099. Mixed Bathing (3)
099. Mixed Bathing (3)
At this point, one might wonder, 'Wouldn't it have been better to just make a new bath while I was at it?'
Of course, it wasn't as though I hadn't tried.
However, aside from the cost, the risk of Laika catching me in the act and complicating things was too great.
Honestly, it was mostly my pride.
I did not want to be the first one to admit, "I'm too embarrassed to do this."
No, more than that, I hoped Alicia would tuck her tail and say, 'Now that I think about it, this doesn't feel right.'
That way, how should I put it...
It would prove that Alicia was more conscious of me as a man than I was of her as a woman... and I'd feel like I'd won.
Alicia probably felt the same.
She had wanted me to tuck my tail and admit defeat first.
And so, as a result of pushing each other into a 'you go first' standoff.
—.......
—.......
When moving the Origin Liquid drum from the manufactory to the bath, we were both silent.
—.......
—.......
Even after realizing the ridiculously small size of the bath, we were both silent.
—.......
—.......
Even after I went in first wearing only my underwear, silence.
—.......
—.......
Even after Alicia followed me in, silence.
—.......
—.......
Even after Alicia tossed aside her bath towel in the water, silence.
—.......
—.......
As a result of both of us stubbornly clinging to our pride without yielding an inch, the situation had escalated to this.
Now there was no turning back.
For the next hour, we had no choice but to endure in this narrow bath, our bodies pressed together.
...No, would it end in an hour?
If we were fully submerged according to the manual, it might indeed end within that time, but regrettably, Alicia was keeping her back straight.
Probably to reduce the area of contact with me.
I understood her intention, but this was problematic. To properly receive the effects of the Origin Liquid, at least her chest needed to be submerged.
So, there was no helping it.
"Hup."
"Excuse me? What are you— Eek?!"
What an uncharacteristically girlish scream.
Well, I supposed it was warranted.
After all, I had wrapped my arms around Alicia's stomach from behind and pulled her upper body back against me.
Of course, I had a justification ready for such an act.
"If you keep your body out of the water like that, the medicine's effect will diminish."
"Wh-What does it matter? If it diminishes, so be it—"
"You have no reason to endure, right?"
Because Alicia doesn't see me as a member of the opposite sex.
"Or could it be that, through this, you've actually developed a romantic interest in me?"
"Ngh...!"
Why was she lamenting like a female knight captured by a goblin?
Even so, she had no grounds to resist.
Perhaps she understood that.
Alicia finally stopped resisting and let her body go limp against me.
Softly.
Relaxing, she let the strength drain from the artificial muscles beneath her skin.
Even as she trembled slightly, unconsciously.
Pressed tight.
If I had to describe the sensation...
It didn't feel like Alicia.
No, I mean.
'Was she always this petite?'
She fit neatly into my arms, just like Laika.
Well, of course, both Laika and Alicia are smaller than me, so it was only natural they could be held.
But somehow.
There was a subtle sense of disconnect from the everyday Alicia I knew.
Probably because she was naked.
Without her clothes, that much bulk and weight had disappeared.
What remained, nestled in my arms without any of those things, was Alicia herself.
That Alicia was a little unfamiliar, refreshing... and stimulating.
Alicia probably felt the same.
Though I couldn't see her expression, I could tell from her ears burning bright red and her shoulders trembling ever so slightly.
So.
"Wanna surrender?"
"...What do you mean?"
"I'm asking if you'll admit that your heart is pounding right now."
"Regrettably, I don't have a heart to pound."
"Then your core must be buzzing instead."
Alicia didn't answer.
I let out a long sigh.
"Alicia, it honestly makes me despair that I have to spell this out... but there is nothing strange about a man and woman feeling romantic interest in each other. I, for one, am romantically interested in every member of Krädel's unit."
"Are you bragging?"
It's not something I'm proud of.
But it's not something I can control, either.
A man is wired to see a cute girl as a member of the opposite sex and feel his heart flutter, feel embarrassed, or get excited.
What matters is using reason to control those feelings; the feelings themselves are real.
"...Are you saying that applies to you as well?"
"Yeah. Actually, my heart pounds like crazy every time I see you."
"Why is that?"
"Because you have big, beautiful breasts, Alicia."
