No to Being the Suffering Heroine! – Chapter 146

There were two bathrooms in Esther’s mansion.

One in Esther’s room, which was originally the couple’s bedroom. And a small bathroom at the end of the second-floor corridor.

Friede and I washed ourselves there, relieving our travel fatigue.

“Ahhhh…”

The bathwater was warm enough for steam to rise like mist.

Apparently, there was a hot spring under the mansion. She had bought this property and built the mansion using half of her assets during her time as a kingdom knight, knowing about this from the start.

Thanks to that, we could immediately soak in hot water without the troublesome process of heating water with firewood.

Of course, we had to scoop up water from the bathtub with a bucket to wash off the dirt and sweat on our heads and bodies first.

“This is nice…”

I tied up my wet hair, got into the bathtub, and leaned my back against the wall, savoring the warmth seeping into my body.

With each deep breath in and out, my floating breasts bobbed up and down, causing small ripples.

The sensation of the hot spring water tingling with heat felt pleasantly ticklish.

“Y-Yes. It’s nice…!”

Friede, sitting opposite me, nodded and stammered a response. Her face was red, perhaps from the heat.

Or maybe because of the sensation of our skin touching.

Perhaps because it wasn’t designed for multiple people, this bathroom’s bathtub was rather narrow. You could say it would be completely filled with two people in it?

It was probably originally a bathtub used only by Verloren’s daughter or the employee Marika.

Using such a bathtub together, I naturally had no choice but to press against Friede’s skin.

While it wasn’t much of a problem for Friede with her short limbs, I could wrap my calves around Friede’s waist if I stretched my legs out.

As a result, I had my legs slightly spread out, and Friede was sitting with her bottom between them.

Unlike me, with half my chest exposed above the water surface, she was submerged in the bathwater right up to just below her chin even while sitting normally.

“Are you okay? Not uncomfortable?”

I asked, looking up at the ceiling.

“Y-Yes! Not uncomfortable at all! Rather…”

Friede nodded. She said it was rather good or something. I decided not to ask what was good about it.

“Oh… I see. That’s good.”

I smiled reluctantly. Still keeping my gaze fixed on the ceiling.

It was a bit awkward to lower my head.

The bathwater was quite clear, so if I lowered my head forward, I would clearly see Friede’s entire body sitting with her legs together.

That was a sight that gave a surprisingly big shock to my conscience. To the point where it would become an adults-only work if described in detail.

If we were just ordinary same-sex friends, I wouldn’t mind and would think nothing of it, but our relationship had come too far to be called friends now, so I couldn’t help but be conscious of it.

You might think, why am I being so conscious now when we’ve already overlapped our bodies several times…

…But the truth is, this was the first time I had properly faced Friede’s naked body.

Our nights so far had been closer to Friede’s one-sided and proactive advances, so I had never even properly touched her underwear.

I was just on the receiving end.

No, should I say I was just being serviced? Anyway, for that reason, I was not at all used to bathing with Friede.

The inns we stayed at during our travels either didn’t have bathrooms or if they did, they were really close to single-person bathtubs, so there was never a chance to bathe together.

So, it was fair to say this was the first time we had entered a bathtub together like this.

While Friede seemed to be enjoying it immensely, for me it was a little – no, quite burdensome.

I wish she would at least cover up below… Ah, that would work. A brilliant solution popped into my mind.

“Friede, come here.”

“Eh, huh? Yes? Uwah…!”

With the sudden movement, bathwater splashed and overflowed.

Something soft yet slightly heavy pressed down on my floating breasts, and skin as hot as the spring water touched my body like a blanket.

Friede’s back.

I grabbed Friede’s hand, pulled her towards me, turned her body halfway around, and embraced her in my arms.

I wrapped my arms around her small shoulders, pressing her head back against my chest tightly.

“Um, uh, hey. Suddenly? Here?”

Friede, whose mind seemed to have malfunctioned, panicked while radiating heat. I pressed her down slightly to calm her and whispered in her ear.

“Isn’t this much more comfortable? It’s too narrow to face each other, so let’s stay like this.”

“Uwa, ah, hauu…”

Friede let out a strange moan and bowed her head deeply. The flesh serving as a pillow shook slightly up and down.

With this, Friede finally calmed down. I smiled as I finally lowered my head at this sight.

Good. Now that I can’t see her front, I can relax a bit. Earlier I really didn’t know where to look because it was so embarrassing.

And so, I enjoyed the hot spring bath at ease with a much more comfortable feeling, hugging Friede like a doll.

Honestly, I had an inner anxiety that I might get pounced on in the bathtub, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Well, Friede shows unstoppable momentum like a tank when she’s in control, but when the situation is reversed, she tends to freeze up instead.

You could say she’s strong on offense but weak on defense?

Well, that’s what makes her cute.

Anyway, after finishing our bath like that, we put on casual clothes over our fresh and clean bodies and had a late dinner with Lady Verloren.

It was disgustingly tasteless.

The stew was too salty, and the bread was so bland it had no taste at all. The meat was burnt black like charcoal.

It was a menu that looked like something a hell jailer would serve to prisoners.

“…”

Friede, who received that food – no, something that shouldn’t be called food – stared blankly at Lady Verloren with a lifeless face.

