5. Marian
5. Marian
"Noah-nim, can I just put the luggage I brought down anywhere?"
"Sure. Thanks for your hard work."
"Don't mention it. The luggage was so light it wasn't even heavy."
"... I'm glad to hear that."
Karl, who had brought my luggage from the inn, stretched his back as he placed the bundle on the floor.
Since it seemed I'd be staying here for at least a few days, I had asked Karl, who commutes to his own home, to bring my luggage.
"Noah-nim. By the way."
"What is it? Do you have something else to say?"
Don't tell me this guy also wants something as compensation...
With my belt tightened as it is now, the only thing I can give is peppermint candy.
"The clothes you're wearing seem to be the same every day... I was wondering if you only have that one set."
"... Don't talk nonsense, go out and read more books. If you're going to say that, you should at least take regular showers first. Unbelievable. Now that I think of it, I should teach the kids proper bathing habits first. Karl, that includes you."
"Ehhhk...."
Karl left the room as if fleeing.
Part of me wants to use the cultural cheat that protagonists in otherworld stories often do.
— Ahh, this is something called soap.
— Ooh... When you rub it, it makes bubbles...!
— When you rub this soap with warm water, grease and dirt come off cleanly like this.
...That kind of imagination.
Wealthy nobles might use good perfumes or simply use [Clean] magic to remove body odor, but what can ordinary people do?
I only realized after coming to this world that this is what it means to smell like cheese from your body...
But unfortunately, I don't have the chemical knowledge to revolutionize this world's bathing culture. The most I can do is nag people around me to bathe more often.
I knelt down and untied the bundle. Mostly scraps of cloth. And from within, I subtly pulled out one white cotton panty.
'...But I have to hear from these kids that I probably smell because I don't change clothes?'
I can't stand this injustice.
It's true that I wear the same clothes every day as Karl said, but it can't be helped. They're all magic equipment.
...To add, I do change my underwear every day.
'That should be enough, right?'
Click—
I locked the door and slowly began to undress.
First, the brown robe wrapped around the outside.
This, by the way, is a robe enchanted with automatic cleaning and penetration resistance magic. Meaning it won't get dirty even if worn all year.
And then the white dress that clings tightly to the body, off it goes.
It's a good activewear dress that increases mana recovery speed, adjusts elasticity to fit the wearer's body shape, and automatically repairs itself if torn.
I hung the removed clothes on a hanger for now.
"Sorry, Marian, but I need to rest for another day or two. As long as it's not a full week."
Then I slipped into the white nightgown dress from the bundle, grabbed my underwear and towel, and left the room.
Today, I feel like soaking in the bath for a long time.
===
The small bath prepared in the church.
Naturally, it wasn't a grand facility decorated with fancy marble or anything. Just a small tub filled with warm water and a separate space to wash oneself—a somewhat poor and crude structure.
But for now, this was enough.
I neatly folded the clothes and underwear I brought and placed them to the side, then stepped into the bath with my body completely bare.
"...Haa."
I submerged myself deeply up to my neck and leaned my back against the wall. A drop of water that had condensed on the ceiling due to the humidity fell onto the water surface with a 'plop' sound.
Such a quiet bath.
'Feels good....'
With practiced skill, I coiled my long silver hair up into a bun and secured it firmly with a towel.
I scooped warm water with my hands and poured it over my neck and shoulders to wet my body. The sound of splashing water echoed.
When bathing like this, my gaze naturally falls on my own body.
Two heavy mounds of flesh that looked like they were floating in the water.
At their tips, pink nipples seemed to protrude. I glanced around to confirm no one was there, then grabbed my breasts.
Squeeze, squeeze...
An overwhelming volume. A pleasantly soft and squishy texture.
'...That bishop bastard. He was pretending not to, but he was looking at my breasts. For a bishop, isn't he too much of a pervert?'
Well, it's not like I can't understand.
Unless he's a eunuch, any man would dream of big breasts. He'd want to touch them. But I have no intention of letting him touch them at all.
On the other hand, I can squeeze them as much as I want.
"......."
Suddenly, I felt stupid.
While someone gets to fuck however they please, I'm here squeezing my own breasts and going 'heehee—'.
I washed my face as if rubbing it.
"Wouldn't it be great if this were a game playthrough?"
A pretty face, large breasts that feel good to touch, and a hip line that clearly shows her figure when she wears clothes.
An elf mage female character that makes you wonder if someone put effort into customizing her.
