Chapter 242: A difficult shower

’What the hell...’

Blake immediately looked away, lowering his gaze to his hands. Of all the people he could have encountered in Drindia... Asher?!

His stomach tightened.

Of course, he already knew that Sylvan was Asher’s literal uncle. That wasn’t new information. He had known for a while that they lived together and that man moved around frequently because of his work.

But actually seeing them here, together, was different.

’Did he really bring Asher here? He’s sick in the head, why would he even do that?!’

He didn’t want to stand there staring, that would be suspicious. So Blake slowly got up from the bench and began walking away.

"I’ll sneak for my lover."

He mouthed, activating his skill. His presence immediately faded into the background almost immediately.

Blake stopped.

"..."

He turned around, then walked back, following them.

He didn’t even have to try very hard.

He walked several steps behind them, close enough to hear their conversation while remaining practically invisible.

Sylvan and Asher continued along the promenade.

At first, Blake expected something suspicious.

Some secret conversation, some mention of AL-TECH or well, something about Alfred Hicth.

Instead... they talked about completely ordinary things.

The kind of conversation Blake would expect from an uncle and nephew who had lived together for years.

Asher was talking about something that had happened recently, occasionally laughing as he explained it.

Sylvan listened patiently.

Every now and then, he reached over and stroked Asher’s head.

Asher smiled, and there was admiration in his expression. Complete trust.

Blake’s expression became increasingly uncomfortable.

He didn’t like this at all.

An uncle who knew about the atrocities surrounding AL-TECH...

An uncle who presumably knew far more than Asher did...

And yet he still encouraged his nephew to support the very person responsible for those atrocities, feeding him lies.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

Blake felt a strange pressure building inside his chest.

His breathing became slightly heavier.

It wasn’t simply anger.

It was something uglier.

For a brief moment, Blake couldn’t help imagining what it would feel like to make Sylvan pay for everything he knew.

He immediately pushed the thought away.

’Asher...’

Had he even tried to think about it?

Blake had told him clearly.

He had told Asher when Asher didn’t even know that Blake was the person speaking to him.

And then he had told him again when it was just him.

Yet here Asher was, smiling and laughing, completely unbothered, looking at Sylvan with nothing but admiration.

Blake felt something twist inside him.

’Why?’

He didn’t understand.

Maybe Asher really didn’t know enough. Maybe he trusted his uncle too much. Maybe Sylvan had spent years making sure that trust never broke.

Whatever the reason was, Blake didn’t want to hear himself thinking about it anymore.

He kept following them.

Then Asher spoke.

"Uncle, are you really going to see him then? Can’t I go with you?"

Sylvan glanced at him.

"Of course not. You already met not too long ago."

His tone remained calm and almost affectionate.

"I assure you that nothing worth seeing is there. In the eastern border, there’s no tech in sight, you won’t learn anything useful there."

Blake’s eyes narrowed.

’Eastern border, huh. So it really is the same place.’

The old customs and freight facility near the Darsen border, the place Sylvan had mentioned yesterday.

Asher lowered his head, fidgeting with his fingers.

"Ah, but... it’s not because of that. There were some things I wanted to ask him..."

Sylvan reached over and patted his shoulder.

"I can relay them for you."

Asher immediately shook his head.

"No, no, it’s alright."

He gave a small, awkward smile.

"I’ll just wait until next time."

Blake stopped walking.

That was enough.

He had gotten what he needed.

Sylvan was going to the facility near Darsen, and he was going there to meet Alfred Hicth.

Blake didn’t need to follow them around like this. He certainly didn’t want to spend another hour listening to their happy little conversation.

He turned around and walked away, not looking back.

And he definitely didn’t want to hear them talk about Alfred Hicth like he was some ordinary person.

Blake walked for another hour or so.

He explored a few more streets and wandered through a small plaza where several local vendors had set up stalls.

He looked at souvenirs, checked prices, and bought absolutely nothing.

Well... almost nothing.

He eventually bought a couple bracelet, to share with a certain someone.

’I know he doesn’t care about this stuff, but it’s so cute!’

There was no reason to spend money unnecessarily, so he went no further with his spending.

Eventually, he stopped at a little outdoor restaurant for lunch.

He found a table near the edge of the seating area and ordered grilled chicken with rice, roasted vegetables, and a citrus sauce.

It wasn’t particularly fancy, and that was exactly what he wanted.

