There's still time for everyone to get back from the baths, but I can't leave the room until Misaki wakes up. I think I'm safe in the quarters, but I'm a little worried about leaving her alone.

'Teresia, do you have a license?　All searchers should have them.

　Theresia shakes her head. Mercenaries don't have a license - does that mean they've lost it once they've lost their lives?

''..........''
Hmm?　....and you want me to watch your back?

　Theresia is sitting on the sofa, nodding her back to me. The skull mask completely covers the top of her neck, but her black hair is growing out of it - Theresia has long hair when she looks at it like this.

　She runs her hands behind her back, sending her hair forward. Then the part of her back that she couldn't see is exposed.

　She wears a leather armor, made of a material like lizard leather. There is a hole in the back of its neck, and a branding-like mark is engraved on it.

''This is the 'mark of servitude'.......te, Theresa?''

　Theresa put her hand behind her back and grabbed mine. Then I let her touch the mark on my neck.

　Then the mark glows red, then turns blue, and the letters change shape.

'............'

　Theresia makes an inarticulate sound. And when the letters stabilize in their form, she finally lets go of my hand.

(Oh, by the way, you said you were going to change the ownership of the slave seal to me... was that done?)

　Nevertheless, the skull armor follows the shape of Theresia's body perfectly. Although the mask makes her age indeterminate, I have a feeling that she may be younger than I thought.

''.........''

　Theresia turned silently. Her lips, which had been drawn together, were faintly open now, perhaps because they had been touched by the servant's mark.

　Her skin is as smooth as ceramic at the mouth alone. Could it be that once she had lost her life, she had suffered no physical damage? So far, I don't see any wounds of that nature.

　She watches me for a while, then looks at the license and points to it about time.

'License?　You want to operate it?

　Theresia affirmed, and I held out my license. Then she slipped her index finger and switched the screen to a list of party members.

　Then she poked at her name. Then the screen switched to a page displaying her skills.

　◆ Slave Skill Disclosure "Theresa" ◆

　Lizard Skin 1: A subhuman's unique skill. Improves defense and attribute resistance.
　Axel Dash: Quicker movement for a fraction of a second.
　Search Extension 1: Extends search range slightly.
　Alert 1: May detect a surprise attack from behind.
　Silent Walk: Does not make any sound when walking. You can make noise at will.

　Skills you can acquire

　Pick Pocket 1: You may be able to steal designated items without your opponent's knowledge.
　Pick Pocket 1: Steal designated items without your opponent's knowledge.
　Finger tip 1: Remove low-level keys and traps.

　Remaining skill points: 1

　The points you get at level 3 are probably the same as mine, 6, but they're all waved out with 1 left.

　They say rogues aren't specialized in a certain field of work, but I wonder if they have specialized skills such as trap removal if they're specialized in bandit-type jobs. Even so, it looks like he can use fingertip techniques, and his combat skills are reasonably well-developed.

　It's called 'slipping the rope', but if you can deal with restraint-type attacks in general, it could be useful. A demon with tentacles is also not something I would like to encounter very often, though.

　Pick pockets are fine if you want to use them against demons, but if a situation comes up where you need to use them against people, I can't let you use them because it would raise your karma. For now, does 'fingertip technique' look good - or is there no hurry?

''If I can, I'd like to develop what only Theresa is good at. When you're at a higher level, pick a good skill and learn it. If I must, though, I might take one of these three.
Oh, hey, bro. Welcome back. Do you know where they went?

　I had just put away my license when Misaki woke up. She comes over to me while randomly removing her hair from her choushuu, which she had put up in a bun.

Everyone's gone to the bath. What do you want to do?　Can we go now and get there in time?
That's okay, Suzu-chan likes to take a bath, so it's a long one. Brother, can I borrow the money to change clothes?
You don't have to pay me back. Misaki's been through a lot.
'Well, isn't that like a parting gift? I'm already a part of your brother's party at heart, you know?
Didn't he say something about working separately?
'Ugh ... because ... Once you know how comfortable the bed in the suite is, you won't be able to get out of it~. Please leave me at your brother's place until I can find a way to do it too!

　That's what it comes down to... well, I also said I'd take you on a quest once.

