Things I hadn't felt before came crashing down on my body all at once.
Literally unable to move, I gasped helplessly, unable to resist the pounding, pounding sensation digging inside me.
Only after the smooth surfaces stuck together did I recognize who was on top of me.
With a voice already worn out, I struggled to call that name.
"...C-Claire?"
"...Asha?"
The hazel eyes, blurred and powerless, regained vitality, becoming as clear as freshly turned earth.
...Though my vision watching this was endlessly hazy.
"You've come to your senses..."
"...Uh, ugh, hng!?"
"Ah, s-sorry, just a moment."
Light flashed from Claire's hands as she pulled away from me. The light I thought would seep into my body lingered in the air for a moment... then scattered and vanished.
As the light disappeared, Claire's face came into view. A face that somehow seemed troubled.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
"...I'm wondering if it's okay to use Sacred Power on you right now."
Catching my breath at the sudden topic, I assessed the situation, but aside from the distinct smell of essence wafting strongly and an enormous number of towels spread around, there wasn't much information I could grasp.
At best, the room looked somewhat familiar?
I suspected it was probably Claire's room where I had stayed not long ago.
'...It seems Princess Selina really did bring me to the temple.'
That aside.
...Why was Claire shaking her hips on top of me earlier?
Couldn't she just heal me with Sacred Power?
As I looked at the flustered Claire with that thought, her body flinched and trembled.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"...It's nothing. Anyway... why the Sacred Power?"
At my question, Claire sighed and grabbed a towel. Then she slowly began wiping my thoroughly damp body.
As the surrounding situation suggested, my body had become extremely sensitive, making the feeling... a bit strange.
Claire, observing me like that while caressing my body, suddenly spoke.
"...Did you take that growth potion?"
"Hic!"
...This damn body is utterly useless at hiding anything, isn't it?
Or... is it because my body's situation is too special?
'...Yeah, that must be it.'
Feeling like I'd become what you'd crudely call a 'pushover' made me feel very unpleasant.
"It's not like I took it because I wanted to..."
Claire's face upon hearing my lukewarm answer... well? I'm not sure what expression it was, but it was clear she was feeling some complex, subtle emotion.
"What on earth did they create..."
She muttered something like a whisper, but my ears were ringing so I couldn't hear well.
"Sorry, I couldn't hear."
"...No, anyway, I tried using Sacred Power on you earlier and your condition got worse. So for the time being, it's probably better to just let you recover naturally. Just in case... you know."
Seeing Claire's face blush slightly as she said that...
It seemed my guess was right, and she had... calmed my body through that kind of activity.
I'm not even surprised anymore.
'...Probably.'
It must have been the same situation as with 'that thing' that grew because of the potion.
But... why do I still have it? And what's the connection with Sacred Power....
I don't know.
My head spun too much to continue thinking.
After taking a deep breath to calm my heated body and head, now it wasn't just my waist or legs, but my whole body ached with sharp pains.
As I let out a groan, Claire flusteredly began massaging my body.
"...Ngh."
"Even if it's hard, just bear with it a little. Let's wait until tomorrow."
"You want me to sleep here?"
"Of course? Are you planning to move in this state?"
"...My companions will worry."
Claire said the Princess had gone to deliver the news and told me not to worry, but that actually made me more anxious.
'...She doesn't seem to intend any harm.'
Still... the whims of the Imperial Clan are unpredictable, aren't they?
Princess Selina doesn't seem to be that type, but... historically, there have been plenty of kings who were fine and then suddenly went crazy.
'...My body's tired, so I'm having all these pointless thoughts.'
Anyway, I'm anxious.
"Can't you just use Sacred Power on me?"
But Claire shook her head firmly, unlike before.
"What if you go into heat again like earlier?"
"H-heat, you say..."
"If that's not heat, then what is it?"
Seeing my face flush hotly... it really doesn't seem okay. I also felt like my calmed body was heating up again.
It must be because whenever I breathe in, that strange smell keeps rising.
"Then at least I want to wash up... and this place needs cleaning too."
"...That's true."
Saying that, Claire slid her hands under my armpits and lifted me up with a flourish, as if proclaiming a new heir.
...I thought this when I saw her wielding weapons before, but Claire seems to have tremendous physical strength too.
As I floated up in the air like that, numerous fluids affected by gravity slid down my thighs with a sticky sensation.
'...We did a lot.'
