Phew, we're coming back to life.

　I soak myself in the hot water while my voice echoes in the room.
　The area I'm sitting in isn't hot water.
　It's a moderate temperature.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one who's been in a position to do this.

　This is the bathhouse of the Arkwright family.
　It's a bit too big for me to use alone.
　No, it may be more than you can handle, but it's probably too much.
　It seems to be able to fit about five people in this one.

　The overall tone of the room is grayish-white.
　There are some carvings on the pillars.
　There were other flowers and plants on display, and it was a different world from the simple bathroom in my house.
　.............
　Well, I actually feel more at home in a bath as big as my own house.
　The color of the water was greenish.
　Did I mention that they use some kind of leaf extract that has a beauty effect?
　Is the secret to the beauty of the Arkwright mother and daughter also in the accumulation of such beauty items?

　The bathing time was designated by them.
　It's my time now.
　By the way, it seems that Societé has already finished taking a bath.

Nevertheless.

　I look around the tub.
　What a strange feeling it is to take a bath in a girl's house.
　I've had girls in my own house's bath before.....
　Or rather, to think that this is the place where that Cecily-san has always immersed herself in the nude--

..........

　Let's get out of here as soon as possible.
　That's when I thought.
　The door to the bathhouse opened.

'What?'

　A slender figure with a thin cloth wrapped around his body flopped in.
　That silhouette!

What?　Well, you didn't think it was Cecily--

　Hmm?

Isn't it?

　At first glance I mistook her for Miss Cecily, perhaps because of the faint smoke of hot water.
　The person walked up to me with his long hair pulled back in an upward motion.

I'm sure it's not a bad thing for men to do this from time to time. It's a rare opportunity for us to sit down and talk like this.

　It showed up.

You are...

　It was Mr. Cecily's brother, Deares Arkwright.


　　　　　*


I'm surprised, to say the least.

　I half-sink my face into a blubbering bubble, half-sinking my face as I half-glare at Mr. Dearest with a sideways glance.

'Did I disappoint you by not being Cecily?'
'No, even Mr. Dearest was normally surprised.
Oh, well, that's an honor.

　He said and gracefully brushed back the hair that was hanging down and clinging to his cheeks with a hand, Mr. Dearles.

''.........''
Hmm?　What's the matter, Kurohiko?
Oh, no.

　I don't feel too uncomfortable even if I am said to be a woman if the part below the breast is hidden by the hot water.
　The difference in height between her and her sister is not noticeable when she is in the hot water?

　Well, if you observe it closely, you can see that the body is a man's.
　No, I'm not sure if it's a good idea when you have to observe it closely.

　In the first place, this man is not only neutral in his appearance, but also in his gestures and voice, so it makes sense that the story of how he showed off his cross-dressing at a knight's banquet in the past and caused a terrible mess.
　Maybe it's partly because of the hot water smoke, but it's enough to give me the strange feeling that I'm in the room with Cecily if I'm not careful.
　If I had to choose, I'd say it's as if Cecily was stripped of her cuteness and left her beauty alone.

Hmm?　What's wrong with my face?
Oh, no--what can I say, Mr. Dearles, you can seem a bit feminine at times.
Yeah, that's my mother's influence, if I can trace it back to her.
Mr. Sociedad?
It used to be my mother's role to educate me on how to dress and behave. Well, I heard later that my mother wanted a girl.

　Her husband had wanted a boy to take over the family, so she hadn't talked about it openly.

　But she couldn't give up her admiration for her daughter.
　So she brought up her son, who was just as beautiful as his mother, while pretending to be a girl behind her back.

The feminine gestures must have been ingrained in his basics. After the birth of his long-awaited baby girl, Cecily, though, it was a different way of growing up.

　From there, he regained his masculinity, and this guy was on a beautiful, handsome course, too.
　Hmm.
　He's got a lot going on, doesn't he?

'Also, to my surprise, I wasn't told that Mr. Dearles was coming today.
'Oh I didn't tell the people at home that I was coming back tonight, you know.
Is there a reason you're back?
'I went to the castle on an errand for the Order, but I heard that my grandfather had returned to the mansion. I thought there was something about it, and when I did, I found an unusual visitor in the house.
I'm sorry.
'Huh?　What was that an apology for?

　Deares-san asks me from a diagonal angle with a mischievous smile.

''Ku, it's just like a habit.......sorry.
Haha, please don't be such a stranger. We're getting to know each other pretty well these days, aren't we?

　Lately I've been showing up at the Knights' headquarters.
　Because of that, I had more opportunities to interact with Diares-san.

'The Knights are also helped by Kurohiko's ability. The Ninth Forbidden Spell can capture opponents even at a distance there, and the Fifth Forbidden Spell can fly in the sky.

　The forbidden curse, which is not a combat specialty, surprisingly has its place outside of combat as well.
　Deerless-san touches my ears with her fingertips and cums my ears with her fingertips.

''My ears are good, too.''
My hearing and eyesight have been improving due to the effects of the d*mned host.

　Ticklish.
　I mean.
　I have a weak ear, so I would like you to stop.

''Huh, Sogut was happy to see you too, right?　He said he had a lot of potential.
Oh, really?

　I'm glad if it's true.
　When I receive praise, I feel it's worth the effort.

