Chapter 39: Unexpected Intimacies and Lingering Doubts

Eileen Calibot wiped Setia’s hair dry.

“Could I lift your hair up?”

“Unless it’s absolutely necessary… let’s not,” Setia replied. Having her hair cover her made her feel a little more secure.

“Alright then.” Eileen didn’t press the issue, rinsing the suds from Setia’s body with warm water. “All done.”

Eileen stepped aside, making room for Setia, but Setia remained where she was.

“What’s wrong?” Eileen wondered if there was still a spot she hadn’t cleaned.

“If… if Eileen doesn’t mind, you could also touch mine… even though they look quite small…” Setia finally managed to say, gathering all her courage.

‘This… this development feels a bit off, doesn’t it?’

‘If we started touching each other, wouldn’t the nature of this change entirely?’ Eileen had only intended to offer a little comfort and encouragement.

“There’s no need for that, is there?”

“As expected, you think they’re too small…” Setia’s entire demeanor became despondent.

“No, no!” Eileen found herself in an awkward position, unsure whether to touch or not to touch.

“Then how about this? Since you’ve already seen me, I’ll see you too. I’m a maid as well, so I can help scrub your back. How does that sound?” Setia proposed, opting for a compromise.

This was certainly better than her previous suggestion. However, while Eileen felt nothing when looking at others, the thought of being seen herself brought a different kind of apprehension.

“There’s no need for that, is there?”

“Alright.”

Eileen hadn’t expected Setia to agree so quickly.

“Then I’ll report you to Lady Faltis Calibot,” Setia declared.

‘Report me? Report what?’

Eileen couldn’t recall doing anything worth reporting. Even if she couldn’t remember, it didn’t truly matter. Faltis Calibot only needed an excuse to punish her.

And so, Eileen reluctantly agreed.

“Alright then.”

Eileen slowly unfastened her now-damp maid uniform, wrapping a bath towel around her body. The small towel, however, seemed barely able to contain Eileen’s ample figure.

“All set.”

Setia, just like Eileen had done earlier, began scrubbing Eileen’s back.

Yet, there was a slight difference from Eileen’s earlier actions. Eileen had never let her hands wander during the entire process; she had truly only been scrubbing Setia’s back.

But Setia? As she looked at Eileen’s smooth back, her mind told her to scrub properly, yet her hands involuntarily began to roam.

Eileen, however, didn’t seem to notice.

Emboldened, Setia grew more daring, placing her hands on either side of Eileen’s chest.

“Setia?”

“What’s wrong? I’m just cleaning you,” Setia said.

Still, Setia committed no overtly improper actions; she was genuinely helping Eileen clean. It was just that, perhaps, occasionally, her hands might brush against Eileen’s voluminous curves.

The occurrences were infrequent, likely accidental.

“Eileen, should we ask Lady Faltis Calibot to come help?” Setia asked with a hint of concern.

Eileen leaned against the edge of the bathtub. “There’s no need to worry too much about that. Many dragon slayers in the past have come through her, so I have a slight understanding of her methods.”

“But no matter what, the opponent is an S-rank dragon slayer, and they’ve been a coordinated dragon-slaying team for several years. I don’t mean to look down on Eileen, it’s just…” Setia’s voice was filled with apprehension. “Moreover, this operation cannot be exposed, which adds a lot of difficulty.”

If even one of them were to escape, the entire town of Gran would suffer a devastating blow. Once one got away, dealing with them later would become incredibly difficult.

Furthermore, Liana had mentioned that she had already dealt with several local tyrants in the past. Such frequent deaths would undoubtedly arouse the Empire’s suspicion.

Therefore, this operation not only needed to be swift and leave no trace, but also had to be disguised as an accident or an internal conflict.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Although Eileen had only been in his team for three months, she had a general understanding of their habits.

Setia felt a pang of self-reproach. “If only… I were stronger, I could help you.”

“You’re already very strong! If it weren’t for you playing the necromancer, our C-rank dragon-slaying team would probably have been caught and bullied long ago,” Eileen said.

“Regarding the dragon slayers, Setia, you don’t need to worry about that. This task was originally given to me by Lady Faltis Calibot. But speaking of which, Setia, what do you think of this town? Or rather, what do you think of Liana?”

“Liana?” Setia pondered. She didn’t know much about Liana, only that in the decades since Liana took over, Gran Town had never experienced any major problems. This kind of request for help seemed to be the first of its kind.

“She seems quite good, doesn’t she?” Setia could only infer this much from Liana’s words today. If Liana hadn’t been lying, then she truly was an excellent leader, which explained why Lady Faltis Calibot held her in such high regard.

Eileen thought of many things, including her time as Kassim.

Liana had once advised her not to enter the Golden Dragon territory. On one hand, perhaps she worried Eileen would cause Faltis Calibot a lot of trouble. On the other hand, perhaps she had sensed Izawa, who was by Eileen’s side.

All of this, Eileen could not know for sure.

“Eileen, do you think that after we resolve this, the Empire will send new people to govern this town?” Setia asked.

“…” Eileen fell silent. She could no longer answer without hesitation as she once had. “I… I’m not sure either.”

She could feel her trust in the Empire slowly beginning to crumble. Although Eileen tried to mend this trust, she found herself unable to stop its erosion.

She also didn’t know how long this trust would last.

Would it be rebuilt soon, after she saw hope again?

Or would it completely collapse, leaving her utterly disappointed?

Warm water gently splashed against Eileen’s body. The bathing time had come to an end.

Setia rose. “Thank you, I had a very enjoyable day today.”

However, as she stood, she accidentally stepped on a bar of soap. “Nya?!”

“Careful!” Eileen reacted swiftly, catching Setia in an instant.

Eileen realized something. Indeed, though they looked small, when touched, they felt quite similar: soft, lovely, and easily held in one hand.

“Eileen! I’m leaving first!” Setia, realizing what had happened, fled the bathroom as if escaping.