Ch.105Chapter 13. Superiority (End)

However, looking at the carrier, it seemed completely ordinary.

“I didn’t lock it, so pick one from inside. Not now though—when I go to shower.”

Camilla walked away lightly, gracefully, and grabbed the doorknob.

“What’s inside? And what are you suddenly talking about?”

I asked urgently. She turned her head, her hair flowing elegantly as it swayed.

“You said you wanted to help.”

With just those words, she left.

Carefully, I laid the carrier flat on the floor and clicked it open. A subtle scent of cosmetics wafted out.

Inside the carrier, underwear was neatly arranged by type. Bras. Panties. Slips, garter belts.

Socks were in the lower section, while a white bikini was stored separately in the opposite pocket. There was a black sarong meant to be wrapped around the waist. It had gold rings as decorations, which looked quite beautiful.

“…So she’s asking me to pick out underwear for her to wear?”

That seemed to be the meaning, no matter how I thought about it. But how exactly was this supposed to be helping?

Everything was arranged so meticulously and neatly that I felt uncomfortable taking each item out to examine it. Plus, there was such a variety.

From athletic wear to everyday basics, pieces for special occasions, or ones with such vibrant colors that they’d require specific outerwear. And even some things where I couldn’t tell if they were clothing or just a bundle of strings.

But it also felt wrong to explicitly suggest she wear less. In the end, I picked out a daffodil-yellow bra and panty set that looked modest, placed them on the desk, and closed the case.

In doing so, I naturally imagined Camilla wearing them. If yesterday, she had been wearing these…

“Ah.”

I think I understood. Why she asked me to pick her clothes.

Now, whenever I see Camilla, I’ll wonder. Whether she’s wearing what I picked, or something else. And to find out, I’d either have to look at her intently or come find her like now.

It was a kind of temptation—one that would keep my eyes on her and make it impossible to easily erase her from my mind.

I appreciated it. But then,

“So that’s how you want to play it?”

I felt mischievous. I wondered what would happen if I didn’t pick anything.

Instead, I tidied up the messy room somewhat. Partly to emphasize that not taking anything out was my intention. Besides, I had contributed to the mess too.

I just rolled up things like the blanket. Washing and reusing it would waste more water and resources than just opening a new, unused one.

Other than that, I just put scattered items back in their places, and since there wasn’t much trash, I finished relatively quickly.

“Wait.”

Looking at the rolled-up blanket, I suddenly realized how to resolve the virus exchange issue with Cassandra.

* * * * *

After finishing the cleanup, I went down to the third-floor cafeteria. I was so hungry and thirsty that my hands were trembling, and I wanted to drink at least some juice.

My lower body was still sensitive and slightly sore, so I had to walk down with a subtly awkward gait. The clock on the cafeteria wall informed me it was now 7:45 AM.

“Looks like you just woke up.”

Cassandra was eating alone. It was penne pasta with Cybele Company’s tomato sauce, notorious for its bad taste. She seemed to have just opened a can, heated it on the gas range, and poured it out.

“Sorry. I was a bit tired. Where’s Camilla?”

I asked, pretending not to know.

“Camilla? Haven’t seen her. Today, Cassandra was the first to wake up. Hmm?”

“What? Is there something in the can?”

Cassandra stirred her fork and shook her head as if it was nothing. I think I know why she’s acting like that.

“I’ve tried that before, and the tomato is a bit sour. But it’s not spoiled, so it should be fine to eat. The top of the can wasn’t bulging, was it?”

“No. Johan smells good. Makes me hungry.”

I should have washed up before coming. This is a bit embarrassing.

“…Oh, really?”

“A fragrant smell.”

Fearing it would get awkward if I probed further, I opened a juice can and gulped it down.

“Next time, include Cassandra too.”

Thankfully, I didn’t spit it out. Instead, I choked a little.

“Cough, cough!”

No way. I’m sure she was asleep. And after all the effort both of us made to suppress our moans, to be discovered so pathetically. Did she eavesdrop while going to the bathroom…?

Cassandra was staring at me blankly, fork in hand. She didn’t even notice when the pasta slid off her fork back into the can.

“I was just testing, but why are you reacting like that?”

“…No, anyone would be surprised if you suddenly say something so strange!”

“If someone said something strange suddenly, Johan’s pattern would be to say, ‘Huh? Cassandra, what are you talking about?’ That’s not Johan’s pattern now. I don’t know exactly what you did, but it seems very enjoyable.”

