Until I Fall Asleep…

“Teacher Seine?”

I observed her figure, lips tightly sealed, as she was the first to immerse her body in the bath.

Generous capacity…

No, without using figurative expressions, it’s just an enormous chest.

Looking at its size alone, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it not just a rice cooker but a water tank… No, anyone would think it could be considered a formidable weapon in itself.

“…Teacher Seine, are you alright?”

On the other hand, how about me?

As I glanced down slightly, I could immediately see the two legs supporting my body.

Unlike her, there was nothing to cover or hide from the start.

As I directly perceived such a clear difference with my own eyes.

“Mother.”

Suddenly, hatred for the mother who might be scratching her butt in some corner began to surge.

“Teacher Seine?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I suddenly moved and got orthostatic hypotension.”

“Orthostatic? Is it serious?”

“It’ll be fine once I get in the bath. Ahaha.”

Covering up the boiling emotions inside with a soulless laugh, I quietly took a seat next to her.

Yes, let’s not worry about it.

After all, isn’t she about ten years younger than me? It’s not mature to feel jealous of such a person.

What I should feel now is not jealousy but hatred. It will be a time to sharpen the knife towards the mother who gave me this sense of deprivation.

Damn woman. If I ever meet you again, know that it will be your memorial day.

“Whew, I feel alive.”

But apart from that, as I soaked my body in the hot water, I could feel the fatigue gradually dissipating.

Not sleeping properly for days, doing night duty, studying personally, solving incidents… It’s as if I’m finally being rewarded for all that accumulated pain.

Of course, just being able to monopolize such a spacious bath is certainly a treat.

“Khaaa~~~”

After letting out an exclamation while soaking up to my shoulders, I belatedly became aware of the gaze from the side and turned my head in that direction.

Ah yes, I had momentarily forgotten due to the sensation of the hot water.

I wasn’t the only one here.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“No, it’s fine. It means you were very tired.”

When I carefully asked, feeling conscious of that gaze, the Saint began to examine my body carefully while fidgeting.

With eyes that seemed partly admiring.

“Um, I was interested in Teacher Seine’s body. It seems quite trained, unlike its appearance.”

“Aha, I thought it was something else.”

Certainly, my body does have more lean muscle compared to ordinary women.

Usually, it’s not very noticeable because I keep it tightly wrapped, but when everything is exposed like this, such things inevitably become apparent to the person facing me.

“Well, given my background, I couldn’t survive without staying active.”

“Ah, come to think of it, you mentioned being a war veteran, right?”

“I’m just someone who barely survived, so it’s hardly worthy of being called a veteran. Still, old habits die hard, and I’m still consistently training whenever I have time.”

As I flexed my arm, the muscles clearly became visible.

But how should I put it… Yes, compared to before, the muscles have quite deteriorated.

Although I exercise regularly, it’s not even comparable to my active duty days, and moreover, I don’t feel the need to be so devoted to it in the current era.

“Well, even with this training, I’m keenly aware of my innate limitations.”

Of course, once physical training reaches a certain level, it doesn’t stand out much in battles between mana users.

“Innate limitations, you say?”

“Yes, well, you meet all sorts of monstrous individuals throughout life. When facing such people, I often realized that no matter how hard I tried, there were clear genetic limitations.”

People like Harshion are one thing, but even stronger ones would pop up frequently and chase me to death on the battlefields I ran through.

They even employed mercenaries of barbarian origin who had smuggled in from the Demon Realm. Although I’m descended from the strongest in the world setting, when facing such opponents, I often felt that even preserving my own life was challenging.

How many times did I brush with death trying to save people in such places… Well, now it’s all just memories, so I don’t dwell on it.

“Innate limitations… I understand that too.”

The Saint expressed sympathy with my words and ran her hand through her hair.

With a swishing sound, her chest was nakedly exposed, and my gaze naturally began to turn in that direction.

“I too experience many inconveniences due to innate limitations.”

A droplet falls, slowly trickling down along the curve.

Compared to how it would immediately slide down with gravity on my side, it’s an absurd destructive power. As I realized that even genetic differences could create such a wealth gap, I felt a void growing deep in my heart.

No, it’s not just in my heart, but externally void.

“Um, Teacher Seine.”

Just as I was feeling this sense of skepticism intensely, the Saint wrapped her arms around her chest and began to direct her gaze towards me.

Is it because of the heat from the bath?

Her face was much redder compared to when she first entered, but the Saint didn’t seem to mind her physical state and simply asked me a question.

“What do you think about my body, Teacher Seine?”

“…Pardon?”

“Well, recently it’s been bothering me, you could say.”

Rustle.

The Saint removed her arms that were covering her body and began to caress herself with both hands.

For a moment, my breath caught, but despite that, she was simply honestly expressing her concerns.

