Chapter 41

The warm stream of water that had landed on my head trickled down my cheek and flowed onto the floor.

A sensation of water finely spraying apart that I couldn’t possibly imitate with telekinesis alone.

The warm droplets gently tapping my body made it feel like I was being cozily wrapped up.

How long has it been since I last felt a hot water shower? Could this be heaven?

A sense of liberation washed over my bare face, and a smile naturally spread across my lips.

‘Neeaaah…. I could stay like this forever….’

Hail civilization! Shower inventor, you’re the best!

Cheering silently in my head, I frolicked under the water like I was at a water park. When I’d had my fill, I turned off the water and rubbed my face vigorously with both hands.

As much as I’d love to keep enjoying this relaxed state, this is still Alice’s house after all.

Getting too carried away wouldn’t be good.

If I suddenly got dizzy and collapsed on the floor…

I wouldn’t be able to face Alice who had earlier asked if we should wash together.

‘By the way… there’s a mirror here.’

While moving towards the shampoo, brushing away strands of hair stuck to my face, I suddenly noticed the mirror attached to the wall.

The mirror was fogged up from the steam, so nothing beyond it was visible.

After pondering for a moment, I reached out and wiped away the condensation with a squeaky sound.

Then, in the mirror appeared a girl with snow-white skin who by now felt somewhat familiar.

‘Hmm… I’ve seen myself in mirrors before, and I’ve been naked, but seeing myself naked in a mirror is a first.’

No matter how many times I looked, her face was stunningly beautiful to the point of making me uncomfortable.

It almost felt apologetic that someone as insignificant as me was inside.

But maybe it was because she was so short and her face was so youthful.

Even though she was completely bare, it didn’t feel particularly sexy.

Well, it would be weird to have strange thoughts about such an immature body.

Those kinds of people are all perverts and need to have their heads bashed in, seriously.

With those thoughts in mind, I took a step back from the mirror to get a full view of my body.

And then I noticed one subtle thing that had been bothering me.

‘Can a body really be this clean? It’s like a newborn baby.’

I moved around, inspecting various parts of my body in front of the mirror.

But astonishingly, there wasn’t a single scar or wound on my body, not even a tiny black mole.

What am I, some kind of porcelain? How is this even possible?

I raised one arm high and tilted my head at how spotless even my armpit was.

Then belatedly, my gaze fell upon a silver object swaying near my chest.

A small cube decoration that fit perfectly into the palm of my hand.

It was the Tesseract, which I hadn’t taken off my body even once since that day.

‘Ah, could it be that when healing wounds, my body itself transformed as if it were brand new? Hmm… that seems quite plausible.’

The power of the Tesseract was incredibly strong—it allowed that old Drakel to regain his prime in an instant.

So it wasn’t entirely impossible that during the healing process, things like moles or blemishes on my body disappeared along with the injuries.

Maybe even if Drakel’s finger got cut off somehow, he could recover it?

Thinking about it made me realize just how amazing the help I received from the Tesseract truly was.

‘But when is this guy ever going to wake up….’

How long do I have to wait?

I want to thank you, so hurry up and wake up already.

I lifted the Tesseract up to eye level and poked it with my finger to check for any reaction.

But like it was in a deep sleep, the Tesseract didn’t budge no matter how much I teased it.

…Guess there’s nothing I can do. Until it wakes up, I’ll just have to patiently carry it around.

After hanging the Tesseract back around my neck, I squeezed out some shampoo and started creating bubbles in my hair.

‘Telekinesis sure comes in handy at times like this. No need to bother moving my arms around.’

Bubbling away.

With the help of telekinesis, I quickly became covered in foam.

Then, leisurely rinsing off the bubbles under the running water, I repeated a similar process with body wash using a shower puff.

Finally, after reincarnating into this world, I was in the freshest state I’d ever been in. I carefully dried my soft, moist skin with a fluffy towel.

Perhaps sensing that I was done, Alice’s voice called out from behind the door.

“Yuria! I left some clothes outside the door, so you can put those on!”

She left clothes? Cautiously peeking through the door, I saw a neatly folded pile of clothes placed there.

What could this be?

I brought the pile of clothes inside and unfolded it.

The absurd sight of it immediately rendered me speechless.

‘Cat pajamas?’

That’s right. The pristine pile of clothes turned out to be none other than pure white cat pajamas.

Designed to keep me warm even in this cold winter, they were fluffy with fur.

And where the hands would go, there were big adorable cat paws that made me want to die from cuteness.

‘She said not to worry about changing clothes… could she have gone out while I was washing and bought these?’

Stunned by this result that surpassed all imagination, I blinked blankly when something hidden among the pajamas plopped onto the floor.

What’s this now?

I bent down to pick up the little piece of cloth.

And following the cat pajamas, I froze solid for the second time in that spot.

A texture reminiscent of a microfiber handkerchief, something I had only recently gotten used to.

As much as I hoped otherwise, it was unmistakably panties.

‘Ugh, I did need them… but why is there a bear printed in the middle?!’

I usually preferred stiff, plain underwear designs.

It’s not like I’m showing them off to anyone, so why wear something cute and pretty?

