75. Library

75. Library

A sweltering morning with sparrows chirping.

An indescribable, stuffy heat covered me like a blanket, and I got out of bed with a sticky body.

I had pushed the blankets far away before sleeping, so why was it so hot? I lifted something soft and fluffy with my hand, something like a microfiber blanket, that was covering me.

“Ouch!”

“…? Freya?”

What I had picked up was none other than a black wolf tail. Something most familiar to me, something I would probably never mistake, my sister’s tail.

Freya had wrapped her tail around me and was clinging to my left arm. Turning my head slightly, I could also see Claire hugging my right arm and Iris dangling by my legs.

They were all my close friends and sister. Clinging like this was very normal among close female friends, so it didn’t matter, but the problem was….

Body heat.

“Ahaha… Oh, Sister.”

“… It’s hot.”

There were three heat sources of 36.5° clinging to me. Moreover, one of them was a fluffy tail, so there was no need to even mention it.

My clothes and body were sticky, so it must be sweat. My clothes were a bit disheveled, but maybe it was due to my bad sleeping habits.

I said to Freya, who was smiling awkwardly.

“Freya, why are you here? What about your dormitory?”

“W-sisters always sleep in the same room. It’s common sense.”

“… Is that so?”

The dormitory rooms were for two people. Naturally, there were only two beds. Unless one of the assigned roommates disappeared, there was no way sisters could sleep together….

… No, maybe they could.

Come to think of it, it was common for sisters to hug each other while sleeping, so even if there was only one bed per sister, it might not be a big problem.

Since sisters share dormitories, I’m learning new common sense today.

“So Freya, why were you clinging to me? It’s the no-physical-contact period.”

The breath was hot, the cheeks were flushed. My voice, tinged with slight discomfort as my whole body was soaked in sweat, came out. Freya rolled her eyes and trailed off, and I sighed and said.

“I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Mmm.”

I placed Freya outside the bed and then looked at Claire and Iris, who were clinging tightly to me.

Both of them were incredibly small, making me feel like I was holding cute babies. I stroked the heads of the two children, who were breathing in and out with soft sighs. Iris mumbled in her sleep, “Uung.”

-Iss….

Freya let out a mournful sound.

Claire and Iris were cute, but the heat was still unbearable. I sat up and subtly slipped out from between them, and perhaps because of the sound, Priscilla woke up from her sleep.

“Mmm… Skadi…”

“Priscilla, you’re awake?”

“Give me my morning kiss….”

After being unconscious for so long and waking up, this is what she says. I kissed Priscilla.

-Eek…!

Freya let out another mournful sound.

Perhaps because I was covered by several people all night, the heat in my body wouldn’t dissipate easily. My body and clothes were sticky, so I felt like I needed to wash up.

“… It must be the sweat, my underwear is all wet too.”

Freya shivered.

I headed to the bathroom, and just as I was about to grab the doorknob and push, something crashed against the door! In front of it was a wolf beastman with brown bobbed hair-

“Henir?”

“Ugh, ugh….”

Henir, who seemed to have just finished showering, was naked, with only a single towel wrapped around her body. Water droplets clung to the space between her collarbones, and the lines of her muscles, which couldn’t be hidden even by the towel, were clearly visible.

This scene might appear quite seductive to someone who prefers this type of woman.

Anyway, I asked Henir, who was holding her head and shedding tears.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine. I’ve been hit by the Master many times, so….”

“Shall I lick it?”

“Yes?!”

Saliva is perfect for shallow wounds. I approached Henir, stroked her head, and brought my tongue to the red mark on her forehead-

“Sister!!!!!”

“Huh?”

At that moment, Freya pulled out her staff, slammed it on the ground, and emitted a green wave. A powerful life force emanated from the light, and Henir’s wound disappeared instantly.

Freya shouted urgently.

“It’s healed! Since it’s healed, there’s no need to lick it, right? Huh?!”

“Uh… yeah.”

Come to think of it, Freya was beside me. I had forgotten.

Henir, stroking her head, muttered.

“As expected, the young lady is as extraordinary as the eldest young lady….”

