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“Hehe~”

Yuli was humming a tune with a satisfied look on her face, seemingly enjoying herself.

When it came time for me to wash Yuli’s body, I tried my best to think of something else and stayed focused on anything but what I was actually doing, just to keep my mind from wandering.

Of course, if you asked if that effort was effective, I’d have to reply with a no comment.

Anyway, when I finally came to my senses, I found Yuli and I sitting across from each other in a bathtub filled with water.

I really wished that when I came to my senses, I was already dressed and escaping out of the bathroom instead.

Fortunately, the tub wasn’t very large, so we had no choice but to squeeze our legs together, making the current position of my knees hiding the Master-Servant Mark not feel too awkward.

But honestly, we entered the bathroom for a shower, so why on earth are we taking a bath together?

“Hey. Hey!”

Yuli was playfully wiggling her toes that were touching mine in the small tub.

“Um… Yuli? Shouldn’t we be getting out soon? We still have a lot to see, and if we want to go watch Anne’s match, we should start getting ready…”

I tried to broach the topic to Yuli, who seemed completely focused on her playful antics with no signs of wanting to leave.

“Well… I suppose that’s true. Should we get up then?”

Maybe it was because I had rejected her too much, but it felt a bit odd how readily Yuli nodded in agreement.

As soon as I shifted my body in the tub, the water that had filled the tub spilled out with a splash. Well, it didn’t matter since our bath was over.

Seeing Yuli getting out of the tub, I too stood up, holding a towel over the Master-Servant Mark to follow her.

But then, I noticed Yuli swaying on her feet, losing her balance for a moment.

Seeing her in danger of falling, I quickly jumped out of the tub and caught her just before she hit the floor.

Luckily, I wasn’t too late, and I managed to support Yuli as she stumbled.

“Hehe… I guess wiggling my toes too much made me cramp up suddenly…”

Yuli, nestled in my arms, shyly offered an apology with a guilty look on her face.

Of course, if I had quickly used my aura to enhance my body, falling wouldn’t have been a big deal at all, but for Yuli, who was inexperienced with using her aura, it could have been more than just a minor accident.

Yuli, leaning against me for a moment, finally managed to recover and stepped back away from me.

Only after seeing her safe did I finally exhale a sigh of relief.

If she had hit her head somewhere on the way down, it could have turned into a disastrous situation.

Thus, while I felt relieved, I was also slightly angry at Yuli.

The thought of something happening to her made my stomach turn at just the imagination.

Perhaps sensing that I was angry, Yuli took on a sulky expression and lowered her head to avoid my gaze.

Even though it was just one slip-up involving the Master-Servant Mark, it did seem necessary for me to lecture her to be careful, but just as I was about to say something—

“Uh?”

Before I could speak, Yuli’s voice jumped in instead.

Missing my timing to speak, I just gaped as Yuli squatted down, blinking a couple of times before looking straight at me.

“Whoa?!”

Squatting, Yuli raised a finger and poked my lower abdomen.

…

A quick glance revealed the towel lying on the bathroom floor.

Why was the towel, which should have covered my lower abdomen and the Master-Servant Mark, lying over there?

Maybe… in my shock at seeing Yuli fall, I accidentally dropped the towel I had been holding.

While I was flustered, Yuli’s finger slowly traced the shape of the Master-Servant Mark on my skin.

I had been trying so hard to hide it, but now it was exposed.

How should I get out of this situation? What kind of excuse would convince her?

“U-um, Yuli…”

I tried to get some words out, but it seemed like Yuli was ignoring my calling as she just continued to gently stroke the Master-Servant Mark.

“This… is it…?”

“Eh? Uh? Wh-what’s that?”

I tried to feign ignorance, but my voice trembled with how flustered I was becoming.

“That’s… used on… slaves…”

“…Uh-huh.”

I had hoped that with the change in position and appearance of the Master-Servant Mark, maybe I could fool her, but Yuli saw right through it at a glance.

Then again, considering all she knew, it made sense she’d recognize it easily.

“Could it be that… the reason I couldn’t contact you all this time was because you got caught by some strange old man…?”

“Well, if I had to put it that way…?”

It wouldn’t be wrong to define the Guild Master as a strange old man, but was that truly the best way to describe him? He was a strange fellow, indeed.

“Wait, could it be…! Were you doing something like receiving guests while living with other people…?”

“Well… sort of.”

