Twenty-Sixth Chapter
Bath, Maidens, and Chatting
With the first day of the Friendship Magical Tournament over, the contestants from the Second Magical Institute returned to the hotel for dinner.
However, the atmosphere wasn’t all that cheerful. They weren’t enjoying their meals so much as they were simply trying to eat their fill for tomorrow. Before dinner began they’d been told the results of the first day of the tournament, and the disappointing results of the second-years and third-years still put a damper on everyone’s mood.
The only saving grace was that the gloomy mood didn’t hang over the first-years. But with their seniors being so down, they couldn’t exactly celebrate on their own.
The first-years had secured nine wins in the first round. Even taking Alus and Loki into account, as well as Tesfia’s and Alice’s quick growth, it was almost miraculous.
The second-years had won five of their matches. However, the contestant they’d been sure would make it to at least the third round had been eliminated in the first match. That said, they still had enough leeway to make a comeback.
The problem was with the third-year students. It was just one misfortune after another, and they barely managed to scrape together two victories, failing to reach their goal of five.
Overall, the results put the Second Magical Institute in third place, which was a decent start. But from what Alus could see, morale was plummeting and would negatively influence the coming matches. If they were active duty Magicmasters that stepped into the Outer World in this state, they would get wiped out.
“Hey, what are we going to do about that?” Tesfia asked, pointing over to the deathly quiet table where the third-years were gathered.
In truth, Alus had nothing to say to losers, but he did bring up the thought that came to him. “If it bothers you, why don’t you two try and cheer them up?”
“Hmm, won’t that just upset them instead?” Alice mused.
“I would imagine that two beautiful girls pouring them drinks would cheer them up... well, we only have juice though.”
Alus had only said it as a joke, but Tesfia and Alice stopped eating and stared at him, dumbfounded.
“Wait, you mean us? W-Well, I guess you could call us beautiful.”
“We’re supposed to be modest here, Fia. I’m embarrassed too...”
Both girls blushed. Loki, who had been left out, had an unamused expression, but Alus paid her no heed as he brought a cut piece of meat to his mouth.
He hadn’t particularly lied to them, either. While he wasn’t confident in his own sense of beauty, he was aware that the male students’ gazes were primarily focused on those two.
That said, Alus having no strong personal feelings about it was one of his characteristics. And being able to ruin the mood he’d unintentionally set up himself by saying something unnecessary was just like him too.
“Oh, too bad. Looks like you won’t be necessary.” Alus stuck his fork into another piece of meat as he watched Felinella walk up to the third-years’ table and cheer up each of the contestants. She was fulfilling her responsibilities as their leader.
That’s Feli for you. She knows what’s up. Not that my stance is going to change... even if it did, I’d probably say something that would piss them off more, Alus thought, and decided to leave everything to Felinella as he got back to his dinner.
The truth was that he had more to think about. After meeting and speaking with Lettie, there was something in the corner of his mind that he’d been speculating about.
That’s when a certain first-year student interrupted his train of thought.
“I didn’t get to see your fight, but is it true that it ended in five seconds, Alus?” Ciel carefreely asked him. Seeing as how she’d put down her utensil to ask, she wasn’t going to back down even if he tried to brush her off. Moreover, considering her enthusiasm, she probably had her reasons for choosing this topic.
Alus giving her a detailed explanation would probably go over well with all the first-years sitting at the table. Telling them about the frame of mind they’d need to continue winning through the tournament was important... especially when considering the potential possibility that might be born after this.
When he realized it, Tesfia, Alice, and the others had all stopped eating and were looking at him with interest.
“I heard that it was the tournament’s record time. Beating the previous record by a wide margin,” Ciel said.
“It’s a battle of magic after all, a preemptive strike is pretty basic. And in a fight between two first-years, I figured that it would be better to attack immediately than to try to suss out the opponent. I never expected him to go down on the first hit, though. I probably just got lucky.” His talk about frame of mind was true enough, but the ‘luck’ he mentioned was a barefaced lie.
However, nobody was able to dismiss his win as luck. The first-years, aside from Alus, Loki, Tesfia and Alice, believed that there was no real difference in strength between them and the first-years from the other nations. But the students that didn’t know Alus’ secret were starting to think that he was stronger than they had thought. After all, nobody had ever seen him properly practice. If he was actually strong though, they probably believed it was because of Loki’s guidance, and training with Tesfia and Alice.
