I will do it.
I will do it.
"Follow me."
Arriving at the Saint's Palace, Elisia grabbed and pulled my wrist the moment she got off the carriage.
"Where to?"
"The bathroom."
"Please go by yourself."
Uttuk.
Elisia's footsteps stopped.
Strength surged into the slender fingers gripping my wrist.
It was a grip so strong that my joints creaked, but she didn't care in the slightest whether I was in pain or not.
She was merely displeased with my refusal.
"What did you just say?"
"I said go by yourself."
"Whose fault do you think it is that my hair ended up like this?"
At Elisia's words, I pointed to the silver comb held in my hand.
The silver hair that the child had pulled at the relief center had already been tidied up perfectly inside the carriage.
Now, every single strand was smooth like moonlight, without even a trace of entanglement remaining.
"I have already brushed it all for you."
"A smell has soaked into it."
"What smell do you mean?"
"Your smell."
Elisia furrowed her brows as if genuinely disgusted.
Just what kind of smell does she think is coming off me to act like that?
I immediately realized she was just being unreasonable.
To that, Elisia blurted out curtly.
"And don't get the wrong idea. Since you've already seen it, I'm simply using you until I kill you."
"You're still planning to kill me?"
"I think about it every single moment."
"How regrettable. I intend to live a long life."
"That is for me to decide."
Elisia's eyebrows arched sharply.
Feeling like she would hit me again if this continued, I laid down conditions first.
"No hitting me."
"I don't want to."
"No throwing things at me."
"I want to do that even less."
"No destroying the bathroom even if you have complaints."
"I don't want to."
"That all costs money."
"It's not my money."
"Then please wash yourself alone."
When I tried to pull my hand away, Elisia's fingers clenched even tighter.
Now I could feel my bones being crushed.
I gritted my molars and endured so that my face wouldn't distort in pain.
"Who said you could leave?"
"Saint-nim rejected the conditions."
"I never rejected them."
"You said you didn't want to."
"That just means I don't want to."
"That is what a refusal is."
"No it isn't."
You really can't get through to her.
Even a ten-year-old child would be less self-centered than this.
In the end, Elisia headed toward the bathroom while gripping my wrist.
.
.
.
The bathroom of the Saint's Palace was so spacious it could be called a small temple.
White steam rose between marble pillars, and the floor and walls were decorated with white stonework.
Furthermore, the tub to soak in was a space closer to a small hot spring rather than a bathtub.
It was even already filled with warm water.
Sure enough.
I have to heat the water every time I wash.
I really envy the Saint.
"What are you looking at?"
"I was looking at the bathtub."
"Liar."
What do you mean, liar?
It's the truth.
Regardless of whether I felt wronged or not, Elisia began taking off her Saint robes.
The silver-white hair that had been trapped beneath the veil was released all at once, spreading like dazzling waves and covering her back.
She tossed off her Saint robes as if completely oblivious to the fact that I was right in front of her.
Of course, since I was an ex-man until not too long ago, I was gratefully watching.
Just then, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Does this person not mind someone else seeing her naked?
No matter if she knows I'm of the same sex, and that's true.
"Saint-nim."
"What?"
"Are you really fine with me being here?"
Elisia tilted her head.
"Why should I care?"
"It is nothing."
Just what on earth does she take me for to tell me to assist with her bath so defenselessly?
What if I were an assassin who came to assassinate her?
Of course, an ordinary assassin wouldn't even be able to leave a scratch on Elisia's skin.
Elisia untied the last string and dropped the Saint robes to the floor.
White steam wrapped around her body like a thin veil.
Her fair, smooth back was cleanly straight, and her slender waist was so narrow it could easily be clasped by one's hands.
The line of her pelvis and long, slender legs extending below was overly perfect, lacking even a sense of reality.
It was like a statue sculpted by God Himself to show off the beauty of humanity.
However, marks that did not fit that beauty remained on that back.
The stigmas drawn centered around the nape of her neck, beneath her hair and across her back.
They were things that couldn't be seen in the game's illustrations.
"You're looking at the stigmas again."
Elisia turned her head.
As if knowing that I was looking at the stigmas, her blue eyes flashed with murderous intent.
