Chapter 37 - Maya Rosenwald P6
Chapter 37 - Maya Rosenwald P6
~37.6~
*****
"Then I see no problem. If you are female, you go into the female bath."
She looked away again. "You're making it hard to not say it outright."
"No, I understand what you mean. I still say you go into the female bath. Back in Aindrea at the bathhouse I went to, there were transgender girls in the female bath. My father says he occasionally met a transgender man in the male bath."
She looked at the siblings, clearly hoping for confirmation, which they gave. "Huh."
I smiled. "Yep. So whether you have just female parts, just male parts, both, or neither, I will still go into the female bath with you."
She closed her eyes and smiled warmly. "You're such a good friend to say that. I question whether you're an angel."
"Nah, I'm full-blooded human. No angel blood in me, though I did briefly meet a family of angels on the next continent over during one of my trips to the frontlines."
"Pfft." "You just took that and answered it literally."
I shrugged. "I got a laugh out of you. Hehe. It was worth it."
Her face reddened. "Wait, you heard that boy's thoughts. Does that mean you could hear mine?"
I shook my head. "I have to focus to do it. I can't hear anything unintentionally no matter how loud they get. Serah and Stella are exceptionally gifted with telepathy, but it's not my specialty. I hear nothing accidentally, and I have misgivings about listening in on a friend's thoughts. I won't listen to yours, Lanti's, or the rest of our friends' thoughts. Unless it's an emergency, I will always respect your privacy."
She sighed in relief. "I was worried there for a second."
"Thinking something you don't want me to know, are you?"
"Something like that."
I giggled. "My way of thinking about this sort of thing is don't tell me anything you are not comfortable telling me. If you don't want me to know something, don't tell me. If you do want me to know something, but you're not comfortable telling me, wait until you're comfortable with it."
"Are you sure you're not the mature one here? Most adults with decades of experience aren't that mature."
I shrugged. "I can be quite childish."
She smiled. "Show me sometime. I can't even imagine it, but I bet you'll look cute."
I felt my heart skip a beat.
Cute, eh? Maybe...
*****
Later in the day, I had my duel with Maya in swordplay class. She was as good as Helena, which was saying something. But I suppose she's been grown for years so she'd have had a lot more time to practice as an adult. After the match, the instructor said she could also skip class outside of tests.
When class was over, Serah and Stella appeared. "Princess, there is a message for you from Lady Alice."
"I see. Helena, Maya, I need to go."
Both looked at me confused.
"When Serah or Stella show up and tell me there's a message from my aunt, it's a mission."
They exchanged glances with each other, then at the same time asked, ""Can we go with you?""
I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I don't mind, but it's not a leisurely trip."
"I want to see you in action," Helena said.
"Same. I want to see how you fight for real."
"Sure. Serah, Stella, go talk to our dorm supervisor. We're moving into a bigger dorm for all three of us. Technically the one they gave us house five people, but... never mind that's not important. I'd like you to get started on the move while I'm gone."
""Yes, Princess."" They disappeared.
"Did they just teleport?" Maya asked.
"Yep." I held a hand out to each of them. "Let's go."
"You're leaving right now?" Helena asked.
I nodded. "Due to how long it takes to get the intel in the first place, it's likely the battlefield is already in trouble. I always leave at a moment's notice." Without another word, they took my hands, and I teleported us to the Aindrea estate. "This is the bunker under the Aindrea manor. I always go to the battlefield with a hood, mask, and commoner-esque clothing. You both need to wear them, too."
"Got it." "Okay."
I quickly took off my blazer, shirt, and skirt, earning a surprised look from both of them.
"What? Get ready."
Maya blushed and said, "I wasn't expecting to see you take your clothes off."
"These outfits I wear to battle are hot. I don't keep on my regular clothes underneath. You're welcome too if you don't want to strip in front of me, but we're all girls here. You have nothing I don't..." I paused, remembering that Maya is half demon. "Well, never mind that last part. But whatever, I'm no stranger to any of it. If you're uncomfortable, I'll look away."
Maya shook her head, "No, it's fine. The illusion magic is set to female only, so right now I'm no different than either of you." Her face was still red, and grew redder as she took off her school uniform. Helena was the same, but both of them powered through it and soon all three of us were in disguises.
"Okay, we're off." I held out a hand to each again.
"Where are we going?"
"To my aunt's office. She'll tell us where to go." They took my hand and I moved us upstairs.
"Where?" I asked.
"The most creatively named continent, Northland."
""Pfft.""
"You're taking someone with you?"
"They're friends who have dueled me at school. They want to see me in combat."
"Well, enjoy yourselves, I guess. Just remember a battlefield is not a playground. I don't care who you are or what your social rank is. Do what Elise says while you're out there. A battlefield is life and death."
""Yes, ma'am,""
I held out my hands to them again. "Take my hand, I'm teleporting us there."
"That's quite far for a teleport," Helena said.
"It's fine, I can transport the three of us there and back with no issue."
"That's an understatement," Alice said. She smirked and eyed Maya and Helena. "You made friends with quite an anomaly. Please take care of my niece."
I didn't let them answer. I just grabbed their hands and whisked us away. We appeared high in the sky. They gasped at the height, but quickly realized they weren't falling.
"You can fly?" Maya asked. "How..."
"I'm going to leave you on that hill over there. Can you use mana to see far? You wanted to observe."
"I can, yes."
"I can as well," Helena added.
"Alright, off you go!" I sent them to the hill with a teleport, then dropped out of the sky onto the battlefield below.
*****
Revision: 2025-2-12