Resolution
"…… So, right now, Therese has a cold, so she's resting in the room right now."
"Really?"
Recently, the girl named Therese, who became her roommate, was sweating while lying to the caretaker.
"Me, I have to go somewhere for a night, can you fake it a bit?"
"Of course! Just trust us~!"
Her name was Karen, a completely ordinary girl.
But she only had the hobby of dressing up pretty girls.
The moment Karen saw Therese, who was cute and pretty and gave a plain smile, she felt something.
This outfit was for her, and she was friends with the Saintess too!
The reason she was free tonight was definitely because of something with the Saintess.
What romantic business was this. She trembled.
What was Therese doing now?
Karen was full of thoughts about talking about it.
"Here?"
"Yeah. Here."
I was walking the corridor of the Special Dormitory with Elly.
Originally, the Special Dorm was a place for students rather than high nobles, professors, or distinguished guests.
Of course, there was no patrol.
There were guards, but when they saw Elly, they let us pass.
The power of the Saintess was amazing.
It seemed like she had asked Karen for help for nothing.
After following Elly's back for about 10 minutes, we arrived at the room soon.
The room number was simply written as 801.
And next to it was a nameplate with "Elijah" written in English, and next to that "Sey... Seysel?"
"Eh?"
The third heroine from the novel.
In this novel, Seysel Grace, a rare elemental ranged magic user character.
Elly shared a room with her.
It definitely wasn't in the original work.
No, was it?
I couldn't remember the early parts well.
It might not be, or it might be.
I recalled the conflicting memories and asked Elly for confirmation.
"Hey, Elly, your roommate is..."
"Ah, Seysel said she has something to do today. So right now, it's just the two of us."
It really was Seysel.
"Just the two of us..."
In the past, Elly and I slept alone.
Even though it was 3 years ago, it felt like a distant memory.
Living in a dilapidated wooden house, sleeping, eating, talking together.
Sometimes it felt like there was only the two of us in this world.
But now, we had become students of the academy.
I opened the door.
"Wow."
A spacious room. Lavish yet restrained interior.
A window showing the entire outside view.
Two large beds. Next to it, shower room, changing room.
Not only in this world, but even with the aesthetic sense of the original world, it was an excellent room.
The monthly rent must be hundreds of millions of won.
"El, Elly. You live in a place like this?"
"Yeah."
I grabbed Elly's shoulder.
Elly looked startled, as if I was surprised.
Of course, I didn't know it would be this good. A day's mansion was nice, but the view from the 8th floor was better than the Han River view.
Beyond the window, terraces, buildings with harmonious curved and straight lines, and subtle fireworks decorating the street.
It was unbelievable. My dream was to drink coffee while looking at the outside view from a place like this.
"Ah~. I'm jealous of Elly. Jealous. So jealous~! Elly~!"
I knocked Elly over to the bed and hugged her at the same time.
"T-Therese?!"
Elly froze as I hugged her.
"Ugh. Hah. Haa."
The embrace of Elly after a long time.
As always, warm and good.
In the past, we were glued together, but at some point, Elly started to reduce skinship.
Elly wiggled her feet for a moment, then stopped and placed her hand on my head.
Then slowly stroked my hair.
Lift.
Sweep down.
Again, slowly sweep down.
Then, she picked up a strand of hair and rubbed it as if checking the texture.
"My hair texture, do you like it?"
"Yeah. Really like it."
"Is that so.... I touch it roughly, but Elly's is much better, isn't it?"
I have long blonde hair, while Elly has wavy platinum blonde.
If it's about shine, Elly's is more like being touched is precious.
"Well, it's fine."
In the past, Elly clung to me, and I was burdened, but now it's the opposite.
Elly is shy, and I have become bold.
When hugging someone, is it enough just to hug? Feeling the warm embrace, closing eyes, it's comforting.
Hugging was said to be the best medicine for loneliness.
It felt like my tired heart was healing.
I pulled away from Elly's body and said.
"Now, shall we bathe and sleep?"
"So, Elly, let's bathe together."
"Yeah.... Yeah?!"
"... Why?"
Up until now, I had bathed with one or other roommates to treat wounds.
Probably because it's hard to manage my whole body alone.
