"Hmm~"
Elysia's eyes sparkled as she gazed at Durandal. "What should I do, Durandal? I'm starting to regret something!"
Durandal: ?
"Regret what?"
"Regret coming to you on my own initiative!~"
Elysia blinked. "If I had acted like before—just kissing your cheek now and then, giving you the occasional hug, without making things as obvious as I did today—then once you, my dear blockhead, finally caught on, wouldn't I get to watch you scratching your head all day, wondering how to make me truly fall for you? Wouldn't that have been fun?~"
Hearing this, Durandal's face darkened slightly. Just as she was about to say something, she felt the warm, soft press of Elysia's lips against her cheek.
"But then again, how could I bear to wait that long?~"
Before Durandal could react, Elysia sprang up and dashed into the bathroom.
Sitting on the tatami, Durandal was lost in thought for a moment before murmuring quietly, "You forgot your underwear, pajamas, and towel."
Elysia, already in the bathroom, naturally couldn't hear such a soft remark.
Soon, the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom.
Outside, Durandal hesitated briefly before walking over to open Elysia's suitcase. She took out a towel, a set of underwear, and pajamas, then neatly placed them nearby.
The water stopped sooner than Durandal had expected.
Not long after, she heard Elysia's voice from inside the bathroom.
"I forgot my clothes and towel, Durandal. Could you bring them for me~"
Already prepared, Durandal picked up the items beside her and walked toward the bathroom.
Hearing Durandal's footsteps, Elysia opened the door just a crack and extended a fair, slender arm, ready to receive the towel and clothes.
But just as Durandal reached out, Elysia pulled the door wide open.
As it turned out, Elysia hadn't even taken off her swimsuit—she looked exactly as she had before entering the bathroom.
Seeing Durandal frozen in surprise, Elysia grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, then shut the bathroom door behind them.
Durandal's back pressed against the bathroom door.
She stared at Elysia, swallowing hard, her voice tinged with helplessness. "Elysia, why did you pull me in while you're taking a shower?"
Elysia studied Durandal for a moment without answering immediately. Instead, she turned around and began undoing her swimsuit right in front of her.
Soon, the last pieces of fabric slipped away.
Leaning against the door, Durandal watched silently, not moving or attempting to leave.
Only then did Elysia speak. "Let's shower together—it'll save time. Normally, you'd already be asleep by now, right?"
At those words, Durandal felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her.
After only a brief hesitation, she hung Elysia's clothes and towel nearby, freed herself from her own garments, and stepped forward.
Sensing Durandal approach, Elysia turned on the shower. Warm water streamed down over both of them, rinsing away the minerals from their earlier soak in the hot spring.
After a perfectly innocent shared shower, Elysia changed into her pajamas and stepped out first. She then fetched underwear and pajamas from Durandal's suitcase and brought them to the bathroom.
Finally, just before 11:30 p.m., they turned off the lights and settled into their respective bedding.
"Goodnight."
Just as Durandal was about to close her eyes, she heard a faint rustling sound from the neighboring futon.
A moment later, she felt the corner of her own covers being lifted.
Accompanied by a delicate, fragrant scent, a warm, soft body slipped in and lay down beside her.
"Let's sleep together~ Goodnight~ Mwah!~"
Elysia planted a quick kiss on the corner of Durandal's lips, then wrapped her arms around one of Durandal's arms and drifted off to sleep.
At that moment, Durandal felt she could finally answer a question she'd once come across online:
Question: What's it like to be in a sweet relationship with a sweet girlfriend?
Putting it into words might be difficult, but Durandal thought her current experience was the perfect answer.
The next day, neither Durandal's nor Elysia's internal clocks worked as they should have.
By 8 a.m., everyone from rooms 1 to 7 had gathered in the main hall of the Inn for breakfast—only room 8 remained quiet.
Connie from room 6 nudged Emile from room 7 and whispered, "Did you hear any strange noises from room 8 last night?"
Emile: "..."
Even if there had been, the people staying there were the leader and vice-leader of Fire Moth. He wouldn't dare eavesdrop!
Emile realized that the Grand Steward of the Schicksal Order was unusually invested in the affairs of Fire Moth's leader and vice-leader.
Just yesterday, after seeing the vice-leader's post on social media, she had immediately asked him, Vill-V, and Eden to like it as soon as possible.
And now, noticing that the leader and vice-leader were sleeping in for once, she seemed deeply concerned all over again.
But honestly, Emile hadn't heard a thing the previous night.
Though Durandal and Elysia had played music, it had been in the small courtyard, soft enough that it didn't carry to the neighboring rooms.
After that, they hadn't made any noticeable noise.
So, Emile shook his head honestly. "Nothing, at least not that I heard."
Hearing this, Connie couldn't hide her disappointment.
As she nibbled on a Japanese-style snack, her gaze drifted unconsciously toward the end of the hallway.
Soon, however, her attention shifted to Mobius and Klein sitting across from her.
Drawing from her experience observing Durandal and Elysia's relationship, Connie sensed something off about the atmosphere between the two across the table.
Carefully, she took a sip of soup to mask her interest while subtly watching them.
"Klein, I don't feel like eating rice."
Mobius poked at the bowl of rice in front of her with her chopsticks and spoke softly.
Klein paused briefly before responding, "Doctor, what would you like instead? I'll go buy it for you."
Mobius shook her head and held Klein back as she started to rise.
"Klein, do you know how to cook?"
Klein nodded. "I do, but—"
"That's all that matters!"
Mobius quickly stood up, pulling Klein toward the Inn's kitchen.
The inn offered a service allowing guests to use the kitchen to prepare their own meals.
After watching Mobius pay the kitchen usage fee, Klein asked helplessly, "Doctor, what would you like to eat?"
--+--
A/N: Once upon a time, I too had a sweet girlfriend and a sweet relationship.
Though it ended, the memories are truly beautiful~
There's just something wonderful about relationships between girls, isn't there?~
--+--