Third person view
"Mitsuki-san, can you come over to my house tomorrow? Can Sabine-cha... san, Colette-san, Shinobu-san, and the others are coming too." (Haruka)
(Haruka-chan, how long are you going to keep acting…) (Everyone's mind, x6)
It must be getting tough by now.
Also, sometimes she went out to say chan instead of san….
Everyone wanted to do something, but no one could say anything, and Haruka-chan continued to talk like a young lady.
Also, the vertical roll hairstyle….
Haruka-chan's family and everyone at the school, including the teachers, were aware of the situation, so there was no problem.
However, when walking around town, it would attract attention.
A strange gaze that was unreservedly directed at her.
Photos were also taken without permission.
Every time this happened, Haruka-chan's face turned red with embarrassment and she trembled, which was so cute that some of his classmates were so callous that they thought, "Maybe it's okay to keep it like this for a while longer."
…maybe she would start crying eventually.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Tomorrow I'm going to the hospital to visit my great-grandmother…" (Kaizuki)
By the way, Kaizuki-chan[1]'s name was apparently taken from the "A fantastically beautiful moon reflecting on the sea surface" that they saw.
Although her parents were well-educated and common-sense people, they apparently didn't know that 海月 can be pronounced "kurage" (jellyfish).[2]
When the parents found out, they said, "Jellyfishes (水母) are water mothers[3], right?" Afterwards, they cried and apologized to Kaizuki-chan.
It was said that Kaizuki-chan smiled and said, "It's a beautiful name and I like it," and all of her relatives were moved to tears by her kindness….
Even though people used to get married and have children at a younger age than they do now, great-grandmothers are still considered to be quite old. Whether they are sick or injured, there is a possibility that they will be hospitalized and become bedridden, so it is natural to be worried. It is not surprising that you would want to visit them frequently.
"In that case, I can’t help it. See you next time. I hope she get better soon…." (Haruka)
Kaizuki-chan smiled and nodded in response to Haruka-chan's words, but there was a dark expression on her face.
"……" (Sabine)
And Sabine-chan seemed to be deep in thought.
"…Kaizuki-chan, what kind of illness does your great-grandmother have?" (Sabine)
"Eh…" (x2)
It was not something to be praised for a daughter of a good family to ask bluntly about the illness of another family member. Asking questions that are insensitive and out of curiosity without considering the other person's feelings would be a shameless act.
However, blaming someone like that could also cause unnecessary friction.
Besides, Sabine-chan was a girl from another country. It would not be strange if, unlike in Japan, there was a religious custom of listening to the name of the other person's illness and saying a prayer for their recovery.
So, Kaizuki-chan answered Sabine-chan's question honestly.
"It's pneumonia. Well, it's called aspiration pneumonia, and it happens when food and saliva go to the respiratory tract instead of the esophagus or stomach…and the bacteria in the mouth goes along with it, causing inflammation… I'm worried because of her age… My great-grandmother loved me very much…" (Kaizuki)
Saying that, Kaizuki-chan lowered her eyes sadly.
Pneumonia was a dangerous disease, ranking among the top five causes of death in civilized countries… no, it's among the worst.
Since her great-grandmother must be quite old, it's no wonder she's worried.
"God Voice You…" (Sabine)
Hearing Sabine-chan's words, everyone thought, "Ah, I guess she really wanted to say the words of a healing spell."
Some returnee children and those attending English conversation schools said, "Isn't it God Bless?" but they didn't pay it any particular attention, thinking it was a phrase used in her home countries and not in English-speaking countries.
…at least, "Is that the special move of a robot from some ancient civilization?!" No one seemed to have said that…
Mitsuha's PoV
"Ane-sama, I wonder if you could cure the illness of the elderly who live as long as monsters…" (Sabine)
Buhah!
Gehogehogeho! (choking sfx)
"Don't say weird things when you're putting food in your mouth!!" (Mitsuha)
Someone said something so outrageous to me during the meal that I almost squirted everything in my mouth!
I barely stopped, but…
"It entered trachea and made me cough! What if I get aspiration pneumonia or something? The mortality rate is high…" (Mitsuha)
Oh, that's bad!
Sabine-chan and Colette-chan suddenly turned pale.
It was a joke that I shouldn't have said.
"Mitsuhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!" (Colette)
Colette-chan flew over, pulled me off the chair, and hit me on the back as hard as she could…
"Glug!"
I was slammed to the floor and made a sound like a crushed frog.
No, do you know it?
She patted me on the back and tried to get me to spit out the thing that was in my trachea, right?
…but Colette-chan's blow did more damage…
"…that's my bad! It's true that aspiration pneumonia is scary, but unless you're a person with low physical strength or resistance, an injured person, a sick person, or the elderly, you don't need to worry too much because it can be excreted naturally…." (Mitsuha)
"Injured person?" (Sabine/Colette)
"Yeah. If you have an injury that hurts when you cough, you'll hold back without coughing, right? If you do that, you won't be able to spit it out naturally and it will go deeper…" (Mitsuha)
"I see…" (Sabine/Colette)
Sabine-chan and Colette-chan seemed to be satisfied with my explanation.
"…but about what I was talking about earlier…. If you're living as long as a monster, isn't that your lifespan? Even if I force my life to be extended… Besides, I'm not a wizard. I can't use healing magic, and I don't have any magic potions. If I had such a method, I would use it when Colette-chan got stabbed." (Mitsuha)
"Yeah, I know that." (Sabine/Colette)
Do they understand?
"Certainly, it's not like there aren't any illnesses that I can cure using my transfer ability, if it's something like bacteria or parasites. I explained that before, right? …but it's impossible if your body is weakened, your organs are malfunctioning, or you're senile. That kind of thing should be left to the doctors…" (Mitsuha)
"Aspiration pneumonia" (Sabine)
"…"
Ah, that's what it means…
That's why they had that reaction…
I thought their reaction was a bit too sensitive…
"…details!" (Mitsuha)
Translation Note
[1] The person name is 海月, not sure how to pronounce it as a name (Kaigetsu? Kaizuki? Umizuki?), but I'll use "Kaizuki" for now.
[2] The word 海月 also pronounced as くらげ (kurage) which means jellyfish
[3] Word 水母 is also kurage (jellyfish), has 2 kanji characters: 水 (water) and 母 (mother)
Edit History
10 Oct 2023: improved readability.
23 Aug 2024: fixed translation error, applied dynamic naming.