The Road to the Ruins (2)
The valley wasn’t far from our tent.
Had Aileen deliberately chosen this spot?
I’d thought we were just wandering without much thought, but it turned out she’d been following a perfectly efficient route all along.
“Alright, Noah. You go wash up first. I’ll keep watch.”
Aileen stood a good distance away and held out a change of clothes.
Keep watch… Not that I really need it.
If I just expand my Qi Sensing a little, I can get a rough idea of everything nearby.
Sure, my head might throb a bit…
“Y-yes…”
I took the clothes and headed for the water’s edge.
The current was neither too strong nor too weak—just a gentle, steady flow.
Oh! There are fish!
If I catch some, we could have grilled fish later, right?
And thanks to Aileen, there won’t even be any smell!
Grilled fish on an adventure like this… now that’s romantic.
I swallowed hard, already debating which fish to go after, when Aileen approached me.
“Noah.”
Her voice sounded oddly subdued.
Maybe she’s a little annoyed that I’m dawdling.
“Y-yes… I’ll get in right away…”
“No, that’s not it… Um… I’m not sure if I should even ask this, but… can you wash yourself alone?”
What came out of Aileen’s mouth was completely unexpected.
Well… if I take the greatsword in with me, I can manage alone.
It takes forever and it’s inconvenient, but after two months I’ve gotten pretty used to it. Not half bad, actually.
“Yes, I can wash myself…?”
“Hmm…”
Hearing my answer, Aileen started mumbling again.
“I-I really can…”
“No. Let’s wash together. I’ll wash you.”
Huh? Wait—what??
“Y-yes…?!”
“You’re covered in filth all over. It’ll be too hard for you to clean yourself alone. Come on, strip and get in.”
Spitting out those bizarre words in a rapid-fire stream, Aileen started taking off her clothes…!
Oh crap…
I whipped my head away and narrowed the range of my Qi Sensing as far as it would go.
Of course I can’t see Aileen’s body with my eyes… but still… it’s just… you know.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and undress.”
W-wow…
Hearing her say something like that in that voice…
It’s way too much stimulation for a guy who’s been solo for twenty-five years!
“Should I undress you myself?”
Hhk…!
S-stop that!!
“I-I understand…”
Maybe I should just let go of the greatsword.
Then I wouldn’t be able to sense Aileen’s bare body either…
I can’t see colors or fine details anyway, so it should be fine… right?
In the end, my hand refused to release the greatsword.
I crouched down just like that and pulled off my shoes.
Then my top… the clothes…!
They’re soaked through with sweat and blood—they won’t come off!
And trying to do it with only one hand… this is…
While I was still wrestling with the half-inside-out shirt, Aileen’s voice reached me.
“Alright, arms up.”
“Th-thank you…”
I set the greatsword down with a thud and raised my arms.
The shirt slid right off.
“You can manage the pants yourself, right?”
“Y-yes…”
Just use both hands…
I peeled off the pants and turned my body slightly away.
I can’t see Aileen, but she can see me…
It’s… weirdly embarrassing.
“Aileen, you go in f-first…”
Still facing away, I waved a hand vaguely in her direction.
Aileen let out a deep sigh at the sight of me.
What! Why!
I… I had no choice if I wanted to max Greatsword Mastery!
I like big, bouncy ones too, okay!
Yeah! I’m jealous of your huge chest! Huh?!
But those things must be insanely inconvenient, bouncing around every time you move!
And anyway, I’m a guy, got it? Huh?
Even if those were attached to my body, they’d be completely useless!
I clicked my tongue and picked the greatsword back up.
Eyes still closed, I shot Aileen a sidelong glance through Qi Sensing and plunged into the valley first with a splash.
“E-eek!”
It’s freezing!
H-haah… I almost had a heart attack…!
While I was still soaking my body in the icy water, Aileen followed me in.
Th-th-that…
Look at that.
Huh? With nothing on…
Every time she walks, they bounce so much.
Haah… holy crap…
I glanced down at my own body.
My mood soured considerably.
Clicking my tongue inwardly, I turned so I was facing the opposite direction from Aileen.
“Alright, first… I’m sure you can feel everything, but I’m going to pour some water over you. Don’t be startled.”
“Y-yes.”
Aileen scooped water with both hands and carefully poured it over my back.
“E-eek… haaah…”
I’d braced myself, but it was still freezing…
After repeating that several times, Aileen spoke again.
“Okay, now for your head. Squeeze your eyes shut.”
“Y-yes.”
My eyes are already closed… but if I say that, Aileen might freak out, so I just answered.
The sound of water cascading down came again, and cold water streamed from the crown of my head.
I’ve gotten used to it, so it’s not quite as cold now.
“I’m going to soap you up now… how should we do this?”
Huh? Soap? Just do it, right?
I tilted my head and answered.
“Y-yes. Please do.”
I heard Aileen draw in a sharp breath.
Guess the water’s cold for her too.
I thought she was used to this, but she hasn’t washed outdoors much, has she?
I was used to washing in valleys.
When I first arrived in this world, the inn bathroom didn’t even have a faucet, so I’d thought, Ah… if you’re poor in this world, you have to wash outside, and just gone out and washed.
