I jumped out of the bathtub.
Then.
Ernekun saw my naked body.
“Hyaaaaahhh!!”
I screamed and collapsed on the spot.
How embarra.s.sing. For a man to have seen my bare skin.
I was so embarra.s.sed, my entire body turned completely red as I squatted down. I couldn"t move at all.
Afterwards, Mistral-san who heard my scream, also came out, naked. Upon understanding the situation, she approached Ernekun.
D-doesn"t she feel embarra.s.sed upon being seen naked? That"s what I thought when Ernekun suddenly hugged Mistral-san.
My, my, well, well, as expected, even Mistral-san would turn red and freeze at that. Still, Ernekun, how sinful are you?
With that, I returned to the dressing room. I hastily put on my tunic and came back to where Mistral-san was with her coat in hand. First, I covered up Mistral-san"s body. Then, I lead her and Priscillchan back into the bath so we could once more warm our cooled bodies. Still, although my body had cooled, my heart was blazing.
A man had seen my bare body. As a shrine maiden, I could no longer become a bride. I had become sullied.
“Ernekun, please take responsibility, okay?”
I peeked out only my head from the bathroom and I declared such to Ernekun.
I returned to the bath and soaked myself within the hot water straight up to my mouth. With a, "fubu fubu," I made bubbles.
What should I do? What should I do?
When I reflected on my words and actions, I had the sudden urge to just sink into the hot water and melt from embarra.s.sment.
“You, are unexpectedly aggressive.”
From beside me, Mistral was laughing.
“What should I do?”
Even though Ernekun already had Mistral-san as his lovely fiancée, I did something outrageous. I wondered if Mistral-san was angry, but she unexpectedly didn"t seem to really mind.
“I didn"t expect for something like this to happen.”
“I-I"m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing? It"s not something to worry about.”
I am concerned about it. What should I do from now on?
Mistral and I soaked in the hot water in silence for a short while. Meanwhile, Priscillchan played around, getting in and out of the bath.
“Ernekun is really cute, right?”
I wondered what had happened to me. Did I act strange due to getting dizzy from the heat? I said something I had never expected myself to say. I was so embarra.s.sed that I submerged myself into the hot water down until just my eyes.
“Fufufu, really. He"s very cute. When I am with that child, I can feel my maternal instinct tickling.”
“Ah, I understand what you mean.”
I jumped out of the hot water and nodded towards Mistral-san.
When I"m together with Ernekun, I want to look after him against my better judgement. I also want to tease him. A troubled Ernekun is much cuter.
Mistral-san and I got excited talking about Ernekun.
Thus, ah, Mistral-san seriously likes Ernekun, I was able to confirm it.
What about me? Do I like Ernekun?
Kiri and Inea teased me as they set us up to go on this journey together, but my true feelings were more aligned to being happy. Did that mean I like him?
I had never fallen in love with someone, so I didn"t know what the feelings in my chest were. It seemed I needed to reflect on myself once I was a bit calmer.
After that, Mistral-san"s consideration towards me helped me regain my sense of self.
Then, while I was thinking it was getting to be time to get out,
“Ernea"s dragon spirit was disrupted. Something may be happening to him. Let"s hurry up.”
Mistral-san suddenly urged me while looking tense. Priscillchan and I hurriedly got out of the bathtub. We then ended up getting involved in a situation with a false yuusha–sama.
As a battle shrine maiden, there were no issues with my getting involved in such an affair. However, once it was revealed that my eyes are actually something special, my fate was a.s.sailed by a storm.
That green haze I saw around Ernekun seems to be invisible to other people. Apparently, eyes with that ability are called dragon eyes.
Ernekun didn"t seem like he knew anything either.
Thus I, who had dragon eyes, was coerced to become Ernekun"s bride by Mistral-san. Yet even though I was forced, my chest was pounding a little. That will remain a secret.
