Chapter 233

"Amiya... Shizuka Ringoro... seems to have developed some muscles..."

"She had a tough two months, it was a difficult time for us too."

Brushing away the last of the conditioner foam, feeling the soft texture of the rabbit fur on her hands, Nana, in a playful mood, styled Amiya's hair into a bath-appropriate updo, even though Amiya had actually been soaking for quite a while.

"Okay, that's good..."

"Then... then I'll take the Little Bunny out first..."

"Go out? For what reason? You didn't even wash yourself properly, did you?"

After all, the two of them focused all their efforts on dealing with Amiya's long hair from the start, while the two Feline only roughly lathered up their hair at first, and didn't even seem to take rinsing seriously.

Seeing Nana bring out the small wooden stool that Amiya had used to wash herself, Jessica blushed, her cat ears twitched several times, and she asked in a low voice:

"Leaving Amiya unattended... she'll drown..."

Seeing her team members starting to exhibit signs of intellectual disability, Nana began to seriously reflect on the impact of continuous high-intensity work on ordinary people... Anyway, Nana pointed to the three fluffy yukatas she took out of her bag:

"Anyway, soaking her for too long isn't good either. Let's give her a quick wipe and let her lie on the wooden chair outside the glass door to cool down... Electricity is cheap in Chernobog, and even the waterless changing area has electric heaters connected to the bathroom, so there's no need to worry about the Little Bunny getting cold."

As they spoke, the two of them worked together to dry Amiya off and settle her in.

As the bathroom glass door closed again, Jessica nervously sat down on the small wooden stool in front of Nana. As Nana began to carefully rub the cat ears, Jessica laughed out loud.

"What's wrong? Is it itchy?"

"... No, it's just... I suddenly remembered when I was little... the last time I had someone else help me wash my ears, it seems like it was at home..."

Listening to Jessica ramble on and on about how she last took a bath with her sister when she was about ten years old, and how her sister was watching a video on her phone and didn't notice her sister's condition at all, water flowed into her cat ears and out of her ear canals, almost causing an ear infection, and how her sister screamed and took Jessica to a private hospital.

Speaking of which, on Rhodes Island, everyone generally tacitly avoids asking about each other's past and family situation... Nana initially only heard from her agent that Jessica's identity was trustworthy, so she didn't investigate her background in depth.

Looking back at Jessica's own recollections, she probably wasn't from an ordinary family... But, the job of a weapons tester at PMC Company doesn't seem like the kind of job a child from a privileged family would choose.

As Nana listened, she looked at Jessica and realized that the child in front of her was quite conflicted.

"Is the force just right?"

"Hmm... it feels good... speaking of which, Nana- senpai seems to be quite skilled at it..."

"After all, in order to carry out missions in the past... I had to know a little bit of everything."

As she spoke, images rapidly shifted in Nana's mind.

From infiltrating a bathhouse in a certain Higashi to poison the milk of gangsters, to dressing up as a maid in Siracusa and submerging one's entire head in water while washing someone's hair, and various other bizarre incidents in Columbia where scissors are inserted through the temples of barbers to bleed the target's mind open...

Nana discovered that she indeed had very skilled and extensive work experience in various service industries, especially in bath and massage. After all, after her training at the ICA, Nana had her agent experience a full range of services and received rave reviews.

Nana, who hadn't practiced her old skills in a long time, turned on the shower and let Jessica shower first. Then, the assassin, following her memory, began searching through the bathroom cabinets.

"Found it..."

"Senior? What's that?"

Unfolding the strip of waterproof fabric in her hand, Nana immediately cast a spell, filling it with a large amount of air... Then, with a matter-of-fact expression, Nana said:

"As you can see, this is an air mattress... the perfect size for the bathroom."

Because Nana's expression was so matter-of-fact, Jessica's mouth agape, but she didn't dare ask why there was such a thing in the bathroom.

