Chapter 123: Secrets, Suspicions, and an Actress’s Gambit

“Hmmhm~”

Yuri was humming with a satisfied look on her face, as if she was very happy about something.

When it became my turn to wash Yuri’s body, I tried my best to think of other things for the sake of my loyalty to Yuri, consciously turning my attention elsewhere and trying not to pay attention as much as possible.

Of course, I will offer no comment when asked if that effort was effective.

Anyway, when I came to my senses, Yuri and I were sitting facing each other in the bathtub full of water.

It would have been nice if, when I came to my senses, I had escaped the bathroom and was getting dressed.

Fortunately, the bathtub wasn’t that big, so we had to narrow our legs to get in together, so the posture of raising our knees and covering the mark of the Master-Servant Seal wasn’t that awkward.

By the way, we only came into the bathroom for the purpose of showering in the first place, so why are we taking a bath?

“Eep. Eep!”

Yuri, wiggling her toes that were touching each other because the bathtub was narrow, was playing around.

“Um…. Yuri? Shouldn’t we get out soon? There are still a lot of places to look around, and if we want to go see Anne’s match, we should get ready soon….”

I spoke to Yuri, who seemed to be focused on playing around and showed no signs of leaving.

“Hmm…. I guess so. Then shall we get up soon?”

Perhaps because I had been rejected so often, Yuri’s appearance of nodding so readily, contrary to expectations, was a little awkward.

Whoosh

When I got up from the bathtub, the water that had been filling the bathtub overflowed with the reaction. It didn’t matter since the bath was over anyway.

Seeing Yuri going out of the bathtub, I also covered the mark of the Master-Servant Seal with the towel I was still holding and followed out of the bathtub.

But then, Yuri, who had stepped on the bathroom floor, suddenly wobbled and lost her balance.

Surprised by Yuri’s dangerous fall, I also hurriedly went out of the bathtub and grabbed Yuri, who was falling.

Fortunately, I wasn’t too late, and I was able to safely hold Yuri, who was falling, and support her.

“Hehe…. I guess I suddenly got a cramp in my leg because I wiggled my toes so much….”

Yuri, held in my arms, made a timid excuse with a sorry face.

Of course, if I quickly used mana to strengthen my body, falling would be nothing more than a harmless incident, but for Yuri, who was unskilled in using mana, it could be an accident rather than a simple incident.

Yuri, who had been leaning on me for a while, stood up, as if she was finally feeling better.

Only after seeing her safe did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

If she had hit her head on something sticking out while falling, a terrible thing could have happened.

That’s why I was relieved and, at the same time, a little angry at Yuri.

The thought that something might have happened to Yuri made me feel sick just imagining it.

Yuri also seemed to have noticed that I was angry with her, and avoided my gaze with a sullen expression and a bowed head.

Even if it was Yuri, and even if she was showing a remorseful attitude, I thought I should say a word to be careful, so I opened my mouth that moment.

“Huh?”

Yuri’s voice came out first instead of mine.

While I was missing the timing to say something and just opening and closing my mouth, Yuri blinked her eyes a couple of times and immediately squatted down.

“Kyaat?!”

Yuri, who was squatting down, raised her finger and pointed to my lower abdomen.

…

When I glanced over, I saw the towel lying on the floor.

Why was the towel that should have been covering my lower abdomen, the mark of the Master-Servant Seal, lying there?

Probably…. When I saw Yuri falling and was surprised, I must have hastily supported her, leaving the towel I was holding in one hand as it was.

While I was flustered, Yuri’s finger slowly caressed my skin, following the shape of the Master-Servant Seal.

I had tried so hard to hide it, but in the end, it was discovered.

How should I get out of this situation? What kind of excuse would be convincing?

“U, um Yuri….”

I tried to open my mouth to say something, but she just slowly stroked the mark of the Master-Servant Seal, as if she couldn’t hear my call.

“This…. Is this right…?”

“Huh? Uh? Wh, what?”

Unable to come up with an answer, I tried to pretend I didn’t know. I was so flustered that my voice, which was asking back, was very shaky.

“Th, that… used on slaves….”

“…Yeah.”

I had hoped to deceive her because the location and shape of the previous Master-Servant Seal were all different, but Yuri recognized it at a glance.

Well, Yuri knows a lot, so she could easily recognize it.

“So, maybe…. The reason why you couldn’t contact us all this time was because…. You were caught by some strange old man…. Was that it…?”

“Strictly speaking…?”

I don’t know if the Guild Master can simply be defined as a strange old man, but it’s not wrong. He was a strange guy, and he was an old man.

“Pe, perhaps…! You lived with other people and worked as a guest receiver…?”

“Well…. That’s right.”

I nodded at Yuri’s words, which hit the nail on the head every time.

