「Kisaichi-kun, we’re here. This is my room.」
I set down the bag I had been carrying on my back and pulled out the puppet, Kisaichi-kun.
He was a bit heavy, but carrying him around in the open would have drawn way too much attention.
Kisaichi-kun could understand most human speech and apparently had intelligence comparable to a human’s.
Mizuno-senpai had given him a simple command to 「follow Karen-chan’s orders」—but did he really understand?
「Kisaichi-kun, do you want something to eat?」
Kisaichi-kun shook his head.
Since he was a puppet, he couldn’t eat anything.
「I see. I’m gonna take a bath real quick.」
My room had a toilet, but no bath.
For that, I used the dorm’s large communal bath.
It was spacious enough to fit around twenty people at once without feeling crowded.
Even though the dorm’s electricity, water, and gas were all powered by magic stones, it still felt like an extravagant setup, considering only three people lived here—me, Touka, and Kagami-san.
「You’re heading to the bath too, Karen-san?」
「Kagami-san, you’re back. Did you stay in the dungeon until curfew again?」
「Yes, I did. And you? Working your part-time j—wait, what’s that cute wooden doll?」
「Huh?」
Kagami-san was staring at Kisaichi-kun.
「Wah!? Kisaichi-kun, you followed me!?」
「Kisaichi-kun? Is this… a golem? You’re not supposed to be able to take tamed monsters outside of the dungeon.」
「This is a puppet that Mizuno-senpai created using her skill.」
Senpai had told me it was fine to explain the puppet to people at the academy, so I gave Kagami-san a quick rundown.
「I see… So that’s possible too, huh? As expected of Tenka Musou’s personal blacksmith. How strong is it?」
「About as strong as a monster from the twenty-first floor. He used to be an Elder Treant.」
「The twenty-first floor… That’s about level 80 for a human. He’s way stronger than me.」
As Kagami-san and I talked, Kisaichi-kun quietly lathered a sponge with body soap.
「Oh, you’re gonna wash my back? Thanks.」
As I sat down on the bath stool, Kisaichi-kun washed my back with just the right amount of pressure.
It felt amazing.
「You’re awfully trusting with your back.」
「What do you mean?」
「That puppet has the strength of a level 80. But right now, you’re outside the dungeon, which means your defense is no different from when you were level 1. If he miscalculated his strength even a little—」
「Hiii!?」
Even though Kisaichi-kun had just rinsed my back with warm water, a chill ran down my spine.
「Judging by that reaction, it looks like he has a good sense of control. Impressive.」
「R-right? That’s a relief to hear. Do you want him to wash your back too, Kagami-san?」
「Hmm, why not? It’s not every day you get your back washed by a puppet.」
Saying that, she turned her fair-skinned back toward Kisaichi-kun.
Huh…
I found myself staring at Kagami-san’s back as Kisaichi-kun washed her.
「Hey, Karen-san!? What are you doing?」
「I mean, Kagami-san, your back… Even as another girl, I can’t help but think it’s so smooth and pretty, I just want to touch it.」
「Then just think it! That tickles!」
「Geez」 Kagami-san complained in a voice that was unexpectedly sultry.
She was usually so cool and composed that the contrast was kind of adorable.
「I thought you’d be more muscular, since you’re always diving into dungeons.」
「It’s strange, but training in dungeons doesn’t change your body physically.」
「Huh? Seriously? I mean, I haven’t changed much either, but I always figured that’s how the strongest explorers ended up like Suzuha—who retired out of nowhere—or like Makino Gyuuzou, who came back from studying in New York all jacked.」
「They were already like that before they started exploring. Makino, in particular, was a former professional boxer.」
「What about your dad, Kagami-san? He’s a top-ranked explorer, right?」
「…He was just average.」
Kagami-san’s expression darkened.
Now that I thought about it, Touka had mentioned that Kagami-san still got financial support from her family. Maybe she didn’t get along with her father.
I decided not to pry.
「You’re off from work tomorrow, right? Are you taking him to the dungeon after school?」
「That’s the plan. I can’t bring him to class, after all. When I don’t need him, I’ll have him handle chores at the dorm.」
As I soaked in the bath, I spoke up.
A bath after work feels amazing.
-0-
And the next morning.
As soon as I woke up, I noticed Kisaichi-kun was gone.
「Kisaichi-kun!? Kisaichi-kun!? Where are you, Kisaichi-kun!?」
I searched the room, but Kisaichi-kun was nowhere to be found.
Did he go back to Mizuno-senpai while I was sleeping last night?
If Kisaichi-kun wandered around Osaka alone, it would definitely cause a huge commotion.
That would cause trouble for Mizuno-senpai too.
I checked social media on my phone.
I searched for terms like “wooden doll”, “unidentified creature”, and “robot” to look for information.
If he was walking around, someone would’ve taken a photo and posted it online.
But there were no photos of Kisaichi-kun anywhere.
That must mean he hadn’t been gone for long.
I hurriedly got dressed and was about to leave the dorm—
「Karen-chan. Are you leaving already? Breakfast is ready.」
The dorm mother called out to me.
「Sorry, auntie. I’m in a hurry—」
「Oh? I wanted to thank you for Kisaichi-chan, though.」
「I’ll talk to you when I get back—huh?」
Kisaichi-kun was holding a broom and cleaning.
「Kisaichi-kun!?」
When I called out, Kisaichi-kun waved back.
「This kid has been helping with breakfast and cleaning the dorm since this morning. I was surprised at first, but he explained everything through writing. Karen-chan, you asked him to help with all the chores around the dorm, right?」
Ah… I did say that.
I meant for him to clean my room, but Kisaichi-kun had been working hard since morning to help with all the dorm chores and assist the dorm mother.
「I don’t know much about dungeon magic tools, but there are such helpful kids out there, huh?」
The dorm mother said that and patted Kisaichi-kun’s head.
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