Chapter 9. Borders and Barriers (5)

As I got out of the pool, I couldn’t help but gasp as I watched the water stream down Ria’s body.

Even though I had set boundaries, it wasn’t easy to tear my eyes away from the beautiful being I saw beyond them.

Still, I managed to turn my gaze elsewhere. I knew I had to adapt to what would happen in the future, but for now, the stimulation was too intense.

Even after becoming a woman, this body reacts to sexual desire. Isn’t that natural? Even if the being above created this body to be connected to its power, it’s still a human body, after all.

“Pffft!?”

As I tried my best to pull my gaze downwards, my vision was suddenly obscured without me needing to do so.

Ria had thrown something towards my face. For a moment, I thought she had caught me staring intently at Ria’s chest, but fortunately, what fell on my head was a large towel.

“We have to wash up anyway.”

Ria said coolly and headed towards the shower room.

I pretended to press my face with the towel and covered my vision.

As Ria said, I couldn’t just come out of the pool and not wash at all. It takes a little time to dry my long hair, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

…And, I couldn’t help but be flustered once again.

Just as the changing room was designed for multiple people to change, the shower room of this swimming pool was the same. Ria and I ended up washing in the same space.

Of course, I went to the corner of the shower room as much as possible.

The fortunate thing was that there was one shower head per stall. Once I entered the semi-transparent glass cubicle, unless I deliberately washed in a place where Ria’s reflection was visible in the mirror, I wouldn’t see Ria’s back.

Still, I could hear the sounds.

The sound of the shower turning on, the sound of water pouring from the shower as if hitting Ria’s skin.

It sounded like water flowing down a slope on a rainy day. The sound of Ria’s feet splashing on the shower tiles.

“Still, it wasn’t bad for a first time.”

Ria’s voice echoed through the shower room.

“I’m still a little anxious, but if I take my time and learn slowly, I’ll be fine.”

“…”

My lips pouted.

The fact that Ria knows how to swim means that Ria also learned from someone else. Of course, she would have been wearing a swimsuit.

It wasn’t a bikini like this, of course-

…

What am I even thinking?

“That’s fortunate.”

I said, trying my best to sound nonchalant.

“I’ll try not to be a hindrance.”

“…I’ve never thought of you as a hindrance.”

Ah, my words came out too sharply.

I didn’t know what to say at this point, so I didn’t say anything.

I should have just apologized for my slip of the tongue.

I stepped under the pouring shower, splashing warm water onto my face.

For a while, only the sound of falling water could be heard. I couldn’t decide whether to consider that silence fortunate or uncomfortable. Even after thinking for a long time, I couldn’t reach a conclusion.

*

Ria sometimes grumbles at me, and she sometimes objects to what I do or gets a little annoyed, but basically, she treats me very well.

Perhaps because she’s not honest, her tone is a bit sharp, but in the end, she maintains an attitude of someone who wants to do something for me.

It was the same today.

To get me to choose swimsuits, Ria even rented out a swimsuit store.

And I grumbled a lot inside. I found fault with every swimsuit Ria picked, and I even picked out a swimsuit for Ria that, while it suited her, was quite embarrassing.

Although we bickered a bit, Ria eventually gave in to my stubbornness. She picked a swimsuit that was slightly less embarrassing for me, and she chose that red swimsuit for herself.

Moreover, all those swimsuits were bought with Ria’s money.

“Anna.”

“Yes?”

Was I too lost in my own thoughts? Ria called me, sounding a little anxious.

I looked up and at Ria.

Yes. It was like that even now.

We were at a restaurant. And not just any ordinary restaurant, but a restaurant that Ria knew well.

Normally, we would have been eating the meals provided by the convent. I’ve never thought the food was bad. It was probably excellent nutritionally.

But, at the same time, it was not a very expensive meal.

To Ria, who lived freely as the daughter of a renowned hero outside, it must have seemed incredibly cheap.

Now we were at a restaurant that looked quite good. The menu was also excellent. Honestly, it was the kind of restaurant I had never properly visited even in my previous life.

I had just eaten a piece a moment ago, and for my palate, accustomed only to the healthy food always served at the church, it was an incredibly stimulating dish. In a good way.

