Until I came to the labyrinth country, I had always thought that bathing with a woman was an event that required more progress in a relationship than sleeping in a room together.

　While it's good that I was able to procure a bathing suit, when it comes to bathing, no one else is wearing one except me, perhaps because I don't feel refreshed in a bathing suit. Louisa-san is wearing a bathing suit, but she said she wanted to take it off when she soaks in the tub, so I'm going to leave around there.

Hmmm........well then, the baths in the quarters are reasonably comfortable. That's a promising searcher with a lot of encouragement.
''I was given the title of 'Specially Selected Searcher' in recognition of the Stampede's case. That may have had an effect on my treatment.
''Huh........Master should be a little more aware of what ladylike taste is, shouldn't he?　It's not always good when the steam is thick, is it?'
Don't complain from the dressing room, you'll never be clean because you're in a suit of armor.
''Ki, I'm not wearing it, I'm in living armor. This armor is a part of my body.

　Mr. Steiner hadn't been able to keep up with Celes's boldness - Celes hadn't put on a bathing suit or anything, and she was one step ahead of me, flushing her body and soaking in the bathtub. What kind of attitude is appropriate for a woman who is mentally older than me, even though she has the appearance of a girl?

'Atobe-sama, your shoulders are a little tense, please relax.'
'Yes, yes ... thank you, Louisa.

　Before my back is flushed in the bath, Louisa is giving me acupressure. This is terribly comfortable and I almost scream every time she pushes me. She seems to be using some kind of skill, and I feel relieved and relieved before I even see it.

'You'll feel refreshed when you get out of the bath when you get your lymphatic system like this.
That kind of thing sounds good for your beauty, and the ladies will love it.
When I get a proper break, I would like to treat you all if you wish. Of course, I'd like to do more serious work on Atobe-sama as well.......oh?
What's going on?

　Louisa's hands stop. She was just flowing down the neck, and the shoulder area was getting quite light - she would resume the treatment again after a while.

'I suppose the higher level of arihit made it easier for Louisa to accumulate experience when she performed the treatment.
'I thought I'd have to go into the labyrinth to get the experience...'
That's the explorer's story. Even though the supporters are active in the town, they use their skills every day, so their experience will be limited and may even increase. It's not easy to get to the next level, though.

　So, depending on the skills that Madoka also learns, will she be able to increase her level while in town? There seems to be a big difference between the experience gained within the labyrinth, though.

''I might have increased my level. I'll check it after I get out of the bath.''
'You've been working hard every day. That's good to hear.

　For those with recovery skills, it could mean that they can maintain their level or gain experience just by treating people in town. It's possible that Farma, the boxmaker, had retired from her job at one point to raise her children, and her level seemed to have dropped, but it's possible that she's getting close to her original level again - although special boxes would rarely be brought in in the Eighth Ward. You could get some experience in a regular box.

'But as I said, aptitude influences events.... In Louisa's case, that's not fair in many ways.

''No, no, I don't think there's anything to be put off by that. I'm rather sorry that I'm the one who got you to this point.

　As I replied, Louisa, behind me, chuckled.

''Given the kind of talk we're having in the room, I don't think Atobe-sama will refrain from doing anything.
Yes, we all have a lot of youth left in us. Kyouka and Louisa in particular, I think.
From my point of view, Mr. Ceres.....
Kehoho... keho...

　Earlier, I was caught off guard too, and I was miffed, but I didn't know that Celes-san could have the same kind of reaction - and I felt a strange sense of familiarity with her.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make excuses if I do this. As Chiara said, Alihit is a fine young man as I saw him, but he has a simplicity that makes me want to love him.
''I've been told that I'm a Park Nenin, but I'm not that pure. I'm a very ordinary person.
''A very normal person who is calm in this situation is probably an emperor or something in a previous life that they just don't realize they're doing.
Don't get carried away when you're in a safe place. Chiara, disarm the manipulators and come to me. This is an order from my master.
'I'm sorry, I won't be rude to you anymore. I'm sorry, Lady Atobe?'
'No, I don't mind, I'm fine.

　Is "manipulate" a skill that turns Steiner-san's armor into "living armor"? If you take it as it is, it is a skill to manipulate something, so he must be able to control the armor from inside.

I'm not sure if this is the style of an emperor. Arihito could have written 'emperor' in his occupation and it would have passed.
'No, no, I flushed that part out, but I'm just not that kind of a person.
'Hmmm.......what do you think, Theresa-sama?'
..........

　I find myself thinking that Mr. Steiner's call of 'emperor' has a point, as a matter of fact. The reason is because Louisa-san is behind me, and Theresia is washing my body worthily as usual.

'When I look at Theresia-sama, I can tell that she's thinking about Atobe-sama very much. It's the way you touch her that shows your feelings the most.
.........

　Louisa probably didn't mean to tease her, but Theresa's lizard mask turned bright red.

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

　But she continues to wash me - she won't even wear a bathing suit if I don't recommend it, but I wonder what kind of heart is responsible for her boldness.

　Even before she became a subhuman, was she not very shy, or did the servitude mark change her personality?

　In any case, if Louisa-san is right, then I'd like to be as considerate as possible of Theresa, too.


..........

　Theresia didn't answer, but her hands paused. After all, if the slavery seal is beginning to be overridden, then the possibility that someone might see it is something that Theresia wanted to avoid.

I'm sure you're not going to be able to see it because it's hidden by your hair, so I just thought it would be fine. I'm sorry, I guess I didn't pay enough attention to it either.
..........
Well, I'm not sure I care about that.
I'm afraid so.

