71. Punishment

71. Punishment

“Phew….”

Priscilla lay collapsed on the soaked bedsheet, panting and exhausted. I sat calmly on the bed and took a deep breath. My body was drenched in sweat and some unknown liquid.

“… Sticky.”

It was normal for the heat to disappear after resolving the heat period, but strangely, I was feeling even more intense heat. I frowned at the stuffy, even humid air in the room.

“Uh, uh, uh, Sister…!”

Freya, who had been frozen in place while I was with Priscilla, slowly began to melt. With a trembling voice and wavering eyes, Freya approached me with unsteady steps.

I could clearly feel her fluffy black tail vibrating. Freya, reaching me, then sprang from the ground and lunged at me.

I dodged.

“Sis- Gak!”

“I told you no physical contact for a week, Freya.”

“Oh, Sister….”

Freya, with her face buried in the bed, whimpered. My heart wavered slightly at her vulnerable and weak appearance, but I firmly shook my head.

I loved and cherished my sister more than anyone. That’s why I had to be clear with punishments and rewards. I couldn’t let my affection for her lead her to grow up crooked.

Seeing that I showed no signs of being persuaded, Freya clicked her tongue.

“Tch….”

“What? What did you say?”

“Nothing!”

Freya had a habit of muttering to herself in a low voice that was hard to hear. It was a common occurrence, so I shrugged and headed to the bathroom. My body was too sticky, so I needed to wash up.

Freya tried to slip into the bathroom through the gap in the door, but I caught her by the neck.

The black baby wolf, dangling in the air, sent me a protesting look with her limp body.

“Freya.”

“B-but Sister, you can’t wash alone, that’s… that’s common sense!”

“Don’t worry, Freya. I’m fine.”

It was true that women usually showered together, but it wasn’t a forbidden act to shower alone. Moreover, above all-

“I’m going in with Iris.”

“What?!”

I picked up Iris, the small silver-haired creature with her mouth agape beside me, and said. Priscilla was half-conscious, so I planned to go with Iris instead.

“Why?!! Why?!!! No, wait, are you going to do the ‘common sense’ thing to her too…?!”

“Of course, I am.”

Wasn’t that common sense for a reason? Iris was a child, so I, as an adult, had to wash her thoroughly. I thought about the various bath products in the bathroom and said.

“Oh, no!!”

Freya’s hands trembled. A moment later, Freya’s eyes lit up with a sudden idea, and she spoke quickly.

“R-right, Sister!! Girls washing each other is only for adults!! Children aren’t included!!”

“Haha, Freya. That’s not true. We’ve been washing together since we were little, haven’t we?”

Didn’t Freya teach me this common sense when I was little? I couldn’t understand why she was changing her story now.

“No, th-th-that’s right! Girls washing each other is only for kids of similar ages! Got it?! Let her go! Go in alone!”

“That’s not true. Freya, surely when you were little….”

I clearly remembered what Freya had said in the past. The day Freya first taught me common sense, her answer to my question.

-G-girls wash together? Everyone?

-Of course! It’s common sense! You don’t even know this?

-Th-then, not just children, but adults too?

-Naturally! It doesn’t matter who it is if you’re close! Adult or child!

“Why do you remember that part so well!!”

“Thank you, Freya.”

Hearing praise suddenly made me quite embarrassed. Well, my memory is quite good. Freya, as if frustrated, clutched her chest and let out a scream of “Aaaah!!!”

I liked my sister’s voice, but my eardrums were starting to hurt. I pressed my ears tightly against my head and warned my sister.

“Freya, if you keep yelling at me, I’ll add another day to your punishment.”

“What?!!?”

“An extra day….”

“No!! It’s not!! No!!”

Freya waved her hands frantically. It seemed she finally understood the warning, so I decided to let it slide this one time.

“Okay. Let’s go, Iris.”

I left Freya behind and headed to the bathroom with Iris in my arms. Freya whimpered like a lost puppy, but it was natural to take responsibility for one’s mistakes.

——

“Did you not do anything strange to Priscilla?”

