Two to a Room (1)

After traveling by carriage from morning till evening and arriving at the ‘Island of Knowledge’ where Luminor Academy was located,

Ethan and I decided to stay at an inn to take the academy’s entrance exam scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

This was actually a common method used by students coming from afar to take exams, regardless of whether they were commoners or nobles.

The Island of Knowledge’s somewhat isolated location made it more cut off compared to other cities, and being late could mean wasting an entire year.

Of course, in this world, luxuries like phone reservations for accommodations were impossible, so naturally we had to check for vacancies on the spot.

After leaving our horses and carriage at the inn, Ethan and I encountered an unexpected problem.

“There’s only one room left?”

“That’s correct, young master. This season is always fully booked due to the academy’s entrance exams.”

“Hmm…”

With the entrance exam starting in five days and needing to stay at the inn, the issue was that only one room was available.

“Alright, understood. Maid, let’s look at other inns first.”

“Yes, young master.”

“If I may offer some advice, young noble master and maid, you might be wasting your time. Other inns will likely be the same.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Our inn is somewhat remote from the academy, so we still have one room left. The closer you get to the island’s center, the harder it’ll be to find vacancies.”

“……”

“And if you do come back after searching elsewhere, I can’t guarantee this room will still be available. We have to accept other guests too.”

The innkeeper’s words stopped Ethan, who was about to go outside to search for other inns.

His calm demeanor didn’t seem like he was lying.

Looking at the people still in the first-floor dining hall at this late hour made it even more believable.

Most were men and women in their late teens to early twenties-clearly, like us, they were here for the academy’s entrance exams.

“What if I pay extra for another room…?”

“All other rooms are already booked. And during this season, even remote inns like ours often host young nobles like yourself. I apologize, but I won’t risk offending a noble for momentary greed.”

“……”

He didn’t seem to realize he was already offending the heir of the Blackwood family.

Still, using force or pressure against an innkeeper who was sticking to principles would be quite unreasonable, even between commoners and nobles.

Ethan seemed to know this too, as he didn’t bother revealing the Blackwood family crest.

“If you really need another room, you could negotiate with other guests directly, but since they’re also here for the entrance exams, I doubt they’ll give it up.”

“Ugh…”

“And you’ve already left your carriage with us, haven’t you? It won’t be easy to take it out and search for another inn at this hour, nor would it be convenient to stay elsewhere while leaving the carriage here.”

The innkeeper was tactfully suggesting we share a room.

Given the circumstances, his suggestion was the most reasonable solution.

For both commoners and nobles, the academy’s entrance exam was a life-changing event, so no one would risk disrupting their condition by selling their room for extra money.

Of course, leveraging the Blackwood family’s influence to forcibly take someone else’s room wasn’t impossible, but that would be just as unreasonable.

Besides, the coachman had already arranged to stay elsewhere while we were here, so moving the carriage now would be troublesome.

As the innkeeper said, the simplest solution was for Ethan and me to share a room.

For some reason, Ethan seemed hesitant to reach that conclusion, glancing at me nervously.

‘Is sharing a room with a maid uncomfortable for him?’

It might seem odd to feel awkward about sharing a bed after already allowing him to touch my chest, but human emotions are complicated.

I also felt a bit conflicted, as last night’s events suddenly came to mind at the thought of possibly sharing a room for multiple nights.

But that was that, and this was this.

Allowing Ethan to touch my chest was just a reward for winning against Harold-it didn’t mean I was permanently granting him access to my body.

In other words, as long as Ethan didn’t do anything weird, sharing a room wasn’t a problem.

Once we entered the academy, as his personal maid, I’d be sharing a dorm room with him anyway. This could be seen as practice for that.

…The real issue was Ethan.

With the entrance exam approaching, he’d naturally want to maintain his best condition. Having someone else in his bed could be distracting.

That was probably what he was worried about.

