「Is this really okay?」
「If you’re so worried, you could skip the hot spring and go help with the dragon cleanup on the beach instead.」
「……I’m here as Argusta-sama’s escort, so… yeah.」
After lightly washing Noie’s body, Lutte wrapped herself in cloth to cover her nakedness and stepped into the hot spring.
Noie, who had entered first, remained clinging tightly to my right arm.
「Argusta-sama.」
「Yes?」
「How is your left arm feeling?」
「Hmm～. It feels like it’s already pretty much fine.」
「Isn’t that a bit too fast?」
「Maybe because I’ve been seriously living the hot-spring life?」
「I don’t think you’ve been serious at all.」
Lutte gave an exasperated sigh and began enjoying the hot spring by herself.
As she pointed out, though, the discomfort in my left arm had almost completely vanished.
I decided to try unwrapping the bandage still around it.
「It feels a little thinner somehow.」
「It’s fine.」
「What is?」
「It’s fine.」
I nodded back at Noie’s usual 「It’s fine」, the one she always gave when she had no real answer.
In the end, thanks to my selfishness, we canceled today’s departure and pushed the return to tomorrow.
Or rather, we couldn’t just leave the defeated dragon lying there.
They were going to disassemble it, pack the parts, load them onto the ship, and transport everything back to the capital.
Old Konsuro had stared in stunned silence at the two heads that had been thoroughly crushed.
Soldiers had been summoned from the nearby fort, and the dragon was currently being dismantled.
Small dragons might approach now and then, but most of the ones living in this area were aquatic types, so they almost never came ashore.
If anything happened, Lutte would notice, and Noie would fly over and punch it once.
「Even though it’s rainy season, it hasn’t rained around here at all.」
「True.」
「Still, I’d like to get back before the rain starts.」
「It’s raining in the capital.」
「That’s depressing.」
While I soaked my left hand in the hot spring and squeezed it open and closed, Noie gently began massaging my left arm.
It really does feel completely healed. I should have it checked once we’re back.
「All right. Let’s eat dinner, relax… and go to bed early tonight.」
「Yes.」
Noie gave off a happy aura while continuing to massage my left arm.
I had been about to get out, but maybe I’ll stay like this just a little longer.
「Argusta-sama～. I’ll excuse myself first.」
「Oka～y.」
「Wait, huh?」
My eyes naturally shifted toward the voice.
The cloth she had wrapped around herself for modesty!
「Kyaaaaaaaah!」
Frozen for a moment by the suddenness, Lutte hurriedly covered her most important triangular area with both hands.
Her bountiful chest, perfectly suited to the sound effect 『boyon』, jiggled wildly.
Then a small white hand blocked my view.
「No.」
「Yeah.」
It really isn’t right to see another woman naked in front of my wife.
Lutte fled from the hot spring in a panic, sending up huge splashes and loud splashes of water.
Oh, right. It’s already been ten days.
「Then if we wait just a little longer, Noie will go back to normal, right?」
「?」
Don’t tilt your head like that. You and Lutte both became five years younger on the same day.
I had been about to get out of the water, but I decided to wait a bit longer.
I’m pretty sure Mische tricked Noie into looking into the jar… so she should be able to return already, right?
Even by my sense of time, more than five minutes have passed, yet nothing changes.
「Why isn’t Noie going back to normal?」
The question was met with only a slight tilt of the head.
-0-
I finally got out of the hot spring, got dressed, and finished eating.
Lutte spent the whole time with teary eyes, I’ll just ignore that for now. Later I can apologize by sending her some fancy sweets as a gift.
The real problem is that Noie still hasn’t returned. What’s going on?
「Why isn’t Noie going back to normal?」
-0-
When even the grass and the people had fallen silent for the night… she sat up on the bed.
She had been clinging sweetly to his back as if asking to be pampered.
「That’s scary～」
「Right?」
「Glodia stepping in to help of her own accord… she really did love Noie when she was that small, didn’t she?」
「Not ‘did’. She still does.」
「That’s scary～」
She stood in front of the mirror provided in the room and checked her childish form.
There was the girl who had been loved and toyed with by everyone.
「Interfering with the power of an otherworldly tool… what kind of spell is that?」
「How should I know? I’m an idiot, remember.」
「Glodia I can understand, but even the ‘Witch of Spell Formations’ lending a hand…」
「In her own twisted way, Islerose loved doting on Noie too.」
「The person who created the most depraved and worst spell formation turns out to be a lolicon pervert… that’s the absolute worst～」
「Ahaha. If those words reached her ears, she’d kill you.」
「It’s fine. As long as the seal stays locked and she can’t come out, her spell formation can’t be used on Noie either.」
「Uwa! Islerose is looking this way! I have nothing to do with this～!」
「Wait!」
Like a string snapping, Noie collapsed in front of the mirror and lay flat on the floor.
After a while she slowly stood back up.
「It’s fine to play, but change back properly.」
「Ahaha. Glodia… you really are like a mother.」
「At least call me ‘elder sister,’ Renila.」
「Ahaha. Better run before she half-kills me～」
「Honestly…」
Noie stood in front of the mirror once more, spun around slowly, and checked her appearance again.
Her expression melted into rapture… and after quite a long while, really quite a long while, she returned to the bed.
「Let’s stay like this just a little longer, okay, Noie.」
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