One Bed
I had gone through the trouble of securing a room, only to find there was just one bed. Honestly, sharing a room alone with a man was already enough to make me nervous. But of all things, there was only one bed instead of two. From Luden's perspective, it was impossible not to feel awkward.
How should I handle this? As that thought crossed her mind, Baran turned to her with a question.
“Miss Luden? Is something wrong?”
“Ah, um… It’s just that there’s only one bed.”
“I see. In that case, I’ll sleep on the floor.”
At his words, Luden jumped in surprise. She quickly shook her head.
“No. Let’s just share the bed. It’s not that small, fortunately.”
“Hmm. But are you sure it won’t bother you, Miss Luden?”
“B-bother me?! It doesn’t bother me at all!”
Her face flushed bright red as she waved her arms wildly. Baran felt a flicker of doubt at her reaction, but he simply nodded.
“Understood. Then, who should shower first?”
“You go first. You’re more soaked than I am.”
“Very well. I’ll head in first, then.”
With that, Baran placed his outer coat and the items from his pockets on the desk before stepping into the shower stall behind the curtain.
Luden sat down on the chair in the room and let out a small sigh.
“Haa.”
She had never imagined she would end up alone in a room with a man. And not just any man—the one who had been occupying her thoughts more and more lately!
Ugh. What is this situation even?
How was she supposed to process this? The sound of him showering from behind the curtain only made things more embarrassing. As time passed, her face grew hotter and hotter.
Then, at that moment—
-Swish.
The shower curtain suddenly slid open on its own.
At the same time—
“?!”
Luden’s eyes widened at the sight before her. A muscular physique completely different from her own. And that particularly prominent part of him. She had heard stories, but this was her first time actually seeing a man’s… that.
W-was it always that big?
It was so enormous that just looking at it felt overwhelming. Her gaze kept drifting back to it, so she quickly shook her head.
T-this isn’t right!
From the looks of it, he clearly hadn’t noticed the curtain had opened. It seemed he couldn’t see the situation from inside. Or perhaps it was because he was blind in the first place.
Just as she was about to close the curtain again—
Hmm?
She spotted a strange pill on the desk.
What is this?
Come to think of it, Baran had left his belongings there earlier. She hadn’t paid much attention because her mind had been elsewhere, but it looked like medicine.
Just a moment.
A lightning bolt of realization struck her mind. At the same time, her face turned deathly pale.
He coughed up blood earlier, didn’t he?
Baran had definitely said it was because Ppiyak-i had caused him to expend too much mana. But no matter how much mana one used, was it really possible to cough up blood like that?
She had pushed her own mana to its limits before. Yet what she had felt wasn’t exhaustion that made her vomit blood—it was the opposite. She had felt even stronger.
So it wasn’t because of the phoenix after all.
Baran had forced a smile and acted like everything was fine. She didn’t know why he was pretending, but one thing was certain—he was probably sick with something. Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to take medicine.
What kind of illness is it?
Judging by the fact that he was taking pills like this, it must have been something he had suffered from for a long time. Luden examined the medicine for a moment.
Hmm.
She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the pill, when—
“I’m done showering.”
He appeared wearing a white bathrobe, having finished faster than expected. Even in the oversized robe, his collarbones were clearly visible. Feeling embarrassed for no reason, Luden turned her head with cheeks burning red.
But at that moment—
“Miss Luden?”
Baran approached her with a serious expression. His sudden action caused a look of panic to spread across her face.
W-what?
His face was getting closer and closer. What was this? Why was he coming so close? Luden tried to back away, but—
-Thud!
She was already pressed against the wall behind her. The next instant, Baran reached out his hand. Luden squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
At the same time—
“Hmm?”
He simply took the medicine from her hand. Then, in a deliberately scolding tone, he said,
“Miss Luden, you shouldn’t touch other people’s belongings without permission like that.”
“Ah.”
She had thought he might be about to pounce on her, but apparently not. With an awkward expression, she quickly apologized.
“S-sorry.”
“Yes, it can happen.”
“B-but…”
“?”
“You’re too close.”
“Ah, my apologies.”
Only then did he seem to realize how close he was and took a step back. Soon after, Luden asked,
“More importantly, what is that medicine?”
“This?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah, it’s just a supplement that helps keep the body healthy.”
A supplement for health? If he really was ill, it wasn’t exactly a lie. Especially if that medicine was meant to suppress his condition.
He’s probably wording it that way on purpose.
As she was thinking that—
“Now it’s your turn to shower, Miss Luden.”
