Ch.169Chapter 169

During the one night and two days away, I felt many things while briefly leaving the Professor’s side.

Not only did we travel a long distance by bus instead of using a warp point, but the food we could only eat at the inn located near the hot springs, combined with its unique atmosphere, seemed like it would become a memory that appeared simple yet couldn’t be easily found elsewhere.

When we departed, we hurried to leave early to arrive on time, but on our return journey, we had plenty of time since we could use the warp point.

It was nice to see that even Karen, who had gotten motion sickness from the long bus ride, seemed more energetic by the second day.

The moment I stepped onto the warp point holding hands with Ouro, everything turned white before my eyes, and when I opened them again, I could see the surroundings had completely changed.

“Ourr, Ouro!”

The Professor, who had come out after receiving our message, waved her hand.

“Ah, Professor!”

“Professor!”

As I ran with open arms toward the Professor who had come to meet us, Ouro did the same, scurrying ahead and reaching the Professor first for a hug.

The Professor’s eyes widened in surprise as she caught Ouro who had jumped up, but then she hugged Ouro tightly and lifted her up.

It happened so quickly that I felt as if the Professor had been stolen from me.

The Professor, who lifted Ouro effortlessly as if she weren’t heavy at all, patted my head as I approached and offered her side for me to lean against.

As I leaned slightly against her body, I could feel a gentle warmth. Though the weather was cold, it was that warm feeling that comes from being embraced.

“Did everyone have a good trip? Did Ourr and Ouro behave themselves?”

“Ah, they were very well-behaved, so we had a comfortable trip! I’m glad Ourr and Ouro seemed satisfied too… and thank you for supporting our return by warp.”

Sera expressed her gratitude politely.

Thanks to the Professor paying the warp usage fee for all six of us, which gets more expensive the longer the distance, we were able to return comfortably. Though we had to endure the bus ride on the way there, it was nice to be able to return with a “pop.”

Because of that, we could also leave at a leisurely pace on our return.

If we had rushed there, soaked in the hot springs, eaten, lain down, and had to come back right the next day, could we have enjoyed the lingering feelings?

“Not at all. I wanted Ourr and Ouro to have new experiences, and I’m glad that Sera and Aria took them along. I should be the one thanking you.”

The Professor smiled and expressed her gratitude to Sera and Aria.

“Thank you, Sera, Aria. Iris and Karen, I had fun with you too.”

Following the Professor’s words, I also expressed my gratitude.

If Sera and Aria hadn’t offered to be our guardians, I would probably still be unable to leave the Professor’s care.

It’s not that being by the Professor’s side is bad, but to develop independence or self-reliance or whatever it is, I needed to be separated from her occasionally.

After everyone had left and only the Professor, Ouro, and I remained, I casually asked the Professor a question.

“By the way, Professor, is it self-reliance or independence that’s correct?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

She didn’t seem to understand my sudden question.

I mumbled, wondering how to explain this, then reorganized my thoughts and laid them out.

“Like, being able to manage well on my own without the Professor’s help?”

“Does Ourr want to distance herself from the Professor?”

“Eh? No, no…! Just, being able to travel with friends like this on my own… um, well…”

After hearing the Professor’s words, I didn’t know how to explain it anymore.

I hadn’t said that because I wanted to distance myself from the Professor, but I never dreamed it would turn out like this, so I just opened and closed my mouth like a broken machine.

Then the Professor placed her hand on my head and stroked it with a gentle smile.

“I’m joking. I just thought that someday you might leave the Professor’s side.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“Ourr.”

“Yes?”

“Self-reliance and independence are the same word. And whatever it is, if you can stand on your own, that’s a good thing. It’s not that being together is bad, but that even if you’re alone, you don’t need to depend on someone else.”

After saying that, she glanced briefly at Ouro whom she was holding.

“Depending on others isn’t bad either… Just don’t entrust your entire body to them. What would happen to a body that was leaning if the person it depended on suddenly disappeared? It would lose balance and fall. That’s why self-reliance is important.”

The Professor answered my question.

Whether the word “self-reliance” itself felt somewhat profound, the Professor’s answer also sounded serious.

After hearing her solemn voice, I nodded blankly.

“…I see. Ouro, get down now.”

“No.”

“It’s my turn. If you don’t get down, I’ll have the Professor all to myself next time.”

“…Professor, put me down.”

When I spoke quietly, Ouro carefully came down from her position.

“Should Ourr get a hug now?”

“I’ll do that later.”

