CH 60

Chapter 60: On the airship (3)

The heat of the sauna didn’t allow me to breathe easily.

I hadn’t felt this way in a long time.

“You didn’t take off your blindfold…?!”

Yuri, who was sitting next to me, suddenly raised her voice.

“Oh, it’s kind of waterproof, this…”

To answer Yuri’s question, I pointed to my blindfold and turned my head away.

The dizzying sight of Yuri’s face came back into focus.

She was so close to me, I couldn’t tell if it was her breath or the heat of the sauna that was now touching my face.

“Ah, an enchanted object…”

“…It’s not that valuable.”

Yuri and I exchanged a look of mutual bewilderment and quickly turned our heads straight ahead.

The fact that the blindfold was waterproof was evident from the fact that the blood hadn’t stained it despite being splashed.

A cloth enchanted with waterproof magic shouldn’t be that unusual.

When I washed my face, I had to take it off, but not in the sauna.

It was more like…

‘…Dangerous.’

Without giving it much thought, I sat down next to Yuri, who was now incredibly stimulating. I should have sat a little further away.

“Cadet Kaen is a little late…”

“Yeah…”

With nothing more to say, we both turned to look for Kaen.

Around the time that Yuri and I were having this conversation Kaen entered the sauna room.

” I’m late…!”

As she said that, her lips were a little wet because she had been drinking water like Yuri said.

The towel fluttered with each step she took and every step she took was dangerous.

“Uh, uh… Uh…”

Kaen didn’t take a seat right away, but stood in the middle of the room, looking back and forth between Yuri and me as if she were trying to decide where to sit.

Each time her eyes landed on me, her pupils grew wider.

Since Yuri was sitting at the end of the row, the only available seat was next to me.

If only she’d just sit down… It’s not easy to hold it together when she’s doing it right in front of my nose, precariously covered by a single, bursting towel.

“Hmph…”

After a moment of deep anguish, Kaen makes a strange noise and sits down next to me. She then moved away from me a little bit.

That’s how the three of us ended up in the sauna room.

“”……””

I immediately realized that Kaen and Yuri are not very close.  As far as I can tell, neither Kaen nor Yuri call each other on a first name basis.

I was the only link in this unconventional pairing that could have been very awkward.

As it is, the two women on either side of me are silently watching me and I could feel the pressure in their eyes.

It seemed like a good idea to say something. But there wasn’t much to say.  I couldn’t find a common theme between Kaen and Yuri.

Eventually, I blurted out something that I hoped would be good.

“Speaking of competitions… Does that mean Yuri will be participating?”

“Is there a reward for winning?”

‘Reward……’

I blurted out, answering Yuri’s fierce question.

‘No there isn’t.’

The sauna was Kaen’s made-up excuse in the first place. In other words, I needed Kaen’s help.

“Oh, maybe it just feels good…!”

Taking over from me, Kaen exclaimed loudly.

Hearing this, Yuri burst out laughing.

“…Phew, you’re not wrong, it does feel good… …Zetto, I was a little shaky after that victory.”

“Haha, were you?”

Well, judging by Yuri’s reaction, I think I handled it well.  From then on, it was a “win and feel good” match.

I was going to go along for the ride, but not before I reached my limit.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t stand the heat but I didn’t trust the towel wrapped around my lower body.

Over time, the heat made me sweat profusely and I kept noticing that Kaen was staring at me.

I turn my head ever so slightly in her direction, and she responds.

“Uh… Cadet Zetto, I heard you ate mandragora this time…you’re in great shape…”

“…I don’t think mandragora has much to do with the body, do you?”

Yuri, who was looking at me less than Kaen, replied.

“That’s right…! I don’t know much about elixirs… Anyway, as a fellow swordsman, I’m envious of his… his… muscles… shall we say…!”

Kaen scratched her head with an embarrassed and stupid look on her face. As a result, her long, outstretched, double-headed hair gently touches my body.

