Swamp Girl! Chapter 7

Author’s Notes
Come to think of it, there hasn’t been any combat at all…

I’d never seen such a room before.
A large, solemn chamber enclosed in marble.
It was full of the steam rising from the freshly drawn hot water.
As for where the water came from, there was a pillar — also marble, of course — standing in the bathtub. Carved into it was the spectacular likeness of a lion, and the water flowed from its open mouth.
The water overflowed from the bathtub, wetting my feet. That warm sensation, the feel of the smooth, hard stone under the soles of my feet — honestly, it was bliss.
Night had already fallen, but the paper lanterns installed throughout the s.p.a.cious room provided enough light to see by.

Bath.

In a word, the room was a bath. No mistake about it.
In such a room, I stood stock still, naturally stark narked.
There were no words.
I was sure it was a bath, but it was nothing like the ones I knew. As I said when I first laid eyes on it, it was a ridiculously fancy affair.
I had to ask myself if such a world really existed.

“Now then, Lady Chris,”

urged the maid standing behind me.
What’s she telling me to do? Just what exactly does she plan to do with me?
‘Now then,’ she said, but I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.
I didn’t have the slightest clue.
In my ignorance, all I felt was dread.
The knowledge I earned over the course of my adventures was of zero use here.
Succ.u.mbing to anxiety, I trembled slightly.
Then, I muttered briefly,

“How’d it end up like this?”

–

–

We were able to successfully — should I call it that? — catch a ride in the coach. And so, we pa.s.sed through the gate with anticlimactic ease.
As I expected, the gatekeeper didn’t inspect military forces in general, to say nothing of the regular army, and the coach was waved through without examination.
At any rate, we were thus able to go through the gate alongside the army and enter the city proper.

While the coach rattled and shook, we traveled the darkening city streets as the sun began to sink below the horizon. In the meantime, the gentleman had gotten into the same carriage for some reason, and right now he was being jolted about along with us.
I wanted to tell him, ‘Aren’t you the commanding officer? Do your work properly’, but apparently it was all being neatly handled by his adjutant, Leopard.
Like I suspected, n.o.bility.

“…so, where is your home?” 1

Because we were together, the man was too insistent on striking up a conversation… no, I heard his name earlier. Leon, seems like.
Since he didn’t give his last name, I didn’t know for sure if he was n.o.bility or not. There was no getting out of it, so we’d also given up our names already.
Me, I wanted to come up with an appropriate reason to be let out once we got through the gate, but when he said that, it looked like he’d be sending us all the way home because of Palmira’s injury.
This was giving me a considerable headache. Obviously, we didn’t have anything like a home here.

Then Leon matter-of-factly asked us about it.

“…Actually, that is, I… uh, we, don’t have a home.”

Think, think. I strung some words together as my mind kicked into high gear.
A small part of me thought that maybe, even if he did find out we were escaped slaves, it would be okay.
But it was the remnants of my distrust that moved my mouth.

“Oh?”

“…Before, we stayed at a shack in the slums…”

I sort of had the feeling that it was a lame excuse, even for me. And I couldn’t tell you why, but lying to this guy made me feel a bit awkward.
That feeling might have made my mouth clumsy.
Even Aira, who’d been spinning all sorts of lies until just a bit earlier, was now deep in silence, as if saying she was leaving it to me now. Having already received medical treatment, Palmira had maintained her habitual silence from the very beginning.

“Is that so… It must have been difficult.”

Leon looked like he’d given my words some serious thought.

“Th–That is, to cause Lord Leon to make such an expression… it makes us sick at heart,”

said Aira.
It was hard to tell if she was acting or not. Like so, Aira engaged Leon in conversation, using her impressive gift for speaking to keep the discussion of our misfortunes out of unpleasant territory.2
My heart was racing, but maybe it would be better to leave this to Aira. To be honest, if it were me, I would’ve blown our cover sooner or later. Maybe I already had.
Aira chatted skillfully with Leon, but every now and again, he would stare intently at me as I sat in silence.
He made it look relatively natural, so Aira might have continued talking without noticing, but no matter what, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy as the target.
What, did I say something wrong? I tried to replay what I said in my head, but I couldn’t remember a thing.

“…Our home isn’t far, so I’d appreciate it if could you drop us off somewhere around here…”

Weaving herself into Aira and Leon’s conversation, silent Palmira suddenly addressed Leon in a whisper, verging on rudeness.
Hearing that, Aira made a gesture as if asking [Ah, already?]
Yup. The whole day today, my internal estimation of Aira had steadily changed. Whether it was for better or for worse was a different question.

“Mm, so it seems… However, wouldn’t it be terrible to leave you in such a place when you’ve been injured? As it would be a rare opportunity, how about staying at our estate until your injury heals, at least?”

