My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 104

“Rize…”

“…Yes, Young Lady.”

“I’m cold…”

“Shall I turn up the heating a bit more?”

“Uhm… I think just covering up with the blanket a little more will do…”

So this is winter, huh?

When I woke up today, the feeling was definitely different from usual.

Of course, the heating was already running in the room, and I was wrapped up in a thick blanket, so it wasn’t too cold. Still, I could feel a slight chill.

“Ugh…”

“……..”

“It’s warm…”

I pulled the blanket completely over my face and snugged Rize tightly against me. It felt incredibly warm.

Even though the blanket had gotten warm while I was sleeping, holding Rize like this made it even cozier.

“Rize… What should we do today…?”

“How about buying the things you need for your Academy life, Young Lady?”

“That sounds good… Even though there’s still some time left… Yeah…”

There’s still about a month until the entrance ceremony, but it’s better to prepare early to avoid any issues.

I thought it would be nice to follow Rize’s suggestion. Cuddling her even closer, I thought, really… this is the best pillow ever.

“………”

“Ugh… Mmm…”

“……..”

“Rize, you’re so warm…”

“Is that so…?”

“Yeah, super soft.”

With my eyes closed, I laid still while holding Rize.

I disliked the idea of revealing myself to the cold air outside the blanket and enjoyed simply lying still with Rize for various reasons.

I was genuinely relieved that my Academy life hadn’t fully started yet.

If the Academy had begun, I would have had to wake up by now and prepare to go to classes, leaving the warm blanket… Ugh, such a hassle.

Suddenly, I had a strong urge to take a leave of absence, go home, and just spend time comfortably with Rosalyn, doing business or whatever.

“Oh…”

Come to think of it… I still need to visit the Information Guild… and send a letter to Alexandra… It seems like I have a few things to do…

…But I already sent a letter to Rosalyn, so it should be fine, right?

Yeah, that should be enough.

Clinging to my Rize pillow for about… ten minutes…?

It felt like that, but it was probably over ten minutes.

“Rize.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“Do you want to wash up?”

“I’ll prepare the water.”

“Forget that. Let’s just go in together and wash up. Don’t make a fuss.”

“Yes…?”

What I really wanted was a warm bath.

It was nice to have Rize give me a bath, but… that might be a hassle for her too, right?

If she had to help me with my bath right from the morning, it would definitely be bothersome. So I just suggested that we relax together.

*

“Whew… this is comfortable…”

“Young Lady, this feels a bit…”

“What? It’s just fine.”

“Isn’t it a bit too cramped…? Sharing the bathtub does seem to be a bit…”

As I was relaxing in the tub, Rize suddenly brought that up again, again, and again.

Even though I told her it was fine, she showed no signs of improvement.

“Don’t you like this?”

“That’s not it. I’m just embarrassed…”

“Hmm…”

I wondered how I could help Rize overcome her embarrassment.

I wasn’t sure if it was necessary to help her with that. After all, it was a bit of a hassle, right?

She could just be embarrassed, and that would be enough…?

“Young Lady…?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you looking at me like that…?”

“I haven’t done anything.”

For a moment, I considered diving into Rize’s arms on the opposite side, forgetting her embarrassment and dislike altogether. Just a fleeting thought.

Of course, it stayed as just a thought.

“Rize, let’s wear something other than the maid outfit when we go out today.”

“Do we really have to?”

“Yeah.”

“…But today is a weekday, isn’t it…?”

“I just want to walk around with Rize in casual clothes.”

I found Rize’s casual style really pretty, and I’ve always thought it suited her very well.

Though Rize was usually reluctant to wear casual clothes when I asked her to.

“Please wear it, okay?”

“…Understood.”

Rize was tall and had an amazing figure, so she looked good in mature outfits.

That being said, she also looked fantastic even in long skirts.

Of course, I bet she’d look great in other clothes too, but Rize got a bit too shy about wearing mini-skirts or those types of clothes… so it was hard to get her to wear them.

“What should we buy… I’ll need notebooks and pens for my Academy classes… Rize, do you need anything?”

“I don’t.”

“Don’t be so modest. Just tell me if you need something. I have money, you know?”

“I really don’t need anything much. Since our room is small, after all…”

“…That’s true.”