"Shall I gouge your eyes out?"
"Those aren't the words of someone who brought me here herself to wash her."
Kwaang!
When Elisia swung her hand, the marble pillar next to me was deeply gouged.
With things like this, what assassin?
She's so defenseless only because she knows nobody can kill her.
"Don't talk back."
"We agreed not to destroy the bathroom."
"Fuck off."
Even while throwing a temper, she didn't break anything more and docilely stepped into the bathtub.
As Elisia slowly lowered her body, ripples swayed along her voluptuous body lines and spread to the edge of the tub.
Her silver-white hair spread wide across the water.
It was beautiful, as if moonlight had melted onto the white surface of the water.
"Hurry up and come over."
"What shall I do first?"
"My hair first."
I unbuttoned my sleeve buttons, rolled them up, and sat behind the bathtub.
Gathering the wet silver hair together and soaking it in water, the weight was considerable.
First, I took some fragrant oil and carefully rubbed her scalp, being careful not to touch the stigmas.
"...."
However, inevitably, it touched them a little.
Every time that happened, Elisia's slender shoulders flinched.
"Does it hurt?"
"No."
"Then why are you startled?"
"It's because your hands are cold."
"They are warm, though."
"If I say they're cold, they're cold."
She really does whatever she wants.
I gently massaged her scalp with the tips of my fingers so as not to touch the stigmas as much as possible.
Whether because my touch was good or not, tension gradually drained from Elisia's neck and shoulders, which had initially been stiffly rigid.
"Saint-nim."
"What?"
"Please tilt your head back a little."
"Don't order me around."
"If you don't tilt it back, water will get in your eyes."
"You can just make sure it doesn't get in."
"I'm telling you to tilt your head back for that exact reason."
Even while clicking her tongue in irritation, Elisia pulled her chin and tilted her head back.
I covered her forehead with my palm and slowly poured clean water to rinse it.
Although the stigmas hidden beneath her hair were briefly exposed before being covered again, I calmly moved my hands like someone who had seen nothing.
"Rhea."
"Yes."
"Did you see?"
"No."
"Liar."
"Since you told me not to look, I didn't look."
"So you did see."
"I did not see."
Why is she so quick-witted about stuff like this?
It seems I will likely need to know Elisia's past well in order to conquer her route.
Seeing how she is always arrogant and insolent yet full of wariness like a small animal in weird places, it's impossible not to notice.
"Do you think that's possible?"
Elisia turned her head and stared intently at me.
Her wet silver hair clung to her pale face and neck, drawing my gaze.
I tried my best to look only at her eyes as I answered.
"Because Saint-nim desired it."
She glared at me for a while.
Then she spat out curtly and looked forward again.
"Obnoxious. Don't pretend to be considerate when you obviously came here with an ulterior motive. It's disgusting."
"Thank you."
"I told you that wasn't a compliment, didn't I?"
"I will take it as a compliment."
Elisia, seemingly unwilling to endure any longer, scooped water into her hands and splashed it onto my face.
Sswaak!
Whether she had even used divine power on something this childish or not, my whole body was completely covered in water.
My precious uniform got all soaked.
I have to do the laundry for this too.
"Saint-nim."
"What?"
"We agreed not to throw things."
"I didn't throw anything. I poured it."
I swept back my wet bangs.
Water droplets falling from my black hair ran down my neck and flowed inside my aide uniform.
Elisia's gaze slowly descended from my face to my wet neck and chest area.
Then, she narrowed her eyes slyly and smiled.
"You look like a mess."
"Whose fault do you think this is?"
"Then should I dry you off?"
"No thank you."
"Why? Are you scared? Take it off. I'll wash you."
Just what scheme is she concocting?
It's not like I have anything to be ashamed of.
I had already checked the night of the possession to see if there were any issues with my body.
As a result, unless someone had played some tricks inside my body, I concluded there was nothing.
Even so, I tried to pick up a towel while remaining wary of Elisia's scheming.
However, Elisia snatched my wrist first.
She raised her body from inside the tub, drew close to me, and perched on the edge of the tub.
"Wash my back."
"Do it yourself."
"I don't want to."
