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“Yawn…. Good morning.”

It seemed I was the last to wake up; stepping out of the empty tent, I found my friends already bustling about. The other tent was neatly rolled up and placed on a bag, while the stew bubbled cheerfully over the campfire, warming the chilly morning air.

“Oh, you’re up? I was just about to wake you up, and here you are!”

Yuli spotted me first while checking the seasoning of the stew. Looks like she’s in charge of breakfast today. Not quite as skilled as me, but Yuli’s cooking is quite impressive, so I was already looking forward to the taste.

“Sleeping in when you didn’t even take the night watch? You’ve got no excuses.”

The other friends looked utterly exhausted from taking shifts on the night watch, visibly worn out. One might think they hadn’t slept at all. The fact that we were right in the middle of enemy territory probably didn’t help their nerves either.

“We wrapped that all up yesterday before bed. We all agreed on it. Now go wash your face. There’s a fountain over there that the Saint has already purified.”

“Really? I felt all gross from sweating, so that’s good to know. I thought it’d be chilly at night, but maybe it was actually warm?”

Ever since turning into a girl and getting hotter, I often woke up drenched in sweat. I raised my arm slightly to take a sniff, and thankfully, my sweat didn’t smell too bad. Or maybe I just couldn’t smell my own odor.

“R-Right? Haha… It’s normal to sweat a bit in your sleep. I’ll make sure to be more careful next time!”

“Huh? Why does Yuli need to be careful? It’s just my constitution.”

“No! I mean… it must’ve been because of the campfire! I must’ve made it too hot, that’s why it felt warm!”

True enough. The friends on night watch likely kept tossing wood into the fire all night to make sure those sleeping in the tent stayed warm, and it probably made the heat excessive.

But if I thought of it as warm consideration from my friends, this degree of heat was nothing I couldn’t bear.

“Let’s stop talking about this and hurry and wash up! The stew must be ready by now!”

Seeing Yuli flustered, I raised my arm again to check my smell. Was she urging me because my odor bothered her? But thanks to the TS magic, the only thing I noticed was a pleasant scent.

Headed for the pond Yuli had mentioned, I spotted a familiar guest.

There she was, squatting in front of the pond. Behind her, a fluttering heart-shaped tail and adorable little wings belonged to Lilith.

“What are you doing here?”

“Eek!”

It seemed she was focusing on a staring contest with her reflection in the pond, completely unaware of my arrival. As I tapped her back to get her attention, I must have pushed a bit too hard, causing her to teeter forward.

Just before her face plunged into the pond, she flailed her arms and wings wildly, finally managing to stop just in time.

“Whoa…!”

I quickly reached out and grabbed her neck just before she would have fallen into the pond. After a brief moment of flailing about, Lilith sighed in relief, leaning back.

“You scared me!”

“Sorry, sorry. I guess I’m still adjusting to the morning. But hey, what are you doing all alone here?”

“What do you mean? I just came to wash my face like the little master.”

“Looks like you’ve just been staring at the pond though?”

She had been staring intently enough to lose track of me even after I approached her. Peeking over to see if there was anything interesting in the pond for Lilith, I found it to be just a regular pond.

“Well… I can’t wash my face…”

“What do you mean? Mariel deliberately purified it for you so the water’s clean.”

“That’s the problem…”

Lilith’s voice trailed off as she gently dipped the tip of her tail into the water. Plop, ripples spread across the surface. But what was noticeable was not the pond, but Lilith’s tail.

“The Saint’s holy power is too strong for me to wash…”

As I quickly lifted the tail, a faint sizzling sound accompanied by a little puff of smoke arose from the tip.

I hadn’t expected such a problem to arise. It was probably something Mariel hadn’t considered when purifying the pond.

“Alright, I need to wash anyway, so just wait a moment.”

Setting aside Lilith’s issue for now, I crouched down before the pond and dipped my hands in. The pond, chilled to the bone by the night’s cold temperature, radiated an icy aura.

“Phew!”