“What’s enjoyable?”

A cheerful voice. It was Camilla. I tried to stop Cassandra hurriedly, but—

“He said next time we should do it together.”

“Hiccup!”

Apparently, neither Camilla nor I are good at lying. Cassandra looked back and forth between us as if to say, “See?”

“…It was just a test.”

“Hey! Anyone would be surprised if you suddenly say something like that!”

“So you two did it. Yes. Exactly the same response. You must have been doing it before Cassandra arrived. I thoughtlessly interrupted, yes. Well, these things happen. But Cassandra was definitely the first one, and you clearly said you didn’t have sex…”

“I told you we didn’t!”

Camilla waved her hands, seeming a bit wronged, but Cassandra didn’t look convinced at all.

“…Cassandra.”

“Yes?”

“Are you busy this evening?”

“No. Not particularly until the reagents arrive. I just need to search the database, so I won’t be too busy.”

“Why the database?”

At my question, Cassandra’s expression became quite serious.

“Remember why I said I had to come here? I mentioned that information about the hunger-inducing virus was entered here. But this building has a lot of virus information that wasn’t entered into Cybele Company’s virus bank, and even some that the Disease Control Bureau doesn’t know about.

Some are unclassified, some are duplicates, and there are mountains of undisclosed ones. And why are there so many encrypted ones? But our power is too limited, so we can’t turn on all the computers at once to check. So I think it will take a while to get a complete picture.”

“Should we run the generator more?”

Cassandra shook her head at my question.

“No. That’s not necessary. It would be too inefficient. So Cassandra is writing a search algorithm. That’s much better. Plus, programming only requires a laptop or a couple of personal PCs, so solar-charged batteries are sufficient.”

She’s definitely a woman with business sense.

Of course, I still suspect this might be bluster or that she might have some other ulterior motive.

But to get something from someone, you must first give them some small, baseless trust. Trust builds up gradually from those small beginnings. Just as Camilla showed me. Just as we connected with each other.

Anyway, whether it’s credit or investment, there’s no gain without risk.

“What about the research? You talked about the virus in me and Camilla.”

At my question, Camilla frowned, and Cassandra opened her eyes wide.

“That’s urgent too, but we need reagents first. So, until then, the viruses in all three of us need to stabilize. As I said, Cassandra’s virus is like an enemy to both of yours.”

“I’ve been thinking about that virus transmission issue, and I have an idea that might not be bad. It’s about all three of us exchanging body viruses simultaneously, and if it works as I think, we might even be able to control the concentration to some extent. What do you think?”

“Johan, this isn’t something weird, is it?”

Camilla looks at me suspiciously. I winked at her with one eye to tell her not to worry.

“You’ll like it the most, Camilla.”

“Me?”

“It won’t be a bad proposal for Cassandra either. What do you think? You said it earlier, didn’t you? That you want to do it together next time.”

“Uh…huh?”

“The three of us will do it ‘together.’ Don’t you like that?”

Cassandra covered her mouth. Her face turned red. But her lips were stretched to her ears.

“…I like it.”

“Then let’s meet at the third-floor conference room later this evening, in comfortable clothes.”

* * * * *

Evening. Third-floor conference room. I commanded firmly.

“Spread wider, Cassandra.”

“Ahhng…”

“I said spread wider.”

“Ahh…!”

Cassandra collapsed forward, trembling thighs and all. She fell forward with her buttocks raised to the sky. There was a mat on the floor, so there was no risk of injury.

Cassandra, now face down, made eye contact with Camilla.

“Ca-Camilla. For-forgive me…”

But Camilla doesn’t speak until she finishes her own movement.

“Don’t talk during exercise. Quickly get into position.”

Camilla was also raising her buttocks to the sky, with her body stretched forward. It was similar to the cat pose in yoga.

“Ca-Cassandra doesn’t need this! I’m, I’m healthy!”

“Seems like you still have energy to talk, so I guess this is right for you. Come on, one more set.”

While Camilla’s chest wasn’t small either, Cassandra’s looked dangerous and dizzying just to look at. I was anxious watching her, wondering if her chest ligaments would be okay just from running.

Camilla had decided, ‘Then we’ll do something less intense.’ So now, she was making Cassandra do every movement broken down into segments. Beyond her violent figure, because she’d been sitting at a desk so much, her balance, stamina, and endurance were a complete mess.

