Chapter 133: 133

“It’s kind of a sad story, isn’t it?”

Aoi replied, lathering the soap between her hands.

“Hmm. No, I feel sorry for them, but there’s nothing I can do about it, it’s their problem, right? Oh, look, Jaja’s done.”

“Ah! Mmm!”

A naked Jaja was flailing about in my arms.

“Nana, hooray!”

“Au?”

Nana tilted her head in wonder, not quite sure what Aoi was talking about.

Disregarding Nana, Aoi put her arms under her armpits and began to wash Nana’s back with her foam-covered hands.

“Nana, does it feel good?”

“Ah, kyakya!”

Nana was naked like Jaja and sitting in the baby chair for the bath, raised her arms in delight at the sensation of her hands.

Without missing a beat, Aoi gently washed her back and the small wings on her back with her experienced hands.

Her short, thick, and cute little tail was wrapped around her hips and rested on her thighs.

“There, does that feel good?”

“Uah!”

“Yes, it feels good, doesn’t it?”

Nana replied cheerfully, and Aoi responded with a smile.

“Mmm! Dah!”

“No, you were just washed Jaja, weren’t you?”

Jaja clung to the edge of the bathtub flailing about, looking envious.

The water, which was only up to my waist, rippled noisily.

It actually hurt a little because Jaja was standing on my lap.

It was dusk and we were in our bathroom.

It was the twin’s bath time, a blissful time for me.

I look forward to the feeling of their skin and watching their reactions to being washed.

Jaja’s and Nana’s skin is so springy that the soap glides right over it.

The softness unique to babies is extremely soothing.

I’m in the middle of spending an indescribably happy moment soaking in the warm water.

“Can you do this?”

“Uu?”

Nana imitated Aoi by sticking out her chin and raised her head. Aoi immediately rubbed her neck gently.

I don’t know what it feels like, but it must feel really good because Nana was giggling.

“How nice, I also want to wash Nana too.”

“It can’t be helped. It’ll take too long if Kunpei-san washes and they’ll catch a cold.”

I know, but… I’m still envious.

“Hmm. I agree. I want to try washing the twins too.”

Rouge was looking at us enviously from outside the bathroom door.

“It can’t be helped though. You’ll raise the temperature of the water.”

“I’m not raising the temperature because I want to.”

Rouge looked at me and Jaja with a sad face.

I’m troubled by that expression, I feel sorry for her, but I can’t trust Rouge to give the twins a bath.

It’s really strange, but water that Rouge touches turns into hot water in a blink of an eye.

It seems that earth dragons, especially Rouge and other arc dragons, have a very bad affinity with water and can boil a bathtub’s worth of water in about 30 minutes.

This is not because of high body temperature, but because of the power that dragon species possesses called “Dragon Qi”. Among them, the Arc Dragon has a disposition where they react to water regardless of their intent.

It’s not a problem if the water is in a cup or something, because it’s only limited to water that comes in contact with your skin, but in the bath, you’re bound to come in contact with water no matter what.

I’m sorry, but you’ll have to be satisfied with just looking.

“I couldn’t do anything about this, even if I practiced. Or rather, I didn’t pay much attention to it. It’s my mistake.”

“Ahaha… well, it’s a racial thing.”

Rouge’s face was as expressionless as ever, and she hung her head gloomily.

Aoi smiled bitterly and washed Nana’s body.

I’m wearing a bathing suit and soaking in the tub with Jaja in my arms, who was flailing about wanted to be washed.

Aoi was also wearing a light shirt and shorts that she didn’t mind getting wet in.

I didn’t want to mention the fact that her underwear was clearly visible after being soaked by water in some places. I’ll do my best to avoid it. Please give me a break.

I want the twins to live in the same cycle as much as possible, so I try to finish their meals, baths, and naps together.

That’s why bathing is a daily event.

After all, these two tomboys love to take a bath.

Jaja’s reaction is especially amazing.

As soon as Aoi starts to prepare the bath towels and pajamas, she would spot them and fly to the bathroom, waiting in front of the bathroom door with glistening eyes.

Nana doesn’t like to be washed by anyone other than Aoi, but once she’s in the tub, she’s in it for a while.

She seems to feel so good that she doesn’t want to get out of the tub.

When I picked her up out of the tub, she shook her head in refusal and bawled.

When the two of them start to get obsessed with their bath toys, I can’t handle it anymore. It’s too much for me to take care of by myself.

That’s why Aoi and I try to watch the twins during their bath time.

Sometimes it’s me and Shouhei, sometimes it’s my dad and Shouhei, but basically, it’s me and Aoi. Otherwise, Nana doesn’t like it.

