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Chapter 74: Interlude – M-Monster!
In a 24-hour bathhouse located in downtown Valhalla City.
The decrepit bathhouse, made of old wooden structures, was engulfed in a serene silence.
Clank.
I opened the door to the bathhouse and stepped inside.
"Hey? We're the only ones here?"
"It's quite late."
"True, we did drink for a while."
It was already past midnight, nearing 1 a.m.
It wasn't a large bathhouse that could hold hundreds of people, and it was rare to find customers in such an old, rundown neighborhood bathhouse at this hour.
"Oh, there's even an outdoor bath here?"
Opening the glass door that led outside, we saw a small outdoor bath, with steam gently rising from it.
"By the way, where's Yuren?"
"He said he was going to the bathroom earlier."
"Hmm. Could it be... that he ran away all the way here?"
"Heh heh. Who do you think I am? I knew he might try that, so I hid his clothes in a different locker."
"Ohh! That's why you're the boss!"
Honestly, I did wonder if we had forced him to come along too much, even though he didn't want to.
‘It’s something Yuren needs, too.’
In our previous lives, I had spent ten whole years with Yuren.
We became best friends, almost like family.
But even then, I always felt a kind of 'wall' from Yuren.
It was as if, deep inside, he was afraid of getting too close to others.
‘It wasn't just that he liked being alone.’
I recalled the times Yuren had watched me and Berald playing together, his eyes often filled with envy.
Yet, he kept a distance, unwilling to get involved with others.
Even now, I still didn’t know why.
‘I won’t let him put up that wall again this time.’
I was determined to use this opportunity to break down at least part of the 'wall' in Yuren’s heart.
Clank.
As I was thinking about this and waiting for him, the door to the bathhouse opened, and Yuren walked in, covering himself with a towel.
"Is... is there really no one else here?"
Yuren looked around nervously, like a cat put into water.
"Yeah. We rented out the whole place."
"R-really?"
He relaxed a little, a slight look of relief appearing on his face.
I took Yuren and headed to the outdoor bath with Berald.
"This is amazing!"
As I submerged my body into the steaming hot water, a shiver of pleasure ran down my spine.
It was like being wrapped in a thick blanket, with the warmth enveloping my lower body and the cold night air on my upper body.
Being surrounded by such warmth in the open air was a luxury that was hard to describe.
"Ahh! It feels like all the fatigue is melting away!"
"Well, you were the one who worked the hardest this time."
Everyone in the party had done their part, but Berald, who was at the forefront, had physically endured the most.
"Haha. What are you talking about? The one who had it hardest was Yuren, wasn't it?"
"Huh? Me?"
Yuren, who had been crouching in the corner (not that there was much space, the bath was small), suddenly raised his head.
"You practically handled everything, from fighting to leading."
"Ah, well, I was in the lead after all."
"In that case, we were both in the lead, weren't we?"
Berald grinned and extended his fist toward Yuren.
"Thanks. I feel like I learned a lot by being with you two."
"...Yeah."
Cautiously, Yuren extended his fist and bumped it against Berald's.
"By the way, Dale, were you part of another party before?"
"Another party?"
"Judging from the stuff you taught us, you seem to have experience in a seasoned group."
"..."
A seasoned group, huh? Well, if you put it that way, I did come from the best of the best.
I swallowed a bitter smile and shook my head.
"I just told you what I learned from books."
"...It doesn't sound convincing when you say it."
"Shut up."
I waved my hand to brush off the question.
"Heh heh. Still, I'm glad you're with us."
"Glad, huh?"
"Who would’ve let someone like me into their party without you? …Someone who can’t even properly use a mana bullet after over ten years of learning magic."
Berald let out a self-deprecating laugh and sighed.
"Who says you can’t use magic?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, you used 'Stone Arrow' or whatever just fine in that last fight."
"That’s..."
"Advanced physical power and magic aren’t that different from each other."
I repeated the exact words Berald had once said to me.
"Haha."
Berald let out a low chuckle, shaking his shoulders as he laughed.
"...Thanks, man."
He grinned and clenched his fist.
"Alright! Now that I’ve earned your approval, I will keep honing my ‘magic’ from now on!"
"Sure, sure."
A sulking Berald didn’t suit him at all.
The Berald I knew was a hero who never stopped moving forward, no matter how dire the situation.
"Hmm. Well, that aside..."
Suddenly, Berald narrowed his eyes and stared straight at me.
"Dale, your body’s been looking amazing lately."
"Huh?"
"I wasn't sure while we were dressed during the expedition, but... what have you been eating to get a body like that?"
Berald couldn't stop admiring my bare upper body.
He must have noticed the changes to my body after becoming ‘reconstruction.’
"It's just the result of consistent training."
"Hmm. A body like that isn't just from training."
"What’s it look like to you then...?"
Perhaps Berald’s reaction sparked curiosity.
Yuren, who had avoided looking at me since getting into the outdoor bath, turned his head slightly.
