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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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But no matter how I looked at it, it was a carrier that looked anything but special.
“The lock’s not on, so pick one from inside. Not now, when I’m gone to wash up.”
Tap, Camilla lightly walked and grabbed the doorknob.
“What’s inside? And what are you talking about all of a sudden?”
I asked urgently. She turned her head. Her hair fluttered and swayed.
“You asked me to help.”
She left only those words and went out.
Carefully, I laid the problematic carrier on the floor and click, I opened it. A faint scent of cosmetics flowed out.
Inside the carrier, underwear was arranged by type. Bras. Panties. Slips, garter belts.
At the bottom were socks, and in the pocket on the other side was a white bikini, separate. It came with a black sarong to wrap around the waist. It had a gold ring as a decoration, which was very pretty.
“…Is she asking me to pick out the underwear she’s going to wear right now, then?”
No matter how I thought about it, that seemed to be the meaning. But how in the world was this supposed to help?
She had arranged them so meticulously and densely that it was burdensome to take them out one by one to look at them. On top of that, there was a great variety.
From what she wore for exercise, to for everyday, anytime, to when she wanted to have a specific event, or when the color was so intense that she had to wear colored clothes on top. Or, even something that I couldn’t tell if it was clothes or a bundle of strings.
But it was a bit much to tell her to wear something so overtly revealing. In the end, I picked up a forsythia-colored bra and panty set that looked plain, placed it on the desk, and closed the case.
And then, very naturally, I imagined Camilla wearing this.
What if yesterday, she had been wearing this…
“Ah.”
I thought I knew why she had asked me to pick out her clothes.
From now on, whenever I see Camilla, I would be curious. Whether she was wearing what I had picked, or something else. And to find that out, I would have to look at her diligently, or visit her like now.
A kind of temptation that wouldn’t let me take my eyes off her, and wouldn’t let me easily erase her from my mind.
It was a thankful thing. But,
“So that’s how you’re going to play it?”
A mischievous thought arose. I became curious about how she would react if I didn’t pick anything.
Instead, I tidied up the messy room to some extent. It was also to emphasize that my intention was to not have taken anything out. Besides, I had also played a part in making the room messy.
I just rolled up things like blankets. It was a much better way to save water and resources to just open a new, unwrapped one than to wash and use this.
Other than that, it was just a matter of putting scattered things back in their place, and since there wasn’t much trash, I finished relatively quickly.
“Wait.”
Looking at the rolled-up blanket, I thought I knew how to solve the matter of the virus exchange with Cassandra.
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After finishing the cleanup, I went down to the 3rd-floor dining room. I was so hungry and thirsty that my hands were trembling, and I wanted to drink some juice.
My lower body was still sensitive and a little sore, so I had to walk down with a slightly awkward waddle. The clock on the dining room wall told me it was now 7:45 AM.
“Looks like you’re up now.”
Cassandra was eating alone. It was the penne pasta with Kibele Corporation’s tomato sauce, which had a reputation for being tasteless. It seemed she had just opened the can, put it on the stove to heat it up, and poured it out.
“Sorry. I was a bit tired. Where’s Camilla?”
I asked, feigning ignorance.
“Camilla? Haven’t seen her. Cassandra woke up the earliest today. Huh?”
“Why? Is there something in the can?”
Cassandra stirred her fork and then shook her head as if it were nothing. I thought I knew why she was doing that.
“I’ve had that before, the tomatoes were a bit sour. But it’s not spoiled, so it should be fine to eat. The top of the can wasn’t bulging, was it?”
“No. You smell good, Johan. I think my appetite is coming back.”
I should have just washed up before coming. I felt a little guilty.
“…Uh, really?”
“A fragrant scent.”
It felt like if I probed further, it would get awkward, so I opened a can of juice and gulped it down.
“Next time, let Cassandra join in too.”
By a stroke of sheer luck, I didn’t spit it out. Instead, I choked slightly.
“Cough, cough!”
No. I was sure she was asleep. And we both tried so hard to hold back our moans, to be found out so futilely like this. Don’t tell me she overheard while going to the bathroom…
Cassandra was staring at me blankly, holding her fork. The noodles slipped off her fork and into the can, but she didn’t notice.
“I was just testing the waters, why are you reacting like that?”
“…No, anyone would be surprised if you suddenly said something so weird!”
“If I had suddenly said something so weird, Johan’s pattern is to say, ‘Huh? Cassandra, what are you talking about?’ This isn’t Johan’s pattern. I don’t know what you did, but it seems you had a lot of fun.”
“What’s fun?”