“Nana, can you squeeze your eyes shut?”

“Mmm!”

Aoi made a wall around Nana’s forehead with her right hand and washed her hair with her left, trying to keep as much foam off her face as possible.

Nana sensed this and closed her eyelids tightly.

The twins, who cannot use shampoo hats because of their horns, know the pain of soap getting into their eyes. So when they’re getting their hair washed, they stiffen up and shut their eyes.

This is mainly my fault.

When I was still getting used to bathing the twins, I must have traumatized Nana by making her cry so much. This is the main reason why Nana doesn’t like to be washed by me.

By the way, the shampoo they use is also used as body soap. It is said to contain only natural ingredients, so there is no need to worry even if it accidentally gets into their eyes. The soap is reputed by mothers to be gentle on babies’ hair and skin.

This was given to us by a mom who became a friend of Aoi’s while we were living in the shelter.

We often meet her when we go shopping, and I heard that the twins are planning to make their debut at the park with her baby soon.

I was impressed with how Aoi’s friendships had expanded.

“Okay, it’s coming~”

“Umun!”

When Nana saw Aoi holding the shower nozzle, she let out a funny sound and squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body tensing up even more.

She arched her back, forcing her tail to her chest and leaned forward.

The pain of the foam getting into her eyes must have been etched into her memory.

I’m sorry, Nana.

Aoi put her hand on her forehead to form a wall, just like before, and used the nozzle to wash the foam out of her hair.

Nana looked frightened as she hugged her tail.

“Okay, it’s almost there. Hang in there.”

“Do your best, Nana.”

“Nnnnngh, nnnnngh.”

Aoi washed the bubbles off her head with a skilful hand, and Rouge cheered Nana on as she watched from behind.

Just before Nana couldn’t take it anymore and cried, she finished washing the foam out of her hair.

“Yes, well done. You didn’t cry today. You did a great job, Nana.”

“Fua… au.”

Aoi smiled as she gently removed the bubbles from her body.

Nana wiped the remaining water droplets from her face with her hand and quickly blinked her eyes.

“That’s it. There you go.”

“Au!”

Aoi picked Nana up from the baby chair and climbed into the bathtub.

I bent my legs to make more room in the tub.

“Okay, here we go. Look, Jaja, Nana’s here.”

“Dah!”

The bathtub was not very spacious, and with me, Aoi, Jaja and Nana together, it was a tight squeeze.

Even if I managed to make some space, my feet would still be in close contact with Aoi’s, no matter what.

I tell myself that I’m not going to let that happen.

That is visible through the transparent shirt same as the swimsuit. I’m strangely conscious about it, and it looks lewd. Calm down, be cool.

“We stopped using the baby bath before we realized it, right?”

“We’ll use it again when they’re older.”

No matter how careful we were, we still got wet, so recently both Aoi and I started to soak in the bathtub together.

It was my fault that I bought a bigger bathtub for the twins.

It was too big for the little ones and it would too dangerous for them to use and we would have to watch them.

We thought that if we had to watch them anyway, it would be safer if we got in with them, so bath time naturally turned out like this.

A baby bath of that size would be useful when the twins can stand and walk.

Until then, they’ll be with us.

“So, what was it again? About the prince and his wife.”

“Just fiancée, they’re not married yet.”

After skipping morning HR to listen to her personal story, Kayone and I returned to the classroom in the middle of the first period.

The story was that Kayone wasn’t feeling well, and I happened to be nearby and was taking care of her.

The setting was that she didn’t need to go to the infirmary, but I was worried about her if she was alone, so I stayed with her.

Hmmm, that was an excuse that was too much for me.

Kayone is a model honors student, and our homeroom teacher knows that Prince Atol is a member of another country’s royal family, so she didn’t say anything even though she suspected me, but if I had been alone, I would have been lectured for sure.

One’s daily behavior is important. I’ll do my best, too.

“I understand that the prince is a bit pitiful, but… I don’t understand why he would think of duelling with Kunpei-san.”

“Hmm. I have never been able to understand demons.”

Aoi, who was sitting across from me, and Rouge, who was sitting on the floor in front of the bathroom, asked me a question.

“… Well, I don’t know either.”

I’ve vaguely noticed something after listening to Kayone’s story.

There are differences in the scale of royalty and commoners, differences in positions and relationships, but there is a certain similarity between me and the prince.

Losing his mother early in life, and having outstanding siblings.

The only thing we have going for us is fighting, and the frustration of not being recognized by the people around us.

He is at the mercy of rumors and reputations that have no real substance, and he feels sad that people don’t see the real him.

Of course, all of this is incomparable, and I know that the prince’s situation is more difficult.

