Chapter 22 …
When the shower room door closed, the two of us ended up inside the narrow space together. It had originally been built for one person, so with both of us inside, it felt incredibly cramped.
“Ah, th-this must be because a Z-rank came in.”
“What is?”
“The light.”
The color of the light attached above the showerhead was different. When I, an A-rank, had entered before, it had been almost dim. I had vaguely heard that it emitted different light depending on rank.
“Will warm water come out too?”
“Of course.”
Embarrassed by his words, I pressed my arms tighter over my chest and said,
“Turn the water on.”
“Why are you covering up? It’s just a hallucination anyway, isn’t it?”
“I’m still embarrassed.”
He gave a small nod. Though he spoke casually, even his ears were flushed red.
“Do you usually wash with cold water?”
“Yeah.”
When Calisten turned the water on, the light above the showerhead brightened to an almost white glow. Then the water began to pour down.
—Shhhhhh.
“Wow… it’s warm.”
“You…”
“Yeah?”
“Your voice got higher. It sounds like someone else’s.”
“It’s a h-hallucination!”
“…Probably.”
He wore an expression that seemed confused yet trying to understand, then lowered his gaze. After a moment, he stepped behind me.
“Help me wash, Aselia.”
“O-okay.”
My hair had grown long enough to cover my chest. When I was a man, my hair had been trimmed regularly, so I’d never grown it long enough to cover my ears. But as a woman, I’d never had it cut.
It was long enough to cover my hips.
He was taking in that sight. The warm water falling near my shoulders felt pleasant, and the way it flowed down my back was soothing.
And it was hot. Not because of the water—but because I was embarrassed in front of Calisten.
If I acted strange here, Calisten—who was quick to notice things—might figure out my identity. Since I’d told him he’d been injected with a hallucinogen, I planned to blame it on that if necessary.
“Aselia.”
“Yeah?”
“You look smaller.”
“No, you’re just too big.”
It felt like my heart was shrinking, as if he was trying to examine me more closely. So I placed my hand over his face.
“Mm….”
“Th-the blood isn’t coming off easily. Is there any body wash?”
“You don’t know how to use body wash?”
“You can use it?”
“Yeah.”
He took my hand off his eyes and reached behind my back. After touching something, there was a clattering sound, and he handed me a small bottle.
“How?”
“Look behind you.”
When I turned around, a small cabinet door—blending into the wall and invisible while I’d been washing—was open. It seemed to open because a Z-rank was using the shower.
“So that’s possible… that’s fascinating.”
“You’ve never been able to use it?”
“No.”
His voice sounded slightly different when he asked that, so I turned to look at him. He was wearing a sad expression.
“Let’s wash together from now on.”
“Huh? N-no! I wash fine with cold water! Even without this! I have soap!”
His expression crumpled, looking displeased.
“…Fine.”
Afraid that anything I said would only make things stranger, I quickly squeezed some body wash into my hand and spread it on his neck. He flinched briefly before speaking.
“Wash my face too.”
“Okay.”
He closed his eyes, so I gently rubbed his face like I was washing someone’s. Then he adjusted the height of the showerhead and rinsed all the foam off. The blood stuck in his hair melted away and dripped to the floor, the color pale but carrying a strong metallic scent.
“Should I wash your hair?”
“Yeah.”
There was still a strong smell of blood in his hair, so when I asked, he answered immediately. His expression was blank, but his face was red.
“Can you bend down? I can’t quite reach.”
He bent at the waist.
“Ah!”
“This is easier, isn’t it?”
But instead of just bending, he scooped me up by my legs. My calves pressed against his abdomen, and I was lifted into his arms. My arms were free, which was good—but the height was considerable.
“Y-you… why are you so tall?”
“Are you scared?”
“No, just surprised… But you really are tall. From up here, the floor feels far away….”
I knew he was over 190 cm tall. But being held by him like this made the floor look very distant, which was frightening. And yet, with our faces so close they almost touched, that fear seemed to lessen.
“Wash my hair.”