Just washing my face made any remaining sleepiness vanish in an instant. The water was icy cold, but thanks to the holy power imbued in it, I even felt refreshed.

I cupped my hands and brought water to my lips, quenching my thirst until I had soaked up all the moisture I lost from sweating last night.

“By the way, what’s the big deal? I’m a succubus, so skipping a wash for a day shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

After all, the very nature of a succubus is to seduce someone. So like myself, thanks to the TS magic, I wouldn’t get too dirty without much effort.

“That’s not the point! It’s about how it feels! You’re a girl too—why don’t you understand a girl’s heart?!”

Well, I couldn’t refute that.

Actually, it wouldn’t be difficult for Lilith to gather some water to wash up. Although her spirit magic wasn’t very strong, she had a contract with Clarice, the Spirit King of Water, so she could conjure up a puddle with ease.

But spirit magic wasn’t just about using my own power; it required tapping into the spirit’s strength.

To create a puddle, she would ultimately need Clarice’s help. But calling on her for such trivial matters early in the morning would be a bit awkward.

“Um… Just wait a second.”

After pondering for a moment, I grabbed the towel I had brought to dry my face and soaked it in the pond. Squeezing the soaked towel, the water dripped down like a waterfall, but it was still just a wet towel.

Then I reached out with the towel still in hand toward Lilith’s face.

“Ah! Little master? Just a second…! Ugh!”

Surprised, Lilith quickly reached out to stop me, but she was a second too late, and her hand just fluttered in the air.

“Eek! My face! My pretty face…!”

“Your face is fine, just stay still. This is hard enough without you squirming.”

Lilith flailed her arms and legs, trying to escape, but there was no way she could slip out of my grasp.

“Don’t lie! There’s no way that’s true… huh?”

Of course, I could understand why she was scared. But I wasn’t acting out of some thoughtless impulse.

Believe it or not, I’m a bit of a hero. While I may not hold a candle to Mariel, who is a Saint, I too was chosen by a goddess and could manage holy power, albeit clumsily.

Although I wouldn’t be able to retrieve the holy power present in the pond, I could easily nullify the holy power in a single wet towel. Of course, it was a trivial issue that I had to keep in contact with it since Mariel’s holy power was so strong, but whatever—washing Lilith’s face for her would do just fine.

“Let’s clean off all the gunk… now, hey!”

“I’m not a little kid anymore! Hmph!”

Although Lilith pouted in embarrassment at being treated like a child, she quietly followed my instructions, so washing her up wasn’t difficult. After cleaning off her whole face, I moved my hand down to her neck.

“Eek!”

The water was so cold that as soon as I applied the towel to her neck, Lilith let out a frightened scream. But if I thought about that too much, I might end up missing breakfast.

I was sure my friends wouldn’t touch any food while waiting for me to return. I couldn’t afford to be a nuisance by skipping my turn on the night watch.

So after somewhat hastily rinsing off her neck, I moved my hands to her ears. Behind her ear, the outer ear, the earlobe—no part would be neglected as I carefully washed everything.

“Eep… haah…”

She twitched, still not accustomed to the cold. But again, I had no time to baby her.

I hastened yet thoroughly cleaned one ear before moving to the other, not missing a spot.

“E-everything is… eek…”

“Alright, that should be enough, right? Let’s hurry back—everyone’s waiting…”

Although I had rushed a bit and been rough with the process, I had been much more thorough while washing her than I would’ve been with my own face. But she latched onto my hand and stopped me.

“J-Just a little more… please…”

Even though I felt I had cleaned her thoroughly from my perspective as a guy, it seemed she wasn’t completely satisfied as a girl and a succubus. She led my hand back to her ear.

“Could you… take care of behind my ear and maybe my neck a bit more… please, master?”

How could I refuse the request of a girl calling me master? I had no choice but to comply with her request. It was certainly not for any self-serving reasons.

So I spent a considerable time washing Lilith, and eventually, only after hearing Luna’s voice calling out for us after we hadn’t returned for so long did I finally stop.

 

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