After all, in Jessica's memory, she had only seen it in the swimming pool in her hometown and at some water park attractions...

As he reminisced, young Feline's eyes suddenly sharpened.

Hmm? No, wait, I think I have one in my own bathroom too, but I've never known what it's for.

But... do I really not know?

Although his brothers weren't exactly spoiled brats, their entertainment was for adults... He could vaguely sense that it wasn't something a minor like himself should be involved in.

Wait a minute, I'm already sixteen, a legally responsible adult! Although I feel my body can still grow, I am... legal, right?

But Amiya is still outside... Isn't it a bit too casual to do it in the bathroom the first time?

Ughhhhhh...

As Nana finished setting up the air mattress, Jessica, who was huddled on a small stool with her back to Nana, was flushed and steaming. She seemed to have already planned out how many children she wanted and even arranged for someone to commission Rhine Lab to research same-sex reproduction.

"Jessica?"

"Yes--!"

Seeing the girl's smooth back suddenly straighten, even her wet tail, Nana tilted her head in confusion, but then quickly dismissed the girl's strange reaction.

The assassin stretched her joints, knelt down according to the technique she remembered, and patted the air mattress in front of her.

Come here.

Seeing Jessica still sitting in a duck-like position after getting into bed, her eyes darting around and her face flushed with embarrassment, Nana knew that the girl had probably misunderstood... And as Jessica seemed to have made up her mind, she closed her eyes and leaned closer to Nana, listening to Amiya turning over outside the door, Nana's expression changed to this. →(??? )

"Um... could you be a little... gentler...?"

Speechless, Nana reached out and pressed Jessica down onto the bed, making her lie face down. Amidst the girl's small scream, whether from excitement or fear, Nana whispered in her ear:

"I only washed your hair, I didn't pour water into your ears. Can't you hear Amiya pricking up her ears outside?"

Nana got up and sat back down, then started rubbing bubbles on Jessica's back:

"It's just a body scrub, hasn't Jessica ever been to a bathhouse before?"

"No... no..."

Seeing Jessica suddenly seem disappointed, burying her head in her arms and making muffled sounds, Nana sighed and began to touch her... The assassin's fingertips slid down Jessica's shoulder, down her spine, and down to the tip of her tail, a movement that made Jessica blush again.

"Well then, let's treat it as a team perk and enjoy it... It's good for rest, and supposedly it relieves fatigue a lot."

Of course, Nana herself hasn't tried it... After all, many of her targets died in similar beds, so she would definitely refuse to have strangers help her wash at a public bathhouse.

"Generally speaking, the bathing culture that is popular to the point of becoming mainstream, apart from the Sami which is very distinctive to a certain region, is mainly the Great Yan style, the Siracusa style, and the Higashi style in this area."

"What they all have in common is that they all place great importance on the massage techniques used during the scrubbing process... The Yan style, due to the prevalence of Jianghu culture, focuses more on acupoints and muscle relaxation; the Siracusa style, due to family-based governance, treats the bathhouse, where it's impossible to carry weapons, as a social area, and places more emphasis on post-bathing hair care and trimming..."

However, correspondingly, there are also a lot of drowning accidents in Siracusa's bathhouses... Of course, this is not because of Nana, but because those families would directly attack and injure people if they couldn't reach an agreement in the bathhouse. It can only be said that this is indeed the case with gang-style terror.

After waiting for a while without hearing Nana mention Higashi, and having gotten used to the feel of Nana's fingertips, Jessica finally turned her head, her little face flushed, to look at Nana:

"And... what about the Higashi?"

"... Higashi... because of its retaliatory absorption of foreign culture after its period of isolation, the unique feature of Higashi's bathhouses is that they incorporate a bit of everything from this land... but what impressed me most was probably the softcore pornography business disguised as bathhouses in Higashi..."

"Ah... are you... in the sex... business...?"

