GalaxyTL
“Are you done talking? It’s time for the shrimp to go to bed.”
Reki arrived at the perfect timing. He’d waited a short distance away after clearing the dishes. What a capable boy. Though, calling him a boy would be rude.
“I understand. Meg, get some rest. If you need anything, leave a message for me at the reception desk. I’ll reply within the day.”
“Okii! Thank you!”
“Reki, thank you for cleaning up.”
“Well…”
Reki replied curtly, averting his gaze, but he seemed pleased to be thanked by Schlie-san. Schlie-san must have noticed this because he was smiling faintly. Yep, yep, I get it, you’re not good at expressing yourself!
We said goodnight to Schlie-san and then headed for the infirmary with Reki. I wasn’t that sleepy, so I decided to walk!
When we arrived at the infirmary, Dr. Ludo was already waiting. Seeing us, he stopped writing and smiled.
“Good work, you two. Reki, you’ll be here until morning. So, Meg, how was Reki’s guidance?”
Ah, that’s right. Today, my job was to tell Dr. Ludo what I thought about Reki’s guidance. I hadn’t forgotten!
“Yesh. But… befowe that… Reki, you’re aiming to be a nursh, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Dr. Ludo replied immediately. I looked at Reki, and he nodded.
“Then I think you should work on your intimidating attitude.”
Reki grimaced at my initial evaluation but didn’t say anything. I’m sure he was very much aware. But I had more to say.
“It’s just… such a washte.”
“A waste?”
Dr. Ludo asked for confirmation. But his expression told me that he understood.
“He explained the guild really well! It was easy to undershtand, and he anshewed all my questions right away! And when I fell, he treated me right away… He wash a bit scary, but… it didn’t hurt at all!”
I tried my best to convey my thoughts. Since when was my vocabulary this limited? But I didn’t want him to have a bad evaluation, so I tried my best. I couldn’t lie about his attitude either. Please understand!
“I see. Meg, you’re very observant. That’s enough, thank you.”
“Really…?”
“Of course. I’ll report that you successfully completed your first job. The bath is ready, so go ahead and wash up. Or… do you need some help?”
“I-I can do it myshelf!”
I can’t handle that kind of embarrassment! As I hurriedly went to prepare for my bath, I felt Dr. Ludo chuckling behind me. Ugh, I’ve been had!
“A nice hot bath! Ufufun!”
I couldn’t help but sing that song as I soaked in the tub. To think they even had a bathing culture in this world, after all the Japanese food! They were determined to make me stay.
I’m pretty sure I took a bath yesterday too, but I was too sleepy to remember. But I remembered how to turn on the water and where the soap was, so I’m amazing. It was a bit hard to wash myself with this tiny body, though.
Eh? I’m bathing alone? …Or rather, they wouldn’t let a child bathe alone. A female guild member, one of the receptionists, was watching over me with a warm smile. And she even washed my back. I’m so grateful!
『A~ nice~ hot~ bath~.』
“! Voice spiwwit-shan?”
As I was thinking about getting out, I heard myself singing from somewhere. I called out to it, assuming it was the Voice Spirit, and it replied, “That’s right!” I glanced at the lady who was with me, but judging from her confused expression, she probably thought I was just talking to myself. T-That’s not it…!
“Hey, Voice Spirit-shan. I… I want to be fwends with you. Is that… ok?”
I whispered to the spirit, since I was happy to see it again. I sensed hesitation. I tilted my head, waiting for a response. Then, the spirit spoke softly,
『I’m… a half-baked spirit. I can’t… be of use to you.』
Its voice was so sad… It felt like it was about to disappear.
“I shaid I wanted to be friends! Being usheful or not… doesn’t matter to friends!”
『Friends…?』
That’s right. I wanted to be friends, I wasn’t thinking about merits. Even if there were only drawbacks, I still wanted to be friends. I told this to the spirit.
『But… we spirits… find joy in being useful… I’m happy… I’m happy… but… it’s no good! 』
“Ah, wait!”
Ignoring my calls, the Voice Spirit disappeared again. Ahh, I wanted to talk to it a little longer. There were so many things I wanted to ask. Ugh.
But it had approached me. Maybe that was a good sign. I decided to be optimistic, and finally got out of the bath. …I felt a little light-headed.
“Meg, are you feeling dizzy? Your cheeks are bright red.”
As I stumbled back to Dr. Ludo and the others, he pointed this out. I’d been drinking water using daily life magic and even used wind magic to cool myself down. It wasn’t very effective, though, since I couldn’t use nature magic yet.
“Come here. Let’s dry your hair.”
Dr. Ludo chuckled, as if I was a hopeless case. I meekly sat down in front of him, unable to retort.
“…Here.”
“Ah, thank you!”
Reki brought me Appli water as Dr. Ludo was drying my hair. It was more refreshing than plain water.
After brushing my teeth, and having them brushed again by Dr. Ludo, I was finally tucked into bed. I felt like the heat in my body had subsided. And as soon as it did, sleepiness came knocking. So sleepy…
“Well then, goodnight, Meg. Reki will be here all night. Reki, take her to her room.”
“Yes. …Let’s go.”
My eyes widened when he offered me his hand. Eh? Reki… offering his hand!?
“…What?”
“N-Nothing!”
Reki turned away, his tone annoyed, but his face was red, and he didn’t withdraw his hand. What’s this? Are you trying to kill me with cuteness? Dr. Ludo was watching us with an amused expression.
I placed my hand in his. It was warm.
“Thanks for today. Reki, your explanation wash easy to undeshtand.”
I thanked him again after I was tucked into bed. My voice was small because I was sleepy.
“I heard you. Now go to sleep. You must be tired.”
Maybe Dr. Ludo said something to him while I was in the bath. His usual prickly aura seemed to have softened a bit. But he was still as tsundere as ever!
“Okii. Good night…”
My heart felt warm, and I drifted off to sleep happily. I thought he gently stroked my hair, but it was Reki, after all, so it might have been just my imagination.