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She burst out of the water now and held her arms tightly in front of her.

Regardless, there was only one place that my eyes were fixed to. Her head.

 

“Are those…ears?”

“!?”

 

As if in sudden realization, her arms shot up to the things that I had first assumed were part of her hair.

 

“Uh, you might want to use this.”

“Th…thank you…”

 

I wasn’t sure why she was thanking me for returning the cloth she had wrapped around her hair, but it was better than being hit, I guess.

 

In any case, she seemed quite revived, and so I decided to make my exit. 

 

“Goodbye then. You shouldn’t stay in the water so long.”

“Yes… Uh, thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it. Later then.”

 

Actually, we were leaving tomorrow. But who knows? 

 

I opened the door and entered the changing room in order to dry myself off. On my way out, I looked at the sign on the entrance.

 

“Currently: Men”

 

It read. So I wasn’t wrong after all…

 

I looked around to see that no one was looking. Then I turned the sign around so that it read ‘Currently: Women,’ and then returned to my room.

 

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“…So that happened.”

“Hmmmmmmmmmm… So that is what you have been doing…”

“Don’t take it the wrong way!”

 

I couldn’t just leave her there!

 

I had returned to the room and reported everything as it had happened. It had nothing to with any kind of guilt over seeing some stranger without clothes…

 

Besides, the thing that bothered me most was the ears. Those weren’t human ears.

 

“Hmm. Beastfolk. Very rare.”

“Beastfolk? You mean like, uh, those people who are part animal and part human?”

“You are not wrong. They usually live deep in the forest or high in the mountains. Places far from human settlements. I wonder what she was doing out here?”

“I have no idea.”

 

Whatever the reason was, only she would know. And it really wouldn’t do for us to start prying.

 

“Well, regardless if there is a good reason or not. It has nothing to do with our travels.”

“True…as callous as it sounds.”

 

Words can be weapons when said out loud.

 

“Now…”

 

We had finished talking and were about to go to sleep. But Daniela moved over to my bed.

 

“What? You want to trade beds?”

“Oh? That is no way to talk to me.”

 

Eh? Was Master Daniela angry? What on earth for… Well, I had an idea or two.

 

“A scoundrel who secretly goes away to look at other women while they are naked deserves to be punished. Do you not agree?”

“Wait, that logic doesn’t add up. I just saved someone!”

“Silence. That is of no importance. It is my will that you be punished.”

 

Uh…this was crazy… I stared up at her face. Her cheeks were just slightly flushed.

Soo…she was jealous? How cute.

 

“Hehe.”

“Why do you laugh, Asagi? You will not be allowed to sleep tonight.”

“Wait, that’s not…he-hey!”

 

And so we continued where we had left off under the tree in the rain. My body had already been hot from the bath. I felt like I would get a heatstroke as the time passed, feeling both eventful and all too short.

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