The Great Sword is not the Main Body!-Chapter 147: Trials (5)

"Since when have you known?"

"...Since the moment our foreheads touched."

"That's almost from the beginning."

Upon realizing that she had known from the very beginning, Rubia smiled even brighter, rather than being disappointed.

"What did you see?"

"Umm... well... if it were the Rubia I knew... it wouldn't have been just our foreheads... Hmm."

Certainly, her tongue too...

"Oh my..."

Rubia's expression cracked as she slowly approached me, still wearing that constant smile.

"And also... when... when I showed you my underwear, you probably couldn't hold it in...?"

Because no one was around, she said it was fine, that she was in a hurry, letting out breaths that sounded quite perverted... and then suddenly... it was just... heehee...

"...What couldn't you hold in?"

By the time Rubia reached me, her face wore a forced smile. Her lips were trembling, barely holding a smile.

"There’s something like that..."

Feeling embarrassed, and worried that Rubia might find out that I had made strange imaginations, I averted my gaze from her.

"Ki, kiss...? Th-That could have been it, right? Yeah. If it were me, I probably... would have... heehee... K-kisses, at least... with me, Noah..."

Rubia, noticing that I avoided her gaze, trailed off at the end.

"A kiss... or more?"

"...Hmm."

Gasping, Rubia quickly covered her mouth with both hands and carefully removed her lips.

"Y-You mean all the way...?"

"...Hehe."

I had no more words left, so I just smiled.

"Wow, damn... Haha! You crazy girl... You're too fast..."

"Ugh... Rubia, don't swear!"

"No, th-yeah. I'm sorry."

Blushing deeply, Rubia muttered to herself before slapping her own cheek to snap herself out of it. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"Th-That could be... yeah, if it was the past country, I’d say it’s enough..."

She then took a deep breath and returned to her usual expression.

"Ha... I thought I’d eventually get caught, but I didn’t expect it to be this quick. So, I’ll ask just one more thing."

"Yes...?"

"Why did you show me your underwear?"

"Ugh... That’s..."

It’s really a stupid reason.

Totally petty and pathetic...

"Before... Rubia and the other 'me' went to buy underwear together. So... I wanted to get... revenge..."

Squeak- Rubia let out a rough sound in her mouth.

"...You went to buy underwear together?"

"Y-Yeah...! You even picked out each other's underwear...!! ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) It was really, really mean!"

"Wow... I didn’t know about this... Ha, really unbelievable...? Are you saying you were going to leave without seeing each other again?"

This time, Rubia’s face turned red for a different reason, grinding her teeth as she gently held my hand.

"Let’s get revenge."

"...How?"

"Well..."

A brief silence.

After a moment, Rubia’s voice, sounding embarrassed, came out slowly.

"Do... do you want some soybean paste stew?"

"...Huh?"

"I want to eat... soybean paste stew."

"Uhm... but the trials have to end quickly..."

"No."

Interrupting my words in a firm tone, Rubia added with a playful laugh.

"The time is... stopped, so it’s fine."

"...Eh?"

"So, let’s relax and enjoy ourselves."

"Uhm..."

Taking my silence as agreement, Rubia smiled brightly and pulled my hand.

"Hehe... This is the first time I’m eating food made by Noah."

Click-

"Umm... Excuse me."

After some hesitation, I finally led Rubia into the house.

But... as expected.

There was no one in the house.

"Ha... Do I just take off my shoes and come in?"

"...I suppose so?"

I naturally took off my shoes and entered first, starting to slowly take off Rubia’s shoes.

"Ah, a-ah... I-I’ll do it myself. Ugh..."

"Won't the smell be too bad?" Rubia mumbled as she fidgeted with her feet, stepping cautiously.

"Oh, wow... the floor is really soft?"

"...The floorboards are loose."

"Floorboards? Hmm... But it feels nice, so it’s good, right? Hehe."

She then walked lightly beside me with her small steps.

"Show me around, Noah."

"Show around...?"

"Yes!"

Rubia nodded cheerfully, looking full of expectation.

But... would there be anything to show in this small house...?

"Umm... Alright."

First, I opened the door right next to the entrance.

My room.

It wasn't exactly the same as before.

It was... a bit strange, changed...

Though the only change was in the contents of the closet.

"This is..."

"My room... It’s... not really much to look at, right?"

"Is that Noah’s blanket?"

"...Yeah."

"Gasp..."

Rubia slowly stepped into the room, looked around, and then stealthily approached my blanket.

And then.

"Can I smell it?"

She threw herself onto my blanket and buried her face in the pillow.

Why ask if you’re just going to sniff it right away?!

"Ah! W-What are you doing...!!"

I quickly rushed over and carefully pulled the pillow from Rubia’s face.

"Wow... it really smells like Noah’s scent..."

"Ahh! S-Stop saying weird things!"

With her perverted breathing, I hugged the pillow tightly. Now, she looked at the closet and swallowed nervously.

"...Teddy bear."

"Ugh... No..."

With one hand still holding the pillow, I tightly grabbed Rubia’s hand.

"R-Rubia, pervert...!"

"Yeah, I’m a pervert."

"Huh?"

"Did you just realize that? Remember when Noah’s bandages went missing sometimes? I said I was washing them."

There were a lot of times...?

"I secretly stole them all... Well, let’s stop here for my dignity."

"W-W-What... What did... what did you do...?"

"Go outside and ask me what I did with your underwear back then."

Rubia, laughing mischievously, jumped up from the spot.

"Anyway... that rectangular box... is that a... computer? Is it?"

