Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Inviting the Teacher to the Mountain
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"Teacher, are you sleeping?"
We'd stayed up late chatting yesterday before falling asleep, but not tonight.
After dinner, we talked for a reasonable amount of time before everyone headed to their rooms, but I didn't go straight back to mine.
Instead of the second floor, I went down to the first floor and entered Ashley's room without knocking.
"Teacher?"
"...Camellia."
"Were you about to sleep?"
"What's... up?"
Hmm.
Ashley really was quite the heavy sleeper.
She'd always slept a lot, but ever since arriving at the villa, it had been excessive—except for breakfast and dinner, she was basically asleep nonstop.
Of course, that wasn't a bad thing, but it was worrying enough to make me concerned.
"I just wanted to chat with you for a bit, Teacher."
"Mmm..."
Was that why?
She didn't even seem as drowsy as usual.
Normally, when I spoke to her like this, she wouldn't respond properly.
"What's the matterrr...? Yaaawn..."
"We're all going to check out the mountain behind the villa tomorrow. I was hoping you'd come along."
"Me too...?"
"Yes. Of course, if you don't want to go, Teacher, you don't have to. But I was hoping you would."
"Mmm..."
Truth be told, I'd known Ashley since I was eight, but we'd never done anything together.
I'd only ever seen her sleeping all the time since then, which felt kind of regrettable.
So, I just asked if she wanted to do something together this time.
Considering her tastes, I figured she'd probably refuse and say she wanted to sleep.
Still, it couldn't hurt to ask once.
"What do you think?"
"Maybe I should go out for the first time in a while..."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've been sleeping a lot lately. Yeah... it's been a while since I went out..."
I was genuinely surprised.
Not enough to show it outright.
But I really was shocked.
After all, this was Ashley—not someone else—agreeing to go out.
I'd fully expected her to refuse.
It felt oddly off how casually and easily she accepted, contrary to my expectations.
"Um... are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. It's not like I have anything else to do..."
"Um... well, that's good, then..."
She had nothing to do and had been sleeping plenty, sure.
But I still couldn't help being startled.
"Oh, Teacher. How's the villa treating you?"
"The best."
Ashley answered my question right away.
She even made a V-sign with both hands while doing it.
Considering how she'd been sleeping nonstop since we arrived, her reaction made a certain kind of sense.
The villa was surprisingly cool even without her air conditioning spell.
It had to be incredibly comfortable for her in all sorts of ways.
Beyond the coolness, there were no classes, nothing to do, and she could just lie on the soft, comfy bed and rest.
"That's great to hear."
"You should swap out the bed in your room at the mansion for one like this."
"We can think about that when we get back."
"Mmm... yeah, we should. It's not like we can do anything about it right now... Uggghhh..."
She stretched as she replied.
...Her chest is really huge.
*Ahem.*
"What's wrong...?"
"Oh, nothing."
For a moment, I couldn't continue speaking without realizing it.
I was just watching her stretch, but her distinctive figure caught my eye more than expected.
"Teacher, are you going back to sleep now?"
"Probably...?"
"Hmm... well, good night, then. I'll head out."
"Okay...? Sleep well... Yaaawn..."
I'd originally planned to chat a little more with Ashley.
She didn't seem as sleepy as usual, after all.
But precisely because of that, I decided to end the conversation there.
If I kept her up tonight, she might suddenly oversleep tomorrow and miss out.
"Good night, Teacher. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah... you too, sleep well... Yaaawn..."
I slipped out of Ashley's room.
I wanted to spend a bit more time with her, but to make sure we could all go out tomorrow, I needed to conserve energy as much as possible.
...It's weird that skipping just a few minutes of sleep would cause issues, but with Ashley, it seemed possible.
"...They really are huge."
Karen's are big too, but Ashley's seemed the largest.
I'd grown since before, but I was still just a bit smaller than even Lize—not to mention Ashley.
I'd definitely gotten bigger compared to when I was little, but I still felt like I had a long way to go.
*Creeeak...*
"Hmm..."
Back in my room, I glanced at the mirror.
The room didn't have much furniture, but it did have a full-length mirror.
"Have I gotten taller than before?"
It wasn't a huge difference, but I was in the midst of puberty.
Unpleasant as it was, my period had started, and I'd grown in height and other areas compared to childhood.
"I wish I could be as tall as Lize or Rozalin..."
I stood alone in the empty room, staring at my reflection with those thoughts.
