#090
“It’s because of the medicine.”
On the way back, with my swollen face, I made excuses to Freya once more. It was partly because she had asked with a frowning face if I was really okay, and partly because I wanted to emphasize it once more to Carlisle, who was pretending not to know and walking ahead.
“It’s because of the medicine the mansion owner gave me. I really wasn’t crying.”
Speaking honestly, if something happened to Carlisle, I would naturally be surprised since I’m human too, but that didn’t mean I would wail to that extent. Of course not. Being swept away by emotions so uncontrollably while having taken a Tranquility Potion was something that could only be explained by the medicine. I wasn’t making excuses.
But both Carlisle and Freya only glanced at my face briefly without giving any proper response, so my excuses scattered emptily into the air. I sniffled and pulled the jumper’s hood deep over my hat to hide my face.
Actually, I thought it would subside in two or three hours, but my swollen face wouldn’t return to normal. Even after washing my face with piled snow for a long time, it was still like this. This was largely Carlisle’s fault. That bastard had bitten and sucked my face too much while trying to comfort me. He should have done it more moderately.
In that state, we quietly descended toward the lodge.
The weather around the mansion, which had been calm for a while, went wild again like an unleashed colt as soon as the 3-hour time limit ended. We still had to deal with monsters that occasionally attacked, and we had to perform the acrobatic feat of climbing down precarious ice walls. Still, compared to when we climbed up, it could be said to be a leisurely journey home.
After passing through the dangerous sections and experiencing the brief thrilling pleasure of sliding down narrow snowy slopes like skiing, we safely returned to the lodge before sunset.
***
When we opened the lodge door and entered, Taro’s lively voice and the smell of delicious food greeted us.
“Wow, welcome back everyone! You all worked hard! You must be tired and hungry, right? I made a lot of warm stew. Do you want to eat and then wash? Or wash and then eat… huh? Raon, what’s wrong with your eyes? Did you get stung by a bee?”
Where would there be bees in the middle of winter on a snowy mountain?
“I got hit by the mansion’s ghost.”
I roughly covered my face with my hands and whined that I was starving to death.
Actually, it wasn’t whining but I was really hungry, so washing or resting came second. If I went into the bathroom to wash like this, I felt like I’d get dizzy and collapse.
I just roughly washed my hands and rushed to the table where food was set. I was so busy gulping down the masterpiece stew Taro had made that I couldn’t properly savor the taste at first. Only after scraping the bottom clean with the accompanying bread and somewhat satisfying my hunger did drowsy fatigue wash over me.
I wanted to just fall asleep in front of the fireplace in the lobby, never mind bathing or beds, but fortunately, my stamina had improved somewhat so I didn’t collapse unconsciously like before.
“Where should I sleep?”
When I picked up my backpack that I had thrown anywhere and asked about a room to stay in, Taro pointed to the back door.
“Go out there and enter the annex. There’s a bathroom attached and it’s a hot spring. Nice, right?”
I already knew there was a hot spring. Even in the game, when conquering this area, I would bathe in the hot spring and recharge a day’s worth of stamina. Whether it wasn’t contaminated or Carlisle had done something with his power, I didn’t know, but being able to use the hot spring was truly welcome.
After nearly a full day of combat and labor in the snow, and shivering all night in the ice mansion, all my muscles were stiffly knotted and my fatigue was indescribable. This fatigue clinging all over my body was the kind that could only be refreshingly relieved by washing with water.
I went out the back door as Taro indicated and unpacked in the annex room.
It was quite a spacious room. There was one excessively large bed and the rest of the furniture was simple. Just one wardrobe and one table.
I roughly put my bag in a corner and started taking off my dirty work clothes. There was a coin laundry for guests here, so I was planning to do laundry later, but stopped while taking everything off.
“…What’s this?”
The overalls and shirt I wore outside were definitely mine, but the t-shirt and underwear I wore underneath weren’t mine. Not only were the designs unfamiliar, but the fabric quality and stitching were on a different level.
‘What… did Carlisle dress me?’
I didn’t know if it was actually Carlisle or the butler Hayden who dressed me, but it was definitely put on while I was unconscious. It didn’t even seem like ordinary clothes. Beyond simply being high-quality, they were functionally different. As soon as I took it off, even though I was inside the room, I felt such a drastic temperature difference that the air touching my skin felt completely different.