Although I had never received a direct request because I had never been formally assigned to a mission except for the request to target Celian, but in any case, training as an assassin was also one of my duties.

“B, but I was too young all this time, so I’ve never done it myself!”

Therefore, I tried to protest a little to Yuri, but Yuri still had a tearful face.

By the way, Yuri only found out about the Master-Servant Seal, so how could she so easily figure out the environment I had been living in?

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like she had found out about my identity as an assassin.

If she had found out that far, Yuri wouldn’t have made such a sad face, but a fearful face.

“B, but I’ve escaped now! I’ll never go back there again!”

I had no intention of going back, and even if I did go back, the guild itself had already collapsed.

I reassured Yuri that I would never go back to that time again, and desperately appealed to her so that I could make excuses even if she found out about my identity as an assassin.

But instead of answering my words, she hugged me tightly.

“You’ve had a hard time all this time. It’s okay now…. I’ll always be by your side.”

Her voice was full of moisture.

I know full well that she’s feeling sad, worried, and comforting not ‘Number 3’ but ‘Elysia Frentz’.

Still…. I was able to receive comfort from her words.

---

“Um…. Yuri?”

“Yeah?”

After leaving the bathroom and preparing to go out again, I called Yuri.

Of course Yuri had always been kind, but I could feel that her answer was considerate of me just by listening to her voice.

“That…. Can you keep the things that happened and the things we talked about a secret from the other friends?”

Especially Celian.

If it reached Celian’s ears, even if Yuri hadn’t noticed that my identity was an assassin, Celian might be able to notice.

“Could it be a secret just between us….?”

That’s why I’m asking for a favor, but it’s entirely up to Yuri.

If Yuri decides to tell the other friends, there was no way for me to stop her.

Of course, there are many ways to forcibly shut her mouth, but just imagining doing such a thing to my friend Yuri made my hands tremble and made me want to vomit.

Yuri is a very precious person to me.

“Yeah! Of course! I’ll remember it as a secret just between us…. A secret just between the two of us that no one knows!”

Fortunately, Yuri granted my request.

As for me, I hope that Yuri will just forget it naturally rather than remembering it, but with Yuri’s memory, she won’t forget it.

“Then shall we go out now?”

Leaving the gloomy talk in the bathroom as a secret between the two of us, Yuri smiled brightly as usual and came to me, linking her arm with mine.

“Ah…!”

But for some reason, Yuri, who had hugged me, was surprised.

She also let go of her arm, which she had linked with mine, and stepped back from me with a flustered face.

“Yuri?”

“U, um…. I’m sorry…. It might be a trauma for El, but I’ve been so careless all this time, right? I shouldn’t have made such a mistake now that I know El’s past…. In the bathroom, too, did you feel bad?”

What could have made Yuri so embarrassed when it was just a normal arm?

“Feel bad? What are you talking about? Did you do something behind my back?”

I asked her because I didn’t know why Yuri was suddenly acting like this.

“Th, that…. I mean, me touching El’s body or something. Didn’t you feel bad?”

Strictly speaking, it’s not that I felt bad, but that I felt too good.

Of course, I didn’t do the stupid thing of saying my true feelings out loud.

“Hey, why would I feel bad? Friends can wash each other, can’t they?”

I answered as if it was natural, as Yuri had said, because I was worried that she might be suspicious of my identity because I had often shown a lack of common sense.

“Huh…?”

Sure enough, she seemed to be confused by my calm answer, tilting her head and getting confused.

Grasp

“Then how about this? There’s nothing like goosebumps or feeling bad, right?”

“W, what’s there to feel bad about when we can play around with each other as friends?”

Whether she was still suspicious of me despite my answer, she grabbed my breasts with both hands and groped them.

“Even like this…?”

“O, of course! It’s just a joke….”

Of course, assassins, by their nature of having to hide their presence, were often sensitive to someone touching them.

But with just that much of a clue, an assassin’s identity could be suspected. The guys who were overly sensitive and reacted sensitively were all just second-rate assassins.

I was thoroughly calculating and reacting calmly, trying to avoid Yuri’s suspicion, recalling the common sense I had learned while living with my friends, as befits a first-class assassin.

Yuri was still suspicious, whether or not she was convinced, and continued to grope my breasts.

“Th…. It’s not that I feel bad, but it’s a little embarrassing, so stop it now….”

She didn’t chase after me even when I stepped back, just tilted her head once, and then smiled brightly and linked her arm with mine again.

“Hehe…. Then shall we go out now?”

Fortunately, Yuri seemed to have been fooled by my perfect acting and didn’t seem to suspect me anymore.

I didn’t know I had the talent of an actor.

I’m afraid of my talent for perfectly acting even acting that I’ve never learned.