Chapter 32. You Should Wash Too
I wonder how much they prepared?
I was curious, but honestly, I was so tired that I was secretly relieved that Claude had canceled the welcome party. Above all, a banquet after midnight seemed a bit excessive.
But then again, it means they wanted to welcome me that much, so I guess it feels nice.
“They’re good people.”
When I entered the room, warm air enveloped my skin.
The corridor was a bit chilly, but here it was full of cozy warmth, probably because of the fireplace. For me, who had been breathing only cold air while camping for the past few days, this was nothing short of heaven.
“Ah. I feel alive. How long has it been since I’ve been indoors?”
Honestly, I thought I was returning to the wild.
“The atmosphere is unique.”
I looked around.
The floor was covered with a carpet made of animal skin, and above the fireplace hung a taxidermied deer head. Its antlers were huge and impressive.
Besides that, I could see a dark-colored sofa and table, a bed with thick canopy curtains tied to four posts, and something like a display case filled with various liquors.
How should I put it?
It’s very Northern, I guess.
You might wonder what kind of impression that is, but anyway, that’s how it felt.
“A bed, a bed.”
I carelessly tossed my backpack, dirtied from the rough march, onto the floor and moved towards the bed as if entranced.
Plop.
As I lay down, it felt like I was being sucked in.
This is it.
It felt like the muscles that had been tense all this time were melting away. My consciousness was quickly being pulled somewhere.
Knock knock.
That’s when I heard a knocking sound.
Who is it?
This insensitive bastard.
While cursing harshly in my mind, I didn’t let it out of my mouth. It wasn’t so much self-restraint as it was that I didn’t have the energy to move a single finger. Even moving my lips was difficult.
I heard the sound of the inconsiderate visitor opening the door and coming in, but I didn’t move an inch and pretended to be asleep.
I heard the voice of the uninvited guest.
“Are you going to sleep without washing?”
Claude muttered in a disgusted voice.
Yeah.
I’m sleeping without washing.
It’s not like we’re sleeping together, so what does it matter… I’m dying of exhaustion…
“Always so dirty.”
He was openly criticizing me, probably thinking I couldn’t hear.
I heard Claude’s footsteps approaching the bed. Soon, he stood close and pressed his index finger firmly on my forehead.
“Hmmm…”
I’m pretending to sleep.
Don’t wake me up.
I sent telepathic messages while acting with all my might.
“Purifier Seraphina.”
But it seemed my mental messages didn’t reach him. Claude pressed his finger harder.
“Get up and wash before sleeping.”
“……”
“Quickly. I can see your eyes are slightly open.”
“……”
Darn it.
I really only opened them a tiny bit.
Inwardly grumbling and cursing at how sharp he was, I painfully lifted my heavy eyelids. My body remained motionless like a water-soaked cotton ball.
“I want to sleep just like this.”
“Do you know how many days it’s been since you last washed? Wash when you can.”
“Tomorrow morning…”
“Now.”
“I promise I’ll wash in the morning.”
“Don’t make me say it twice.”
“Haa.”
“Did you just sigh in front of me?”
“No…”
Shamefully, I quickly changed my attitude.
But I still couldn’t move a finger. Once I let go of the tension, I realized how heavy a body I had been forcibly dragging along all this time.
It really was a crazy forced march.
Tap tap.
But seemingly oblivious to my hardships, Claude tapped my forehead a couple of times with his expressionless face, urging me to get up quickly.
Sigh.
Alright, alright. You persistent guy.
Inwardly sighing deeply, I raised my upper body, which had become one with the bed, with an absurd amount of willpower. All I did was just sit up on the bed and look up at him, but I felt completely drained.
Did you really have to do this?
Is washing that important?
As I looked at Claude with an expression full of things to say, I saw things that weren’t visible when my eyes were half-closed. His black hair and statue-like white skin were moist.
“You washed quickly.”
At my words, Claude silently looked down at me.
The message in that silent pressure was clear.
You should wash too.
“Did you come to check if I’m washing?”
Suddenly, I became curious about why this guy came.
Coming uninvited like this and being annoying when someone’s trying to rest.
Claude didn’t answer my question, but glanced at the blanket I was sitting on without covering myself.
“You didn’t even change out of your dirty clothes. That’s the worst.”
“I won’t die from being a little dirty.”
“Not making a fuss is good when you’re going on extermination missions, but you should also consider the noses of the people living together in this castle.”
“…Do I smell that bad?”
Only then did I lift my arm and sniff.
“My nose is blocked, so I can’t smell anything. Hehe.”
“……”
Claude made a disgusted expression.
Come on, I really have a cold and my nose is blocked, what can I do?
“It reeks. It smells like you haven’t washed for 100 days.”