I said that and then occupied the Professor’s side along with Ouro as we headed back.

Even though it was just a one-night stay, the house felt somehow unfamiliar when we returned. I wanted to stretch my arms and lie down on the bed right away, but the thought of having to wash up before I could lie down made me hesitate.

“So annoying…”

It wasn’t that I was tired or anything, but I just felt laziness seeping into my entire body.

I guess I just wanted to lie down.

But since there was no choice, I put down my luggage as soon as I arrived and headed to the bathroom. Ouro, who was behind me, tilted her head.

“What are you doing?”

“…Going to wash up before lying down.”

“I want to lie down too.”

“Then you need to wash up too.”

“Okay.”

Ouro nodded readily as if it didn’t matter.

“Are you two going to wash up?”

“Yes, we want to lie on the bed… mm.”

After nodding at the Professor’s question, I glanced at the room.

Apart from being tired, the bed seemed to have some kind of magical attraction.

“Then wash up well, you two. The Professor will be working.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

Ouro followed me without complaint.

She seemed to enjoy bathing yesterday too, and I wondered if she had gone beyond not minding washing to actually enjoying it.

As I stared at Ouro, I approached her slightly and asked a question.

“How was the hot spring yesterday?”

“It was good. It was cold, and then hot. The feeling in between was strange.”

It would have been really nice if it had snowed, but unfortunately, it doesn’t snow every day in cold winter, and too much snow can be problematic, so maybe it was better that it didn’t snow.

Anyway, if she enjoyed it, that’s what matters.

As I went inside and took off my clothes, I felt that strange feeling I had yesterday. It wasn’t a public bath, nor was there an outdoor hot spring connected to the outside.

Nevertheless, just the experience of having that feeling made the memories of that time seem to resurface vividly.

I turned on the shower and sprinkled water slightly. As I sprinkled it bit by bit on Ouro’s body, she let out a small sigh.

“…It’s hot.”

“Should I lower the temperature a bit?”

“Hmm, the water temperature seems similar to before…”

“Maybe it’s because we were outside then, and now we’re inside, so it feels more steamy?”

The temperature in the bathroom was low, but it was inevitable that it would get steamy after turning on the hot water for a while.

I couldn’t make her feel exactly what she felt at the hot spring, so I continued sprinkling water with a wry smile.

Perhaps the difference between soaking in still water and being constantly tapped by water like rain made her feel more subtle sensations.

“Now, let’s wash your hair.”

“What about the Professor?”

“The Professor said she’s busy. And our hair is all long, so the Professor would be busy with us.”

“Mm.”

Ouro, seeming to understand, nodded once and then closed her mouth. Seeing her quietly sitting and accepting the water I was sprinkling, I picked up the pace.

“Close your eyes.”

“Okay.”

Ouro squeezed her eyes shut and covered her nose.

Even though water wouldn’t get into her nose if she kept her head straight up, if she thought that was safer, it was probably easier to just let her do it that way.

“I’m going to wash your hair~”

I made her bow her head slightly and squeezed a lot of shampoo into my hand. As I rubbed it on Ouro’s head to create foam, she started to relax as if she enjoyed the feeling.

Her head and body swayed together with the force of my hands. Although she returned to her original position like a roly-poly doll, her seemingly fragile body looked precarious, as if it might fall over at any moment.

Even though we had the same body, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

Is she sleepy? She shouldn’t be feeling sleepy.

I tilted my head and moved my hands again.

As I was creating foam with shampoo a few times, I witnessed an unbelievable sight.

“…Are you sleeping?”

“Hm? No, I’m not sleeping.”

Ouro shook her head.

But if I peeked at her face, anyone could see she had a dreamy expression as if she had dozed off slightly.

I couldn’t believe it, so I looked at her again. As I glanced left and right, wondering if I had seen wrong, and tilted my head, Ouro looked at me indifferently.

No, it would be more accurate to say she looked at me with half-sleepy eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you perhaps sleepy?”

“No, I’m not sleepy.”

“Do you even know what feeling sleepy is like?”

“I don’t know.”

Of course she doesn’t know if she’s saying she’s not when she doesn’t know.

“Don’t fall asleep.”

“Mm…”

As I firmly instructed her and tried to finish washing her hair, Ouro started dozing off again while I was rubbing her long hair.

Seeing that sight, I opened my mouth wide.

“…What, what’s going on? Ouro, try to stay awake.”

“Mm. I’m not sleeping…”

“You’re clearly sleeping…”

I broke out in a sweat and was perplexed by Ouro’s condition.