Alus stopped there, because he figured that if he was going to hide his strength he should leave it at that.
Sensing this, Loki quickly changed topics. “I see. That happened to me too. I attacked to keep them in check, and it just happened to hit true and they fell over,” she said, taking a sip of the tea she’d ordered.
Ciel smiled wryly at her composure.
“But like Feli said, won’t this mess up the preliminary estimations?” Tesfia spoke up, as if to give voice to the first-year contestants’ worries.
“That’s right,” Alice joined in. “Our chances for winning are pretty much beyond recovery.”
“Don’t be stupid. For the first day, this is pretty minor,” Alus declared, and all the eyes around the table once again gathered on him. He realized his slip-up, but as everyone was looking at him, he continued on anyways. “The first day, it was estimated that only five first-year students would win. And seeing the result of an additional four wins, we can make up for the losses of the third-years to a degree. But as we’ll end up facing each other as we progress, and with there only being four slots for the main tournament, each defeat is still pretty costly. But all that means is that we just need to maintain this number for tomorrow as well. In fact, we probably can’t aim for victory if we don’t, so we’ll probably want three of us to reach the main tournament... the rest is up to Feli, I guess.”
“What was that about me, Mr. Alus?” the girl herself asked, having finished her rounds at the third-year and second-year tables.
Or rather, Alus had sensed her coming and said it on purpose. He spoke in a forced polite tone, “Oh, I was only speaking about how the second-years have a higher hurdle.”
“That’s true. I’d like at least one of the class years to earn a lot of wins!” She looked into Alus’ eyes, full of expectation.
Alus’ response was to close his eyes and keep quiet, but that wasn’t because he had full confidence in himself. He wasn’t thinking of winning the tournament but rather of that certain possibility. If it was correct, something regrettable might happen to Felinella.
However, Felinella must have taken that as an agreement, as she looked at all of the first-years. “Good work today. I’m surprised at how well things went. This is all thanks to your diligent training. I’m proud of all of you!”
She honestly commended the first-years for their efforts, but the way she started getting embarrassed at the end was charming. Her expression was soft, but the way she straightened her back showed her enthusiasm for tomorrow.
While the students were getting fired up, Alus offered a cold opinion from a different perspective. “Feli, wouldn’t the most realistic option be for you to win the second-year division and earn the necessary points?”
“I wonder. It’s not that simple, but I’m of course looking to win too.”
Alus didn’t know this, but Felinella had actually won the first-year division last year. Though her words sounded like modesty to those who did know. But as last year’s victor, the other institutes would of course keep a careful eye on her, and they would have an easier time forming plans against her. Because of that, it was pretty difficult to win multiple years in a row. With that in mind, it was still likely that the first-years would determine the overall outcome.
Once the contestants finished dinner, they went to their rooms. Those who’d lost had already been cheered up by Felinella, and even their steps were relatively light.
Alus wrapped up dinner, having eaten a moderate amount as well. It wasn’t like luxurious food didn’t suit his tastes, but it didn’t feel as satisfying. When he thought of the reason, the words slipped out of his mouth. “I prefer Loki’s cooking and seasonings.”
A smile blossomed on Loki’s face when she heard this. “Then I’ll borrow the kitchen and make your meals from tomorrow on, Al!”
Seeing that her enthusiasm was heading in a strange direction, Alus put a stop to it with a wry smile. If he made one of the most promising contestants do that, he could easily imagine all the other contestants giving him cold glares. No matter how much Alus did his own thing, he wasn’t willing to go that far.
“Still, you never know what will happen. But it is true that a quick strike can be effective,” Tesfia said.
“Tomorrow, we should go all out from the start,” Alice replied.
The two girls’ voices came from behind them. Loki shared a room with them while Alus had one to himself, so they’d eventually go their separate ways, but Loki looked reluctant.
As they approached the staircase, Alus sensed that something was off. There was an oddly large number of Magicmasters gathered near the stairs. And they weren’t students, but were related to the military.