　Theresia nodded with a persistent nod. Celes-san smiled reassuringly and relaxed in the bathtub and stretched out her legs - her white feet squeaked out of the water, but she still looks like she's playing innocently because of her young appearance.

Luisa," he says, "why don't you let Alihit flush your back. I'll be watching you as a guardian, so you won't go too far.
''No, no, I'm fine, I'm fine, I can't believe you would do that to me, Atobe-sama...''
..........

　I wanted to check the status of the servitude seal, but most of all, I wanted to return the same thing to Theresa, since I was grateful to her - but that Theresa refrained from doing so, as if she was fine with it later.

''Well Louisa-san, I'm a man too, so you don't have to force yourself if you're embarrassed...''
''Well I don't know what to say to Kyouka-san later... is it okay, really?''

　While showing signs of being troubled, Louisa-san is about to sit down in a chair and turn her back to me.

　And I realize - when it comes to flushing my back, it can't be with my bathing suit on.

''........nice to meet you, Atobe-sama.

　◆ ◆ ◆　

　Louisa-san was still expecting her shoulders to be stiff, and as it turned out, she was right.

''I'm sorry, Atobe-sama.......for your concern.
'No, don't worry about it. I'm pretty good at this sort of thing.

　When I was in the facility, we all gave tapping certificates to older teachers to thank them for their support. I wonder now how the teachers who were happy about it must have felt - no, I feel like I'm going to get sentimental about it.

''Atobe-sama.......I just checked the conditions regarding the permission to explore the five-star labyrinth earlier.......''
Louisa, you are at a loss for words. Ariecht is very good at that.
'Yes, yes ... it will be so much easier. Is it okay, really.....for you to do this for me?
I said that your shoulders might be stiff, but I'm a little jealous. I would never have a stiff shoulder.
..........

　Theresia is putting her hand on her own chest - if Leila-san finds out, she'll be pissed off about what she's making Theresia aware of.

''The conditions for exploring the five-star labyrinth are to dive the two labyrinths in the fifth district to the third level, and to record a contribution of three thousand or more twice in a single search.

　We've only reached the third level of the labyrinth in part of it so far. The first labyrinth we dove into in Labyrinth Country, Akebono's Field, we went as far as to find a hidden level, but since it would take a long time to get to the end of the labyrinth, we tried the next labyrinth when we reached our goal.

''All I have to do is dive to the third level and return with the return scroll, but with a contribution of 3,000, I'll have to think about the demons I'm targeting.

　If he didn't encounter 'Named', he would have to defeat a significant number of demons - that would prove his ability to fight and win against the demons in the fifth district.

(Hunting thirty level 10 demons for 3,000 points... 'Death Stalker' was level 11, but defeating more than 20 monsters like that would be quite painful. (So you'll need to be able to continue hunting them without returning to the city...)

　Elitia had said that the searchers who were trying to take the equipment away from Ruilly were also reasonably competent enough to do well in the Fifth District.

　Even so, did they enter the territory of the 'Monkey Prince' because they knew that they would get something worth the risk? Or - did he want to fight against the subjugated searchers?

　The license considers a seeker controlled by a demon to be a demon. If they were to harm them, their karma would not be considered to rise.

　This was probably what Elitia was really worried about. The enemy of humans is humans, we've encountered such situations many times.

''There is also a requirement of a cumulative contribution of 20,000 points or more in the Fifth District, but we have a cumulative special contribution of 15,000 points, so we can subtract that.
'Does that mean that the conditions for promotion can be lowered if there are more special contributions? Does that take into account the conditions for advancing to the next ward?
'Yes, you're right. It is possible to offset the negative contribution with a special contribution, for example, if you don't explore for a long period of time, but it is recommended that we try to avoid that situation.......Lady Atobe.......
Oh I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'd better get going.

　I've been so serious that I've lost track, but I think I've had enough of the shoulder massage. Theresia fetched hot water and handed it to Louisa-san - it would certainly be better to have her do it herself when she flushed it.

'Aricht, I've noticed a little bit of life force bubbling up in Louisa's body since a while ago, are you using any of your skills?'
''It's a skill that restores the person in front of you. I had Louisa-san join the party temporarily, so it should have been working for a while now.


　Since it's such a good time, I thought I'd try to get rid of Louisa's fatigue, but come to think of it, if she was taking a bath like this, her confidence level would rise.

I'll ask him to do it next time. If you do a good job, will you think about it?
'That's of course. It doesn't have to be during the bath, though.
You're so reserved, you'd be disappointed if you kept talking like that.
''We have a meeting after we get out of the bath, master. We were talking about the new demon materials in the storeroom, so I asked Melissa to show them to me earlier. I'm sure I can make various suggestions.''
You always surprise me, but this time I have a cold feeling about it. What is that icy scorpion monster?

　The 'The Calamity' that was sent to the storeroom is used as a material for equipment - I can't even imagine what kind of things can be made of it, but if that armor can be used for armor, it will be something powerful.

''Then, before you go to bed, please report back to me about the Stampede suppression and what happened in the 'Red Chamber of the Flaming Sky'.
Yes, nice to meet you.

　Louisa makes a gesture as if to put her hand on the pair of glasses she's not wearing now - I've been thinking about it since I first reported her, but she's still very much alive when we're talking about work.

'Well I'm fine about the time. I'm a strong guy at night.
A receptionist at night, that's quite a thing to do. It's a pity I don't have a s*xy job.
"Master, when you talk like that all the time, it puts men off, you know?

　I don't mean to pull away, but I don't think saying anything here would be a good way to show Theresa that I'm staring at her. I would like to tell Celes-san as softly as possible that I want her to moderate herself as an adult in the future.