The Youngest Hides a Lot of Things [Novel] Chapter 64

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 64

Chapter Title: Blissful Soak and a Surprise

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The bushes and trees grew so thick it felt like a spot hidden away by fairies. There, I splashed my legs around and laughed.

“Hee hee hee hee.”

Pale water splashed with a gentle plop plop.

“That laugh is weird.”

Cal muttered grumpily from where he was hiding behind a tree.

“You gonna keep watch properly?”

“Got it.”

I gauged the depth and plunged in with a splash. Just in case, I had wrapped myself in a thin cloth.

“Waaah. So this is what it means to melt away...”

I almost missed out on something this amazing!

Duchess, thank you.

Thanks to you, I'm off to paradise.

“Cal! This is amazing! My face feels cool, but my body's so warm. Why don't you just come in too!”

“...Please don't say stuff like that.”

Leaves rustled down. Khalid must have covered his face again.

“I'm already fully dressed anyway... We even bathed together in a stream back then.”

“That's not the same as th... Ugh. Never mind.”

In the end, Cal shot to his feet like he couldn't take it anymore.

“I'll be nearby, so call me when you're done.”

I pursed my lips a little as I listened to his footsteps fading away on patrol around the area.

It was a shame to lose my companion, but I'd already synced up completely with the milky hot spring water and couldn't bring myself to stop him.

Warm... So cozy...

Leaning my head back against a rock, all the tension drained from my body.

The steam hanging pale and thick made it feel like I was wandering through a hazy dream.

The soft rustle of trees shifting their bodies. The scent of steam brushing my nose. The drip drip of water droplets falling from my short hair...

The best part of short hair is how fast it dries.

My hazy thoughts drifted aimlessly.

Of course, magic could dry it in a snap, but...

Long hair could be dried with magic too in a snap...

Right, there were times like that...

Times like...

My eyes fluttered shut sleepily.

“Ah, so tangled and messy.”

I roughly shoved the long silver hair swaying at my chest into my hood.

My small, childish fingers had zero talent for tying hair, so this was the best I could do.

On such a sweltering summer day, wearing a kingdom priestess robe that came down to my eyes made me feel even more tangled and unbearable.

I wanna wash up sooo bad!

After a moment's hesitation, I snuck out of the barracks alone.

I ran toward the nearby forest, using the moonlight as my guide.

“Ugh, tiring.”

I panted for a bit, then drew up my mana and cast a protective barrier around the area. The abundant ambient mana stirred with me, lending me its power.

That's when I heard dry leaves crunching from somewhere, footsteps hurrying closer.

The moment I turned toward the sound.

“I'm here.”

“Eek!”

My vision went dark as familiar mana surged in. I rubbed my head where it had bonked against Khalid's shoulder.

“You're so slow every time...”

“You always show up out of nowhere!”

I'll get revenge someday!

I yelled, but Cal just grinned. The huge full moon lit up his face brightly.

I relaxed and lowered my hood and the collar of my priestess robe. My long hair, let loose, fluttered lightly in the breeze.

“Your hair always looks like silver thread no matter when I see it...”

At that moment, Khalid's face froze solid.

“What's this?”

Cal reached out from under his cloak, pointing at my cheek.

“Oh, I got scratched. I was poking around a cave with traces of a Black Mage today.”

“...”

I stared into his ash-gray eyes, which seemed calmly indifferent at a glance.

But quietly furious Khalid was way more dangerous than the type who exploded. You never knew where he'd bolt off to.

Knowing that, I quickly clung to the boy's arm.

“Hey, Cal. Don't worry. I put on some ointment. Magic Kingdom's instant wound-regeneration salve.”

Cal bit his lip, slowly calming his emotions. I hurriedly changed the subject.

“But seriously, I feel so grimy! I still haven't washed up... Tangled and grimy. Know what that adds up to? Worst mood ever!”

The boy let out a low sigh and led me along like he had no choice.

“Come here.”

As we toddled along, animals followed us, some in front, some behind. They parted the thick bushes to make a path.

“Whoa! There's a lake like this!”

A small lakeside shimmering in the flickering moonlight.

The only sound was the chirping of summer cicadas.

I excitedly plunged my feet in with splash splash. I tossed off my heavy outer clothes and dove right in.

“Pwah! So refreshing!”

“Don't go too deep.”

“You underestimate a mage who can control gravity. And this isn't deep at all!”

I washed away the dirt and grimy fluids clinging to my body and hair.

Cal, nice and dry all by himself, sat on a wide rock guarding the area. With Black Magic Beasts potentially appearing anytime, he sat facing away but didn't stray far.

“Ah, felt so good!”

As I dried off with magic and sat on the rock, the boy who'd been silently lost in thought the whole time turned to me.

“...I just.”

“Hm?”

“Can't I just stay with you forever?”

His gaze was fixed on the scratch on my cheek.

“Even if they find out you're a mage. Even if we end up going to the kingdom together, I'd actually...”

“Don't.”

I smiled faintly and shook my head.

“...”

“...I didn't pull you out of there for you to do that.”

I knew Khalid had his own path to follow.

If I hadn't kept realizing this was a novel world, I couldn't have said this.

Me breaking Cal's seal and him offering me an Oath Array in repayment for the favor wasn't in the original story.

Thanks to that, I could receive his mana, which was a huge help... But honestly, upending the core of Part 2's male lead Khalid made me a bit worried.

I wanted Cal to live his own life.

This war would end soon anyway.

So... to help find the Black Mage's traces more easily, I'll do a little more...

At that moment, a low sigh broke my reverie from beside me.

“I can't figure out what you're thinking at all.”

“Gasp.”

Cal plunged into the lake with a strangely frustrated look. Sparkling droplets splashed across his face.

“Hey! Why are you playing alone!”

I hurried in after him.

“Race you, Cal!”

“You can't even swim.”

“A mage... Hey, you can't start first!”

We cleaved through the clear water, laughing hahaha. On that short summer night, only the full moon, bright as daylight, quietly watched over us.

Come to think of it, who was it?

I wanted someone to easily track the Black Mage's movements.

The one I hoped would become the hero...

Ah, right.

Of course it was...

“...Pah.”

Mmm... I smacked my lips and slowly opened my eyes.

A cold raindrop went plip! on my cheek, snapping me awake with a start.

“Eek! You scared me!”

Milky hot spring water poured down my body in waves. My vision cleared quickly.

Whoa, I totally fell asleep!

And dreamed of the old days too?

I wiped the water from my cheek and looked up at the sky.

The sun hidden behind clouds hadn't moved much.

Guess I only dozed off for a moment.

Hmph, all because Cal left me alone.

Bored, so I ended up playing in my dreams...

“But...”

What's with this weather?

I looked up at the sky again.

Dark clouds were gathering ominously, sluggishly.

A drop or two had been falling earlier, but now it looked like it would pour properly.

“Aw, too bad.”

I stretched out lazily in the soft water.

They say good days fall on market days.

An open-air bath makes this a bit disappointing.

Still, hot springs are the best... This cozy feeling even guarantees sweet sleep... I really, really wanna stay longer, but I guess it's time to get up...

Rustle.

“Hm?”

I paused wringing out the towel I'd set on my head and turned. The nearby bushes had shaken violently.

“Cal?”

What? Did he come back?

Rustle rustle rustle.

“...?!”

I instinctively clutched the cloth covering my body.

There was only one entrance to this place. Cal was guarding it, and he wouldn't miss an intruder.

An animal?

Before I could even think, something burst out from the thick bushes.

A round blue blob.

No, not a blob, but...

“Ung... blob...?”