"Ah... Y-Yeah..."

"Hmm..."

Rubia, who had been staring at the computer for a while, shook her head and turned her back.

"I think it’s better not to look at it. So... can you show me something else?"

Noticing Rubia’s slightly downcast expression, I quietly nodded.

Just to be safe... I grabbed Rubia’s arm tightly and led her outside the room, then showed her the bathroom.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked around the small bathroom and then immediately approached the sink, carefully opening the lever.

"Wow, wow! The water comes out so well!"

She then began washing her hands with a bright smile.

"The soap smells so good... and the bubbles come out really well! Wow... I want to take one home."

It’s such a tiny, cheap bathroom soap.

But seeing her so happy like that... made me feel...

"R-Rubia... See that cylinder over there?"

I was getting excited too...!

"Cylinder? Hmm... Yes."

"That’s... shampoo. It’s like liquid soap for washing hair. It’s for hair only!"

"Oh my, there’s such a thing?"

I quickly ran over and brought the shampoo bottle to Rubia’s nose.

"How’s the smell...? Pretty good, right?"

"Wow..."

"And next to this, this one... umm... it’s conditioner. It makes your hair soft. Even frizzy hair can be tamed!"

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

I brushed the smell over Rubia’s nose, then squeezed a bit of conditioner into her hand.

"Wow, there’s something else for the hair? But why is it so slippery? It’s hard to wash off..."

Ah, right... I hadn’t thought of that.

"Umm... you just have to scrub it a bit more. Hehe..."

While rubbing the cheap soap on Rubia’s hands, I cleaned off the remaining conditioner.

"And... this is a really amazing thing..."

I pulled out a hair dryer from the towel cabinet and showed it to Rubia with a flourish.

"What’s this...?"

"Watch closely..."

I quickly unwound the cord and plugged it into the outlet.

Then, it started with a slight whirr—

"Wah! Warm air..."

"Yes! This is a hair dryer, used to dry your hair!"

Rubia, her eyes shining with curiosity, started to glow again.

"Wait... can you use it even without magic?"

"Of course!"

I turned off the dryer with a click, then carefully placed it in Rubia’s hands.

She awkwardly turned it on.

"Ah... surprise... Umm, is this how you use it?"

Then, startled by the sudden sound, Rubia began blowing warm air onto her hair.

"Exactly!"

I gently shook Rubia’s stiff arm to spread the air around.

Like a child discovering a new toy, Rubia smiled innocently and directed the air toward my face.

"Eek..."

"Hehe! Wow, this is really amazing... It feels like an artifact, huh?"

"Well, yeah, sort of...?"

Rubia, who had been checking the dryer with a happy hum, turned it off and looked at me.

"Is there anything else to show?"

"Next? Hmm... Oh!"

"Vacuum cleaner!"

"V... Vacuum cleaner?"

"Yes! It's for cleaning! Umm... It looks like this, long and... Wait, I’ll just show you!"

I took the vacuum cleaner from beside the sink and pulled Rubia along.

We rushed out of the bathroom to where the vacuum cleaner was stored.

"Ta-da!"

"...Is it a weapon?"

"Hehe... It’s not a weapon, it’s a vacuum cleaner!"

Rubia looked at the vacuum with a faintly suspicious gaze and tilted her head.

"Hmm!"

With my shoulders raised high, I connected the vacuum’s plug and pressed the button.

Drumroll— Vvvvrrr...

"Ah...!"

Rubia flinched, startled by the loud noise, and shrank back.

"Uh... is this really for cleaning?"

"Yeah!"

I quickly swiped my hand over my hair, pulling a few strands loose, then let them fall on the floor.

Then—

Vvvrrrr—

I swept the vacuum over them.

"Huh?"

"Did you see...?!"

"The hair... it disappeared."

"Yep!"

"Is this... magic?"

"Hehehe..."

Then, I dropped more hair, and Vvvrrr—

"Now that I look closely, it’s sucking it in..."

"Yep. A vacuum cleaner sucks up small dust and debris... It’s an artifact!"

I turned off the vacuum and handed it to Rubia, who hesitantly took it with a scared expression.

"Is... is it activated by pushing it forward?"

"Yeah... like this..."

I placed my small hand over hers, turned it on, and—

Vvvrrr—

"Oh, it moves well forward and backward."

"See... it has tiny wheels underneath."

"Wow... you’re smart. How did you even think of creating something like this?"

The hesitant movements became more confident as Rubia became more familiar with the vacuum cleaner.

After a while, she made a complete loop around the living room, then happily smiled and turned off the vacuum.

"Cleaning is fun!"

I smiled back at her beaming face.

"Isn’t there more?"

"...I have a secret weapon."

"Gasp... What is it?"

"Hehe... Wait for it."

I showed Rubia the phone that had been on the kitchen counter.

"...What’s this?"

"This is... a smartphone."

I quickly clicked the lock button.

"...Oh my."

"Do you see? This is for communication, and... it has video streaming and... a mix of a lot of things... Umm? Rubia? Are you listening— Ah?!"

Rubia, who had been half-listening to my passionate explanation with a strange look on her face, suddenly beamed a bright smile and hugged me tightly.

"W-Why are you doing this suddenly?!"

"I... was really trying to hold off on physical contact, but this time, Noah, you made the first move."

"Huh? What did... what? Heh?!"

Rubia gently bit my earlobe and then lifted my wrist, showing me the background screen of the smartphone.

"Oh, right..."

In the background, there was an illustration of the Black Sun Priestess, my favorite character.