When I played Tsukkur yaoi games, I usually went for the brothel route first. Maybe my preference influenced me to end up working in a brothel like this.
'...What am I even thinking.'
When I sit quietly in the bath, useless thoughts like this tend to pop up one after another.
I took another deep breath and leaned my head back.
The moment a drop from the ceiling fell 'plop' on my left cheek.
Click— The sound of the bath door opening from outside.
"Oh my, it seems someone is already here?"
"...Irene?"
A silhouette vaguely visible through the steam.
Senior Priestess Irene, wearing only a thin robe instead of her usual side-slit priestess robe, stepping into the bath.
Ahem.
I let out a fake cough.
Should I leave now, or should I just stay and bathe together?
Working at a brothel, I'm not shy about female nudity. I experienced plenty of that during my short cohabitation with my master in the past.
But...
Those violent breasts...!
"Noah-nim, if I'm not disturbing you, may I join?"
"...Do as you please."
I answered indifferently.
In the end, I couldn't win against breasts.
Irene smiled faintly and brought her body into the tub, crouching down.
The not-so-spacious bath.
Naturally, our flesh... knees and thighs inevitably touched slightly.
Part of me wants to squeeze those breasts once...!
But I am the noble elf, Noah.
Such a lustful appearance doesn't suit me.
Pretending to be nonchalant, I averted my gaze, straightened my back, and sat in a proper posture.
"...Hoo."
"Pffu... You must be tired too, Noah-nim? I heard from the children. You're teaching them... that lesson about sensing mana."
"It's better not to expect too much. For all I know, I might just be wasting food."
"Hehe...."
"Why are you laughing?"
"That excessive modesty of yours, Noah-nim. I don't think anyone who knows you believes it anymore?"
Irene laughed playfully.
Each time, Irene's nipples, barely covered above the water surface, came into my view...
I barely held on with mental strength.
I wonder if she knows how hard I'm trying. Irene continued speaking, turning her body with an attitude that seemed completely unconcerned about showing her nakedness.
"I heard from Elize too? That on the last request, you wiped out all the monsters without the other party members needing to step in."
"......."
"If you had followed the Hero's party, you would have quickly risen to an A-rank adventurer... maybe even conquered numerous dungeons and become S-rank."
"...Irene, you tend to overestimate me too much."
A-rank this, S-rank that.
Such grand positions don't suit me. B-rank is just right.
A position as a high-ranking adventurer where I'm not looked down upon by others. Living peacefully in a leisurely city, earning and spending money.
That's my way of life now.
— Defeat monsters all over the world, become S-rank, and someday return to my original world...!
Such a grand goal,
I gave up on it as soon as I saw a dragon that could destroy a city with one breath.
The reality of this guy called me, who acts noble and pretentious in others' eyes...
Is ultimately just a cowardly elf mage.
In that sense, Irene was a somewhat uncomfortable presence for me. Every time she sees me, she praises me far more highly than I wish.
I just want her to be appropriately wary of me.
Irene probably doesn't notice the complicated thoughts in my expression. In her eyes, Noah is a perfect and amazing mage.
...Hehe.
Towards such me, Irene smiled faintly and leaned her shoulder against mine.
And whispered softly in my ear.
"...Actually, thank you for not leaving Bellua. Embarrassingly, I was relieved that you didn't follow the Hero's party. Even though that would have been the path for the world's sake...."
Sparkling eyes. Wet lips.
Below them, a drop of water on her chin fell 'plop' onto her chest.
I gulped.
"...I, I should get up now."
I abruptly stood up and pulled my body out of the tub.
"No, Noah-nim? Are you leaving already?"
"I've been bathing since long before you came. Soaking too long is making my head hurt."
I spat out a lame excuse and hastily wrapped myself with a towel before fleeing the bath.
No sound followed me.
'...Wow. Fuck. I almost kissed her right there.'
Surely a devout priestess like Irene wouldn't deliberately cling like that. That can't be.
===
"...She's gone."
Irene, left alone in the bath.
She was recalling the pure white naked body of Noah she had just seen.
An amazing mage. A nature that can't ignore others.
Seeing the naked body of such an amazing being was quite a novel experience. As soon as she heard from the orphanage children that Noah had gone to the bath, she hurriedly grabbed her clothes and came here.
That choice wasn't wrong.
'She had a mole on her right buttock....'
A secret probably no one else knows.
Irene giggled.