“I didn’t!!”

While drying Iris’s hair, Freya strongly denied my question. Well, she had been pressing her ear against the door and then bumped into us when we came out, so she wouldn’t have had time to bother Priscilla.

Freya used healing magic on the lump on her head. Green light flickered, and the lump subsided.

… Seeing that, I think healing magic isn’t actually that easy to use.

“There, Iris. You’re all dry and fluffy.”

I said this while combing Iris’s cute, small hair with my fingers. Iris, with her soft hands, patted her hair a few times and then stood up on her own two feet with a “tap.”

Iris spun around once, her beautiful silver strands fluttering.

“Oh, my pretty little sister.”

“Hehe….”

I kissed Iris on the cheek. Iris also kissed my cheek, and we looked at each other and giggled.

-I’m the only sister you have…!!!

I thought I heard the sound of teeth grinding from behind, but it was probably an auditory hallucination. I hugged Iris tightly and then started drying my hair.

“Sister!! Wait!!”

Just as I was about to pick up the hairdryer, Freya stopped me. Turning around, I saw Freya, panting, pointing at my hairdryer.

“It’s hard for you to dry your hair alone, isn’t it?! I-I’ll help you! Give me the hairdryer!”

“No.”

Drying hair is also a form of physical contact. Especially considering how Freya used to constantly massage my tail and ears when drying my hair.

“Why?!”

“Physical contact is forbidden for a week.”

Drying my hair alone was certainly troublesome, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t endure. For Freya’s healthy growth, I had to accept some inconvenience.

Turning my head forward again, something silver rose before my eyes. It was Iris, with her cute silver hair and red eyes.

“Sister… Shall I help you?”

“Really? Iris, it must be very difficult for you since you’re young?”

Drying long hair requires considerable effort. It must be quite difficult for Iris.

“It’s okay! Hehe….”

“Alright, then I’ll ask you to do it. But if it’s too hard, you can stop midway.”

“Yes!”

As I handed the hairdryer to Iris, Freya grabbed the back of her neck. Soon, a whirring sound began, and a blast of hot air enveloped me.

As my hair gradually dried, Freya shouted.

“Sister!! She laughed at me!!”

“No! I didn’t!”

“No, Sister, you have to see! She suddenly looked at me, pulled up the corners of her mouth, and laughed-“

I sighed and looked back. I saw the cute Iris drying my hair and Freya pointing at Iris from behind. Iris had an innocent expression, showing no sign of having laughed at anyone.

“… Freya. If you falsely accuse someone again, I’ll really add another day to your punishment.”

“I’m not…!”

“Freya. I understand you’re going through puberty, but you shouldn’t harm others.”

I stopped Freya and asked Iris to dry my hair again. While Freya trembled behind me, Iris repeatedly massaged my tail and ears as she dried my hair.

-Hehe… I’m the only sister you have….

I felt like Iris was muttering something, but I decided to ignore it. A moment later, my hair, tail, and ears were dry and fluffy again, regaining their volume. The heat remained, but it felt slightly better thanks to the shower.

It was a good feeling.

——

“Freya. Shall we go out for a bit, just the two of us?”

Priscilla was unconscious, and Iris seemed tired and was napping. The other children seemed to still be outside, so it was just the two of us left in the dormitory room.

“Really? Just the two of us?”

“Yeah.”

Freya’s eyes sparkled. It was like she had seized an opportunity for immense wealth. Freya finished getting ready at an incredible speed and stood before me.

“Let’s go! Right now! Somewhere without those bothersome people!”

She likes going out with her older sister, so she still had a childish side. I smiled and stepped outside with Freya.

“Finally, we’re alone… I have to somehow return things to normal….”

My sister muttered, wagging her tail back and forth. I led Freya and continued walking.

On the way, Freya’s tail tried to get tangled with mine, but I moved my tail to avoid her attempt to entangle me. It was the period of no physical contact.

“How can I make my sister alone again…? What should I do….”

“Hello?”

“… What.”

The place I brought Freya to was right in front of Golden Sun.