Well, if sharing a bed was uncomfortable, I could always sleep on the floor with some clothes as bedding.

Having already reached a tentative conclusion, I suggested we just stay here instead of searching elsewhere.

“If the young master doesn’t mind, I’ll share the room with you until another becomes available.”

“M-Maid? Are you serious?”

“If sharing a bed is uncomfortable, I can sleep on the floor with my clothes as bedding. I brought three days’ worth of clothes, so I can use one set as a mattress and another as a blanket.”

“N-No! That’s not what I meant by ‘serious’…”

“If even sharing the same room is uncomfortable, I can sleep in the carriage in the stable. If you’d just keep my belongings in your room to prevent theft…”

“H-How much is the vacant room per night?”

“During this season, it’s two silver coins per night.”

-Clink.

“I’ll take it for five nights.”

“Oh, thank you~.”

The innkeeper, now ten silver coins richer, handed over the room key with a smug expression.

Ethan, abandoning his earlier hesitation, quickly led me upstairs to our room.

“Alright, let’s just go up and rest, maid. No more weird talk.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t mind sharing a bed with you, so stop talking about sleeping on the floor.”

“Yes, young master.”

Fortunately, Ethan didn’t seem bothered by sharing a room or even a bed with me.

At least I wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor-that was a relief.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Entering the room Ethan and I would share, I found it surprisingly spacious.

Luckily, the last available room was a twin room. If it had been a single, I’d have had to sleep on the floor regardless of Ethan’s consideration.

Of course, even in a twin room, there was only one bed, so it was still a situation requiring some care-but I wasn’t so oblivious as to complain about it.

Well, having a private bathroom attached was more than enough.

Laundry could be handled with Clean magic, but bathing was one thing Clean magic couldn’t replace.

Why can’t Clean magic, which can handle dishes and peeling vegetables, clean the body? The answer’s obvious-because we need bathing CG for the female characters.

Never forget that this game is fundamentally an eroge disguised as an academy game. No matter how good the story or how high the freedom, an eroge is still an eroge.

Of course, in-game lore claimed that sacred acts like cleansing the body shouldn’t be replaced by magic, but as a gamer, it was clearly just an excuse to collect bathing CGs.

Even this remote inn’s private rooms came with bathrooms-proof of how seriously the developers took fanservice.

“Do you want to bathe first, maid?”

“……”

“…Maid?”

…Why did a simple question about bathing first feel so loaded today?

Don’t overthink it. It’s just five days of sharing a room.

And if a vacancy opens up, we can always move then.

The swordsmanship department’s entrance exam-the most crowded-would start in two days, so vacancies should appear by then.

Steeling myself, I shook my head and answered Ethan.

“No. Even outside the mansion, you’re still my master. It’s proper for you to bathe first.”

“O-Okay, I’ll go first then, maid…”

“I’ll prepare your change of clothes outside the bathroom.”

“Yeah…”

With that, Ethan headed into the bathroom to wash off the day’s fatigue.

Once I heard the sound of running water, I began unpacking our luggage.

Naturally, Ethan’s bag came first.

Since I’d packed most of his things anyway, I knew where everything was.

After setting out his change of clothes, underwear, and towel, I used Clean magic on the clothes he’d taken off and stored them in his now-empty bag.

Being able to use Clean magic without worrying about others was convenient. Back at the mansion, I’d only used it in the kitchen where magic was allowed.

“This should be enough preparation.”

We’d already eaten preserved rations in the carriage, and there was no reason to go out again, so he could change straight into pajamas.

Once Ethan finished bathing, I’d take my turn, so I set out my own pajamas too.

After arranging both sets, I opened the door to the bathroom area.

As usual, I stepped into the changing area between the bathroom and the room to place his clothes.

“Young Master Ethan, I’ve placed your change of clothes outside the bathroom door…”

“M-Maid? W-Why are you coming into the bathroom?”

“…Ah.”

…Right.

This wasn’t Blackwood Manor.