episode_0084

‘… … Is this a sacred towel?’

Rachel was staring blankly down at the towel the village chief had personally brought her.

It was said to be a sacred towel soaked in holy water and dried for those who would one day be qualified to use the bathhouse of the gods.

To Rachel, who had no intention of using the bathhouse of the gods, it was just a common towel.

Her thoughts were turned upside down by a man who boldly challenged the rights of the gods.

“Hmm. Then let’s enjoy a hot spring~”

“… … .”

Elden, who was stretching and twisting his whole body as if he was tired, headed to the hot spring in the backyard holding a towel, and Rachel was watching him intently.

The rights of the gods, the realm of the gods.

She knew that it was nothing more than a puddle of hot water, and that it was too hot to warrant such grand adjectives, but for Rachel, who had never bathed anywhere other than in a sealed private bathroom, the open hot springs were a forbidden realm, not the realm of the gods.

I have lived my whole life trying to escape the shackles of being a woman.

To her, the physical characteristics she possessed as a woman were nothing but an object of shame and insult.

Of course, I never once held resentment or hatred towards it because it was a product given to me by my parents, but once I entered the world of men, I had no choice but to hide it.

Rachel was someone who had lived her entire life trying to overcome her own identity by denying it, and someone who had lived her life trying to trample on the innate instincts she had been suppressing whenever they tried to raise their heads.

A ponytail.

Red dress.

A necklace worn inside the armor.

Such things were like resistance to an innate instinct that had to be suppressed, and like a longing for things that had to be discarded.

For Rachel, who had lived her whole life like that, taking an outdoor bath was an act that required a huge amount of determination, so much so that it would not be an exaggeration to say that it liberated everything that had been suppressed.

“Hehehe~ Heung~”

Then, a humming sound came into Rachel’s ears.

It was Ariel’s voice, and right after that.

“I was just holding her because the situation wasn’t good. Ariel was really cold.”

The image of a man and a woman embracing each other in a cave was drawn.

Rachel had also hugged a man before.

That too, from behind.

《Die.》

There was a time when I was behind my opponent and wrapped my arms around his neck when the weapon broke and a melee broke out.

The difference is that the man and woman in the cave were there to survive, while the man and woman in the battlefield were there to kill each other.

I’ve never held a man in my arms, so I was curious, but for some reason, I didn’t want to ask about it because I felt like I would lose to Ariel Youngae.

It was also something I couldn’t ask for.

Because it would be a childish, stupid, and odd question.

“Heh heh~”

Rachel looked at Ariel humming.

For some reason, the hand holding the towel tightened.

and.

‘Yeah. If you want it, you have to move.’

That power soon transformed into a determination to go against belief.

I have lived fiercely to achieve what I want, and I have lived tenaciously to overcome everything that stands in my way.

The purple knight.

He had reached a nirvana of the unmanned, albeit weak one, and now, having extinguished the fighting spirit of that day, he was living a peaceful life, making the most of what he had.

Because there was no need or reason to fight any longer.

But.

The scene of a man and woman embracing in a cave had several pieces of firewood placed on the extinguished firewood, and the scent of the woman coming from the disciple had dropped a spark on the firewood.

And that spark began to burn brightly without him knowing, transforming into a new fighting spirit that was different from those days, yet the same.

It was an unfamiliar feeling.

Unlike the past when I had to hide and suppress my identity in order to become the best drone, my current fighting spirit was pointing in the exact opposite direction.

It was a natural direction.

Because what I wanted to achieve was the exact opposite.

If the fighting spirit of the past was to gain power and honor as an unmanned being, the fighting spirit of the present was to fight, defeat, and conquer the target that had to be rejected in order to gain it, so the direction was bound to be opposite.

That’s why.

“Rachel? Where are you going?”

Rachel answered Ariel, who was walking curiously and asking questions, while hiding a smile of conversion.

“I want to enjoy the hot springs.”

Then, it was natural for shock to appear on Ariel’s face as she anticipated the dizzying situation those words would create.