What, why is it so cold? Surprised by the unexpected cold, I reflexively put the t-shirt back on. Warmth returned instantly.
“Huh.”
It was obvious. It was an item. I looked down at the t-shirt that wasn’t mine.
No wonder the cold of these snowy mountains was bearable from the start, unlike the difficult desert last time, which seemed strange. This environment would be worse than the desert, if anything.
It was somewhat absurd. Was it payment for the deal? Since that deal involved sleeping together, the thought that it was like payment for sexual services made me feel uncomfortable…
No. Let’s just accept it as a colleague’s goodwill. Maybe he didn’t like seeing me suffering from the heat and begging in the desert. I’d work better if I was in good shape… let’s think of it as a matter of efficiency. As Taro said, I’m also a member of the expedition team, so it’s like welfare.
I finished undressing and shivered from the cold as I looked for the bathroom.
Inside, there was a separate shower area and a small hot spring bath that could comfortably accommodate about 6 people. The outer windows and ceiling were finished with glass, offering a full view of the snowy mountain scenery. I automatically gasped in admiration, but postponed admiring the scenery for later, quickly washed my body, and entered the bath.
“Ahh, this is good…”
A sound like an old man’s came out naturally. As I was enveloped in warmth that was closer to hot than warm, my body instantly went limp. Relaxing completely, I thought about the mansion conquest that had ended faster than expected, in about a day.
There were many incomprehensible situations – Licht’s memories, the tangled quests, Carlisle suddenly losing consciousness – but most absurd of all was the emotion I felt when I put in the eye drops and cried. The great emotion that dominated me then had now completely disappeared like morning mist. The me now and the me then seemed like completely different people.
‘What was that exactly?’
I was thinking such thoughts while tilting my head back and looking at the sky when I heard the sound of a door opening with a clatter, and someone came in.
The presence was puzzling, so I turned my gaze toward the door. I thought I was using the bathroom attached to my room alone, but it was too big for that. Was it communal after all? Was there a passage connecting to other rooms?
Thinking that way, when I turned around, there stood a naked Carlisle.
‘Huh.’
Flustered and frozen, I just stared with wide eyes. Carlisle glanced at me and unhesitatingly entered the water, settling down opposite me. As soon as our feet touched, I unconsciously pulled back my extended legs awkwardly. Unable to do anything else, our eyes met.
“Why?”
“Huh?”
When I responded stupidly, Carlisle raised one corner of his mouth.
“Why are you staring at me with those startled rabbit eyes? Is it strange that I came in?”
“Ah, no. It’s just…”
How should I put it – even though we’d seen everything and done everything, I should be more comfortable, but I was actually more conscious of it and more uncomfortable than before. I used to be more thoughtless before, didn’t I? Back then I just admired or envied his good body, but now both showing my naked body and seeing his naked body felt awkward.
No, rather than awkward, it was more like… strangely ticklish… close to nervousness.
“Were you waiting for someone else? Freya? Sorry, but Freya is someone who extremely abhors romantic relationships, whether with men or women.”
Carlisle spoke cynically. No, why are you bringing up Freya again?
“That’s not it, I thought it was attached to my room… I thought I was using it alone. Come to think of it, it is too big for one person.”
I made a sullen excuse and Carlisle corrected my misunderstanding.
“It’s not your room but our room. We’re sharing it together.”
Our room? At those words, I unconsciously hiccupped.
“Y-you and me together? Th-there’s only one bed?”
“So what? Isn’t it spacious enough?”
“No, it’s not about the space…”
But I hiccupped again, so I couldn’t finish my sentence. As I frowned while pressing my chest, Carlisle continued indifferently.
“We slept together even on that small cot in the desert, so why are you being shy now?”
That was an unavoidable situation, and above all, nothing had happened between us yet at that time. The situation is different now.
“Won’t T-Taro or Freya think it’s strange…”
Like a thief whose own feet tingle, something like that psychology. No matter how much it’s a game world setting, I was still awkward about having that kind of relationship with someone of the same sex. Moreover, to the people here, we were an unusual couple who had even married and then separated.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