Why did Misaki write the word 'gambler'?
I thought it would be fun to have that kind of job. I get a lot of good luck with fortune telling, and I'm very good at playing cards. Does your brother bet on things?
Sure, I've bought a lottery ticket before. Did you ever win the lottery?
'Ehehe, the one my family bought won 100,000 yen. Well, that's about it.

　If she could become a gambler with that, does that mean she had the wherewithal? If I carelessly challenge the odds, I might get ripped off myself too.

　What I find fascinating is her luck. If she's in the party when you beat named and so on, it's likely that the drops will be better - I wasn't in the party when I beat the juggernaut, so it shouldn't have anything to do with the black box.

''I'm taking the skills called 'Increased Drop Rate' and 'Lucky Dwarf'. Brother~, I'm sure that even if I'm like this, I'll be useful one day!
All right, all right. It's good to see you back on the scene.
'Wow!　I'm going to tell Suzu and the others that they're my friends!

　I thought she was devilish and calculating, but she seems to be more innocent than I thought.

''.........''
Theresa can come in with you now while you're at it.

　Theresia doesn't nod, but when I try to go to the bath, she follows behind me. Well, she won't nod and reply to everything, and if I go to everyone, she'll bathe with me - although I'm worried she'll get steamy because she can't take off her armor.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　I had to get back from the bath as soon as possible since I was the one with the keys. I hurried downstairs and headed to the bathroom.

　I quickly take off my clothes in the changing room. I don't have to meet the other residents - there are no restrictions on bath times in this accommodation, so I guess that means there are a lot of people who come in late. I'm told that even if the water is freshly boiled at first, it gets lukewarm over time and finally turns to water, but that's all at your own risk.

　I wonder how the facilities in the Royal Suite are. I wonder if the baths in the eighth ward are limited to no recessed heating - can't we do something about it with magic technology? It would be easy enough to say that the caretaker is making it easy enough for me to heat the baths.

　I went into the bathroom and covered myself with a tub of hot water. Unlike the Japanese style, it is not difficult to get into the tub, but the lack of a faucet is a little inconvenient. The amount of hot water is also fixed, and it seems to be able to replace it after some people enter, but do not use too much.

(Still, it's good only to put it in every day. Especially Igarashi-san and the others, they'd probably want to go in every day... it would have been pretty tough if they'd started out living in a stable).

　Suzuna was also concerned about the fact that she was sweating, and after all, if she didn't have a solid foundation for life, it would be a matter of morale. In that sense, there are many lodgings made for explorers.

　Since I'm on the principle of washing from the head up, I cover myself with hot water first. Then I start lathering up my hair - it's the shampoo-like stuff that Igarashi-san was so impressed with. The smell is fruity and the lather is easy to build up, but it's still slightly squeaky, unlike the hair wash I used on a daily basis.

　--I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to find out what's going on, but I'm sure I'm going to be able to find out.

''Eh ... who are you?''

　I didn't feel like anyone had come in, but there was definitely someone behind me. I felt like I was going to get bubbles in my eyes as I was thumped again, but I turned around and opened my eyes fearfully.

　The first thing I saw was - reptilian scales. This is nothing, this is the leather armor of a lizard. I'm familiar with it since Theresia wears it.

　--that, the legs covered by the leather, are visible. If you look up a bit, you can see a tight waist, and the navel is open and not covered by leather. I look up some more and - without being able to - I finally realize what's going on.

(Te, Theresa........why are you normal.......!

..........
Te, Theresa just in case you're wondering, this is a men's bath. Theresa isn't allowed in here, okay?

　I admonish her as calmly as I can, but Theresa puts her hand on her chest, wondering what she thought.

''No, no, I don't mind keeping my armor on, since you won't be able to take it off. It's not that, you can go to the women's baths and everyone will be there, so it's more like...

　I try desperately to convince her, and Theresa looks at me. I earnestly hope that she's getting my point across, but she doesn't move easily - and...

　Theresia's hand moves quickly and touches the hardware on her neck. The moment she manipulates it, she hears a bang, a popping sound.

　And the reason why she is called a lizardman - the leather armor that should have been stuck to her body and thought to be impossible to detach and remove, 'came off' with great vigor, as if it was like peeling a skin.