At that, Alicia covered her chest in the water.
Regardless, her chest wasn't visible in the first place, but...
If anything, her breasts, squeezed by both arms, bulged out to the sides, making them easier to see from my position behind her.
Well, that wasn't important right now.
"...Again, I'm saying that's how I feel, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do anything to you."
"I know."
"Then you can do the same."
A moment later, Alicia answered.
"I don't want to."
Hmm.
Was my lecture not getting through to her?
Even though we were pressed skin-to-skin like this.
I thought the Origin Liquid's effects would have started to kick in by now, lowering Alicia's mental resistance...
Was it still not working?
Just as I was thinking that naively, Alicia added something completely unexpected.
"...Commander, in the end, aren't you just using me because I'm useful?"
"What?"
"You gave me the Telescope and got permission for me to operate as a sniper because that lets you use me to go rescue Sion. Because I'm useful to you, Commander. That's the kind of person you are, isn't it?"
Alicia added quietly.
She said that even if she liked my body, she couldn't bring herself to like me as a person.
So, she could never acknowledge it.
To that, I...
"...You're right."
"Huh?"
"I said you're right."
I said, slipping my arms under Alicia's armpits.
"I started helping you because you had utility value, and I thought if I fixed you up right, you'd be useful."
"...Then as I thought."
"That is true, but."
I squeezed.
I used both arms to pull Alicia closer by the waist.
Alicia flinched, trembling.
But Alicia wasn't very strong while submerged in Origin Liquid. I easily held her in place and pulled her deeper into my embrace.
In that position, I whispered into her ear.
"Suppose you fail to activate Telescope. Or suppose, by some chance, we learn that the accident you caused wasn't a plot by the Commander, but purely your mistake. Even if it becomes impossible to use you as a sniper, I'll still help and take care of you. Do you know why?"
"...I-I don't know."
"Then I'll tell you. Even if you stop being an S-Rank sniper, you're still valuable to me."
For instance, Alicia can organize documents well.
She could write concise reports that got straight to the point and handle operations quickly in an emergency.
On top of that, as I said earlier, she's pretty and has big breasts.
Face and breasts are important. A man's work efficiency goes up just by having a pretty, busty woman standing beside him.
Especially at Krädel, she and Sumire were the only busty girls. Sumire couldn't operate outside Krädel at all, which made Alicia's breasts that much more valuable—practically a unique phase all their own.
"...Are you joking right now?"
"I'm not joking."
Well, not that her face and breasts are her entire value.
How should I put it... It's an allegory.
Not an allegory about large breasts, but the allegory that 'reveals the true meaning through implication.'
So what exactly was the true meaning I wanted to convey through that allegory—
"To me, Alicia is precious just as she is."
Not because of high investment value.
Because we've already been through so much together.
And before I knew it, we'd grown close enough to be bickering naked in the same bath.
Regardless of the initial utility value, Alicia had become someone I wanted to help and guide.
So, well.
Even if she were no longer S-rank, as long as Alicia remains Alicia, I cherish Alicia.
Just as I feel good when I see a pretty, busty woman.
I can't help but cherish her.
"Even if the accident was your fault, it's the same."
In that case, Alicia would be at fault.
To some extent, she'd be in the wrong.
Nevertheless, I would still have to defend Alicia.
Because Alicia is my subordinate, a member of Krädel's family, and someone I'm this close to.
I'd step up and shield her with all my might.
"...Are you serious?"
Alicia asked in a voice whose emotion I could not tell was contempt or relief.
Regardless, I answered while gently stroking her lower belly, where her core was likely installed.
"Yeah. It's sincere. Self-serving as hell, but sincere."
That was the moment.
Alicia sharply knocked away my arms from around her waist.
Soon, before I could stop her, Alicia repositioned herself in the water.
Turning from facing away from me to facing me.
As a result, something that should never be casually shown to a man became fully visible.
She wasn't in such a dazed state that she didn't notice that fact.
Alicia was clearly aware of her own state.
As proof, Alicia's face was red as a tomato, and her breathing came thin with embarrassment.
Nevertheless, Alicia declared brazenly, as if nothing was wrong.
"Then, I surrender."
Immediately afterward, Alicia added in a voice that shrank to a whisper.
She asked me to punish the loser.