On that day, many things happened at the inn again and I end up sharing a room with Mistral-san. We are both Ernea"s brides, yet have an enjoyable night without any discord breaking out between us.
I am positive that Mistral-san also likes Ernekun. Isn"t she jealous that I have become his second bride? Wondering such, I decide to ask that of her. After all, if I refrain myself from asking here, there will be even more things I will be stopping myself from discussing with her in the future.
“That"s right, jealousy…”
Mistral-san staresat the ceiling in our dark room and whispers such as if pondering to herself.
“Maybe, I"m alright because it"s you.”
“My, my, well, well, are you saying you"re confident you won"t lose to me?”
“Fufufu, that"s not it. It"s because I am a dragon tribesman.”
“Etto, what do you mean?”
“It"s difficult to put my feelings into my words. In a sense,”
Mistral-san pauses to organize her thoughts. She then continues,
“Even though we look the same, our races are different. I, as can be expected, have various of differences with Ernea and Ruiseine. Therefore, even if Ernea and I marry, my worry will continue. If in the future there is a disagreement between awareness and social etiquette, Ernea, being the gentle child he is, will probably be considerate towards me. Without my noticing anything, he"ll skillfully hide those things from me.”
“Fufufu, that"s certainly true.”
“That"s why, thoughts about living together with him make me uneasy.”
Mistral-san continues after a pause.
“I"m relieved that you are his other bride. You seem able to cover the differences between the dragon tribesmen and the human tribe. After all, you are a shrine maiden with a lot of common sense.
“I don"t know if I have a lot of common sense, but a shrine maiden, huh.”
“I feel like I can get along well with you. Also, as two people of the same s.e.x, I"m sure we can advise each other.”
“Yes, I also feel that way.”
“That"s why, more so than being jealous, I feel thankful to you. Thank you for becoming Ernea"s wife.”
“My, my, well, well, what an unexpected response. Although, I think Mist-san will be a better wife for Ernekun.”
“Why?”
“After all, Mist-san will be able to hold Ernekun"s reins properly. I"m sure I will just pamper Ernekun.”
“Fufufu, that"s right. You look like you will be soft on Ernea.”
“Right?”
Mistral and I chuckle.
“Anyway, first of all, we need to make Ernea do his best.”
“That"s right. He has to become imposing.”
“Can he even become imposing?”
“I wouldn"t mind if he grows up still being cute.”
“Fufufu, I see, so Ruiseine has that kind of preference.”
“My, my, well, well, is it different for Mist-san?”
“For me… right. It would be good for him to stay that way. I don"t think my current desire to protect him will change.”
“But, I"m sure that Ernekun thinks that he wants to protect us.”
“Fufufu, then he needs to hurry and get the power to protect me.”
“Ernekun sure has various difficulties to overcome.”
“I"m sure that we too will be facing various difficulties from now on.”
“That"s true.”
“Aah, and also, I"ll introduce you to the elder. If you are going to be Ernekun"s bride, it would be best for you to get acquainted with him.”
“Fufufu, then I"ll look forward to it.”
“Then, we will drop by on our way home “
“Ehhh.”
Isn"t this too fast? Please let me prepare my heart first.
Mistral chuckles at my surprise.
After that, we continue our whimsical conversation late into the night.
My ordinary life has started to move. I used to think that such a stormy and drama packed life was exclusively for people like Kiri and Inea who are engaged to Ristikun. I never thought that I myself would get involved in such an unusual fate. Even so, truth be told, I am really looking forward to the future.
Just what kind of life will I have with Ernekun, Mist-san, and also Priscillchan and Nymichan?
My pounding heart makes me unable to sleep. I gently hold Mistral"s hand. She had started to release the quiet breaths of sleep from next to me.
“Please take care of me with various things from now on.”
My small whisper melts into the darkness of the room.
46.
Hi! I"m a university student that spends my free time reading CN and JP webnovels! My favourites are mostly BL and fantasy, but I generally enjoy reading whatever available.