Since I have been with Elly since childhood, the fact that we bathe together after a long time felt good.
I had received clothes to change into from Karen. I entered the bath first.
"Wow~."
It's a bath on the outdoor terrace, the second exclamation of luxury.
"Ah..."
My body melts.
I soaked in the hot bath and sprawled.
No matter how much I suffered before, soaking in the bath water once would melt all fatigue.
"I didn't know Elly could use magic like this."
Before entering the bath, I received healing magic from Elly, which alleviates pain, relaxes muscles, and improves body condition.
I was comfortable soaking in the bath with the blessing-like magic.
Elly was also looking at me while soaking her face.
"... Why are you so far away?"
I approached Elly with small movements like swimming.
Then, Elly made a "hot" sound and tried to distance herself from me.
"Where?"
I grabbed Elly's shoulder and stuck to her side.
Plop.
With the sound of water lightly splashing, the distance was enough for the wet hair to touch.
"It's girls, so what?"
"Hah, hee."
"What onomatopoeia is that. That."
Elly, startled, distanced again.
"Is she that unwilling to contact me?"
I felt a bit dejected.
But I think this face and body are not ugly, or is it that the girl me sticking to her is unwelcome?
"Sorry, was it burdensome?"
Of course, now Elly is not a child, but when I tried to pull away, Elly grabbed me.
"Ah, no!"
"Really?"
"This is just right."
The distance where shoulders don't touch, but hands can reach.
At that distance, Elly and I were warming our whole bodies in hot water.
"Is it that I don't dislike it?" Thinking that, Elly looked at me.
"Therese, do you usually stick to people when bathing?"
"To some extent...?"
Yesterday, I was glued to four people bathing.
Of course, the guilt of being a man in my previous life was there at first, but after 3 years of seeing my female body every day, I lost interest.
I thought Elly's body was really pretty.
But I didn't have any strange thoughts beyond that.
Therese and I are best friends.
If I had strange thoughts, Elly would be troubled.
"Elly, if it was the old days, you would have stuck completely."
"That, that's the old days."
That's right. I smiled a little.
Elly saw my side profile and smiled.
Elly is really pretty.
She was pretty when she was young, but now she's like a goddess.
"Elly, you did the baptism ceremony yesterday? The baptismal name..."
"Sera."
I had half-confirmed so far, but when it was confirmed that Elly is really Sera, it felt strange.
It felt like a dream inside. Actually, wasn't the content of the book I read fake?
Thinking that the story I'm writing now is not going towards a happy ending.
Elly quietly lowered her head, then said quietly but surely, like confessing a secret.
"... Actually, before receiving the baptism, I knew that the baptismal name would be Sera."
"What?"
"Just, telling you only, Therese. After awakening my abilities.... A bit, a strange feeling. Sometimes voices seem to come."
"... When did that start?"
"Just, a little from a few years ago."
I didn't know at all.
I looked at Elly's face with a bitter smile.
"So... a bit uneasy. But Therese, with that injured body, making me worry... and living glued to someone else besides me."
Even while saying that, Elly wasn't blaming me.
Just saying it.
Asking me to look at her a little more.
Elly turned her head and looked at me.
In Elly's face looking back, the smile was gone. I quietly looked at Elly's face.
No strange thoughts.
Her hair color is pretty. Her skin is smooth. Her breasts grew so big, when?
I don't know when, but being with Elly became comfortable. Although I can't return Elly's heart 100%.
I don't have good human qualities to that extent.
But one thing I could tell.
Elly's smiling face is pretty.
I want her to keep smiling.
So.
"Sorry.... Actually, I had something I was worried about."
"Really."
"I wanted to share a room with Elly. I needed high grades. So..."
Now, I'll lie for a bit.
If she knew what I was going to do, she couldn't live like this smiling.
The next day.
"So, what business brought you here so rudely?"
In front of my eyes, there was a woman holding a sword.
Pink hair. Pink eyes.
A royal sword with a mana stone embedded.
Princess Lapis.
A weirdo who entered the academy but hasn't attended classes even once.
If it's something impossible alone, if I can't call Elly, I could find another collaborator.
I swallowed and opened my heavy mouth.
"To convey a message to Her Highness the Princess."