Festival's End
“You wrapped yourself in mana and swung your greatsword, and this is the mess you ended up in?”
“...Yes.”
“You two didn’t fight, did you?”
“W-why would Rubia and I fight...?”
Charlotte exhaled a deep drag of smoke, glancing back and forth between Rubia and me.
“Huu... Well, whatever. I figured it was some kind of lovers’ quarrel.”
“L-lovers’ quarrel...?! There’s no way...!”
“Yeah, you’re right. You two couldn’t even manage a proper fight.”
What’s with that look?
No... lovers’ quarrel with Rubia, of all things...
Lovers’... quarrel...
“Hic—”
The memory of that steamy moment from earlier came flooding back. My body seemed just as startled as I was... hiccuping away.
“Well, if you say you did it, Noah, I’ll buy it. But what’s Rubia doing over there?”
“Rubia...? W-well, I don’t know...?”
“Just ignore it and keep talking.”
“How am I supposed to ignore that when she’s doing it right out in the open behind you?”
“I can’t help it.”
Muttering something like If I don’t do at least this much, I won’t be able to hold back, Rubia had me sitting on her lap, kneading my waist and stomach. Her heart was racing wildly. Her breathing was all wrong. And those hands... they felt incredibly... perverted.
“Rubia, you know you’re being a total pervert right now, right?”
“I don’t think you’re one to talk, Charlotte.”
“I at least pick my times and places when I grope.”
“Unlike someone, I don’t fondle breasts in front of other people.”
What kind of conversation are these two even having right now?
“Putting that aside—Lady Noah, you can already handle mana?”
Even amid this chaos, Yuria finally spoke up, elegantly sipping her coffee. Stashing a whole coffee set in her subspace was... pretty weird, honestly. Was the hot water from a thermos? Or magic...? I’d have to ask later. Now that I had mana of my own, if I learned a spell to boil water, I could make coffee for Rubia. And when we camped outdoors, we could wash with warm water too.
“Umm... yes.”
“And freely enough to reinforce your body with it?”
“I can’t handle it freely yet... j-just enough for reinforcement...”
“Hoh... I always thought Lady Noah was remarkable, but this is... on an entirely different level.”
“Our Noah really is amazing. Hehehe.”
“Ugh, you crazy bitch...”
Charlotte clicked her tongue hard, shook her head, and stood up.
“It’s late. Get some rest and we’ll talk tomorrow. I’ve got something to pass along anyway.”
“Something to pass along...?”
“It’s good news, so don’t worry. I’d tell you now, but it’d drag on, so tomorrow. Oh, and sleep up on the seventh floor. Fifth floor’s a no-go.”
“Ugh... I-I’m so sorry...”
“What’re you apologizing for? Noah, even if you leveled this whole building, I wouldn’t say a word. Don’t say sorry.”
“B-but still... I’m sorry.”
I bowed my head, and Charlotte snorted a laugh as she stepped closer.
“If you really feel that bad, let me feel up Rubia’s chest a bit.”
“Don’t talk crap, Charlo—”
“I don’t want that.”
My cold voice slipped out, and silence settled over the room. In that quiet, one question rose up.
Shouldn’t I have said “you can’t” instead of “I don’t want that”?
Why did I say I don’t want it...?
And why was my voice so icy... hmm...
Why did I do that...?
Even if we know each other, Charlotte is still a princess...
No matter how I looked at it, I’d been far too rude. Yeah... I should apologize. To loosen my frozen facial muscles, I puffed my cheeks full of air and worked them around. Then, just as I was about to speak slowly—
“Hup...”
Yuria clapped a hand over her mouth and stared at us.
“I-it was a joke... Why react so scary...?”
Charlotte took a step back.
“I’m not holding back anymore. No—I can’t.”
Rubia scooped me up and shot to her feet.
“Hwaaah...?! R-Rubia?!”
Then she spun right around and headed for the seventh floor.
“R-Rubia... why did you suddenly pick me up—”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“Huh? Doing what...?”
“You keep... keep making this... so hard. You know?”
The moment we entered the room, she tossed me onto the bed and started grinding her teeth, crunch-crunch, while clawing at her clothes.
“I-I was heavy, right...? But... I could’ve just walked myself...”
A sound like teeth not just grinding but shattering rang out. Rubia was acting strange.
“Did I just say it was hard?”
“W-well, yeah?”
She finally pressed a hand to her forehead, sighed, and plopped down beside me.
“Noah.”
“Yes?”
“Be careful.”
“...Of what?”
“Keep a good hold on your greatsword.”
“Th-that’s only natural...”
“Just because you’ve got mana now and gotten stronger doesn’t mean you should trust people so easily.”
Ah, right. Mana. I’d completely forgotten about the mana inside me after causing such a huge mess. Remembering it again made me feel good. Charlotte, who I’d expected to explode, had just waved it off, and Rubia was worrying over me... so I felt three times better.
