Chapter 42: Master’s Confession

Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations

The dining hall… Actually this place is basically a restaurant.

It seems to be profiting by being managed like a high class restaurant.

After taking our seats, a waiter came over to take our orders.

“Have you decided on what you’ll be having?”

“The lunch course. And the same for the lady.”

“Certainly. We have either the beef or the fish course. Which would you like?”

“Beef?! Fish?!”

I raised my voice in slight surprise. Come to think of it, in the years I’ve been here, the only fish I’ve had were freshwater fish.

And the meat I’ve had was basically only boar, bear, snake, bird, and the vermin known as keratos… And some pork purchased from the store as well.

“Hrmm, it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten beef… But it’s hard to turn down fish!”

“Haa, She’ll have the beef, and I’ll have the fish course please.”

“Wha, I want to have fish too.”

“I’ll share it with you, and then you can pass some of the beef to me.”

“Roger that!”

When the food came, we let each other eat our meals, and stuffed ourselves on the lunch.

After the meal, my master ordered a slightly expensive distilled liquor and enjoyed himself with it. All there was in the village was a clouded local sake.

They started selling a distilled liquor in Mareba. The new product was called “clear” sake, and it rarely went to anyone besides my master who lives on the mountain.

There were a lot of orders for it too, so to keep things fair, mister Gusta denied my master’s reservations of it. And there was also the portion that he put aside for himself.

“Burp… My belly is so full.”

“That tends to happen when you devour two portions of dessert.”

“You know that girls have a separate stomach for desserts, right?”

I made a small, ill mannered burp while rubbing my belly. I guess I really did eat too much.

But when they brought out the frozen sweets, I was beside myself with joy. I liked sweet things quite a bit in my previous life too.

“Would you like a drink too Yuuri?”

“I’ll pass. I would just get smashed.”

“You can break it down with “Adaptability,” can’t you?”

“Then I wouldn’t even get a little bit intoxicated. There would be no point.”

Even alcohol gets mercilessly disassembled by it. Moreover, if I disable my “Gift” to get drunk, then I’ll get completely wasted at mach speed.

“It’s both a convenient and inconvenient ability, huh.”

“It’s a specification.”

I send back a crisp expression in reply. Filling up on dessert, my stomach became a bit unshapely.

“Leaving that aside, I ate a little too much, so is it all right with you if I head back to the room and rest?”

“I don’t mind. I’ll head back after I finish this off.”

“You intend on emptying a whole bottle in the middle of the day, Master?”

With nothing more to say, I present a very wet stare to my master, who made a remark reminiscent of a useless adult.

Isn’t this situation getting a little too far off track?

“Well, it was a long journey after all. I’ll take care of the check later, so go head back and get some rest.”

Humming unconcernedly, my master orders seconds. He wasn’t really the type to drink a lot, so I guess he’s in an especially good mood today.

I’m worried about how Yig is doing after we left him in the room, so I decided to head back first.

“I’ll be going then. Please don’t drink too much, Master.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

When I put my hands on my hips in an angry manner and warned him, my master responded by making light of it.

Hey, you employees watching us with that pleasant look: could you stop that please?

~*~

Upon returning to the room, a wild scene awaited me.

Oh, the room wasn’t messed up or anything, that’s not what I mean… It was Yig.

It was the first time I’ve ever seen a dragon soaking in a tub with a towel folded on his forehead, gulping down water from a cup.

“Y-you’re a surprisingly talented child, Yig.”

“Ugyuu~”

“How long are you planning on being in there anyway… Isn’t it hot? Well, I guess compared to how hot your breath is, the water is nothing.”

“Gaffu, Gaffu, Gaffu…”

“Where did that water even come… Nope, forget it. In any case, I won’t be able to use it like this.”

This is also the first time I’ve seen a dragon dextrously holding a water jug to its mouth and drinking straight from the bottle. This kid seems to be growing in a very nonsensical direction.

But I suppose if I can’t use this bath, then maybe I should go to the open air bath?

I think the open air bath here is supposed to be mixed bathing… And as a little scrap of a woman, I’ll need to be quite ready for that.

It’ll be a little scary if there are other people there, but… Moreover, I wonder if my master will go in too.

“No, my master is drinking in the dining hall right now! Actually, entering the bath together was supposed to be my big goal.”

I clenched my fists to try and get myself fired up for it… But of course I’m still too embarrassed. Since I’ve started being more self-conscious.

Therefore…

“… Maybe I should bring a nice big towel with me?”

Is the questionable line of compromise I decided to execute.

~*~

Swish, went the sliding door, so unusual for this world, as I opened it will all my might.

Steam covered the area beyond the door in a haze, and before I knew it the Sealing Magic Mirror had clouded over.

But even though my visibility went to practically zero, it’s not like I can take them off. If someone else were to enter, it would turn into a catastrophe.

So that I don’t need to take them off, I wipe the glasses with the end of my towel, and regain my field of vision… Alright, nobody’s here.

“Whew… I got so nervous for nothing. This is why being outside the cottage is…”

Briefly looking around, the large bath is roughly the size of an average pool. Unflagging bare rocks are placed about, making a nice atmosphere.

