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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…Did you not sleep well last night? You said you had trouble sleeping.”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Then do you have some kind of illness? I heard that if your blood vessels are weak, you get nosebleeds often.”
“…How could I, of all people, be ill? That’s unlikely. Probably.”
After much trouble, the nosebleed finally stopped.
Although there was a small commotion where Eileen suddenly started bleeding from her nose, Rudrick, who had been wiping the blood from her face with a handkerchief, asked.
Unable to answer truthfully, Eileen roughly brushed it off.
If it had been a coincidental situation, it would have been fine.
For example, like last time, if she had entered Rudrick’s room without knocking and he happened to be wearing only a towel after showering.
‘…That would be a problem in itself.’
Eileen, who had almost imagined it, shook her head.
Even if Rudrick looked at her strangely, she couldn’t help it.
But even though he was wearing a t-shirt underneath, if she had received the visual stimulation too intensely, it was the kind of thing she couldn’t say out of embarrassment.
In terms of Rudrick’s previous life, the concept of the original world where the role reversal had not occurred, the most fitting explanation would be that he was wearing something like a white sleeveless shirt over his underwear.
“Anyway, go see a priest later. I heard that if you have an illness, your blood vessels can weaken and cause frequent nosebleeds.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
“It’s a must, seeing how you keep getting nosebleeds out of nowhere.”
Rudrick, who had been looking at Eileen with suspicious eyes for a moment, soon shook his head.
There had been many complications just from changing clothes.
Since Eileen was also wearing a t-shirt under her uniform, she could change without any particular embarrassment.
However, as soon as she took off the uniform that seemed stuffy at first glance, Rudrick’s gaze was also momentarily captivated by her figure that flaunted its presence even over the clothes.
It was almost an instinctive processing gaze.
The fact that breasts could appeal to the opposite sex was still the same in this world.
Although it was a slightly different kind of appeal compared to Rudrick’s previous life, Eileen faintly smiled so that Rudrick, who had felt her gaze, wouldn’t notice.
After changing clothes.
“By the way, this is my first time getting a massage.”
“It’s the same for me. I usually never had the opportunity.”
Eileen naturally held out her hand like a lover, and Rudrick, who also naturally took that hand, had a brief conversation.
Although they both pretended to be nonchalant because of what had just happened, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
It was the first time for both of them to receive a massage.
Even as she lay on the provided temporary bed, guided by a masseuse matching their respective genders, Eileen couldn’t let go of her tension.
“So what should we do after this?”
“Even if it takes a long time, I think it’ll be over in about an hour… Rudrick, is there anywhere you particularly want to go?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet… Eileen, have you had lunch?”
“I have. What about you?”
“I also roughly took care of lunch before coming out… But there’s nothing much to do until dinner.”
They had a quiet conversation while receiving the massage that had started.
It was too early to go have dinner, and it was a dilemma that there was nothing to actively do until then.
Moreover, Rudrick had only experienced going out to play in the capital about twice.
Even then, the first time he came out with Sylphia, it was during a festival period, so the day passed by quickly just enjoying the festival.
The places that would be suitable for a date course for a man and a woman had already been visited long ago with Eileen last time.
Eileen also had difficulty selecting a location.
It was because her days of attending the academy in the capital were now a distant memory.
“…Neither of us seems to have much affinity for outdoor activities like this.”
“That’s true… We had to come out, so we did. But when we’re actually outside, there’s nothing much to do. Ah, that feels good.”
Rudrick, who had been responding to those words, let out a brief exclamation.
A refreshing sensation of tense muscles loosening up from sitting for a long time.
Except for recently accompanying the magical beast hunt, he had spent most of his time sitting and learning magic or reading books, so there was a dramatic change.
While Rudrick was exclaiming and enjoying the massage, Eileen encountered an unexpected obstacle.
“…Ouch!”
“I’m sorry, should I use less force?”
“Yes, just a little more… Ah, this amount is perfect. Ah.”
