Pitiful Young Master in a Reversed World

Chapter 13

Beya, who was about to sigh, covered her mouth with her hand.

'I didn't hear any footsteps.'

To be precise, it was because the tension had eased that she momentarily missed it.

'The disparity in my senses is greater than I thought. If I don't adapt quickly, it'll be dangerous.'

It was understandable.

Since most of her power was being suppressed by the sealing cuffs,

For Beya, who had been a powerful being, the frailty of a weak body felt utterly unfamiliar after so long.

The sensation of dulled senses that should naturally be sharp is an unpleasant feeling only those who have experienced it can understand.

"Louis! There's a gap where a book is missing here, what's going on?"

At Hamila's shout, the sound of footsteps quickly approaching from afar pierced Beya's ears.

It wasn't quite running, but neither was it a leisurely stroll-rather, a stride meant to conceal impatience.

"Which book?"

"This bookshelf. Doesn't the middle look unnaturally empty?"

"Hm? ......Ah, this? I just took it out a moment ago."

"Huh, really? What was the title?"

"'Whale Hunting,' I think? Probably that one."

"Hmm, is that so?"

"Now you see there's no one else in the library but me? Hurry up and get lost."

"Hehe, fine. Louis, just wait and see. I'll be on the fourth floor, so if you miss me, come up to the fourth floor......"

"Just get lost already."

Only when the two sets of footsteps had receded did Beya finally let out a sigh of relief.

*

When their footsteps could no longer be heard, Beya quietly slipped out of the secret passage.

After returning the bookshelf to its original position, she slowly began to walk back toward Louis.

"Just wait and see, my ass. Like she can do anything."

Hearing Louis's voice from not far away, she maintained a calm expression as if nothing was wrong.

Approaching Louis, Beya opened her mouth.

"Louis? Finished reading the novel?"

At Beya's voice, Louis's head snapped toward her.

Seeing Beya's innocent expression, he let out a small sigh.

"Did something happen?"

Seeing her composed face, Louis gave a faint smile and shook his head.

"It's nothing. By the way, Beya, does your shoulder hurt at all?"

"Not particularly."

"Yeah, my shoulder muscles are kind of sore, maybe because I read too much."

"You've only been in the library for two hours-"

"I was hoping you could give me a massage, would that be alright?"

Though Louis cut off her words, rather than feeling annoyed, Beya simply nodded blankly.

"Then, shall we go to my room?"

Even at his follow-up question, Beya could only nod again.

***

"This is...."

"Yes, this is my room."

"The smell...."

"Does it smell? I do clean regularly, though."

"No, it's not that kind of smell......"

From the moment she entered, Beya's slightly dazed eyes silently roamed around my room.

Of course, eyeballs move without sound, but in this case, it meant she scanned the room very stealthily.

"Well then......"

I sat down on the bed, eyes sparkling, waiting for Beya.

Beya, receiving my full gaze, shyly approached my bed.

"Come, have a seat."

I patted the spot behind me.

Slowly, Beya climbed onto the bed.

I grabbed her hands and placed them on my shoulders.

Following my guidance, she hesitated and said,

".....Shall I begin?"

"Yes, please."

After an oddly suggestive exchange, Beya began to massage my shoulders.

"Ohhh."

My eyes widened.

Whether she had a massage license or something, her delicate control over pressure was perfect.

Turning my head back, I smiled.

".....You're really good at this. I'm surprised."

The sore shoulders were genuine.

Dealing with Hamila always left me this way.

It's like standing before a predator, with the tension and the aura she exudes stressing both body and mind.

I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way.

It's probably her special ability, or perhaps her trait-one of the two.

Maybe even both, but since she wasn't like that during breakfast, it's more likely a special ability.

The name would roughly be... 'Pressure' or something like that.

No matter how much I wanted to like Hamila, it was impossible.

That crazy woman actually activated her ability while talking alone with me.

Even to her one and only little brother.

I can't fathom why she'd do that to her own family.

