#349
Temperature Preservation Measure
Tap, tap.
The sound of wood crackling in the fireplace fills my ears.
[Hey, partner. I’ll be on my way now. Have fun with the ladies. Hahahaha.]
The Black Prince’s voice echoes in my head.
With it, his presence fades away.
It seems he’s sealed himself inside Durandal again.
What a headache.
Just as I was thinking that.
Someone’s voice reaches my ears.
“·····Uuhhh······.”
A rosy red face.
Against her usual middle schooler aesthetic, there stands a beautiful girl in cute pink underwear adorned with teddy bears, awkwardly stammering with a shy voice.
It was Beatrice, the saintess.
She was wrapped in a green blanket, trembling as she stared at me.
Between Evangelin’s words and the official three-size settings, I hadn’t really noticed, but seeing her up close, she’s surprisingly well-endowed.
“Y-you leering at my nude body like that······. D-disrespectful! Human!”
Just as Beatrice’s body shudders.
“Hey!”
With a short voice, someone suddenly slammed into me from off-screen.
Whoosh.
The blanket fluttered.
Thump.
As I fell to the ground, I was piled on top of by whoever had jumped me.
A truly fortunate, light novel-style lucky encounter.
“Ha wa wa wa wa······.”
A familiar, lively voice chirped in my ear.
Thud.
I feel a soft sensation against my chest.
I lift my head.
The identity of the girl who is hugging me as she straddles me is revealed.
With her abundant pink twin tails and the daringly sexy black underwear, her ample chest presses against me, squished together.
“Evangelin?”
A British princess.
It was Evangelin Stewart.
When she called my name, Evangelin flinched.
Her face turns as pink as her hair.
Wriggle.
She wiggles her fingers while perched atop me, speaking.
“Ha wa wa wa. Mr. Kim Deok-Sung. Th-this is······. An embrace to preserve body heat in extreme situations······.”
And without letting go of me, Evangelin holds tight.
With her eyes closed, she hugs me.
An embrace for temperature preservation, huh?
I remember hearing that during summer vacation on a deserted island.
I’ve heard that before, even on a deserted island.
At that time, I was actually sick, but now, with no such excuse, why on earth is this happening?
Tap, tap.
I can hear the sound of firewood crackling in my ear.
Warmth spreads through the cold mountain lodge.
I can feel the warmth coming from Evangelin, who is holding me tightly.
With both the fireplace and her body heat, I feel slightly warmer.
Taking off my wet clothes gives me a refreshing sensation.
Honestly, it’s not bad, but isn’t this a bit embarrassing?
“Hoho. Mr. Kim Deok-Sung. For a girl to be in your arms… it feels like a dream… Hawa-wawawa…”
Evangelin pulls me in even tighter with a languid voice.
She shyly lowers her head, perhaps too embarrassed to show her flushed face.
Seeing her like this, she does seem a bit cute.
At that moment, when her chest was pressed against me…
“Y-Young Miss Stuart! What kind of scandalous and inappropriate conduct is this?! I cannot allow it!”
Thud.
I hear Aris’s voice from the side.
Aris’s underwear is a plain white design matching her hair color.
“President Saionji? Hoho. This isn’t scandalous behavior. The girl is just sharing body heat with Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
With a seductive look in her eyes, Evangelin says as she holds me tight.
What a cheeky act.
Evangelin tickles my chest with her finger.
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung’s embrace and body heat is so warm. Hoho. If President Saionji wishes, why not share body heat together?”
Was she always this kind of character?
Maybe because she had so little importance or popularity in the original work, it feels a bit unfamiliar.
“Uuuhhh…”
Aris’s face turns bright red at Evangelin’s words.
She murmurs, then looks at me and shouts.
“Very well! Then I will also take measures to preserve body heat with Mr. Kim Deok-Sung!”
Aris closes her eyes tightly.
She throws herself at me.
“Wha?!”
Suddenly, Aris wedges herself between me and Evangelin, letting out a strange scream.
The warmth of their bodies is conveyed through the thin blanket.
“…Mr. Kim Deok-Sung. This is simply an unavoidable emergency measure for preserving body heat. Please don’t mistake me for being scandalous. I aspire to be a refined and virtuous lady.”
Aris mumbles as she clings to my left side, her face still flushed.
Squelch.
The feeling of her ample chest conveys to my arm.
Amidst all this, talking about Yamato Nadeshiko?
Isn’t that just a textbook choice of words for the earnest Aris?
“Hawa-wawawa. Hoho. This place belongs to the girl.”
On my right, there was Evangelin.
Here I was, caught between two beautiful girls clad in nothing but a blanket over their lingerie.
Truly, this was a situation where there was no way out.
“Uuuhhh, contractor… it’s so cold…”
At that moment, I heard Beatrice’s voice, previously ignored, whispering in my ear.
She, draped in a blanket like a robe, shivered as she clacked her teeth together.
“Lur. It seems like it’s pretty cold when I’m all alone.”
“Hawawa. Trixie is coming this way too, you know? Hehe. When it’s cold, we endure by sharing our body heat, right?”
