Research (8)
In the free time that remained, I showed off the leather I had refined earlier.
"Remarkably clean work."
It was far smoother than anything a craftsman could have tanned by hand — free of blemishes, without a single scar.
"Right? I just tried combining it at lunch, and it worked on the first try."
"At this quality, it has real commercial value."
The problem, of course, would be mass production. The Church could manage it easily enough with its vast number of followers, but…
"If this works on other monster hides as well, it could be enormous."
"Really?"
"Yes. Ogre hide, for instance — it's tough enough that people use it for armor all the time, but preparing it is a nightmare."
That made sense. Ogre-hide armor was famous; even I knew of it. The difficulty of processing it made the finished product extremely expensive, and the supply was always scarce.
"I haven't tried it yet, so I couldn't say."
The basic principle was to use the hide together with the animal's own bones. As I spoke, I kept watching the other two.
Hmm…
No matter how I looked at it, Sister Mary seemed completely uninterested in the Young Master. He, on the other hand, kept glancing at her with peculiar frequency.
It's the chest, isn't it? The symbol of motherhood… For a man, those generous curves were impossible to ignore.
"Hmm…"
I studied Sister Mary carefully. She really did have a large chest. How big was that, exactly? How many cup sizes would that even be?
Next I looked at Emma. Her chest was considerable in its own right. Compared to Sister Mary's it looked smaller, but it still made its presence unmistakably known.
Finally I looked down at my own body.
Pathetic… utterly pathetic. Was it because of the clothes? There wasn't even a hint of a curve. I tugged the collar of my shirt open and peered inside.
It was too dark to see clearly, but whatever was there was so thoroughly buried under the undergarment that it couldn't even make a case for itself.
"Haa…"
I let out a long sigh and looked up — only to find the Young Master and Sister Mary both turning their heads away. Had their eyes met or something? Why were they acting like that?
I kept sighing heavily.
"Juli?"
"What?"
"Is something wrong?"
"No?"
Emma was watching me carefully. Sister Mary and the Young Master were doing the same.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing…"
The Young Master fell silent, and Sister Mary… suddenly stepped closer and whispered in my ear.
"A-are you in a bad mood?"
I whipped my head around to stare at her.
"Julian?"
Am I in a bad mood? Only then did I realize something was off about me. Why were my emotions swinging around like this? Was it because I hated sleeping outdoors?
"I-I'm sorry."
"It's quite all right."
The Young Master smiled the way he always did. Emma and Sister Mary rarely got angry with me to begin with.
"Maybe I'm just… tired…?"
I exhaled another long breath. Was I still irritated about the village business? My feelings were such a mess I couldn't even tell what state I was in.
"Maybe I should wash up…"
There happened to be a stream right beside us. If I wanted to, I could rinse off right now. Dunking myself in cold water might help me clear my head.
"You're going to wash?"
Somehow Emma had caught the muttered words.
"Just… thought I might cool off a bit while I'm at it."
A cold rinse would snap me right back to my senses, wouldn't it?
"Then let's wash."
Sister Mary said it with a smile.
Emma and Sister Mary began pulling clothes and undergarments from their bags. I gathered mine as well — but was this really okay?
I'm a man, aren't I? Even if this body is female, my mind is still a man's.
Was it really all right to bathe with women? In all the time we'd lived together, I had never washed with Emma. Sure, she had no sense of personal boundaries and would sometimes wander around in just her underclothes, but that was as far as it went.
And now I was suddenly supposed to bathe with them? I was flustered.
What do I do?
Insisting on washing alone would look strange, and Sister Mary would find it odd.
If you think about it carefully, is there really a problem? This body is a woman's. Looking at a woman's body isn't some crime…
Right. Just act as natural as possible…
We gathered our clothes and undergarments and stepped out of the tent — and ran straight into the Young Master.
I was about to walk past him without a word when Sister Mary spoke up.
"If you try to peek, I suspect you'll be deeply disappointed."
"I won't look!"
He denied it at full volume. Still, if he actually came to spy, I was fully prepared to be furious. Doing something like that to a comrade? The sense of betrayal would be unspeakable.
"I trust the Young Master would never do such a thing."
"I absolutely will not! Please believe me!"
Sister Mary regarded him with distinctly cool eyes.
"I do hope you keep that promise."
We headed upstream along the brook. Nearby we found a large boulder, which Emma casually hoisted into place to form a rough wall.
"Do we really need to go this far?"
"There's no harm in being careful."
Would the Young Master actually try to peek? He's a noble. He could have any woman he wanted whenever he wanted.
Once the preparations were roughly finished, I stripped behind the rock and carefully set my clothes aside. Then I made every effort not to look at Emma or Sister Mary.
The moment my feet touched the stream, a piercing chill shot through my entire body.
"Ugh, cold, cold."
I plunged straight in and began scooping water over myself. Lingering only made this kind of thing worse. Better to adapt quickly.
"It is rather cold."
I heard the splash of water as Sister Mary and Emma entered as well. The stream wasn't particularly deep.
At its deepest point it only reached about mid-thigh on me; for the taller Sister Mary and Emma, it barely came to their knees.
"It's far too shallow."
"Just sit down."
I kept to a quiet corner, well away from the two of them, and washed alone, pouring water over myself.
"Why are you off by yourself?"
"Y-yes?"
"Don't stay over there alone. Come join us."
"Hurry up."
Do I really have to stand right next to them? It's not even that far. And I prefer washing alone!
"Are you not coming?"