"...Whoa!"
Yuren's eyes widened, staring at me with his face turning bright red.
He let out a soft, continuous "Wow" of amazement.
He even swallowed hard in the middle of it.
‘This is starting to feel awkward.’
No matter how much I tried to brush it off, having two guys intensely scrutinize my body wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.
'...Hm?'
While I was looking around for a way to change the subject, something caught my eye—the pendant hanging around Yuren’s neck.
“What’s that pendant?”
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“Huh? Th-this?”
For some reason, Yuren hastily covered the pendant around his neck with his hand.
With an awkward smile, Yuren spoke.
“It’s... it’s my younger sister’s keepsake.”
“I see.”
If it was Yuren’s younger sister, he must be talking about Yurina Helios, who died in an accident eight years ago.
It was touching, even tear-jerking, to think that he had treasured his sister’s keepsake for nearly ten years now.
‘But, what is this?’
Knowing the Yuren of the future, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.
‘I’ve never seen Yuren wearing a pendant before.’
I had spent a full ten years with Yuren in my previous life.
In all that time, I had never once seen him wear that “keepsake of his younger sister.”
‘Did he lose it before we became a party?’
There was a ten-year gap between our graduation and when we teamed up, so it was possible he had lost it during that time.
‘But that doesn’t seem like Yuren, though...?’
Yuren was the kind of person who kept even his old cadet uniform neatly stored away.
Someone like that wouldn’t lose something as precious as a keepsake from his younger sister, right?
It didn’t make sense to me, but...
‘Well, it’s not like I’d get any answers even if I asked him now.’
I erased the question from my mind and relaxed my body into the outdoor bath, letting the accumulated fatigue melt away.
As I was soaking in the warm water, Berald suddenly spoke up.
“Oh, right. Brother Dale, I saw they were selling roasted eggs before we came in. Would you like some?”
“Oh, is the owner from the Republic?”
“...Roasted eggs?”
Yuren tilted his head, puzzled by our conversation.
“Why would they sell roasted eggs in a bathhouse?”
“Hehe. You little Imperial bumpkin. Once you try it, you’ll be hooked too.”
I gave Berald a knowing grin.
He quickly caught on to what I was about to say and dashed out of the outdoor bath, calling out as he went.
“I’ll be right back with some!”
“And get three rice drinks as well.”
“Of course!”
Berald hurried back, carrying a basket of roasted eggs and a tray with three rice drinks.
Eating food in the bath would be considered rude to others, but...
‘There’s no one else here, so why not?’
And so began our surprise snack time.
“It’s... delicious!”
“Isn’t it?”
“Yeah! It’s much chewier than a boiled egg! And this rice drink is so sweet.”
Yuren’s eyes sparkled as he enjoyed the roasted eggs and rice drink.
‘I guess I really am a Republic native, after all.’
I remembered how it had become a trend in the Republic around this time to serve local dishes to people from the Holy Kingdom or the Empire and observe their exaggerated reactions.
I was starting to understand why Republic folks were so obsessed with that otherwise pointless trend.
“Well, shall we get going?”
We were full from the snack, and our bodies had warmed up nicely.
It was about time to head back to the lodging and get some rest.
“Hehe, understood, brother!”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Yuren, nodding hastily as if he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, made me want to tease him a little.
But I held back.
‘Pushing too hard all at once isn’t good.’
If breaking down emotional walls was easy, no one would call them “walls” in the first place.
“Well then.”
I began to stand up from the bath.
“Hah...!”
Suddenly, Berald let out a shocked gasp.
Puzzled, I glanced at him and saw his gaze fixed on my lower half.
“T-this isn’t just about your body being in great shape, brother.”
“Hey.”
Where are you looking, you idiot?
“Ahem! This is... I thought I didn’t have anything to be ashamed of, but... there are always hidden masters in the world, it seems.”
“Hidden master, my foot.”
I gave Berald a good bird flip in response to his nonsense.
Then I quickly gave him a once-over as he stood up from the bath to follow me.
‘Hmm.’
Well, yeah.
I am bigger.
“Ahem.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I turned my body away from Berald and toward Yuren.
“…Ah.”
Yuren was standing there, eyes wide open, mouth agape.
“…Yuren?”
I called out his name, but Yuren stood frozen like a statue, trembling slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“Heek!”
Yuren quickly grabbed a towel and covered his body, backing away with a look of sheer horror.
“D-don’t come closer!”
“What?”
“Don’t come any closer!”
With a face as pale as if he had just seen a ghost, Yuren shook his head frantically.
“Hey, what the...”
“A-ah, uh... Aaaaah.”
Worried about Yuren’s condition, I stepped toward him, but he let out a broken scream and his eyes rolled back into his head.
“Mon... monster! …Gurgle.”
With those words, Yuren collapsed into the bath with a splash.
“Hey! Yuren! Snap out of it, man!”
The moonlight bathed the outdoor bath in a soft glow.
The sun was sinking beneath the water.
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