He immediately guessed the reason. He’d heard that VIPs from Alpha would be staying on the top floor. In fact, he’d met Cicelnia, Berwick, and Lettie earlier in the day, so it wouldn’t be strange for them to have stayed over. This kind of guard detail was to be expected for the ruler and Governor-General, but considering that Alus was staying here, it was definitely the safest place to be.
If she’s there, I want to at least avoid Cicelnia.
With the magical martial arts demonstration and Rinne’s absence, the situation was quite suspicious. And who knew what other troubles she might drop on him?
In the meantime, the group reached the stairs.
“See you tomorrow,” Alus said.
Loki gave him an overly considerate suggestion. “Al, should I prepare tea before you rest? I brought a spare teapot just in case.”
“That’s appreciated, but you don’t have to go that far during the tournament. And your room’s not this way, so go back.” Alus stopped and turned around as Loki was following behind him like it was natural. He called out to her while looking over at Tesfia and Alice who were waiting for her.
“But...”
“I’m planning on getting to bed right away. And this is the only time when you can take it easy.”
“...” Loki peered into Alus’ face. Was he getting ready just for tomorrow’s match? She felt like he had been acting strangely since meeting Lettie. He wasn’t absentminded, but it looked like he was thinking of something other than the tournament... While Loki didn’t know what he talked to Lettie about, she was sensitive to changes in him.
Seeing that Loki was still staring at him, Alus changed the topic. “By the way, are those two properly training in their room?”
“Yes, not for long though.”
“I guess that can’t be helped. Tell them to at least keep at it for a moderate amount of time.”
Loki nodded, and Alus added, “That includes you, too.” Considering her serious personality, it was hard to imagine Loki slacking on her training. If anything, she might push herself too much. Her twitching brow was likely a sign that he’d been right.
“Go on, get going.” Alus grabbed hold of Loki’s slender shoulders and spun her around, pointing her in the direction of the other two.
“You’ve spent a lot of time talking. If you don’t hurry, it’s going to close!” Tesfia said.
“Yes, if you don’t hurry, we’ll have to enjoy it by ourselves,” Alice added with a smile.
“Hm? I thought you were going back to your room.”
When Alus said that, Loki decided to ask him. “A-Al, there’s a large public bath on the first floor. Why don’t you come too?”
“Huh? Me?” Alus preferred showers, and while he didn’t hate baths, he wasn’t one to stay in for long. That was in part because he’d been in the military a long time. Because of his nonstop work, he never picked up a habit of soaking in a bath.
“I-Is that... a no?” The hope in Loki’s eyes began to fade, as did the redness in her cheeks. Alice had been the one to bring up going to the baths, and while Loki was fine with going by herself, she wasn’t too excited about going with others.
Of course, that wasn’t because she lacked confidence in her own body... absolutely not... but she at least wanted to invite Alus. Having that small hope shattered was enough to leave her disheartened.
Alus almost felt like he was looking at a poor critter. And once that happened, it was frankly impossible to dodge it anymore. “Alright. I’ll be there after I get ready,” he said, having been resigned to his fate.
“Then let’s meet at the stairs!” Loki immediately beamed.
Perhaps it was because she was doing something out of the ordinary like taking part in the Friendship Magical Tournament in another nation, but Loki’s expressions seemed ever-changing. Well, Alus figured that it could at least be a change of pace.
Eventually, the three girls returned to the stairs with a change of clothes and other items five minutes after Alus got there. Incidentally, he had finished his preparations in seconds.
Moreover, Tesfia’s cheeks were somewhat red. While she understood that it was inevitable due to the circumstances, she couldn’t help but object to being with a guy.
The public baths were apparently in the back of the first floor. Alus hadn’t noticed when he arrived at the hotel, but upon a closer look, he could see that there were directions to it on the walls. There was even a small recreational center near the baths. And not only was there a souvenir shop, but they also had catalogs detailing AWRs that were found across all the nations.
Alus was more interested in that, which wasn’t unusual considering his personality. As they walked past, his attention turned towards the catalogs.
Alice put on a strained smile as she noticed. “You really are passionate about research, huh, Al? Not only can you make amazing AWRs, but you’re even interested in this kind of thing.”
“Of course. Each nation’s AWRs have their own quirks and characteristics, and there’s even a slight difference in how they’re made. Besides...” Alus’ explanation was about to heat up even further until the entrance to the baths put a stop to it. “Well, I’ll take a look after the bath.”
