Chapter 358: Sharing a Bath with My Assistant’s Sister

With that thought, and leaving behind the bustle of his new demonic workers settling into their rooms, Ryan walked silently down the hallways. He proceeded calmly until he reached the door to the castle’s bath.

His muscles still felt tense from the constant meetings and the burden of organizing all the logistics for his growing nation.

Ryan pushed open the wooden door and stepped inside. He breathed in the warm air that filled the room. A soft steam hung in the air, slightly blurring his vision and creating an atmosphere of total tranquility.

Stepping softly over the flagstones freshly polished by the elves, he thought how much this bath reminded him of the sky dungeon’s architecture. The spacious design and the use of carved stone shared that same ancient essence.

Ryan looked at the pool of crystal-clear water in front of him. He remembered that he had never been to a real hot spring back when he lived in his old world. Now, as the ruler of these lands, he had a place like this at his disposal.

Without giving it much thought, Ryan took off his dark pants and left them on a small wooden bench. He grabbed his clean towel. He wrapped it around his waist, securing it firmly to be comfortable.

Suddenly, he heard the clear splash of water on the other side of the room. Accompanied by that sound, a sigh of deep relaxation echoed through the quiet space. That simple noise told him he wasn’t alone like he had initially thought.

Ryan stopped for a second, straining his ears. He slowly approached the source of the sound. He carefully stepped past the thick column of the central wall that blocked his view of the pool’s far end.

"I thought no one was here," Ryan muttered softly. He took a few more steps, staying alert but relaxed.

On the other side of the pool, a silhouette was already submerged with her back to him. The person was humming a sweet tune. She kept her arms crossed, resting her cheek lazily against the smooth stone of the hot spring.

Ryan observed the distinctive wet white hair falling down the figure’s back. He instantly noticed the peculiar wolf ears poking up from her head, twitching slightly at the echoing water.

"Alicia?" Ryan asked, immediately assuming it was his assistant. It was common for her to be awake before everyone else.

The young woman’s white ears perked up instantly upon hearing his voice.

"Your Majesty!" she exclaimed. She spun around in a flurry, her face full of surprise, causing a loud splash of water.

She instinctively covered her chest a bit, her eyes wide open.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t think anyone would come to use the facilities this early," she added, an obvious nervousness in her tone.

’I thought the exact same thing. So it’s Alisa,’ Ryan thought, calmly taking in the situation. He stood at the edge, watching her.

Alisa, realizing who was in front of her, quickly stood up in the water as a sign of respect. In doing so, she left her breasts completely exposed to Ryan’s gaze. The water barely reached her waist.

Although Alisa was identical to Alicia in every way when it came to her facial features and skin color, there were two very clear things that stood out to tell them apart at a glance.

One of them Ryan had noticed from the very first moment he saw her a while ago, back when Alisa was first introduced to him. Alisa’s hair was noticeably shorter than her older sister’s.

But the second difference, which Ryan had just realized at that exact moment upon seeing her without clothes, left him surprised.

’How is it possible that the younger sister has much larger breasts?’ Ryan wondered to himself. He observed Alisa’s proportions in front of him, noting the stark contrast with Alicia’s more athletic figure.

Alisa noticed where her king’s fixed gaze was directed. Her cheeks flushed a deep red almost instantly.

"I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’ll leave right away," Alisa apologized quickly. She made a move to climb out of the pool, snapping Ryan out of his thoughts.

Ryan had been staring at her, evaluating her appearance without any hidden intentions. But when Alisa moved from her spot, he noticed something rather unusual.

Alisa had a scar right in the middle of her chest. And it wasn’t small at all.

The mark looked like a perfect cut made by a very sharp weapon. It had a highly unusual shape that stood out clearly against her soft, pale skin. It didn’t look like a regular combat wound.

"What happened to you there?" Ryan pointed out curiously. He aimed his finger directly at her chest, completely ignoring Alisa’s initial discomfort.

He didn’t wait for an answer from afar. Ryan approached the edge and stepped into the hot pool with Alisa. The heat of the water enveloped his legs as he took firm steps toward her.