“……”
Excuse me?
Is, is it that bad…?
Somehow feeling embarrassed, I bit my lower lip hard.
Then Claude silently looked down at me, his lips moving a few times, before he abruptly turned his head away.
Soon, he scratched the back of his head and roughly grabbed my wrist. The annoyance in his eyes as he looked at me was evident.
“Are you hoping I’ll wash you?”
“……!”
At that moment, I remembered the incident from the first day.
Claude suddenly barging in while I was enjoying a bath in the makeshift tub at the inn.
Should I call it a nightmare?
Or a memory I want to erase?
Claude looked flustered, as though he had made a mistake, at my face which had instantly turned red with shame.
“No, I mean.”
“Really… how could you say that…”
“What?”
His mouth opened blankly. Soon realizing he hadn’t misheard, Claude’s brow furrowed slightly.
“What did you just say?”
“Why are you talking about washing me?”
But when I snapped back with tears in my eyes, his face once again became speechless.
His expression softened. His body stiffened like a boy who had done something wrong.
I intended to be clear about this part. So I spoke firmly with a voice more resolute than ever before.
“I’ll wash. I will wash. I’ll wash by myself, so let go of my hand.”
“……”
“Hurry.”
“……”
The grip on my wrist slowly loosened.
It was a sight that would have shocked anyone who saw it.
The Guardian of the North, as fierce as the blizzards of the Grodes Mountains, obeying so readily?
But having read the original work before my possession, I didn’t find it strange, remembering the scenes where Claude had been subtly soft towards Aveline.
The strangeness hit me about 3 seconds later.
‘But I’m not Aveline.’
As that thought occurred to me, I suddenly started to feel tense.
What have I done to this scary man?
I awkwardly rolled my eyes and tried to break this uncomfortable silence by saying anything.
“So, did you really come to check if I’m washing? No other business?”
“How’s your condition?”
“Not bad.”
“Good.”
After the quick exchange, silence fell again. But this time it was a short silence.
Claude spoke again.
“While I was away, the undead will have swarmed in the Grodes Mountains again. They multiply disgustingly if left alone even for a short while.”
It was uncharacteristically long-winded for him, but I listened quietly.
“We’ll depart for an undead extermination as soon as possible.”
“When will that be?”
“Tomorrow, perhaps?”
Hmm.
Sooner than I thought.
Making me work right away as soon as we arrive.
I thought it was a bit too much, but knowing the situation in the North, I couldn’t strongly object.
“Isn’t it too harsh to work me without even a welcome party?”
Instead, I expressed my complaint in a half-joking voice, remembering the people of Hilton Castle who had welcomed me earlier despite their fatigue.
Only then did the awkward atmosphere dissipate.
Claude snorted softly.
“You didn’t come here for a vacation, did you?”
* * *
Late dawn.
The light was on in the office of the Lord of Hilton.
Although it hadn’t even been an hour since their arrival, when he should be resting, Claude was sitting at his desk, skimming through reports. Austin was with him.
“The undead forces in Fjord Gorge are growing larger.”
“What types?”
Claude slowly closed and opened his eyelids, looking tired.
Austin continued his report in a monotone voice.
“Mostly skeletons, with some liches mixed in, it seems.”
“Damn it.”
This has become troublesome.
Claude pressed his temples, feeling an actual headache coming on.
Undead that use magic greatly annoyed him. He hoped the report was wrong, but the chances of Austin, the highest authority in search magic, being wrong were extremely low.
“With Miss Seraphina here, there shouldn’t be much difficulty.”
Claude quietly stared into space at Austin’s words. Or perhaps at someone beyond it.
‘Fainting. Fainting, huh…’
Seraphina’s purification ability that he saw at the Imperial Palace was remarkable.
She seemed unaware of her own value because her eyes were closed, but… as Austin said, bringing her on this extermination would be a great help.
“Let’s leave her be until tomorrow, for now.”
So there’s no need to use her too hastily.
“Pardon? But isn’t every day crucial?”
But Austin seemed to have a different opinion. He thought that considering the rate at which the undead multiply, leaving even at dawn tomorrow would be too late.
They had always been in agreement on this matter.
“She can purify them all at once anyway, so we should have the welcome party and then work her hard.”
Austin’s expression became strange at the words that came out of Claude’s mouth.
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ynabispo
seraphina é uma porca, ela realmente não gosta de tomar banho. é estranho, como ela trabalhava com limpeza no outro mundo pensei que ela fosse alguém que gostasse de ficar limpa, mas parece que não. não sentir o próprio fedor não impede de se sentir sujo e grudento. espero que a autora não estenda essa piada até fim. estou começando a ficar com um pouco de nojo