Chapter 80: Ch:80 Soap, Tears, and Sisterhood
Fran grinned wide, holding the strange green herbal soap in her hand like a mischievous cat ready to pounce.
"Ehehe~ washing time, Sister~!" she giggled.
Dila flinched, her eyes still shut tight. "Wait, you’re seriously going to wash me? Fran, no! I can wash myself!"
But Fran was already behind her, humming innocently as she poured water over Dila’s shoulders.
"Relax, Sister! This is tradition! I’ll make sure you’re sparkling clean before the main bath~"
Dila twitched, hugging herself awkwardly as the cold water ran down her skin. "Th-this isn’t tradition! This is harassment! My personal space is gone!"
Fran just chuckled softly and worked up a lather of the herbal soap, spinning it in her palms. "Hehe~ Your skin’s really soft, Sister. I bet all that royal blood keeps it nice."
Dila’s face burned. "Don’t say that like you’re judging meat quality!"
Fran giggled more, circling the soapy lather around Dila’s back in slow, gentle motions. "You’re like a sleepy cat who doesn’t want to wake up."
"I’m not a cat!"
"Sure~" Fran teased.
Dila groaned, covering her face as her cheeks puffed like a frustrated pufferfish. "This has to be the most humiliating morning of my life..."
Fran beamed. "Then it’s a perfect day!"
Then....
Fran’s grin widened devilishly as she slyly moved the soapy hand toward Dila’s left arm.
"Now, Sister... hold still~" she sang playfully.
"Wait... wait, what are you—" Dila yelped.
Too late.
Fran grabbed Dila’s wrist gently and started running the slippery soap right into Dila’s armpit.
"N-no—!! N-noo!!" Dila suddenly burst into uncontrollable giggles, twisting helplessly in place. "S-stop! Not there! Not there!! Fran!!"
Fran laughed wickedly, rubbing in small circles with the soap like she was polishing a gemstone. "Ehehe~ ticklish, aren’t you, Sister? I knew it!"
"I-I’m not!!" Dila protested, tears at the corner of her eyes from laughing. "This is torture!!"
"But you’re smiling!" Fran teased.
"I’m dying!!" Dila shot back between giggles, trying to squirm away, but her eyes were still squeezed shut, making her wobble dangerously like a startled deer.
Fran held her steady, chuckling. "Come on, Sister~ Just a little more, and you’ll smell like minty herbs all day!"
Dila wheezed, red-faced. "I’d rather smell like a burnt log right now!!"
"Too late!" Fran declared happily, scrubbing even more gently now just to tease.
At that moment, Dila’s mind officially gave up.
"This... is the end..." she muttered dramatically. "I’m being defeated... by soap..."
Fran grinned mischievously. "Gatcha~" she whispered, wrapping her arms around Dila from behind again.
Dila’s eyes flew wide open. "W-what are you doing now?!"
Fran, acting as innocent as ever, slowly slid her soapy hands along Dila’s ribs. "I’m just washing you properly, Sister. You don’t want to enter the bath all dirty, do you?" she said, voice sweet as honey.
But then her hand, still lathered with the herbal soap, accidentally brushed just under Dila’s chest.
Dila froze like a statue. "...Fran."
Fran blinked, then looked at where her hand had landed. "Ohh~ wow. Sister, you’re kinda... um... mature here." She smirked teasingly.
Dila’s entire face burned red. "S-stop making weird observations!!" she yelped, covering herself with her arms like a shield again.
Fran just laughed softly. "Fufufu~ I’m just being honest."
"Honest people don’t grab others in the bath!" Dila squeaked.
"Technically, I didn’t grab."
"Stop! I’ll wash myself!" Dila whined.
But Fran was too entertained to let her go, giggling like a playful cat that had found a new toy.
As Dila kept her face buried in both hands, cheeks burning red, Fran’s mischievous grin only widened.
"Alright, Sister~ Time for the legs!" Fran sang, sounding far too cheerful for Dila’s comfort.
Dila’s ears twitched nervously. "W-wait... legs? You’re not serious, are you?"
Before she could react, Fran had already started rubbing the herbal soap along Dila’s thighs, humming like she was scrubbing laundry.
Dila jolted. "E-EHH?! Wh-why are you cleaning like you’re scrubbing armor?! AHH! T-too thorough! TOO thorough!!"
Fran giggled without stopping. "Every nook and cranny, Sister~ You said yourself you don’t want to be dirty when where not talking at the Chapter scene, right?"
Dila, trapped in her own flustered panic, wailed softly behind her hands. "I regret everything. I should’ve just stayed outside and i should never till that... I wanna go home..."
"Fufufu~ But you are home, Sister," Fran teased, flicking some suds up toward Dila’s knees as Dila twitched like an electrocuted cat.
"Fran... please... have mercy..."
As Fran kept scrubbing, Dila couldn’t help but squeak in total embarrassment.
