Chapter 58 – Suspicious Building

Suspicious Building

“Um, there’s something I want to ask…”
“Fufu, what is it, Ariel?”
Riste answered with a broad smile, looking at me, seemingly very pleased about something.

“…How did you know I was with Marian?”
“Hmm.”
After appearing to ponder my question for a moment, she soon smiled meaningfully and said,
“…Well, let’s call it a woman’s intuition?”

“I-I see.”
How should I put it? It’s as if a corner of my heart is tingling,
It feels like the sensation of when Riste kissed my forehead that time still remains.

No, it’s more accurate to say I remembered it when I saw Riste’s face.
‘Get a grip, Ariel. What are you thinking about your friend?’
If I had been reincarnated as a man, it might have been less complicated. But to reincarnate me as a woman…
Today is a day when I’m growing to dislike the goddess more and more.

‘Or maybe not. If I hadn’t been a woman in the first place, we might not have become this close.’
“Hey Ariel, what are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just thinking how nice the weather is.”

“…But it’s cloudy?”
No, why is it suddenly getting cloudy? It was clear just a moment ago.
Gray clouds have covered the sky before I knew it. It’s as if they’re reflecting my heart – is that too sentimental?

“You’re right. It might start raining soon… It’s raining.”
…As if my words became reality, raindrops started to fall little by little.
“Hmm… it’s raining. Looking at the clouds, it doesn’t seem like a passing shower… Oh my.”

Plop plop.
The raindrops falling from the sky soon turned into thick streams, starting to soak the streets.
“We should find shelter from the rain for now. It doesn’t look like it will stop soon… Let’s go in there.”

Saying that, Riste pointed to a certain building with her hand.
‘That building is…’
It was a building located in a somewhat secluded alley.

The entrance was decorated with magic lamps emitting a soft pink light, and the windows on each floor were covered with black curtains despite it being daytime, as if to prevent outsiders from seeing inside.
…Honestly, it looked very suspicious.

Moreover, seeing a couple who seemed to be lovers walking out of the entrance with refreshed expressions… I could vaguely guess the building’s purpose.
“Um, Riste. That place is a bit…”
“Let’s go quickly, Ariel. We might catch a cold at this rate.”

I tried to dissuade Riste, but she seemed to have already made up her mind, pulling my arm towards the building.
Just then,
“W-Wait a moment! Riste! Ariel!”

Marian, who was approaching us from far away, stopped us both.
“Wh-Where are you going in! In broad daylight!”
“Oh… Marian? What about your Guard duties?”

The rain is still falling steadily. The originally slightly muggy weather has become even more humid due to the rain that’s been falling for a while.
“…I got permission from my lieutenant. I felt uneasy just letting Ariel go after she accompanied me on patrol.”
“Hmm…”

But why? The chill that momentarily ran down my spine.
Riste and Marian stare at each other silently for a moment. Could they have had a fight? The atmosphere feels ominous…
“I’m sorry, but Ariel has something to do with me. Marian, I think it would be best for you to return to the Guard now.”

“Thanks for your concern. However…”
While Marian and Riste were conversing with each other, not minding getting wet in the rain, the rain kept getting stronger.
Maybe because I’ve been in the rain too much, my body started to shiver a little.

“Achoo.”
I’m even sneezing now. I might catch a cold at this rate.
“”…””
Maybe they heard my sneeze. Their conversation stopped for a moment.

“Marian. Let’s go inside for now. Ariel might catch a cold at this rate.”
“…Does it have to be that place?”
“Come here for a moment. I have something to tell you.”

Riste whispers something in Marian’s ear, as if it’s something I shouldn’t hear.
‘I wonder what they’re talking about…’
Without my knowing, it seems there was some kind of dispute between Marian and Riste. Judging by the slightly subtle atmosphere between them.

I hope their relationship won’t be strained by a minor disagreement… They’re both important comrades and friends to me.
Boom─!
As if the rain wasn’t enough, lightning is now flashing in the sky.

“…Now there’s even lightning. Let’s go inside quickly.”
“Y-Yes, let’s. Ariel, let’s go inside.”
After finishing their whispered conversation, they each grabbed one of my arms and led me into that suspicious-looking building.

‘Huh…? Are we really going in?’
In the end, we moved towards the entrance of the building welcomed by soft pink lights.

The interior of the building was even cleaner than I had expected.
The inside, where little light entered, was instead illuminated by soft magic lamp lighting, and the marble-finished walls and floor had an interior reminiscent of a hotel from my previous life.

