Ch. 44 I Like You
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 44 – I Like You
“…First of all, you should take a shower.”
If Andreina had come alone, she might have overlooked Mari’s disheveled state, but with Hosanna present, she couldn’t let it slide.
It was okay to show such a side to herself, but not to others.
After pushing Mari, looking dejected, into the bathroom, Andreina sighed softly and turned to Hosanna.
“Hosanna, would you mind waiting outside a little longer?”
“I don’t particularly mind, but… is something wrong with Mari?”
“If you really want to get into it, it’s not just Mari, it’s a problem on every level.”
It was difficult to explain specifically for Mari’s dignity, but it was clear that the house was not ready for outsiders.
At Andreina’s bleak tone, Hosanna chuckled.
“Then I’ll wait outside until the problem is resolved.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“The thanks should come from Mari, not the Saintess.”
He was making the Saintess work for him, of all people. Hosanna swallowed the rest of his words and gestured to Andreina.
“I’ll be waiting while I make a new lock to replace the one I broke, so the Saintess should get to her work as well.”
“Yes, then.”
Andreina nodded slightly at Hosanna’s consideration and re-entered the house. As she moved away from the gaping doorway, Andreina sighed at the musty odor filling her lungs.
“…I should probably air this out first.”
It was like bringing a dog that hadn’t been washed for days into the house.
Of course, some people might like that smell (Andreina did), but it wasn’t appropriate for a house that was supposed to welcome guests, let alone a young girl’s house.
She flung open the windows, which had been covered by curtains, and purified the house with divine power. Before long, Mari’s scent, which had filled the house, disappeared.
The blankets and bed, which had held the strongest odor, were also thoroughly purified with divine power, making them as good as new. It seemed like it was properly ventilated, but it still felt uneasy in many ways to end it there.
Of course, there was no way that the purification using divine power hadn’t worked properly, but it was all about the feeling.
Andreina put the blankets into her inventory and went outside. She drove sticks into the ground on either side, at a reasonable distance apart, in a sunny spot, and strung a line between them.
After completing a makeshift drying rack, she took out the blankets and spread them out. They were clean without a speck of dust thanks to purification, but there was a huge difference in sleep quality between blankets that had soaked up the sun and those that hadn’t.
‘Now all that’s left is preparing the meal.’
Mari’s appetite may be small, but her body couldn’t be normal after eating only bread for three days.
Andreina rolled up her sleeves and rummaged through the kitchen. Of course, she didn’t expect to find any ingredients. She was just checking in case, before taking out the ingredients in her inventory.
And as expected, there were no ingredients to be seen in the kitchen. It meant that when she was alone, she only ate stew and bread sold in the store window. Andreina narrowed her brows and sighed.
When you thought about it, Mari was only in her early teens (of course, Mari claimed to be an adult, but Andreina didn’t believe her at all). It was natural that a girl of that age wouldn’t know how to cook, so it was understandable that she didn’t have the ingredients needed for cooking.
Mari would have felt wronged if she had heard that. She was just eating simply to save money, but she was being dismissed as someone who didn’t know how to cook. Of course, that didn’t mean Mari knew how to cook.
Anyway, Andreina waited for Mari and started cooking, taking out the ingredients she had stored in her inventory. Soon, a delicious smell spread beyond the room, out through the open windows and door.
“Hmm…”
Hosanna, who had already found a new door and lock, also smelled it. He had already eaten between breakfast and lunch, but smelling the appetizing scent made him naturally hungry.
Was it because he was in a boy’s body? He felt hungry more easily than when he was an adult.
‘It would be embarrassing to ask them to save some for me.’
Andreina thought he was slick, but Hosanna wasn’t exactly someone who didn’t read the room.
He was only relaxed when he thought he had nothing to lose, but he felt quite burdened in situations like now, where he had to be submissive.
If he had been the age he looked, he would have asked for his share without a second thought, but the mind of a man in his 30s scratched his head and chose to ignore the smell.
“I’ll just grab something to eat when I get back.”
While Hosanna was muttering like that outside with a sigh, Andreina, who was still cooking, came out of the kitchen at the sound of the door opening.
“Are you done showering?”
