All Beastmen Are Like This
All Beastmen Are Like This
After Chloe and Yune soaked together in the now-lukewarm bath.
Yune had been splashing water at Chloe for a little while, playing around.
"You can play tricks on me too, Chloe."
"...Are you truly doing this on purpose?"
"Huh? Doing what?"
"Haaah... It's nothing."
"See, you really are too nice, Chloe. Anyway, let's get out now. I'm getting all pruny."
Yune, who'd grown bored of splashing water at Chloe while she just kept her head bowed, urged her to get out of the bath.
Chloe, who had been teetering at the edge of her patience, rose at once as if she'd been waiting for exactly that, heading out of the bath first.
Yune inwardly marveled at how she practically launched herself out in the blink of an eye.
'Come to think of it, Chloe is a cat beastkin, isn't she? Wait, was all this because she hated getting into the bath? Pfft. Chloe really is an animal, huh.'
Thinking something that would have tied Chloe's stomach in knots had she heard it, Yune followed her out of the bath.
He looked at his own dripping clothes, then at Chloe's, and soon approached her.
"Chloe, stand with your back against this tree for a second. Let's dry our clothes."
"Y-you're not thinking of taking your clothes off, are you? W-well, I am a woman, so it's fine for me. But no matter who you are, Young Master, doing that out here..."
"If I was going to do that, I would've taken them off before we got in. And besides, it's embarrassing to undress outside, isn't it? Back then with Charl, I mean, no, never mind."
"...?"
"Anyway. Just stand still."
Yune then activated two spells.
One was a spell that blasted hot wind to dry clothes. The other was a protection spell that raised the target's fire-element resistance.
After confirming the protection spell had settled over both himself and Chloe, Yune stretched his palm straight toward her.
-Whiiing.
"How is it? Not hot, right?"
"Yes. Though it's a bit cold..."
"That's because I haven't turned up the output yet. I'm going to raise the mana bit by bit now, so if it gets hot, tell me right away."
A wind laden with fire element blew from the center of Yune's outstretched arm.
The steadily heating wind eventually reached a temperature hot enough to cause burns, but thanks to the protection spell, the two of them were unharmed. Only the clothes they were wearing were drying under the scorching wind.
"See? Isn't it neat?"
"...Yes. It is neat."
"Right? Not everyone can pull this off, you know. Shooting out wind so hot you can see heat haze, and yet it's not hot at all. This is a technique only I can use, since I handle both the fire and ice elements at the same time. So? Am I impressive?"
"......Yes. You are impressive."
Perhaps because he rarely had the chance to show off his magic, Yune grinned as he bragged about his skill.
But Chloe, who usually would have indulged him with affectionate teasing, was answering only his direct questions, her replies curt and flat.
-Gulp.
'...What's with the audible swallow.'
She was even blushing and swallowing dryly.
And yet, her eyes were wide open, staring straight down at him. Worried, Yune spoke up.
"What's wrong? Is your throat dry?"
"No."
"Then maybe it's hot? I said tell me if it's hot. You don't have to hold back on my account, you know."
"...Are you truly doing this on purpose?"
"Huh...?"
At his words about not having to hold back on his account, Chloe's lips trembled as if she were barely suppressing something that was boiling over.
Yune, utterly clueless, furrowed his brow and tilted his head. Chloe, seeing that blank expression, let out a long sigh.
"Haa... Young Master, why have you unbuttoned your shirt?"
"My buttons? What about my buttons? It dries faster like this."
'Whew. Just the outline showing through the front of his shirt was already driving me insane. And now he's doing it openly... What do I even do about this kid? How can a man be this defenseless?'
"It is nothing. At any rate, the spell is not hot, so you do not need to worry."
"Your face is pretty red for someone who says that, Chloe..."
'It's because you! You're seducing me, that's why!! If you weren't just like a little brother to me, I swear I'd just—!!'
"...It is nothing."
* * * * * *
Chloe had acted strange for some reason while he dried their clothes, but either way, they were all dry now.
After confirming that even their underwear had gotten nice and dry, they gathered the treasure chest buried beneath the divine statue and headed back to their lodgings.
Back at the lodge, I immediately plopped down on the bed in my room.
"Phew~ Chloe, seriously. Thank you so, so much today! Want to pet my chin?"
I asked Chloe, who'd been through all sorts of trouble because of me today, if she wanted to pet my chin. But Chloe, who normally would've pounced with glee, shook her head and demurred, which was unlike her.
"I shall decline for today. I have already exhausted my entire supply of patience for the day."
"Well, yeah, you must be tired too. You can do it anytime you want later. You can even do it while I'm asleep."