But I felt sympathy, even if only a little.

It set off a swirl of dark emotions in me that were hard to describe.

“Kunpei-san.”

“Hmm?”

“What’s wrong? It looked like you were in in a daze.”

Before I knew it, Jaja had moved onto Aoi’s lap and was happily playing with Nana and a toy duck.

I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even notice it.

Aoi was looking at me worriedly.

“Kunpei, now that it’s a duel, I don’t recommend that you taking your opponent into consideration. It’s rude to your opponent.”

Rouge looked me straight in the face and told me with her strong, luminous eyes.

“Ah, yeah. I know.”

Consideration?

How stupid.

“… Since it’s Kunpei-san, you’re probably feeling sympathy for the prince’s story and thinking about what to do, aren’t you?”

“… Well, I feel sorry for him, but I don’t hate people who fight for their own pride.”

It’s annoying, though.

It’s a hundred times better than those who attack you for some trivial reason, like trying to make a name for themselves or to show off their power.

Using my past experiences, I would say that the Prince Atol type is the type that if you crush them head-on, they will be satisfied. Strangely, it wouldn’t become more complicated after, rather there will be less trouble.

“Hmm, it’s not really sympathy.”

“What’s troubling you, then?”

“You’re making a scary expression. I don’t want you to look like that outside if you can help it, it scares the kids.”

Hey, Rouge, that last part was unnecessary.

“Hmm.”

Looking up at the ceiling of the bathroom, I once again remembered what Kayone had told me about Prince Atol’s past.

His mother died early and his father was too busy to take care of him. On top of that, due to his natural constitution, he was forced to leave his parents and spend a long and lonely recuperation period alone.

Excessive expectations that he had nothing to do with was forced onto him. He tries her best to live up to them, but due to his natural constitution, his efforts were fruitless.

The small pride that he had finally acquired was wiped out by the words of his father, whom he had not seen in a long time.

Well, it’s tragic, isn’t it?

It seems like there are other reasons, but the fact that Kayone didn’t tell me about them is probably something I don’t need to know.

The information I’ve learned is enough to understand Prince Atol’s twisted personality and why he’s so sulky.

He worked so hard and worked so hard to get what he wanted, only to be shunned by his father, the person he wanted to be recognized by the most.

Yeah. Straying from the right path.

Even I would lose my mind. Well, I don’t have that kind of achievement.

But I can’t accept Prince Atol’s current attitude.

It’s true that Kayone’s words and attitude may be bad.

However, her every move towards the prince is, no matter how one looks at it, is out of goodwill.

To a stranger who knows nothing about the situation, it might seem like she’s swearing out of loathing, but even I, who knew a little about the situation, could tell. There’s no way that her childhood friend Prince Atol wouldn’t notice.

If that’s the case, why is the prince acting like that towards Kayone?

I know.

It’s just so infuriating, but I get it.

After all, it’s exactly the same as I did one day.

It’s the same past I’ve been through.

In other words, the feeling I had for Prince Atol was disliking people similar to oneself.

It’s as if I’m looking at me from a long time ago, when I was just a kid, and I can’t stand to look at him.

When Mom was still alive.

When Shouhei was too young to speak well.

When my father was too busy with his work to keep me company.

He’s the same as I was back then when Mom collapsed.

That’s why I can guess.

The prince is ‘deliberately’ pushing Kayone away.

It’s a rotten, stupid feeling that makes you believe that it’s the right thing to do to keep up a stubborn stance that you know is wrong but can’t back down from.

Extreme abjectness.

It’s a completely desperate and stupid situation.

“Kunpei-san… are you angry, by any chance?”

“Kunpei, calm down.”

Do I look that scary?

Well, I’m not in a very good mood.

“Au?”

“Dah?”

The twins must have sensed this, because they swam over to me, flapping their little wings.

Yes, these sisters.

They can’t walk or stand, but they can swim.

They skillfully move their small blue wings on their backs and the short, thick tails and waded through the water with their hands.

The doggy paddle is now called the dragon paddle!

It’s the most powerful swimming technique, and it’s adorable to look at!

“It’s nothing! Here!”

“Dah! Kyakya!”

“Au!”

Jaja and Nana laughed happily when I stopped them with my chest and hugged them.

Yeah, that’s right.

The duel with Prince Atol is for the sake of the twins.

Then there’s no room for me to cut any corners.

“… Maybe one hard blow will take the weight off the shoulders.”

“Yes?”

“Kunpei?

I muttered to myself, but my words didn’t reach Aoi and Rouge.

“Dah.”

“Fua.”

But the two girls in my chest nodded at my voice.