"My name is Kamito Kazehaya, thank you so much! Elise!"
Once again, Kamito marveled at the kindness and sincerity of the person before him. Girls so considerate and understanding were rare nowadays!
"Mm, if there's nothing else, then I'll be leaving first, Mr. Kazehaya."
Within Elise's senses, some discordant noises appeared. She only tilted her head slightly and immediately understood what had happened.
It seemed that because she had given the shopkeeper gold coins earlier, some greedy people had set their sights on her!
But it was fine. Those people were weak. She could just find a deserted corner and eliminate them.
After bowing to Kamito, Elise prepared to leave. But Kamito seemed to have noticed something as well.
"If you don't mind, may I follow you for a while? You helped me just now, and… haha, I don't really like owing favors. Please allow me to repay you, Miss Elise!"
His voice came from behind. Elise paused, then turned back with a smile.
"Is this some new kind of pick-up line, Mr. Kazehaya?"
"Although I do have a bit of goodwill toward you, it's not at the level of being lovers yet," Elise reminded him.
"No, no! Not lovers!"
He tried to explain further, but as the typical dense protagonist type, matters of romance were not his strong point. Just being teased a little made him blush.
Of course, it could also be because Elise was an absolute beauty. If it were someone plain-looking, or even worse than his crossdressing self, Kamito probably wouldn't react this way.
But then again…
Kamito in women's clothing was absolutely the most beautiful existence among all Elementalists in this world! Elise thought that even his harem's heroines couldn't compare to his crossdressed appearance!
"I only want to do what I can to help you, Miss Elise, nothing else!"
Though Kamito's power had declined greatly in these past years searching for Restia, he was still far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
He could clearly sense the hostility gathering nearby.
And the target of that malice was the blonde girl before him!
He couldn't allow the one who had just helped him to become the target of those people!
That was Kamito's thought at the moment. If he hadn't been careless enough to be pickpocketed, he wouldn't have been without money for food. Then Elise wouldn't have had to pay for him, and those people wouldn't have focused on her.
So, in the end… it was all that thief's fault!
Even though Elise wore an eyepatch, Kamito could still feel that she seemed to be observing him… no, "scrutinizing" was more accurate!
But his request was unreasonable. Surely she would reject him, right?
That was what Kamito thought.
Yet Elise's reaction was completely different from what he expected!
"Mr. Kazehaya, you must have accidentally lost your coins earlier, right?" Elise asked with some concern. "If you're short on coins right now, I can hire you for a while. I'll pay you enough for your work!"
This girl!
Kamito's gaze toward Elise changed. She was actually so considerate of others?
His request had originally been extremely impolite, yet she went out of her way to excuse him!
She even deliberately mentioned hiring him, just to give him money! And she was so beautiful on top of that…
What was this strange fluttering in his chest?
Looking at the dazzling woman before him, Kamito pressed a hand against his chest, realizing his heartbeat had unknowingly sped up.
"Uh… thank you."
"It's getting late. Then I'll trouble you to protect me and my sister."
"Of course, no problem!"
After a brief exchange, Elise called Est and the desert wolf, and together with Kamito, they headed for the inn. Both she and Kamito needed a place to rest for the night.
...
"Ah—"
"To think there'd be hot springs here in the desert. How pleasant!"
After all, this was the border between desert and forest, so it wasn't strange for there to be a hot spring here.
Leaning against the edge of the spring, Elise held the petite Est in her arms.
"But speaking of which, Est," Elise glanced at Est, still holding several doubts in her heart, "why don't you even take off your stockings when soaking in the hot spring?"
Normally, when bathing, just a towel would be enough, right?
Some people didn't even need towels—Elise was one of them.
But thanks to the holy light she had cast on herself, it was impossible for anyone to peek at her from any angle or distance!
That was why she was so bold.
"Sister… do you want me to take off my stockings?"
"You actually want to see Est's bare feet… Sister, you're so perverted…"
At the mention of anything related to her feet, Est's small face instantly flushed red.
So she really did feel embarrassed about showing her bare feet! But Elise had no intention of letting her off so easily!
"Look, Est, I've already taken mine off, haven't I?"
"And besides, when soaking in a hot spring, you're supposed to take them off."
"Not to mention, if your stockings get wet, it'll feel uncomfortable to wear them later!"
Est tilted her head and replied, "It doesn't matter. These stockings are something I created myself. Once I get out, they'll immediately dry. No need to worry about that."
"Hm?" Elise smiled. "Be good, Est. You should listen properly at times like this, alright?"
"Hurry and take them off. Let me see!"
"I can even help wash them for you later!"
"Ugh!" Est still seemed reluctant, her small face full of hesitation. But under Elise's repeated urging, she finally nodded.
"Since it's Sister asking, then… it's fine."
Her small hands grasped the edge of the black stockings and slowly pulled them down. Before long, her snow-white feet were revealed to the air.
Slap!
"Eh?!" The sudden sensation on her foot made Est shrink back shyly, her body squirming unnaturally.
It was Elise who had grabbed her foot!
"Sister, don't… don't touch Est's feet like that!"
Est covered her face with both hands, but through the gaps between her fingers, her wavering eyes still peeked through.
As for Elise, she simply thought—
I'm curious!
Why was it that in the anime, Est didn't mind her body being exposed, but cared so much about her feet?
Could it be that something special existed on her feet? Or perhaps a unique organ belonging to spirits?
Elise's thoughts were completely serious!
It definitely wasn't for any other reason!
She truly only wanted to explore the mysteries of a spirit's body!
Click—
See? Elise even had a camera ready to take pictures as samples!
Research brings joy!
Meanwhile, in the men's bath next door, Kamito sat cross-legged in the hot spring, silently chanting calming incantations…
To suppress the rampaging demonic spirit energy within him.
It seemed Kamito was also engaged in quite the intense battle!