Chapter 7 : Washing and Changing of Clothes

Next, I pulled out a white top, oversized enough to reach Freesia’s thighs if she wore it.
Too small for me, though—probably meant to be worn loosely.

Rustle—

The next items were a pair of grayish-brown pants for her, a set of small undergarments, and a pouch that looked perfect for her to carry.

“I only mentioned it briefly, but they prepared well.”
“…Roland, clothes.”

Freesia, who’d shown little interest in her own clothes, perked up slightly, her eyes sparkling as she reached for what must be mine.

Before she had a name, I rarely saw life in her eyes, but this was the second time since naming her. It felt good to give her a name, though I wished I’d done it sooner.

Tap, tap, tap—
“…Roland, clothes. Roland.”
“Yeah, I’ll check.”

Pushing aside other thoughts, I looked into the box and saw a deep blue outfit, similar to what I’d seen in Cheongdo.

“Oh, these are mine?”

I don’t know much about clothes, but they looked comfortable.

Rustle—

Pulling out the rest, I found a matte black hooded half-coat, navy pants, a set of undergarments, and a sleeker belt than the one I had.

“They really prepared well. I don’t know much about clothes, but these look good.”
“…Roland, clothes. Hurry, hurry.”
“Before that.”

I set the clothes aside, stood, and ruffled Freesia’s hair deeply.

“Let’s wash up first.”
“…Wash?”
Tilt.

She probably doesn’t know how to wash.

…Wait, does that mean I have to teach her?

“Hm… it’s using water to clean your body. We’ve been out a lot, so we need to stay clean.”
“…Water, clean body. I, do alone?”
“Uh, well, someone should probably show you the first time…”
“…?”

She tilted her head again. Despite her blank face and silence, her eyes seemed to say, “Obviously, Roland will teach me, right?”

“Alright… let’s head to the bathroom?”
Nod, nod.

I entered the spacious bathroom with Freesia and looked at the suit-like outfit she wore. It likely had a zipper-like thing on the back to remove it.

“Freesia, do you know how to take that off?”
“…Take, off?”
“Hm.”

She slowly examined herself, trying to figure it out, but seemed clueless about the back zipper, fumbling aimlessly.

Pout.
“…Don’t, know how.”
“It’s fine. Your new clothes are easy to wear, so no problem.”

I grabbed a towel from a cabinet, crouched behind her, and pulled the zipper-like thing down. Helping her slip her arms out, I pulled the suit off and wrapped the towel around her.

“Freesia, I’ll show you how, so watch and do the same after I leave.”
“…Okay.”

As she turned, I’d already shed my original clothes, wrapping a towel around my waist.

“…!”

She opened her mouth slightly, staring at my toned upper body, uncovered by the towel.

Shaaa—
“First, you wet yourself… the water comes out so evenly here.”

I’m not even surprised anymore.

As water soaked my blonde hair, sticking to my face, it stole Freesia’s attention.

Oblivious to her gaze, I debated between two bottles.

“Hm… one has a hair symbol, so this one.”

I squeezed it, lathering foam on my head.

“Seems right. Freesia, watching closely?”
“…”

No response, but I knew she was watching, so I didn’t mind, rinsing the foam off.

“For the body… this one, probably.”

I continued washing, showing her the process.
As my soapy hand moved downward, her eyes wavered, but thankfully—or perhaps unfortunately—it stayed above the towel, moving to my thighs.

Shaaa—
“Now rinse it all off.”

I meticulously washed off the foam and looked at Freesia.

“Freesia?”
“…Uh, yeah?”
“What’s wrong?”
“…N-nothing.”

I tilted my head, studying her, but aside from a slight blush and averted gaze, nothing seemed off. I chalked it up to the warm water, ruffling her head with my wet hand.

“You saw, right? You’ll do fine on your own.”
“…Y-yeah, can do.”

As I pulled my hand away, her hair was quite wet, though she didn’t seem to notice, sneaking glances at my body and face with half-closed eyes.

“I’ll head out. You don’t need a towel when washing alone.”

I grabbed a fresh towel, dried off briefly, and left. Alone, Freesia realized she’d been holding her breath.

“Hoo… …weird.”

Her face reddened more, and she covered it with both hands. Her small hands couldn’t hide her whole face, but it seemed enough for her.

“…Ah.”

After a while, she snapped out of it, struggling to hang the towel on a rod.

Shaaa—
“…Warm.”

With a slightly relaxed expression, she began washing.
She hadn’t watched what I showed but remembered everything else perfectly.

Click—
“Oh, Freesia, done washing?”

I was inspecting the room we’d rest in until tomorrow when the bathroom door opened.

“…”
“Hm?”

Freesia, wrapped in a towel, saw my face, blushed slightly, and looked away.

“There’s a hair dryer by the door—really nice. Use it before getting dressed.”
“…Clothes?”
“Over there.”

I pointed, opening a split door. Cold air rushed out, and the upper section was even colder, with ice—super convenient.

“This place is definitely more advanced than my world.”

We had plenty of magical convenience tools, but this works without mana.

After losing my parents young, I trained with everything provided, but I knew lower nobles and commoners struggled to afford magic tools.
Non-mana devices like these could be widely distributed, improving quality of life.

“…”

But I recalled the city’s view from the cliffs.
The towering, haphazard buildings were huge but filthy and looked ready to collapse.
Even beyond that, despite the city’s apparent wealth, many areas seemed neglected.

“Hm… well, my priority is protecting Freesia and finding a way back.”

But…

Rustle.
“What’s this?”

I pulled out a tube that looked like it held soup and a rolled-up meat-like thing, though it felt artificial.

“Why does food, or ingredients, feel like this…”
Tap, tap.
“…Roland.”

Feeling her tap, I turned. Freesia stood in the oversized white top and grayish-brown pants.

“…Done, dressing.”
“You dressed yourself well. I’m looking at dinner options—Freesia, what do you want?”

She tilted her head, then tiptoed, straining to peek into the cold storage.

“I’ll lift you.”
Grab.
“—Eek?!”

As I grabbed her waist, she jumped, bristling.

“Uh, uh… you okay? I grabbed too suddenly, didn’t I?”
“…O-okay.”

I quickly let go, but she grabbed my hand, placing it back on her waist, shaking her head.
Looking up, she signaled for me to lift her.

Sigh—
“Sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.”
“…Okay. I, don’t mind. Like.”
“Still…”

I’d carried her all day, but grabbing her waist like that was my mistake.

“…Really, like. …If, Roland.”
“Hm… if you say so, alright.”
Gently—

I carefully grabbed her waist again. She flinched but didn’t startle, just placing her small hand on mine.

…I knew she was small, but her whole waist fits in my hand.
No wonder she was startled.

“Okay…?”
“…Yeah, like. Lift, up.”
“Yeah, I’ll be careful next time.”

I vowed inwardly, lifting her. She glanced up, flinching.

Shake, shake, shake—
“…No, really, okay.”
“Alright, alright, calm down.”

Her rapid head-shaking, a first, slowed as I soothed her.

“…Really, like. So, like.”
“Got it. I’ll do it every day.”
“…Yeah, like.”
Hee.

I thought I heard her laugh, but looking down, she was blankly inspecting the storage.

Must’ve imagined it. I looked inside too, but as before, nothing looked edible.
Like processed tree bark, packaged neatly. The meat roll, squishy tube, rice-like cubes, and unidentifiable blocks…

“Hope it’s safe to eat…”

It’s in storage, so probably fine, but it looks off.