episode_0099

After riding a carriage from morning till evening, we arrived at the ‘Island of Knowledge,’ where the Luminoir Academy is located.

Edan and I decided to stay at an inn to take the entrance exam at the academy the day after tomorrow.

It was a common practice for students coming from far away to stay at inns before exams, regardless of their social status.

The Island of Knowledge was a bit isolated compared to other cities due to its unique location, and there was a risk of missing a whole year if we were late.

Since there was no luxury of making hotel reservations over the phone in this world, we had to check for available rooms at the inn on the spot.

To our surprise, a problem arose for Edan and me at the inn where we had entrusted our belongings and carriage.

“Only one room available?”

“Yes, sir. During this time, all rooms are usually fully booked due to the academy entrance exams.”

“Hmm…”

With the need to stay at the inn for the next four days for the entrance exam, it was a problem that only one room was left in the inn we planned to stay at.

“Alright, I see. Maid, let’s go check out another inn.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I don’t mean to doubt the noble sir and the maid, but even if you go to another inn, it might be the same situation.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our inn is a bit away from the academy, so there might be a room available here, but it could be hard to find an empty room as you go further into the island.”

“And if you happen to come back after wandering around, I can’t guarantee that the room I mentioned will still be available. We have to accommodate other guests as well.”

The innkeeper’s words calling Edan back as he was about to search for another inn.

With his composed demeanor, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

Seeing the faces of the people still in the restaurant on the first floor until late evening added to the credibility.

Most of them appeared to be in their late teens to early twenties, a mix of men and women. It wasn’t hard to tell that they, like us, were here to take the academy entrance exam.

“If you really need an extra room, you might have to negotiate with the other guests directly, but I’m not sure if they’ll be willing to give in since everyone here is preparing for the academy entrance exam.”

“Ugh…”

“And you already left your carriage with us, right? It won’t be easy to go around pulling the carriage again at this late hour, and it might be inconvenient to stay at another inn without the carriage.”

The innkeeper’s way of gently suggesting that sharing a room might be the best solution.

Indeed, at this moment, following his advice seemed to be the most diplomatic solution.

The academy entrance exam was a crucial test that determined one’s life, whether they were commoners or nobles, so it wouldn’t be wise to disrupt one’s condition by spending extra money on a room and risking their performance on the exam day.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely impossible for the heir of the Blackwood family to forcibly transfer the room to someone else, but that would be just as inappropriate as pressuring someone against their will.

Moreover, the stable had already arranged for us to have meals elsewhere while we stayed, so moving the carriage from the stable to another place would be troublesome.

As the innkeeper said, simply sharing a room with Edan would solve the problem.

For some reason, Edan seemed hesitant to come to that conclusion and kept glancing at me.

“Is he uncomfortable sharing a room with a maid?”

Even though we had already shared our hearts, it might still be awkward to share a bed, but human emotions are complex and unpredictable.

I too, at the moment, couldn’t help but think that I might have to stay in the same room for a night or even longer, which made my head feel complicated with thoughts of last night.

But that’s that, and this is this.

Allowing Edan to touch my chest was just a reward for winning against Harold in the duel, not a permanent permission for him to touch any part of my body.

So, as long as Edan didn’t do anything strange, sharing a room with him and having a confrontation with him wasn’t really a problem.

After all, once I entered the academy, as a full-time maid, I would be using the same dormitory room as Edan, so it didn’t really matter as it was just a practice run.

…However, the problem was Edan.

Considering that he wanted to maintain his condition as much as possible with the entrance exam approaching, having someone else lying in bed with him was probably a factor that disturbed him enough.

I thought he might be worried about that.

Well, if he said the bed was uncomfortable, I could just lay my clothes on the floor and sleep there.

Thinking that I had already come to a temporary conclusion, I conveyed the idea of staying here with Edan without any false steps.

“If it’s uncomfortable for you, I’ll use the same room as you until a vacant room becomes available.”

“M-Maid? Are you serious?”

“If sharing the same bed with me is uncomfortable for you, I can lay my clothes on the floor and sleep there. I brought clothes for three days, so I can lay one on the floor and cover myself with the other.”