"My hands will touch it."
"You've already been touching it the whole time, so what does it matter? If you're an aide, do what the Saint tells you to do."
She sure is demanding.
Still, without refusing, I dabbed fragrant oil onto a soft cloth and began wiping Elisia's back.
After all, slowly approaching like this to open someone's heart is the orthodox method in most route strategies.
Even if the method of slowly approaching is a bit extreme.
"How is it?"
"Shut up and just finish it."
Taking that as a yes, I slowly moved my hands from below the nape of her neck to her shoulders, and from her shoulders down along her back.
Every time my touch rubbed against her smooth skin, I could see Elisia's body tense up ever so slightly.
As if not wanting to show it, Elisia silently stared over the water.
A moment later, when I stopped my hands, only then did she react.
"Why did you stop?"
"It's all finished."
"There's still the right shoulder left."
"I just wiped it."
"You didn't do it properly."
"How do you know?"
"Because it's my body, so I know."
To that, I meekly wiped her right shoulder again.
"Further down too."
I lowered my hand a bit.
"Not there, the left."
This time, I moved to the left.
"Too hard."
At her saying it was too hard, I obediently eased up on the pressure.
"Now it's too weak."
Having kept playing along, I finally couldn't take it anymore and put down the cloth.
Anyone can see she's just running me in circles.
"Aren't you just wanting to annoy me with this?"
At my words, Elisia looked back.
Her red lips were slightly curled upward.
It was the expression of a mad dog satisfied after seeing me get annoyed.
"Did you just figure that out now?"
I pulled my hands away from the bathtub immediately.
I've done as much as I could.
Though I was acting calm, Elisia's physique was eating away at my sanity in real time.
"Then I will take my leave."
"Where are you going?"
Elisia grabbed my wrist.
Her wet fingers wrapped slickly around my skin.
"The bath is over."
"It's not over yet."
"What is left?"
"Drying."
"Please do it yourself."
"I don't want to."
Elisia pulled my wrist forcefully.
Losing my balance, my upper body tilted toward the bathtub.
Immediately, her other arm pressed against my chest to keep me from tumbling into the bathtub.
Elisia, who did this to me, was smiling as if something was so amusing.
"Saint-nim."
"What?"
"Let go."
"I don't want to."
"Are you planning to bathe me too?"
Her blue eyes looked up at me from a close distance.
As if sizing up my figure.
And then, she answered as if it wasn't a bad idea.
"That wouldn't be bad either."
"I will leave immediately."
"Try it."
Strength surged into Elisia's arm.
At that, using today's last Player's Authority, I unwrapped her grip on my wrist and stepped back from the bathtub.
And since I couldn't use the Authority anymore, I decided to cooperate quietly.
"Only up to drying."
Elisia clicked her tongue as if displeased.
Still, of all people, Elisia backed down a step.
"See, you could have just done that from the beginning."
Who do you think is going through all this trouble because of whom?
Do you know how hard drying is too?
Just washing and drying myself is hard enough.
While grumbling, after a moment I wrapped the body of Elisia, who came out of the bathtub, with a large towel.
And dividing her wet silver hair into several sections, I dried off the moisture.
Elisia kept her eyes closed while sitting on a chair, receiving the service I provided.
Amidst the warm steam, her pale face looked more relaxed than usual.
"Rhea."
"Yes."
"You do it next time too."
"Do you mean assisting with your bath?"
"Yes."
"I refuse."
Elisia's eyes snapped open.
Her gaze was telling me to say that again right now.
But I really don't want to do it.
This is more mentally and physically exhausting than I thought.
"What did you say?"
"Why must I do it?"
"Aren't you my aide?"
"Isn't it just that you find it annoying to do it yourself?"
"...."
"See? You can't even answer."
Instead of an answer, pure white divine power sparkled and rose from Elisia's fingertips.
I immediately stopped my hands from drying her wet silver hair and bowed my head.
"I will do it."
I have no Authority left now.
Save me.
"You should have listened from the start."
When I agreed, the divine power disappeared immediately.
At that, lamenting my lot in life, I began drying her silver hair again.
One more chore has been added to what I must do every day from now on.
This damn El-brat.