“So you’re going after all?!” Tesfia retorted, but Alus’ attention was already focused on the cloth banners covering the entrance.
Just what culture were those from? The words “Men” and “Women” were written in strange characters on top of the deep green banners that were hanging down. To the people from Alpha it was a strange sight. Due to the shrinking realm of humanity as the Fiends advanced, all kinds of cultures had mixed together.
“How exotic,” Tesfia murmured, and Alice nodded in agreement.
“Apparently it’s called a noren.” Alus knew what it was, but this was his first time seeing one. Which was to be expected, as he’d only used a personal shower room or simple bathing facilities in the military.
For the time being, Alus and the girls split up and passed under their respective norens.
When he was ready for the baths, and faced the sight before him, the words instinctively escaped his lips... “This is pretty nice.”
The sight of water flowing out of the mouth of a strange dragon gave off a unique atmosphere. There was an impressive mural on the wall, and inside this bath wasn’t just a normal hot tub but also a medicinal hot spring, a citrus bath, an ice bath, and even a sauna.
Alus wrapped a towel around his waist and started by washing his body. His hands started to move faster as he figured that he might as well test out all the baths, with a childlike curiosity.
As he sat down in the warm bath, heat wrapped around his body. He exhaled with an “Ahh” as if he was discarding everything that was bad in his body. His head was in a daze as a mysterious sensation ran through him. And he struggled to come up with the words to describe his experience. It was like all of the impurities in him were melting away.
Once his body was warmed up, he got out of the hot tub and moved towards the ice bath, enjoying a duet of warmth and coldness.
The next thing before Alus’ eyes was a wooden door that led outside. “So they even have an open air bath...”
An explanation of the open air bath was written on a nearby sign, and seeing that it was named a magical bath, once Alus opened the door he no longer had a shred of doubt left. As he brushed up his wet hair, he draped his towel over his shoulder and almost felt like humming a tune.
Shortly thereafter, the open air bath came into view. Looking up, Alus saw the stars on full display. A wooden fence surrounded the bath that worked in harmony with the trees that had been planted there. It gave off a sense of freedom despite its somewhat confined setting.
Finally, Alus found the magical bath he was after. The water had an almost poisonous green color to it, but it didn’t smell strange, so he tentatively dipped a foot into it.
The next moment, a champagne gold color spread out like a ripple. “...! Ohhh.” He felt a slight tingling sensation, as well as his leg being pushed back by something like a magnetic field.
His body slowly sank into the water, and the same feeling spread throughout his entire body. It felt ticklish, but also like something he could get used to, and at the same time he felt his muscles relax.
“It seems there’s mana in the water that makes up this bath. I guess that’s why the color changed in reaction to my mana.”
Surprisingly, when he scooped up the water, it didn’t return to its original green color, and he could hear the water bubbling. He didn’t know how it worked, but the comfort he felt easily overpowered his suspicions.
At that moment, he could hear two familiar voices from the other side of the fence.
“Whoa?! The name alone is shady!” Tesfia’s voice.
“A magical bath, huh. I wonder if it’s safe...” Alice’s voice.
Alus was exasperated at how noisy they were even when bathing, but even that didn’t get in the way of the ease he was feeling right now. In the face of this refreshing experience, the memories of his own suspicion of the waters were long gone.
Meanwhile, at the women’s bath...
The three girls, mainly Tesfia and Alice, timidly came out to try the magical bath. They’d been excited about it even before getting into the hot tub.
That excitement of theirs was because they didn’t think there was anyone else around, but beyond the steam they spotted the silhouette of someone bathing under the moonlight, and the girls then remembered their manners.
The person was soaking in the water, arms resting on the edge of the bath. As this was the women’s bath, the person was of course a woman, but her behavior was closer to that of a man. Though the way she’d bundled up her long braided hair and rested it on her head was very feminine.
Eventually, she noticed Alice and the others, and turned around with a “Hm?”
“S-Sorry for being so noisy.” Tesfia took the initiative to apologize, as a gust of wind blew away the steam.
She and Alice instinctively caught their breath at the sight of her beauty.
Loki alone remained silent, but her eyes were opened wide in surprise, though her reason was different from the other two. After all, this was the second time she’d laid eyes on that beauty.
