Chapter 266: Mahiru’s Suspicion
[Congratulations!]
An announcement echoed inside the boss room, once Shido, Frieren and Rumia defeated the floor boss. The moment they heard the announcement, Rumia heave a sigh of relief and let herself fall down as her body was too weary from the combination of the fight and the gravity that was pressing on her.
Yet Rumia had to admit that she felt her physical ability, especially her endurance and stamina rose further, though it was too exhausting.
Rumia closed her eyes and let herself fall back to the grasslands, however before she fell, a sudden whiff of fragrance entered her nose, at the same time, she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her back pulling her closer to keeping her from falling.
"Shido-san?" Rumia’s soft voice came out, but she was too exhausted to move so she let herself be embraced by Shido, resting her face against his chest. Yet, as they were too close, Rumia felt her heartbeat became faster and a faint redness spread across her cheeks.
Meanwhile, Shido held her gently in his arms, patting her back with a warm smile. "Good job, Rumia. You did well."
Leaning against Shido’s chest, Rumia’s heart swelled with happiness at his words. She nodded softly while a bright smile bloomed on her face. "Mn!"
Shido then handed her a high-grade [Stamina Potion] he had purchased earlier from the system to help her recover from fatigue and exhaustion. Without hesitation, Rumia uncorked the bottle and drank it all in one go, her body soon enveloped in a faint green glow and her body began recovering.
Noticing how Rumia’s pale, sweat-covered face regained its healthy pink glow and glossy sheen, Shido asked softly, "Do you feel better now?"
"Un, thank you, Shido-san." Rumia nodded with a smile, her body fully restored and free of any trace of weariness.
"You don’t need to thank me for that, Rumia." Shido let out a small sigh, gazing at the girl who was far too obedient and pure, always expressing gratitude, even for the smallest things he did for her.
"Un..." Rumia nodded meekly, her cheeks tinged with a hint of embarrassment at Shido’s words. He had already told her before that while pleasantries were fine, they only created unnecessary distance between them.
Still, because of her personality, it wasn’t easy for her to change that way of thinking so quickly.
"Shido... let’s go back, hurry."
While Shido and Rumia were talking, Frieren, who had been busy collecting the rewards after landing the last hit on the floor boss returned to them. Without any hesitation, she immediately asked Shido to head back, leaving both him and Rumia momentarily speechless.
Although Frieren appeared carefree and doesn’t seem to be that exhausted, a clear bead of sweat traced down on her forehead showing that she had really work herself up under the crushing weight 40x gravity.
"Shido-san..."
Rumia looked at Shido awkwardly at Frieren suddenly interjected between them.
Looking at Frieren who had an urging gleam in her eyes and the helpless smile on Rumia’s face, Shido let out a long sigh and said, "Okay, okay. I know you’re already itching to get back and wait for your package."
There were still ten minutes left before noon, just enough time for Frieren to make it back before her Amazon delivery arrived. At Shido’s agreement, her eyes sparkled with excitement, though her expression itself remained completely unchanged.
With just a thought, Shido released both Rumia and Frieren from the pressure of his gravity making them feel like they were finally unshackled from their restraint making them feel extremely refreshed and light. Yet, Shido didn’t do so for himself and he continued to endure the crushing weight of 50x gravity, ten times greater than what Frieren had been bearing.
It was also very heavy for him to be under this kind of gravity, but Shido had already started to adapt to such gravity so he didn’t show much change in his expression, making it impossible for Rumia and Frieren to know what was happening..
Frieren was quite eager to go back, so without hesitation, Shido and the two girls disappeared from the 41st floor and quickly reappeared in their apartment.
The moment they returned, the sound of the doorbell rang out. Frieren’s ears twitched, and without hesitation, she dashed eagerly toward the door. Seeing this, Shido and Rumia could only exchange wry smiles, Frieren was slowly but surely turning into a NEET.
Shido shook his head then turned to Rumia who was beside him and said "I’ll take a bath first."
"Ah, yes. Then I’ll go check on Frieren-san." Rumia replied before hurrying after Frieren, who was already in the living room.
Shido watched Rumia’s back disappear into the living room before heading into the bathroom himself. His body was drenched in sweat, and after stripping off his clothes, he gave himself a quick wash before slipping into the bath that had been prepared in advance. A relaxed sigh escaped his lips as Shido entered the bath.