I wonder if she’s getting intoxicated from the heat.

I feel like Kaen is in a daze.

She’s soaked in sweat from earlier and she seems to be saying strange things.

Glancing over, Kaen was lifting and lowering the towel covering her chest, trying to get some air. Then she asks a question out of the blue.

“…Speaking of which, how does Cadet Zetto check his body?”

Kaen asked me…Her towel was drenched in sweat, showing through, but only slightly. It must have been a thick towel.

I glanced at her, then turned my head straight ahead and opened my mouth.

“What do you mean, checking out my body?”

“You know, to see if you’ve got any muscles…or anything like that…?”

“I’d know if I touched it.”

“Then when you inspect other people’s bodies…?”

“… I’d know more if I touched them, and I don’t know if there’s any reason to inspect other people’s bodies…”

“Aha… I see…”

Kaen blurted out, her questions answered.

“You don’t look too good.”

A bead of sweat trickled down Kaen’s chin, and her face was completely red. Her breathing was also ragged, even if only slightly.

I wondered if Kaen was the most susceptible to the heat among the three of us but I wasn’t that bad either.

By comparison, a quick glance at Yuri on the other side reveals not a drop of sweat. She wasn’t from the Clementine Family for nothing.

Suddenly, Yuri bent her head down to look into Kaen’s face, and spoke to her.

“Cadet Kaen, by the way you’re blushing, I think it’s already becoming too much for you to bear. You can leave now.”

Yuri teases Kaen, hoping to win a “feel good” contest. She really was… competitive.

Yuri’s voice had a hint of sarcasm in it, and Kaen was quick to retort.

“That’s not possible, Cadet Yuri, you’re blushing profusely…!”

“Me? I’m not hot at all…?!”

“Then why are you blushing…!”

“That’s because…!”

Before I knew it, they were pressed up against my body, leaning forward slightly so that we were face to face.

Each time they open their mouths to speak, pushing against me a little, I see a dizzying sight.

‘This is… This is… the limit…’

I pushed past Yuri and Kaen, who were dueling hard, and stood up quickly, looking at them and opening my mouth.

“…I’m done here.”

“”……””

Kaen and Yuri’s mouths slowly opened at my declaration of surrender.

‘Too sudden.’

It’s probably a good thing since it would be very embarrassing if I stayed any longer so I quickly turned my back and left the sauna room.

‘…That was close.’

After exiting the sauna room, I headed straight for the shower, not bothering with the towel I was wearing.

***

The fight ended in favor of Yuri.

When I got out of the shower and changed, I saw Yuri dragging a huffing and puffing Kaen out of the sauna.

I waited for them to get out of the shower and offered them drinks I had purchased nearby since I was in last place, after all.

Kaen and Yuri were stunned as they accepted the drinks from me but it was understandable, since they had just come out of the sauna.

‘You mean… he can feel all the shapes…?’

Kaen, who had accepted the drink and downed it in one go, asked the question about how I feel the world, but Yuri, who was standing next to me, answered for me.

I don’t know what Yuri and Kaen talked about in the sauna, but it seems that Yuri decided to let Kaen talk.

She whispered to Kaen that she would get the information herself when she got to the north, and then left the room.

When I return to my cabin, Sierra pops out of my sword and into my arms as soon as I open the door. But her eyes were narrowed.

[Disciple, how was the sauna…?]

Sierra’s words sent a chill down my spine.

Listening to her words, the situation didn’t seem too bad, and she didn’t want to wear a sword to the sauna, so I didn’t bother.

After all, Sierra could use the sword as a guide.

She smiled and patted my head, saying she was back much sooner than she thought.

I stopped laughing when she lost sight of me and disappeared through the airship, only to return to the sword with a bang.

She didn’t think my laughter was strange, because I had set it up so that I could feel Sierra’s sword with my telekinesis.

[ … ]

Instead, she just shrugged and stroked me harder in my arms without saying a word.

