Chapter 297 – Rest and Departure

Since Father and the others had departed from the Count’s territory early in the morning and traveled here, they decided to take a bath and rest early. They probably also felt mentally fatigued from having to speak with Old Sigmund. Camilla was the same. Having learned from Kennel that Elliot was in Termwills, she seemed unable to relax.

So it appeared the guests decided to relax a bit in the game room after dinner, then take a bath and rest slowly.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had time to relax like this, so I’m happy for moments like these,” Grace said with a smile as she offered me a lap pillow. Her slender fingers gently combed through my hair. I closed my eyes at the ticklish yet comfortable sensation.

“Between maintaining magic tools and preparing for travel… there were so many things to do that it was hard to settle down during the journey.”

Though I had been practicing Circulating Ki… taking proper time to relax was another matter entirely.

“It seems things are settling down with Elliot-sama and Camilla-sama too… I can finally feel at ease.”

Ashley pressed her cheek against mine from beside me. I intertwined my hand with hers, palm to palm, and began Circulating Ki with both of them.

Inside… a warm sensation spread from the center of my body to the tips of my limbs, creating a comfortable feeling.

I slightly opened my eyes and touched a strand of Grace’s lustrous golden hair. I combed through it with my fingers as she had been doing. The smooth texture transmitted to my hand and the scent tickling my nostrils was pleasant.

While still holding Ashley’s hand, I brought it up to her cheek… then released it once to touch her cheek. Her pale hand came to rest on the back of mine. I could feel the fine texture of her skin clinging to my fingertips.

“Hehe… that tickles.”

“…Theodore-sama’s hand is warm.”

Both of them appeared much more relaxed than during our travels.

I supposed part of it was because their worries about Mother and Elliot had been resolved.

After practicing Circulating Ki with them for a while, I headed to the bath. Today’s rotation had Grace and Ashley in the living room, Rosemary in the bath, and Marlene and Claudia in the bedroom.

As for Rosemary, she was standing in front of the changing room with her arms crossed, opening and closing her feather fan.

“…Um. Could you go in first?”

“Understood.”

…It wasn’t like I intended to watch her change. I changed into my bath robe in the changing room and entered the bath.

While checking the water temperature and pouring water over myself with a bucket, I heard the rustle of clothing from the changing room as Rosemary entered with her hair tied up. As usual, she was wearing the Shrine Maiden’s training uniform from the Temple… but it had slits to allow easier movement when wet, revealing glimpses of her white thighs.

Combined with her good figure, it made it rather difficult to know where to look…

“You’re going to wash my back, right? I’d be happy if you could turn around,” Rosemary said, averting her face when I looked at her. She seemed somewhat unsure where to put her hands… covering her chest area and the slits, perhaps feeling unsettled without her feather fan.

“Is this good?”

“Yes.”

Understanding her discomfort, I obediently turned my back as requested, and her voice seemed to regain some composure. The sound of water filled the room as she filled buckets and wrung out towels, then began washing my back with a washcloth. After rinsing the soap from my back, she washed my hair as well.

Though she seemed somewhat unpracticed, she was thorough. Being involved in medicine preparation probably made her dexterous too.

“I’ll wash Marie’s back and hair too.”

“Oh? Well then, I’ll take you up on that.”

Since her hair was up, her slender nape was exposed, but showing her back didn’t seem to embarrass Rosemary too much.

The back of her garment was largely open. I washed it with a washcloth and poured water over it.

Next, her hair. I untied it, brushed it, then rinsed it with lukewarm water.

Taking some Savona Tree shampoo, I lathered it up and began washing Rosemary’s hair. I wanted to be as careful as possible since damaging her hair would defeat the purpose. I washed her hair, then gently massaged her scalp as I cleaned it.

“You’re quite skilled. I’d say you’re not inferior to the Royal Castle’s maids…” Rosemary murmured in an impressed tone.

“If you say so. I’m not very confident though.”

“Yes. Not bad at all.”

I was somewhat imitating how hair is washed at barbers or salons. Using the pads of my fingers to massage rather than my nails. Well, since it’s self-taught, if it works well then that’s good enough.