“Ah, yes, y-yes…”
Unlike when she went in, Mari was wearing a dress and steam was rising from her hair. Her complexion had returned to her slightly downcast face, and the dark circles under her eyes had disappeared, so it seemed she had washed properly.
But unlike that appearance, Mari’s expression was dark. It seemed that being scolded before being sent to the bathroom had been quite a shock to Mari.
‘Besides, it wasn’t just a verbal scolding. Of course it would be.’
She had unknowingly gotten angry at the way she was neglecting herself.
She shouldn’t have done that. Andreina secretly sighed.
She was called a Saintess because she had received an excessive amount of divine attention, but she was still clumsy.
“…Come here. I’ll dry your hair.”
“Ah, I, that, I can do it myself…”
“Come on.”
“Yes…”
When she firmly cut off her hesitation, Mari, who was intimidated, came over with hesitant steps. Andreina brought a dining chair, sat Mari down, took the towel she handed over, and slowly dried her hair, saying.
“Mari, do you know why I scolded you?”
“B-Because I’m useless…”
“…I didn’t think that far. There’s no way I would think of you like that in the first place.”
What did she think she was that she would say something like that?
Andreina, feeling inexplicably grumpy, put the towel on Mari’s head and grabbed both cheeks with her hands. She pulled them gently, not enough to hurt.
Stretch-
“Euh? A, Andreina-nim…?”
Mari, flustered, called out to Andreina, but it sounded funny because her cheeks were being pulled.
Andreina chuckled and played with her warm cheeks, which had just been washed.
Uuh, uet- Mari made a difficult sound, but Andreina didn’t stop.
Eventually, when Mari called her name again, Andreina stopped playing with her cheeks and touched her hair again, saying.
“I punished you just now because you said something bad. If you ever say again that you’re useless or anything like that, I’ll pull your cheeks again. Got it?”
“Uuh… Yes…”
“Okay, then let’s go back to the original topic. The reason I got angry at Mari is simple. It’s because Mari didn’t cherish herself.”
Self-care was a way of expressing self-love. Taking care of hygiene, eating delicious or healthy food, putting on makeup and dressing up, etc. All of these were done because they wanted to show off themselves.
But Mari had abandoned all of that. She stayed in bed all day unless it was to take care of her physiological needs, and when she was hungry, she just ate bread because she was too lazy to cook.
All of that came from not cherishing herself. At Andreina’s words, Mari’s head drooped.
“S-Sorry…”
“I didn’t bring this up to get an apology from you.”
“Yes…”
“…You don’t have to be too intimidated either.”
She said she didn’t have to be intimidated, but it didn’t seem to be working for Mari at all.
Andreina looked at the girl who was shrinking her shoulders and lowering her head, and carefully hugged her.
“Uh ah, Andreina-nim…?”
“Do you like me, Mari?”
“L-L-Like?! “
Andreina continued, wondering if she had to be so surprised at just the word “like.”
“You don’t hate me, do you?”
“If I had to choose between like and dislike, of course, it’s like, but…”
“I feel the same way. So I hope that Mari, whom I like, won’t be intimidated or blame herself and will laugh a lot.”
‘Ah, that’s what she meant…’ Andreina tilted her head slightly at Mari’s relieved expression.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Ah, it’s nothing…!”
Mari blushed and shook her head, wondering what she was thinking.
“Anyway, that’s what I wanted to say. Can you do that, Mari?”
“T-Then Andreina-nim doesn’t hate me or anything… right?”
“Really, I just said I liked you a little while ago. Or should I say it again?”
Andreina whispered closer to her ear.
“I like Mari. So Mari, cherish yourself… Huh, Mari?”
“Heeeek…”
“Mari? Are you okay?”
Andreina looked flustered at Mari, who was blushing red to her ears and neck and slumping.
She was sure she was feeling better to some extent, but she couldn’t figure out why she was suddenly in this state.
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
Of course, this isn’t a confession~
It just means ‘I like you as a friend’!!!Starting next chapter, we’ll return to Mari’s perspective again~
Even though it’s only been… what, 2 chapters (not days) since we were last in the protagonist’s POV?Anyway, thank you as always for your support today!!!
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
Closet pervert girlfailure, what a noob!Noob TS girlfailure has no rights yes, so let’s break her!
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