Even in the Brilliant Land of Gods, Night Comes (3)
Splash-!
"Ugh, why are you getting up all of a sudden? It was just starting to get nice and warm…"
"What? You start talking and then just trail off."
The moment I stood she spoke to me, so I waited—only for her words to die away into silence.
Left with no choice, I turned the lower half of my body that had been right in front of her and climbed out of the tub.
"Spatial Separation. Wood Transformation."
The magic I cast peeled the space directly in front of the bathtub so I could strip the spell away later with ease, then transformed the bathroom tiles into the kind of wood used for steam saunas on the Eastern Continent, sealing the air tightly around me so the heat could not escape.
"And then… Hardening. Fire. Water."
I carefully regulated the flame so the wooden steam room would not burn, set a hardened stone atop it until it glowed, then sprinkled water over the stone. The steam sauna was complete.
Pssshhhhhh-!!
In the East they used real fire and real stones, but I had no leisure to warm a room at a leisurely pace and had done it roughly with magic, so the sound came out a little more violent than it should have.
Still, the chamber quickly grew not merely warm but properly hot, so it was fine.
"Nngh… this is nice…"
Anyone looking in might have called me trash for building a sauna and lounging about while my fiancée lay under absolute rest orders.
I prefer to call it a difference in values.
I have survived countless near-death crises on the battlefield. Now that ordinary life has returned to me, the conviction that I should enjoy the present—and that useless worry does no good—has been burned deep into my bones.
Yes, of course Violet is in a bad state. But would fretting and moaning about her while I lie in bed actually make her better?
No. On the contrary, if I rest properly now and then care for her with everything I have once she wakes, she will recover her stability all the faster.
"…."
Truth is, I am worried out of my mind.
Is she actually dying right now? Did the Saintess already die and simply lie to me for my sake? What if this is all an illusion?
I know every one of those thoughts is stupid, yet I cannot stop them.
So I had planned to bathe and think things through slowly—until that sword interrupted me. That was why I decided to empty my head by sweating in a steam sauna instead.
"Haa…"
If this were home I would swing a sword to organize my thoughts, but this is the Holy Kingdom. A guest stepping out of his room in the dead of night to wave a blade around would not look good.
Had I been swinging a sword the moment I recovered it might have been one thing; otherwise I would be lucky not to be labeled an Imperial spy.
Creeeak-!
"Ah. Please."
"What is this place? It is terribly muggy."
Life smashed through the Spatial Separation I had carefully set up and even broke the steam-room wall as she barged inside.
"Hey. You ever think about changing your name?"
"My name? No. Changing the name my master bestowed upon me? Unthinkable."
"Hmm… You're all black, and this idea came to me in an Eastern steam sauna, so… Night would be good. Pronounced differently that could be… Yewan, Yoru, Yami… Which do you like?"
"Shut up. I have no intention of being called by a name of your choosing."
She plopped herself down beside the long chair I occupied, crossed her arms, and crossed her legs. Then, realizing that only emphasized her chest, she draped a towel over it—yet that overwhelming size still refused to be completely hidden by the cloth.
"Yewan sounds off, and Yami feels like a guy's name. Yoru. Yoru is good."
"What kind of ridiculous name is that… No, never mind. Call me whatever you please."
"Alright then, Yoru—splash some water over there."
Yoru had torn through the wall on her way in and all the steam had escaped.
The essence of a steam sauna is heat so intense it borders on scorching; I could not let the temperature drop again.
"On that rock, you mean?"
Ssshhhhh-!!
"Ahh… So this is how you heat the room and make yourself sweat. Fascinating."
"If you're going to barge in uninvited, keep your mouth shut and sit still."
"Tsk."
Come to think of it, does Yoru—the mental image of a sword—even sweat when she is hot? And what happens if a fire spirit jumps into water? I heard that in the East, practicing calligraphy inside a steam sauna is a way to prove one's manhood…
"Are you that worried?"
"…Do swords even feel the heat?"
