Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume9 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 3===

...The next morning.

Boing. Boing.

"Ooh, mmm..."

Surrounded by a rather comfortable sensation, Kamito woke up.

"...Was it just a dream?"

Half-awake, Kamito muttered to himself. However--

"Uwah, Kamito, where do you think you are touching..."

"K-Kamito-san is such a pervert..."

"...!?"

The whispers by his ear prompted him to suddenly sit up on the bed.

"...A dream, yeah right!"

The memories from last night before Fianna's sleep hypnosis remained vividly in his mind.

Sleeping in the same bed as Kamito were the highborn ladies in their nightgowns sleeping soundly with adorable breathing noises. Seeing Claire's thigh exposed from under the hem of her nightgown, Kamito blushed and frantically turned his gaze away.

"Kamito, I-I can't believe you forced me to do something so shameless, you are truly, yaaa..."

"Fufu, doing this with everyone, Kamito-kun is truly the Demon King of the Night..."

"...W-What the heck are you girls dreaming!?"

Kamito remarked in exasperation as he listened to the girls talking in their dreams.

"...I'd better go take a shower and purify myself as well."

...In any case, this sort of situation was really terrible for his mental health.

In order not to wake Claire and the girls, Kamito quietly got out of bed.

Leaving the bedroom, he opened the curtain to the entrance of the Purification Chamber.

"...Meow?"

"Woah...Ah."

Only to find a fiery burning object crouching on the floor by his feet.

Claire's contracted spirit, Scarlet.

Normally, Claire would hug Scarlet in her sleep like a hot water bottle, but because she was squeezed in with everyone else on Kamito's bed last night, Scarlet had no choice but to sleep out here.

"...I almost stepped on its tail."

Kamito sighed with relief.

"Meow meow."

The hell cat spirit stood up and started walking in circles around Kamito.

Normally, contracted spirits did not open their hearts to anyone apart from their contractor. But who knew if it was because Kamito fed Scarlet all the time or not, Scarlet displayed unexpected intimacy with Kamito.

"You want to bathe together too?"

Kamito asked half jokingly but Scarlet shook its head vigorously.

"...Oh well, you're a flame spirit after all. Being afraid of water is only normal."

After rubbing the hell cat's head, Kamito took off his pajamas and entered the showering space.

Using his hand to touch the tiny spirit crystal that was inlaid in the metal stand, he infused a little divine power. Very soon, water began to flow forcefully out of the hole in the ceiling.

The icy cold water droplets helped him to gradually cool down the elevated temperature of his body.

As Kamito took his wet hand, intending to scrub his body, he discovered that the teeth marks left behind by Claire's bite were still visible.

Recalling again what happened the previous night, Kamito blushed.

"...That Greyworth, I really shouldn't have worried about her."

Even after losing the power of the spirit contract, the witch was still a witch. From the very start, watching Kamito squirm in awkward situations had always been her greatest entertainment.

"...But anyway, the effects of the ritual magic seem to be real."

Slightly clenching his fist to summon strength, the faint phosphorescent glow of divine power appeared all over his body.

All his fatigue from the previous day had been dispelled. Kamito's body was back in peak condition.

In this state, even using Est at full power would not exhaust him so quickly.

At this time.

"Kamito, time to scrub your back."

"Yeah, thank you."

After answering politely--

"...Hmm?"

Kamito tilted his head in puzzlement.

"...Say, woah!?"

Turning around, he found an incomparably beautiful fairy.

Long silver-white hair shining with dazzling brilliance. Pristine snow-like skin as white as fresh milk.

Those mysterious violet eyes of hers were staring expressionlessly at Kamito.

The sword spirit -- Terminus Est.

Renowned as the legendary Demon Slayer, Kamito's contracted spirit.

"E-Est! W-Why are you here!?"

Blushing, Kamito frantically turned his gaze away and screamed.

Est's current appearance was naturally her usual naked kneesocks look.

...Oh well, although there was nothing strange about being naked in the shower, she apparently still adhered adamantly to her philosophy of never taking kneesocks off, even in a place like this.

Expanding due to the moisture, the black kneesocks seemed even more seductive for some strange reason.

