NOVEL WEB Chapter 138.2
Nail Art, One Step Beyond Manicure
Incidentally, seeing the pitiful Aroru, Tifaana, Frau, and Ireissia said nothing. Rather, they watched with amusement. No matter how elegant he looked, Leopold was a man. Despite his graceful gestures, he had physical strength. The women’s ability to find amusement in the sight of the onē effortlessly holding down the struggling Aroru and applying nail polish showed their mental fortitude.
“Done. How is it, Yuuri?”
“Thanks, Lelei. It’s glossy.”
“Right? Doing this regularly keeps your nails from splitting.”
Lelei and Yuuri smiled at each other, creating a peaceful scene. Compared to the tomboy screaming, “Let go, you weirdo!” at the beautiful onē, it was like heaven and earth. And the fact that they could act normally while hearing Aroru’s screams showed how used to it they were.
“Here, all done. Doesn’t it look pretty?”
“This side’s done too! Perfect gloss!”
“…I wish you’d remember that no one asked for this…”
Facing the cheerful Leopold and the smug Hermine, Aroru grumbled tiredly. Finally freed from the onē’s lap, she quickly moved next to Tifaana, trying to remove the nail polish. …She must have really hated it.
“Hey, Aroru, it just got nicely done!”
“Shut up. I didn’t ask for this. In fact, it’s a bother.”
“Eh…”
Pouting, Hermine was brushed off by Aroru, who didn’t even look at her. She was clearly upset. However, since she didn’t direct her anger at anyone unless provoked, this 10-year-old was surprisingly mature. While muttering complaints, she didn’t attack anyone directly.
“Nail polish is inconvenient since you can’t do it without the person. With nail stickers or fake nails, you can design them in advance.”
“……”
“…Eh? What’s wrong?”
Everyone froze at Yuuri’s casual remark. Staring at him, Yuuri tilted his head in confusion. …He hadn’t realized he had just dropped a bombshell. If he could realize such things, he wouldn’t keep making these blunders. Well, for Yuuri, it was just a normal comment.
“Yuuri-chan, what exactly are those things?”
“…Huh?”
“I’ve never heard of them. Nail stickers, fake nails, nail art… what are they?”
“……They’re types of nail fashion from my hometown…”
Facing the smiling onē, Yuuri answered with a slightly strained expression. The onē’s serious pressure was scary. He had messed up. But since he hadn’t done anything wrong, Yuuri answered honestly.
“Nail stickers are thin papers you stick on your nails for decoration. Some cover the whole nail, while others are just decorative parts.”
“I see. And fake nails?”
“Exactly as the name says, fake nails you attach over your real ones. They’re a bit longer, and you can paint them, draw patterns, or attach pretty parts to decorate them.”
“…My, such wonderful things existed in your hometown?”
“I don’t know the details, but they did exist.”
Yuuri nodded as the onē smiled happily. In truth, Yuuri, being a male high school student, had never done nail art himself. However, his sister’s acquaintance was a nail artist, and he had seen her doing nail art for the women in the Kugimiya household several times. …By the way, on those days, Yuuri took charge of meal preparations to avoid ruining the beautifully done nail art.
Having explained what he could, Yuuri thought he was no longer involved and turned his attention back to the many nail polishes on the table. There were various colors. Looking at everyone’s nails, they were all painted in single colors. It seemed that in this world, single-color nail polish was the norm.
“Hey, Yuuri. Can we do that nail art with what we have here?”
“Hmm, maybe? But if you use different colors to make patterns, it might look similar.”
“Alright, Ireis, lend me your nails!”
“Of course, if it’s me.”
“Let’s give it a try!”
“It looks fun! Show me, show me!”
For some reason, Hermine and Ireissia got excited. While not participating directly, Lelei was smiling brightly behind them. Meanwhile, Tifaana was already painting Frau’s nails with stripes. The two older sisters seemed to be enjoying themselves, their laughter a treat for the eyes.
While Yuuri was idly watching everyone, Aroru tapped his shoulder, drawing his attention. The 10-year-old tomboy, having somehow restored her nails to their original state, was glaring at Yuuri with half-closed eyes. Yuuri had no idea why he was being looked at like that.
“Uh, Aroru, what’s up?”
“Just a warning.”
“Huh?”
“…Probably, after that conversation with Yuuri, Leone will start doing various things, ask for your opinion, and it’ll reach the leader’s ears, so you’ll get scolded.”
“…Ah.”
With that, Aroru walked off indifferently. Faced with the predictable outcome, Yuuri groaned and held his head. He had just casually mentioned something in everyday conversation, but it seemed like it might become a big deal. Yuuri slumped, thinking he had messed up again.
As expected, starting with improving nail polish and moving on to nail art, it caught the attention of the women in the royal capital. And Yuuri, having carelessly made a statement that led to something big, ended up getting scolded by Ali. As usual.