Chapter 10: A Moving Reunion Between Grandmother and Granddaughter

"What should we do, milady?" asked Anne.

"Hmm... For the time being, let's just bring her to the communal baths," instructed Mia, feeling a little uncomfortable with how the girl was gaping at them.

The communal baths in the girls' dormitory generally operated on a set schedule, but the hours they posted were more of a formality. Since the water was sourced from a hot spring, the baths were perpetually warm. Should the need arise, one could simply say a few nice words to the superintendent and be allowed to sneak in.

Once inside, faint beams of silver light would greet bathers through a section of stained glass in the ceiling, allowing them to bathe in a hot tub of natural water under the pale glow of the moon. It was all very atmospheric — and entirely irrelevant to Mia, who knew of no nighttime activity more pleasurable than being soundly asleep.

"First of all, these," said Mia with a grimace as she gestured to the girl's clothes, "need to be washed. Anne, could you prepare a change of clothes for her? Just give her something from my wardrobe for now."

"What about you, milady?"

"Huh? Me?"

She looked down at herself and realized she was soaked with sweat. This was hardly surprising, considering she'd just sprinted down the hallway for dear life.

Sleeping like this... is definitely a little gross.

With a nod, she hopped off the bed.

"Well then. I think I'll indulge in a bit of atmosphere as well. Bring my towel too, Anne."

Mia and Anne made their way to the baths. Following close behind them was the girl, who didn't utter a single word the whole way.

I wonder what's the matter with her... Is she plotting against us?

Fearing sudden treachery, Mia kept shooting distrustful glances at the girl as they walked, but she spotted no signs of wrongdoing. The only emotion she could discern on her face was a hint of confusion.

As soon as they entered the changing room, Anne began undressing the girl. She allowed this without complaint and simply stood there as her clothes were removed.

Hm, no weapons as far as I can see... And she doesn't exactly look like a hand-to-hand combat specialist either, thought Mia as she discreetly observed the process. Disrobed, the girl looked more or less the same as her, except even skinnier. Her ribs were visible, harsh ridges down her chest, suggesting long starvation. Pallid skin and sinking cheeks punctuated a generally unhealthy complexion. Even her hair, now that Mia thought about it, felt rough to the touch. Despite suspecting the girl of being an accomplice of the Chaos Serpents masquerading as a slum dweller, when fully bared, she was a pitiful little thing, and Mia couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

It reminds me of my life in the dungeon.

She knew what it was like to have nothing to eat... and it was rough. In hindsight, labeling the girl a sucker for how she'd reacted to the cookie seemed a bit mean. Had Mia been the hungry one and somebody handed her some food, she would have called the person a goddess too... Or would she?

No, I still wouldn't go that far! This girl's definitely sort of a sucker.

"Milady..."

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Anne, who spoke in a serious tone.

"Do I have permission to use your shampoo and body cleanser? As well as your perfumed oil for moisturizing her skin?"

Helping Mia with her personal routines on a daily basis had made Anne somewhat of an expert on hair and skin care, and her professional pride demanded that she rise to the challenge of rectifying the girl's appalling appearance.

"You certainly do. I'm just going to wash off this night sweat, so don't mind me. Go help her clean up, would you?" said Mia before her lips parted in a toothy grin. "As a matter of fact, why stop there? We came all the way here already, so you might as well go all out. I want to see her looking pretty enough to attend a ball."

With that, she left Anne to work her magic on the girl. In the meantime, she quickly rinsed herself off, immersed herself in the bath, and let out a deep sigh of pleasure.

Ahh... Now that's what I'm talking about... I needed this...

She stretched out her arms and legs in the warm water, feeling the heat relieve the soreness in her muscles. While she hadn't exactly engaged in any intense exercise, the brief sprint down the hallway proved quite taxing for a body as unaccustomed to physical exertion as hers.

Whoops. I can't be getting too relaxed here.

Sitting back up in the tub, she glanced toward the girl, who seemed to have completely surrendered herself to Anne's hygienic onslaught. Currently, she sat there with her eyes closed, swaying submissively to the motion of Anne's hands as she scrubbed the grime out of her hair. It was like watching an unusually docile kitten being bathed.

Who in the moons is she, I wonder...

At first, she'd suspected her of being some sort of saboteur sent here by the Chaos Serpents, but that suspicion was feeling sillier and sillier as the night went on.

And that whisper... What did she mean by that?

"She said Mother Anne, didn't she?"

Eventually, once the girl was filth-free, she joined Mia in the tub.

"All right. Should I bring some perfumed oil and a change of clothes for you, milady?"

"Certainly. Thank you, Anne."

Anne inclined her head and went off to retrieve the articles she'd mentioned. The girl watched her go until the door to the bathhouse closed behind her.

"It really is Mother Anne, but..." she murmured in a troubled tone. "Something's strange. It's her, but... younger..."

After mumbling to herself for a little while, the girl suddenly looked up and clapped her hands together.

"Oh! I know what's going on now. This is a dream."

In an impressive display of what might generously be called mental resilience, she proceeded to summarily categorize this whole bewildering situation as a dream, thereby removing the need to worry about it any further. Something about the way she was behaving felt uncannily familiar to Mia.

Wh-What's with this girl? And why do I get the feeling we're related?

On closer examination, she did bear quite the resemblance to Mia as well. Her clean hair now bore the same argent luster, and her adorable blue eyes were similar in both color and shape, and were wide with wonder as they beheld Mia.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. Um... Nice to meet you. My name is Miabel Luna Tearmoon. People call me Bel, and I'm your granddaughter."

"...Eh?"

It took a while before Mia remembered how to pull her jaw back up.