Translator(s): DC    Editor(s): Boomer    Proofreader(s): DC    TLC(s): ShimizuA

Abnormal people and Normal people

"Haaa… Haaa…"

Ludmilla, who came all the way back to the hideout by running, was gasping from a mixture of fatigue and negative emotions. Although the initial wave of nausea had more or less subsided, her suit jacket was sticky with sweat, in general terms, she felt awful.

As I thought, my attire isn"t suited for exercise.

I still can"t fathom as to why such a thing was accepted as the uniform for an a.s.sa.s.sin.

"Oh, you"ve returned, Ludmilla. Were you successful?"

"Move aside!…"

Halfway through Lady"s greeting, Ludmilla pushed her aside.

Lady called out to her with a questioning tone.

"What happened?

"… It"s nothing. The target has been properly killed… I just want to go take a bath…!"

"Really. Even so, wait for a bit. Right now, my darling and Mary-"

She spoke in an uninterested, transparent voice. But Ludmilla cut her off, and entered the dressing room. She wanted to wash away the horrible feeling as soon as possible.

Setting aside her smoky-smelling rifle, she stripped off her suit and underwear, and violently flung open the bathroom door.

Then- Ludmilla froze.

"…hm?"

The first thing she saw inside the bathroom, already warm and steamy, was black hair being splashed with bubbles.

Next, she saw a chest which was engraved with geometric patterns which aggregated to form a magic square.

When magic users decide to actually use magic (during their first time), a magic system is established, which is then engraved onto the heart.

Ludmilla, who barely had even a tiny bit of knowledge of magic related knowledge didn"t understand what was written, but she was aware of what it was.

-And, such a thing was trivial at the moment.

There was only one person in the third squad who had a magic square engraved into her chest.

It appeared that she was in the middle of washing her hair.

Mary, who had bubbles expanding in size on her head, had her eyes closed, and slowly opened her light-green eyes, and looked at Ludmilla.

Since the bubbles were identical to the color of her hair, it was difficult to differentiate the bubbles apart from her hair.

-And then, there was the most important thing.

"Ludmilla? Ah, you"ve returned."

Ludmilla recognized the tone of the voice which called out her name, she was in a situation which made her head spin; it was like the moment when ice melts from coming into contact with fire. Immediately following that, she understood the situation.

Ahead- a man, Shizuru, stood bare.

He appeared languid, or possibly sullen.

From the combination of low blood pressure, and having no highlighted color, by opening her purple demon eye, she was basically able to get an impression of the other party.

Up until now, she had been seen a few times before in her undergarments. At that point, Ludmilla felt that it was still within an acceptable range, in which she didn"t need to be embarra.s.sed.  

However, being naked was a completely different story.

Once again, I"m caught not wearing clothes, but this time, the other party isn"t as well!

Within a few moments of her realization, blood began to gather in Ludmilla"s cheeks.

Irritatingly and annoyingly her body temperature that shouldn"t be rising were rising along with it.

"Did the job go well? I"m currently washing Mary"s head, so you may need to wait for a little bit. I"ll also wash your back."

"Ha…?"

Ludmilla took in his words, and felt that there was a fatal misunderstanding. It had seemed as though he had planned on bathing together from the beginning; after several heartbeats, she began to feel fl.u.s.tered.

"Y-yo-you! Erm, Uh, I-"

"Ca.s.sy sometimes finds it difficult, so I wash it for her sometimes, it"s alright. I"m accustomed to this."

To be treated the same as Casca was, was extremely vexing for various reasons. At any rate, Ludmilla was trying to work out the misunderstanding, but since she was in the embarra.s.sing situation of standing face to face in the nude, she wasn"t able to speak properly.

After a while.

"…It"s different!…"

Without any specific explanation as to what exactly was different, Ludmilla vigorously slammed the bathroom door shut. Shizuru stood with his head tilted to the side, and a question mark floated above his head. Mary began to complain about bubbles getting into her eyes, so he pushed his thoughts away in a corner and began to rinse her with hot water.

