A Conversation Between Bodies (1)

There was a unique charm to bathing in the early dawn, with little time left before sunrise.

The mansion of the noble who introduced herself as Ceres was indeed as spacious as its size suggested, with so many rooms that they could even provide one room each for Yona’s group.

Moreover, each room was equipped with a bathroom for washing, and these bathrooms had a bathtub with hot water gushing out, along with a transparent screen through which the sky could be clearly seen.

‘Could it be glass?’

Since coming to this era, she hadn’t seen glass except in the cathedral.

She briefly wondered if it could be glass, but soon lost interest.

Rubina, seeming sleepy, blinked her eyes but refused to leave Yona’s side even for a moment.

Even now, as they were soaking in the bathtub, Rubina was clinging close to Yona’s side, indicating how significant the shock had been.

“Sister, why is this arm like this…?”

Rubina’s hand rubbed Yona’s right arm.

At that touch, Yona briefly wondered if it might transfer to Rubina, but if it was going to transfer, it would have done so already.

“…It’s just because sister had some bad things happen.”

Yona brushed it off with such a vague explanation.

“I see…”

Whether she understood or not, Rubina didn’t inquire further.

“Rubina, aren’t you sleepy?”

“A little.”

It seemed more than just a little.

Rubina, with sleep already clinging to her eyes, looked more than just a little sleepy.

Today had been a really long day, and the terrifying events that had befallen Rubina would have been hard for even an adult to handle, but Rubina showed no sign of it.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Yona thought it probably wasn’t a good thing.

After wiping the moisture off Rubina, who had dozed off in the bathtub, and secretly marveling at the fluffiness of the towel, Yona laid Rubina on the bed and returned to the bathtub.

She had wanted to soak in the bathtub alone for a bit longer.

Then, a memory suddenly came to mind.

-How dare you, how dare you lay a hand…!

The image of Alec striking down the cultist who was approaching Yona with a dagger raised.

Touching her abdomen, which still seemed to ache when touched, brought back the memory.

Lying face down, the approaching cultist was truly terrifying, though she couldn’t show it.

Violence beyond her power to resist.

She couldn’t respond to the violence that exceeded her restraining power.

Alec, who pounced on that man approaching her, trampling him without hesitation with even greater violence.

Alec, who beat the man mercilessly, shouting about how dare he lay a hand on her, as if to return the violence the man had inflicted on Yona many times over.

Perhaps if Yona hadn’t stopped him.

If the sound of Verbaria’s resurrection hadn’t been heard there.

Alec would surely have killed that man.

-You damn bastard-!

Alec, roaring as he picked up the man and threw him towards the altar like a piece of paper.

It’s been almost 3 years since she started traveling with Alec.

Of course, she knew his strength was extraordinary, but she didn’t know he could pick up and throw a person so easily.

‘…Did Alec do that to protect me?’

Well, of course.

Because they’re partners.

Still, it was kind of cool.

That much she had to admit.

So maybe she should reduce calling him baldy now- Yona thought.

“Yona seems to be washing up?”

“Looks like it. It takes a while, after all. Plus, Rubina’s with her. Or she might be sleeping.”

“Then shall we proceed with our discussion first?”

“That’s a good idea. We can relay our opinion to Yona later.”

Alec, Kairoc, and James were sitting together.

They had visited Yona’s room, but there was no response to their knock, so she must still be washing up or sleeping.

“So, we have two things to decide.”

“One is what that noble Ceres talked about, and the other is about Rubina. Is that right?”

Kairoc nodded at James’s confirmation.

The proposal Ceres had made during their very late dinner wasn’t particularly problematic from the adventurers’ perspective.

On the way from the Grand Duchy of Capatia to the mage community, the Inpula Church Territory lies on the route.

They would be passing through there anyway, and the compensation is enormous.

The compensation paid to adventurers includes preparation costs within that amount.

All costs for eating, sleeping, and traveling are included in the compensation, so they need to reduce these miscellaneous expenses to increase what actually remains in their hands.

In this situation, the conditions Ceres proposed were excessively generous.

But there was no room for doubt, as Yona’s group’s efforts in defeating that great demon or whatever were truly remarkable, and if they hadn’t managed to buy time, who knows what disaster might have occurred.

Because they had persistently held on, they managed to prevent a catastrophe with just one building destroyed and the lives of several guards. It was a cheap price to pay.

Given such an impressive performance, they thought it was natural for such a proposal to be made.

“I think there’s no room for discussion on this. We should accept it. Plus, the hero and saint are accompanying us. For us, it’s like getting something for nothing. And the pure daily wage is two gold coins. It’s at least two weeks from here to Inpula. That’s twenty-eight gold coins.”

Kairoc was unusually excited.

So much so that Alec and James seemed calm in comparison.

“That’s true. I also want to return home with both hands full. If I return empty-handed, I’ll lose face.”

