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By the time my hazy mind cleared up, Olivia finished crying and now was sitting a distance away on the edge of my bed. That reminds me that I’m still lying down as well, but I stagger dizzily instead, I guess I’m still not in perfect shape.

“Are you okay?”
“Yes. My apologies, Young Lady.”

I apologize to her for having to prop me up, and then look around the room.

My head still hurts a bit.

I remember I also had a headache when I woke up after fighting the golem, I guess that was from the burden my soul carried. Back then I thought it was the result of Ophelia opening my body to repair me, but that actually made no sense because magic automatons don’t have pain nerves.

My limbs also feel numb, but that should get better with time. That was pretty much everything I felt on my body.

I’m wearing the negligee I always wear to bed. I guess they changed my clothes while I was asleep.

The windows look dark, so I guess it’s night outside. There’s a bunch of papers on my desk, and Olivia’s desk is covered with piles of textbooks and notebooks.

“Natalia, do you want some water?”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

I take the cup of water Olivia brought and drink it in one go. Magic automatons don’t need water to survive, but I still felt like the water cleared my throat and refreshed me.

“I’m really glad you woke up.”
“I’m truly sorry for making you worry.”
“I already told you. You protected me, so it’s alright.”

Flute had already told me, but I still felt relief seeing Olivia was actually unscathed.

“Also, you’ve really gotten big.”

Olivia had kept on growing, she’s probably the same height as me now. Ophelia was also tall, so I always felt like Olivia would overtake me one day, but I never imagined that would happen while I slept.

“Oh yeah, I was the biggest when they measured us in class the other day. I think mine might even be bigger than yours now.”

Saying that, Olivia puffs her chest, propping her breasts up and jiggling them side to side.

“Umm… I was talking about your height.”
“Huh, that? Ah, yeah, right! Yeah, crazy right!”

Her face turns beet red and she desperately tries to brush it over, but it was obvious she had misunderstood. Though now that I take a better look at her, she has grown in that sense too, probably getting bigger than me as well.

After that Olivia tells me everything that happened while I was asleep. Apparently I was out of it for half a year. I’m not sure if I should consider that a long time, or a short time in the grand scheme of things, but the fact remains that a lot happened.

First Olivia took my blueprints Ophelia designed to Annabelle. Olivia knew very little about magic automatons, so giving them to Annablle was the ideal choice I think. That meant revealing all the secrets contained within too though. But that was necessary to examine me, and Annabelle had studied under Ophelia so she wasn’t exactly an outsider either.

Either way, I’ll really have to personally thank Annabelle and Christina one of these days, both had done a lot of work for me.

At school I had only given a handful of lessons before I was out of it, but the other teachers were able to pick up where I left and things ended up without any real problems.

I couldn’t finish the second reference book for Amy though, which affected her sales and bottom line. That’s definitely all my fault.

Then there was the school festival. Olivia had desisted from participating in the tournament and instead spent the entire day in the dorm next to me.

I had taken her to the forest as a way to convince her not to take part in the tournament, but that had resulted in her not even checking the festival out. I had robbed her of yet another fun memory at school.

“Don’t look so sad. I did that because I wanted to, it’s not your fault.”
“But…”

It was all my fault, no matter how I looked at it. I could’ve been a little more proactive when fighting Lacks and the Comet Wolf, and maybe I could’ve driven them away. The more I thought about it the more mistakes I noticed.

“…Ah, right! You’ve just woken up, so maybe it’s best if we scrub your body nice and clean. Taking a bath might be a bit too dangerous, but I’ll bring some water and a sponge to at least wash you. Just sit there, I’ll prepare everything.”

I was still brooding over my mistakes when Olivia said that, and before I could reply anything in bewilderment she was gone from the room.

I just made her worry about me again. If I keep being moody I’ll just end up dragging Olivia down with me. I need to cheer up.

“Sorry for the wait.”

Olivia returns to the room with a bucket, which she places next to the bed. It’s filled with warm water, and I can see wisps of steam coming out of it.

“Alright, I’ll get you naked now.”

…What…the…hell?

Olivia places her hand on my shoulder which I slowly brush away while my thoughts go into an endless spiral.

“Young Lady, what are you trying to do?!”
“I told you, I’ll scrub you nice and clean. I can’t do that with clothes in the way.”
“Well… okay, yes… but…”

That’s all reasonable and good, but somehow having someone of her age see me naked is more embarrassing than me being the one watching her.

“We’re both girls, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. And we took a bath together once, remember? I also washed your back.”

B-but we aren’t both women! That’s a secret I’m taking to the grave though. Also that bathroom incident came to be solely because she decided to get in, it was never my intention.

“As your maid I don’t really feel comfortable having you do so much for me.”
“Don’t worry about that, you’re still recovering. Not to mention that you’re always taking care of me, so I have to return the favor sometimes.”

I really appreciate the sentiment, but I’m dying of embarrassment here. I need to be coldhearted, for my own sanity.

“You hate the idea so much? Are my feelings such a bother to you?”

No, it’s not fair to put it that way. I can’t refuse if you do that.

“…Please scrub me clean.”
“Yay.”

I hang my head and give in, but Olivia sounds elated to hear that.

I reluctantly take off my negligee and turn around so Olivia can take off my bra. Then I sit in a way to make it easier for Olivia to wash my body.

“Just a word of advice, please be more mindful of your word choice when talking to other people. You could easily incite misunderstandings. Sometimes you should only use certain words for the partner you choose to spend your future with.”

Olivia is still a young, pure and innocent girl, but in a few years I’m sure she’ll gain Ophelia’s mature charm. I’m sure she’ll break plenty of hearts if she starts talking like that while looking like Ophelia.

I can already imagine the carnage left behind by her misunderstandings.

“Don’t worry. I’ll only talk to you like that.”

Mm- Hmm…that’s not exactly what I meant, but uh- I guess I should be glad she trusts me then?

“Okay, I’ll start now.”

Olivia wrings out the excess water from a soaked towel and gently rubs it against my neck.

She moves it along my neck and my shoulder, picking up all the grime and dust collected over the months I slept. The warmth of the towel and the refreshing feeling of clean skin are extremely pleasant.

I still would’ve preferred a bath, but sometimes being the one being taken care of isn’t that bad either.