I tried to think back to my past life.

Suppose I was the second of four siblings,

And the youngest was my precious little sister whom I adored dearly.

Would I ever use such an ability on her?

I don't think so.

If anything, I'd want to spoil her more, not stress her out physically and mentally with pressure.

'I just can't understand it at all.'

Well, that's just how this family is, so complaining further is pointless.

This place-or rather, this whole world-is full of things that make no sense.

"Should I press a little harder?"

"No, it's perfect right now."

I relaxed my body and enjoyed Beya's massage while my thoughts continued.

Earlier, that was truly a dangerous situation.

Hamila had barged in out of nowhere, demanding to see Beya, ruining my alone time,

And I had to bluff that Beya wasn't in the library.

But the fact that she actually went to check for herself-that was the main reason for my stress.

Of course, I did have some basis for bluffing to Hamila.

When the secret passage I made opened, I heard its characteristic sound.

A faint sliding and clicking noise, so quiet that under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have noticed.

But I had focused my magic on my ears, greatly enhancing my hearing, so I realized Beya had triggered the mechanism.

Thanks to that, I managed to send Hamila away safely.

I still have no idea why Hamila was looking for Beya in the first place,

But fortunately, since Beya was inside the secret passage, they didn't run into each other.

Well, that's good, but....

Just how did she manage to find the secret passage immediately upon entering the library?

So that's the difference in perception that comes from an adventurer who has cleared countless dungeons.

Compared to me, who only has a bit of experience with clearing sweep-type dungeons, our experience levels are worlds apart.

There are broadly two types of dungeons.

Sweep-type dungeons, which end simply by eliminating all monsters, and gimmick-type dungeons, which require solving specific gimmicks to complete.

I heard that because the gimmicks in gimmick-type dungeons vary so widely, the adventurer's ability to improvise on the spot is more important than anything else.

Since Beya is a high-ranking adventurer, she must have cleared many gimmick-type dungeons too.

Enough to immediately notice a secret passage like that.

Just where in the mansion did Beya go to check?

Probably, the book that was stuck in the bookshelf was a book titled "To the Snowfield."

You could tell by looking at the empty spot on the shelf or where the book had been.

'"To the Snowfield" was on the fourth floor, right?'

If I recall correctly, pulling out that book would open a secret passage leading to the fourth floor.

It's funny that I can't even remember what I made myself, but it couldn't be helped.

After all, I've made way too many of these things.

'I wonder if there was anything worth seeing there.'

The room connected by the secret passage was used as a storage room, so it was usually locked.

Simply put, even if you went up to the fourth floor through the secret passage, you'd still have to escape from a locked room again.

That's why, even though I went through the trouble of making it, it was a rather unfortunate secret passage that I half-erased from my memory.

Since it seemed like Beya stayed inside the secret passage for quite a while, she probably found something useful.

.............

I couldn't keep thinking because of Beya's massage.

She was surprisingly good at it.

"Hoo......"

At the sound that escaped my lips, Beya's hands, which were delicately kneading my shoulders, suddenly stiffened.

"Beya?"

When I called her name, Beya's hands started moving again.

I relaxed my body, enjoying Beya's massage.

Because of that, my body ended up leaning completely into Beya's embrace.

The reason this was possible was because Beya and I were sitting on the bed while she massaged me.

Anyway, as my body rested against hers, Beya hesitated with her hands that had been massaging my shoulders.

Soon, her hands started moving again, gently kneading my shoulders.

The only difference from before was that her hands kept drifting toward my nape.

When the back of her hand brushed my neck, a strange sensation made me shiver.

"Beya, suddenly why......"

"Hm? What about me?"

Seeing Beya skillfully resume massaging again made me chuckle.

"......."

"......."

Silence.

The only sound was the soft rustling of clothes.

Beya's hands were blatantly touching my neck more and more, but I couldn't react at all.

Because her warm embrace was leading me into a dream.

I didn't resist the drowsiness that slowly pulled my consciousness into the abyss.