It seemed that as a maid, Rize didn’t have much to do anyway…

As she said, we were in a position where we couldn’t really need anything more here. It genuinely felt like there wasn’t space for anything.

If I brought something back, it would probably turn our dormitory room into a complete mess.

“Sigh… I need to get to the Academy quickly and get out of this room.”

“Good luck!”

“I’ll give it my best shot.”

…First, I wanted to get my class assignment settled and then tackle Academy classes and exams… just anything to improve our room from a B to an A grade.

In fact, I had thought about sending a letter to Rosalyn to discuss this, but I hadn’t done it.

I figured it might unnecessarily worsen Rosalyn’s worries, and it wasn’t like I was facing any serious obstacles in getting by.

“By the way, I need to meet Karen too. Are the upperclassmen still a long way from coming to the Academy?”

“I’m not sure about the third years…”

“Hmm…”

Ella, as a new noble from the same southern region, posed no problem in meeting, but Karen was a different situation.

But it wasn’t exactly a difficult matter.

If I lack information, I could just go and pick it up, right?

*

I felt sorry for Rize, but after sending her off to the Academy Dormitory, I wandered around the Academy campus by myself.

It wasn’t like there’d be any major issues if she followed me, but still, it wasn’t a place I wanted to unnecessarily expose her to.

“Hmm… is this it?”

The papers I received from the woman at the Information Guild pointed to this place.

I was surprised that there would be such a place inside the Academy.

Honestly, it was a little unexpected and intriguing… various thoughts ran through my mind.

– Tap… tap…

In the past, the ones who made secret entrances in abandoned buildings… but maybe there weren’t any abandoned buildings in the Academy for that reason?

The building I entered now was definitely not an abandoned one.

Of course, there were a few odd parts. It was a bit noisy, after all.

“Ugh. So annoying.”

The place I’d entered was… the basement under the pub.

Of course, it wasn’t a place where actual drinks were served or where scantily clad women were soliciting. It was a place where… Academy students could have fun.

They sold ordinary drinks, and students were just laughing and chatting there, but within the basement, there was a place that typical students didn’t know about.

Descending into the basement, there were piles of stuff and store supplies, but inside those, there was…

“Here it is.”

Once again, there was a specially crafted button, and when pressed…

– Thud… boom…

Once again, a secret door opened, which was precisely the entrance to the Academy branch of the Information Guild.

“I always wonder why, since everyone knows the Information Guild exists, they still hide it like this.”

Of course, the nature of the information the Guild dealt with must be quite secretive… so it could be their way of maintaining strict security.

Honestly, most nobles and merchants are well aware of the Information Guild’s existence, so I questioned the need for such secrecy.

Anyway, I began to walk along the corridor that followed the open door.

I wondered if it wasn’t an abandoned structure…?

“It’s neat.”

The pathway was tidy.

It was completely different from the Information Guild’s branch in my hometown, where I had lived in the south, both in entrance and hallway aesthetics…

“…Is this genuine discrimination?”

Well. Obviously, that was just nonsense, but still, I wished they could make it a bit cleaner in the south.

Passing through the corridor, I arrived in a space still illuminated by dim light.

At least it was wider, larger, and slightly more extravagant than the south, so I found it fascinating.

“Hmm…”

It would be wise to head toward the reception desk.

Since it was my first time, I needed to handle some additional procedures, after all.

– Ding~!

Upon reaching the reception desk and ringing the bell, a person emerged from the opposite side.

She looked just like an ordinary receptionist.

…It was clear she wasn’t the same woman I knew from the Information Guild.

“What brings you here, sir?”

“I came to request some information. I’m already a registered member of the Information Guild.”

“In that case, please provide your name and signature, and if you have a specific name used for the Information Guild, please include that as well.”

I complied with the receptionist’s request and proceeded with the process.

I verified my identity and entered my information regarding the previous branch I had used and so on…

“You’ll be able to use this branch starting three days from now. We’ll see you again in three days. Please be careful on your way back.”

“Huh…?”

I had just completed all the bothersome procedures, and then suddenly, I couldn’t use it today…?

…I felt a bit upset.

Since coming to the Academy, it felt like nothing was going my way, which gave me an overall bad mood.

…I should have just taken some candy from Rize.