NOVEL WEB Chapter 212
“Then suddenly, it hit me! My ability is pretty much just telekinesis limited to the earth and rocks, right?! So, if I focus all my energy to create a layer of sand that sticks to my body, maybe I can break through Changwon’s telekinesis!”
“But if Changwon focuses all his energy like me, that doesn’t seem like it would be enough, so I thought I could try doing that breath technique my grandma showed me once… Ouch, that hurts!”
After coming home, I squeezed La-piz’s arm, who couldn’t stop chattering due to her excitement over the victory, and she complained about the pain.
“Well, how am I supposed to know where to put the pain relief? Come on, who told you to drop your guard and fight recklessly?”
“B-but… I had no choice but to beat Changwon. It wasn’t the time to hold back! Plus, I promised my family that I would definitely come in first…”
Even though La-piz won, she puffed up her cheeks, looking dissatisfied that she didn’t get praised, but maybe she was also a bit guilty since she couldn’t meet my gaze directly.
It really feels like she hasn’t changed much since we first met. Always so transparent, I doubt she’ll have an easy time with people later on.
…Hmm, even after already going through so much emotional turmoil because of people, it seems that this personality just won’t change. Maybe it’s just her nature.
I worried about her in my heart, but I decided to set aside those worries.
It felt like I would end up cutting off those kinds of humans later anyway.
Thinking about that was a bit dizzying, but if it means La-piz won’t suffer too much, then it’s worth it.
“But seriously, great job coming in first. Honestly, I thought it was a bit ambiguous at first, but you really came up with a brilliant move at the end.”
“Right?! It’s all about…”
I pressed on her sore spot to silence her motor mouth, which was about to go off again with excitement. She looked at me resentfully, but this was the tenth time she had told that story.
“Miss, I get that it’s a big deal, but take off your clothes. I can’t just stick this on over your clothes!”
“Uh… can’t I just do it myself? It’s a bit embarrassing…”
“What are you thinking of doing by yourself? You can’t reach your back. Besides, I’ve already memorized where to put it, so just take it off quietly.”
We’ve bathed together before, so what’s the big deal about taking off clothes?
Still, she seemed embarrassed about it, so I patiently waited for her to reluctantly take off her clothes.
“W-wait, do I have to take off my skirt too…?”
“Of course, Miss. There’s no part of you that isn’t hurting. It would be a bit awkward if I just lifted your skirt to stick it on, right?”
La-piz turned red, probably embarrassed, but she obediently took off her clothes as I said.
“I-I’ve taken everything off…”
“Then just stay still.”
I took off my gloves and pulled out tentacles from my arms, applying the pain relief all over her body at once.
“Thank goodness it’s just muscle soreness. What would happen if a bone broke?”
I said that while carefully applying the pain relief and also did some massage-like movements to help relax her muscles.
“This feels… a bit weird…”
It seemed La-piz felt a bit awkward getting massaged by tentacles, but hey, it’s what I’m using! It’s practically me doing it anyway.
Wondering if it was strange since it was tentacles instead of hands, I asked her.
“Would it be better if I changed them to hands?”
“…No, that might be worse.”
Guess that wasn’t the issue. Anyway, the massage was done, and the pain relief was all applied. She was just about ready to put her clothes back on.
Watching La-piz hurriedly pick up her clothes to get dressed, something suddenly hit me.
…Has La-piz grown a bit?
Her height, her arms seemed oddly longer, and her chest was a bit… Definitely bigger than when I last saw her. It wasn’t massive growth, but there was definitely a feeling of proportionate growth.
“Miss, you’ve grown a bit!”
“R-really? I don’t notice that…”
Of course, she wouldn’t notice since she sees herself in the mirror every day. I told La-piz she had definitely grown, but she was just touching her chest, unsure.
“You’ve definitely grown, Miss. More than when we showered together before. Not a lot, but…”
If things keep going like this, at least she might shed the middle schooler look she’s sporting now.