Seeing that the girls had become quiet, the woman raised her hand and spoke to them in a friendly tone. “I don’t mind. It’s not like it’s reserved or anything. But you’re all students, huh? You’re pretty good if you’re coming to the baths, and especially the magical bath at this hour.” She then put her towel on her head and moved to make space for the three girls. “This bath works wonders, so go on, get in.”
At the woman’s request, the three girls got in.
Eventually, Loki finally spoke up. “Lady Lettie, I wasn’t aware that you would be staying here... excuse me.”
Tesfia’s and Alice’s jaws dropped when they heard Lettie’s name.
“W-Wait? You mean... THAT Lettie Kultunca?!”
“You know each other, Loki dear?!”
“Now now, this is the baths, let’s take it easy here,” Lettie said with a smile to ease the tension, but the two weren’t bold enough to do that right off the bat.
All they knew was that some VIPs from Alpha would be staying at the hotel. But they never expected that one of them would be Alpha’s other Single Digit Magicmaster.
As a noble, Tesfia in particular couldn’t afford to be rude, so she asked Loki to introduce them.
With no other choice, Loki cleared her throat. “By the way, Lady Lettie, these two are my and Sir Alus’ classmates.”
“Nice to meet you, Lady Kultunca! My name is Tesfia Fable!” Tesfia introduced herself in a quivering voice.
“I know about you. You’re Frose’s daughter, right?”
Tesfia, overcome with emotion, frantically nodded at Lettie’s carefree answer.
Next was Alice. “I-I’m Alice Tilake...!”
“Nice to meet you two. I’m Lettie Kultunca, feel free to just call me Lettie.”
“I wouldn’t dare!” Tesfia shot up from the bath, and the towel around her chest came loose, causing her to blush and dive right back into the water.
Alice had been impressed by how Tesfia was acting, before she smiled wryly as her lack of noble manners was exposed.
“Well, you really don’t have to worry about that right now. And it’s not like it’s your fault if you didn’t immediately recognize me. Names aside, it’s not like we step out in public very often.”
There weren’t many opportunities to see high-ranking Magicmasters that spent a lot of time in the Outer World like Lettie, outside of official functions. In that sense, Rusalca’s Jean, known throughout the nations for his good looks, was an exception.
Incidentally, Alus’ existence was hidden from the public, and not many in the military would know him by name. Though it wasn’t like information was being controlled that strictly. The reason why the top brass didn’t spread the word about him was to stop people from prying into his background. Now that the leaders of the other nations had started to become aware of his existence, there were plenty of things they wanted to keep hidden, aside from his current status as a student.
“I saw your matches. You’re pretty good.”
“T-Thank you!” “Thank you very much.” The two girls replied to her in high-pitched tones, but Lettie didn’t seem to particularly mind, as she let out a soft breath and turned around with her eyes closed.
“That said, I’m sure you’re tired after all that fighting. So why don’t you really soak it in? This stuff’s pretty good, you know. Iblis is pretty impressive to be able to develop this kind of magical bath.”
“Lady Lettie, how long are you planning to stay?” Loki asked.
“Until the tournament is over at least. I’ve got to watch over that person too, after all.”
“... I see.”
Cicelnia il Arlzeit. Even Loki had been taken aback by her beauty at their first meeting and struggled for words. It was enough to make any woman shrink back.
Alus had acted composed, but those who saw Cicelnia were entranced by her beauty. Her hair—the shade of night—and the atmosphere she gave off were truly mystical. Despite that, her behavior wasn’t that of unapproachable night, but a refined elegance. Those who came in contact with her were more likely to associate her with the sensation of soft black velvet over hard ebony.
That differentiated her from Alus. She was like the sheath of Alpha’s finest sword. And if she was the sheath—Loki knew who the finest sword would be.
He really is too good for her... Changing gears from her gloomy mood, Loki scooped up some water and splashed her face with it. The tingling sensation felt a little painful on her skin, but that was rather for the best right now.
Still... Knowing that it would be pointless, Loki looked over at the others in the bath.
From one side to the other it was Loki, Lettie, then some open space, then Tesfia, and finally Alice. They all seemed very comfortable soaking in the water... and at the same time certain somethings were floating.
In order, it went like this: flat, float, flat, float.
