NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38
Ugh… Groan…
After a struggle, I finished my bath and sprawled out on the bed.
The fluffy blanket wrapped around me feels ticklish. The comforting scent of the freshly changed sheets lazily caresses my mind.
Hoo…
Back at home, if I lay naked on the bed like this, Sara would nag me like crazy, but being alone feels so comfortable.
I turned my back and hugged the blanket tightly with my arms and legs. The blanket warmly embraced me back.
As I blinked my sleepy eyes, I caught sight of a modestly sized light that isn’t dazzling but also doesn’t look shabby.
Surrounding it is a gorgeous golden border with intricate patterns that reflect the light.
Since it doesn’t hurt my eyes even after staring for a long time, it seems to be finished with magic stones.
Turning my head, I see a wall that looks soft and fluffy.
When I touched it, it was indeed soft and plush.
What kind of material could have such a texture?
I looked around the room, which is too spacious to be called a student’s personal room.
“Nice…”
There’s a bathroom inside the room, and the bath has a tub. When I fill it with water and press a button, it bubbles and gives a massage-like effect.
Next to it, there are six types of bath salts: four fragrant ones and two foaming ones.
One claimed to contain herbs, so I tried it out, and while I can’t tell the effect, the smell was heavenly.
Experiencing this makes me feel like I made a great choice by coming to Signia.
And the most important thing? Room cleaning.
If I tell the head maid in the main hall of Signia, they’ll clean my room before class starts.
That’s quite the amazing service; I might even be spoiling the kids.
Well, the aristocrats were already used to these privileges, so maybe it’s the same for them.
Hmph… Hmph…
I rolled around a few times, soaking the bed and blankets in my scent before sitting up.
I hugged a large pillow over my empty chest and recalled what happened earlier.
Leona Meganberta.
What kind of beastman could fight with martial arts similar to Arisa?
At first, I was unsure, but after getting punched by her more than fifty times, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities with Arisa’s moves.
She’s strong, undeniably strong.
If a beastman like that existed 400 years ago, I would have remembered.
And she holds many secrets.
But if I ask, she won’t tell me anything.
Every time I bring up her mentor, she guards her words sharply.
And after knocking me down harder than before, she smiled slyly, teasing that she’d tell me if I could beat her.
She hides her age and hometown.
But she doesn’t hide her hatred for the Demon King and the Demon Race.
I truly don’t know her real personality.
I know that the playful demeanor she shows on the surface isn’t her true self.
The more I think about it, the deeper the mystery seems to pull me in.
But.
But.
I feel like I’ve found a trace of Arisa.
Not the kind that remains in this stupid fairy tale, but a real trace of ours.
Perhaps Leona knows something I don’t.
My heart skips a little.
Well, that aside.
Huff… I’m so hungry.
Right now, I’m super hungry.
I should’ve eaten meat instead of noodles.
But it’s already too late, so maybe I’ll eat tomorrow.
If I think about taking a shower before going out, I have to wake up by 7, and it’s already 4.
I won’t be too affected if I don’t sleep, but considering tomorrow’s sparring with Leona… I think I should get some rest while I can.
Hmm…
Should I just give up on sleep and go exercise instead?
It should be okay for just one day, I thought, as I was about to get up.
Ding ding- Ding ding-
“What the…?”
The device rang.
Not just once, but again and again.
Who’s calling at this hour?
Grrr… Haa…
I crawled over to pick up the device that had fallen near the shoe rack.
On the screen appeared Yurasia’s name, along with green and red squares.
I remember I needed to press the green one.
Lying flat on the floor, I pressed the green square.
And then…
[Ah, could it be that you were asleep, uh…?]
Yurasia’s face appeared on the device’s screen, and surprisingly, my own image showed up tiny in the corner.
“What? My face is showing?”
Wasn’t it just supposed to be audio?
Rubbing my bleary eyes, I stared at Yurasia’s image. She looked anxious with her face flushed and eyes darting around.
[Ah, um… Um… Miss?]
“Why are you still awake? Is something going on?”
[U-Um, well… Ah, um…]
“What’s going on?”
She covered her eyes with her hand, lowered and raised them repeatedly, grimaced, shivered, and shut her eyes tightly before glaring.
After a moment of flapping her lips, Yurasia quietly closed her eyes and whispered.
[…Miss, I think you should put on some clothes.]
“…Clothes?”
Oh, right. I was naked.
“Uh…”
[I’m so, so sorry! I should’ve told you right away, but I was just so flustered…!]
Apologizing, yet Yurasia’s eyes remained fixed straight ahead.
“What do you mean you’re sorry while looking straight at me?”
[Huh?! Ah, um, uh!]
In no time, Yurasia squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
Seeing this, I couldn’t help but giggle.
“What does it matter? It’s fine.”
After all, I’m in a woman’s body right now, aren’t I?
I have the same body as Yurasia.
What’s wrong with showing myself to another woman?