“What, what what? Hey, did Elden just say he was going to take a hot spring?”

Mixed bathing between a man and a woman who are not married.

To the innocent Ariel, who had never thought of such a thing or dared to imagine it, it was like a blasphemous thing, and it was so embarrassing that it caused cognitive dissonance.

It was only natural for Rachel, who was about to start a fight she wanted to win.

If you draw your sword in a battlefield where swordsmanship is rampant, you must not hesitate, because that is the only way to survive.

“Yes, I heard.”

“What? So, are you saying we’re taking a bath together?”

“Yes.”

“Why, why?”

“I like hot springs too.”

Ariel’s eyes waver back and forth.

Delusions of grandeur naturally swirl through my head.

A scene where Elden and Rachel enjoy a bath with their skin against each other.

“Okay, wait a minute. If you leave too, who will guard you?”

All she could think about was erasing that dizzying picture, and when she asked him in a grabby manner, Ariel was left speechless by the answer she received.

“I already asked the village chief to take care of the security.”

“… .”

“Then.”

In the end, Ariel could only stare blankly at Rachel’s back as she followed Elden, holding a towel.

So Rachel headed to the backyard of the dorm, eagerly announcing the beginning of a fight for possession.

**

“… … .”

“… .”

It was clearly a curious and forward step.

It was a step taken with bold ambition, just like the days when I headed to the battlefield.

Even though the determination may be different, the desire to achieve something is ultimately the same.

There was no reason to hesitate or hesitate.

Because she had lived her life to achieve, her current steps were like a habit to Rachel, and she was very familiar with them.

But Rachel, faced with what she wanted to achieve, seemed like a reckless girl.

A little trouble.

A little trouble.

It was easy to keep my eyes open thanks to Elden avoiding eye contact, and it was also easy to breathe while sitting far away.

However, unlike the seemingly calm surface of the water, the water beneath the water was bustling.

Just like the girl that day who didn’t know how to swing her sword and just waved it around recklessly, her fingers were wriggling around haphazardly, not knowing what to do with them.

If it were a training ground, it wouldn’t be this awkward.

If it was a training ground, it would have been easy to say a word under the pretext of training.

The awkwardness of the unfamiliar space made my already lacking speaking skills reveal a bit of my weakness, and the heat of the hot spring made even my usually cold opposite sex feel hot.

A little trouble.

A little trouble.

Ten fingers continuing a fierce(?) battle under the invisible surface.

“… .”

“… .”

Rachel’s fingers, which had been fighting underwater for a while without anyone knowing, stopped fighting.

It was because of Elden’s voice that broke the hot, frozen air.

“I guess you liked hot springs before?”

Shudder.

Rachel was so shocked that it felt like something inside her was sinking, but she acted calmly as she answered the question.

“This is my first time.”

It was my first time soaking in a hot spring.

She washed herself in cold water to harden her body under the pretext of training, and when she finished her training and became a dedicated escort knight, she had no need to use the hot springs because the servants of the mansion brought her warm water, as befitting the highest career path for a commoner.

I wasn’t particularly interested in it.

If I hadn’t been fighting for the bath I was taking today, I would have just lamented, “The family heirloom is a hot spring spread all over the Renfid volcanic area,” and taken a rest.

“I see.”

“Why are you like that?”

“Ah. What. I was just asking.”

There were a few conversations going on thanks to the door Elden opened, and this time it was Rachel who asked a question.

“I guess this isn’t your first time, Confucius?”

A question about whether you have ever enjoyed a private bath with a woman, with only a thin cotton towel covering your skin.

It was a question I asked without much expectation, thinking that the employer I had been seeing until six months ago would still be like that.

“This is my first time too.”

When she heard that unexpected answer, Rachel had to endure the embarrassment of having to suppress the corners of her lips from twitching against her will.

Of course, Elden six months ago was living a more debaucherous and impulsive life than he does now, so he would have enjoyed more than just mixed bathing, but he was happy that he could share his beloved disciple’s ‘first time’ with him.

