Chapter 41:

Warm water streamed down from the showerhead, tracing my cheeks and flowing to the floor.

The sensation of water breaking into fine droplets, something I could never replicate with telekinesis, was soothing.

The warm drops gently drummed against my skin, wrapping my entire body in a cozy embrace.

How long has it been since I last felt the luxury of a hot shower? Was this heaven?

As the freeing sensation of water splashing over my bare face spread, a smile naturally formed on my lips.

‘Ahhh… I could stay like this forever….’

Hurray for civilization! Showers are the greatest invention ever!

I thought to myself, thoroughly enjoying the moment as if I were playing with water.

Only after feeling fully satisfied did I turn off the water and rub my face with both hands.

Though I was tempted to indulge longer, this was Alice’s home, after all. It wouldn’t be polite to get too carried away.

What if I suddenly got dizzy and fell to the floor? I wouldn’t be able to face Alice, especially after she offered to bathe together earlier.

‘Speaking of which… there’s a mirror here.’

As I brushed away the hair clinging to my face and reached for the shampoo, I noticed the mirror on the bathroom wall. It was fogged up with steam, making the reflection beyond completely obscured.

After a brief moment of thought, I reached out and wiped away the condensation with my hand, revealing a clear surface.

In the mirror, I saw the now-familiar face of a pale, beautiful girl staring back at me.

‘Hmm… I’ve seen my reflection before, and I’ve been naked before, but looking at my naked self in a mirror is a first.’

Even after seeing it multiple times, her—no, my—face was disconcertingly beautiful.

It almost made me feel apologetic, as if someone as plain as me shouldn’t be inhabiting such a perfect body.

Still, with my short stature and youthful face, the sight of my completely bare body didn’t feel provocative at all.

Well, it’d be strange if anyone found such an immature body attractive. People like that are just perverts who deserve a good whack on the head.

Thinking that, I stepped back slightly to get a full view of myself in the mirror. That’s when I noticed something that had been subtly bothering me.

‘How is my body this clean? It’s like I was just born.’

Moving around and inspecting myself in the mirror, I couldn’t find a single blemish, scar, or even a speck of discoloration anywhere on my body.

It was as if I were made of porcelain. How was this possible?

Raising one arm above my head, I even confirmed that my underarms were perfectly smooth. My gaze eventually landed on the silver object dangling near my chest.

The small cube-shaped accessory, small enough to fit in my palm—it was the Tesseract, which had never left my body since that day.

‘Oh… Could it be that when it heals injuries, it restores the body to an almost brand-new state? That makes sense.’

The Tesseract’s power was incredible, capable of returning that old Drakel to his prime in an instant.

It wasn’t far-fetched to think that scars or imperfections could disappear as part of the healing process.

If I’d lost a finger to Drakel, would the Tesseract have regrown it? Probably.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized just how extraordinary the Tesseract’s gift had been.

‘Still… when is this thing planning to wake up?’

How long are you going to make me wait?

I want to say thank you, so hurry up and wake already.

I lifted the Tesseract to eye level and poked it a few times with my finger, watching for any reaction.

But the Tesseract remained utterly still, as if it were in a deep sleep, unbothered by my teasing.

…Looks like there’s no helping it. I’ll just have to keep carrying it until it decides to wake up.

Putting the Tesseract back around my neck, I squeezed shampoo onto my hands and began working it into my hair.

‘This is where telekinesis really comes in handy. No need to move my arms around too much.’

Foam foam.

With the help of my telekinesis, I quickly worked up a rich lather. Letting the warm water rinse away the suds, I repeated the process with body wash and a shower puff.

At last, after what felt like forever, I was cleaner than I’d ever been since arriving in this world. Drying my soft, moisturized skin with a fluffy towel, I heard Alice’s voice calling from beyond the door.

“Yuria! I left some clothes by the door—just put those on!”

She left me clothes? I peeked cautiously past the door to check.

There, neatly folded, was a small stack of clothing.

What could it be?

I carried the stack inside and unfolded it, only for the sight to leave me utterly speechless.

‘…A cat onesie?’

Yes, the pristine white clothes turned out to be a fluffy cat onesie. Complete with fuzzy fabric for warmth in the cold winter, it even had oversized paw-shaped mittens attached. It was so adorably cute it almost made me want to die.

‘She said not to worry about clothes… Don’t tell me she went out and bought this while I was in the shower?’

The sheer unexpectedness of it left me dumbfounded, staring at the onesie with wide eyes. Something slipped out from between the folded clothes and fell to the floor.

What now?

Picking up the small piece of fabric, I froze for the second time.

It was a soft material, like microfiber—something I’d only recently gotten used to wearing.

As I feared, it was underwear.

‘Ugh… I-I needed this, but… why is there a bear on it?!’

I preferred plain, simple designs for underwear. After all, there was no point in wearing cute or fancy ones when no one was going to see them.

But this… this completely defied my usual preference.

The silky-soft material featured an adorably large bear drawn smack in the center.