“N-No! When I asked if you were serious, it wasn’t about asking that…”

“If even sharing the same room makes you uncomfortable, I can sleep in the carriage in the stable. If you entrust only my belongings to your room to avoid the risk of theft…”

“Um, how much for a vacant room for a night?”

“At this time, it’s two silver coins per night.”

-Click.

“Let’s go with renting it for four nights.”

“Oh, thank you~.”

The innkeeper, who received ten silver coins from Edan, handed over the room key with a clumsy expression.

Instead of the thoughtful expression he had until just now, Edan hurriedly took me to the second floor where the guest room was located.

“Alright, let’s go up and rest quickly, maid. Let’s keep the strange talk to a minimum.”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t particularly mind if the maid uses the same bed, so don’t say anything like sleeping on the floor.”

“Yes, Master.”

Fortunately, it seemed that Edan wasn’t particularly concerned about sharing the same room or lying on the bed with me.

It was a relief that there was no need to sleep on the floor.

***

After receiving the room key that Edan and I agreed to use, we entered the room and were greeted by a relatively spacious room.

It was fortunate that the last available room happened to be a double room. If it had been a single room, regardless of Edan’s consideration, I would have had to sleep on the floor.

Of course, even though it was a double room, there was only one bed, so I still had to be mindful of the situation.

Well, having a bathroom attached was enough.

Even though laundry could be done with Clean Magic, there was no problem with that, but bathing was impossible with Clean Magic.

Why can’t Clean Magic be used for bathing when it can be used for washing dishes and peeling vegetables? It’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s because they need to collect bathing scenes of female characters.

One must never forget that this game, despite its good story and high degree of freedom, is ultimately an adult game disguised as an academy game.

Of course, in terms of game settings, there were contents like not replacing the sacred act of cleaning the body with magic, but as a gamer, it seemed obvious that it was just an excuse to collect bathing scenes of female characters.

Even in this remote inn, the fact that a private room had a bathroom attached showed how serious the game developers were about collecting adult CG scenes.

“Would you like to bathe first, maid?”

“….”

“…Maid?”

…Why does a simple question about who will bathe first feel like it carries a different meaning today?

Let’s not think strange thoughts. It’s just sleeping and waking up in the same accommodation for a few days.

And if a vacant room becomes available, we can always move then.

The entrance exam for the swordsmanship department, which is expected to have the most applicants, will start in two days, so there will probably be one or two vacant rooms from the day after tomorrow.

I replied to Edan with a nod, determined to keep my composure.

“No, even though it’s the exterior of the mansion, my master is still a nobleman, so it’s proper for my master to bathe first.”

“Th-then I’ll go bathe first, maid….”

“I’ll prepare the clothes for you to change into in front of the bathroom.”

“Okay….”

With those words, Edan entered the bathroom to wash away the fatigue of the day.

After confirming the sound of water flowing up and down inside the bathroom, I immediately started unpacking and organizing the luggage I had brought.

Of course, Edan’s luggage came first before mine.

Since I had packed most of Edan’s luggage in the first place, it was easy to find what was where.

After taking out the clothes, underwear, and towels to change into, I neatly arranged the clothes Edan had taken off while using a cleaning spell to wash them, making space in the luggage for them.

It’s convenient in many ways to be able to use a cleaning spell without worrying about others seeing. In the past, I only used it in the kitchen, the only place where magic was allowed, for fear of being caught.

“Is this enough preparation to bring over?”

We had a preserved meal in the carriage earlier for dinner, and there would be no need to go out of the inn again, so we could just change into pajamas right away.

And since I would need to bathe as soon as Edan finished, I also took out the clothes I would wear.

After setting up two sets of pajamas to change into, I opened the door leading to the bathroom and went inside.

As usual, I went to the dressing room between the bathroom and the room to lay out the clothes to change into.

“Master Edan, the clothes for you to change into are in front of the dressing room bathroom door….”

“M-maid? W-why did you suddenly come into the bathroom?”

“….Ah.”

…That’s right.

This wasn’t Blackwood Mansion.