Chapter 32: Chapter 28 – At the Room

Analyzing… 0%

Was it a mistake to confess this soon?

Maybe. Just a bit. We haven’t known each other that long. What we have hasn’t had time to mature. “Love on first sight” is a thing from stories. Infatuation, obsession, lust. This could be something a bit less healthy than I’d like it to be.

The last thing I want is to poison what we have.

But the attraction is there.

And it’s mutual.

And while it’s been a short time, we’ve lived it together! That’s not really a common start to a relationship. A real crash course into what we’re like. Honestly, it was getting increasingly difficult to keep my feelings to myself with how we have been carrying on.

It’s not like we’re fused at the hip, either. We do our own things every day. We’re both adults, this isn’t some child’s crush. We should be fine.

Analyzing… 25%

I wonder how long she’s going to take in the bath? I don’t really feel like bothering her.

When we just had the bath be a tub in the same room, it was honestly a lot easier to have a conversation. Now that it’s in a literal bathroom… I know I hate being bothered when I’m in there myself.

To think that one of the upgrades was a proper bathroom. No need to use the awful communal toilet, even. How the hell does any of it work work? I haven’t seen any plumbing.

Magic. It’s always going to be magic. Who knows what they do to waste. Incinerate it, maybe. None of that matters. Stop thinking about it!

I wonder how common all this stuff is? Thanks to all these rune stones and magic, the technology level of this world so far seems to be all over the place. Some things look down right medieval, others look nigh industrial revolution, while others look… Well, eerily similar to what I’m used to. Just a bit crude.

Analyzing… 50%

These things she gave me look really interesting. If I could harness ambient magic particles and solar energy to recharge my augmentations, that’d help a lot. Question is, how good are they? I’d love to be rid of my power issues for good, but I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

There’s also the question how well my augmentations can take power from them. I really don’t want to burn my augs out.

Yeah. I really don’t want to die.

Hey, the cloak already works for this! Surely I can use these, too. If nothing else, I’ll be able to increase the time until I run out of charge. Everything counts.

No need to be gloomy.

Analyzing… 75%

I wonder what my new status as a “summoned hero” really means for our future. It’s not like they can tell if it’s fake or not. If, and it’s a big if, we win this war, can I just pick up and leave with Avilia? I doubt Karine can give me any good reasons to stay after all’s said and done. She broke my trust in the worst way possible. There’s no fixing that.

And I liked her. I knew she had a scheming side, but I didn’t expect this.

Oh, sure, it sounded like she wants to move fast and this whole “summoned hero” thing was a part of that whole scheme. Getting people to rally behind the rebellion, thinking it’s been blessed by one of their gods. I guess it’s not that much of a stretch. It’s not like their gods aren’t known to back different sides through their heroes all the time. Otherwise they’d all be in the same country.

For now, I’ll follow Karine’s tune like a good little follower. I’d be just as much a target in the thick of it as I’d be out of it. People’ll think I’m a “summoned hero” regardless once the rumors start to go around. It’s honestly better having just one side be after my blood rather than both.

Analyzing… 100%

Done?

These results are… Interesting. If I could turn off some of my augmentations, I could actually…

The bathroom door opens, prompting me to stand up and take steps towards the door. A refreshed looking Avilia emerges. Already in her pajamas, too.

“Finished!”

I kiss her on the forehead and smile. “Perfect timing! I just finished checking how big of a help these things are.”

“What did you find out?”

“They’re great!,” I gush, “With some setup, I should be able to recharge my augmentations! Thank you so much!”

She smiles back at me. “That is great! You are welcome!”

Okay, it’s not perfect,and it’ll take a while. But I’m not lying. I’ll have to shut down parts of my body instead of setting them on standby. It’ll take some getting used to but it’ll work!

I stretch my arms and decide to ruffle Avilia’s hair a little. She makes the most adorable pouty face.

She steps to my side, leaving the doorway open. “Are you not going to take a bath?”

