Love In The Bath

Night, with the moon shining over the forest.

After finishing the treatment and the meal, I was lying face-down on a mat in the mansion’s bath.

I had used far too much Serâge and was completely exhausted.

Teti had already gone back to her room, and we had set up a private room next to hers for the girl cleric to stay in.

It looked like we would be taking care of her for a while.

Well, she was talented, so from a dungeon standpoint there was no problem.

Straddling my back as I lay face-down, a light, underwear-clad angel was massaging my shoulders and back.

Every time she moved, her slender thighs hugged my sides, and her firm bare skin pressed softly against me.

“Doing two thousand one hundred rounds really wore me out.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Master.”

Liricia’s slender fingertips soothed away my fatigue.

Letting myself relax into those pleasant fingers, I suddenly asked something that had been on my mind.

“Come to think of it, the girl cleric—”

“‘Girl cleric’… you mean Sophia-san, Master.”

“So she had that fancy a name… Oh, hey, she has the same ‘-ia’ as Liricia. Is that because she’s an angel?”

I answered without thinking.

But Liricia let out a long sigh.

“Master. Please never tell Sophia-san that you didn’t know her name, all right?”

“Hm? Why not?”

“If she found out that even after all that time together, you didn’t remember so much as her name, those negative feelings would start sprouting again.”

“You’re right. In a way, that makes me a pretty horrible guy. —But I was told heroes shouldn’t get close to women, so I tried my best to shut them out of my heart.”

“I see. In that case, it could not be helped… Now then, I am sorry for interrupting you earlier. What were you about to say?”

“Nah, it’s nothing big. I was just wondering—if Sophia’s sin was jealousy, then what sin was it that got you cast out, Liricia?”

At my question, Liricia’s fingers stopped.

She leaned forward, pressing her ample twin mounds into my back.

“My sin was… being too kind.”

“Kindness is a sin? Isn’t that a virtue?”

“Yes, but God passed judgment on me. He condemned me and cast me out for spreading kindness equally to everyone.”

With that, she sighed.

Her breath brushed the back of my neck, and her silver hair slid softly over my skin, tickling me.

Conscious of the small body atop my back and its generous softness, I spoke.

“I love your kindness, Liricia. I really, really love it.”

“Thank you, Master…”

Her shy little breath stirred something inside me.

I shifted to let her get off safely, then stood up.

I grabbed the sub-device and opened a call.

“Kou, get it ready.”

“Right away~.”

Blue-glowing water filled the tub.

I dipped my hand into the Empty Water.

Behind me, Liricia leaned forward slightly, tilting her head in puzzlement.

“What are you going to do?”

“I thought we should try the elixir bath ourselves. It looked way too good.”

“I see. We had not tried it yet, had we. I wonder what it feels like.”

“All right, let’s do this.”

“Yes!”

We both closed our eyes and focused.

Light burned against the backs of our eyelids, and the elixir bath, shining beautifully, was complete.

I went in first.

The slightly thickened water wrapped gently around my body.

Along with the warmth of the bath, a deep comfort seeped into me down to my very core.

“Whoa… this is really healing.”

Next, Liricia slipped off her underwear and, completely bare, slowly dipped her toes into the tub.

Her slender body trembled.

“Ahh… mmnn!”

She squeezed her eyes shut and hugged herself, trying to endure the shivers.

Curious, I asked:

“What’s wrong?”

“It feels like… like I am entering inside Master… like you are holding me in your arms… ah…”

Her wings flared open with a soft “whump,” stretching taut all the way to the tips.

—Her wings came out even though I hadn’t done anything.

Maybe this was a dangerously good bath for Liricia.

Blushing hotly, she slowly sank in up to her shoulders.

In the long, horizontal tub, we sat facing each other.

Cheeks flushed, Liricia smiled at me.

“This is embarrassing…”

“You’ve already shown me everything—over and over again.”

I reached out and pulled Liricia into my arms.

In the warm water, our skin slid and pressed together, slick and close.

“Kya— Master…”

Leaning against me, she let out a sweet, spoiled little sound.

The wings on her back fluttered and beat.

For a while, we just held each other like that.

With her eyes closed and a smile on her face, Liricia let out a contented sigh.

“This is a wonderful bath… It feels better than Heaven.”

“Yeah, it really does. So this is what Heaven’s like…”

Holding her slender body, I felt the softness of the twin mounds floating in the water.

But then I thought:

Liricia, yielding herself to the comfort, was wearing a melted, blissful smile.

Something about that expression felt far away.

Her presence felt strangely faint—

I pulled her smooth, bare body tightly into my arms.

“I love you, Liricia.”

“Mm… Master…?”

She looked at me with her slightly drooping violet eyes.

Her beautiful face overflowed with a melted expression.

I tightened my arms around her even more.

—Maybe I was afraid of losing Liricia.

“So don’t go anywhere.”

“Ah… I am sorry. My mind had drifted far away.”