　A sight beyond comprehension is before my eyes. Just like the lizard mask, the body armor, which I thought I could never remove, came off easily just by fiddling with the hardware.

　However, the skate lizard equipment such as wrists, shoulders, and ankles do not seem to come off, and the leather parts remain in places - no, this is probably due to the 'Lizard Skin (Lizard Skin)' that was displayed in the skill column. But the white skin that was peeking through the cracks in the armor was now mostly exposed before my eyes.

''.........Te, Theresa......can you take it off, that.......er......no, no..... ...!
..........

　Theresia looks like she's pouting. As if to ask why she's upset.

　I run out to the changing room anyway and put out a 'rent a room' tag because I don't want anyone to come in - originally I could only let them out for fifteen minutes, but I want them to miss it this time.

　I take the towel and go back into the bathroom and urge Theresa to wrap it up. I can't help what I've already seen in her eyes - she's more supple and dynamic than I imagined her limb to be. The scene of the moment when the leather armor that had constricted her body came off was still replaying in my mind on repeat.

(I've been wearing it for so long that there's still a trace of the equipment on it again... no, don't think about it... I told Theresa to reassure her, but this is no time to be conscious... ...!

..........

　Theresa pats me on the shoulder in frustration. I'm not sure why she's being encouraged, but it seems she's not ashamed to show her nakedness, after all. It's a great nerve, or rather a split.

　If you think she might show some shame, she suddenly becomes bold. I wonder if it's this kind of unpredictability that people say sub-humans don't have emotions, in part because of the reputation they have for being so unpredictable.

　Is it partly because her trust level is rising - she must have come to the bath because she likes me anyway. This is her own good intentions.

''You mean........you came to wash my back or something?''

　Kunigiri, Teresa nods simply. I can't help but feel deflated, but since I was the one who triggered the removal of the armor, I can't say anything about it. ''If I hadn't said, 'Since you won't be able to take off your armor,'' she wouldn't have let me take off her leather armor.

''Well then........can I have it flushed out, just for simplicity's sake?''
..........

　Theresia nods and goes around behind me and starts washing my hair. Come to think of it, it's still lathered up - but when she does it, it doesn't catch my fingers as much as washing it myself.

　Next, I have her lightly rinse my back, then instruct Theresa to wash herself. I soak in the tub first and turn my back so I don't look at her.



　When I looked back at the skull mask and wondered what they would do with it, I found that it still wouldn't come off. That's not the only thing that can come off if you want to.

　Eventually, Theresa also finished washing her body and slowly turned around. The towel wrapped around her body had come off, but her body was well hidden.

'It's a bit hot, but can you soak?'
..........

　I nod back, and I have to close my eyes again. I have no choice but to remove my towel the moment I get into the bath.

　With a chap, Theresa soaks in the hot water. Finally, she has calmed down a bit, but I can't bypass her gaze - I still have to say it firmly.

''Theresa, I'm glad you've washed your back off, but next time you're going to take a woman's bath.
..........
'Yes, no, you'll have to nod your head to that. I'm a man myself, and Theresa needs to be a little wary of that.

　Still, Theresa doesn't nod. It's good to know that she's not going to listen to any orders with the 'Slave Mark', but I feel a strong will to come in next time.

'Theresa is doing it for my good, I know she's doing it for me. But I can't keep renting out the men's bath for a bunch of times...''

　Even after she gets out of the bath, no matter how she does it, everyone looks at her with suspicion. But Theresia's will is hard and inexorable.

''........Theresia?''
..........

　The skull mask turns red, I knew that. It's not long after you've been immersed in hot water, but it's turning bright red in the blink of an eye.

You'll be able to see that the actuality of this is not the same as the fact that you're a lizard, so you're a variable temperature animal...?
..........
Oh my God, get a grip!　I'll have you reasonably chilled in no time!

　He looks like a skull-equipped human, and some of his equipment is off. However, the nature is just a lizardman - that's what it is.

　If she could climb at this speed, a lukewarm bath would be better for her. Rather than use that for future reflection, she was forced to take action as soon as possible to find a way to rescue her, who was turning red all over and was in danger of becoming unconscious, in a peaceful manner.