“Oh,” I say as I follow her with my eyes, “Of course I am.”

“Well,” she says as she suddenly steps behind me and pushes me gently in the back, “Get going, then!”

I stagger slightly. “Alright, alright!”

I get into the bathroom and Avilia closes the door behind me.

She hasn’t been this forceful before.

What’s up with her?

I slap my cheeks. Doesn’t matter! Bath time! Oh, sure, first things first, but I just want to get into the bath.

Then, put my clothes here, and… Here we go!

Ah, this is always a definite highlight of the day. Just wish I could take a book with me. Haven’t gotten any I could risk getting wet yet. All those spell books look priceless and they’re honestly not fun reads even in a pinch. Where are the trashy romance novels? I love those.

I bet bookstores aren’t that uncommon, they just don’t have one in this village. If this whole rebellion thing actually works out, after the dust settles I might be able to see if the capital has any. I’d be genuinely surprised if it didn’t. Karine had a good selection of printed works. Yes, printing presses are such a fundamental technology. Considering all this stuff obviously inspired by outworlders, it’d be weird if it wasn’t commonplace.

Doesn’t seem I’d be able to find printed books using the magical alphabet, though. All the works I’ve seen using it so far have been obviously hand written. Can’t read printed works from the other countries.

Aw.

I doubt Avilia’d appreciate me wasting even more time in the bath, though.

Ah, I shouldn’t take too long tonight. Time to stop daydreaming!

Just make sure I don’t get my hair wet…

Done!

Time to step out from the bathtub and...

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A knock on the door, making me turn towards it. “Yes?”

The door cracks open. “Um.”

I walk closer to the door. “Is something wrong?”

Avilia pulls the door wide open and I freeze in place. The dry air from the room makes me feel cold.

I just stare at her, dumbfounded.

What’s going on? Why is she doing this? She hasn’t looked at me like this before.

I can’t help but feel self-conscious. She can see all the seams on my body.

I hate it.

But she doesn’t seem bothered.

I feel a little bit more at ease.

She blushes and bridges the gap between us with one step.

I only manage to mumble a weak “What’re you doing?” in my surprise.

She doesn’t answer. She lets out a deep sigh. It tickles my neck.

I feel her hands on my collarbones. Her touch is so warm.

A whisper. “Surprise.”

We kiss.

The tension in my body melts away.

She pulls away, brushing her hands against my skin.

Goosebumps.

“Your pajamas are going to get wet.”

She smiles, still blushing. “Not a problem.”

“What did you want?”

“I forgot,” she says with a mischievous tone, “I got distracted.”

“Wanna let me dry myself?”

“Sure,” she says, seating herself on the toilet. “I will wait.”

What’s going on with her? Is she going to just watch me get ready for bed?

My face feels hot.

Focus. Towel!

I feel her eyes on me. She may be quietly sitting on the toilet, but she’s watching my every move.

Wash my face!

Refreshing.

I still have my creams, too. I don’t know what I’d do without them. I’ll have to use something else soon, though. I don’t want to run out!

Um, next, put the towel away and put on my pajamas…

Activate the washing machine.

I’m done.

Can’t stop myself from feeling out of it.

“I’m ready.”

“I see,” she says with a smirk I’ve never seen before on her face. “I had fun watching.”

“Anyway,” I say awkwardly, “I think we should leave the bathroom. We still need to talk, remember?”

“Oh!” Avilia stands up from the toilet. “That is what I had on my mind before…”

“Before getting ‘distracted,’ right?”

“Right.”

I pat her on the head. “You’re kind of in the way.”

She stares at me intently.

“What…”

Before I can react, she kisses me again.

“Alright, I am done!”

She steps out from the bathroom, leaving me standing there alone.

Jeez. What kind of a monster have I awakened?

I didn’t expect any of this.

Is she getting back at me for all my teasing?

Does it matter?

Time to get out from the bathroom!