kscans

Chapter 93 - A Ban on Physical Contact

After washing and hanging our wet clothes, I took the opportunity to rinse the sweat from my body at the spring. This mana-infused water seemed to wash away not just the dirt from my body, but the weariness from my soul. I could not help but let out a deep sigh.

"...This is like being brought back to life."

A smile came to my lips naturally. I recalled the sight of Mireille just moments ago. She had been so desperate, so clearly wanting me. The thought alone warmed my chest. Perhaps she was becoming dependent on me. But there was no way that could feel bad.

Fuyo fuyo. The Light Fairies drifted over again. At this point, they had lost all sense of rarity.

"Sorry to make you worry. We made up safely." I suppose they were my confidants, in a way. But they gave no reply, merely floating there. It seemed that from the Light Fairies’ perspective, I was now considered "safety confirmed."

I returned to the tower and borrowed Mireille’s all-purpose dagger to dry my clothes. I made it blow a slightly stronger gust of wind from its tip, sending the water droplets flying with a sharp flap. Once you get used to this thing, it’s basically a household appliance. Darius’s sword was practically a blowtorch.

"Well, it’ll dry soon enough."

Until then, I had no choice but to be in a single pair of underlinens. Our time was short, but I wanted Mireille to rest. So I decided to speak up.

"Hey. I think even I could handle sprinkling the powder on the furs and adding the water. I can’t do the final mana stabilization, though."

"...Oh, are you sure? That part doesn’t take any mana at all, so that would be a huge help." She seemed surprised, blinking her eyes as she replied.

Alright, then.

"You need to rest, too. If you work hard for an hour... maybe we could, you know, have some physical contact for about thirty minutes..."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized. This was going to be a complete test of my own endurance.

Mireille pressed her lips together, looking troubled, and then...

"W, well, about that..."

"Hm?"

"...Y, you can’t until your clothes are dry!" she shouted, her face bright red.

...What?

As I mentioned, I was shirtless, wearing only a single pair of undergarments. I thought I was showing off a rather well-trained body, but...

"What do you mean I can’t?" I asked, trying to close the distance with a smirk.

"N, no! Absolutely not! No physical contact until your clothes are dry!"

Mireille pushed against my chest with both hands and scrambled back with a little yelp. Seeing the tears in her eyes, I froze.

(...Wait, is she seriously repulsed by this?)

Come to think of it, this was the first time I had shown her my bare torso. Could it be... she was the type who gets more excited when I’m clothed!?

"Hey... just to be sure. Do you prefer it when we’re intimate with our clothes on?"

I wasn't sure how to ask, but I had heard there were people with such preferences.

Mireille averted her gaze and answered in a trembling voice.

"It’s not really a preference... It’s just, when I see you without a shirt... I’m reminded that you’re a man... and it’s scary."

"..."

It felt like I had been struck over the head. That’s right. She was still only eighteen.

The Knight Order was full of shirtless men, and the noblewomen who pursued me were always trying to get my clothes off. But that wasn't normal.

The sense of closeness we had built suddenly crumbled, and a strange feeling of guilt washed over me. I really had been trying to make a move on a very young woman, hadn’t I.

I hurriedly turned my back to her and focused on the task of sprinkling powder on the furs.

"...I won’t touch you. Don’t worry. I’ll act in a way that doesn’t frighten you."

I continued my work, as if trying to convince myself.

Will I really be able to stand beside her as her "lover" when this is all over? My anxieties were endless.

Meanwhile, Mireille was in a state of intense turmoil as well.

Leonhard’s toned body. The scars he must have gotten in battle. All of it, combined with his wet hair and bare torso... was far too alluring.

(Wh, why... why are you so seductive when you’re a man!!)

I instinctively turned my face away, but his words from earlier echoed in my ears.

"If you do alchemy for an hour, we’ll have physical contact for thirty minutes."

The breaks... were Leonhard’s idea. But I was the one who first asked for "physical contact as a break." He was properly trying to grant my wish.

I know that. I know, and yet...

(I, I can’t...!!)

In the corner of my eye, I could see a droplet of water drip from his wet hair. It traced a path down his toned chest... and glistened.

Leonhard-san, why do you have more sex appeal than any woman!

(You’re so dazzling, I have absolutely no resistance!)

I screamed desperately inside my head.

(At least... at least let your hair dry. Please lock all that allure away inside your clothes first...!)

There was nothing I could do about the frantic bakubaku pounding of my heart.