The best way to do this is to have a good idea of what to expect. Eventually, he might be a candidate for the leader of the group, right?
I don't have the personality of a group leader. That's exactly what President Doris, who is planning to join the group next year, would be good for.
''Ah well........that girl might be the right person for the job.

　He sounded as if he knew the back side of Chairman Doris.

''By the way, Kurohiko has been coming in and out of the Order these days with some special purpose in mind, right?

　It was firmly seen through.

'....Yes.
Are you interested in the Special Sacred Site?

　He must have heard him going around asking the people in the group about it.
　This guy has a different kind of 'good ear' too.

''In the future, we're going to need to attack the Special Grade Saint Ruins.
I think there's a reason for this.

　It's not a story to hide.
　I honestly told him about the forbidden curse document that lies in the Holy Ruins.

''--I see, that was the situation.
That's why I thought it would be too late to join the team after graduation.
Did you tell that to Sogut?
''I haven't yet. I felt like, well... if I told Commander Sogut, he would force me to resume the attack on the Special Class Holy Ruins.

　Commander Sogut fought Hibigami without my knowledge.
　It's because I know how strong that man is that I feel like he's 'too cooperative'.

　Since I started coming and going to the headquarters, I found out that he is even busier than Makina-san if he's not good at it.
　So I don't want you to take on too much for me.

''I want to attack as much as possible without bothering the people of the Order as much as possible.
'Hmm. So ... if you were allowed to, do you plan to dive alone?
I might have some help from Mr. Currier and others.
'Oh?　What about Cecily?
I guess it depends on how dangerous the Special Class Holy Ruins are.

　The academy can't form an attack team together.
　However, we might be able to form an attack team for the Special Class Holy Ruins.
　Diaress-san's record will no longer be a factor....

''They think of you, Cecily.

　Ms. Dearles put her hand on her cheek and paused as if she were putting her cheekbones on.

''Hmmm, I understand. I'll try to work as hard as I can to get Kurohiko to approve the capture of the Special Class Holy Ruins before he graduates.''
Are you sure you want to do this?
'It seems to me that Cecily's life is at stake as a result, and rightly so. Besides, from what I've seen of you lately--

　Mr. Dearest puts his hand on my head.

'Kurohiko, he's a good boy, and-'
Oh, thank you very much!

　I was glad to hear the praise.

''As you may have already heard, the Knights mainly use the Special Grade Saint Ruins for combat training.
Isn't that the main goal of the attack?
''The Holy Ruins also have byproducts such as crystals, magic tools, holy swords and magic swords, and there was a time when they focused on exploration. In the past, there were times when the Knights of the Order devoted most of their efforts to exploration.

　The Commander's policy is that it is often used for training purposes, he said.
　The Commander has established a policy that a full-scale attack will be carried out after the forces are firmly in place.
　According to him, after Sogut Sigismos became the leader, many eldest sons of nobles who adore him wanted to join the group.
　However, because of this, the parents of the aristocrats who are worried about their successors have been sternly telling him not to build a dangerous strategy.
　The bottom line is that the demons that are nesting there are that much stronger.

''Therefore--''

　Diares-san said while teasing her wet hair with her fingertips.

''In anticipation of the forbidden curse user's combat ability comparable to the four deadly disasters, if we can bring it into the flow of expanding the scope of the search in order to investigate.......Kurohiko's search might be approved.

　Deares-san holds her fingertips to her lips with her hair tangled up, hmm~, and ponders.
　It doesn't matter, but the gesture no longer looks like that of a girl.

''Ah, but then.......should I get some results from the school's holy ruins to show that I have the ability to capture the ruins?
''I'm going to take on the Holy Ruins from the academy as soon as the ban is lifted.
Breaking my record of highest achievement will be a good boost. Yeah, good luck with that.
Okay.
''Also........would it be great if we could get support from the five great dukes and the Holy Royal Family?　Especially if there is an endorsement from the Holy King, it would be easier for the Knights to support them. The Knights are allowed to enter the Special Grade Holy Ruins with the king's approval, for a start.

　Come to think of it, I remember Makina-san told me after the Holy Martial Arts Festival that the Holy King-sama seemed to want to meet me.
　Hmm.
　Maybe I should take action in that direction as well.

''Hmm, I guess networking and rooting around are important after all.......''
That's one aspect of the aristocratic society. Well, no matter what world you live in, people respond quite differently to each other depending on their acquaintance.
I'm not very good at that kind of thing. I'm good at fighting the enemy, but...
'If you're not very good at it, I think you can rely on others to help you, right?　Nevertheless, even to the best of my knowledge, Kurohiko's connections already seem surprisingly wide and deep...

　Mr. Diaz smiles bitterly.
　Is that right?
　I've never been too conscious of it....
　Machina-san, maybe?
　Ah, yes.
　Shana-san is actually quite a great person with quite a bit of name recognition with that one........
　Other than that, eh........
　Who was there?

..........

　Oh, speaking of which.
　Speaking of human connections.
　You know, Mr. Diaz seems to be related to Rokia.
　I'll ask her around here.
　Rokia seems to be avoiding Mr. Dearles....

'Um, Mr. Dearest.'
Hmm?
Actually, I was thinking about my relationship with a man.


　And then.


What?


　The door to the bathhouse opened.


　I stopped with my eyes and mouth open.
　A figure emerged from behind the fumes of hot water.

Miss Cecily?
Brother!

　It was Cecily, with a cloth wrapped around her body, who turned away from Mr. Dearles' presence.