I'd grown some compared to when I was really young, but I still looked distinctly younger than the older people around me.
It wasn't just my face; that slight disappointment lingered.
"...Bigger would be better."
Lize was tall, and while Rozalin wasn't extremely so, her slender figure made me envious.
In contrast, I was short, and I didn't have that sleek vibe like Rozalin.
It was regrettable in various ways.
Personally, I'd prefer growing into someone tall and cool rather than staying this petite.
But reality had me still short and small all around.
Of course, my pretty face made "little kid" not quite fit—there was just a tiny disconnect.
"...Chest size doesn't matter, but height... I wish it were a bit more."
Girls' growth tends to finish earlier than boys'.
So, if I could just grow taller somehow...
At least past 160 cm—even if that meant another 20 cm.
*
"Young Lady, there might be bugs, so please be careful..."
"It's fine. Ella and I walked around yesterday with no issues."
Lize was worrying unnecessarily, but there really wasn't a problem.
No bug bites on my body or anything.
"Young Lady."
"I told you, it's really fine. And if I get bitten, I can just apply some ointment."
"........."
Lize worried too much.
Even Rozalin, walking beside me through the mountains, wasn't that concerned.
She was less worried than me, actually—sniffing the scents of mountain grass and flowers.
"Older Sister Karen, what do you think? Isn't it nice?"
"It's nice... so pretty."
"Hee hee, that's a relief."
With Rozalin and Karen enjoying the mountain views, my mood lifted for sure.
Lize wasn't commenting on the scenery due to her nagging, but she definitely wasn't hating it.
Just before entering the mountain, she'd clearly shown she liked it.
"Lize, come on, stop nagging and have fun with us. Okay?"
"...Young Lady."
"We're on vacation right now, aren't we?"
I took Lize's hand and started persuading her.
Telling her it was fine outright wouldn't work with her personality.
This approach was the easiest way to convince her.
"Lize, please?"
"...Just be careful, at least."
"Got it. Now, Lize, let's just relax and enjoy."
"...Yes."
And so, we all strolled through the mountain together.
Ella and I had explored a bit yesterday, but adding everyone else made it even better.
"Teacher, how is it?"
"The mana here... feels good..."
"Really?"
"Yeah..."
Ashley walked with her eyes closed, a look of utter bliss on her face.
She looked so comfortable, savoring the natural breeze.
Seeing her like that, I felt glad I'd brought her along.
The others had positive reactions to the back mountain too, but not quite like Ashley.
"Camellia, what's over that way?"
"Hmm... a small garden, I guess? Just a spot decorated with flowers and grass."
"I see. And the other side?"
"That's the hiking trail up the mountain proper."
Rozalin was genuinely enjoying the mountain, looking around everywhere.
If she'd come alone, she might've hiked all the way up.
"Shall we go that way? It's summer, so hiking might be too much... this side seems better."
Apart from anything else, I didn't feel like hiking.
So, I led everyone away from the trail, toward the other direction.
Truth be told, there was a little stream that way too.
Ella and I had seen it yesterday, but the others hadn't yet.
"Madam, what do you think?"
"It's pretty. We definitely came to the right place."
Ella had praised it yesterday too, but Rozalin seemed even more delighted.
She'd always loved flowers and plants.
That's why she was especially enjoying it—unlike Karen or Ashley, who sat resting in a clearing, Rozalin wandered around the flowers and grass nonstop.
"Lize, should we sit for a bit too?"
"No need. If you'd like to, Young Lady..."
"No, I just want to rest a little myself."
Letting Rozalin enjoy her sightseeing comfortably, Lize and I rested our own way.
Karen and Ashley had already laid out a mat and were lounging, so we joined them there.
"What about Ella? What are you up to?"
"Hee hee! I already saw everything yesterday! Just resting!"
Even Ella, whom I'd expected to be sightseeing, was chilling on the mat.
Hmm...
Well, whatever.
I planned to sit and relax from here anyway.
"Haa..."
I just lay down.
Today would be lounging like this before heading back to the villa to rest—that was it.
The air was nice, the scenery pleasant, and there weren't many sounds, making it all so relaxing.
The only real noise was Ella's chirping voice.
"Yaaawn... Tomorrow..."
Maybe head to the stream.
It was on tomorrow's agenda anyway, but I just thought about it idly.
Ashley or Karen might not join, but it sounded fun.