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After pursuing Finia who was acting reserved on the outside, we first decided to head to the large public bath to wash off our sweat. In this settlement, it was recommended to wear a gown that opened at the front.

It was a warm season now, moreover, this was a hot spring district with high humidity, so such clothing where air could pass felt very pleasant.

Thus we all got dressed in such a way and headed for the bath. After hearing that she would be getting a massage from me, Finia’s pace was extremely lively. She still kept up her usual expressionless face, though, which got a small laugh out of me.

As I was walking behind her, I poked Michelle on the arm and pointed at Finia’s feet. Her gait was so joyful it seemed like she was barely containing herself from breaking into hops. Michelle also noticed it and pinned her mouth to suppress a laugh.

Letina realized how happy Finia was based on our reactions and also pinned her mouth with both hands to hold back from bursting into laughter.

However, Finia always stuck to her status as a servant and only showed strained smiles to the two girls, which made her feel somewhat distant. Finia had such slightly hard to approach air around her, but if this trip allowed them to become closer, then that alone made it worth coming here.

“Finia looks so comical.”
“Yeah, she’s happy.”
“I thought she was more collected than that.”

While the three of us were whispering to each other’s ears behind her, she suddenly turned around.

“Is something the matter, Lady Nicole?” she asked in her usual calm tone.
“No, it’s nothing,” I answered.

If you only looked at her expression, nothing really stood out. However, she couldn’t hide the excited twitches of her legs below the knees.

“Pfff…”
“What are you doing, Michelle!?”

Michelle couldn’t hold back and leaked a laugh, then Letina hurriedly rebuked her. They looked like kids that held their mouths so their mischief wouldn’t be found out.

“Michelle has an illness that makes her spontaneously laugh sometimes.”
“I have never heard of such illness.”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry.”

I made her turn around and pushed her from behind. She was having a fun time for once, so there was no need to point it out and spoil it.

Given my height, my hands couldn’t reach her back so I pushed her waist instead, but I was startled by how thin and soft her body felt under the fabric. Both Maria and Cortina wore tough armour back in our adventuring days, so I rarely got to experience how soft their bodies were… But this made me realize just how different it was from a man’s body.

“Hmm, you really are cute, Finia.”
“Wh-, Lady Nicole what are you—”
“You always said that to me, don’t you?”
“You said you were going to return the favor, but you don’t have to mimic what I say…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

As we walked through the corridor towards the bath in the backyard, an employee of the inn suddenly called out to us in a slightly troubled voice. “Um, dear guests. I’m sorry but I would like to ask the Beastmen not to enter the bath ahead.”
“…Haah?”
“Eek!”

The employer’s words came off as quite discriminating. Sensing that, I ended up raising my voice full of never-before-seen hostility since my reincarnation. The employee flinched from my voice that even emitted killing intent.

They even leaked a shriek, which showed how frightened they were. A little girl had directed such bloodlust at them that it petrified them in place.

“Um, I… I never meant to discriminate against Beastmen. It’s just… Fur… Fur and such will…”
“Fur? Ah, that’s what it was. Nicole, you can let it go now.”
“Huh?”
“Look, we have fur on our tails and such, right? There are customers that hate when those come off and float in the bath.”

Cortina presented her tail before me with those words. She had a luxurious tail with glossy fur. As she said, if it got soaked in hot water, the loose fur might start floating in the water. It was quite easy to imagine that some clean-freaks would hate to see that.

“I see, well… Uh, sorry about that.”
“Not at all! I was to blame for my lack of thoughtfulness.”

I and the employee bowed and apologized to each other. An expert like me—though I was a little girl now—directed such killing intent towards an ordinary person, so they must’ve been terrified beyond imagination.

As a sigh of friendship, I extended my right hand and asked for a handshake. We were going to stay for two more days, so I wanted to leave a bit more pleasant impression.

“I’m truly sorry for what I said, little lady.”
“Me too.”
“You really like your big sister, huh?”
“B-Big sister!?”

The employee’s misunderstanding caused Cortina to twist her body in response. Did she just imagine something crazy?

“No, she looks young but she’s already expired. Also, she’s a scheming type.”
“I am what now!?”

Cortina got behind me and pulled on my cheeks in protest. I mean, you were already about to hit forty, you know?

“Ay meenf, vuoah waik fohfee alwrewy.¹”
“I’m still young for my race! Understood?”
“Yesh.”

I was made to show a weird face towards the unfamiliar person, so I obediently surrendered. But I see. Looks like we needed to be attentive even when it came to baths here.

“We have a bath on that side for the Beastmen to enjoy themselves, so please use that.”

The employee pointed and directed us towards another corridor. Looking closely, there was a label on it, saying, “Beastmen, please use this bath.”

“Oh, there it is.”
“Thank you very much. Let’s go then.”

We changed our course and headed where the employee pointed to, the Beastmen’s bath.

1. TLN: In case you don’t understand gibberish talk, it means:
   I mean, you’re like forty already.