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“…Are you alright, Master?”
“Yeah…”

After finishing the first day of classes, I managed to stuff down some dinner back at the dorm, but my energy was at its limit.

I’d heard beforehand that, since this was a military nation and a higher education institution, the training would also involve military exercises. But I hadn’t expected it to be this rigorous.

I thought I’d be able to keep up if I trained with Hom before enrolling, but it seems a last-minute effort wasn’t enough. I need to do something consistently… but even if I build muscle, it would just revert to normal because of that goddess Aurora.

“…It seems Lady Alfe and Lady Farah are here.”
“Hm?”

Hom must have recognized their footsteps, as she walked toward the door. I’d love nothing more than to collapse into sleep, but I didn’t want to make Alfe worry unnecessarily, so I should at least try to get up.

“Leafa, Hom.”

There was a knock, and Alfe peeked her head through the door.

“The public bath is open, want to go together?”
“A big bath feels great, you know. Plus, today they’ve got a special medicinal bath made by Ms. Matilda.”

If it’s a medicinal bath specially brewed by a witch, it should be effective for recovering from fatigue. In my case, the exhaustion was more mental, so I wasn’t sure if it’d help, but it might at least be refreshing.

That said, my will to do anything had been utterly drained. I was anxious about how I’d manage tomorrow if this continued, so maybe I should force myself to move.

“…Leafa?”
“Oh, sorry. Ms. Matilda’s medicinal bath sounds nice.”

Maybe it was due to mental fatigue, but my thoughts and words were lagging behind. Noticing Alfe’s concerned gaze, I hurried to cover up, and Farah added with a cheerful smile.

“Don’t worry, at this time, there won’t be many people around.”

Ah, maybe she was being considerate of my situation. Given Farah was a catkin, she might have overheard Vannabelle teasing me about it.

“Thanks. I’ll get ready, so could you go on ahead?”
“Sure. We’ll wait for you.”

Normally, Alfe would insist on waiting, but she nodded obediently this time, perhaps out of consideration for Farah. Hom and I quickly gathered our change of clothes and towels, then headed down to the large public bath in the basement.

As we stepped into the steamy bathhouse, a sweet, refreshing scent of herbs tickled our noses.

It seemed we were the last ones to arrive, as there were no other students around. Considering that each room had its own bathroom, maybe not many felt the need to come all the way down to the public bath.

“Leafa, we’ve been waiting for you.”

Alfe’s voice called out from near the bath, and she appeared through the steam. In her hand, she held a small, slightly suspicious-looking soap.

“What’s that?”
“It’s a soap Ms. Matilda gave us. It’s gotten pretty small, but it smells amazing and feels great when you wash with it.”

It did look rather tiny, but it seemed like it was because everyone had been sharing it.

“Leafa, you look tired, so I’ll wash you.”
“I’ll wash your back, Master,” Hom chimed in right after Alfe’s offer.
“Both of you must be tired too. You don’t have to worry about me.”

It felt a bit awkward to be washed by the two of them, and I tried to decline, thinking it wasn’t the usual practice around here. But neither Alfe nor Hom was willing to back down.

“After getting in this bath, I felt super refreshed. So leave it to me!”
“Purifying Master’s body is also part of my duties.”

If I kept arguing, I might end up making Alfe catch a chill, and if I refused, Hom would probably feel disheartened too.

“…Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”

Resigned, I let them wash me, and afterward, I relaxed, sinking my body into Ms. Matilda’s special medicinal bath.

“…Ah, this feels so nice,” Alfe said, floating in the water with a contented smile, her eyes gently closing.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect after those intense classes, but it turns out she’s surprisingly kind,” Farah said, flashing a grin that showed off her fangs as her tail playfully swayed in the water. Judging by their appearances, both Farah and Alfe seemed entirely free of any fatigue from the day.

“Demi-humans have faster recovery, and Alfe’s a half-elf, right? The medicinal bath must be especially effective for her.”

I see, so that’s how it is. Physically, I should have been recovering too, but it was frustrating that my mental state hadn’t quite caught up. Still, unlike physical growth, mental resilience doesn’t revert back, so I wanted to find a way to strengthen it.

“…You still look pretty worn out. If the bath doesn’t help, I’ve got some special ointment I can share with you.”
“Thank you, Farah. But my body is a bit unusual due to an illness—”

Since she was Alfe’s roommate, it would be better to explain this to Farah sooner rather than later. I gave a brief explanation of my condition, Aether Overproduction Syndrome, and she listened attentively, trying to understand with a serious expression.

“I see… maybe it’s like you’re constantly getting torn up and then hit with recovery magic over and over again. No wonder you’re exhausted,” she said, nodding as she played with the bathwater.

“But still, today was rough for the first day. Looks like we’ll be doing military drills almost every day, so it’s going to be tough.”
“The Arcadia Empire is a military state, after all. Every high school here is like this. It’s a requirement that all higher education institutions include military training in their curriculum.”

I knew that in theory, but even I hadn’t expected it to be this rigorous.

“Do you think it’s all to prepare people to fight in a war if something happens?” Alfe asked, her voice tinged with unease.
“Who knows,” I replied.

The truth was, that was probably the case. But as far as the current situation went, things were relatively stable. At the very least, it was much more peaceful now than back when I was still living as Glass.

“It’s been over 200 years since there was a war that required a full national mobilization, so I think they see military training more as an effective way to build physical and mental strength.”

Half of that was just wishful thinking on my part¹, but Alfe and Farah nodded, seeming to accept the explanation.

1. Robinxen: Yup, you’re a protagonist. A war will definitely brew.

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