Seeing Little Feline with her drooping cat ears looking shyly, unsure where to look, Nana suddenly felt playful and jokingly added:

"Hmm, so you're experiencing the Higashi style now. How does it feel? Would you like to turn around and rest your head on my lap?"

Nana actually said that because she wanted to see Jessica flustered and confused.

But seeing Jessica get up, her face flushed, and then rest her head on her lap... as Jessica belatedly uttered an "Eh?" and tugged at the towel that was no longer covering her... Nana remained silent for a moment, then took her hand.

While silently massaging the other person's Hegu acupoint and actually starting to review the ICA bathhouse training materials, Nana, feeling the hormonal reaction intensifying in the bathroom, silently began to think about other things: Never mind.

'Or... should we change her to the Great Yan style...' Scar

Okay, let's do it that way. After all, this is the best way to relieve fatigue.

But in fact, after Nana finished reviewing her service industry lessons, Jessica was no longer confused, but was lying peacefully on the air mattress... It seemed that she had fainted while massaging her waist and abdomen.

"... Well, at least I can get a good night's sleep, right?"

After expressing this sentiment, Nana, with the efficiency of an assassin, washed herself clean, then helped Jessica put on a nightgown and carried her to bed in a princess carry.

Looking back at the Little Bunny who seemed to have woken up and fallen asleep again, Nana sighed and carried it to the bed in her princess carry once more.

Before resting, Nana realized something... blow-drying the hair of two sleeping children was truly a painful task. The three of them had started bathing that afternoon, and now that everything outside was quiet, she was still blow-drying their hair... It felt like she'd been showering them for at least four hours!

No wonder Amiya woke up and fell asleep again in a daze... For a child, soaking in the bath for so long would probably make them marinate in the bath soap.

Thinking about the issue of the scent, Nana sniffed herself. Assassins shouldn't have a distinct smell. This time, due to the urgency of the situation, she and Amiya and Jessica had used expensive conditioner, so the smell probably wouldn't dissipate for at least a week. This made the assassin, who had noticed this, very uneasy.

But, as the saying goes... we're already here... we've already used it, and besides, it's just a smell. There's always a solution if we look in our spell list.

Under the moonlight, Nana tidied the two children's hair, and after making sure that the two in bed wouldn't wake themselves up by turning over or making any movements that would affect their sleep, Nana went to check the clothes for the three of them that she had thrown into the washing machine earlier... It took quite a bit of time to tidy up the house.

Finally, after putting on the combat suit that Rhodes Island had customized for her, placing the pistol that she had maintained and confirmed to be in good condition beside her, the assassin sat down on a sofa facing the safe house door, and slightly narrowed her eyes.

Take a rest, get some proper rest.

Thinking this, only the breathing of the two girls remained in the room... enough for three people, as night fell.

PS: Waaaaaaah!

PSS: I'm talking about Wu Yilin and Qi Liu Cat, but the picture is of a bear... but it looks good, that's all that matters.

PS3: I'll think I'll find a better opportunity to let Jessica get on first again next time... After all, it was a carnivorous pairing from the beginning...

The assassin and the young lady – this is practically the classic pairing of Liu Ling San IV.

Although the story has progressed to this point, it's hard for me to say that Nana's feelings are one-on-one... After all, when I first started writing, she was just a PTSD patient who would always think about the Little Cat's feelings first.

As the author, all I can do is clench my fist in front of Nana to signal 'I want them all'.

As for whether Nana herself will be troubled... well, it's understandable that she will be.

7th Chernobog's Blood Money: 259 A skilled assassin doesn't need complicated plans.

A new day begins at six in the morning, and Nana opens her eyes.

The SHD spell Terminal on her shoulder trembled slightly, and the orange-yellow signal light flashed briefly. Two months and three days later, Nana received the Exploration Vehicle's scheduled communication again.

Jessica woke up at the same time as Nana, followed by Amiya, who was in a bad sleeping position and almost got thrown off while clinging to Jessica's arm.