"Is your fiancée weighing on you so heavily? Do you want to erase that mountain of worry by cycling through meaningless thoughts again and again?"
"…."
"You really are an unhonest man. This 'steam sauna' of yours was part of the process of wiping that worry away, was it not?"
Tsk. This is exactly why I wanted to be alone. She just reads my mind and tries to meddle.
"Is it so wrong once in a while? Have you and I ever properly talked about anything except when things were urgent?"
"Well… no."
The only times Life and I spoke were in crises, when I needed her authority.
Even when she tried to interfere, I deliberately ignored her.
"Your fiancée is fine. I am a sword whose mission is to make the life of the human my master forged better. Confirming the life and death of a human who is not far away is simple."
"…Is that so. Thank you."
"Hmph. Idiot."
In truth, the reason Yoru and I—who had lived and fought side by side for years on the battlefield—remained no more than bad friends came down to a difference in values.
Yoru hated it when I used my authority for others and suffered for it, and I could not understand that attitude of hers.
Until the war ended and our contract closed, we never had a chance to speak frankly. And even after peace arrived and I could finally understand her values, I still could not say it.
Who knew we would meet again like this.
Honestly, I had thought Lellasion was only lending her for a brief moment, but Lellasion handed Yoru over to me until our contract ends.
In other words, she intended to work me hard as her apostle.
That is partly why I was so prickly when I first saw Yoru again.
But if Yoru is the one trying to close the distance first, I should not reject her like a child.
"You're right. I was an idiot. Even when you cried and screamed for me to stop, I ignored you and used the authority."
"…I do not want to remember that time."
The Battle of Rellion. The greatest turning point of my life, when I dedicated my entire lifetime to the authority.
Whether that curve bent me upward or downward, I still do not know for certain.
Because of that lifelong sacrifice to the authority I became a body that could neither die nor live, and eventually had to contract with Lellasion.
Back then Yoru had wailed in my hand, begging me not to, to think again—but the me of that time ignored her and unleashed the authority.
And after that battle, Yoru was returned to Lellasion.
Funny, isn't it.
"I'm sorry. I should have listened to you then."
"…It's fine. I am… okay, so… And… what good is it… now that…"
Yoru lowered her head, hiding her face.
I pretended not to notice.
Time passed, her quiet sobs faded, and when she lifted her head again a strange atmosphere began to flow between us.
"…."
"…."
I wondered why I had to share the same weird vibe with a sword that I had with Violet, but I erased the thought before Yoru could read it.
Then, ever so slightly, Yoru's body pressed against mine.
Soft and warm for a sword. And that overwhelming size of hers wrapped around my arm.
I wanted to bolt out of there right that second, yet I could picture all too clearly how that would destroy the relationship with Yoru I had only just begun to mend.
"It's true, I am a sword. But can you not at least treat my personality as a woman's…?"
Still wrapped around my arm, Yoru looked up at me in a coquettish voice. Moisture still clung to her eyes, making her impossibly beautiful.
"Haa…"
By this point, anyone would know how Yoru felt.
I am not a eunuch. If I pushed her away, Yoru would let herself be pushed.
But embracing another woman while my fiancée lies collapsed? There is no bigger piece of trash than that.
I should let her be satisfied with this for now. And when Violet wakes, I will tell her honestly.
"E… Evan…"
"I'm sorry. I can't answer your feelings. I have a fiancée, and I intend to love her. So… be content with this."
Smack-
A butterfly kiss—not on the lips, but on the forehead.
A little awkward given we were both naked, yet it was the best I could give Yoru.
"…I know the Empire has a concubine system."
"Uh… it does, but…"
"Then if you receive your fiancée's permission, it should be fine. You are not going to complain about even that, are you?"
"No, I wouldn't complain, but… whether Violet would allow it…"
"Hmph. I am my master's sword. And I can think for myself, so she will probably permit it. Therefore."
Smack-
A surprise kiss. This time on the lips, not the forehead.
"Keep yourself pure and wait for this lady."
…Why is every woman who likes me so determined to jump me?