■ Friends □
The sauna here felt like a Korean steam bath.
In the wooden building, people enter and the room’s temperature is raised by lighting a fire outside.
This method, mainly used in cold regions, is said to be more heating-efficient than boiling bathing water, so it is preferred by many.
Perhaps because it was mealtime, there was no one in the sauna behind the lodging.
Thanks to that, I could sit as if I had rented the place all to myself.
“Hooouu….”
I don’t know exactly what the temperature was, but sweat flowed down my body even as I sat still.
The feeling of my stiff muscles from walking all day gradually loosening was pleasant.
Saunas open up pores across the entire body, naturally expelling waste and sebum, which is very good for skin care.
‘I wonder what Dorothea and Barnett are doing.’
Before coming to the sauna, I had already informed the two of them.
Maybe they’re eating dinner without me right now.
‘This is getting dangerous.’
Feeling the heat rise sharply in my head, I stood up to cool off with some fresh air.
Creak-
It happened at that exact moment.
The tightly closed sauna door opened, letting in a gust of cold wind.
“Ah! There you are, Caldlasth!”
Dorothea, who had already changed into her thin sauna robe, greeted me with a cheerful smile.
Of course, Barnett was there beside her too.
“What are you two doing here?”
At this, Dorothea grinned mischievously and puffed out her chest.
“We can’t just eat together and leave you out, right? So we decided to take this chance to do the sauna together and eat afterward.”
Righteousness!
Saying this while clenching their fists, the two women radiated unexpected kindness, leaving me slightly moved despite myself. However, I quickly passed by them.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
“Just going to splash some cold water on myself.”
Even so, staying any longer in the sauna would’ve been unreasonable. [[#]] Saunas differ from public baths in that they are mixed-sex facilities.
Apparently, during the old empire era, there were times when public baths allowed mixed bathing, but when the Order of Courage prohibited inappropriate interactions between the sexes, the baths naturally became gender-separated.
Depending on the region, there are cases where people bathe naked or only wear towels, but here, wearing clothes was the norm for saunas.
However, there was one point I had unconsciously overlooked.
Certainly, the sauna robes were not at all revealing.
But if “soaked in sweat,” the story changes completely.
‘Oh dear.’
I absentmindedly touched my forehead at the unexpected sight.
What was originally supposed to be loose-fitting sauna robes made of breathable material stuck tightly to their bodies due to the sweat.
A bigger issue was that neither of them wore undergarments beneath their robes, exposing their body shapes frankly, and they hadn’t yet noticed.
“It’s so warm here; it’s perfect. Personally, I’d prefer it even hotter.”
True to her nature as the Witch of Fire, Dorothea lounged comfortably, crossing and uncrossing her sturdy thighs while drawing my gaze.
“I wouldn’t joke about that. I’m already dying from the heat.”
Barnett retorted.
She had a well-balanced, wild-horse-like physique overall.
Her muscular frame, highlighted by toned muscles, contrasted strikingly with her aristocratic beauty but fit her perfectly, making her look anything but grotesque.
It was as if I were looking at an eight-head statue crafted during the imperial era.
‘There’s nowhere to look.’
Here we were, three people sitting in such a confined space.
My head was hot from the sauna’s heat, my eyes drawn to their bodies, while time seemed to drag on endlessly like sand refusing to fall in an hourglass.
Setting aside Dorothea, who was practically a sex friend, staring intensely at Barnett, my friend, was undoubtedly rude. So, I simply squeezed my eyes shut and waited for this uncomfortable moment to pass.
But apparently, my behavior seemed strange to them.
Dorothea, standing beside me, asked curiously,
“Caldlasth, what’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”
Opening my eyes reflexively, I found myself staring directly at Dorothea’s cleavage thrust close to my face, causing me to unconsciously gulp.
As she leaned forward to check on me, the neckline of her sweat-soaked t-shirt loosened naturally—
And before my eyes, Dorothea’s white cleavage, unseen until moments ago, was revealed starkly.
Tighten—
Against my will, a physiological reaction occurred.
‘Damn.’
I hung my head in despair.
No matter how hard I tried to suppress it, there was nothing I could do against visual stimulation.
Seemingly noticing something amiss, Dorothea, who had been touching my forehead, flashed a smug grin upon feeling the hardness pressed against her thigh.
“Could it be that you’re excited seeing my body?”
“…Shut up.”
“Ho ho, how embarrassing.”
Dorothea laughed teasingly after saying this, mocking me with a cackle.
Though I wanted to punch her, there were eyes watching, making it difficult.
‘I’ll torment you plenty in bed later.’
With that resolve, I turned Dorothea’s body around to hide my son’s sudden awakening.
‘Can you cover for me?’
‘Okay.’
Barnett blinked innocently, seemingly unaware of the situation, but her face turned bright red when Dorothea suddenly straddled my thigh.
“What, wha-what are you doing!”
Naturally adjusting her posture by wrapping her arms around my neck, Dorothea smirked brazenly at Barnett.
“Friends can do this much, right?”
“Liar! Even I know that’s too far!”
Dorothea shrugged nonchalantly and crossed her legs casually.
“If you don’t believe me, fine. Nowadays, this level of skinship among friends is considered ‘common sense.'”
“Com-mon… common sense!”
Whose country’s common sense is that?
The scene was laughable: Dorothea spinning lies effortlessly and Barnett believing them innocently.
Anyway, whether Dorothea’s lie worked or not, Barnett muttered to herself, “Common sense, common sense… These days, kids are bold…” Then, she suddenly stood up.
Thinking something might be wrong, I looked over to see Barnett walking straight over and sitting next to me.
Startled by the sudden skin contact, I was about to ask what she was doing when Barnett, her face turning crimson with embarrassment, declared,
“I-I’m fine with this extent too!”
“Huh! How about this then!”
Caught off guard by Barnett’s counterattack, Dorothea pulled me into an embrace with her chest in retaliation.
“Puuuh!”
Trying to escape from Dorothea’s embrace hurriedly, I realized too late that Barnett’s brakes had long since failed due to rising competitiveness.
“My chest is bigger than yours!”
Suddenly shoving her chest towards my face, Barnett proclaimed this.
With both of them suddenly lunging forward, my face ended up buried between their chests, and I hastily raised my right hand.
Wait! I can’t breathe!
But my mind was already clouded beyond its limit, and before I could utter a plea for help, I fainted on the spot.[[#]] “Haaat.”
When I came to, I found myself lying on my bed.
It felt like I had experienced something absurd.
Fainting from being buried in a woman’s bosom—wasn’t that something that only happened in manga?
Still dizzy, I shook my head and sat up, noticing Dorothea dozing off in a chair beside the bed.
It seemed she had taken care of me after I collapsed in the sauna.
Judging from the fact that my clothes had been changed, it appeared she had done that too.
While she looks like an angel with her eyes closed, Dorothea transforms into a devil once awake. Gently stroking her hair, I gazed out the window.
I didn’t know how long I had been unconscious, but it seemed quite late into the night.
Gurgle-gurgle—
“Ah.”
My stomach rudely interrupted the serene atmosphere with a growl, prompting me to rub my belly and get up from the bed.
Since I hadn’t eaten anything in the evening, I planned to go downstairs and find a quick snack.
However, as if anticipating this, Barnett entered the room just as the door opened.
“Huh?”
She was carrying a tray.
It seemed she had brought food in case I woke up hungry.
Standing awkwardly, I thanked her and took the tray.
Then, Barnett picked up Dorothea, who was sleeping soundly in the chair, princess-style, told me to eat comfortably, and left the room.
Thanks to her, I was able to enjoy my late meal alone in the room.