"… I wasn"t aware that you guys were in there."

Shizuru stepped out of the bathroom, and sat down on the sofa with Mary, and began to dry her hair. Ludmilla had changed her clothes and underwear right away, and then sat across from them, directly facing them, her face still radiating a little bit of red.

"I see. I"m sorry for the misunderstanding."

"… For the time being, don"t enter in with Casca… Nn."

Feeling relieved that the misunderstanding was resolved, Ludmilla tilted the gla.s.s in her hand and began to gulp down all the water at once.

Scientifically speaking, her body temperature was normal, but she felt like cooling off a lot.

"Haa… Ok. If you guys are done, then I"ll go in next."

"Yeah, by all means. Is there anything that you"d like to eat that I could make?"

"… Iced cocoa."

At that moment, Ludmilla stood up and told Shizuru her request in an undertone, which Shizuru nodded to in agreement, then announced that she was leaving.

Then, opposite from the bathroom door, where her figure had disappeared through, Lady, who was lay sprawled out in her wolf form, opened her shut eyes.

"She seems to be acting a little peculiar. Usually, when someone is holding something back, you can notice it."

"Maybe it"s because of the job she completed? Look, Ludmilla… she"s different from us, in respect to us doing our work seriously."

To do it seriously.

On Shizuru"s face, who used that phrase, hovered an unclear smile which was similar to loneliness, or being troubled.

Mary, who was conscious of this change, motionlessly peered out of a crevice in her soft bath towel with her light green eyes, which concealed her head.

"Mother, are you sad? Is she bullying you?"

"Hm? No, Ludmilla didn"t do anything Mary. Although, I guess I might have been a bit jealous."

What did I leave behind seven years ago, when I came to this world.

Sometimes, Shizuru got jealous of Ludmilla, who had a steady life.

If possible, I"d like her to remain as she is.

If she continues to work for Black Maria, she"ll become nothing but an obstacle. However, once she decides to part with us, things will never be the same.

"… You"re being awfully poetic, which does not suit you."

"Poetry suits you well, my beloved. I wonder if you can play the harp."

"Ahahaa. You say some comical things Lady, but I can certainly play one."

Yes, I can play it. Not just the harp, but any other musical instruments that you can care to think of.

For the most part, Shizuru could imitate others, and grasp the tricks for improving his skill.

Even if he was inferior to a professional, he could play for a simple amount of time, without causing anyone to ask questions.

Unless there were unlimited methods for a musician to improve, his ability could attain him greatness anywhere under the sun.

Hence, this was the main reason why Shizuru was picked up by his companion.

And, on the other side, Shizuru himself didn"t attempt to escape the clutches of Richelieu, which was also to blame.

"Ahaha… poetic. If a frightening someone hadn"t drawn a lead, I"d maybe have considered it for a bit."

"Ah"

Shizuru laughed as he finished drying Mary"s hair, and lifted her up to place her on his knee. He was only just a little lonely.

"Well, even if we talked about it, there"s no use in doing so… Oh, right. Lady, since Sam is coming soon, would you please prepare some tea?"

"I understand, my beloved."

Lady"s form swayed like haze as she shifted into her human form and replied in agreement.

Mary"s shoulders shuddered for just a moment, as she saw what practically looked like Richelieu, but in different colors.

"Mary. Are you afraid of Richelieu?"

"…yeah."

It doesn"t mean that something in particular happened.

Even if there was no logical reason to be afraid, Richelieu was a heretic.

In the first place, to an ordinary person, it"s as though we are in two different places.

The outcome from the purity of a child"s senses was frightening.

Because of this, Richelieu wasn"t liked by children.

"There, there. That"s right, the pudding is refrigerating. Let"s go eat something cold as the bath is being drawn."

"… Yeah!"

What are those crows crying for now.

While gently stroking Mary"s head, Shizuru rose up from the sofa, causing her to smile while he held her.

At that instant, the bells to the door of the hideout, which rarely ever sounded, rang.