21 — Now That I Think About It…

And so, the place Kikori was taken to… no, arrived at, was Aria’s house, located fairly close to the center of Nilgen.

It was a small two-story house, but it didn’t feel cramped.

The furniture was arranged in a very balanced way… the only thing that caught his attention was the weapons and armor displayed in the corner of the large room they were in.

“Alright, welcome, Kikori. This is my house.”

“Now that I think about it… is this really okay? Letting someone like me in.”

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

“Normally speaking, I don’t think you should let some random guy whose background you don’t even know into your home.”

“If you’ve got the guts and the ability to push me down, I’d love to see you try.”

“P-push you down…!?”

“As long as you’re turning red like that, it’s impossible.”

Are women usually like this? Kikori started thinking, recalling the women from his village, as well as women from his past life.

In this life, he had been disliked, so he didn’t really know. In his past life… he didn’t want to remember much.

Even thinking about it was starting to become taboo within Kikori.

Perhaps noticing that he had calmed down a bit, Aria murmured,

“Huh. Well, I’ll let you use the bath too, so take your time. I’ll lend you some old sleepwear of mine as well.”

“Eh, no, that’s too much—”

“To be honest, I want to wash those ragged clothes of yours. Being an adventurer means rough work, but that doesn’t mean you can be filthy all the time, you know?”

“…But we’re always getting dirty, aren’t we?”

“Yes. But that’s no excuse to be dirty when you’re not working. Once someone crosses that line, they just keep sinking lower and lower. Or do you want to become someone who’s just barely alive?”

“…No.”

“Exactly. Alright, hurry up and strip and get in the bath! I haven’t heated the water, but I’ve got magic stones!”

“Eh—wait, wha—!”

When he was stripped of his upper clothes and hurried into the changing room, Kikori let out a breath without thinking.

And then… he noticed that the reflection in the mirror was smiling, and he touched his mouth in surprise.

He was smiling. Why? There was only one answer. Because he was enjoying himself.

This kind of human interaction was genuinely fun. Here, at least, there was no one who looked down on him as demon-possessed.

That was precisely why he absolutely must not bring up anything about his past life.

“I’ll leave your clothes here, okay?”

“Wah!?”

Kikori jumped when Aria casually opened the changing room door and peeked in, but she just laughed cheerfully.

“…Um, Aria-san.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you… very much.”

“You’re welcome.”

He was being saved. And precisely because of that, the warmth he felt… terrified Kikori.