While listening to the conversation between Rudrick and the masseuse right next to her, Eileen was going through a hardship every time she inevitably heard the brief groans or exclamations that naturally escaped.
No matter how much she tried not to be conscious of it, as a human, she couldn’t help but flinch whenever she heard such sounds right next to her.
“…Customer?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
The masseuse even asked with a puzzled look.
Eileen roughly brushed it off, saying it was nothing like before, but…
To put it simply, Eileen’s current situation was…
‘…Torture.’
The vivid sounds coming from right next to her.
If she peeked to the side, she could see Rudrick, wearing the lightest and most comfortable outfit possible, flinching just like her as he received the massage.
A light and comfortable outfit was synonymous with an outfit that didn’t provide many places to look at.
Eileen was a superhuman who could control mana, but being a superhuman didn’t mean she had been liberated from worldly desires.
It was only natural for her imagination to unfold in a strict direction.
Apart from that, a sense of self-loathing surged up.
No matter how hard she tried to think pure thoughts, the sight of skin-colored expanse automatically came to mind.
Eileen, her face completely flushed red, planted her face into the bed with a thud.
It was a kind of drastic measure, but she couldn’t help it when Rudrick, who had been receiving the massage next to her with a relaxed face, looked at her with an expression that seemed to say, “Why is she doing that?”
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“I feel like all my energy has been drained…”
“I guess it didn’t suit you well, Eileen. It feels refreshing and nice for me. It’s like I’ve become a different person.”
“…As long as it suited you, that’s enough.”
The couple’s course lasted exactly one hour.
For Rudrick, it was a short hour that felt unfortunately short as the touch that loosened his tense muscles all over made him feel drowsy, but for Eileen, it was an hour that felt like torture.
If it had been physical torture, she could have endured it by gritting her teeth, but because she had undergone a mental hardship, her mental strength was already exhausted.
Regardless, Rudrick, who was holding Eileen’s limp hand and leading her, even though they had just received a massage, had his gaze focused on various parts of the capital’s streets, unaware of her state.
‘…Right. This was the original Rudrick.’
Eileen, who had been watching him with a blank gaze, lightly shook her head and came to her senses.
In fact, it was a bit inappropriate to describe him as the original Rudrick.
Rudrick’s behavior had not changed at all, both in the past before the regression and now.
If anything had changed, it was only that she had changed after experiencing the pain of their separation.
To the point where someone might ask if she was almost obsessed, her attention was entirely focused on Rudrick.
It certainly wouldn’t have been to this extent before the regression, but the change in her state of mind after leaving Rudrick was directly reflected in her actions.
It could be said to be instinctive.
Even just a moment ago, when she was half-dazed, her attention was entirely focused on Rudrick.
To put it a bit extreme, she was even showing symptoms close to paranoia, preparing for any unexpected variables that might harm Rudrick.
But she acted as much as possible without showing such intentions, while playing the role of Eileen Nord, who casually treated Rudrick Weiss.
“We can spend a couple of hours appropriately and then go have dinner. It might be a bit uncomfortable, but we’ll have to sleep outside until that damn ball or whatever ends, so I’ll ask for your understanding in advance.”
“Ah, that’s fine. Anyway, I’m officially ‘immersed in research at the lab’ right now, right?”
“Rudrick, you’re quick to understand, which is great.”
Eileen and Rudrick’s gazes met, and they both grinned.
For Rudrick, it was to avoid a burdensome occasion where everyone’s attention would be focused on him, and for Eileen, it was to protect Rudrick while also dealing a big blow to her damn cousin.
The current date that wasn’t really a date was the result of their mutual understanding.
“Then, shall we go there and talk until dinner?”
“A café, is it? Alright.”
Eileen readily nodded without any particular dissatisfaction.
In fact, she was just happy to spend time with Rudrick like this, no matter what they did.
Vowing never to lose this precious everyday life again, in contrast to her usual icy cold expression…
Eileen wore a gentle smile.
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