CH 373

Even after getting out of the bath, Nagisa and Linnecarlo seemed to be continuing their argument. Kiyone was already tired of mediating and left it at that.

“Yuta, I’m going to change the standby so you can go to the bathroom.”

Kiyone came to the hangar and said so with care.

“No, I’ll go in with Jean later. It’s a big bath, and it’s not very nice to be in it alone.”

“I see. Then let’s have Emitz go first.”

“You do that.”

Emitz was reluctant to go into the bath before me and Jean, but the ladies managed to persuade him to go in first. He told me later that he would have preferred to go in with me and Jean rather than go in alone first, but I’m sure I would have had trouble keeping my eyes off him if that happened.

It was getting late and that was the end of the day’s activities. We brought Mirai to a stop in the middle of a relatively safe floor with a good view, and took a rest. Jean also took a break from piloting.

“Jean, let’s go take a bath.”

“No choice, I’ll go with you.”

He said he didn’t have a choice, but Jean seemed to be happy. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a big bath, so I’m a little excited too.

I had seen it during the renovation, but the atmosphere of the bathroom was completely different with hot water and steam rising from it. Just receiving the hot air that tangled around my skin was enough to raise my spirits.

“What is it, Yuta? Do you always wash your feet first?”

“Yes, is that weird?”

“No, it’s not strange, but the dirt you wash goes down. It’s more efficient to wash from the top down, isn’t it?”

That’s for sure. I’ve always washed it off my feet without thinking about it, but now that I think about it, it’s probably not very efficient.

“That’s an eye-opener. I’ll wash my head first next time.”

“You really do react just like that guy, don’t you?”

Jean pointed out with a happy laugh.

“Who do I react like?”

I replied casually, but was a little surprised by what Jean said in reply.

“My dead brother.”

When I heard that, I was immediately speechless. Come to think of it, we’ve known each other for a long time, but I don’t know anything about Jean’s past. I thought it might be a good opportunity to ask him about his brother.

“Do you remember the first time we met?”

“I think it was when I was wandering around trying to sell Farma’s jewels.”

“When I saw you, I was amazed. I thought my dead brother had come back to life…….So I was curious to see what was going on, and I saw you trying to make a stupid deal. I couldn’t watch you, you were too careless.”

It’s true that if Jean hadn’t been there at that time, I would have sold off Farma’s precious jewels at a low price.

“But I couldn’t leave you guys alone because you were just like him in that you acted so stupidly…….”

I see. That’s why he lent us a hand when we first met him.

“The more we talked, the more we were alike. I still have a lot of regrets about my brother, and I still think that if I had cared about him a little more, I could have saved him.”

“Jean……I don’t know if this is the right question to ask, but……how did your brother die?”

“He tried to stand alone against a tremendous power. That’s a good way to put it, but a bad way to put it is that he was just a fool. It’s no laughing matter when you overestimate your own strength and get killed fighting an opponent you can’t even beat.”

Jean said sadly. I could see his feelings and regret for his brother in his expression.