No, seriously, Yuria, are you okay with this?

My face burned with embarrassment as I clenched the underwear tightly in my hand.

But I didn’t have a choice.

Wear it or don’t—those were the options. And obviously, I had to wear it.

After all, my maid uniform for work had a skirt, and going commando wasn’t an option.

‘I won’t forget this humiliation….’

Clutching the bear underwear in one hand, I resolved to repay this embarrassment someday.

A small seed of petty revenge began to grow in my heart.

“Oh my, you’re so cute! The cat onesie suits you perfectly. I knew going with the cat design was the right choice!”

“….”

As I stepped out of the shower, clad in the cat onesie and still wearing my fox mask, Alice emerged from her room, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Hmph, what’s so cute about it when you can’t even see my face?

I crossed my arms and pouted, clearly unimpressed with her gushing.

First, she turns me into some kind of fool wearing a cat onesie paired with bear-print underwear, and now she’s showering me with compliments? It wasn’t the least bit satisfying. I’ll make her regret mocking me!

“Well, I’m going to shower now. Feel free to eat as many snacks as you like while I’m gone!”

“…!”

Hmm, maybe I’ll let this slide… just this once.

Determined not to betray Alice’s goodwill, I shuffled over to the snack box she pointed to and grabbed something at random.

The first treat I pulled out was a butter cookie.

Classic. The reliable sibling of all snacks. I could eat these every day and never get tired of them.

And that wasn’t all.

Underneath the butter cookies was an assortment of other snacks that perfectly matched my taste.

How obvious can you get, Alice?

The way she had clearly chosen snacks tailored to my preferences stirred a tiny bit of rebellion in me.

But resisting this temptation? Impossible.

Feeling cozy and relaxed after my shower, I hugged the snack box to my chest and started munching away, one snack after another.

“I’m back, Yuria.”

“…!”

Who knows how much time had passed? When I finally came back to my senses, I noticed Alice—freshly showered and dressed in pajamas—approaching.

The moment I saw her, I whipped my head to the side, trying desperately to suppress my laughter.

She was wearing pink pig pajamas that matched my cat onesie.

And on her backside, an adorable little pig tail stuck out, wiggling slightly.

Watching that tail sway melted away the tiny irritation I’d been holding onto.

“All right, enough snacks for now. It’s getting late. Let’s brush our teeth and get ready for bed, okay?”

“….”

“What’s that? No toothbrush? Don’t worry! I bought one for you while I was out buying the clothes!”

Always so well-prepared.

Accepting the toothbrush she handed me, I obediently brushed my teeth.

By the time I’d finished cleaning up, it was already past midnight.

No wonder it was so late.

I’d arrived at my ruined base around 8 p.m., wandered through the city with Alice, taken my time showering, and eaten snacks. It was no surprise the night had passed so quickly.

“Yuria, you can sleep in my bed. I’ll take the sofa.”

“….”

“You want to sleep on the sofa? Absolutely not. You’re the guest, so you sleep in the bed.”

“….”

Despite the late hour, this marked the start of a heated debate.

The issue? Who would sleep in the only bed.

From my perspective, the answer was clear.

The homeowner should sleep in the bed. What was she even talking about?

But from Alice’s point of view, the idea of herself taking the bed while I slept on the sofa was utterly unacceptable.

We wrestled with the question for quite some time until…

“Haah, fine. I’ll sleep in the bed. Happy now?”

“…!”

In the end, she gave in to my stubbornness and agreed to sleep in the bed.

Victory was mine.

It made sense. This was her house, after all. Of course, Alice should sleep in the bed.

But as I basked in the sweet glow of triumph, I suddenly found myself enveloped in her arms.

“…?!”

“Heheh. But you’re sleeping in the bed with me. That’s the compromise, right?”

“….”

Wait, what? How did it come to this?

Confused by this unexpected turn of events, my eyes darted around nervously. But ultimately, I let out a sigh and allowed Alice to guide me to the bed.

Having the bed to myself would’ve felt like I was forcing her onto the sofa, which would’ve been uncomfortable.

But sharing the bed? It was hard to tell who was losing out and who was gaining. Maybe… was it a win for both of us?

Oh, right. If we’re going to bed, I need to do this.

As Alice pulled me closer, I tapped her shoulder, signaling her to let me down for a moment.

Her eyes filled with the question “Do you not want to sleep together?” looked almost heartbroken.

But I quickly shook my head to assure her that wasn’t the issue and gestured for her to wait as I stepped onto the floor.

Standing on the floor, I carefully removed my mask.

Sleeping with the mask on would have been uncomfortable. Besides, there was no reason to hide my face from Alice anymore.

Wait, why did I wear the mask and hide my face all this time, then?

Well… because there hadn’t been a reason to reveal it either, I suppose?

“…Huh.”

Alice froze in place, blinking at me as she saw my face for the first time.

Her reaction was as if she had come face-to-face with something completely unimaginable.

Tick, tick, tick.

In the silent room, the ticking of the clock’s second hand sounded unusually loud.