Chapter 62: You Have Sinned

Raive stood behind Shymine, holding a lathered sponge.

He still wasn’t sure how things had come to this, but escape didn’t look possible either way. And even if it were, deep down, he didn’t want it to end either.

"T-Then, I’ll start."

With a careful touch, he began scrubbing her back.

"M-Mmmh!"

The soft sound that slipped from her lips nearly wrecked his focus. Still, he pushed through, moving the sponge in careful strokes, covering every inch of her back.

He was so focused and careful that he barely noticed the time passing.

"Done!" Raive said, almost out of breath.

He wasn’t tired, exactly—more like drained. Keeping his nerves in check had somehow been harder than fighting those nearly unbeatable monsters.

Shymine, clearly enjoying the scrubbing, turned around and asked, "Then, the front next?"

Raive’s eyes swept over her once more, and he swallowed.

Right.

She... wasn’t naked, but rather wearing a pair of cute navy blue bikini. So it wasn’t like he couldn’t do it, but he still had no idea where to look.

"You can reach that part yourself, can’t you?" Raive said, holding out the sponge. "You don’t need my help there."

"Hehe..."

Shymine just laughed, like she found the whole thing funny. Then she grabbed the sponge—holding Raive’s hand—and tugged gently.

"Then... you’re next."

He was pulled down, with her hands pressing down on his shoulders.

Then, she began moving with real effort.

"Haaa... Haa... Hmmm...!"

All while letting out soft sounds of exertion. She was even throwing her weight into it as if worried her strength wasn’t enough.

Her every little actions combined and felt like a wrecking ball destroying the thin line of patience that he had left.

But Raive kept his focus by counting primes in his head until she finished.

And just like that, he ended up with his back washed squeaky clean, courtesy of her.

It wasn’t quite as bad as when the roles were reversed, but his heart still hammered. Sharing a space this small, wearing this little, was anything but normal.

’What’s gotten into Shymine?’

Raive wondered, rinsing the foam off his skin.

Given their relationship—basically strangers thrown together by fate—bathing together was hardly ordinary.

But he couldn’t bring himself to say so.

He still remembered her crying the night before, and the warm weight of her arms around his back.

"Then, I’ll head out now."

Raive said, meaning it this time. He couldn’t stay any longer, or he might lose the one thing he couldn’t afford to—his self-control.

"No you don’t!"

Before he could get away, Shymine pulled him back and shoved him into the bathtub. It was shallow, so drowning wasn’t a risk, but hitting his back against the edge of the marble tub still hurt like hell.

"Hey, watch it—!"

"Hup!"

He wanted to scold her, but before he could, her ass was already right in front of him. She bent her knees carefully, settling between his legs, and the words died in his throat.

’Is this...!’

The next moment, she sat down, fitting neatly against him.

The tub was small, barely enough for one person, so with two of them crammed in, cramped space was the least of Raive’s problems. Water sloshed over the edge before settling as the two of them went quiet.

"Did you watch carefully?" Shymine asked, glancing back with a teasing grin.

He didn’t need to ask what she meant.

He didn’t answer, either—not trusting himself not to give something away.

’Really, I can’t figure out what she’s thinking.’

They stayed in the warm water, pressed close, snug and tight. Shymine gradually relaxed, resting her head against his neck, her back settling into his chest.

"..."

Raive knew exactly what signal she was sending. But he chose not to acknowledge it, playing oblivious, pretending he wasn’t just as thrown by all this.

The silence dragged on, edging toward awkward.

Then, finally, Shymine said what was on her mind.

"Why... aren’t you touching me?" She asked, eyes closed, voice sounded like a mix of begging and crying. "Am I... not attractive?"

Raive could see her face, flushed red, her lips trembling faintly. And through the press of their bodies, he could feel her heart pounding too.

He wasn’t the only nervous one here—if anything, she was worse off, even though she was the one who’d asked for this.

Raive opened his mouth, then shut it.

No words came.

He had no idea what to say to her.

Instead, he just acted. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, skin against skin, warmth blending until there was no distance left between them.

A quiet answer—that even with her parents gone, she wasn’t alone. A wordless reassurance to the question she’d asked.

Raive didn’t say another word after that.

Neither did Shymine.

They simply stayed there, letting their tired bodies and minds rest.

...

"Someone’s in a good mood~!"

Morning.

The second Raive walked into the kitchen, Khamish started in on him. Not that he’d actually seen anything happen in the bathroom—but he talked like he had.

If anything, not knowing the details only made it worse.

Nobody had spread it around, but word that Raive and Shymine had shared a bath had already reached everyone. With +100 stats sharpening everyone’s senses, nobody had missed her scream the night before, after all.

Khamish had connected the dots on his own.

So had the other adults.

They just smiled whenever they caught Raive’s eye.

Only the kids remained clueless.

"Khamish." Raive turned to him, smiling sweetly. "Today, you’re dead."

That beautiful smile sent a genuine chill down Khamish’s spine. "H-Hey... I was just joking." He said, backing off fast.

But the damage was already done.

Only 24 hours remained before the second trial began, and Raive wanted everyone at an "acceptable" fighting strength before then.

In short, another day of beat-me-up.

Though this time, two were excused.

Shymine, who’d come down with a light fever after staying too long in the bath the night before.

And Reinhardt.

Raive needed him for farming the rest of the dungeons later, so beating him unconscious like yesterday wasn’t an option.

"H-Hey! Stop that, bro! I’m seriously going to die—whoops!"

Thankfully, someone was there to shoulder both their shares of the pain.

Khamish could only curse as he got beaten black and blue over and over, even with healing between rounds—so badly that people were starting to feel sorry for him.

Well.

Everyone but Raive.