I Was Sent to an All-Female Frontline Unit to Get Rid of Some of the Trouble, but the Most Beautiful Girls Who Are Rumored to Hate Men Love Me So Much That I Have a Hard Time at Night

Chapter 32: Returning a Favor (2)

“Huh!? Miss Sephia is going to wash my body…!?”

“Yes.”

She said she had a favor to ask, so I was wondering what she might want me to do…

“If I were to wash your body, Miss Sephia, I could understand how that might be a way to return the favor… But if you’re the one washing me, would that really count as repaying you?”

“Of course. Being allowed to touch you and even wash your body… That is something that makes me very happy.”

Happy…

I don’t know why she would go that far, but if that’s what Miss Sephia herself wants…

“I understand… Then, please go ahead!”

“Thank you for accepting. Just like when you ate the food I cooked, this will also be my first time taking a bath with a man… And the fact that it’s with you, Finn, makes me very excited.”

“…! I—I feel the same way…”

I’m a little nervous, but…

“I’m really looking forward to it!”

When I said that, Miss Sephia smiled gently at me.

“…!”

Suddenly, I remembered something.

I opened my mouth to speak again.

“Speaking of which, Miss Sephia, your cooking! Now that I think back on it, it was really delicious!”

“…! I didn’t expect to hear you say that again on a different day… That makes me really happy.”

She said this with a bright expression.

When I saw her expression and remembered the taste of that meal, I couldn’t help but smile.

Miss Sephia saw me like that, widened her eyes slightly, and blushed.

“Finn… You truly reach into the depths of my heart…”

Miss Sephia seemed to be murmuring something, but I couldn’t hear it clearly, maybe because the others behind us were talking about something too.

Still, since nothing in particular happened afterward and we talked like usual, I didn’t think too much about it.

◆◇◆

“Norn!!”

Elena’s voice stopped Norn just as she was about to enter her room after coming down the spiral staircase from the living room.

Norn turned to face Elena, who was right behind her.

“Hm? Elena-chan? Sorry, I was lost in thought and didn’t realize you were following me. What’s wrong?”

“I want to ask about what you were thinking about!”

“…My thoughts?”

Norn asked back, and Elena nodded.

“From the way you looked earlier… you’ve already figured out who sent the assassin after Finn, haven’t you?”

“…”

Norn’s silence gave Elena certainty.

(So she really has figured it out…!)

Then—

“Who was it!? Please, tell me, Norn!! I promised I’d protect Finn!! I promised… and yet…”

(If… if…)

“If Sephia hadn’t been there, Finn might’ve… Just thinking about it makes me so angry—at whoever tried to have him killed, of course—but I also can’t forgive myself for nearly letting Finn die without even knowing it! That’s why… please! Tell me, Norn!!”

The feeling of wanting to protect Finn.

The anger and desire to kill the one who tried to assassinate him.

And the guilt of possibly letting the precious Finn die.

All those emotions were tangled in Elena’s desperate plea.

Norn answered her with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

“…Elena-chan, remember when you told me that Finn once said, ‘It would be better if I died’? I think that has something to do with what happened this time.”

“…It’s related?”

“Yes. I even have a clearer idea of what’s going on, but for now, I’ll just tell you what I’m confident enough to say.”

Norn had been calm up to this point.

But as she prepared to say it, she became emotional.

Her eyes darkened, just like that time before, and she gave off a strong wave of magical energy and killing intent as she spoke.

“The ones who sent an assassin after Finn—are people from our own country, the Luvankrum Empire.”

◆◇◆

After spending some time in the living room with everyone,

I returned to my room and started writing notes about what I learned today.

Specifically, I wrote about Miss Sephia’s Chevalier-style sword technique called Goujin, and how guns might also be used in actual combat when it comes to assassination.

“Miss Sephia’s technique was incredible, of course… but the fact that guns are really used—that was honestly surprising…”

In a face-to-face fight, the magic one channels through their body would definitely have more firepower and be more advantageous. But for an assassin who specializes in stealth, a gun is the ideal weapon.

After writing those notes down, I began studying from the magic textbook I always carry.

Then, since it was getting close to the time I promised to take a bath with Miss Sephia, I grabbed a change of clothes and went up one floor to knock on her door.

And then—

“Yes.”

A voice full of grace answered from inside.

The door opened quickly, and there stood Miss Sephia, a beautiful blonde woman.

“Thank you for coming all the way, Finn.”

“No! I was the one who suggested coming up here because I didn’t want to trouble you to come down to my room, so please don’t worry about it!”

“Hehe… You really are such a kind person, Finn. Then, I’ll take you up on your offer. Shall we head to the bath together?”

“Yes!”

I nodded and started walking with Miss Sephia.

Taking a bath with Miss Sephia…

Actually, if I exclude my sister, this is the first time I’ve bathed with any woman other than Elena, so I’m really nervous.

But this is to repay her kindness—if I keep that in mind…

Thinking that, I followed her up the spiral stairs, and we arrived at the door to the changing room and went in together.

“Since it’s a little earlier than when everyone usually takes their bath, and everyone seemed to be caught up in various conversations, it seems like no one else is here yet.”

“Looks like it.”

If the others had been here too, I’d have had to be extra careful not to think anything weird seeing them in bath towels, so it might’ve been a bit tough.

But now, it’s just the two of us—and it’s for returning a favor!

“Then, I’ll go change over there, so could you please change on that side, Miss Sephia?”

Of course, we couldn’t change in the same spot, so I pointed in separate directions and started to move when—

“Please wait.”

“Yes? What is it?”

She spoke, so I stopped and turned to her.

Miss Sephia blushed slightly and looked embarrassed as she spoke.

“Well… Finn, since you are a man… I was wondering… if you might be interested in the female body…?”

“Eh!?”

A—a woman’s body!?

I was totally caught off guard by the sudden question.

Miss Sephia then moved her hands to the top button of her military uniform, right at her chest, and—