“Hehehi...”
Besides, if Rubia hadn’t taught me, I would’ve gone my whole life without ever using mana and died that way... Realizing all of this was thanks to her made me want to express my gratitude somehow. So I sat up and pulled her into a tight hug. Then I lifted my face, beamed at her, and offered the best thanks I could manage right now.
“I-I don’t have to trust anyone else, but I trust Rubia unnie...! Hehit, euhyak...!”
Even saying it myself made goosebumps race over my skin; I cringed so hard I trembled and made a weird noise. Yeah... I really couldn’t call her “unnie” normally. Only when I was this ridiculously happy could I barely manage it. Usually? Absolutely not. To hide my burning face, I buried it back in her chest. We stayed like that for a long while. Rubia... showed no reaction at all. Normally when I clung to her like this, her heart would race and her breathing would go all strange... so why nothing? I’d worked up so much courage to say it... Back then she’d practically sung for me to call her unnie, but now she didn’t want to hear it? Uh... hmm... maybe I shouldn’t have...
I’d set the greatsword aside to hug her, so I couldn’t sense her reaction.
“Um... Rubia...?”
“Noah.”
“Yes?”
“Go wash up.”
“...Suddenly?”
“Yes. Hurry. It’s urgent. I can’t take it anymore.”
Urgent? What was...? Was Rubia that sleepy?
“Uuum... okay. Th-then I’ll go wash.”
I let go of her and stood.
“Ah, and I’m washing alone today... s-so don’t come in. Got it...?”
Figuring she’d heard me, I dashed into the bathroom. She had every right to be tired. Today had been packed with all sorts of things—for both of us. Mentally exhausting, too. Just in case, I locked the door firmly and started undressing. Yeah... I could really feel how much smaller my body had gotten. My clothes hung looser. The bandages had way too much left over... I’d need to trim the ends a bit more.
“Sigh... I was already short...”
Fourteen centimeters shorter... Every morning I’d prayed to the heavens to make me taller. The sky must hate me. Couldn’t even leave me alone—had to shrink me instead. So unfair. Nothing I could do about what was already gone, but I refused to shorten the greatsword. That was my last scrap of pride; if even that shrank, it was over... I had to protect the greatsword no matter what. Carrying it around was a pain, but oh well.
I folded my clothes neatly, then turned on the water. Warm water poured out at once, melting the tension from my body.
“Huuuuuaah...”
A princess really was a princess. Even a hideout she only visited occasionally had a bathroom this nice... And a bathtub, too. Big as the room I’d lived in back on Earth. Seriously huge. I wanted to fill it with warm water and soak... Nah, better wash quick and get out—Rubia said she was tired. I shook off the temptation of a half-bath and focused on the shower. I wet my hair thoroughly, set the greatsword aside for a moment, and worked up a lather with soap—
Click—
Huh?
Creeeak—
Huhh?
“Wh-who’s there?”
Splash— splash—
The door opened and someone stepped in. O-of course it was Rubia, but just in case I crouched in the corner and curled up tight.
“...R-Rubia?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Uh... how’d you get in? I definitely locked it...”
Clatter— clatter—
“Ru... Rubia...?”
Clatter— clatter—
“Huhh? Wh-why are you moving the greatsword...?”
“I told you to be careful.”
“Of what...?”
“I told you to keep a good hold on your greatsword.”
“Yes...? No, with you here I felt safe and—hyak!”
Before I knew it Rubia had come up behind me and lightly wrapped her arms around my body. Those slender curves. That soft chest. Those sticky legs. The sound of a heart about to burst. It was Rubia, but different from usual. My head spun. I heard water dripping. Felt it running over my skin. My hands and feet went numb. Strength drained from my whole body.
“Huu... Ru-bia... my body feels weird...”
And then, a moment later, the dizziness toppled me.
Click— creeeak— bang!
“Hey! Rubia! Noah! Wake up!”
“Huu... Charlotte? What’s going on this early...”
“Uuung...”
Startled awake by the loud voice, I immediately shoved my head under the pillow. So sleepy...
“Sorry for picking the lock and barging in without a word, but we’ve got a real problem.”
Rubia tucked the blanket snugly over me and sat up.
“Haa... What is it? If it’s nothing big, I’m actually going to get mad.”
I only poked a hand out and gripped the hilt of my greatsword.
“The Magic Tower collapsed.”
The surroundings sketched themselves into my senses.
“Sirin.”
Charlotte appeared, fully armed.
“Sirin brought down the Magic Tower in a single day.”
I pulled my head out from under the pillow and sat up.
“After killing every mage and carving up every elder.”
I threw on the clothes that had fallen to the floor and stood.
“She kidnapped the Tower Master.”
“But Charlotte... why are you armed?”
Charlotte pulled a cigarette from her coat, ground her teeth, and forced the words out.
“A subjugation order just dropped. Empire-wide.”