I’d felt something was off, of course, but since I’d been staying at such a cheap inn… I just assumed they didn’t have one.
But… it had been pretty chilly back then, so I, uh, didn’t wash very often.
I must have looked so filthy that the innkeeper lady brought me warm water.
She told me to just ask for it next time… said everyone does it that way…?
Anyway.
So valley water is familiar to me!
Noob Aileen!
“Then I’ll start.”
“Y-yes.”
Aileen’s trembling voice reached me, followed by the sound of soap being lathered.
I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter, just in case any soap got in them.
But then—
“Hyaah?!”
Aileen’s hands didn’t go for my head. They went for my waist.
“A-ah… uh… eueh…?”
Even though I was making weird noises, Aileen didn’t stop. She kept soaping me thoroughly.
Every time her hands glided over me, I clamped a hand over my mouth and held my twitching body still.
“J-just bear with it a little longer… it’ll be over soon.”
And so Aileen’s skilled hands began scrubbing every last corner of my body.
But… but… I want to tell her to stop, but…
Why is she so damn good at this…?
This is weird… she must have some insane internal energy.
Career professional…?
“Haa… all done. Now we just need to rinse.”
J-just a little more… I wanted to say, but…
The last shred of my male pride clamped my mouth shut.
“Haap—!”
I dunked my head underwater to cool my spinning thoughts.
Feeling the bubbles rising from my mouth, I replayed the soaping in my mind.
Is this what it feels like to get a full-body scrub at a bathhouse?
Maybe… I should pretend I still can’t wash myself from now on…?
My last remaining male pride and pure instinct locked into a fierce battle.
Watching Noah shiver while toweling off, I murmured quietly to myself.
“Is she… really the same person…?”
I closed my eyes and recalled the scene from earlier.
The way she had been covered head to toe in blood, tearing the Black Bear apart.
When Noah hunted… she was a completely different person.
That face that was always smiling foolishly had been filled with pure hatred and rage.
And behind those always-closed eyelids…
lay empty crimson eyes that held no emotion at all.
The body that flinched at my every scolding never once bent before that powerful magic beast.
Her fighting style was nothing like her usual self either.
Most people who use a greatsword, I’m told, go for big decisive blows and then pull back.
But Noah was different.
From a distance where a mere stretch of the arm would reach, she never once retreated. Instead she drove forward.
When the sword was blocked, she used her shoulder, her fist, her legs, her head.
Holding nothing back, throwing her entire body into the hunt—she looked more like a beast than a person.
At a glance it seemed her small frame was being swung around by the greatsword, but that wasn’t it.
She was using the rebound to deliver even stronger attacks.
It wasn’t the combat of an ordinary person.
It was combat born of pure, innate talent.
That was what I believed. That was what I thought.
Until I saw Noah’s bare body.
Even in the heat of summer she always covered herself completely, and that body was covered in scars.
It would have been faster to look for a place without one.
A priest’s healing leaves no scars.
Which means those scars were left by dumping potions onto the wounds.
Two months.
She had only been an adventurer for two months.
Of course she possessed extraordinary talent.
But she hadn’t been living by relying on that talent alone.
Just what had happened to her?
What had she gone through to live so desperately?
I couldn’t understand it.
According to Hermila, Noah had no family.
Was she someone who had suffered the same pain as me?
Had she lost everything precious, and that was why she could be like this?
If so… what would happen if Noah learned of this world’s darkness?
Of the ugliness of humanity?
If she were told she had to throw away her own life to save this world—
even the filthy humans in it—
what choice would she make?
I want to know.
But I also don’t want to know.
I hope you never learn of this filth.
I hope you never lose that light.
I opened my eyes.
Noah came into view, grumbling as she tried to dry her hair.
If she dries it like that, it’ll just get all tangled.
A quiet laugh slipped out.
Really… other than hunting, she can’t do anything, can she?
She can’t even take her clothes off properly.
Claims she can wash alone, then panics and makes me soap her up.
Maybe she was just lonely for human warmth.
It was a hassle, but thinking of my little sister… it wasn’t so bad.
“Haa…”
Alright. Just a little.
Even if, by some chance, I disappear from this world…
I’ll help you just enough so you can get by on your own.
“Noah.”
“Y-yes…?”
“I’ll dry your hair for you. Come here.”
“I-I can do it myself…”
“Tsk—hurry up. I’m faster.”
“Y-yes…”
Hunched over, Noah carefully walked toward me.
“P-please take care of me…”
I hated using the Divine Power that goddess had given me…
but drying hair and blocking smells? That much was fine.
It was convenient for me too, after all.
I stirred up a warm breeze with Divine Power.
“Oh…? A-Aileen! This… what is this, really…!”
“Pfft… Noah, you’re an adult, aren’t you?”
“N-no… augh…!”
A little healing as well.
Potions are expensive, after all.
The ones in my bag…
I can just sell them somehow.
They sell pretty well.
I raised Divine Power once more and cleanly healed the minor wounds left from the earlier battle.
“E-eueh…? Healing?”