I heard the sound of water being parted as someone approached. I twisted my body and turned my head, trying not to look.
"Are you sure you aren't unwell after all?"
"Ah, no?"
My voice cracked with panic. And in that moment of distraction, she struck.
"Are you truly all right?"
Sister Mary caught my shoulder and spun me around. In that instant, a woman's bare body was laid bare right before my eyes. Why did I have to have good night vision? If my eyes had been weak, I might not have seen clearly — but my eyesight was sharp, and even in the dark everything stood out in vivid detail.
"Uh-uh-uh…"
I-I should close my eyes! I shouldn't look! I've seen a woman's body plenty of times — on myself!
And yet I couldn't look away. Were those swaying breasts casting some kind of hypnosis? My gaze kept drifting back to them.
I shouldn't look! As a man, I shouldn't casually stare at a woman's body!
"You really do seem to have a fever…"
She pressed a hand to my forehead as she spoke. Th-this was just embarrassment… the heat was pure embarrassment.
"Juli, are you sick?"
Sister Mary alone was already more than I could handle — and then Emma came closer as well. A body completely different from Sister Mary's…
Where Sister Mary was soft, feminine, full of curves and warmth, Emma's body was all healthy vitality, shaped by muscle.
I had seen not one but two naked women!
I squeezed my eyes shut, but the searing image kept replaying behind them.
"Ugh-uhh."
Had the stimulus been too much? My head spun. I had already been in poor shape…
It felt as though every drop of blood in my body had rushed to my head. I tried desperately to hold on to consciousness — and failed. Something warm began dripping, drop by drop, from my nose.
"Ah…"
My mind grew hazy. I couldn't hold myself up any longer, and my head slumped forward.
When I opened my eyes, it was morning, and I was inside a sleeping bag.
"Ugh…"
My body was strangely shivering. Had bathing in cold water last night been a mistake? There was no cough, so it didn't seem like a cold — but I felt feverish, and my body seemed slightly swollen.
"You're awake?"
"Ah, Young Master…"
Wait — it's morning? Then what about the night watch?
"How are you feeling?"
"I-I'm fine…"
Beside me, Sister Mary and Emma were still asleep. I was in no condition to ask them what had happened last night. That left the one person who was awake.
"S-so what happened yesterday?"
The Young Master looked mildly uncomfortable.
"I don't know the details myself. The two of them said you had collapsed, and they carried you back."
They had laid me in the sleeping bag, and the three of them had apparently taken turns standing watch.
"I've been a burden…"
"Not at all. Anyone can feel unwell from time to time."
I had been far too careless. It was pathetic. Collapsing over something so trivial… My body still felt a little off, but even so, I felt like a complete fool.
I sat up first and stepped out of the tent. Perhaps because it was still dawn, a cool chill hung in the air.
I felt a bit cold and thought to build up the fire, but the embers were nearly dead.
"Are you cold?"
"W-well… yes…"
Did he notice me shivering?
The Young Master added a few pieces of firewood and coaxed the embers back to life until the campfire was crackling again. I moved closer to warm myself.
"Hoo…"
Inside the sleeping bag I had felt feverish — so why did I feel like this now?
"Ah, I should at least start on breakfast…"
"You're unwell. Please don't push yourself — rest."
"But…"
"If you collapse again, that would be far worse."
I had no answer for that. What would happen if I fell ill and collapsed?
Hmm…
Emma and Sister Mary would definitely react intensely. Sister Mary in particular would blame herself without mercy. Just imagining it made it impossible to force myself.
"Ugh…"
In the end I did nothing, and simply focused on recovering.
When morning fully arrived, Sister Mary woke and began preparing breakfast. The moment I tried to help, she stopped me with fire in her eyes.
"You collapsed yesterday. I would prefer you didn't overexert yourself."
She had come along specifically to attend me, so the reaction was only natural.
"Ahaha…"
Neither Emma, nor the Young Master, nor Sister Mary asked why I had collapsed. Not that I knew the reason myself…
I tried to eat breakfast, but I had almost no appetite. Ordinarily I would have eaten plenty out of sheer reluctance to waste meat… but even with it sitting right in front of me, I could only pick at it.
"You're not eating?"
Everyone was watching me with worried eyes. It only made the pressure worse.
"I-I just don't have much of an appetite."
In the end I managed only a few halfhearted bites. Yesterday I had seemed fine… but from the evening onward, something had been wrong with my body.
After breakfast we began packing up camp. But…
"You're not well. Just rest."
"You'll only get in the way."
Every time I tried to help, they stopped me.
Fine. At least I can pack my own bag…
The moment I reached for it, Sister Mary blocked me again.
"Please, just rest. What will you do if you collapse again?"
I could hardly claim there was no risk of collapsing — I already had a track record. Of course, yesterday had been because of something far too stimulating, so today would be different! I wanted to say that with confidence, but my current condition made it hard to sound convincing.
A mild fever. Chills. Loss of appetite. Lethargy. Fatigue… As time passed, the symptoms only grew more distinct.
Perhaps that was why my companions' kindness felt so welcome.
"If we find a village today, we'll rest there."
Once the luggage was packed and we were ready to set out, the Young Master made the announcement.
"What? Wouldn't it be better to cover as much ground as possible?"
"You want to push yourself when you're already unwell?"
I had no reply. He was right — given how I felt, caution was necessary.
"Then, before we leave…"
The three of them approached, took my bag and all my gear, and left me holding nothing but a single weapon.
They're only doing this because they're worried about me… right?