“Anyway, Henir, could you move aside? I need to wash up soon too.”

“Ah, yes.”

Henir moved aside, and as the path to the bathroom opened, I reached out towards the bed and picked up Priscilla, who was smiling faintly.

“Uhe?”

“Let’s go, Priscilla.”

-Wait, Sister?!!

Behind Freya’s shout, the door slammed shut.

I looked at Priscilla. Priscilla tilted her head as if she didn’t understand, but seeing my wagging tail, she seemed to think there was no need for complex thoughts and nestled into my tail.

The sound of two people’s clothes being rustled off, revealing skin, the pink tips on the flawless white skin-

——

CRASH!

“Ugh!”

“Freya?”

Freya, who seemed to be stuck to the door, fell into the bathroom as soon as I opened it. She never showed such clumsiness in the North; perhaps something was happening at the Academy.

I sat the bewildered Priscilla on the bed. Since it was time to dry the moisture, I took out the hairdryer.

“Sister, I’ll help you!”

“Really? Then I’d be grateful.”

Iris, who had woken up at some point, smiled brightly and clung to me. I could see Freya grinding her teeth from afar, but I didn’t know why.

Iris diligently dried my body with her small hands.

From behind, Henir and Freya muttered.

-T-tail like that…. To the point of letting her touch her tail, perhaps the eldest young lady likes young children….

-Shh! Be quiet…!

After drying my tail and hair for a long time, I turned my head and saw Henir fiddling with something in her arms.

“Henir? What is that?”

“Ah, it’s the teleporter I used last time. I have one use of charged magic left, and it’s about time for the magic to evaporate. I was wondering if there was a useful place for it.”

Henir showed me a purple crystal. It was the same crystal used to deliver the elixir to the North.

“Evaporate?”

“It varies by magic item… If you charge magic into a magic item and don’t use it, the charged magic gradually disappears. That’s called evaporation.”

“Oh….”

“It would be a waste if it evaporates without being used, so I need a place to use it… Do you perhaps have anything you need to send to the North?”

Henir asked.

Something to send to the North.

I can’t think of anything specific.

“Anything is fine?”

“Yes. The objective has been completed anyway, and I just want to use up the remaining magic.”

At that moment, something flashed through my mind. My mother lying in bed. A white wolf beastman with a mysterious aura.

My mother had been sick since I was a little older, so she spent most of her time lying in bed reading books.

Wouldn’t it be nice to give her a new book as a gift?

There’s also the Academy library, which supposedly has almost every book.

“I think it would be nice to give Mother a book. What do you think, Freya?”

“Hmm… I don’t think it would be a problem….”

Freya muttered with a hint of worry. In any case, with permission granted, and having received approval from my sister, I began to think about a book to give to my mother.

What would my mother like?

I knew a few interesting books. For example, the newly released “Wolf and Lily Anthology! Vol. 2.”

Maybe she prefers manga to novels. Lying in bed can be boring, so it would be nice to provide visual enjoyment with bright illustrations.

Should I give her ‘Unhappy Salt Life’?

No.

Hmm.

“Henir, can you send just one book?”

“No. For books, I think I can send about three.”

“Then it would be faster to go and pick one out.”

With three options, it would be better to go and choose them myself rather than thinking about it. I shook my fluffy, dry hair and tail and stood up.

Freya, Henir, Iris, and Priscilla stood up, following me. I twitched the corners of my mouth and said.

“… It’s just a quick trip to the library, why are so many people getting up.”

“Those bitches are trying to… No, I’m worried about sending Sister alone! Ahaha….”

Freya said. Meanwhile, Claire’s voice, full of sleepiness, was heard from behind.

“What? Where are you guys going?”

“Ah, Claire.”

Claire, with a groggy face as if she had just woken up. She glared at Freya with a pouty expression and then clung to me.

“I was planning to go to the library for a bit. Do you want to come along?”

“Everyone’s going…? Of course, I have to go…!”

And so, a six-person squad consisting of me, Freya, Priscilla, Henir, Iris, and Claire headed to the library.

… No matter how I think about it, there are too many people.