Though there was nothing she could do about it, reality was harsh and merciless. If she had something that floated, she wouldn’t feel so inferior.
Sensing Loki’s stare, Lettie asked her a question. “By the way, is Allie here too?”
“Yes, he is. But I don’t think he’ll be in the open air bath... Actually, he is.” Loki activated her detection magic by reflex to confirm.
“That’s pretty convenient. But isn’t that like peeking?”
“Ah!”
The realization made Loki dive into the water, leaving only half of her face above the surface, and she looked over at Lettie. “B-But I’m only detecting him by mana... is that not okay?”
“I think it’s fine. If not, then Ms. Rinne would be peeking nonstop. It has a weakness too, anyways.” Lettie laughed like a dirty old man, and shouted over to the men’s side like a child that had just thought up a prank. “Allie, are you over theeere?”
“...” Alus remained silent.
“Talk about perverse,” Lettie mumbled, and stood up.
She then walked over towards the fence separating the men’s and women’s baths, her towel hanging over her shoulder, completely brushing off the stares from the other girls. “By the way, what’s your type, Allie?”
“That came out of nowhere.” A blunt reply came from the other side of the fence.
Silence fell over the women’s side, as if they were all straining their ears.
“I recall someone asking me that before,” Alus said.
Lettie interjected with a carefree, “Oh?”
The other girls gulped as one. They put on composed expressions, as if to say that they weren’t particularly interested, they only wanted to hear what a Single’s ideal woman was like.
But the reply was simple. “Anyone’s fine as long as they’re useful.”
“What’s up with that? It’s like there’s no love!”
“... You might be right,” Alus said in a self-deprecating voice, and the conversation stopped.
Lettie simply shook her head. Only those who really knew the Outer World could pick up on the true meaning of those words.
Loki let out a sigh of relief, sitting back down in the water and gazing down at a certain part of her body. At the very least, size had nothing to do with Alus’ preferences. She even felt a weight drop off her shoulders.
Keeping Loki in the edge of their visions, Tesfia and Alice wore uncertain expressions.
Lettie, who could always understand what Alus was feeling the best, put on a wry smile and replied, “You’re the same as always. But in that sense, I’m pretty useful too, you know.”
The shock from Lettie’s answer made Loki swallow some of the water, which she coughed up. While it had been said in a joking tone, it was still very effective against her.
“...” Alus was reduced to silence again.
“Hey. You listening, Allie? By the way, I’m free right now, so... hah!”
In one moment, Lettie lowered her hips, and in the next she jumped up the fence that was much taller than an adult, grabbed ahold of the edge of the thick board, and climbed up.
With her upper half sticking out, she peeked into the men’s bath.
“—!!” “—!!” “—!!” The three girls’ jaws dropped at the extremely bold move she’d just made.
“Aww, looks like he got away.” Lettie scanned the men’s side, and then dropped back down the fence without a sound, clicking her tongue as she turned around.
“Lady Lettie, I don’t believe it’s very proper for a Single to peep...” Loki timidly chided.
“That’s true,” Lettie said with an innocent smile—but someone at her level should be able to grasp the presence of those around her without relying on sight.
The very earnest Loki had a hard time telling if she was joking or being serious.
“But still, Allie has no desire. Not that I can’t understand that.”
“Huh? What do you mean...?” Alice asked, representing the group. They all followed Lettie with their eyes as she got back in the water.
“Hmm...? Well, I’m sure you’ll get it one day, but I recommend that you think about it yourselves first.” Lettie glanced over towards Loki. When their eyes met, Loki seemed to realize something, as she blushed and cast her eyes down.
She felt like Lettie might have purposefully made a move on Alus for her sake. But despite the realization, she was too embarrassed to say thanks.
A tempest of emotions was raging within Loki. Shaken by unrest, and blushing, she couldn’t help but pray that she wouldn’t have to experience any more anxiety.
Perhaps having realized how Loki felt, Tesfia suddenly brought up a different topic. “By the way, what was it like for you when you were a student, Lady Lettie?”
“You mean the tournament?”
The redhead nodded in response.
Lettie had a nostalgic expression, as she began to answer Tesfia’s question. “Hmm, when I was at the Institute, I only won once in three years. There were several times I wished that blond bastard, Rusalca’s Jean, you know, just didn’t exist.”
