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In short, as punishment for my crime of sneaking out on my own, I was sentenced to acting as her hug pillow for the day. I spent all night in her embrace, so I should say it was instead a reward.

However, I had to keep my eyepatch on the entire time, so that part was annoying. When I removed it, Finia moved her gaze away, saying, “I don’t think I will be able to control myself” so I was a little afraid of what it would result in.

“Nghhhhh…. “

Then came the next day. It was already a day before our departure.

Due to Kufar, I didn’t even manage to go sightseeing. But I got acquainted with Pope Ashella, so that was a big gain. She gave me a holy seal depicting the World tree, and the words “for the time you wish to meet me.”

It was apparently a unique design that indicated that I was her friend, so if I showed it to the church’s guard, they would get directly in touch with her and I’ll be able to meet her.

“Nhg… Good morning, Lady Nicole?”
“Yeah, morning, Finia.”

I slipped out from her arms and did a big stretch on the bedside. Then I gazed back at the bed and saw something irrational. That is, I had a negligee-type pajama, but she had a big tight-sleeved one.

“Shouldn’t this normally be the other way around?”
“How would I be able to enjoy the sight if I wore it myself?”

She was looking dazzlingly at me. Honestly, I thought the same. If possible, I wanted to see her dressed in this kind of risky nightclothes.

“If possible, I wanted you to—”
“More importantly, we have to buy things in preparation for tomorrow’s departure.”
“—Right, okay.”

She cut off my speech and confirmed our schedule. Ever since she realized my identity, I feel like she was leading conversations all the time.

But what she said was reasonable, as we really did have to leave tomorrow morning.

In the end, we couldn’t make a new spear for her, but we also had to procure other things like food and water too. There were some inn towns established along the way to Raum, but we still had to secure minimum food.

“We have to wake Michelle and Cloud up and make preparations.”
“Yes. Lord Lyell and Lady Maria also seem to be planning to return to the north in the afternoon.”
“I see. Fina had been left to the others all this time, after all.”

Though she was left in the care of tough northern warriors, taking their eyes off her for too long still worried me. I could only enjoy my adventures because Lyell and Maria were with her.

Now that I recovered and Baa had locked Kufar within the World Tree, it was natural to worry whether his separate force would attempt to do something bad.

I threw off my nightclothes and started dressing up. Seeing that Finia meaningfully put a hand to her mouth.

“Lady Nicole, looks like you’ve grown a little again.”
“Hmm? I don’t think my height’s changed much.”
“No, not the height, your chest.”
“…Huh?”

Now that she mentioned it, the underwear that supported my breasts felt a bit tight. They really seemed to be growing by the day… making me feel quite complex.

“To think that Lord Reid would become so beautiful…”
“Please, just stop.”

Finia joined her hands at her chest and spoke with sparkling eyes, dressed in slightly childish pajamas. Her innocent gaze was digging into my heart.

After waking up, the two of us took Michelle and Cloud along and moved our carriage to the well behind the inn.

Lyell and Maria said they would go back in the afternoon, so we decided to finish gathering water at least until then.

Finia could use water attribute magic, and we also had a magic item enchanted with Purify, so as long as we had water, we shouldn’t worry about it going bad.

This Purify spell was quite convenient, making any kind of water, be it rainwater or muddy water, drinkable. In the worst case, it could even turn urine drinkable, so it was a lifesaver in the deserts and wastelands.

However, no one would willingly drink such water, so it was better to gather fresh water.

“Cloud, this barrel’s already full, so go put it on the carriage.”
“Gotcha.”

We decided to keep three barrels of water.

Michelle and Finia were working together to draw water and fill the barrel.

I put the lid on the barrel and pushed it to Cloud. Since we were dealing with water, all three of us girls were quite drenched.

We were quite a sight for sore eyes. Because of that, I had to redirect Cloud’s eyes elsewhere. That’s why I had him carry it to the carriage.

“You’re doing something fun here.”
“Wah?!”

Then suddenly, I heard a girl’s voice. I would’ve normally thought it was Whitey, but she should be doing work in the south now.

Instead, it was Pope Ashella, who was also Maria’s old friend.

“Only a day has passed, and you slipped out again?”
“It’s not in my character to stay still. Did you know? My grandma was apparently an Adventurer.”
“I didn’t.”
“That Maria, she didn’t speak about me at all huh?”

The way she puffed her cheeks made her look like your ordinary young girl. She even looked like a daughter of a wealthy family that wore somewhat refined clothes.

After her brief display of anger, she slowly approached Finia and took the bucket in hand.

“I just have to fill the barrel with this, right?”
“Well yeah… You’re helping?”
“It’s gotten hotter lately, so playing in water wouldn’t be so bad.”
“We’re not exactly playing here.”
“It is fine, it is fine~”

The Pope drew water with a carefree tone. If those conservative cardinals saw this, there’s no telling what they would say.

While staying vigilant of the surroundings, I moved the final barrel over while taking the second barrel away.

Ignoring me who was panicking on the inside, the Pope enjoyed her playing in the water to the fullest.