A thick steak. And a sauce that looked like it had been simmered for hours. Each bite, the meat’s grain was softly crushed between my teeth, and the juice that had permeated it poured onto my tongue, spreading softly in my mouth.

After taking one bite, I was wondering if I could continue eating this.

“Does it not suit your taste?”

Ria asked me with a slightly worried expression.

And I found this situation a little confusing.

“It suits my taste. To be honest, it’s too delicious.”

I said with a serious expression. And I put down my knife and fork.

Since I had already eaten one piece, I couldn’t offer it to anyone else. No, even if I had eaten it or not, once it’s in front of me, food cannot go to anyone else.

If I was going to refuse, I should have refused from the moment I entered here.

Because Ria had made reservations in advance.

It must have taken effort to make a reservation here.

I ended up coming here without being able to refuse, giving various excuses.

“Why? Is it difficult for a nun to eat something too delicious?”

I don’t know for sure, but it might be. Because, she’s a nun, isn’t she? In all religions, people who practice asceticism are required to abstain from worldly pleasures. Well, seeing as priests are allowed to drink alcohol, it doesn’t seem to be strictly the case.

In the first place, it’s absurd for a nun to be cutting steak in a place like this.

“Or, are you perhaps angry that I brought you to a place like this without saying anything? Do you want to go back?”

Since I didn’t answer, Ria seemed a little anxious and asked again.

I quietly shook my head.

I wasn’t angry.

To be honest- yes, I think I was also a little expectant when Ria brought me here with an expectant look. A restaurant that looked expensive at first glance. And a seat that looked expensive at first glance.

Right next to us, you can see the Seoul cityscape at a glance. Well, it’s not the tallest building in Korea, but it’s still quite high among the surrounding buildings, so the downtown area was clearly visible.

Ria even seemed to be conscious of the fact that we were wearing nun’s habits, and she brought us to a place where we wouldn’t be seen by people around us.

In normal circumstances, I would have had no way to pay for a meal in a place like this.

I can only eat because Ria pays for everything.

“…Ria, is it okay to bring up a slightly serious topic?”

“Huh? Uh-huh, it’s fine.”

I paused for a moment, pulled my chair back slightly, and bowed my head towards Ria.

It wouldn’t matter if a little steak sauce got on my hair, but honestly, I didn’t want to ruin the steak, which was probably much more expensive than my hair.

“Anna?”

Ria was horrified. It might have been the most shocked I had ever seen Ria.

She wasn’t this surprised even when I asked her to jump into the enemy lines with me.

“I just wanted to do this. I’m sorry, Ria.”

“…Sorry?”

Ria asked back in a slightly dazed voice.

“You’ve been paying a lot of attention to me all day today.”

Why did she suggest going to the beach? Of course, it’s because she probably thought I couldn’t do it. She wouldn’t have thought I had a past life.

Teaching me to swim, although she made various excuses, is ultimately because she knows I’ve never learned such things.

…Bringing me here is for the same reason, right?

“But I just grumbled so much.”

I raised my head.

I saw Ria with a dazed expression.

After staring at me with her mouth open for a while, Ria then looked up at the ceiling.

Ria, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, then carefully put down her fork and knife,

And swept her face with both hands.

Then, with a sigh,

“Oh, Anna.”

She murmured my name like that.

“The words you should say at a time like this are not those words.”

“Huh?”

As I asked back with wide eyes, Ria suddenly stood up. The chair didn’t make a loud noise thanks to the carpet laid on the floor. What if she spilled food? It would definitely be much harder to clean than a fast-food restaurant.

And Ria walked around the table and came towards me.

“But even so, you-!?”

Seeing Ria approaching, I quickly tried to make an excuse, but Ria quickly cupped my cheeks with both hands.

And she lifted my head so that my eyes met hers directly, and said.

“The words you should say at a time like this are not apologies.”

Ria spoke each word clearly.

“Tell me, what kind of feelings have you had all day today?”

Ria asked somewhat menacingly.

…It feels like I’ll be eaten if I say one wrong word. The fact that I can feel her breath so close makes me feel like I’ve crossed the boundary I set with Ria too easily.