"Ahhh! Nyaa–! Eee! Nooo! Fran, stop! N-not there!" Dila flailed helplessly, kicking her feet like a trapped fish, her voice cracking between awkward yelps.
Fran laughed so hard she nearly dropped the soap. "Ahahaha! Sister, you’re super cute when panicking! Seriously, are you sure you’re not secretly a wife material?"
Dila froze mid-flail, her brain lagging. "E-eh? What did you just say?"
Fran smirked. "I said, you’re wife material~ Why’d you become a mage instead of a housewife?"
Dila’s face darkened, cheeks burning crimson. "W-wife material?! No! Absolutely not! I’m not a... wifu!"
Fran tilted her head. "What’s waifu?"
There was a long, painful silence.
Dila groaned, still covering her eyes. "Forget I said that. Just... just think of it as a normal wife."
Fran giggled. "So... a waifu is a wife but cuter?"
Dila sighed in defeat. "Basically... yes."
Fran’s tail wagged as she laughed again. "Then you’re totally a waifu!"
"Fran... stop... you’re ruining me..." Dila whimpered.
After the most awkward, humiliating, and overly thorough bath session of her life, Dila finally slumped into the warm spring pool like a ragdoll tossed aside by fate itself.
She didn’t even sit properly—just leaned half-dead against the edge of the pool. Her arms dangled uselessly over the side, her legs were sprawled out with zero dignity, and her expression? Blank. Soul? Gone. Her once sharp blue eyes had faded into white, staring into the void.
A thin wisp of steam literally floated from her head like smoke from a ruined machine.
Meanwhile, across the washing area, Fran was cheerfully scrubbing herself, humming as if she hadn’t just mentally destroyed her sister.
"Sis?" Fran called sweetly, glancing over her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
From the pool, Dila, eyes still white, answered lifelessly.
"...Yeah."
Fran tilted her head, tail flicking. "You sure?"
Dila, still in corpse mode:
"Yeah... totally fine... My soul just left my body, that’s all."
Fran smiled innocently. "Okay then~!"
Dila didn’t move. Steam kept rising. Somewhere deep inside, she questioned her life choices... again.
In the peaceful warmth of the spring pool, everything should have been calm by now.
But....
Instead... Dila found herself in what could only be described as her own personal nightmare.
Instead of sitting side by side like normal people, Fran had positioned herself directly in front of Dila. Not just facing her—but fully hugging her, chest to chest, their bodies awkwardly smashed together.
Fran’s arms looped lazily around Dila’s neck, like she was some sleepy child hanging from a favorite stuffed toy. She was humming softly:
"Fu~ Fufufu~"
Her head tilted left and right, like a cat gently rocking to a tune, her eyes peacefully closed as if this whole situation was completely normal.
Meanwhile...
Dila.
Face: Stone cold.
Expression: Chad face activated.
Her whole face had darkened like a thundercloud. Her lips were pressed tight, her eyes shut even tighter. But the worst part?
She could feel everything.
Every soft press of Fran’s body. Every movement as Fran gently swayed. Every single heartbeat. She sat there, frozen, refusing to react like a proper mage of dignity should.
Inside her mind?
"Kill me. Just end me now."
Fran? Completely oblivious. She just smiled sweetly and sang her "Fu~ Fufufu~" while gently swaying, perfectly content in her humming, like playing a hot-water plush toy.
And Dila?
She remained locked in place, face darkened, spirit shattered. Her only strategy: pretend she’s a statue until it ends.
For a long, quiet moment, Fran’s voice softened, trembling slightly as her tears silently fell.
"You know what...?" Fran whispered, her voice small. "You’re the only one I feel safe with. The only one who treats me like a real sister. Not just a stray cat. Not some tool or beast..."
Her arms tightened faintly around Dila’s neck.
"Everyone else just sees a catgirl with a skill of assassin. But you... you’re different. You accepted me. Even when I act annoying... even when I tease you... you never push me away."
Fran’s breathing hitched as fresh tears slid down her cheeks.
"I finally... finally found a real sister who loves me for who I am."
Dila’s body tensed, her throat tightening. She’d heard every word. She swallowed hard as her stone-cold mask slowly cracked.
And then... quietly... she smiled.
Without opening her eyes, Dila slowly raised her right hand and patted Fran’s head softly.
"I love you too, Fran..." she whispered.
Fran let out a soft sob. "Really...? So you forgive me then...? For all the teasing? For washing you like that? For guiding you when your eyes was closed?"
Dila paused. Calmly. Coldly.
Her face dead serious.
"...No."
Fran froze.
A beat of silence.
Then Fran burst out laughing, clutching Dila even tighter as her tail wagged frantically.
"Pfff—Kah hahahaha! Fair enough, Sister! Fair enough!" she howled, tears of joy mixing with her earlier tears.
Her lips twitched, then softened. A small, real smile curved across her face for the first time all morning.