Volume 5 Chapter 232, After Bath_2

Translator: Nonon

Proofreader: Silavin

 

I was a little worried, but I asked Canary to calm down Lady Violet and the others as they seemed to be running out of control.

A few minutes later, Canary returned to the door of the men’s bath and said a single sentence

 

“For now, they’ll come back in 10 minutes after cooling their heads.”

 

That’s what she said. It seems that she successfully managed to stop their rampage.

Relieved by those words, I offered words of encouragement to Canary from the inside.

 

“Got it. Thanks, Canary.”

“It’s fine… they had already stopped before I had a chance to stop them. Anyway, let me in now. I want to soak in the hot springs too.”

“No, go to the women’s bath.”

“… Oh right!”

 

Still acting as absentminded as ever, Canary said “alright then” and left. She probably thought what I asked her to do was what she needed to lift the lock.

 

“Canary is that Elf who grows mushrooms, right?… I’m surprised she managed to stop the rampage.”

“You know how sometimes when you’re panicking, seeing someone even more panicked can calm you down? It’s kind of like that.”

“In other words, if she tried to stop them, she would panic so much, she would trip and fall, and seeing her like that would cause Ms. Mary and the others to calm down?”

“Exactly.”

“… It’s hard to tell if you actually trust her or not.”

 

Rather than trust or confidence in Canary, I can generally tell what to expect when I ask her something… I guess you could say we’re close friends. We’ve known each other the longest in this life. Well, lately she’s been growing mushrooms on her body and isn’t in servant mode most of the time, so it’s hard to tell what she’s thinking.

 

“… By the way, I know this might be rude, but I have something I’d like to ask you.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Kriemhild aside, Ash and Char… and Ms. Mary, although I couldn’t hear her well…”

 

Silva hesitated for a moment, before looking at me again and asking a question.

 

“Is there some kind of a mind-polluting Magic put on Shiki that affects anybody who enters it?”

“I’d like to think that perversion isn’t contagious… hopefully.”

“Hopefully, huh…”

 

Yeah, I’d like to think that won’t happen.

 

◆

 

“Hey~ Mr. Clo, the bath was great and we had a fun conversation. You’re a great lord for opening up the hot spring for free!”

“Hey~ Ms. Kriemhild. Thank you very much. Also, I only heard a little, but you were being a little mischievous.”

“Haha, you must’ve been imagining things.”

“That way of speaking sounds too fake.”

 

10 minutes later.

Ivory left first, while we left the men’s bath and met up with Lady Violet and the others in front of the hot spring.

Ms. Kriemhild approached me with a warm aura and a lovely smile, asking for a high five, so I held my hand a little lower and Ms. Kriemhild jumped a little, making a nice snapping sound with her high five. She’s as energetic as ever.

 

““….””

 

In contrast, Lady Violet and the others were strangely quiet. They looked as if they were questioning why they had done something like that, like they had hurt each other.

I don’t know what caused their rampage, but I did hear something about whether they could take a mixed bath, so I assume Cyan egged them on, causing them to go out of control without being able to back down.

 

“Did you have a good bath, Lady Violet?”

“Y-yeah, it was a nice bath. I got to talk to Kriemhild and others about things I don’t usually talk about and it was enjoyable.”

“I see. That’s good then.”

 

For now, I decided to ignore the loud voice I had heard earlier. It’s probably better for both of us that way.

However—

 

“… Phew, it’s a little hot. The wind might be a little cold, though.”

 

… Perhaps because she took a longer bath than usual or maybe due to the effects of the hot spring, Lady Violet’s breath and cheeks seemed sensual. Her cheeks were faintly rosy, and she smelled lovely, though I couldn’t tell if it was a perfume, or her natural scent. It was like she was 30% more attractive.

No, wouldn’t that mean that Lady Violet’s usual charm is 30% less than it is now? That’s impossible.

 

“(Come on, Io. Go for it! Do it while Clo is lost in thought about what we just discussed! You’re not a coward who lacks the courage to make a move, right, Io?!)”

“(Ugh, you got all cocky just because the man you love isn’t here… ! You better remember this for when Father is back, Cyan…!)”

 

Let’s calm down. It goes without saying that Lady Violet’s usual charm level isn’t low. But there’s no doubt that she’s charming right now, too. It’s a side of her that’s different from her usual post-bath look, a side I’ve never seen before. How could I not say this is wonderful? No, I simply can’t help but say it.

Yeah, that’s right. Lady Violet is always charming. It’s just that right now I’m able to see a different side of her. In other words, she’s charming both now and normally. Since that’s the conclusion, there’s nothing strange about praising her current appearance.

 

“Ah, Lady Apricot!”

“Eek—yes!!?”

 

As I was confirming that Lady Violet was as wonderful as ever, Gray noticed something and called Apricot’s name.

Apricot straightened her back with a strange, flustered reply. I felt like she was acting stranger than usual. Also, I wonder why Cyan reacted with something like, “Oh, he made the first move!”

 

“Your hair is still damp and frizzy!”

“Huh? O-oh. I can’t believe I’ve been so careless. My bad— D-Disciple, what are you doing?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? I’ll finish styling it for you, just like before. If you leave it like this, your beautiful hair will be damaged.”

“Y-you’re right. I’m sorry, but can I leave it to you?”

“Of course!”

 

Gray prepared a towel he had not used yet, lightly dried Apricot’s hair and then began combing through her hair with a comb to style it. I’ve seen this scene a few times before. In the past, Gray would finish styling it without either of them paying it much mind, resulting in a scene where Apricot would proudly show off her beautifully styled hair and Gray would be praising her, but…

 

“(He used to do this for me all this time… there is nothing strange in this. It’s not weird either… eek, but he’s touching me… stay calm, Apricot…! … He smells nice.)”

 

Apricot, who was having her hair brushed, didn’t seem as lively as usual, and while she didn’t seem to mind having her hair touched, she appeared a little… embarrassed. I’d never seen Apricot make that face before. I wonder what happened?

 

“Lady Violet, did something happen to—”

 

‘To Apricot’ is what I was trying to ask, when I noticed that Lady Violet, who was supposed to be in front of me, had disappeared.

As I pondered this, I immediately smelled the pleasant, sweet smell from earlier…behind me.

I thought Lady Violet was behind me, so I turned around…

 

*S-squeeze…*

 

—Or tried to, at least, when I felt a hug from behind.

A warm body heat. A generally soft feeling. I could feel a particularly soft, elastic part around my shoulder blades. Her arms were wrapped around my waist from behind, holding me tight as if determined to not let me go.

And then, from her mouth came a cute little sound, something I’d never expect from the usual Lady Violet.

 

What…?! Whose idea was this?

 

As I was frozen in place, unable to grasp the situation and completely baffled, Ms. Kriemhild came into my view.

Then, with the same bright smile as when we high-fived earlier, she gave me a big thumbs-up!

I see, so it was her idea. In that case, there’s only one thing I can say.

 

Good job.