After I swapped turns with Isis-san and had my back washed by her, we soaked ourselves in the warm water. It was sunny during the day, but now there is a faint snowfall, creating a charming and beautiful scene.
[Speaking of which, onsens are rather rare in this worldā¦ā¦ I mean, their culture seemed to be a bit minor, but this onsen has always been in Isis-sanās castle, right? I guess youāve heard about them from Alice?]
[ā¦ā¦Unnnā¦ā¦ Shalltearā¦ā¦ knows a lot of things that we donāt knowā¦ā¦ She taught us many thingsā¦ā¦ like how she taught Ein about maidsā¦ā¦ and taught Kuromueina about baby castellasā¦ā¦ She taught us many things.]
Somehow, I just heard multiple things that I couldnāt ignore. If what Isis-san says is true, it means that Alice was the one who created that Maid Fanatic and summoned the Baby Castella Demon.
ā¦ā¦No, but well, I guess itās not as if Alice had any malicious intent. As expected, she wouldnāt have told them about those if she had known in advance about their feelings for maids and baby castellas that were so deep that it could be described as madness. After all, when it comes to maids and baby castellas, Alice herself is also their victimā¦ā¦
[I see, Alice came from another world tens of thousands of years before the Hero Summoning took placeā¦ā¦ In this world, being the first person from another world, itās only natural that she would possess various knowledge that others are unfamiliar with.]
[ā¦ā¦Unnnā¦ā¦ Shalltearās storiesā¦ā¦ are interestingā¦ā¦ and hearing about the onsenā¦ā¦ I was fascinated by the ideaā¦ā¦ of taking a bath togetherā¦ā¦ so I asked her to make me one.]
Come to think of it, the fact that there are various items in this world that resemble those from my previous world might be attributed not only to the Hero actors but also to Alice. It seems that the world Alice once lived in is quite similar to my worldā¦ā¦ Well, the world around the time Alice was transported from was rather futuristic, almost like a sci-fi world. There were apparently items that combined magic and machinery called magitech, so of course there are differences butā¦ā¦
[Do you also go in with your subordinates?]
[ā¦ā¦When we have some free timeā¦ā¦ butā¦ā¦ it seems like they were being considerateā¦ā¦ so I can relax with Kaito.]
[I see, I appreciate that. Thanks to that, I can now be carefree with Isis-san.]
[ā¦ā¦Unnnā¦ā¦ Being alone with Kaitoā¦ā¦ also makes me happy.]
Saying that, Isis-san leans against my shoulder. As the both of us were taking a bath, it naturally meant that weāre completely naked, so my heart couldnāt help fluttering when I felt the touch of Isis-sanās bare skin.
I canāt help but avert my eyes, turning my gaze at an angle a little. No, seriously, even though Iām somewhat used to taking a bath with others, I still get nervous.
Isis-san is also considerably defenseless around meā¦ā¦ Well, rather than being defenseless, I guess she just trusts me wholeheartedlyā¦ā¦
[ā¦ā¦Ahh, b- by the way, it would already be quite late when we got out of the bath, wouldnāt it? We ended up having a good chat with everyone after dinner, and it became a reasonably late hour.]
[ā¦ā¦Unnnā¦ā¦ Thereās still some timeā¦ā¦ but I think itās already a good time to go to bedā¦ā¦ Humans tendā¦ā¦ to go to bed around 10 at nightā¦ā¦ right?]
[Hmmm, it depends on the individual to some extent. I tend to sleep between 10 pm, just like Isis-san said, and midnight. I donāt really stay awake until the day changes.]
For Isis-san, sleep is more of a preference, and she doesnāt need to sleep. Therefore, she relies to some extent on books and other sources of knowledge about Humansā sleep.
However, this does not mean that the information she got is wrong, and she was actually accurate to some extent. In fact, in my case, I usually go to bed around that time and wake up between 6 to 8 in the morning.
[ā¦ā¦I seeā¦ā¦ Hey, Kaitoā¦ā¦ It might beā¦ā¦ a bit selfish of meā¦ā¦ but can I say something?]
[Eh? Ah, yes. Itās totally fine.]
[ā¦ā¦Errrā¦ā¦ Iāve had a room for Kaito preparedā¦ā¦ but if Kaito is alright with itā¦ā¦ I want you to stay in my roomā¦ā¦ I want to stay with Kaitoā¦ā¦ for the whole day today.]
[ā¦ā¦Isis-san. Yes, I understand. Come to think of it, the first time I came to Isis-sanās castle, I stayed in Isis-sanās room, right?]
Isis-sanās castle is large, so there are multiple rooms, and they had properly prepared a room for me to stay in. However, Isis-sanās request is that she wants to be with me more.
Since there was no reason for me to refuse, I returned a reassuring smile and gave my consent to the seemingly lonely Isis-san. In response, Isis-san brightened up and flashed a radiant smile.
[ā¦ā¦Unnn!]
As I watched Isis-san nod happily, how should I say thisā¦ā¦ I somehow felt a little ticklish and warm. Overwhelmed by a surge of affection, I gently placed my hand on Isis-sanās shoulders and pulled her closely, embracing her lightly.