Himekishi to Camping Car Chapter 8

Hi there, sorry for the wait.

Classes have started, and so I’m less motivated than usual to do this.

That said, if anyone would like to help me with translating, I’d welcome it.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Translator: Onion

Editor: Onion

(Don’t worry about the title, it’ll make sense soon.)

---

Princess Knight and the Instant Ball

---

After a meal in the early afternoon, in the RV.
Three people and an animal were snuggled in the kotatsu. At first glance, it seemed like a newly-married couple with their daughter and dog, an ideal image of a family.
In gentle light from the window sat Sofia, nodding drowsily.
The energetic Mimi, on the other hand, was talking to Naoto while petting the puppy sleeping on the tatami mat.

“Is onii-chan also feeling sleepy like onee-chan?” (Mimi)
“Nah. I don’t know about her but I feel like I’m in my retirement.” (Naoto)
“Re-tire?” (Mimi)

Mimi looked up to Naoto while tilting her head.

“Where’s this re-tire you’re in?” [1] (Mimi)
“Retirement isn’t a place. It’s a lifestyle.” (Naoto)

So Naoto says, pointing at Sofia. The same Sofia that is napping while hugging a sushi plush. It’s definitely calm, Naoto thought while looking at a scene he’d always dreamed of.

“Relaxing like this, isn’t it great?” (Naoto)
“Mm!” (Mimi)
“Now, if only a cat was sleeping on her lap, it would really be the best.” (Naoto)
“Kuu-n”

The sleeping puppy raised its face with a sad expression. “But a dog isn’t good enough,” is what its face seemed to ask.

“Haha, come here, puppy.” (Naoto)
“Woof!”

Calling out to it, he picked the puppy up and placed its head on his lap.
With its head on his thigh, it looked just like a shiba inu looking up.

“Yup, yup, dogs really are formidable.” (Naoto)
“Formidable.”

Mimi repeated Naoto’s words, having fun.
Suddenly, the young girl looked at Sofia, with a voice sounding like she had realized something.

“Ah!” (Mimi)
“What’s up?” (Naoto)
“Onee-chan is drooling.” (Mimi)
“Hm?” (Naoto)

Reacting to Mimi’s words, Naoto looked to Sofia.
Sofia was sleeping with gentle breaths. Mimi was definitely exaggerating, but there was a little drool coming out of the side of her mouth.

“Well, it is warm, after all.” (Naoto)

The outside of the RV was a little cold, but inside was at 23º, controlled at about 50% humidity, or so the control panel read. Right now, it was the perfect environment to be in, with sunlight shining in through the window.
If you slept here, of course one or two drops of drool would leak through, thought Naoto.

“Onii-chan, is there anything to wipe it with?” (Mimi)
“Here.” (Naoto)

Ready before he was even asked, Naoto took out a hand towel from the cabinet near the ceiling, and handed it to Mimi.

“Thank you!” (Mimi)
“Since she’s sleeping so deeply, don’t wake her up when you wipe her mouth.” (Naoto)
“Mm!” (Mimi)

Mimi nodded her head energetically, and moved to Sofia.
She dabbed the ends of Sofia’s mouth with the hand towel.

“Nn…”

Sofia twisted her body, but didn’t seem to be waking up.
Mimi kept on dabbing her mouth with the towel.

“Wouldn’t it be better to wipe her mouth normally,” thought Naoto. Suddenly, Sofia’s closed eyes twitched. [2]

“Fufu…” (Sofia)
“Onee-chan is smiling.” (Mimi)
“She must be having a good dream, I guess.” (Naoto)
“A…ma…shing…” (Sofia) [3]
“What kind of sleep talking is that? Well, it fits her, anyway.” (Naoto)
“So many… dogs… A hundred and one…” (Sofia)

Sofia explained what was going through her head while sleep-talking.

“She says there are 101 puppies.” (Mimi)

Mimi said while going back to the towel.

“She seems like she’s having fun, huh?” (Naoto)
“Mm!” (Mimi)
“……orange box… one-hundred and one…” (Sofia)
“……She seems like she’s having fun, huh.” (Naoto)

Naoto smiled faintly while imagining a hundred-and-one puppies, all in orange boxes.
During this scene, not only dogs, but Mimi appeared, petting each one-by-one. A fluffy feeling rose within that imagery.
Running over to a calling dog with soft footsteps to pet it, then running over to the next calling dog with soft footsteps to pet it. Then, running over to the next-
Naoto imagined that kind of scene.

“Could make your heart skip a beat.” (Naoto) [4]
“Heart… skip?” (Mimi)

The real Mimi asks while tilting her head.

“Heart skipping a beat means… From what I know, something really fun happened. Like if 101 dogs showed up.” (Naoto)

“Mm, really fun!” (Mimi)

Mimi nodded, looking at the puppy.

“Puppy, how do more of you appear?” (Mimi)

Which was basically the same as the “Where do babies come from?” question.