“You mean... Sir Jean?” Loki recalled the refreshing smile of the handsome Magicmaster who had called out to Alus at the stadium, and thinking about it, he looked to be pretty close in age to Lettie.
As she ran through her memories, Lettie must have clearly remembered the past, as she leaned against the bath’s stone edge with a sigh. “Back then, he was the only one who was extraordinary.”
A current Single was describing Jean as extraordinary. Tesfia and Alice had of course heard about Rusalca’s ranked No. 3. Despite being a high-ranking Magicmaster, he was famous for being one of the few whose face was well-known. Out of all the Singles, he appeared the most in the media, serving as an advertisement for Rusalca as his achievements were widely publicized.
“But I did beat him in my third year. That was the year I won,” Lettie said, flashing the vee sign with a proud smile. “Well, winning a single time is nothing to brag about, but I had no chance when it came to battle sense, so I took the only ability I would have a chance of winning with and trained it to the best of my ability. Of course, its identity is a secret.”
Nobody present was insolent enough to pry into that matter any further. Besides, if not for Lettie’s friendly personality, it would be unthinkable to get this close to a Single Digit Magicmaster. Normally their presence was so overwhelming that Alus would have to personally step in if something were to happen. Then again, it was because of Alus’ existence that they were even speaking to begin with.
“Anyways, tournament results and abilities are different beasts. I won’t claim that I got lucky, but strategy can alter the outcome against a superior opponent.”
The three girls took their senior’s advice to heart.
“Well, you just have to not lose against Rusalca,” Lettie added in the end, her own feelings definitely being mixed in. It even sounded like she held a grudge.
“Sir Jean is here watching the tournament too, though.”
“Huh, seriously?!” The atmosphere immediately changed at Loki’s remark. “If we don’t cross paths, that’s fine, but in case we do... it will be the perfect chance to exact my revenge.”
Whether Lettie was serious or joking remained unclear. There probably wouldn’t be a duel between two Singles, but it wasn’t hard to imagine Lettie picking a fight.
“Uhm, I have a question...” Alice timidly raised her hand. “Will Alpha be sending you as their participant in the magical martial arts demonstration?”
Hearing this, Tesfia looked on in excitement. There were very few examples of Single Digit Magicmasters participating in the demonstration. But if Lettie were to participate, the Second Magical Institute’s sinking morale would shoot up, and she would love to witness that spectacle herself.
“I see you’re being unexpectedly serious... Sorry, but I have a different mission right now, so I’m not going to be in that demonstration.”
Tesfia and Alice looked a little discouraged at her response, so Lettie continued, “But... I’m actually looking forward to it. After all, it’s definitely going to be way more interesting than if I did it.”
The two girls looked a little uncertain as to what she meant by that.
Loki knew the truth, and her body trembled for a moment, but she feigned composure to the best of her ability.
“How long are they going to take?” Alus said, as he perused the inside of the shop that displayed AWRs next to the public baths. He’d stepped in five minutes ago, and had already lost interest. None of the AWRs here would be useful as references for him. They’d done some work on the magic formulas, but all of them were inferior to what the craftsmen in Alpha did. If anything, he felt like teaching them himself, wondering how they’d arrived at these kinds of magic formulas.
Feeling like he was wasting his time, Alus considered going back first when he finally heard the girls’ friendly chatting outside. With their long bath over, he left the shop to meet up with them. He felt like giving them a piece or two of his mind, but decided to keep quiet when he saw the person in front.
“Looks like we’re late!” Lettie said.
“How long were you planning on soaking in there?!”
“More importantly... you’re not a kid, Allie, your collar’s all wet,” Lettie said in an exasperated tone like a mother dealing with a troublesome child. She walked over to Alus. “You really are a kid.”
“Al, did you dry yourself properly?” Tesfia asked. Alus’ hair was still wet, and his collar was damp. That had nothing to do with his military life, but rather it was because he was careless.
“It’ll dry on its own. But don’t tell me you actually dried your hair while you were keeping me waiting.”
“That’s only natural for a woman!” Tesfia declared.
Hearing that, Alus struggled to come up with a response. He knew that women enjoyed long baths, though mostly from hearsay and minimal experience, so he couldn’t understand the logic, nor did he have anything to rebut with. So he had no choice but to swallow his pent-up frustration. His words got caught in his throat, and he made a mental note that that was just how women were.