But this design went against everything I believed in.

They were silky smooth, and smack in the middle was a huge, adorable bear print.

Seriously, is this really for me, Yuria?

Feeling heat rush to my face uncontrollably, I squeezed my eyes shut tightly.

But I had no choice.

To wear or not to wear—if I had to choose between the two, obviously I had to wear them.

Since the maid outfit I wear to work is a skirt, I couldn’t exactly walk around without panties.

‘This humiliation, I will never forget….’

I clenched the bear-patterned panties tightly in one hand.

To humiliate me like this… I’ll definitely get back at her someday.

Such petty revenge fantasies began to sprout wildly in my heart.

*

“Oh my, so cute! It suits you so well, Yuria. I’m glad I chose the cat theme!”

“….”

When I emerged from the shower wearing cat pajamas and a fox mask, Alice popped out of the room with sparkling eyes, clearly waiting for me.

Hmph, how can she say it’s cute when she can’t even see my face.

Ignoring her excitement, I crossed my arms and sulked.

Making me look like a fool in cat pajamas and bear-patterned panties.

Her compliments now meant nothing to me. I’ll make her regret humiliating me!

“I’ll wash up quickly. In the meantime, feel free to eat the snacks!”

“…!”

Hmm, maybe I’ll let it slide this time?

Not wanting to betray Alice’s sincerity, I scurried over to the box of snacks she pointed to and grabbed whatever caught my hand.

First to pop out was butter-flavored cookies.

Classic, reliable cookies that never disappoint.

I was confident I could eat them all day without getting tired of them.

And it didn’t stop there.

Underneath the butter cookies lay a treasure trove of snacks perfectly suited to my taste.

To blatantly cater to my preferences like this!

Clearly targeting my tastes, resistance timidly peeked its head out.

But how could I resist this temptation?

Feeling sluggish after my shower, I pulled the snack box close and munched on the treats as my hand randomly picked them up.

“I’m done, Yuria.”

“…!”

How much time had passed? Coming to my senses, I noticed Alice approaching after finishing her shower and changing into her pajamas.

And the moment I saw her, I whipped my head away, desperately trying to hold back laughter.

Why? Because she was wearing adorable pink pig pajamas that matched my cat ones.

A cute little pig tail sticking out at the back!

Each time the tail wagged, the tiny bit of anger I felt melted away.

“Alright, that’s enough snacks. It’s late, so let’s brush our teeth and get ready for bed?”

“….”

“No toothbrush? Don’t worry, I bought one when I went out to get the clothes!”

She’s always so prepared.

I obediently accepted the toothbrush she handed me and brushed my teeth quietly.

After thoroughly cleaning my teeth, it was already past midnight.

It made sense that it was so late.

I arrived at the messed-up base around late evening, probably after 8 PM.

Walking through the night streets with Alice, relaxing in the shower, eating snacks—it all added up.

The day turning into night felt almost inevitable.

“Yuria, you sleep in my bed. I’ll take the couch.”

“….”

“You want to sleep on the couch? No way. You’re sleeping in the bed. How can I let a guest sleep on the couch?”

“….”

Despite the late hour, we dove straight into a heated debate.

Our opinions clashed over who should sleep in the single bed.

From my perspective, there was no room for argument.

Isn’t it obvious the homeowner should sleep in the bed? What nonsense is this.

But for Alice, the idea of her sleeping in the bed while I took the couch seemed utterly unacceptable.

For a while, she wrestled with me over who should sleep in the bed….

“Fine, fine. I’ll sleep in the bed. Is that okay now?”

“…!”

In the end, unable to break my stubbornness, she declared she would sleep in the bed.

Heh heh, I won.

Yes. Since it’s her house, it’s only right that Alice sleeps in the bed.

How could a guest possibly—eh?

Just as I was basking in the afterglow of victory, I could only stare in shock as Alice suddenly embraced me.

“…?!”

“Hehehe. But, Yuria, you’re sleeping in the bed with me. That way, no complaints, right?”

“….”

Wait, does it work like that?

Completely flustered, I moved my eyes around before finally relaxing and letting Alice lead me along.

I felt a bit guilty taking the bed and banishing her to the couch.

Sharing the bed made it unclear who was losing and who was winning. Maybe… both of us win?

Ah, right. If we’re sleeping, I should probably do that soon.

As I leaned into Alice, a thought suddenly struck me, and I lightly tapped her shoulder.

Alice gazed at me with pitiful eyes, as if asking if I disliked sleeping together.

Shaking my head lightly to indicate that wasn’t it, I requested to be set down on the floor for a moment.

“….”

Once on the floor, I…

Carefully removed my mask.

Sleeping with the mask on felt unbearably uncomfortable, and honestly, there was no reason to hide my face from Alice anymore.

Huh? Then why was I hiding and covering up with the mask until now?

Well… there was no particular reason to reveal my face either?

“…Eh.”

Alice, seeing my face for the first time, stood frozen in place, blinking.

It was the reaction of someone confronted with something unimaginable.

Tick-tock tick-tock.

In the quiet silence, the ticking of the clock hands echoed loudly.

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