Steam filled the room, turning the air hazy as Shido leaned back into the hot water. as he thought of the training he did together with Rumia and Frieren. This method was undeniably useful for him who was not only a mage but also a fighter, but to Rumia and Frieren who was a mage, it wasn’t really necessary as they could spend their time more in practicing their magic than training their physical abilities.
However, Shido hoped for them to solve their flaw on being a mage which is the weaker physical abilities so they would become much stronger. After all, there might come a time when magic couldn’t be used, and in such a situation, physical strength would become their lifeline. Fortunately, neither Rumia nor Frieren disliked the idea, in fact, they seemed quite satisfied with the training.
Rumia made a progress and can now manage to stand firmly under 15x gravity and even handle monsters under the pressure. On the other hand, Frieren was going on an killing spree even with the 40x gravity on her small and petite body that was so delicate that might seem to break if touch carelessly.
After clearing the floor, Rumia and Frieren came to Shido and told him how amazing it was. Their progress was evident the moment they finished the floor boss.
Thinking of this, Shido knew that one of his concerns was now solve and this would make both of them have a stronger body. Leaning his body against the bathtub, Shido then closed his eyes and relax in the bath.
...
Meanwhile, outside the bathroom, Frieren perked up when she heard the doorbell, thinking the delivery had arrived. But when she opened the door, it wasn’t the delivery man, it was Mahiru, standing there with her usual composed expression.
Seeing that it was her, Frieren’s eyes dimmed down and she couldn’t help but let out a disappointed sigh. This caused Mahiru to feel perplex and wondered what she did to cause Frieren to look so deflated.
Fortunately, Rumia had also followed and saw that it was Mahiru at the door.
Rumia’s face showed a happy expression and said gently "Mahiru-chan, did you come to play again?"
"Ah, well..." Mahiru then told her that she came to give them some of her lunch which was placed in a food container, but when she came out of her apartment, she noticed a delivery person repeatedly pressing their doorbell.
When the delivery man noticed Mahiru, his eyes brightened and he asked if she knew the people living there. Mahiru gave a small nod in response. Relieved, the delivery man let out a sigh and asked if she could accept a package meant for the neighboring unit, since no one seemed to be home.
Since Mahiru had grown quite close with the people living there, she didn’t hesitate to accept the package and signed the papers to confirm its delivery.
After handing over the package, the delivery man bowed politely and thanked Mahiru before leaving. Mahiru, meanwhile, lingered for a moment, gazing at the door of Shido’s apartment. In the end, she decided to head back first and wait for them to return and that leads to this situation.
Hearing all that, Frieren’s downcast expression brightened once more. It was then she noticed the sealed package in Mahiru’s hand, along with the food container she had brought.
Noticing how fixated Frieren’s gaze was on the package, Mahiru quickly realized it must belong to her. She spoke gently, "Um, Frieren-san, is this your package?"
"Yes." Frieren replied in her usual monotone voice, though the quiet spark of excitement in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.
Still, Mahiru was already used to Frieren’s unique personality and didn’t take it as rude. As Rumia had mentioned before, over the past week they had often invited Mahiru to their apartment to hang out and spend time together.
At first, Mahiru only wanted to see what Shido’s true relationship with them was. But as time went on, she began to realize they were much closer than she had imagined and she felt slightly uncomfortable with it.
Nevertheless, because of that, she would frequently visit their apartment to prevent them from doing something suspicious under the pretext of playing around. Yet, because of that, Mahiru gradually came to know them better.
Rumia was kind, caring, polite, and cheerful, traits that reminded Mahiru somewhat of herself. The difference, however, was that while Mahiru acted that way to hide her true feelings, Rumia’s feelings was genuine, with nothing concealed behind it.
As for Frieren, Mahiru came to understand that although Shido had said she was the oldest among them, she was also the most laid-back and carefree. Her calm, almost nonchalant nature, paired with her lack of outward expression made her very unique.
That wasn’t all she learned. She also learned that both Rumia and Frieren had previously lived in Switzerland but had flown to Japan to stay with Shido after their fathers had gone away (Made up story by Shido).
As for Shido himself, Mahiru came to understand many things about him, yet at the same time, he only grew more mysterious in her mind.