Evangeline says with a sultry smile while looking at Beatrice.
Is she really a British princess?
At Evangeline’s words, Beatrice’s face instantly turns bright red.
“Th-That… the Saintess of Crimson Lotus cannot share body heat with a mere human like you…”
“Hehe. Trixie, to replenish your dark energy, this is the only way, you know?”
Evangeline cuts in on Beatrice’s words.
Beatrice bites her lip at Evangeline mentioning her cringe-worthy setup.
“Fidget.”
She touches the edge of the blanket and says,
Honestly, no matter how cold it is, would you really fall for that?
“Hmph. If that’s the case, I have no choice… human. For this one time, I grant you the honor of replenishing the dark energy of the Saintess of Crimson Lotus.”
But this is a light novel world where common sense doesn’t apply.
Beatrice flutters the blanket and nestles against me.
So now, I’m surrounded on three sides by Beatrice, Evangeline, and Aris.
Still, it’s embarrassing to look at, but it’s not a bad choice for body heat preservation as Evangeline said.
In fact, even though it’s not as warm as a hot pack, it’s quite warm being so close to each other like this.
The problem is…
“Hehe. Mr. Kim Deok-Sung, do you like the warmth of the girl’s body?”
Sssrr.
Evangeline smiles seductively while softly pressing her chest against my arm.
“…It seems this method is indeed more efficient. We can’t let go now.”
Aris, blushing and speaking shyly.
“…”
And then there’s Beatrice, who sticks to me without a word.
Thanks to being sandwiched between these three beautiful girls, my young body is reacting way too sensitively.
The scent of their bodies brushes my nose.
My face heats up slightly.
So embarrassing.
This isn’t the time for such things.
It feels like this cursed light novel world doesn’t play by the rules.
Whoosh.
The sound of the winter wind pounding on the window is still audible.
But why is there a photo of me in this lodge, but no hot packs or emergency generators?
If I had something like that, I wouldn’t be squeezed in like this.
Feels strangely suspicious.
Could it be that someone intentionally removed such supplies to create this embarrassing situation?
Just as my rational suspicion kicked in.
“…Hehe. I think our bodies and the lodge are warmed up enough now.”
Evangeline whispers in my ear with a flushed face beside me.
Evangeline is right.
Our body temperatures are high enough, and thanks to the fireplace, the lodge feels like it’s gone from below zero to above.
If we’re warmed up enough, can’t we just separate now?
The moment I thought that.
“So from now on, we need to take a warm bath. Preventing colds is important, you know!”
“Here it comes. Preventing a cold is important!”
A warm bath with hot water.
That’s definitely the right approach.
But where are we going to get warm water?
“There’s a large pot for boiling water in the external storage. Just bring that inside, fill it with clean snow, boil it, and pour it into the big bathtub in the bathroom, okay?”
Evangeline whispers a method of making boiling water that sounds like something out of another world.
A big bathtub?
Why is there a fancy item like that in this damn lodge when there aren’t even cheap hot packs lying around the barracks?
“Yeah. Not bad. That idea.”
Putting aside those doubts, taking a hot bath isn’t a bad idea at all.
As Evangeline said, if we wash up well, we can prevent colds.
Thinking about the battles ahead with enemies, it’s crucial that not one of us catches a cold and weakens our strength.
“Hoho. Mr. Kim Deok-Sung, thank you for praising the girl’s idea! Then let me take charge! For the hot bath!”
Tap, tap.
Evangeline stands up wrapped in a blanket.
Drip, drip.
Maybe it’s because she’s by the fireplace, but she dons her somewhat dry ski jacket and outerwear.
She opens the lodge door.
Swoosh.
A cold winter wind rushes into the lodge.
“Eeeek! It’s freezing!”
“Ugh, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung…”
As the cold wind blows in, Beatrice and Aris cling to my side.
Thud.
The door closes, and shortly after, Evangeline opens it again.
Struggling, she brings several large commercial pots filled with white snow into the lodge.
“Whooaaahh! It’s really cold outside!”
As Evangeline says this, she lights a solid fuel and places the large pot over the flame.
Bubble, bubble.
The snow melts into water and starts boiling.
After making a ton of boiling water, Evangeline takes it to the bathroom and pours it into the tub.
Splashhh.
Steam rises through the bathroom entrance.
Just seeing the hot water warms my heart.
Who would have thought I could take a hot bath in the midst of a winter emergency?
I never imagined that.
Just then, Evangeline returns, tossing all her clothes aside and approaching us in just her underwear, hugging us tightly and saying:
“Hoho. The hot bath is ready. Now we can all go in together!”
Evangeline announces that the bath is ready.
But wait, what?
“Go in together?”
Together as in—
That can’t mean what I think it does, right?
At my question, Evangeline smiles seductively.
She whispers sweetly into my ear.
“Yes. Mr. Kim Deok-Sung, Miss Trixie, and President Saionji, and the girl too! All four of us will go in together! It’s a shortage of hot water to bathe in pairs, so it’s unavoidable! Hoho.”
Is that really unavoidable?