Thanks to this, I was enjoying the eye candy I had somewhat intended. Of course, not wanting to hurt myself by turning my head the wrong way, I kept my posture straight and only slightly turned my eyes.

But somehow, Camilla’s clothes seemed to be cut deeper today.

“No…nooo…!”

“Come on, Cassandra. Lie down like this again…”

“Stop…stop…if this continues, Cassandra’s body will be ruined…”

At this point, it’s unavoidable. Time to offer the carrot.

“It’s for science, Cassandra.”

“Sci…sci…”

Seeing her stumble over her words, she really must be struggling, but I have no intention of showing mercy. She teased me, didn’t she?

“You said the Crow virus doesn’t spread through air, but it can through droplets, right? Isn’t this a good condition? Enclosed space. Sweat and breath. Plus, your physical fitness improves. Nothing bad about it. And above all, it’s for your own good too, Cassandra.”

“For…Cassandra’s…good…?”

Cassandra’s green eyes spin around. It seems I need to scold her to bring her back to her senses.

“If Virginia comes running to catch you, will you just let yourself be caught?”

“Eeeek! No, no.”

“Then you need to exercise. To avoid being caught. No one knows what might happen.”

“…Okay. But reduce the intensity a bit. Cassandra wants to cry. My body is trembling.”

Camilla, who had been watching, handed Cassandra a water bottle and towel. She even kindly opened the cap for her.

“Drink slowly. Today was the first day, so we tried a bit intensely as a test. You have good strength, but your body is too stiff and your posture is too bad, so we should start with regaining your balance and increasing flexibility. I think it’s better to focus on posture correction. It will be less tiring than today. Really.”

“O-okay.”

“Good job. Go out and rest for a bit. Oh, put something on before you go out. It’s not good for muscles to cool down suddenly. Johan, you stay here.”

I was subtly planning to go out and rest a bit. Camilla folds her arms and tilts her head with a strange smile. For some reason, Camilla’s body seems more pronounced today.

“Should I ventilate a bit? Just open the door a little…”

But Camilla just shakes her head. Because of this, I’m quite embarrassed. The reaction in my groin was a bit strong. The problem isn’t that Camilla is exercising half-naked as usual, but I’m afraid she’ll see this and think, ‘You’re energetic, we can do more,’ and increase the exercise intensity.

“Johan. I think it’s a good idea for the three of us to exercise together, sweating.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Cassandra whispered to me earlier too. She said she hadn’t thought of it, but it seems like a good method. This way, virus transmission can occur slowly, and to some extent, the transmission intensity can be controlled.”

Camilla strode toward me. I could strongly feel her sweat smell and hot body temperature.

Strange. Her clothes seem more soaked with sweat than usual, her body temperature is hotter, and her scent is more intense. I suddenly wondered if it was the effect of the virus.

“By the way, we need to intensify our exercise. Back and waist muscles, cardiopulmonary endurance, recovery ability when completely exhausted… I know what’s good for this, I’ll tell you now.”

“N-now?”

“When else if not now? First, spread your legs shoulder-width apart…”

Camilla naturally pressed against my body. It’s certain. Her body is much hotter and wetter than usual. And… for some reason, I feel goosebumps rising on my back.

Camilla, sticking close to my back, whispered in my ear. My ear tickles.

“You didn’t like any of my underwear? That’s strange. I filled it with things you’d like.”

“Ah, no. They were all so pretty that I couldn’t choose.”

I made up a plausible excuse. But Camilla didn’t back away; instead, she pressed her body even closer.

“…Because you didn’t pick for me, I’m not wearing anything underneath.”

“Uh, what did you say?”

As if telling me to check, Camilla rubs her chest against my back. It’s certain. The sensation of protrusions that wouldn’t be felt if she were wearing underwear. Camilla gently bites my earlobe with her lips and whispers again.

“Will you pick for me tonight? You took all my blankets and comforters, so… I’ll have to sleep cold without a stitch on. What will you do? Will you pick for me or not?”

“I’ll come.”

Camilla, who had kissed my earlobe lightly, quickly turned to stand in front of me. If I didn’t know, it wouldn’t have mattered, but now that I know, I feel awkward looking straight at her. But if I lower my gaze, my face will heat up even more, so I ended up looking into her eyes.

“Oh, and I think we need to add more lower body exercises and strengthen the waist and back. We should also enhance cardiopulmonary endurance more than now, and I think we should emphasize flexibility training more for both you and me…”

Will I be able to walk out of here on my own two feet today?