“Okay.”
Luckily, I still had a firm grip on the body wash I’d almost dropped. I squeezed some into my hand and handed it to him. Holding me with one arm, he met my eyes.
I was too embarrassed to hold his gaze, so I deliberately focused on his hair. I lathered it up with my hands, rubbing until thick foam formed, making his black hair look almost white.
“Calisten.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re really handsome.”
I said it without thinking. But up close, he truly was breathtakingly handsome. A sharp nose, large crimson eyes, and vivid red lips.
He looked almost like a tempting piece of ripe fruit.
“You…”
“Yeah?”
“You’re much prettier. Aselia.”
After saying that, he lowered his gaze shyly. His nose brushed against the hand I was using to cover my chest.
“Mm… Cal….”
“This is strange. Why is your chest….”
“It’s a h-hallucination….”
His nose pressing against my upper chest and then pulling away tickled so much I could barely speak.
“Right….”
Flustered, I tried to wash his ears, but my hand slipped.
“Ah…!”
At that moment, the bridge of his nose brushed against my chest. I tried to quickly pull away, but with his grip tight around my waist, I couldn’t move far.
“…Sorry.”
I glanced at him nervously, but he simply kept his head lowered without reacting.
“W-we should rinse your hair now. There’s a lot of foam….”
“Ears….”
“Huh?”
“Wash my ears too.”
“O-okay….”
It was embarrassing, but it seemed like a good way to smooth over the awkward situation, so I touched his ears.
I lathered them and gently rubbed. Even his ears were beautiful. His face was small, and his ears were small as well. I traced the curve with my fingers and rolled his earlobe with my thumb. His body grew even hotter than before, making the shower room unbearably warm.
The sound of running water and the drain swallowing it filled the silence.
“Cal.”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s rinse now.”
“Stay like this a little longer.”
“Why?”
“…It’s troublesome.”
He muttered in a low voice, standing stiffly while holding me. I didn’t know what was wrong, but he seemed uncomfortable, so I looked him straight in the eyes.
“Then just turn around once.”
Since the water was falling behind my back, I suggested it. He seemed to understand and slowly turned. I was still covering my chest with one hand, so it felt slightly uncomfortable that the water falling over my arm couldn’t reach it.
“Don’t open your eyes. You’ll get soap in them.”
“Okay.”
When he obediently closed his eyes, I removed the hand covering my chest. The droplets splashing past his shoulder onto me felt warm and refreshing.
While his eyes were closed, I was finally able to rinse off properly too.
“Aselia.”
“Yeah?”
“I think I’m hallucinating pretty badly.”
“Ah… yeah. I guess so.”
It pricked my conscience to lie to Calisten, but I couldn’t tell him everything.
“Can you put me down now?”
“…Just a little longer.”
“Why?”
He let out a small sigh.
“I’ll put you down, but you have to close your eyes too.”
“What if we both get hurt?”
“I’ll be careful.”
“…Okay.”
I didn’t understand why, but I gently closed my eyes. My body slowly descended. Even though I was covering my chest and had a towel wrapped around my waist, I had the strange feeling that he was seeing me completely, which made me embarrassed.
My toes touched the ground, then the soles of my feet fully settled onto the floor.
“Aselia.”
“Yeah?”
“You can open your eyes now.”
When I opened them, he was facing away.
His firm back muscles caught my attention, heating my face. And then his lower body as well.
“Ah….”
“What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing… But you should wash your body too.”
“In a bit.”
His voice echoed like it was coming from a cave, so I changed the subject deliberately.
“Then don’t turn around and just stay like that for a moment, okay? I want to wash too.”
“…Okay.”
With him turned away, I felt relieved and let the water run over me.
“Calisten.”
“Yeah.”
“Can you pass me the body wash?”
“Sure.”
Without turning, he stretched his arm out to hand it to me.
“Ah—”
The bottle slipped from the foam, and as he grabbed for it again—
“Cal…”
When he turned around, my chest was crushed in his hand.