Maybe that’s why.

“Thank goodness. First time… .”

A slip of the tongue came out.

I spat it out as if possessed and then quickly closed my lips, but I had already spat out half of my pleasure, and immediately afterwards, the heat that had been enveloping my entire body surged upwards, making my head feel hot.

I wanted to punch the snout that had revealed its true colors so easily, but I just chewed my lower lip, pretending to be calm.

“Thank goodness? Why?”

and.

“… … first slope… . Oh, no! First case… ? No… … … .”

Rational thoughts became entangled in my head, which was so hot it felt like it was going to melt, and my mouth kept spewing out stupid words.

“First slope? Well, it is definitely a slope to be able to enjoy hot springs in such a small town.”

“… … .”

“The first case? Well, it’s certainly rare to enjoy hot springs in a small town like this.”

“… … .”

I was helpless.

The disciple who had caught the sword had a sly trick, and the purple knight who had been moving around the battlefield like a snake and skillfully cutting off the enemies’ necks felt helpless for the first time as if her feet and hands were tied.

also.

For the first time, I felt like running away.

Rachel, the strongest warrior who had only advanced in the fight she had entered into to win, felt like retreating for the first time.

Trembling.

Even though my whole body was hot, I felt like I was shivering with cold air.

I felt ashamed of myself for being pushed back, and my body trembled as if I, who always conquered the battlefield, had been conquered.

But that feeling was strangely… strange, even though it was frustrating.

The shaking was also strange.

I also felt strange.

at last.

“It’s too hot. I’ll get up first.”

Rachel, who had chosen to take a step back, suddenly sat up!

And for the first time.

“Rachel?”

“… … Ouch!”

She, who had only shouted like a knight, ended up screaming like a woman.

A situation that was not going as planned ended up going in a strange direction.

The released thing floats leisurely to the surface of the water, as if teasing itself.

Although he belatedly tried to cover up his important body parts, he could not stop the teacher from completely stripping away his dignity in front of his disciples and revealing his hidden inner self.

All of his dignity and authority as a teacher was stripped away.

It was Rachel who ended up being defeated.

and.

“… What, what’s so big about it… … ”

Ariel, who had been secretly watching the scene through the crack in the backyard door, put both hands on her chest, and had to put them back down because of the small bump compared to Rachel’s huge bump.

I’m just glad that nothing sticky happened between the two.

Another fighting spirit was blossoming like that.

**

In November, the northern region gradually becomes less active, and the once bustling streets begin to become deserted.

Those who were prepared began to prepare for winter, while those who were less prepared were just busy moving about in the silence.

Movement between the castles has also decreased significantly, and the gates of the castle, once crowded with people, are now filled with the yawns of guards reaching up to the sky.

The month when the warm, swelled and melted things begin to freeze and contract was something that even the great Duke of Winterfell could not avoid.

Thud, thud.

The bustling general store street near the Winterfell Castle.

Because the places for socializing and interacting with acquaintances were limited by the bitter cold, the streets selling various jewelry and decorative items were lined with stores that closed before the early evening, and naturally, it was quiet, if not deserted.

And that distance.

A man wearing a wide-brimmed brown hat was walking.

The brim was torn and split, and the hooded cloak he was wearing looked like rags.

The man walked with a languid gait past the general store and into the alley.

It was a backward place, isolated from the sunlight.

As is typical of places filled with such darkness and gloom, the alleys were swarming with homeless people.

Most of them were destined to fall victim to the bitter cold that would soon hit the northern territories.

and.

“… .”

“Khuuuk… ?”

Such offerings were good prey for the man.

With the sole intention of making their miserable deaths a noble sacrifice for his revenge, the man uses black magic obtained by paying for all he had: his life, to hasten their deaths.

“Keuheuk… .”

In this way, the man filled his fading life by taking the lives of homeless people on the street with his own dirty, black hands.

And I waited.

May those who leave the land return to the land either by their father’s arrest or by their own free will.

He was waiting, hiding under the lamplight.