I'm not around, you'll have to do some things for me."

"Oh, okay."

I feel like I'm being looked down upon...

The Trailblazer touched its nose.

But, it had absolutely no reason to refute.

After all, the other one was another version of itself.

No matter how it refuted the other, the object of its denial was itself.

'Denying oneself' was meaningless, so it decided to just let it go.

On the other side, Stelle continued her pioneering work.

Approved

Approved

Approved

Approved

Stelle evaluated so nonchalantly.

The Trailblazer took a breath, but couldn't suppress its own exhalations in the dim and quiet air.

"Wait, Stelle, I, I don't want to learn anymore, I don't want to learn..."

"Why?"

Stelle stared intently at the flower in front of her.

Approved

Approved

A sweet fragrance filled the air.

The Trailblazer shivered, its moist gaze turned to Stelle: "No reason..."

"But, this is my request."

Stelle, unmoved by the pleading gaze, insisted on completing the entire flower-waking process from beginning to end.

Finally finished with everything, Stelle clapped her hands as if to brush off any remaining traces.

"With this bit of flower arrangement knowledge, your aesthetic sense should have improved a lot, right? Even if I'm not by your side in the future, can you wake flowers properly on your own?"

"I... I think so."

Flower arrangement wasn't an easy thing to learn.

It was more tiring than it imagined.

So the Trailblazer collapsed unceremoniously on the ground.

It looked at its legs, the slit in its short skirt, the dark green Leg Ring seemed to have shifted down a bit.

Stelle walked over, squatted down beside the Trailblazer, and adjusted the Leg Ring to a suitable position for it.

"Tired?"

Stelle looked at the Trailblazer, and for some reason, it seemed that after the teaching event just now, her attitude towards the Trailblazer had improved a bit.

It seemed closer.

"Pretty tired."

The Trailblazer nodded, it was really quite tiring, after all, it had to immerse itself in it with full concentration.

"Do it a few more times, you'll get used to it after doing it a few more times."

Stelle gave the Trailblazer a slight smile, turned around and was about to rummage through her backpack for another Jade Lotus.

"Ah? No, let's not!"

The Trailblazer immediately got up from the ground and pounced on Stelle.

Unfortunately, Stelle had already taken out the second flower from her backpack.

"Don't want to? Heh. It's not up to you to say no."

Thus, a new round of flower-waking began.

It couldn't say how many flowers it had gone through the process of learning flower arrangement under Stelle's hands.

Later, consciousness gradually dissipated again.

The spirit was scattered and then reassembled.

The ache spreading through Stelle's body dragged her back to consciousness.

She felt sore all over, her limbs weak, completely drained as if she'd just been through some intense physical exertion.

But she couldn't remember what had happened while she was unconscious.

Slowly opening her eyes, she was no longer met with total darkness.

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, the corners shrouded in shadow, and the crackling sounds of burning filled her ears.

The Trailblazer was awake.

(ps:ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ No way, even stream of consciousness doesn't pass review)