The next moment, as if to wipe his mental note away, his vision turned white as a soft towel covered his head. He smelled the faint scent of shampoo. He could also feel that it was a little damp.
“Hey! Don’t use your own towel to dry my head, Lettie.”
“What’s the big deal? Besides, it’s gonna take forever if you let your hair dry on its own when it’s this wet,” Lettie casually said, and firmly grabbed hold of his head. She pushed the towel down and then somewhat violently wiped his hair.
Loki enviously looked on, and Tesfia and Alice blushed a little. They must have imagined using their own towels to wipe down his hair.
“Besides, if you leave it be, it’ll drip down on the floor.”
With that, Alus had no choice but to resign himself to his fate. He sighed at Lettie putting too much strength into her wiping and ceased his resistance.
Once Lettie had finished drying his hair, she looked it over in satisfaction.
Next, Loki used a comb to fix his messy hair. In the end, his hair wasn’t completely dried, but most of the moisture had been wiped away. “It’s done, Sir Alus,” Loki reported, and while it didn’t sit right with Alus, he still thanked her.
“Anyways, why didn’t you use your authority to reserve the bath?” Alus asked, with an unamused expression.
“You just don’t get it. The bath is meant for everyone,” Lettie responded.
Alus had a hard time understanding other people’s feelings, so he struggled to follow what she was saying. His sense for those kinds of things was hopeless, to the point of him almost asking what was so good about that, but he did manage to stop himself.
“Allie, you don’t pay attention to your surroundings at all, huh?”
Tesfia and Alice recalled what had happened when they’d first visited his laboratory, and nodded in agreement.
“You’ll want a woman that can take care of you, Allie.”
“That’s nothing you need to stick your nose—”
“That’s my job,” Loki cut Alus off, as if to say that she wouldn’t compromise on this.
“Really?” Lettie said, feigning surprise. Then she stared at Loki with a smile.
Waiting hand and foot on your partner was beyond the scope of duty. Lettie herself rarely met with her partner outside of missions. That wasn’t because they were on bad terms or anything; that was just how the job was.
Moreover, as someone in charge of a squad, her partner didn’t so much directly support her as they worked as the squad’s spotter.
Lettie triumphantly chuckled to herself. “I see. How cunning.”
“Well, if I needed someone to take care of my personal needs, I could just hire a maid. Though I guess I wouldn’t be able to use the laboratory at the Institute anymore if I did.”
“Maybe you should’ve just accepted the rank of nobility during that ceremony, then?”
“Not a chance. I’m not suited to be nobility, and if I’d fallen for that kind of bait, my retirement would’ve been flat-out rejected.”
Lettie smiled wryly at Alus’ blunt statement. She knew that the rank of nobility brought with it its own troubles. So she understood that it would be pointless to push that topic any further. Accepting the rank of nobility meant being chained down by the nation.
Silence filled the air for a while. The party was quietly walking with Alus and Lettie in front, followed by Loki, Tesfia, and Alice.
Tesfia didn’t have it in her to step in between two Singles, so all she could do was stare at Lettie’s beautiful long hair swaying back and forth.
Because of the time, they didn’t see any other students on the way. They were lucky in a sense, as students would have flocked around Lettie if they saw her.
“Well, I’m this way.” Lettie waved in front of the stairs leading to the second floor, casually saying goodbye.
She moved around to a back door on the first floor. Over there were elevator-like contraptions with metal floors rising up and down. This was a direct line to the upper levels of the hotel reserved for VIPs. A transparent wall blocked the path, keeping anyone unauthorized out. They were called floating machines, and they were powered by mana generators.
Tesfia and Alice said that they would see her off, and Alus and Loki ended up tagging along.
Eventually she got one of the floating machines, pushing the only button, causing the transparent wall to close behind her. Lettie waved at them, to which Tesfia and Alice responded with a bow.
Alus figured that most people would do the same. Lettie was popular in the military because she never looked down on others despite her rank. That was typically how she acted around most.
Though he wasn’t particularly envious, he couldn’t bring himself to hate her. That’s why he lightly waved his hand as she rose up towards the upper levels.
We’ll probably meet again, Alus thought to himself.
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