Chapter 139

“Hey, are you really thinking of showering together?”

“…How many times do I have to say the same thing?”

Ria asked me with a look that suggested she was starting to get a bit tired of this.

When I think about it, it’s not that strange. There’s a place called a ‘women’s bath.’ I’ve even seen saunas that are exclusively for women.

Isn’t it unheard of for there to be a women’s area in a bathhouse? It’s quite normal for friends to go to the bath together. Even at the association where Ria and I train, there are changing rooms.

At least until now, we had been taking turns showering one at a time. The place we stayed in at the convent was a double room, and the shower room was designed as if one person would use it at a time. Naturally, there was only one showerhead.

Even if the one I shared the space with wasn’t Ria, I hadn’t felt particularly uncomfortable for that reason.

“And we’ve showered together in the shared shower room plenty of times, right? Why are you suddenly so bothered by it now?”

“W-well, that had shower stalls!”

As I timidly protested, Ria stared blankly at the ceiling.

“No, I mean, does it really embarrass you that much to be with me? We’ve fought for our lives together, I’ve helped you pick swimwear, and you’ve changed clothes right in front of me, and now—”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Ugh.”

But before I could respond, Ria let out a long sigh that made it seem like she was having a moment of enlightenment and said,

“Okay, okay. I get it, I get it. Then how about we just go in one at a time? I’ll go first?”

Saying that, Ria slipped into the bathroom.

…

Huh.

Is she pouting?

After spending some considerable time together, I had seen various ways Ria expresses her emotions, but she hadn’t reacted like this in a long time during our conversations.

“…”

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Yeah. Technically speaking, Ria was right. It was strange to feel this embarrassed at this point. It might even look like I was putting up walls now.

We had already seen each other in swimsuits, barely covering our important parts, and fought against enemies while practically glued to each other in that attire. We had even showered together in the shower room, both of us completely naked. Of course, neither Ria nor I had actually seen each other’s naked form, but still.

While receiving swimming lessons from Ria, I’d touched various parts of her body, so now to feel embarrassed about this…

…

That’s right.

To be honest, I felt more embarrassed right now.

As time went by, I started to become more aware of Ria. In the realms of ‘possible’ and ‘impossible,’ Ria had always been in the ‘possible’ realm for me. If there was a problem, it was that I was seen as ‘impossible’ in Ria’s eyes.

In the past, I might have been able to shove my embarrassment aside by thinking from Ria’s perspective. If we thought of ourselves as people who couldn’t get any closer, we might have felt no lingering attachments.

But now…

In this awkwardly close relationship where we can protect each other’s lives, thinking now that I might have to hand my well-being over to her if something were to occur—things were different.

In relationships between people, it’s not about what’s possible or impossible.

What matters is whether I want it or not.

And, somehow, it seems I… want Ria. In many ways.

I let out a deep sigh.

After rubbing my face with my hand for a quick face wash, I steeled my resolve and headed toward the bathroom.

*

“…What’s up?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, why is your body shining like that?”

“…”

I seriously pondered for a moment over how to respond to Ria’s question.

And then I realized there was really only one answer I could give.

“It’s embarrassing.”

“How are you supposed to wash if your body isn’t visible? And aren’t you hiding behind that towel right now?”

True to Ria’s words, I was indeed covering my chest, stomach, and lower parts with a towel.

Because it’s embarrassing.

I’ll say it again—it’s important.

However, strangely, the towel I had didn’t completely cover my entire body. It was only slightly larger than the towels commonly used in Korea. I thought about whether I could tie them together to make something akin to underwear, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get it tied up.

Now that I think about it, it seems that ancient Egypt was a society quite open about sexuality, not really caring much about things like premarital chastity.

I might not know what same-sex relationships were like, but considering that the people we met wore barely-there thin cloths, it’s possible that they wouldn’t mind seeing each other naked in the bath.

But it’s embarrassing.

I’ll say it for the third time—it’s important.

So I used my hands to cover myself as best as I could and enveloped myself in Saint Power.

That was the plan I came up with.

…

Ria, sitting in the large tub resembling an open-air hot spring in an Egyptian-style garden, scrunched her brows and started to swim closer to me.

“What, what, what!?”

I shouted as I retreated to the corner of the tub, but Ria kept approaching me with a cheeky smile for some reason.

The warm steam rising from the water and the gentle ripples made it hard to see Ria’s body clearly. But it was clear that her body was one that wasn’t hidden beneath even a single towel, just like me.

Just from what was visible above the water, it was an excessively stimulating sight for me, someone who had never seen a woman naked in both my past and present lives.

No, to add to that, I’d lived a somewhat chastened life in this world, so…

It felt like some kind of crocodile coming to eat me as Ria raised a hand and waved it in front of me.

The light flowing from my body disappeared into a mist as it touched Ria’s hand.

“Eek!?”

I shrieked, turning my body to the side.

“Ah, I can see your butt.”

“What!?”

“No, you’re showing it right now!”

If I turned further, the wet towel would stick to my body even more, making everything even more visible.

When I just turned my head to glare at Ria, she was looking at me with a slightly flushed face and smiling for some reason.

“Hey, is there anyone who lights a torch in a public bath? Especially only covering the important parts. Isn’t that emphasized even more? Are we doing some kind of public broadcast censorship?”

I couldn’t admit that I got inspired by that.

“You don’t need to worry so much. I’m not going to eat you or anything.”

Saying that, Ria settled in right next to me.

“…”

I tucked my lips in and managed to sit up again. Naturally, I was covering my chest and lower stomach with my hands, and the towel was still there.

Though it was a bit unsettling that it didn’t stick to me underwater, it was better for my mental stability.

“B-but why are you not covering anything at all!?”

“I mean, it’s a bath. We didn’t come in to swim, but to wash, didn’t we?”

She responded as if it baffled her.

And, indeed, her words were so logical and reasonable that I had nothing to say. That’s right. It would be uncomfortable to have something on while washing your body.

“Or are you just dying to see it?”

Ria said teasingly.

“Aren’t the ones who like that sort of thing usually the ones that act all fussy about it? Trying not to show they like it.”

That was also damn rational reasoning.

How could I not want to see?

She was pretty, and even with a fluffy nun’s outfit, the body that peeked out was undeniably beautiful. Not wanting to see what lay beneath that would imply that my sexual orientation didn’t lean toward women.

“…”

“Want to see? I’ll show you. Huh? Huh?”

It was infuriating.

It had been the same when she wore a swimsuit last time, and it felt so frustrating that I was the only one feeling embarrassed.

I was conscious of Ria, while Ria didn’t seem to be conscious of me at all, and I found that beyond irritating.

“Sniff.”

“Uh, hey…”

In my frustration, I found myself tearing up.

My eyes were misty, probably just from having a bit of water in them. Why, after all, people who are used to the water quality of modern society tend to act that way when they go elsewhere. At any rate, that must be it. Even though I had never experienced it until now, still.

“Hey, I think I might have teased you too much. Sorry…”

“…”

“Are, are you angry?”

Ria’s voice instantly softened.

I knew this was unfair. Part of my mind recognized it as cowardly, but seeing Ria turn towards me with a worried and remorseful expression felt a bit satisfying.

I pushed myself further into the water without saying a word. As I glared at Ria from just below my nose, she seemed even more restless.

…

Man, I can be quite the idiot.

Even while thinking that, part of me wanted to keep this going, so it seems I’m just a selfish human after all.

Saintess? Ha!