"......You must not say such things, even in jest, Young Master."
"It wasn't a jest... Okay, okay."
Assuming she was just tired, I told her she could pet me whenever she felt like it. Hearing that, Chloe sighed as if the ground might cave in, then chided me for whatever reason.
It really hadn't been a joke, but Chloe had such a genuinely serious look on her face—something you rarely saw—and her tone was bordering on earnest appeal, so I nodded obediently.
"Anyway, you really worked hard today. Seriously, if it weren't for you, Chloe, I'd have been in huge trouble."
"I do think that is accurate as well."
"Pfft. Do people usually say that with their own mouth? You really are something, Chloe. You've got a surprisingly funny side, you know that?"
"It wasn't a jest..."
"Huh? What'd you say? I couldn't hear you."
"It is nothing."
And so I spent a while laughing and chatting with Chloe as she played with her words a bit.
In the middle of that, a thought crossed my mind.
'Come to think of it, I don't really remember ever giving Chloe a present, do I?'
She always looks after me like this, but I couldn't remember a single time I'd ever given her a gift.
Sure, I'd let her pet my chin or smell my head sometimes—things I knew she liked—but calling that a present is a little... yeah.
"This is kind of out of nowhere, but Chloe, is there anything you need? If you need anything, just tell me. I'll look into it as best I can and give it to you as a present!"
"...Oh? Are you offering this to me as well?"
"Yeah. I'm always in your debt, aren't I, Chloe? And thinking about it, I don't think I've really given you many presents before."
When I told her I'd get her a present if she needed anything, Chloe's eyes went round with surprise.
But soon her cat ears began twitching, so it didn't seem like she disliked the idea at all.
"I will gratefully accept the sentiment. I merely did what was required of me; how could I hope for a reward?"
"Come on, don't be like that~ Hm?"
"...In that case, might I be permitted to take charge of the Young Master's laundry?"
She declined at first, but when I looked at her with a cheeky grin as if to say "don't be like that—surely you've got something you want too," Chloe quietly revealed her wish.
...Wait, laundry?
"Why in the world laundry, all of a sudden...?"
I'd been expecting a wish along the lines of asking for delicious food or wanting a cool artifact. Chloe had made a wish completely different from what I imagined.
I looked up at her quizzically, as if to ask why she'd wish for something like that, and Chloe averted her eyes and said:
"...The truth is, I am quite fond of doing laundry."
"Really? That's unusual. Don't girls usually hate that kind of thing?"
"......I am a cat beastkin, if you'll recall. All cat beastkin are fond of laundry."
"Ah, was that a racially discriminatory remark just now? I guess it can be different when you're a different species. Okay."
Chloe promptly added that all beastkin were like this.
Come to think of it, cats play with yarn, so I figured it wouldn't be weird if they liked laundry. Satisfied with that reasoning, I nodded.
"Alright. Then you can do it whenever you want. Tell the servant in charge of laundry yourself. Just say I gave you permission and it'll be fine."
"Yes. ...Ahem. Now that you mention it, Young Master, shouldn't the uniform you are currently wearing also need washing?"
"Huh? Ah. Yeah. I was going to change after washing up."
"In that case..."
* * * * * *
A little while later. Since I'd already been in the bath earlier and didn't feel especially grimy, I finished washing up with just a simple face-wash.
"Here. I left them in the basket back there, so have fun doing laundry...? That came out a bit weird."
"Ahem, ahem. Thank you."
When I pointed at the basket holding my uniform, underwear, and the rest—still carrying a lingering warmth from having just taken them off—Chloe ducked her head repeatedly as if deeply humbled, then picked up the basket.
"W-well, I shall take my leave then."
'...She wanted to do laundry that badly? Her hands are trembling.'
"Yeah. I promise I won't get mad even if you ruin the clothes, so don't worry about it and just go for it! Until your stress is completely gone!"
"......Yes. I shall do it until everything is resolved."
Seeing Chloe's breathing grow rough as if she wanted to start doing laundry right this instant, I gave her permission to go all out until her mood was settled, since I had nowhere else to go now anyway.
After that, so that Chloe wouldn't feel like she needed to worry about me, I decided to stay in my room for the remaining time until Kir arrived.
It was a rare chance to rest, and if I wandered around here and there, Chloe, my personal attendant, would feel like she had to keep an eye on me and wouldn't be able to rest herself.
-Flop.
"Whooaa... I'm exhausted."
I decided to lie down on the bed and take a short nap.
Today I'd ridden a horse by myself for the very first time in my life, gone up a mountain, and even eaten at the student dining hall. So I was tired, you see.
'Just gotta sleep 'til Kir gets here... Yaaawn.'