“As I’ve been active as a visiting student at the academy and moved around the campus, I’ve been able to somewhat realize the difference between myself and the high school students who are my peers.”

“Ah, yes. The difference.”

Certainly, as it’s a game made to be sold, the specs of women in the world setting are superior on average.

Compared to the existing world, the female students of this world are on a different level from the start.

And the person in front of me was someone with charm points that stood out even among them.

“While that can be understood as everyone having their own individuality, well… Recently, it’s been bothering me, you could say.”

“Bothering you, in what way?”

“…Well, how others might see it.”

The Saint shyly wrapping her arms around her body.

Seeing that sight made me recall the ceremonial clothes she wore when we first met.

Yes, it was certainly an outfit boasting shocking exposure.

Although I had seen the clothes in the game as well, the destructive power when she wore them was on a whole other level compared to the previous generation.

And now, what she’s saying is that she herself is starting to become aware of that charm.

“Perhaps you’ve become uncomfortable with the clothes you wear in the sect…?”

“Ah, no. That’s not it.”

But contrary to expectations, the Saint didn’t seem to mind about that.

“No matter how uncomfortable aspects there might be, I’ve already sworn to bear the responsibility as a saint. I’m determined to endure whatever follows from that.”

Yes, she’s a person who has the duty to support and lead an entire sect.

Although she might have shown unstable aspects at one point, even I, who had been living with her for a few weeks, had grasped that she had now cast off such aspects.

“This question is, apart from such public perceptions, purely to hear Teacher Seine’s evaluation.”

“…My evaluation?”

“Yes.”

The Saint nodded and then unfolded her hands, revealing her body.

Her completely naked body without a single thread of clothing.

“Do you think my body is alright, from Teacher Seine’s perspective?”

She doesn’t avert her gaze from me even while being shy.

Seeing her somewhat precarious appearance, I pondered what to do, and then decided to grant her request.

Yes, if she’s purely asking for an evaluation, I should respond to that.

After all, I am her teacher and.

“…Have you been feeling any stiffness in your shoulders recently?”

Before that, I’m also a doctor whose job it is to examine patients.

“My shoulders?”

“Yes, that’s how it appears at first glance.”

Of course.

With such massive things attached, it would be strange if her shoulders weren’t stiff.

“…You’re, accurate.”

The Saint affirmed this, but for some reason, her voice was trembling slightly.

As if she was flustered by an answer completely different from what she had expected.

“Would you like me to give you a massage?”

But it’s not often that we get to experience bumping naked bodies together like this, right?

Thinking it would be good to do as much as possible on this occasion, I made the offer, to which she quietly nodded and entrusted her back to me.

---

After washing our bodies in the bath until the water drained out in this manner, the Saint and I returned to the infirmary and prepared to end our daily routine.

“There are clothes prepared for patients that you can use as pajamas, and you can choose any suitable bed. Since we’ll be sending the sheets to the laundry room tomorrow morning anyway, you don’t need to worry too much about it.”

“I express my gratitude for your kindness until the very end.”

“No, well, this much is necessary.”

When it’s none other than the Saint of the sect spending the night, shouldn’t I do as much as I can?

Rather, I feel sorry that I couldn’t prepare a better place due to the limitations of the infirmary.

Despite this, the Saint expressed concern for me instead.

“Aren’t you going to sleep, Teacher?”

“I need to stay awake a bit longer. We never know when or where an emergency patient might come.”

“Yes, then it can’t be helped. I’ll excuse myself first.”

Fortunately, seeming to recognize my duty, the Saint bowed her head and moved towards the bed.

After she drew the curtain, I turned my back to her and, with only the lantern light on, directed my gaze to the book on the desk.

As always, it was to study what I couldn’t finish while pulling an all-nighter. Although I’m a teacher, I’m still inexperienced as a doctor, so I should learn as much knowledge as I can.

-Rumble.

Even as I studied alone, the sound of heavy rain could still be heard from outside.

Judging by the intermittent thunder, it seemed the rain wouldn’t stop for a while.

-Whimper, whine…

Meanwhile, the cabbage that had become a dog next to me was sound asleep, oblivious to the world…

Of course, being a newborn child, it should sleep as much as possible.

Thinking, “I hope you grow up to be a good child too,” I smiled contentedly for a moment.

“…Teacher Seine.”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

Startled, I turned my gaze to see the Saint standing there, changed into the clothes I had given her.

“Ah, yes. Is there something uncomfortable?”

“No, rather than uncomfortable…”

The Saint trailed off without answering immediately. But I could see her hands clenched tightly at her sides.

As if indicating she was quite tense.

“…For a moment.”

Soon she spoke in that state.

“Could you stay by my side until I fall asleep?”

-Pitter-patter.

On this late night with the rain still falling.

For some reason, I felt like I had heard something I shouldn’t have.