Chapter 41

3. AIR AND ATHLY IN THE BATH “Phew…” It was 2:00 AM. Everyone aside from the people out on night patrol was fast asleep, but Athly made her way over to the bath. There really isn’t anyone around at this time of night. That day’s surprise attack had ended in victory for the East. The cadets, who’d served as reserve troops, got sent back to rest in a nearby satellite base. Luckily, they didn’t have to assist with any cleanup. They’d arrived late at night, so most went straight to bed. But after lying awake for some time, Athly realized she couldn’t sleep and headed for the bathhouse located in the base’s annex. The hot water had already been turned off, but what little remained in the tub felt lukewarm enough. She used the girls’ bathroom, which seemed fairly hygienic and well-maintained. “……” After taking off her clothes, Athly looked down at her body and noticed that she was covered in more soot and mud than she’d initially thought. A man might’ve ignored the sight and gone to bed, but the idea of staying dirty made her uncomfortable. And so, she scooped up water from the tub and washed herself off, then tied her hair back. A second later, she thoroughly scrubbed the filth off her body and submerged herself. “Aaah…” A sigh escaped her lips as all the tension drained from her body. When was the last time she’d relaxed in a bath? Satellite bases usually only had shower stalls, so this was a rare treat. As her body relaxed, the tension that had built up melted away. …… Unfortunately, that also meant her mind wandered to matters she’d intentionally tried to avoid. We won… O’ltmenia had emerged victorious for once. They’d accomplished their goal while suffering zero casualties. Athly had gotten everything she could have ever wanted, which filled her heart with joy, but something still didn’t add up. This is wrong… Athly knew the truth. The East hadn’t truly earned their victory. Is this world even real? She had no answer to that question. She could have been dreaming, delusional, or even psychotic because of trauma. Those felt like far more realistic options than the alternative. What she’d experienced seemed that absurd. This world I’m in right now… It wasn’t the real world. Or rather, it definitely was real, but it wasn’t hers. It’s not the world I’m from. Athly knew that seemed insane. But while she normally would have laughed off the idea, she had to accept it as fact because of what she’d experienced thus far. She’d experienced the same odd headache many times over the last few months. Time and again, her head would hurt, her field of vision would darken, and then the world would change. “……” She vividly remembered the first time it had happened. It was the day she’d first shot a person—the day she’d killed Kirlilith. The bullet she’d fired had torn into Kirlilith’s heart. Then, a second later, everything went black…and the world around her changed. That was the first time… Athly had encountered Kirlilith in a burning forest, but the very next moment, she’d found herself in her barracks’ cafeteria, eating a leisurely lunch. Later, after some digging, she discovered an astonishing fact. The girl she’d shot, Kirlilith, never even existed in the first place. …Was that all a dream? When she’d tried to convince herself of that, she found a bullet casing with Kirlilith’s name etched onto it. That served as undeniable proof that she’d killed the one who’d murdered her parents, so how could she write it off as a mere daydream? Everything she’d gone through was real. She’d definitely experienced all that. And it didn’t happen just once. Since that day when she shot Kirlilith, she’d felt the world change multiple times. Regardless of whether she was resting at home, in the middle of a supplementary class, or walking around town…the world trembled and morphed before her very eyes. Of course, there were also times when the changes weren’t noticeable. If anything, that happened more often than not, which helped her pretend nothing had actually happened. Still, she couldn’t lie to herself anymore. Athly refused to ignore the truth any longer. The day’s events had confirmed one of her long-held suspicions. Rain… The boy who was once her partner, who should have been an ordinary, O’ltmenian cadet, rose to the forefront of her mind. He’s experiencing the exact same thing I am… I’m sure of it. Now that she knew she wasn’t alone, she finally accepted her fate. When the world had changed earlier, Rain suddenly asked her where they were. There were a few other times he’d asked peculiar questions, but that was the final nail in the coffin. A soldier wouldn’t have forgotten such a basic fact. Like her, Rain had appeared in an unknown situation. That was why he needed information. And the one to blame for all that…was likely the mysterious silver-haired transfer student. I bet it happens to Air as well… Athly had no proof, but her intuition led her to that answer. Ever since she’d transferred in a few months ago, Air had started working alongside Rain. No one knew the specifics of their relationship, but that wasn’t because of a lack of curiosity. Those two clearly shared a secret. And it was something they couldn’t afford to let anyone else discover. Air, huh…? Athly scooped up some water and scrubbed her face as if to scrub away the thoughts of that enigmatic girl of silver. And then, it happened… The bathroom door opened with a loud clank, and someone walked in. Apparently, another girl had the same idea as Athly, which was all well and good. However— “Ugh!” Athly exclaimed unintentionally. The one who showed up was Air, the very person she’d been thinking about. And Air noticed it was already occupied only after walking in. “Oh…,” Air mumbled hesitantly, stopping in her tracks. She clearly hadn’t expected anyone else to be there at that time of night. “What are you doing here?” “I wanted to take a bath, just like you. Obviously…” “……” Air looked conflicted. Some part of her wanted to turn around and leave, but she’d already waited long enough to clean the dirt and sweat that clung to her. Air was a girl, too, after all, so she found the urge to wash herself hard to ignore. “……” Air eventually gave in to that impulse. Remaining speechless, she dipped a bucket into the water and started washing herself off. She rinsed her body gently, scrubbing away the grime, and then slipped into the water, sitting as far away from Athly as possible. Air had decided to turn her face away and blatantly ignore Athy, it seemed. Talk about being blunt… “Don’t talk to me,” Air suddenly said, as if she’d read Athly’s mind. But for all her attempts to keep her distance, the bath was by no means large. The girls sat across from each other diagonally, with only six or so feet separating them, so Athly could see Air clearly. She simply sat in the water, regarding the silver girl with a sidelong glance. This isn’t my first time thinking about it, but she’s…really pretty…, Athly thought, remembering her first impression of Air as she stared at her. She truly was beautiful. And while Athly usually took great care to maintain her looks, seeing Air in the hot water made it clear that most of it was still natural. Her hair was tied up and her skin, although a bit sweaty, was exposed. Had Athly been a boy, her heart would have exploded. The silver girl was incredibly attractive. And ever since he’d met her, Rain had grown distant from Athly. “Hey, Air,” Athly called out to her. Normally, she’d have elected to ignore her back, but she wanted to discuss something. “……” Air, however, remained silent, ignoring her entirely. “I know you can hear me, Air. Come on.” Air didn’t so much as look at her. Instead, she decided to keep ignoring Athly and defiantly turned her face away. “……” That royally pissed off Athly. She felt she’d done nothing wrong, so she moved toward the other girl. But even as she leaned within arm’s reach, Air didn’t so much as spare her a glance. “……” Air remained as still and silent as a statue. And so, Athly decided to resort to drastic measures. “Take this!” Athly roared and cupped her hands around Air’s breasts. “Eek!” The silver girl let out an adorable yelp. “What the hell are you doing?!” “Bfah!” Athly screamed as she took a good splash to the face. “What the hell was that?! Why did you touch my boobs?!” “Well, uh, because you kept ignoring me… You left me with no other choice!”