Fíliya quickly filled the bath with hot water, and before Sense could even stop her, she stripped off her clothes and jumped into the water.
"Phew... I feel alive again. I've been running around so much lately, I haven't had a chance for a proper soak."
Fíliya closed her eyes, a look of pure bliss on her face as she sank her chin into the water and blew bubbles with a "gurgle gurgle" sound.
"Are you a child...?"
Watching this, Sense felt the urge to retort... but she also thought that this was the Fíliya she remembered.
Just then, Fíliya stopped her dedicated bubble-blowing, turned around, and rested her arms on the edge of the bath, looking at Sense with an expectant gaze.
"Your turn, isn't it? What are you waiting for, get in."
A small smile played on Sense's lips. How could she not know what Fíliya was up to?
But today, she was going to show this girl that her big sister was, and always would be, her big sister.
So Sense began to undress, but much to Fíliya's disappointment, Sense's long, almost tentacle-like hair always managed to cover the crucial parts. Even as Sense shamelessly disrobed right in front of her, Fíliya couldn't see a thing.
"Tch... no fun."
Watching Sense walk into the bath with a deadpan expression and come to her side, Fíliya felt a bit deflated. She slapped the water with her right hand, as if the splash could carry away her frustration.
"I feel like I got the short end of the stick. I didn't hide from you at all."
Fíliya had an annoyed look on her face (#￣～￣#).
"I didn't hide from you either, did I?" Sense said with a light chuckle.
Uh... Fíliya paused, then had to nod.
Right. Sense hadn't hidden from her, she'd just used her incredibly nimble long hair to block her peeking from every conceivable angle.
"Alright, I guess you have a point, Sense."
Although Fíliya said that, when Sense saw her lower her head and start blowing bubbles again, she knew Fíliya wasn't over it yet.
So Sense moved a little closer to Fíliya. How close...? Well, their shoulders were now pressed completely together. Then, very naturally, she rested her head on Fíliya's shoulder.
"Is this better?" Sense asked softly.
"Still not enou—hiss... okay, it's enough."
Miss Fíliya, who had been planning to push her luck, immediately chose to compromise after feeling the pain of Sense's fingers pinching her arm.
She only had one good arm left now; she couldn't let Sense mess it up too.
For a while after that, the two of them soaked for a long time, leaning against each other with their eyes closed.
Until Miss Sense was the first to speak.
"I missed you."
...Upon hearing those words, Fíliya felt it was a little hard to breathe. The steam in this bathroom shouldn't be thick enough to affect my breathing, right? she thought... but she still replied immediately.
"Yeah, I missed you too, Sense."
"Then... will you come back with me? The handover is soon. Another First-Class Mage will be here in a few days to take my place."
"Eh? What an unfortunate coincidence."
So Sense is leaving in a few days. If I'd held out for a few more days before coming, I wouldn't have run into her... But Fíliya didn't regret how things had turned out. She shook her head gently at Sense.
"I can't. I promised them I'd go back to them. If I sneak off with you now, I'd be breaking my promise, wouldn't I? For me, that would mean all my efforts so far were for nothing."
After hearing Fíliya's reply, Sense didn't say anything more. She knew it was impossible to persuade Fíliya to go back with her now, but for a moment, she had allowed herself that sliver of hope.
Sense gave up trying further and instead spoke in a nostalgic tone.
"I remember the first time I gave you a bath, you immediately choked on the water. Ever since then, you've always been a little afraid of it... and now you've actually learned water magic."
"Uh... Sense, isn't that 'ever since then' a little too long ago? I was only afraid of water until I was twelve or thirteen, right? I wasn't scared after that."
"Mm... yes. Children are like that. In the blink of an eye, they become unfamiliar. If you don't see them for a little while, you have to get to know them all over again."
Her words were refuted, but Sense wasn't angry; she just looked at the other girl calmly.
"Who talks like an old lady... Sense, you must have caught that old-fashioned air from taking care of that ten-thousand-year-old Elf all the time... You're not that much older than me, are you? You're still well within the 'youthful maiden' category."
"o(￣ヘ￣o#) Hmph... In any case, I'm older than you, so you have to call me 'big sister' for the rest of your life." As Sense spoke, she slapped the water with her hair, splashing water onto Fíliya's face.
This was her counterattack.
"Ngh... stop... stop messing around..."
With only one hand, Miss Fíliya struggled to defend against the splashes. Of course, she had a more effective method, like moving away from Sense to avoid the attack, but the current outcome showed she was reluctant to do so.
Seeing Fíliya repeatedly beg for mercy, Sense finally stopped her assault, and the few dancing strands of her hair submerged back into the water.
"Mmm... so how old are you, Sense? You dodged the question last time I asked."
Miss Fíliya's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"I'm not telling you." Sense's reply was as firm as ever.
"Mmm, come on, tell me. It's not like it's a big deal... and my feelings for you wouldn't change even if you were a dozen years older than me."
Fíliya said this casually, but her words immediately provoked a fierce rebuttal from Sense.
"I am not a dozen years older!"
Sense's tone suddenly shot up, which pleasantly surprised Fíliya, who quickly pressed on.
"So you're ten years older than me?"
"Not ten years either!"
Sense continued to retort loudly, her cheeks beginning to flush a faint red.
"Then... nine years? Eight? Seven?"
Fíliya rattled off three numbers in a row and then began to carefully observe Sense's expression.
It was only then that Sense belatedly realized... This girl, she's trying to trick it out of me.
I'll have to teach her a lesson!
So Sense whipped all of her hair around and began to relentlessly slap the water's surface, preventing Fíliya from saying another strange word.
After the commotion, Sense finally felt her anger subside a little.
"Mmm... Sense, you really do love me. Is a little splash all you've got?"
Seeing that Sense had stopped her attack, Miss Fíliya immediately cozied up to her with a cheeky grin.
"Tsk..."
Sense didn't say anything more about it, but she allowed Fíliya to lean against her again.
"Fíliya... why do you keep asking about age? Do you really want to know that badly?" Sense hesitated for a moment before looking at Fíliya and asking.
"Mmm, I'm just a little curious. I have a strong sense of curiosity. But if you don't want to tell me, Sense, that's okay too. It doesn't matter how much older you are."
"Why?" Sense immediately pressed.
This put Fíliya in a difficult position.
Her true thought was that she was already sleeping next to Solitär, who was a thousand years older than her. What was a double-digit age difference with Sense in comparison?
But she also knew that saying something like that would definitely provoke Sense into launching a third round of attacks.
So she could only clear her throat, look Sense directly in the eyes, and say.
"Mmm... I guess it's because... I just tend to fall for people who are older than me."
___
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