"Ugh, Miss Amiya, I'm so sorry... I... how did I end up in bed?"

"Uh... it's okay, I used to get flung out like that by Rosemary all the time... I'm used to it."

Rubbing her eyes, Amiya comforted Jessica, who had fainted in the bathroom yesterday. She glanced at Nana's reply to a call, then clutched her stomach, trying to muffle the rather obvious gurgling sound... She had fallen asleep in a daze after taking a shower yesterday, skipped a meal, and slept until she naturally woke up. Amiya was so hungry that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was starving.

After Nana completed her regular communication with the Exploration Vehicle, she retrieved the clothes that had been hung out to dry the night before for the two little ones.

"Looks like everyone rested well, and everything's normal on the Exploration Vehicle. Weedy said she's going to take some people to start dealing with the Exploration Vehicle's water and electricity issues... Yesterday, breaking down the Exploration Vehicle's main gate took about half a day... I'll just count that as a day's worth of Originium fuel. The Originium tank can last for another six days."

"Well... to get the industrial area electrified as soon as possible... should we just go and pay the bill?"

Jessica, still half asleep, asked a question as she dressed. Nana stepped forward and pulled her hair out of her collar, saying:

"In any city, its industrial zones are a vital source of productivity... Leaving aside how we, as outsiders, can apply for official usage rights to that area, just registering our output is a problem..."

Shaking her head, Nana directly stated what they all needed to do that day:

"As before, Jessica, you'll assist me in infiltrating the city's power grid headquarters this afternoon. As for Amiya, I've already contacted Liskarm and Franka; they should be coming to pick you up in a few hours..."

As she spoke, Nana handed Amiya the standard Originium Prime she had obtained from the Scar Market the day before:

"I'm leaving the Doctor's case to you."

Seeing the bunny nod seriously, Nana chuckled and ruffled the girl's hair. Then, she took a small, childlike shoulder bag from the coat rack and gave it to Amiya to carry her Originium Prime. She also placed the personal hygiene items she had packed for the others the night before in a prominent spot in the safe house.

"Remember to take these with you, and I'll continue to replenish supplies for the Exploration Vehicle later..."

As she was speaking, Nana heard another cooing sound... but this time it wasn't Amiya, but Jessica was tying her hair with a hair tie in her mouth.

Seeing the girls' shy expressions, Nana smiled:

"Now is the perfect time, let's go and experience a traditional Ursus breakfast first."

As the sweet aroma of instant coffee wafted from the safe house, the chill of early autumn in Chernobog was dispelled. Having changed into clean clothes, Nana felt a little embarrassed to take the two to eat fast food... So, after some back and forth, Nana and her companions first arrived at a bakery.

Although most of the people queuing at the takeout window are just buying bread for their families, unlike Columbia, which mainly sells standard white toast, Chernobog's bread is not only large in size, but also comes in a variety of ingredients.

Amiya first watched in Ursus language, saying "Thank you for your patronage," as the burly Ursus woman, whose shoulders could carry two of her, left carrying three... each of them seemingly half the size of Amiya, and couldn't help but sigh in amazement.

As the three entered the store, Amiya's attention was entirely focused on the kiln in the back kitchen that occasionally spewed flames, Jessica nodded as she looked at the decor, and Nana's attention was entirely on the price tag that had been crossed out again and returned to its previous price.

"Welcome! What can I do for you?"

"... Hmm, I'd like a milk and oatmeal porridge set meal, with low-sugar tea... What do you guys want to eat?"

"Um, I'll have the same one too... What about Amiya?"

Seeing everyone looking at her, the Little Bunny frowned as if she had a hard time making a decision...

After all, for Amiya... a child from Rim Billiton place with relatively scarce resources, it's probably impossible to understand why cereal is divided into instant, uncooked, and must-cook varieties, and why corn porridge is divided into several categories like corn flake porridge, corn grits porridge, and corn porridge.