Chapter 15. Bathing With Mina

“Ahh… I’m so sleepy.”
In the end, I kept waiting for quite a while until the higher-ups confirmed the results of last night’s operation, and it wasn’t until dawn that the standby status got lifted.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff had spacious rooms, and I had my own office, so I could rest while waiting, but there was no such luxury in the provisional command room at the academy.
As a result, all I could do was sit in a chair and doze off.
“I have to do something about this…”
Muttering to myself, I finally made it home.
Luckily, today is Sunday.
Should I crash and prepare for school on Monday?
With that thought in mind, I tossed my uniform jacket haphazardly over the living room chair, loosened my tie, entered the bedroom, and collapsed onto the bed.
“Nya!”
Huh? Was there a cat hiding in the bed?
“Oh? Mina.”
“S-Sorry for intruding.”
In a fluster, Mina half-rose from the bed.
She still seemed half-asleep.
“Mina, you came.”
“S-Sorry. I was waiting for you to come back, but I fell asleep.”
“You waited for me. Thank you.”
“Good job on your work. You must be tired, right? I’ll make a gentle breakfast now.”
“Ugh… I think I’d rather sleep.”
The damage from staying up all night had taken a toll on my stomach, and I didn’t have much appetite.
“I-I see… Well then, I’ll go home.”
“You stayed up late too, Mina, so you must be sleep-deprived, right? Let’s sleep together.”
“Meow!?”
I grabbed Mina’s wrist as she tried to leave the bed and somewhat forcibly dragged her into the futon.
Ah, the warmth of another person really brings peace of mind when you’re tired.
“H-Hey…! Yuu-kun, I-I haven’t taken a shower yet.”
“Oh, me neither. It’s fine, let’s just sleep. We can take a bath together when we wake up.”
“T-…Together!?”
“Ah… I’m already sleepy. Goodnight, Mina.”
I fell asleep with Mina in my arms, sinking into a deep slumber.
Clang
A slightly dull sound stimulated my ears and brain, pulling me out of sleep.
“Is that the tofu shop’s trumpet?”
If that’s the case, it’s probably late afternoon now.
As I tried to look at the alarm clock by the bedside, I noticed that I was oddly sweaty.
Was it because I slept in my uniform shirt? I thought, but it soon made sense.
I realized I was embracing a warm heat source.
“Good morning.”
Mina crawled out of the futon, fidgeting.
“Oh… sorry. It seems like I used you as a pillow.”
“Geez… I couldn’t relax because you were so stiff.”
“…? We used to take naps together all the time, right?”
“What age are you talking about!”
After a big yawn, Mina suddenly noticed that she was also quite sweaty and blushed.
“We sweated because we slept in the same futon.”
“Your wording sounds suggestive, Yuu-kun.”
“Shall we go to the bath together then?”
“Huh!? Wait, weren’t you half-asleep when you said that!?”
“It’s a holiday, so why not?”
“…Fine.”
Mina, still sweating profusely, nodded with a determined look on her face.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Y-Yeah…”
Since it’s still not the end of the holiday, we have to enjoy it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“We’re here, we’re here. I’ve been curious about this place for a while.”
“I knew it’d end up like this…”
Mina and I had come to a nearby super sento.
Upon investigation, it seemed that we could enter for free with the military’s welfare ticket.
As expected of the national emblem, it’s strong in places like this.
Since I’ve been on the battlefield until now, it’s been a waste not to use it.
Since my shirt got wrinkled from sleeping in it, I dropped it off at the attached dry cleaner and headed to the reception of the super sento.
“Two adults with welfare tickets.”
“Sure. One male and one female, right?”
We received two locker keys from the receptionist.
“Here’s yours, Mina.”
“Thanks. You’re treating me again, even though I’m older.”
“Although students at the academy are technically military personnel, they’re not eligible for these welfare tickets.”
“So, Yuu-kun, you’re still on active duty?”
“It’s weird that I’m realizing I’m a military man with a free pass for a super public bath.”
“Haha, that’s true.”
“Shall we leave in about an hour?”
“I’ll meet you here in two hours.”
“You’re going to bathe for that long?”
“There are various things girls have to do after bathing.”
Saying that, Mina went through the entrance curtain to the women’s bath.
“I’m tired of waiting~ I’m hungry~”
I soaked in the bath and went to the sauna twice, but I couldn’t stay for two hours, so I got out first.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Yuu-kun.”
“I’m tired of waiting~ I’m starving~”
After finishing the post-bath meal, Mina and I leaned against the wall in the tatami-floored resting area, reading the manga provided.
I was delighted to find that the popular comics I used to read in elementary school were still ongoing.
Since my memory was fuzzy, I decided to reread from volume one.
“Oh, this brings back memories. Yeah, yeah, it was this kind of story.”
As I said that, Mina, who was sitting beside me, rested her head on my shoulder.
She had been teasing me with spoilers earlier, but now she seemed to have suddenly become sleepy after not sleeping much last night or this morning, and after being satisfied with the meal after the bath.
Since there was a blanket within reach, I covered her slender legs and chest, which were attracting the attention of the other men in the room because her yukata was disheveled.
While occasionally glancing at Mina’s sleeping face with a faint snore, I decided I wanted a room like this with tatami mats in the academy.
Next time, I’ll talk to President Takami about it. And then, succumbing to the drowsiness after the bath, I dozed off with Mina.