Honestly, it was a bit rude, but I was too perplexed to stop her, not even thinking I should intervene.

“Ahem. Hmm. It’s been a while since I cooked myself, so there were some minor mistakes. But it should still be somewhat edible.”

Lady Verloren cleared her throat and averted her gaze slightly.

…This is what you call “some minor mistakes”?

Could this possibly have been the reason for the divorce?

I forcibly swallowed something that looked like meat but had clearly been burned in hellfire, barely suppressing the question that had risen to my throat.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“…Thank you for the meal.”

After finishing the hellish meal, Friede and I immediately got into bed and fell asleep under one blanket.

…We really just slept.

It’s not right to do such things in someone else’s house, you know.

Even if Friede was okay with it, I wasn’t. How could I face Lady Verloren if she heard us?

Honestly, we’d have no right to complain even if we were kicked out.

* * *

The next morning.

Knock knock.

At an early hour when the darkness of dawn had not yet fully disappeared, a soft knocking sound woke me from my deep sleep.

“Wake up. Laziness is the shortest path to regression.”

It was Lady Verloren.

It feels like it’s about five o’clock… Does Lady Verloren wake up at this hour? And am I supposed to do the same?

It was truly terrifying.

Waking up at five o’clock, even the Defense Ministry’s reveille doesn’t sound until six o’clock.

Knock knock.

The knocking sound echoed again, as if urging me who was trembling in fear.

“Wake up.”

“Yeeees…”

I barely managed to raise my body, rubbing my drowsy eyes.

Honestly, I felt like I needed to sleep for at least another hour… but I can’t keep sleeping when someone’s calling me.

It was something I had to endure as long as I was staying in someone else’s house.

“Are you up? Then change into your outdoor clothes and come down. There’s something we need to do.”

What, is she going to make us do morning jogging or something…?

Nah, no way. Even so, that can’t be it.

I shook my head vigorously to shake off the instinctive fear that had arisen and the lingering sleepiness that clung to me.

Morning jogging, this isn’t some military barracks, there’s no way she’d make us do such a thing at the crack of dawn. It was nonsense.

* * *

“Let’s have a duel. Get ready.”

The unthinkable has come true. As always. That bastard’s kill score must be around a hundred thousand by now, seriously.

What awaited me after I woke up the whining Friede and came down to the first floor was a bland stew like plain water and bread as salty as rock salt.

The meat was so fresh it looked like it might come back to life if you cast a resurrection spell.

…This woman really has no middle ground.

After finishing the painful breakfast that was the exact opposite of yesterday’s, Lady Verloren guided us to a large open space prepared behind the mansion.

An open space surrounded by fences, with the ground leveled and covered with grass. Training dummies and blunt practice weapons were piled up on one side.

Anyone could see it was a training ground.

“A duel…?”

I asked back with a face that said ‘What the hell is this at the crack of dawn?’ Although I tried to manage my expression.

“Yaaaawn…”

Friede, who covered her mouth and yawned softly, also had a face mixed with perplexity, fatigue, and a hint of irritation.

Lady Verloren seemed to pay no attention to this at all, merely selecting two longswords and one greatsword from among the weapons placed in the corner of the training ground.

“Yes. His Highness said that you are sincere about your duties as heroes. That you intend to dedicate yourselves to subjugating deep dungeons once you clear your name, gain opportunities, and achieve sufficient strength.”

Lady Verloren said as she handed me a practice longsword.

“Until the day you slay the Demon Lord.”

There was something like admiration in the blue eyes looking at me. Something strange that could be called respect or expectation.

“Although I’m retired, I was once a knight who aimed to contribute to this goal. So, out of respect for that spirit, I decided to offer my own help.”

Lady Verloren, who likewise handed a greatsword to Friede, explained the reason she had called us here as she stepped back a couple of paces.

“His Highness also asked me. He said that while you might be fine as knights, you’re still inexperienced as a hero and companion, so he requested that I provide guidance to help you attain martial prowess befitting those titles.”

Argentir. That bastard was the culprit behind this early rising and unexpected duel.

“So first, we’ll have a duel. I need to closely assess your current level and strengths and weaknesses.”

“Um… we did defeat kingdom knights though?”

“Defeating average knights from the knight order doesn’t prove anything. The power required of heroes and their companions far surpasses that.”

Lady Verloren answered as she drew her practice longsword.

“Besides, you’ll need motivation too. Strength tends to bloom in desperation and pain.”

Oh, is she saying she needs to beat me up a bit now…?

And that she’ll keep beating me up until I reach a level she’s satisfied with.

I was already starting to feel dizzy.

“So, prepare yourselves.”

Lady Verloren pointed her sword at me and unleashed her suppressed aura without restraint.

Woooosh!

The air instantly became heavy. The atmosphere pushed back by her aura stirred up a fierce wind and scattered.

“Ugh…!”

I reflexively drew my sword and took a defensive stance. My body reacted before my mind to the sense of crisis that rose like lightning.

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

I could instinctively sense it.

Her realm.

High-ranking knight.

A top-tier powerhouse of the current era who has surpassed the wall of elites.

At least at this point in time, someone stronger than a hero stood before me.