"Yorkshire... who is this?"
"Where's Merka? Didn't he come with you?"
Turing briefly glanced at Diana, confirming that the figure in the blue robe next to Yorkshire was not Merka, before quickly retracting his gaze.
Feeling disappointed, Turing sat across from Yorkshire, separated by a thick glass pane. He lowered his eyes and tried to maintain a subdued expression as he locked eyes with Yorkshire.
Despite his disappointment, Turing strained to keep a welcoming tone, hoping to prevent Yorkshire from feeling sad or worried for him.
"Merka didn't come because he's still mad at me, right?"
Without much interest in exchanging pleasantries, Turing bluntly asked about Merka.
"No... Sister, Merka isn't upset with you at all. He regretted it a lot after that day."
"He's just a little busy with a work trip now, seems like he was sent to the City of Waves by Lady Maria."
Knowing how much Turing valued relationships, Yorkshire hastily explained to Turing.
【He's not mad at me... that's good.】
Upon hearing this, Turing let out a sigh of relief and relaxed his posture in his seat.
But things weren't going well for Yorkshire.
At the mention of the word 'sister,' Diana seemed triggered as if hitting on a sensitive nerve. She gritted her teeth and silently chanted a message spell, amplifying her voice to its maximum and harshly assaulting Yorkshire's eardrums.
(What's with calling me 'sister'? How shameless of you to call yourself that, even though you're older than Turing!)
(And who is this Merka? Why have you never mentioned him before?)
Diana's formidable magic converged into directional sound waves, making Yorkshire's scalp tingle painfully.
(Sister is sister, alright? Miss Turing herself agreed for me to call her that!)
(Merka is Turing's boyfriend... you didn't know that? Even in the City of Waves, if you casually inquire at any bar, you'd surely find out about Miss Turing having a boyfriend named Merka!)
(I thought you were so familiar with Miss Turing, I assumed you must have known about this, so I didn't mention it... Wait! It's such a trivial matter, and it's none of your business, why should I even bother telling you! Do you happen to like Miss Turing too?)
Realizing the situation, Yorkshire suppressed the uncomfortable feeling and maintained his composure in front of Turing. Using the same message magic, he responded to Diana.
But seeing Turing raise an eyebrow subtly at the other end of the glass pane, Yorkshire suppressed the urge to retaliate tit for tat and lowered his voice, sending a message back to Diana.
(Don't send any more messages back, don't you know how powerful of a mage Miss Turing is? Such petty magic won't pass muster in front of her!)
After calming down a bit, Yorkshire addressed Turing.
"Miss Turing, have you been getting used to your time in prison these days..."
(Hold on, don't say these useless things. Can you ask Turing if she still plans on competing in the future?)
(Or rather, if she's only in it for the competition, can she also consider giving up her spot on the podium... Please ask Turing for me, I was being impolite just now. The main reason I came this time was for this matter.)
Asking from your mouth... I think Turing might be more likely to answer truthfully when he hears it from you,” Diana interrupted halfway through, causing Yorkshire to shrug helplessly, sigh, and switch gears temporarily.
“Forget about that for now, Sister Turing. I want to ask you directly, do you still plan to participate in the Fireworks Festival competition?”
“If you're going to marry Merka, then you can't marry the gods anymore, can you?” Yorkshire asked Diana with two simple sentences, voicing the question that Diana had tossed and turned over countless nights in the past year, wanting to ask Turing in person.
The complexity of reality and the unreal feeling made Diana pause for a second, leaving her somewhat dazed as she realized that some things were indeed so simple that they could be discussed calmly.
Although Yorkshire's use of words like "sister" and "marriage" while addressing Turing was not to Diana's liking.
“About this matter... Of course, I won't participate in the competition anymore.”
“The previous competitions were a way of repaying my mother's kindness in raising me.”
“From now on, I will live for myself.”
Despite Turing's indifferent response, Yorkshire's reaction was unexpectedly exuberant, akin to that of a little fangirl.
“Yahoo~! Truly my sister, so cool.”
Seeing Yorkshire's affectionate shout and Turing's indulgent smile in front of her, Diana was grinding her molars underneath her cloak. She discreetly reached out and lightly pinched Yorkshire's thigh, putting a stop to Yorkshire's cheering.
