After finishing their soak in the lie-down bath, Kaito and Illness dried themselves off and moved to the adjacent rest room. Clad in a provided bathrobe with a towel wrapped around his hair, Kaito looked around the interior with genuine interest.
"Wow, I didn't realize there was a room like this too."
"Yes... it is meant for taking moderate breaks so you can enjoy the baths for longer... you see..."
"That makes sense. If you stay in too long, you’ll get dizzy, but you need a fair amount of time to really enjoy everything here. Rotating between bathing and resting is a great idea."
"You’ve worked up quite a sweat, so I shall prepare some drinks for us... right away..."
As she used the rest room’s equipment to prepare iced tea, Illness let her thoughts wander.
(Judging by Kaito-sama’s current state... there is a good chance he may want to bathe a bit more after our break... I must be careful to ensure we do not stay up too late... mustn't I?)
While pondering this, she set the drinks down before Kaito and took the seat opposite him with her own glass. She knew by now that Kaito hated seeing her stand while he sat, and that he would inevitably insist she join him.
"I just had a sudden thought..."
"Yes...?"
"Illness-san, you always seem to be working. Do you ever actually take any time off?"
"Yes... Milady is very considerate about such things, so today is actually a vacation day for me... believe it or not..."
"I see... Wait, today is a vacation day?"
Kaito’s lingering impression was that Illness was at the mansion virtually every second of every day. He often noticed when Lunamaria or Sieglinde were absent, which made it easy to tell when they were on holiday.
In Sieglinde’s case, since she lived at Lilia's Mansion, he still saw her on her days off, but she usually spent those hours almost exclusively with Seras—whom she normally left with Bellfried and Rin during her shift. Whether or not Seras was perched on her shoulder was a dead giveaway.
Regarding Illness, however, while he had recently started seeing her relaxing with Nebula, he had never once failed to run into her over the course of an entire day.
"Wait, does that mean you’re working right now even though you’re on holiday?"
"No... as far as taking care of Kaito-sama is concerned... I do it because I want to... so I wouldn't call it work... would you?"
"I... well..."
"And as for right now... we are mostly just enjoying the bath together... are we not?"
"When you put it that way, it’s hard to argue."
It was true that Kaito’s frequent invitations played a role, but as it stood, Illness was simply enjoying the relaxation room with him. It was a gray area whether her presence counted as "work."
However, seeing Kaito look unconvinced—his expression clouding with worry that she might be overexerting herself—she let out a soft, airy chuckle.
"You seem to be under a slight misunderstanding... I do rest periodically in my daily life... kuhihi. To be more precise... it would be more accurate to say that my Split Body handles the labor while my Main Body rests... wouldn't you agree?"
"Eh? Ah, so that’s why I see you all the time."
"Yes... even when I go out, I leave a Split Body behind at the mansion. I am a Count-class level powerhouse after all, so I can create a few Split Bodies with abilities comparable to my own... quite easily..."
As the highest-ranking Count-class level powerhouse, Illness could produce Split Bodies. While she couldn't match Alice’s sheer scale, she utilized them regularly. In fact, since she also served as an executive of the Phantasm King's subordinates, she simply didn't have enough hours in the day to handle everything alone, making the use of Split Bodies a necessity.
"I don't really understand the mechanics, but don't things like fatigue or injuries to the Split Body provide feedback to you?"
"They do not... Fundamentally, a Split Body is a lump of magic power. We can share information and memories, but physical damage to the double will not affect the Main Body... not at all. If one reached a world-class level like Alice-sama, they might be able to create a Split Body with an actual physical body... but I cannot do such things..."
"I see. Well, as long as you're actually getting some rest, Illness-san... that’s a relief."
"Thank you very much... for your kindness..."
As Illness smiled, Kaito fell silent for a moment as if contemplating something, eventually speaking up.
"Illness-san, I have a question. If you can leave a Split Body at the mansion when your Main Body isn't there... does that mean you could theoretically go on a long trip without the work at the house piling up?"
"Yes... In fact, during the Six Kings Festival, I traveled all the way to the Demon Realm... did I not?"
"Ah, that’s right... Which means, even though I’ve been holding back because I didn't want to burden you with your responsibilities... I could actually invite you on trips that take a few days..."
After hearing Illness’s explanation, Kaito murmured to himself in a voice so low he thought she wouldn't hear... but to Illness and her overwhelming senses, his quiet words were perfectly audible.
(Oh? Oh my... this is... could it be that I am allowed to have expectations?)
For Illness, who had been secretly longing to go on a long-distance journey with Kaito, the opportunity had appeared from an unexpected direction. For someone as composed as her, it was rare for her heart to flutter with such sweet anticipation.
Serious-senpai: "Hey, hey, don't go setting flags for the next plot point like that! People are going to die, you know!"
Machina: "Um, let me check the script... What’s this? Who’s going to die?"
Serious-senpai: "Me!"
Machina: "Oh, really? Well, I can easily revive you, so it's fine."
Serious-senpai: "...No, that's not the point..."