A cheerful voice. It was Camilla. I tried to quickly stop Cassandra, but.
“I said let Cassandra join in next time.”
“Hic!”
It seemed both Camilla and I were the types who couldn’t live while lying.
Cassandra looked back and forth between me and Camilla as if to say, ‘see?’
“…It was just something I said to test the waters.”
“Hey! You’ll surprise someone if you suddenly say things like that!”
“So you two did it. Yep. Exactly the same. It must have been like that since before Cassandra came. I just wedged myself in without any sense, yep. Mm. Well, that can happen. But it was definitely Cassandra’s first time… You said you definitely didn’t have sex…”
“I said we didn’t!”
Camilla even waved her hands as if it were unfair, but Cassandra didn’t seem to believe her at all.
“…Cassandra.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you busy in the evening?”
“No. Not really, before the reagents arrive. I just need to find the database, so I won’t be that busy.”
“Why the database?”
At my question, Cassandra’s expression became quite serious.
“Do you remember the reason Cassandra said she had to come here? That the information about the hunger-inducing virus was entered here. But this building has data that wasn’t entered into Kibele Corporation’s virus bank, and even a lot of virus information that the Disease Crisis Management Agency doesn’t know about.
Some are unclassified, some are duplicates, and there’s a mountain of undisclosed ones. And why are there so many that are password-protected? But our power is too limited, so we can’t turn on all the computers and check at once. That’s why I think it will take a long time to get a full picture.”
“Then should we run the generator more?”
At my question, Cassandra shook her head.
“No. There’s no need. That’s too inefficient. That’s why Cassandra is writing a search algorithm. That’s much better. Besides, writing a program only requires a laptop or one or two personal PCs, so the solar-charged batteries are enough.”
As expected, she was a woman who knew how to work.
Of course, I suspected that this too could be a bluff, or that she might have some other ulterior motive.
But if you want to get something from someone, you have to first give them a small, baseless trust. Trust is built up, little by little, from those small things. Just like Camilla showed me. Just like how we became connected.
Anyway, whether it’s credit or investment, there’s no gain without risk.
“Then what about the research? You, you talked about my and Camilla’s virus too.”
At my question, Camilla pursed her lips, and Cassandra’s eyes widened.
“That’s urgent too, but we need the reagents first. So, until then, the viruses of all three of us need to be stabilized. Like I said, Cassandra’s virus is like an enemy to you two’s.”
“About that virus transmission, I thought of something, and it’s probably not bad. It’s about all three of us exchanging the virus in our bodies at the same time, and if it’s as I think, it should be possible to control the concentration to some extent. How about it?”
“Johan, it’s not something absurd, is it?”
Camilla looked at me suspiciously. I winked at her to mean, ‘don’t worry.’
“You’ll like it the most, Camilla.”
“Me?”
“It won’t be a bad suggestion for Cassandra either. How about it? Didn’t you say it earlier? That you wanted to join in next time.”
“Uh… huh?”
“So the three of us can do it ‘together.’ You don’t want to?”
Cassandra covered her mouth. Her face turned red. But her lips were stretched to her ears.
“…I’d like that.”
“Then in the evening, let’s meet in the 3rd-floor conference room in comfortable clothes.”
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Evening. 3rd-floor conference room. I commanded firmly.
“Spread them wider, Cassandra.”
“Aheung…”
“More. I said wider.”
“Ah-heut…!”
Cassandra’s thighs trembled as she collapsed. She fell forward with her butt pointed to the sky. I had laid a mat on the floor, so there was no danger of her getting hurt.
The eyes of the collapsed Cassandra and Camilla met.
“Ca-Camilla. For… forgive me…”
But Camilla didn’t open her mouth until she had finished her own movement.
“You don’t talk when you’re exercising. Get into position quickly.”
Camilla also had her butt pointed to the sky, and her body was stretched forward. It was similar to the cat pose in yoga.
“Ca-Cassandra doesn’t need this! I-I’m healthy!”
“Seeing as you still have the energy to talk, I think you’re right. Now, one more set.”
Camilla’s chest wasn’t on the small side either, but Cassandra looked dangerous and dizzying just by looking at her. To the point where I was worried if her chest ligaments were okay just from running.
Camilla had established a policy of ‘then we’ll do something that isn’t intense.’ So now, she was making Cassandra do every action, breaking them down into separate movements. Aside from her violent figure, her body’s balance, stamina, and endurance were a mess from sitting at a desk all the time.
Thanks to that, I was getting some eye candy, which was somewhat intended. Of course, I didn’t want to get hurt by turning my head the wrong way, so I held the posture correctly and only moved my eyes slightly.