Of course, there are things I might feel shy about, but I didn’t reveal anything too embarrassing.
That would only be the upper body anyway.
Showing the upper body isn’t weird between the same sex.
In my previous life, while living as Paulo among mercenaries, we all used to go shirtless in the summer.
So, showing just the upper body to the same sex shouldn’t be a big deal.
Therefore, there’s nothing for me to feel ashamed about.
I was a bit surprised, but that was just because Yurasia got overly flustered; I don’t feel embarrassed at all.
If I saw Yurasia’s body, I’d be just as shocked, but showing a bit of my body is no big deal.
Honestly, it’s not like there’s anything to see.
“So, do you have something to say?”
[Nyeh?! No, um, well… Uh… Hmm…]
Yurasia’s lips trembled, and her eyes kept flicking downward.
Well, I did say it didn’t matter, but…
With her stealing glances like that, I felt a little strange too…
I decided to raise my arm, covering my chest lightly.
Not that I had much to cover, but I did it anyway.
[Huh… Uh, um…]
As I did that, Yurasia’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.
“Stop making weird noises and just say what you want to say! Oh dear, are you just going to keep staring openly now?”
[N-No! That’s not it! Um… What was I trying to say… W-What?]
“I wouldn’t know, would I?”
[Ah, uh… I… Oh no, I forgot! If I remember later, I’ll tell you!]
In the end, the screen showed Yurasia, eyes tightly closed, and with her head hanging low.
“Wait a minute.”
[Yes? Huh?!]
Yurasia, who had been tightly closing her eyes, slowly opened them.
“How about we sweat together for the first time in a while?”
It’s been a while since I exercised with Yurasia in the mornings.
Before coming to the academy, we always used to do that, but it has been five days already.
[Sweat… sweat…?]
“Yeah. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, so if you’re going to join me, come in your training clothes to my room.”
[Ro-Room? Room… My room…? W-What? Training clothes? Ah… You were talking about exercising, huh… huff… I-I don’t think I can today… I’m sorry…!]
“Oh, is that so? Then it can’t be helped.”
[Yes… I’m sorry… I’ll definitely go with you tomorrow…!]
“What’s there to apologize for? It’s fine. Rest well, and I’ll see you later.”
[Yes, yes! I’ll hang up now!]
“Okay.”
Nodding my head, about ten seconds later, the screen went dark.
During those ten seconds, Yurasia kept glancing at my face and my partially covered chest.
“What’s there to look at?”
I chuckled and rolled around for another thirty minutes before getting up from my spot.
*
Hmph, hee hee. Hoo~
In the dormitory of Signia, Stella Behrhaigen, occupying one of the rooms, lay on the bed in just a loose white t-shirt, humming a lullaby her mother used to sing to her frequently as a child.
“Surely, since I asked for a confirmation message, at least a short one should come, right?”
Hrumph- The humming starts again.
In her hands, she tightly held the device.
Earlier, during lunchtime.
Stella had casually given Yurasia her number. It wasn’t easy, but she managed to do it as naturally as possible!
On top of that, she even showed enough confidence to ask Yurasia to relay the number to Eliaernes.
After giving her number, she emphasized that she wanted just one confirmation text, slowly.
She wasn’t being pathetic or clingy, but rather dignified!
“Hmph. That was perfect.”
Truly perfect.
Actually, if Eliaernes had been at the same table during lunch, it might not have gone so smoothly, but luckily, she wasn’t there, which helped everything go perfectly.
According to Yurasia, the Vice Headmaster had gone somewhere to talk separately, but she didn’t know the reason.
Either way, it was a relief.
Stella felt naturally at ease to have exchanged numbers.
Giggling, Stella tapped the device, staring eagerly at the currently empty contact list.
Not yet. Not yet! Soon, two people’s numbers would be saved.
Believing so, she hummed away, waiting for an hour, two hours…
Three hours.
Four hours passed as she waited.
No messages came.
“…Why?”
She was sure she had given her number to Yurasia.
And…
‘It’s not that I particularly want to give it, but Eliaernes might be curious, so could you relay it? It’s just that I doubt she’d ask because of her pride.’
She even conveyed that.
So why wasn’t she getting any messages?
I could concede that Eliaernes might not reach out, given her prickly personality.
That horrible girl might very well do that.
But… why isn’t Yurasia sending me any messages…?
The cheerful little humming abruptly ceased.
Her two feet, which had been swaying on the bed, stopped moving.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Even the device stayed quiet.
On the black screen, only messy fingerprints remained visible.
“…Did I think I had made friends all on my own…?”
Stella’s muttering was laced with melancholy.
“It must… it must have been forgotten, right…?”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Y-Yurasia wouldn’t do that…”
Sniff, sniff.
Stella, trying to stifle her running nose, continued waiting for another 48 minutes before finally falling asleep.
Without even pulling up the blanket, Stella curled up, clutching her quiet device tightly in her hands.