Perhaps the slightly unusual points were that almost all the people we encountered upon entering seemed to be couples,
And that, unusually for buildings in this world, each room was equipped with a bathroom.
‘It’s just a love hotel…’

As I pulled back the curtains covering the windows and looked outside, the rain, far from stopping, was pouring even more heavily.
No matter how I looked at it, the rain didn’t seem likely to stop easily.

I stared blankly out the window.
It wasn’t that I was lost in sentiment watching the rain soaking the ground.
There was simply a reason why I had to do so.

“Ariel. Marian and I are going to take a shower now, don’t you want to join us?”
“I-I’m fine!”
“You must be cold in that state…”

I was currently in a state of having taken off my rain-soaked clothes. In other words, I was only in my underwear.
Because my clothes were completely drenched by the rain.

One might ask why I don’t just dry my clothes with magic, but the only life magic I could use was the Clean magic that removes bodily waste.
Perhaps due to my abnormally large amount of magical power, if I tried to dry clothes with drying magic, they would not just dry but completely shrink.

And I couldn’t use fire magic to dry clothes inside the building,
So taking off the wet clothes was the natural course of action.

“…There’s a temperature control magic tool in the room, should we adjust it if you’re cold?”
“Riste is right. Even if you’ve wiped off the moisture with a towel, you could still catch a cold.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I answered them while still looking out the window.
Of course, they were in the same underwear state as me, having been caught in the rain just the same.
‘Please shut up, devil.’

…I was barely resisting the temptation of the devil in my heart telling me to turn around.
Creak.
“Phew…”

Only after hearing the bathroom door in the room close did I turn my eyes away from the window.
‘How did it end up like this?’
Shaa. The sound of water from the bathroom stimulates my ears.

The thought that Marian and Riste are showering naked with just this thin wall between us… it’s a situation that doesn’t feel quite real. Surreal, you might say.
When we traveled as the hero party before, we mostly handled showers with Clean magic.
…While it’s said to be less refreshing, we weren’t in a position to be picky about such things.

Moreover, except when camping, I usually had a room to myself when we stayed at inns… so this kind of situation was a first for me.
‘Should I be happy about this, or dislike it…?’
Marian and Riste are my precious comrades.

The fact that they can be this close with me without distance is because I have a woman’s body.
If I had a man’s body, Marian and Riste wouldn’t be showering with just a wall between us right now.

That’s why I always carried a sense of guilt in a corner of my heart for seeing these precious comrades as the opposite sex.
They probably see me as a same-sex friend, but I don’t.
“Sigh…”

Even trying to maintain composure, it wasn’t easy.
…Especially after looking around the room and discovering Marian and Riste’s underwear.
‘They can’t shower with underwear on, after all…’

White and black. The white one had a somewhat plain design, while the black one had a slightly sexier design. The white one must be Riste’s…?
“…I should pretend to be asleep.”
What does it matter whose underwear is whose? It’s too disrespectful to Marian and Riste.

Forcibly suppressing the desire to see Marian and Riste in their underwear, I lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket over my head.
‘It feels nice and fluffy…’
As the pleasant softness envelops my body, I start to feel sleepy.

Maybe because fatigue had accumulated in my body from patrolling with Marian today, at this rate I might fall asleep…
Creak.
“Phew. That’s refreshing. Is Ariel… sleeping?”

…But the sound of the bathroom door opening completely chased away my sleepiness.
Judging by the fact that I can still hear water sounds, it seems Marian finished her shower first.
‘If I pull back the blanket now… No. I must endure.’

“Ariel, are you asleep?”
Rustle. Marian’s hand slightly pulled back the blanket I was covering myself with. I still had my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, but…
“Her face looks a bit flushed… I wonder if she has a fever.”

“Huh?!”
…Due to the sensation of Marian’s hand caressing my cheek, I ended up making a strange sound.
“Ah, Ariel? I’m sorry…! I was just trying to check if you had a fever, but I ended up waking you.”
“…It’s okay.”

Actually, it wasn’t okay. I ended up seeing Marian in her underwear with my own eyes.
…Surprisingly, the owner of the white underwear was Marian.
“…”

The white underwear that was somewhat plain but suited her all the more because of it.
Moreover, her skin without a single blemish, her firm abs, her appropriately present chest, and her body still slightly damp.
Each detail was stimulating enough to make me dizzy.

“Ariel?”
“I’m sorry. I’m feeling a bit dizzy…”
‘My heart might burst.’
My heart was beating so violently that the onomatopoeia “thump-thump” would be fitting.
It was a life-threatening situation.