"Kamito, if you don't sit down I cannot scrub your back."

"I-It's okay, don't worry! I can handle it myself!"

Hearing that--

"..."

Est glared expressionlessly at Kamito.

"Kamito, I was unable to get into bed this morning."

"Eh?"

"I was unable to get into bed this morning."

She repeated herself.

"..."

Come to think of it, Est always crept secretly into Kamito's bed every morning.

Presumably because the highborn ladies had occupied the entire bed, she was unable to sneak inside this morning.

"...Are you actually angry about that?"

"No, I am not angry. Master."

"No no no, you are definitely angry!"

Despite the fact that it was difficult to read Est's thoughts and feelings from her expressionless face, whenever she addressed Kamito so distantly, there was no doubt that she was angry.

"...I-I am in the wrong! Next time you crawl into bed, I'm not going to be angry again."

"Really?"

"Yes, let's make this a promise."

"Uwah, Kamito..."

Kamito placed his hand on Est's head and gently caressed her beautiful silver hair.

...Looks like her mood had lifted.

However, Kamito could only relax for a moment.

"So Kamito, please turn your back to me."

"Like I said, how did it come to this!?"

"Kamito, I was unable to get into bed this morning."

"...I-I get it. Sorry."

Giving up on resisting, Kamito sat down with his back facing Est.

Est pressed her tiny palms tightly against Kamito's back.

(...C-Clear my mind of unnecessary thoughts.)

Indeed, this was definitely nothing worth feeling guilty about.

(Just a contracted spirit helping me scrub my back, that's all.)

The floating soap bubbles gradually expanded.

Then--

Splash.

"...!?"

An unknown sensation coming from his back made Kamito greatly alarmed.

"Kamito, what's the matter?"

"E-Est... Say, y-you're touching my back."

"...? Of course, because I am washing your back, Kamito."

A bouncy sensation.

"N-No, that's not what I mean, your chest..."

"...?"

Est inclined her head in puzzlement and pressed her sud-covered body even closer.

...This situation was terrible. Extremely terrible indeed.

Although Est had no intentions of that sort--

The small yet extremely elastic sensation on Kamito's back was very dangerous in various ways.

"P-Please, just scrub normally with your hands--"

Just as Kamito was midway through his sentence.

"--Kamito, please listen to me."

Pressing her body tightly against him, Est whispered in Kamito's ear.

Her petite lower jaw was resting against Kamito's shoulder.

The wet silver hair draped and clung to his burning hot skin.

"...Est?"

"Kamito, you have accepted my fate as the cursed demon sword. Hence, as your sword, Kamito, I shall accept the entirety of your being, Kamito."

"..."

"Even if you are the reincarnation of the Demon King, Kamito, my feelings will not change. I am your sword, Kamito, and your wish is my command -- Promise me, you must be absolutely victorious."

These were the thoughts and feelings invested in this blade dance by the normally cool and collected sword spirit, now voiced out loud.

In order to respond to Est's feelings, Kamito replied:

"--Yeah. I'll be relying on you, partner."

Kamito turned towards his shoulder to face Est and nodded vigorously.

--Then in the next instant.

"Meow--Meow--!"

"...?"

Just as what seemed to be Scarlet's call was heard coming from outside, the door to the shower space was forcefully flung open.

"Uwaaaah, y-y-you, what are you making poor Est do!?"

Claire appeared, shouting with her face all red.

"Kamito!" "Kamito-kun!" "Kamito-san!"

Following closely behind were Ellis, Fianna and Rinslet, equally astounded by the sight.

"N-No! This is because--"

Kamito tried his hardest to explain, however--

A situation where he was accompanied by a beautiful girl spirit dressed in nothing but kneesocks, all covered in soap suds...

...He could not find any reasonable explanation at this time.

"...~Y-You sexual deviant!"

"Shameless, completely shameless!"

"Sigh, Kamito-kun surely is the Demon King of the Daytime."

"Y-You damned atrocity, I will make you into a ham cutlet sandwich!"

Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble......!

"H-Huff, huff..."

Faced with the burning rage of the young ladies, Kamito's face twitched convulsively.