But for some reason, Camilla’s clothes seemed to be cut deeper today.
“N-no… noooooo…!”
“Now. Cassandra. Like this, get on all fours again…”
“Stop… stop… if we do this, Cassandra’s body will break…”
At this point, it couldn’t be helped. It was time to offer a carrot.
“It’s for science. Cassandra.”
“Sci… scien…”
Seeing her even misspeak, it seemed she was really having a hard time, but I had no intention of going easy on her. She teased me, that’s what.
“You said the Cro-virus doesn’t spread through the air, but it does through droplets. Isn’t this a good condition? An enclosed space. The sweat and breath we’re shedding. On top of that, your stamina will improve. There’s nothing bad. And most of all, this is also for you, Cassandra.”
“F-for Cassandra…?”
Cassandra’s green eyes spun. It seemed I had to scold her to get her to come to her senses.
“Do you want to just get caught when Virginia comes running to catch you?”
“Hieeeeek! N-no. No.”
“Then you have to exercise. If you don’t want to get caught. No one knows what will happen.”
“…Okay. But please lower the intensity. Cassandra wants to cry. My body is trembling.”
Camilla, who had been watching, handed a water bottle and a towel to Cassandra. She even kindly opened the cap for her.
“Drink slowly. It’s the first day, so I made it a bit strong as a test. Your strength is good, but your body is too stiff and your posture is too bad, so I think we need to start by regaining your sense of balance and increasing your flexibility. It would be good to focus on posture correction. It’s less tiring than today. Really.”
“O-okay.”
“You worked hard. Go out and rest for a bit. Ah, put something on top before you go. It’s not good for your muscles to cool down suddenly. Johan, you stay here.”
I was subtly trying to go out and rest a bit. But Camilla crossed her arms, tilted her head, and gave a strange smile. For some reason, Camilla’s body looked more prominent today.
“Shall we get some air? Just the door a little…”
But Camilla just shook her head. Thanks to that, I was in quite a bind.
Because the reaction in my groin was a bit strong. The problem wasn’t that Camilla was exercising half-naked as usual, but that if she saw this, she would say, ‘you’re full of energy, you can do more,’ and increase the intensity of the workout, which I was afraid of.
“Johan. I think exercising and sweating together, the three of us, is a good idea.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. Cassandra gave me a little hint earlier too. She said she hadn’t thought of it either, but it seems like a good method. This way, the virus transmission can happen slowly, and it’s possible to control the intensity of the transmission to some extent.”
Camilla strode toward me. I felt a rush of sweat smell and hot body temperature.
Strange. Her clothes seemed to be more soaked in sweat than usual, her body temperature was hotter, and her scent was more intense. I suddenly wondered if it was the effect of the virus.
“By the way, we need to strengthen our workout a bit more. The lower back and back muscles, cardiopulmonary endurance, recovery when our stamina is completely depleted, and so on…. I know some good things for times like these, so I’ll tell you now.”
“R-right now?”
“Then if not now, when? Now. First, spread your legs shoulder-width apart…”
Naturally, Camilla pressed her body against mine. It was certain. Her body was much hotter and wetter than usual. And…. for some reason I didn’t know, goosebumps rose on my back.
Camilla, who was pressed tightly against my back, whispered in my ear. My ear tickled.
“There wasn’t a single piece of underwear you liked? That’s strange. I filled it with things you’d like.”
“N-no. They were all too pretty, I just couldn’t choose.”
I made a plausible excuse. But Camilla didn’t back down and instead pressed her body even closer.
“…Because you didn’t choose for me, I’m not wearing anything underneath.”
“Uh, what did you say?”
As if to confirm, Camilla rubbed her chest against my back. It was certain. The sensation of a nipple that wouldn’t be felt if she were wearing underwear. Camilla lightly bit my earlobe with her lips and whispered again.
“You have to choose for me tonight, okay? You took my blanket and my comforter, so if you don’t… I’ll have to sleep cold without a single thread on. What are you going to do? Are you going to choose, or not?”
“I’ll go.”
Camilla, who had lightly kissed my earlobe, turned around and stood in front of me. It would have been fine if I hadn’t known, but now that I knew, it was embarrassing to look at her straight on.
But if I looked down, my face would get even more flushed, so in the end, I looked into her eyes.
“Oh, right. And I think we need to add more lower body, back, and core strengthening exercises. We also need to strengthen our cardiopulmonary endurance more, and not just for me, but for you as well, we should emphasize flexibility training a bit more ….”
Will I be able to walk out of here on two feet today?
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