After rinsing her hair, we each washed our bodies and entered the bath. Rosemary was crossing her arms to hide her chest where the fabric clung, but this only ended up emphasizing her cleavage instead. Well… I decided not to mention it.

Since maintaining distance would make Circulating Ki impossible, she leaned against me closely.

Taking deep breaths to avoid getting lightheaded, I calmed my mind and began Circulating Ki. Performing Circulating Ki in the bath had particularly high effectiveness – it felt like fatigue was literally dissolving into the hot water.

“Though it might be strange for me to say this… I’m glad you were able to reconcile,” Rosemary said quietly.

“Mmm… Yeah. But Marie, you’ve reconciled with Albert and Marlene too.”

So that was probably why those words came out.

“That’s true,” Rosemary said with a wry smile.

After warming ourselves to the core through Circulating Ki, we got out of the bath.

Since she told me to go ahead, I changed in the dressing room, called out to the bathroom, and left.

When I headed to the bedroom, Marlene and Claudia were waiting while playing cards with Sheila and the others. Though we wouldn’t actually get into bed until everyone was together, after Grace and Ashley finished their bath.

Seeing them changed into nightwear and enjoying cards was heartwarming as always, creating a sleepover-like atmosphere.

“Is the room temperature alright like this? I can adjust it if it’s too hot,” Claudia asked.

“Yeah. I think it’s fine. I’m going to do some deciphering of notes too, and it wouldn’t be good for my body to get too cold during that.”

“Okay. Understood.”

Since summer heat still lingered and we had just bathed, the room temperature was lowered just enough to prevent chills. It was quite comfortable for after bathing.

Rosemary returned to the main bedroom. Then Grace and Ashley. We each spent time as we pleased until bedtime… then when the time felt right, we all got into bed together.

Today, Marlene and Claudia were on either side of me. Next to Marlene were Ashley, Grace, and Rosemary in that order.

As for Marlene who ended up beside me… she happily clung to my chest area. Accepting this, I stroked her hair and she looked up with a beaming smile.

Seeing this, Claudia narrowed her eyes and showed a gentle expression. She lay down beside me, quietly drawing close. She pressed her cheek against me as if listening to my heartbeat, closing her eyes.

While practicing Circulating Ki, we turned off the lights.

“Not long ago… I never thought we’d have times this peaceful. Sometimes I find it strange when I think about it,” Claudia murmured to no one in particular.

…Yeah. From Claudia’s perspective, leaving the Labyrinth to go out or sleeping together with someone… probably weren’t things she could have imagined.

“…Let’s do our best at the Blazing Fortress starting tomorrow.”

“…Yes,” Claudia answered from within my embrace.

Grace and the others seemed to quietly agree as well. The quiet, peaceful time before sleep. The comfort of Circulating Ki. The delicate, soft feel of Marlene and Claudia. The scent of soap after bathing. Wrapped in these sensations, I fell asleep.

――The next day. Thanks to getting sufficient sleep, I woke up feeling refreshed. With Father and Ashley’s matters… and having found paths toward resolving various issues, my worries had diminished too.

At any rate, I think we were able to rest thoroughly and replenish our energy before heading to the Blazing Fortress. My Magical Power was in good condition too.

Checking everyone’s plans during breakfast, it turned out Father and the others would stay at the villa for several days. They planned to visit the theater and hot spring town before returning.

Since Elliot was with Camilla, Donato, and Kennel, he would spend today relaxing with them.

We decided to have Ambrum, disguised as a servant, accompany us so he could detect any problems that might occur while we were in the Labyrinth.

Since Ambrum wasn’t suited for direct combat, bringing him into the Labyrinth would be difficult, so having him serve as a liaison would work perfectly.

Old Sigmund and Valentina said they were going to the workshop. We agreed to meet at the workshop after returning from the Labyrinth.

“Well then――shall we go?”

“Yes,” everyone nodded when I called out.

After finishing breakfast, we equipped ourselves with Blazing Fortress countermeasures and left the house.

Let’s review the precautions for the Blazing Fortress on our way to the Moon Temple.

Since we had been away in Silvatoria, the Labyrinth felt unfamiliar again. Though we had countermeasure Equipment and Tephra’s Blessing among other things, it remained a challenging area regardless. Let’s psych ourselves up to avoid getting injured.