Baran pointed toward the shower stall with a kind smile. Luden quietly shifted her gaze there. At some point, the curtain had been drawn again. It seemed the stall had some kind of mechanism that opened the curtain automatically when someone was showering.
Ugh. It should be fine.
After all, Baran was blind. Whether the curtain opened or not, there was no way he could see anything.
Still… it feels a little weird!
But she really wanted to wash off this sticky blood as soon as possible. She nodded and stepped into the shower stall. Completely unaware that Baran wasn’t actually blind.
I suddenly got sensitive because Luden touched my elixir without warning.
She wasn’t trying to eat my elixir, was she?
The thought crossed my mind for a second, but there was no way Luden would do something like stealing. Besides, she wouldn’t even know what this elixir was.
I only took it out to organize my subspace pouch so I wouldn’t forget it. Maybe I shouldn’t have.
As I was thinking that—
-M-Master.
Miroel covered her eyes with her hands and spoke in an embarrassed voice.
Huh? Amazing? What on earth was she talking about? And more importantly, why was her face so red?
When I tilted my head in confusion—
-Swish!
Suddenly, I heard the sound of something being pulled aside near my ear. I shifted my gaze. The next moment, I was inwardly horrified by the sight before me.
What the—?!
The moment Luden started showering, the curtain had opened again.
Shit. So that’s why both Luden and Miroel were blushing.
I finally understood why their faces had turned so red. I quickly looked away, pretending I couldn’t see anything. But I was still a man. Realistically speaking, how could my eyes not be drawn to it? Especially when I had a 5-star Mind’s Eye trait!
So that’s why Luden touched my medicine. Everything makes sense now.
She must have seen me when I was showering too, since the curtain had probably opened then as well. That’s why she had deliberately looked elsewhere to avoid the awkwardness—and it just happened to be where my elixir was.
Now that I think about it… this is seriously humiliating.
The fact that a classmate had seen me showering gave me a massive wave of embarrassment. The problem was that I was currently watching a classmate shower as well.
Yeah. This can’t be helped.
With that self-justification, I quietly admired Luden’s naked body. A little while later—
“Huu.”
Luden emerged from the shower, drying her golden hair with a towel. Her beauty was enough to make anyone lose their mind just by looking at her. Even though she was wearing a bathrobe, the fabric clung slightly to her skin because of the moisture, making it somewhat see-through. And that wasn’t all.
I hadn’t noticed because of her uniform before.
With only the thin robe on, her large breasts were clearly visible.
As expected of the protagonist. The design is top-notch.
I suspected the author had a hand in that as well.
“What are you thinking about?”
At that moment, Luden came right up to me and tilted her head. I shook my head vigorously, pretending I couldn’t see anything.
“It’s nothing.”
“Hmm.”
As she said that, her gaze drifted down to that part of me. It seemed she had also stared at it while I was showering.
Good thing I have the Calmness trait. Otherwise, this could have been a disaster.
No matter how much younger she was, her appearance was beautiful enough to captivate any man. Having her stand there in nothing but a thin robe—how could I not have any thoughts? Especially after having seen her showering as well.
If I hadn’t maintained my composure and patience…
It definitely would have stood tall. I let out a quiet sigh of relief in my mind.
Then—
“Baran. Let’s sleep soon so we can wake up early tomorrow.”
“Ah, yes.”
Luden naturally pointed to the side of the bed. I nodded and lay down beside her. The next moment, a faint, pleasant scent tickled my nose. It must have been the shampoo from the shower stall.
Am I the only one feeling like this?
Worried that I was the only one conscious of it, I turned my head. That’s when I noticed her ears were bright red. It seemed she was quite aware of the situation too.
-Master.
At that moment, Miroel called out to me in a serious voice. When I looked at her, she spoke with a grave tone.
-Master, it looks like you could hang a towel on that thing of yours.
Just as I was feeling utterly dumbfounded by her words—
Hidden Quest Complete - Show Your Naked Body to the Protagonist!
📍 Description: The player has shown their naked body to the protagonist. Experience points will be awarded as a reward!
🎁 Reward: Level Up
As if finding the current moment amusing, the system delivered the reward message. Wait, leveling up from something like this? This was the first time I didn’t feel happy receiving a reward message.
***
At the same time.
In a certain cathedral, a nun was quietly praying with her eyes closed. She was the one known as the Saintess—the daughter of the Sun God, the chief deity.
The Saintess kept her eyes gently closed, listening to the voice of the Sun God.
Soon, an existence that defies fate will arrive. When that person comes, be sure to treat them with proper respect.
With those words, the Holy Federation episode officially began.