Maybe it was because the bed was so luxurious but I slept soundly.

[Good morning, apprentice.]

Sierra’s soft voice, leaning against me, drew me out of bed, and I was ready to go.

I was now wandering around the airship to pick up items as I searched my memory for where they were and what they were.

As I picked up items, I realized…Part of me wondered if I was stealing something that someone else had dropped.

Does that mean everyone in the game is stealing?

But it was in an inconspicuous place, so… I decided to hand them over, assuming it was me who picked them up since they weren’t valuable.

The last stop was a special place on the airship. It was the lowest level of the airship, accessible only by climbing down a ladder.

‘What’s down here…? Was there…?’

I couldn’t recall the location of any of the minor items.

As I scrambled down the ladder with Sierra on my back, my eyes caught a glimpse of… platinum-haired… Aizel.

“Uh…”

A short exclamation came from her mouth as she spotted me since she hadn’t expected me to come here.

I hadn’t seen her face for a while after I boarded the airship, so it felt strange to see her like that.

I thought it would be a good idea to have a chat with her since we haven’t talked much lately.

We’ll be arriving in the north soon enough, but it seems like we’ll have plenty of time to talk.

***

In the middle of a mock battle, I watched Zetto collapse in a spray of blood.

It was an illusion, not a reality. Nevertheless, the sight shocked me quite a bit.

I was scared to even look at him. After that, every time I looked at his face, I couldn’t stop thinking about him bleeding to death.

I’ve been purposely avoiding him for the past few days since I couldn’t face him with my mind clear. I was afraid that if I looked at him, tears would flow down my face.

I leaned my head back, and I could see the clouds below the glass floor where I was squatting. It’s the lowest level of a little-known airship, the same place I’ve brought Zetto on previous trips.

This unusual room, with its all-transparent glass floor, gave me the sensation of flying freely in the sky, like an airship. But it didn’t mean much to Zetto.

I remember the words I had blurted out to him, while I tried to explain to him the extraordinary vision, mood, and feelings I was experiencing at the time.

The conversations I had with him here were still ringing in my ears. I was still remembering and longing for him.

I was deep in reminiscence as I stared at the clouds passing beneath my feet when I heard the sound of someone coming down the ladder.

‘Who could it be? I can’t think of anyone who would come to this place…’

Maybe an employee…but it was unlikely to be an employee. Who would be in a hurry to get to their destination in the north?

Then the sound of someone coming down the ladder got louder and louder.

“Ah…”

I hadn’t expected him to come down here at all, so a short exclamation escaped me.

‘Zetto…’

He stepped off the ladder and dusted off his hands.

At the sound of my voice, Zetto’s head turns toward me and he opens his mouth.

“Ms. Aizel, there you are.”

“Uh…… Yes…”

My mind is blank, and I can only give a short answer.

It wasn’t the first time I’d encountered Zetto in this way but this time was different.  This was the first time I’d run into him unintentionally since the beginning of the current round.

There had been many such encounters in the previous rounds and he had always approached me in the same way.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well… more than that, how did you end up here?”

At my question, Zetto leans in closer and smiles.

“Well, I need to wander wherever my feet take me first to get the hang of it.”

“…”

I’m momentarily speechless as Zetto’s next words overlap so much with what he said in the previous round.

It was a habit of Zetto’s.

“That’s… That’s an annoying habit.”

The words that came out of my mouth were the same as before.

“Haha, right?”

Followed by his laughter….It was all the same as before.

I couldn’t tell if this was just a flashback or if it was actually happening. It was a very strange feeling.

I didn’t see you on the airship, so I was wondering where you went, but here you are.”

Zetto said, casually plopping down next to me.

The smile on his face was like a ray of sunshine, as it always was but I stopped staring at him and leaned my head back.

…Even though I knew that if Zetto got close to me, he might be in danger….I couldn’t shake the feeling of his unwavering kindness.