Every word Yuli said hit the mark, and I found myself nodding along.

Although I had never actually taken on direct assignments except for the ones targeting Selian, my training as an assassin was still part of the job.

“B-but, I was far too young before, so I never really did any of that myself!”

Thus, I tried to defend myself a little, but Yuli still had a face that looked like she was about to cry.

By the way, how could Yuli guess so easily about my living conditions with just the Master-Servant Mark exposed?

Fortunately, it seemed like she hadn’t figured out my identity as an assassin.

If she had, she wouldn’t have been wearing that sad face; she would be terrified instead.

“I-I mean, we’ve escaped now! I won’t be going back there again!”

I had no intention of going back, and besides, even if I did, the guild was already done for.

I tried to calm Yuli, saying that I wouldn’t return to that past, and even if my identity as an assassin got exposed, I could make excuses if I worked hard at it.

However, rather than replying, she suddenly threw her arms around me.

“It must have been so hard for you all this time. It’s okay now… I’ll always be by your side.”

Her voice, filled with emotion.

She knew very well that the one she was comforting, worrying about, and supporting wasn’t ‘Third’ but ‘Elysia Frentz.’

Still… I was able to find solace in her words.

—

“Um… Yuli?”

“Yes?”

I called out to Yuli as we left the bathroom and started preparing to go out again.

Of course, Yuli had always been kind, but I felt her concern just from the tone of her voice.

“Um… that thing that happened earlier and what we talked about… can you keep it a secret from the other friends?”

Especially from Selian.

While Yuli hadn’t realized my identity was that of an assassin, if Selian heard, she might pick up on it.

“Can we say it’s our little secret…? Please?”

So I asked, knowing it entirely depended on Yuli.

If Yuli decided she wanted to tell the others, I had no way to stop her.

Sure, there were many ways to forcefully keep her quiet, but the mere thought of doing something like that to my friend Yuli made my hands tremble and nausea rise.

Yuli is extremely precious to me.

“Yes! Of course! I’ll remember it as our little secret… no one will know!”

Fortunately, Yuli honored my request.

I hoped that Yuli would forget in time rather than cling to it, but given her memory, she probably wouldn’t forget.

“Well, shall we head out now?”

With the gloomy conversation we had in the bathroom buried as a secret between us, Yuli put on her usual refreshing smile and linked her arm with mine.

“Ah…!”

But for some reason, it was Yuli who looked surprised after linking arms with me.

She dropped her linked arms and took a step back with a flustered expression.

“Yuli?”

“Uh, um… Sorry… it might be a trauma for Elysia; I’ve been so careless, right? It’s not like I don’t know about Elysia’s past, so how could I make this mistake? It was the same in the bathroom too; did you feel bad?”

It was just a friendly link of arms; what could have possibly flustered Yuli so much?

“Feel bad? What do you mean? Did I do something behind your back?”

I asked, confused as to why she was acting like this.

“Um… I meant when I touched Elysia’s body. Was that bad?”

If I had to be honest, rather than feeling bad, I was rather pleased.

Of course, I didn’t utter such foolish thoughts aloud.

“Oh, what’s there to feel bad about? Friends can share a little soap play, right?”

Maybe Yuli was testing to see if I doubted my identity because of how sometimes I acted absentmindedly; I replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Hm…?”

It seemed my nonchalant answer might have confused her, and she tilted her head in confusion.

Suddenly,

“What about this? Isn’t it creepy or uncomfortable at all?”

“Uh, friends can joke around a bit, so what’s uncomfortable about that?”

It seemed she still harbored doubts, as she gripped my hands that were resting on my chest and squeezed them.

“Even like this…?”

“Of course! It’s just a joke after all, what…”

While it’s true that as an assassin, I was sometimes overly sensitive to being touched, I still reacted naturally after recalling the common sense I learned while being around my friends.

Despite that, Yuli seemed to be still suspecting me, continuing to meddle with my chest.

“Um… Even if it’s not uncomfortable, it’s a bit embarrassing, so can we stop now…?”

Even when I backed away, she didn’t pursue further and merely tilted her head once before shining a bright smile and linking her arms with me again.

“Hehe… So shall we go now?”

Thankfully, Yuli seemed to have fallen for my perfect act and was no longer suspicious of me.

Who would’ve thought I had the talent for acting?

It was truly frightening how perfectly I could perform, even without any training.