The stone in the center of the bath has a sculpture carved out of it… Is that… A Manneken Pis?

“Hey God, the previous world and this world must have some connection, right? But seriously, seeing such a large quantity of hot water gushing out from a Manneken Pis like this is… Y’know?”

The little urinating boy in the center is tossing out an abundant stream of hot water into the bath. Whoever thought up this design; show yourself!

Ah, anyway… I’ll pretend I never saw that.

“Right, the real issue is how the water is, not where it’s coming from.”

I get some water to wash my body off, and use my towel to gather my hair up.

In exchange, my body was bare now, but since I’ve had it for 5 years, I guess I don’t feel much from it?

“I’m totally flat and smooth anyway… If I had a more buxom body, then I wonder if I would have played with myself a bit?”

After washing off my sweat and grime, I submerge myself in the bath. The warmth of the water makes it feel like I’m being sucked in.

“Whew… This is fantastic… I think I understand how Yig feels.”

I’m probably making an expression that I can’t show to anyone else right now.

It feels, plain a simple, amazing. This could be bad. It’s comparable to my master’s lap.

While I entered that entranced, defenseless state—Swish, went the sliding door as it opened… And my master entered.

“WHAA?! M-m-m-m-master, why—so suddenly!”

“Oh, yoou’re here too, Yuuri. Don’t mind mee.”

“It’s occupied! By me! Please wait for a bit.”

“This’ mixed bathing, iisn’ it?”

“… You’re kinda slurring your words. Are you drunk?”

“Yeeah, a bit.”

On closer inspection, his face is bright red. Will he be okay going into the bath like that?

“Aahh, sheesh! Hold on a minute. You have to wash off before you go in the bath…”

“Whoops, sorryy.”

I take my master’s hand and pull him over to the washing area.

Uugh, it’s shaking around… “What is,” you ask? What indeed.

“Now that we’re here, let’s get your body washed. You understand?”

“Yeaah, you’re awfully considerate today.”

My master takes a seat on the stool, and the towel… he didn’t bring a towel? It’s all I have, so I remove the one wrapped around my head and use it.

I rinse him with water for a while, then lather up the soap and wash his back.

“Since you don’t have any strength, you’re practically tickling me. But it feels really nice.”

“… Well, good then.”

Umm… I got used to washing his body back in Rahon, but with both of us naked it feels a bit different…

On top of that, I wasn’t ready for any of this.

—Co-conversation! I can fix this mood up if I just start a conversation!

“Why did you come to the bath when you’re so drunk?”

“Hmmm? Solkalis is all about their hot springs, right?”

“That’s a pretty simplistic… It’s dangerous to get in a hot bath while you’re drunk.”

“And I figured you’d be here too, Yuuri.”

“Eh?”

I-in other words… This is exactly the kind of situation that my master was trying for?

Being in the bath with me? That’s what my master wants?

“Why… are you acting like this?”

“I was worried about you, Yuuri.”

“This is an inn. There’s nothing dangerous here.”

“There’s that weirdo following you around, isn’t there?”

“Uu… But the entrance is being watched by the inn’s employees, right?”

“Then I’ll just say it honestly. I wanted to get in with you. Because I like you.”

“Hwha?!”

Wh-what did he just say? Did I mishear… Wait, I’m sure he meant it in a family sense, or, you know, something like that.

Fufufu, you think I’d misunderstand?

While I came to a self-contained conclusion like that, my master took me into a somewhat rough embrace.

I, who was behind my master, was pulled to his side and entwined with him as he hugged me tightly.

“I’ll say it once more, Yuuri. I love you.”

My master… by how he said it, I could tell that he was completely serious.

His words expressed how much he wanted me. There’s no way I wouldn’t be happy.

I embrace my master’s body in return, and tears flowed from me.

“Am I… Good enough for you?”

“You’re all I want, Yuuri.”

“I’m a child, you know?”

“You just turned 15 a while back.”

“Umm… But I can’t do anything lewd? Because of the effects of “Sacred Treasure”.”

“As long as we have these “rings,” we’ll manage somehow.”

“I can’t have children.”

“We could always adopt. In fact, maybe we should adopt Alec?”

“Let’s not, please.”

My master put on a joking air. However, he hugged me all the tighter… It’s almost like he was strongly hugging me to say he wouldn’t let me get away.

When I raised my face to look at him, he had an anxious expression. It was rare on my master, who was always calm and composed.

—Why does he look so worried…?

“So, umm… Will you… Give me a reply? Or perhaps you don’t like old people like me?”

“… Oh, no way! I wouldn’t… dislike that.”

Answering such, I shift positions, and hug my master while sitting on his lap.

I rest my head in his arm… and bring my face close—

“If you’ll have me, then—gladly.”

With a faint, sighing voice, I accepted his proposal.

After that, we exchanged our first kiss as man and woman—

“How did you like your first time in the bath, Master?”

“I couldn’t stop one thing from leading to another.”

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Author’s Note:

It was rather quick, but it’s the second arc’s climax.