‘Estate’, did he say ‘estate’?
Well… it would be, wouldn’t it. Even if his command was a hundred men, he was an officer of the regular army. And suspected n.o.ble. That much wouldn’t be strange.
That said, being taken to the estate like this jumped my distrust toward Leon to a whole new level.

“But to trouble you to such an extent…”

“Not at all. I’d like to ask you to stay, if possible. To send an injured woman home like this would also dishonor us as knights. This is also our request.”

When we tried to turn him down gently, he was playing so modest that he even broke out the chivalric code.

…We couldn’t refuse.

Beyond being requested to stay in the name of knightly honor, further refusal would only be perceived as disrespect. Now, you might even say it was a question of Leon’s honor, without anything to do with us.
Knight. Suspected n.o.ble. His honor might well be sullied.
Refusing any more would put us in seriously hot water.

“If you would go so far, then until this child’s injury heals, we will be imposing on your hospitality…”

By all rights, this should have been an undeserved G.o.dsend, but for me, it only spelled defeat.

–

–

We were taken to an estate bigger than I could have imagined.
Overwhelmed by its majesty, we began to fidget as we were herded inside.
Though we’d been brought here, we still had to wonder whether it would be alright for our grimy sack-wearing figures to pa.s.s through the entryway.
The soldiers streamed to the barracks set aside for them on the grounds of the estate. In the end, the only ones who went into the entrance hall were Leon and us, as well as that middle-aged guy, Leopard.
It was just as extravagant inside as out. In the entrance hall, which gleamed with chandeliers, several maids were lined up and waiting for the master’s return. The minute Leon entered, they gracefully bowed in unison.
It was a scene out of a dream.
A scene that an adventurer might dream of once, but one that would never come true.
I didn’t think I would ever experience this moment myself.
Just who the h.e.l.l is Leon?

Then, at Leon’s prompting, the maids dragged us off to those excessively gorgeous baths.
What’s more, I didn’t get to go in alone; a maid scrubbed me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, leaving me exhausted. If I were ever s.e.xually a.s.saulted, maybe it would feel like this. Honestly, I felt utterly like someone’s toy.
Even after getting out of the bath, it was all maids, from wiping me dry to dressing me up. Skillfully sidestepping my protests that I could take care of myself, their manhandling went even that far.
As for clothes, of course they provided me a dress. I wasn’t surprised that the sack-dress wouldn’t cut it, but I didn’t think they would be this mercilessly thorough.
Or more accurately, that was the first time I wore female underwear… Compared to the time I spent without them until now, it should have fortified my defenses, but an indescribable anxiety left me disheartened.
And so, I wore the dress that I definitely would’ve been unable to put on if I’d been left to my own devices. By that point, I’d lost any will to fight, and I resigned myself in despair to whatever was to come.

“How is it?”

But in the end, I was dragged in front of a large full-length mirror. When I saw the results, it was a greater shock to me than anything else from these past few days.

“…Eh?”

Reflected in the mirror, wearing a light dress, was a girl of unmistakable beauty.

[…such pretty silver hair, and it’s surprising how lovely your skin is. Even as a woman, I think they look amazing. And yet… Big blue eyes, soft-looking lips, slender body…]

Aira’s past words came back to me now.
With every turn of my head, glimmering silver hair cascaded down to my shoulders, and when I blinked, sure, light seemed to overflow from those big blue eyes. Below them was a straight nose and lips like flowers in bloom. Perfectly arranged features.
Coupled with its delicate build, though it wasn’t yet a full-fledged beauty, this body would undoubtedly become one in the future.

“H–Huh?”

Tears were tumbling from the eyes of the surprised-looking girl in the mirror. Taken aback, I pressed a hand to my own eyes.

I was crying.

Until this moment, although I’d seen my body and realized that it had become female, the fact was somehow disconnected from my sense of reality. I couldn’t bring myself to see it clearly.
That was why I so easily resolved myself to return to normal, why I was able to be so optimistic in the face of such a serious matter.
But now, facing myself straight-on like this — I see, I couldn’t avoid my absurd reality anymore. I’d become a [woman among women], so to speak, and it was just a fact I could never escape.
If this was how it had to be, I would have been happier ugly.
Then, I still might have been able to hold on to that same perception.

“I–Is something the matter?”

The maid behind me, who had looked satisfied, noticed my tears and immediately became fl.u.s.tered.
In her mind, she must have felt as if she’d finished a once in a lifetime piece of art.
I understand.
It’s because I understand that it feels so bitter.
Helplessly, I used my hands to wipe away my tears.

“Nah, s’alright. Don’t worry.”