With a soft little “hah,” Liricia breathed into my ear.

I pulled back a little to look at her face, then pressed my lips to hers.

“Mmnn—”

Liricia let out a cloudy moan.

Her wings spread, and the water splashed with a soft sound.

Then once again, we held each other gently, as if to confirm each other’s warmth.

Liricia spoke quietly.

“But… thank you.”

“For what?”

“I was this close to hurting my own heart… and Sophia-san’s as well…”

“You were that panicked; it can’t be helped.”

At my comforting words, Liricia gave a soft little laugh.

“But I was surprised.”

“By what?”

“I was sure men wanted to sleep with all kinds of different women!”

Blowing softly into Liricia’s ear, I answered.

“Well, yeah. I’m a man too. I’d be lying if I said I had no interest in a harem at all. —But it just felt wrong to touch someone who wasn’t conscious, and right now, one woman is more than enough for me.”

“Why is that?”

Liricia tilted her head adorably as she asked, though her beautiful face was, ever so slightly, loosened with happiness.

I kissed her gently on her smooth cheek and slender nape, whispering in her ear.

“Isn’t it obvious? I was living a gray life without even realizing how unhappy I was… and then an angel came along and brought color and happiness into it. I want to spend my whole life loving that angel, and only her.”

With a little sniffle, Liricia’s eyes filled with tears.

“Master…! I love you, I love you so much!”

“I love you too, Liricia. —I love you.”

As we shared a hot, deep kiss, I wrapped my arms around her slim waist and pulled her in tight.

From the corner of Liricia’s petal-like lips, a sweet, aching breath escaped.

“Ah…! Master—!”

After that, we pressed our bodies together, confirming our love.

Water splashed with soft sounds as we moved forward and back; at times I had her brace her hands against the wall as I held her from behind.

Her large breasts trembled, and her pure white wings stretched out straight again and again.

Her water-slicked skin flushed pink, and Liricia’s shuddering form showed no signs of stopping.

In the steam-filled bath, Liricia’s cute voice echoed over and over, as if amplified.

Meanwhile—

In Kou’s dungeon.

Teti was shut up in her room, cheeks burning red as she lay on her bed reading a book.

She could faintly hear Liricia’s voice—“Ahh… mmhn!”—drifting in.

She tried to open her eyes wide and focus on her book, but every time the voice reached her, Teti’s small body gave a little twitch.

At last she dug both hands into her blonde hair, ruffling it as she shouted:

“Why! What the heck! I thought you made it soundproof!?”

Slapping her flaming cheeks with both hands, Teti got up from the bed.

She walked to the door and yanked it open.

Outside the door was the great hall with the round sphere installed at its center.

Because she’d opened the door, Liricia’s moans came through even more clearly.

With the tips of her long ears flushed bright red, Teti squared her shoulders slightly and strode toward the sphere.

Just then, the door next to Teti’s room opened.

Sophia stepped out, cheeks flushed, her bathrobe swaying like a nightgown.

“Her voice is… quite something…”

“Alec-sama and Liricia-san are a perfect, head-over-heels couple, so that can’t be helped… but the real problem is you, Kou-chan! I thought you made it soundproof!”

Teti marched up to Kou.

Sophia also came over to stand by Kou.

Kou’s surface flashed with blue light as she protested.

“The soundproofing itself is working~. Thanks to that, not a peep is leaking into the Royal Capital, you know~.”

“Ugh… then why can we still hear them?”

“Because they are engaged in passionate fusion in a place where sound echoes really well~. Nothing to be done.”

“Wait, where?”

“In the bath, of course~.”

At Kou’s matter-of-fact answer, Teti and Sophia looked at each other, faces turning bright red.

They fell silent, and once again, a faint “Ah…!” of Liricia’s delight drifted in from afar.

Teti clawed at her blonde hair in distress.

“Then, um… could you boost the soundproofing more? I can’t sleep.”

“If I get Master’s permission, I can increase the soundproofing~. For now, please bear with it.”

“Ugh… fine.”

“I suppose there is nothing else for it…”

Teti and Sophia slumped their shoulders and gave wry smiles.

Then Sophia seemed to have an idea and brightened.

“Then, Teti-chan, shall we sleep together?”

“Eeeh!? S-sleep together—what are you planning to do!?”

Flustered, Teti blushed even harder.

Still smiling, Sophia held out both hands.

“Like this, we can cover each other’s ears.”

“Ah…”

With hands full of gentle compassion, Sophia cupped Teti’s ears.

Teti gave a small nod.

“Okay, we’ll block them for each other.”

“Yes.”

And so, the two of them went into one of the small rooms together.

They lay down on the bed, cuddled up at close range, and covered each other’s ears as they drifted off to sleep.

Then the warm body of the angel, filled with loving kindness, soothed Teti’s wild, restless heart.

Teti’s sleeping face was far more peaceful than usual.

—Maybe, in her dreams, she was remembering her mother.