James chuckled good-naturedly.

Alec had no objections either.

Refusing such conditions would be foolish.

“Then I’ll talk to Yona about this. I’m worried because Yona seems to dislike the hero and the saint lady, but if it’s thirty gold coins…”

“It’s twenty-eight, isn’t it?”

“If it’s not enough, I’ll give her two from my share.”

“Well, aren’t you and Yona in a relationship where you share money anyway?”

“Not yet, we’re not.”

Thus, without any disagreement, the first agenda was agreed upon, leaving only Yona’s consent.

“Then about Rubina…”

As soon as James brought it up, silence fell.

They all knew what needed to be said, but were reluctant to say it.

“…Well, I think it might be good to take her with us to Inpula.”

“That’s unexpected, Kairoc. I thought you’d be the first to say we should leave her behind.”

At Alec’s words, Kairoc scratched the bridge of his nose.

He seemed embarrassed – Alec inwardly laughed at the sight.

“Well, rumors spread fast. Rumors like Rubina was almost sacrificed, such rumors spread quickly even in a big city like this.”

“That’s true. Rumors spread instantly among children, and it’s even more so in an orphanage where there’s no particular guardian.”

James was also against leaving Rubina behind.

How long would it take for the rumor that Rubina was almost sacrificed for demon summoning but barely rescued to circulate around this port of Capatia?

I guarantee three days would be enough. After those three days, when the rumors are rampant, how will they handle the malice directed at Rubina, who has no guardian?

“What difference does it make if we take her to Inpula?”

Alec was slightly opposed.

“Since that noble Ceres is here, couldn’t we ask her to be Rubina’s guardian?”

“No, that’s not good. Even if a noble becomes a guardian, they probably won’t pay much attention. Besides…”

He didn’t bother to say that the woman seemed somewhat strange.

It was just a feeling anyway, and there was no evidence, so Kairoc thought it was better not to say unnecessary things.

“If we tell them in Inpula Church Territory that she’s a child who was almost sacrificed for demon resurrection, they’ll protect her fiercely. It’s practically the same as certifying her as a descendant of the Celestial God. It might be the same here, but Inpula will be much safer than here, which has already been breached by cultists once.”

“That makes sense.”

“It’s a valid point.”

“I thought you were a lizard, but you’re a knowledgeable lizard…”

“My intelligence is probably higher than the number of surviving hair follicles on your head.”

Damn it.

Alec wanted to hit the grinning Kairoc.

Of course, if he did, his head would probably end up planted upside down on the floor, so he had to restrain himself.

“Anyway, so we’ve decided to take her to Inpula?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Then I’ll tell Yona that.”

Alec stood up, organizing the contents of the discussion in his head.

He was starting to feel sleepy, but he planned to visit Yona once more before getting some sleep.

“By the way, when are you going to confess to Yona?”

“What confession? We’re not like that. Yona will throw a fit if she hears this.”

“Tsk. You’ll lose her that way. Why don’t you just have a showdown over marriage or something? Are you afraid you’ll lose to Yona?”

“That’s not it!”

Alec burst out angrily.

“Everyone around already knows, so why drag it out? Is it because you’re humans?”

“…Ah, forget it. Let’s drop it. Everyone, go back to your rooms. I’ll go see Yona once more and then sleep.”

“Alright. Good luck then.”

After Kairoc and James left for their rooms, grinning, Alec, left alone in the room, scratched his head vigorously.

“…What do they mean ‘lose her’. Tch.”

Yona came out of the bathtub, roughly dried herself off, and returned to the room with a towel wrapped around her head.

Rubina, apparently quite tired, was sleeping soundly, even letting out light snores rarely heard from her. Yona looked at Rubina’s face for a moment before sitting down in the chair in front of the dressing table.

Her reflection was visible in the mirror, large enough to show her entire upper body.

Her long hair, which was always a hassle to dry after washing, and her dull golden eyes, far from sparkling.

‘I am pretty though.’

She’s always secretly surprised when she sees the beauty in the mirror.

Honestly, she could understand why everyone who saw her exclaimed that she was beautiful.

Moreover, her chest was so large that in Evian, she had even been asked to wear baggier clothes because her nun’s outfit was too sexy. She refused, of course.

“…Tch.”

This body will disappear soon anyway.

What’s the use of having a woman’s body when she still has the awareness of being a man?

Yona clicked her tongue and got up from the chair to rummage through her backpack for underwear.

-Knock knock.

“Who is it?”

-It’s me, Alec.

“You’re not asleep?”

-I have something to talk about, can I come in?

“Something to talk about at this hour… Anyway, come in.”

The door opened and Alec entered.

Alec seemed to have washed up too, as his unusually shiny bald head was the first thing that caught her eye, and then their gazes met, and Alec’s pupils dilated greatly, very greatly-

And it was at that moment that Yona realized she was naked.