Being so used to being surrounded by naked women on a daily basis, Ryan wasn’t even fazed by the situation or the proximity. Right then, he was much more concerned with understanding the origin of the wound he saw on her and whether it represented any kind of problem.

Alisa, for a moment, seemed to lose her initial shyness in the face of Ryan’s direct and analytical attitude. She raised her arms and brought both hands to the center of her chest, partially covering the mark.

"This? It happened so long ago that I don’t remember exactly how it occurred," Alisa said. She lowered one of her hands and began tracing the scar with her fingertips.

Alisa looked down at the water, trying to search for a clear memory in her mind.

"But I know I was attacked by a demon when I was just a little girl," Alisa added in a more somber and thoughtful tone.

Alisa caressed the irregular mark on her skin, feeling the texture beneath her fingers.

"Even though it happened so long ago, sometimes I feel pain coming from it," Alisa explained with a hint of nostalgia and sadness in her voice.

Ryan listened to her very carefully. Alisa genuinely didn’t seem to remember clearly how that had happened to her. Her lack of memory about the event was a detail that didn’t go unnoticed by him.

"And you say it still hurts. Could it be some kind of curse?" Ryan asked, crossing his arms in the water as he analyzed the situation.

He already knew very well about magical techniques like that in this world. Attacks that not only damaged the physical body but also attacked the mind or left persistent aftereffects. It wasn’t hard for Ryan to think that this scar represented something like that, especially with a demon involved.

"I’m not sure, Your Majesty," Alisa replied with a hint of doubt in her tone.

That same doubt made her lower her gaze for several long seconds, looking at her own reflection in the water. Then she slowly raised it back to Ryan’s face, blushing slightly once again at the proximity between them.

Ryan immediately remembered a conversation they had before the last battle.

"A while ago, when you made our outfits for the war, your sister told me you had something important to tell me," Ryan mentioned, putting the pieces together in his head in search of answers.

He stared right into her eyes, waiting for an honest reaction.

"Is it about this?" Ryan asked, seeking to confirm whether his theory about the wound was connected to that secret.

Alisa quickly shook her head, shaking her short white hair.

"No, that’s not it. It was something a bit strange, but..." Alisa stopped mid-sentence, gently biting her lower lip.

Alisa hesitated for a long moment. She looked somewhat unsure about whether she should continue speaking in front of her king.

"...I don’t know if it’s appropriate to tell you something like this," Alisa finished in a much lower and more reserved tone.

Ryan didn’t answer right away. He evaluated Alisa’s obvious nervousness and decided to change his approach to give her more confidence. He didn’t want to press her if she wasn’t ready to talk.

"You don’t have to worry. You can trust me with anything," Ryan stated. He offered her a faint, warm smile to calm her anxiety.

Then, Ryan took another step toward her through the hot water, closing the distance almost entirely. He reached out with his right hand directly toward her chest.

"But first, let’s heal that scar," Ryan commented in a confident and decisive tone, focusing on the immediate physical problem.

Alisa’s eyes widened in surprise at his statement.

"Heal?" Alisa asked. She looked completely confused by his words.

Alisa stepped back an inch on pure instinct, feeling Ryan’s hand a little too close.

"But Your Majesty, this scar has been there for so long that nothing in the world has been able to heal it," Alisa explained quickly, trying to make him see reason.

Alisa lowered her ears a bit, feeling that her hopes of having flawless skin again had died years ago.

"Besides... I know very well that human magic can’t heal wounds that have already been closed for a long time either," Alisa argued firmly.

From her extensive knowledge as an artisan and former prisoner, Alisa knew how the rules of the world worked. She believed she shouldn’t get worked up or hold out false hope for something medically impossible.

Ryan listened to her complaints without changing the expression on his face. He remained unfazed by her logic.

"Yes, you’re right about human magic," Ryan admitted calmly, agreeing with her about his race’s limitations.

He kept his hand steady, aiming exactly between her breasts and gathering his energy.

"But I am a Demon King now," Ryan declared. He flashed her a confident smile that exuded authority.

He focused all his healing power into the palm of his hand.

"Recovery."