Deliberately using a rougher form of speech, I threw her world for a bit more of a loop.

–

–

“Wow, Big Sister, you look amazing!”

After that came dinner.
Because it was already well into the night, dinner would be a simple affair. That was what Leon said, but I couldn’t believe that anymore.
When I descended to the dining hall under the maid’s guidance, sure enough, the large candle-lit table was overflowing with rows upon rows of dishes.
Aira and Palmira had similarly changed into dresses, and they were waiting for me, along with Leon in his uniform.
When her eyes fell on me, Aira said roughly what I predicted she would, and I felt even more depressed.
I’ll say this once: dressed up, both Aira and Palmira are both more than beautiful enough.
But… not that I had the slightest intention of saying so, but I probably ranked higher…

“…Ha, I did have some expectations, but this is…”

Leon, also with an interested look, left that comment hanging in the air.
Gee, thanks. You’re looking mighty fine yourself.
I kept my sarcastic grat.i.tude to myself. On the outside, I executed a slight bow.

“Well, for now, please help yourselves to dinner. There’s no need to stand on ceremony, just relax and eat, please.”

We were ushered to our seats, with Leon at the head of the table, naturally.
So he said, but honestly, I didn’t know where to start. For now, should I drink the soup in front of me?
Picking up what seemed to be a spoon, I dipped it into the soup. Timidly, I raised it to my mouth.

“That’s da… d–delicious.”

‘d.a.m.n good,’ I was about to say, when I corrected myself in the nick of time. I put my hand to my lips.
I couldn’t believe it.
It was my first time having soup this d.a.m.n good. I hastily helped myself to a second spoonful.

Good. So G.o.dd.a.m.n good. I can’t believe it.

For the average adventurer, what typically pa.s.ses for soup in the public taverns on the outskirts of town is boiled vegetable soup stock. Reputedly.
The day’s stock is made all at once in one big cauldron. After it’s done, it’s taken off the fire, so it cools off. But if you ask for it, you can have it served with a heated rock dropped inside. Using a rock to reheat food is an awfully crude approach to cuisine.
Usually, it’s the cheapest food around. The ones who order it are clearly in poverty.
Its nickname? Rock soup.
That’s why penniless novice adventurers are known as ‘pebbles’.

Of course, the difference between this soup and that was like night and day. Calling both of them ‘soup’ would be an insult.
When I looked over, the other two were drinking the soup the same way. Frankly, compared to Leon, who was watching with a wry smile, it was the most unsightly thing, but what can you do? Besides, all of us were more than hungry enough.
We finished the soup in the s.p.a.ce of a breath, all with the same greedy expression. There was no helping it, so I reached out for the nearby bread.

“Hoo–”

Palmira, who had reached over to the bread just as I did, let slip a surprising sound. To get that much out of her, this couldn’t be the bread I knew.
It had a touch of sweetness to it, and more than anything else, it was soft.
We reached out for one dish after another, and each time we were surprised. Each and every one was so tasty it was hard to believe.
Though I’d had etiquette in mind at the very beginning, partway in those thoughts were wiped clean away.

Smiling, Leon didn’t really speak to us, but he watched our savagery from beginning to end.
What was this guy thinking?
If he was doing this completely out of the goodness of his heart, I couldn’t help but think of how barbaric we were being.

After that, I got carried away and drank quite a bit of the wine he recommended. I was pretty much wasted when I left the dining hall.
This body seemed to be weak to alcohol, at least.
Before I knew it, I was changed into nightclothes and asleep in the canopy bed in the room set aside for me.
I’d been sleeping outside as recently as yesterday, but it felt like a distant memory now.
That sensation, rather, tormented me with a powerful uneasiness.

Author’s Notes
For some reason, seeing the evaluations and bookmarks go up every time I update, I end up swinging between hope and fear.
Leaving the possibility that the text itself is boring, I wonder if it would go further if I changed the t.i.tle. 3
To tell you the truth, this t.i.tle is the subject of the story, so it’s a part I don’t want to mess with.
I wonder if I should add a subt.i.tle…

Footnotes
1. I’ll do my best to translate it, but I wanted to explicitly point it out, just in case — Leon expressly uses formal speech with Chris, Aira, and Palmira (who, incidentally, use masculine casual, formal, and feminine casual), and casual with everyone else (since they’re all basically his subordinates). Like Chris says, he’s the gentlemanly sort. ↵
2. Did my best: そのままアイラは、話を合わせながら、如何に自分たちが大変なのかという事を、それはもう見事な話術で嫌みにならない程度に押さえつつ、レオンと話し込む ↵
3. …Help.
本文がツマラナイという可能性は置いて、タイトル変えたら、もっと行くのかな、とも思えますが ↵