Suppressing words I couldn't utter out loud, I vividly felt that sensation.
Claire sat me on a chair with towels spread over it and began cleaning the room.
She put the towels into a large sack and wiped away any remaining traces cleanly.
Finally, she slightly opened the window for ventilation.
Then she moved me to another room.
And put me in an empty bathtub. As the smooth, cold surface touched my body, I instinctively shrank back.
"Ugh..."
...My waist hurt.
"Wait a moment."
Claire, who had been looking at me with a complicated expression, hurriedly went outside.
Huddled in the towel wrapped around me, shivering, I felt a bit pitiful.
To think I'd end up like this just for selling one popular potion─
'...Wait a minute.'
Moving my trembling hand, I rummaged through my pocket.
As pain surged, I clenched my teeth and searched urgently.
Fortunately, the money from selling the potion was safely intact.
"...Hehe."
Feeling that touch improved my depressed mood a little.
I thought I might be swinging between emotions too much... but so what?
Isn't it better to be smiling than sitting slumped in an empty bathtub with a depressed face?
While crouched in the bathtub fiddling with the money, I sensed a presence.
Carefully raising my head, I saw Claire looking at me while holding a large bucket.
"...Ahem."
Clearing my throat politely, I quietly put it back in my pocket. Claire, who had set the bucket down, began taking off my clothes.
"Wh-what, what are you doing?"
"...What else? I'm going to wash you."
"Ah..."
"What on earth were you thinking?"
"No, it's just..."
I couldn't say that a manga from my previous life came to mind, so I just mumbled.
Claire, who had been twitching her eyebrows, silently lifted the large bucket and tilted it toward me.
Steaming hot water gradually filled the bathtub.
"...It's warm."
"Even so, you can't go to the public bathhouse in that state... so bear with this."
"It's enough."
"Then I'm glad."
As the warm water rose to chest level, I let out a sigh of relief this time.
My completely stiffened body seemed to be loosening bit by bit.
Leaning back in the bathtub, sinking into the drowsiness gradually washing over me, Claire's hands began touching my body.
"Eek!?"
"...Why are you so surprised?"
"Y-you're touching me suddenly, so..."
"Is that so?"
Claire's white hands wiped every nook and cranny of my body.
It was a skilled touch, as if she'd done it many times.
During this, with bubbling sounds, I saw something pale that came from my body floating on the water.
Claire, somewhat irritably, scooped it away.
'...Even though it's your own.'
Around the time I felt my body becoming clean, Claire also removed her hands from me.
Having been submerged in the warm water for a while myself, I was able to move enough to grip the bathtub and stand up.
With a splashing sound, water poured down my body back into the bathtub.
The feeling of thoroughly wet hair sticking to my body... never felt good no matter when.
I gazed briefly at my reflection in the now calm water surface.
...Now I think of this as my appearance, and I don't even feel a sense of dissonance.
'...'
Standing blankly with my head bowed, I heard Claire's voice tinged with worry.
"...Can you move? Are you okay?"
"A little."
Shaking my head to gather myself, I stepped out of the bathtub.
And dried my body with the towel Claire handed me.
While I dried my body, Claire dried my abundant hair.
As she diligently dried my hair, Claire suddenly spoke.
"...So how about returning to your original body? Any progress?"
"...Hard to say, it's similar to when I came here."
Swish, swish, swish.
The sound of my hair brushing against the towel was loud.
"Hey... Asha."
"...What?"
I still haven't found any way back except one.
Actually, even that... isn't a sure method.
Replying with a voice that even I felt was depressing.
Claire hugged me from behind and spoke softly.
"It's okay to give up if it's too hard."
"..."
"I'll help you."
A sudden but somehow sweet-sounding proposal, accompanied by her soft body.
...Spending the rest of my life in the temple, Claire's space, with Claire the Saintess... well, might not be bad.
But.
That's not the life I want.
And... I want to return to how I was.
Seeing that my heart was tempted even briefly to accept... I guess I'm a bit tired.
"...It's okay."
"I thought you'd say that."
"...Then why did you ask?"
Turning to look back, Claire only smiled mysteriously without answering.
Somehow... a face that looked sinister.
'...That can't be.'
Shaking my head inwardly, I finished drying my body.
Seeing that strange thoughts keep coming to mind, I think... I might need a break for a while.
Author's Note (Author's Afterword)
Cleaning complete