“Woof, woof!”
“I see, that’s how.” (Mimi)

Nodding her head with a “mm, mm”, this time she turns to Naoto.

“Onii-chan, do you have a ball?” (Mimi)
“Ball?” (Naoto)
“Mm, the puppy says it loves balls.” (Mimi)
“Oh, we moved on from that topic.” (Naoto)

Because he thought they were still on that topic, Naoto felt a little relieved at how relaxed Mimi and the puppy were.
The dog had talked about balls there, and Naoto didn’t need to ask to know why.
Naoto smiled, thinking about where he could find a ball.

“Just a second.” (Naoto)
“Mm!” (Mimi)

Naoto took the hand towel that Mimi had been using and rolled it up. Then, he got some of the packaging string from his storage, and wove it around a few times.
The instant ball was complete.

“It’s not perfect, but it’ll work, right?” (Naoto)
“Woof!”
“Hurry and throw it, it says.” (Mimi)
“Ahaha, even I knew what it was trying to say.” (Naoto)

Mimi translated with gleaming eyes.
Smiling back at the pair, Naoto got up and opened up the balcony in the back.
As he stepped down from the balcony, he could see the wagging tail of the puppy.

“Then, let’s do this, dog! There!” (Naoto)

Sitting on the balcony, Naoto threw the ball.

“Woof!”
“Whee!” (Mimi)

Chasing after the ball that was thrown in a parabola [5], the puppy ran at full speed. At the same time, Mimi chased after it too in excitement.

“Oh.”

The dog and Mimi chased after the ball together. Still sitting, Naoto watched the two of them.
Soon, the dog came back with the towel-ball in its mouth, with Mimi following right behind, smiling the whole time.

“I lost. Onii-chan, can you do it again?” (Mimi)

“Alright. There!” (Naoto)

He threw the ball again. And again, a person and an animal went chasing after it.
This time Mimi grabbed the ball, presenting it to Naoto with a large smile.

“I won.” (Mimi)
“Not bad. Should I throw it again?” (Naoto)
“Mm!”
“Woof!”

Naoto kept throwing the ball, sitting on the balcony.
Sometimes the puppy would win, sometimes Mimi.
Going back and forth, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, it was that sort of image.
They picked up the ball, gave it back, and he threw it.
In the afternoon after a meal, Naoto, the girl, and the puppy played together.

“Kiyahoi!” [5]

Mimi caught the ball in the air without letting it touch the ground, jumping head-first.
With that energy, she soon slid into the ground.

“I got it.” (Mimi)

Mimi held the ball high, and the puppy jumped to try to get it.

“Kyahahaha, no no, puppy, this is mine.”
“Woof woof~”
“Ogo ogo~”

A person and an animal began turning around, playing.

After a little while Mimi stood up, saying “Here, puppy”, and gave the ball back, coming to the balcony.

“Ah, that was fun!” (Mimi)
“Woof!”
“I know. Um, onii-chan, the puppy says it’s hungry.” (Mimi)
“Ahaha, Mimi is too, right?” (Naoto)
“Mm, I am too.” (Mimi)
“Then, I’ll go make something. You wait quietly in the kotatsu.” (Naoto)
“Mm!”
“Woof!”

Rising up from the balcony, two people and an animal returned to the room.

“Aah-“

With a small smile, Naoto turned towards Mimi.

“Keep what we did today a secret from onee-chan.” (Naoto)

-He said with an index finger on his lips.

“Why keep it a secret?” (Mimi)
“……pity.” (Naoto)

With a bitter smile, he returns to the six-mat room, looking at the kotatsu.
The puppy played in the middle of the afternoon.
Sofia, comfortable, didn’t wake up at all during it.
“It’s better if she doesn’t know,” thought Naoto.

---

TL notes:

[1] – This exchange is suuuper weird because it doesn’t fit into English. (From what I can tell) sleepiness is referred to as a place in Japanese, and so Mimi’s still thinking about retirement in a place term. She also says it in katakana rather than kanji, showing she doesn’t know the word.

[2] – I should just make a list of “Onion’s common TL notes” and say like, “Common TL Note #2” here. Mimi’s wiping with a “tsun tsun” effect. Since I’m an idiot who doesn’t know how to translate this correctly, I put down something with the same effect.

Yet another one is that “Sofia’s eyes suddenly *****”. It says yakedashita, so I think they twitched, but not 100% sure.

[3] This could also go into a “Onion’s Common TL Notes” point. She slurred her speech in this sentence.

[4] – Definitely making a list of this, dang. There’s a sound for your heart clenching or skipping a beat, and Naoto’s saying that the scene would make anyone’s heart make that sound. In the next line, Mimi’s asking what that sound is.

[5] – Yes, it said this. It used the kanji for “Parabola”.

[6] – I swear Mimi screamed “KIYAHOI”. I promise.

---

For my other notes and ramblings, please check my status. It’s full of my plans and other things, so if you want to stay in the loop, please read it.

<-Previous | ToC | Next->