“A hidden beauty in a golden chamber?”
Lucia soaked comfortably in the warm water, enjoying the bubbles spurting from the bottom of the bathtub as she narrowed her eyes, pondering over Chescia’s words just now.
“Isn’t the owner of this apartment building President Chescia herself?”
The bedroom Lucia lived in seemed to be the master bedroom of the apartment.
And that bed was indeed ridiculously large.
She had slept on that bed before with Clara—two people could easily roll around and still have plenty of space. For convenience, she always slept at the edge closest to the bedside table. The leftover space was enough to fit four people if they squeezed in.
If it weren’t for ending up in this strange company filled with oddities, Lucia might never have had the chance to live in such a nice place in her life. She even felt a little as if she was being “kept”…
Lucia hadn’t really experienced any all-girls dormitories before. Even at school, it was four people per room with separate beds. She didn’t have much experience sleeping with other girls but didn’t mind sleeping with familiar ones either.
Putting aside her intern status, she was the oldest in the company after all.
Sleeping with a group of younger girls, it wouldn’t make sense for her to be the one to oppose it.
However, there were clearly other empty rooms in the apartment, and bedding and pajamas were all available…
So why did they all have to sleep together?
Was it some kind of company team-building exercise, hoping to get closer through late-night talks?
Or perhaps…
A sudden panic.
Swish—
Just as Lucia’s thoughts spiraled, the bathroom door suddenly swung open.
“Huh?”
She instinctively lay down and slipped under the water surface, but the person who came in was even more startled than she was.
“Uh-oh, Lu-Lucia?! Chescia said you were already done… S-sorry, I’ll leave right now…”
It was Clara.
Flustered, she turned around and nearly slipped on the wet tiles.
“Clara-senpai? It’s okay, don’t be nervous~ You came in to wash, I’m about to get out now~”
Lucia’s reasoning was simple: since senpai had already undressed, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to leave and catch a chill or put her dirty clothes back on… Besides, Lucia had soaked for quite a while already—it was about time to get out.
Although the apartment had three bathrooms, only this one had a large bathtub, so everyone wanted to use it for a soak. But it was already late, and soaking too long would be unfair to others…
“Huh? No, wait!”
Though Lucia saw no problem, Clara protested, stopping her from standing up out of the tub. The little tentacles in Clara’s hair grabbed a clean white towel from the nearby rack as she nervously covered her head.
“Y-you can get out now.”
Was she shy?
“Hehe, Clara-senpai is really innocent~”
But even with her eyes covered, Lucia could still see clearly Clara’s petite figure, which easily reminded her of herself years ago.
As a girl, Lucia’s body had developed relatively late, compounded by the bullying she suffered as a child, leaving her with a reserved, awkward past…
But now it was different.
The older brother who protected her like a hero had left the countryside to earn money…
And that had ironically become the catalyst for Lucia’s growth.
The shy girl had broken free from her shell, emerging as a confident woman with fully blossomed wings—not just physically, but also in personality, becoming independent and strong, excelling in studies and skills beyond comparison…
Just like Fran had said before, Lucia was an excellent younger sister. With her abilities, it would be effortless to establish herself in the Central City, and Clara’s worries were completely unnecessary.
“Clara-senpai, do you need me to help wash your back?”
Just as Lucia was about to leave, she asked.
“Of course, you can keep your eyes covered, then it’s fine, right?”
“I—I have tentacles, so washing your back is easier for me than for you…”
Clara naturally refused, but Lucia insisted.
“I want to help you wash your back.”
Clara sensed Lucia’s feelings—perhaps wanting to repay the care she had received recently?
If she refused, it would feel distant, and Clara had never been good at turning down Lucia’s requests, ever since she even agreed to give her a hero’s autograph.
So after much hesitation, Clara nodded.
But she still warned, “J-just the back, okay?”
“Of course…”
Lucia said, then lowered her voice and asked, “Senpai, do you think I’d do anything else?”
“Hurry up and wash! When you’re done, get out!”
Perhaps from shyness, or from the warmth in the air, Clara’s fair skin was flushed a delicate shade of red.
Clara, still blindfolded, found the small stool against the wall with her hands and turned her back to the tub. Nyx took over the little tentacles to help wash Clara’s hair, while Lucia took charge of cleaning the impossibly pristine back—
So clean, was there really any need to wash it?
“Senpai, your skin is so clean, it looks like it glows.”
“N-no, you’re exaggerating.”
Actually, she really did seem to glow—after all, she was a squid.
“Senpai, thanks for all your hard work recently.”
Lucia sat at the edge of the tub, squeezing shower gel onto a bath sponge, gently lathering it into dense foam, her words sincere.
“You were limping around to take care of me even though you yourself had trouble walking. The reason I recovered so quickly is because of your care…”
She had heard this kind of gratitude so many times these past few days it had become almost deafening.
But Clara didn’t know how to respond.
She was a big brother.
Taking care of her younger sister was natural—it was completely unnecessary to be thanked…
Yet for Lucia, her real older brother had only come to visit once on the day she was injured, then left Central City on a business trip.
“Lucia-nee, don’t keep saying thanks all the time. I’m not doing it for that…”
She bent forward, hugging her knees and whispered, “By the way, your brother is always busy with his own stuff and doesn’t visit often… Don’t you resent him?”
That was a needless question.
Their father had long been unable to work due to his disability. The compensation from the village factory wasn’t much, and the sky-high price of prosthetics was something their family couldn’t afford.
The burden fell entirely on their mother’s shoulders until Squire, the eldest brother, found a job in Central City, relieving much of the family’s pressure.
The eldest brother was like a father figure to Lucia—it wasn’t just a metaphor, since even her expensive tuition was earned by him.
Therefore, Lucia simply answered, “Big brother… he must have his own difficulties.”
“…Hmm, you really trust him.”
Lucia used the showerhead to wet Clara’s back, then carefully rubbed the soapy bath sponge over it, her movements gentle, as if she were tending to a work of art…
“We’re family~ If he had time to visit me, I’m sure he would come by every day… Maybe he really has something more important at work that keeps him from coming back for now?”
Though it was just Lucia’s way of comforting herself, Squire truly was unable to return at the moment…
Speaking of which, who exactly was the “big brother” back then?