While she might not turn out to look like her grandma or Blanca, she might just be recognizable as an adult, maybe?
“If you keep exercising and eating well, you can grow more, Miss.”
“D-does that mean I can be like Grandma or Blanca…?”
No matter how I thought about it, that seemed unlikely, so I kind of dodged the answer a bit. Thankfully, she was too lost in her own world to pry into why I avoided answering.
Good luck, La-piz. I’m cheering for you, but I hope you don’t get too hurt.
—
When I was at the Academy, there were so many incidents that time hardly passed, but living as a maid at La-piz’s mansion made time fly by in the blink of an eye.
Maybe it felt that way because nothing especially unusual happened. There were no major incidents at Heros Academy or La-piz’s mansion either.
The only notable happenings were that I could cook to a certain extent now and that I was responsible for La-piz’s makeup. And that Altera and Myungho got caught out by La-piz for going out at night.
There were a few close calls when I felt like seeing blood, but each time I just snuck out for a bit, managing to get through unscathed.
Time flowed and flowed. Before I knew it, summer vacation was right around the corner.
Today, just like any other day, as I got back home in Harane’s car, La-piz warmly welcomed me back, asking if I had returned.
“Blanca, where do you want to go this summer vacation? Last time we went with the kids, but that was a camp. This time, I want to travel properly!”
Summer vacation? Well… I don’t really feel like going out much. Actually, is it even okay for me to go out?
No, more importantly…
“I appreciate the suggestion, Miss, but while we’re at it, how about the camp during vacation…?”
Isn’t it a bit awkward to plan a trip when a camp will be going on? It’s quite awkward to plan two trips.
“Oh, don’t worry about that! The Academy sent out a notification saying this camp has been canceled!”
From what I heard, the mood towards Heros Company was still quite hostile and there was no real enemy, so they decided not to hold the camp.
Even without a real enemy, the decision to cancel the camp reflected how grim things were at the Academy, showing just how far Heros Company still had to go to recover.
“Ah, so… well, I’m not sure. I can’t really think of a specific place I want to go. How about you? Do you have somewhere you want to go?”
“There is a place I want to visit, but it’s in the United States of America, so it feels strange to go there with everyone…”
Oh right, the US is a country in conflict with Heros Company in the story. It would be… a bit awkward for a citizen of Heros City to go there.
No matter how civilized the society is, the underlying tensions between the US and Heros Company are very real.
Therefore, La-piz wanting to go there would be tricky.
“What about the others? Do they not have any specific places they want to go?”
“Nope. The only one mentioning a place is Ageha, who was thinking of visiting Japan to see her family, but I wanted to hear what you thought too.”
Japan, huh.
I was about to suggest visiting Portugal, where the mansion was, but it seemed like Japan would be a much better idea.
It’s closer, safer, and their cultural nuances still strongly linger there.
I thought it might be quite fun to experience—especially with anything related to Minho—and besides, proposing to go to Portugal seemed like it could lead to some issues… so Japan it is!
“Then I’ll also vote for going to Japan. I’m honestly a bit curious about Ageha’s family!”
“Really? Got it, then I’ll let the others know that Blanca wants to go to Japan.”
After saying that, La-piz dragged me away, asking for help with her homework, even while cleaning in a somewhat relentless manner.
“Miss, hold on a second, I need to clean!”
“Come on, you can finish that later! There’s still plenty of time before Mom or Grandma comes back; we have more than enough time to do it then, right?”
“Well… but…”
Recently, it seems La-piz has gotten more comfortable. There were times when she didn’t ask for my opinion and just went ahead with things.
I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing, but the fact that it feels strange is also true.
At the Academy, I was usually in charge.
It feels like the lead just naturally switched hands somewhere along the line.
After asking her to wait a moment, I left a small blob of slime in the area I was cleaning for it to clean itself, then I followed La-piz.
Seriously, totally relentless.