Hisaba’s Turn to Bathe

—And then, I spent half an hour reheating the water.

“Um… I am sorry, Miss Leni…”

Inside the wine barrel, Hisaba was unexpectedly more subdued than usual, though I was only judging by the sound of her voice.

“It is no big deal, do not take it to heart.”

I was standing with my back turned to Hisaba.

No matter how one looked at it, I was a man. Before being a man, I was the last descendant of a knightly family. Neither identity allowed me to look back at this moment because, after all…

Right now, Hisaba was bathing completely naked right behind me!

My heart was in a greater state of panic than I had imagined.

My hands were trembling slightly, my face was burning, and my heart was pounding. I commanded my body to take deep breaths to suppress these useless reactions and focused my attention on the task of heating the stones. Mechanical work is very effective at numbing emotions. Checking the heat of the stones and placing those that reached the target temperature into the wooden basin, I felt my facial expression gradually turn to stone.

“Though… one could say it was a blessing in disguise.”

As I slowly stood up with the wooden basin, Hisaba’s voice came from behind me.

“If I had not fallen, I would never have tasted the joy of this ‘bathing’.”

“You make it sound as if I would not have let you try it.”

I slowly turned around, holding the wooden basin with an extremely flat expression. I kept my gaze fixed on the distance, past Hisaba, as I walked toward the wine barrel.

“But Miss Leni’s behavior just now certainly felt that way.”

What happened earlier…

I recalled the scene where I had desperately tried to keep Hisaba from coming over. If I set aside the fact that I am a boy… it really did look like I wanted to monopolize the hot water.

“I am sorry…”

“P-please do not apologize, Miss Leni! It was clearly my fault. This wine barrel is not big enough to hold two people anyway, is it?”

I am so sorry for making you suffer for my personal reasons… seeing Hisaba’s smile, which showed she did not mind at all, my heart wrenched with guilt.

“In any case, it was my fault. As an apology, I will take responsibility for your bathing for the time being, Hisaba.”

“Th-that… how could I accept such a thing? I can handle bathing by myself…”

“Watch out, it is hot!”

“Ah.”

Hisaba, who had leaned out in an attempt to stop me, was halted by a shout that was louder than she expected. She seemed stunned by my voice and remained motionless in a half-standing posture. I did not pay much attention to her condition—or rather, I had no idea where to put my eyes given that she was naked.

I carefully lowered the wooden basin into the water. Once the basin was filled, I slowly lifted it, letting the stones fall out. There was no need for such a cumbersome movement; the only reason I did it was to use the basin to block my peripheral vision from catching a glimpse of Hisaba’s body.

“Ah…”

Feeling the water temperature rise, Hisaba let out a sigh of comfort. Although looking at her still made me embarrassed, the look of enjoyment on her face filled me with a sense of accomplishment as the creator of this bath.

“Alright, then. Enjoy your soak, Hisaba—”

I turned around, believing I was doing so naturally. Just as I was about to leave.

Slap!

“You are not allowed to go, Miss Leni.”

At the same time her voice rang out, my right arm was tightly grabbed.

“Hi-Hisaba? Wh-what is it?”

Did I do something wrong again! What is happening! My heart was screaming, but my logic commanded me to remain calm. I carefully produced my fake voice from my throat. The result was seamless, no different from a girl’s.

Seriously, what is it now… can’t you just bathe in peace?

“As I thought, even at a time like this, your eyes are still avoiding me.”

Eh?

“Since we are both girls, there should be nothing to be shy about… ah.”

Halfway through her sentence, even with my back turned to her, I could sense the atmosphere shifting in a bad direction. Hisaba’s voice gradually grew somber. I could imagine her soaking in the water behind me, gripping my right hand and lowering her head with a sorrowful expression.

Then, her next words arrived as expected.

“As I thought… Miss Leni must find this body of mine disgusting—”