Blake ate while watching the people around him.

Families, tourists, students usinessmen.

After lunch, Blake returned to the hotel. He arrived around three in the afternoon.

The moment he stepped inside his room, he shut the door and sighed.

’...I’m sweating so damn much, damn it.’

He looked down at himself.

After walking around outside for hours, there was no way around it, he really needed a shower.

Blake glanced toward the bathroom. Then, he immediately looked away.

’Ah, I don’t want to do this, really!’

There was still one problem: he was in Sage’s body. The thought of taking a shower while transformed made him feel incredibly awkward.

He knew logically that it wasn’t actually someone else’s body, it was still him.

The transformation was simply changing his physical structure.

But that didn’t make it any less uncomfortable.

Blake stared at the bathroom door, then at his phone, then back at the bathroom.

’Okay, there are other ways I can do this without looking at this body. Not that Sage would ever know but, I’m really not curious to see her whole naked body.’

He could do this.

He picked up his phone and started walking around the room as if he were reading something.

In reality, he was memorizing the bathroom.

The position of the shower, the sink, the towel rack, the soap... just, everything that was necessary.

He walked around three times.

’If I memorize where everything is, I can just keep my eyes closed.’

That sounded reasonable, even if he could see it was slightly unrealistic.

Blake finally entered the bathroom.

He carefully placed his clothes where he could find them afterward.

Then he closed his eyes, and turned on the shower.

Water immediately began pouring down.

Blake flinched.

’Okay, I definitely know what parts of this body I need to avoid...’

He kept his eyes shut. The whole process became strangely methodical.

Soap... rinse... shampoo and rinse again! He was really painfully conscious of where his hands were going.

Whenever he needed to move, he did it carefully.

No unnecessary touching, he just had to finish the shower, that was all.

’This is ridiculous.’

He had fought monsters.

He had infiltrated dangerous organizations.

He had encountered aliens.

Yet somehow, taking a shower while transformed was what made him nervous.

Eventually, he turned off the water, standing there for a moment.

"...Done."

He reached for the towel and carefully stepped out.

Then came the next problem, which was getting dressed.

’Ah damn it. Even as a man, it’s not like I never trip, or can only stand on one foot and stuff. With a different center of gravity, I might be in trouble.’

Blake kept his eyes closed as he reached for his underwear. He managed to put it on after a few awkward attempts.

Then he picked up the bra.

He stared at it for a second with his eyes closed.

’...How does this thing work again?’

He tried and failed, over and over again.

’I can’t understand how women deal with this thing everyday of the week!’

He rotated it around, but that somehow made things worse.

Blake fumbled with it for another few seconds.

Eventually, he gave up.

’I can’t do this.’

He opened his eyes.

’...Whatever.’

He finished getting dressed normally. He wore a casual dress, just to lie around comfortably.

Once he was dressed, he looked into the mirror.

His hair was still damp, and his face was completely bare.

His expression looked exhausted.

Blake sighed.

’Whatever.’

He fixed his hair, and reapplied a little makeup, so that he wouldn’t have to deal with much on the evening.

Then, he left the bathroom.

Since there was no reason to go out again, he could stay inside until evening.

’Ah, this is the best opportunity to rest a little!’

Aside from that, he could think about what he should do this evening.

Blake sat down on the bed, leaning against the wall. Then, his eyes slowly closed.

For a few seconds, there was nothing, just silence.

Then his thoughts wandered back to Asher.

Blake frowned.

He remembered the smile on his face.

The way he looked at Sylvan.

The complete trust.

The way Sylvan casually stroked his head.

Blake’s fingers curled against the blanket.

’Why...’

He stopped himself.

There was no point.

He couldn’t understand Asher’s choices.

He couldn’t force him to understand what he had learned.

And he couldn’t stay angry forever.

Blake exhaled slowly.

Then, completely out of nowhere, his mind shit down.

***

"I swear I didn’t want to **** ***!"

***

Blake’s eyes opened.

"..."

He stared at the ceiling.

"What?"

He blinked, then covered his face with both hands.

"I swear, my brain is broken."

He sank further against the wall.

For a moment, he simply sat there. Then, he sighed. His eyes drifted toward the window.

’Lately I’ve been having these weird... things? What do I even call them!’

Then, he noticed that the sky was getting orange.

"Huh? What the!"

He immediately checked his phone.

He was late.