Atelier Tanaka

Book 6: Chapter 2 (3)

Sickness Unto Death

Today, as always, this maid was hard at work in her office.

Recently, Ive been spending more time in the office reading and signing paperwork than making tea or doing laundry. It makes me wonder if the title of maid still suits me.

Should I even wear the uniform anymore? I have so many questions. However, for now, I just have to do the work assigned to me. I guess its not like anything was directly assigned to me, but things just ended up like this.

I was staring at a document without really reading it while worrying about this.

Oooooooooohohohoho!

Hn!?

With a loud bang my office door was thrown open. This bang was followed by a familiar laugh.

Doris-sama. Doris-sama is here.

Shes been coming to visit me almost every day. Even so, Im still not used to her strange laugh.

Sophia! Im going on a trip!

W-Where are you going?

I figured she was here to pass the time as she had done several times before.

But I guess I was wrong.

Academy City! Ive been told that an important gathering is taking place!

A gathering?

I received word from my father requesting that I take part if I wasnt busy.

I-I see.

I had noticed that Doris-sama seemed bored as of late.

Theres probably nobody else in the city that has used the hot springs more than her.

Are you leaving now?

Well be leaving soon but I need to stop in Kalis before that.

E-Eh? Isnt that the opposite direction?

Im surprised that Im familiar with Academy City. Its a place famous for the research and inventions that come out of it, primarily focused around magic. Ive obviously never been there, but even an ignorant maid like me is familiar enough to know the general direction.

Liz is insisting I come with her.

Eh? I thought Ester-sama was in the capital?

I havent seen her in a long time.

The capital and Tricklis have connected magic transmitters.

Magic transmitter.

Ive heard of that before. It uses expensive magical tools to allow distant communication between two devices. These devices allow Tricklis and Kalis to stay in contact with each other. Due to Tricklis distance from the border, it must be a necessary tool in case of emergency.

If I recall correctly, Ester-sama used that tool to request supplies and receive advice from the capital. I never saw her use it myself, but I overheard her discussing it with Fahren-sama.

O-Of course.

I never even realized Drill-sama left, but she already traveled to Tricklis and returned.

I suppose with the help of that handsome Demon she could travel that distance in no time. But I thought Drill-sama was supposed to be a prisoner of war. She seems to be free to come and go as she pleases. Shes made herself so comfortable, I almost forgot she was from a different country.

She mentioned something about Allen. Apparently, she made up with that knight after giving up on the lord of this town. Shes afraid of how her father will react and plans to flee the country with him.

eh?

Thats the first Ive heard of that.

Did Ester-sama get bored of chasing after Tanaka-san? I thought theyd end up together eventually. I dont know how to feel about this.

But I do understand. Allen-sama is so cool after all.

I told Liz where I was planning to go and then she begged me to take her with me. That girl thinks with a part of her body other than her head. She just wants to have all the fun she can outside of her parents control.

No, ummI dont know if thats.

I couldnt bring myself to agree with her.

I have so much respect for Ester-sama.

Tanaka-san may have missed the opportunity of a lifetime.

Anyway, I hope youre looking forward to your souvenirs.

S-Souvenirs?

Araa? Do you not want a gift from me, Sophia?

O-o-O-Of course I do! Thank you so much and Im looking forward to it!

Ohohoho! See you later!

H-Have a good trip!

Doris-sama left as quickly as she had appeared.

I could hear the sound of her footsteps fading down the hall.

Even though shes from another country, I think its gracious of her to take the time to inform a commoner like me of her plans. Im fortunate to be able to have interactions like this so often.

Still, she is a bit strange.

***

This balding busamen, still crying over the loss of his hair, has finally awoken to the miracles of alchemy.

Still, the easiest solution to this problem will be to eliminate the cause of the hair loss. Which means I need to reduce my stress. If I relieve my stress there will be no need for me to create a hair regrowth potion. I wont need to become a master alchemist.

When it comes to improving my alchemy, I should wait until we arrive at our destination. Based on its name and reputation, there should be a lot of resources available for me to learn from. There may even be people researching hair regrowth or products that have already been created.

My time on the airship should be spent reducing my stress and avoiding building up anymore. I should do whatever I can to reduce my symptoms and hope that that can lead to me growing back some hair come tomorrow.

I decided to try exercising.

I remember reading something before that people can reduce stress by exercising. Furthermore, exercise can help reduce the buildup of dihydrotestosterone, one of the causes of baldness.

Ha, ha, ha.

I was using what space I had to exercise.

Currently, Im running laps on the deck.

Ive been relying on flight magic and rarely walking lately. Ive also been doing a lot more desk work which is a major change from my days fighting on the battlefield during the conflict. Im probably getting less exercise now than when I first arrived in the Penny Empire.

Ha, ha, ha.

But I dont think theres a better place to go for a run.

I never thought Id have a chance to do something like this.

Isnt this the greatest view you could ever get?

O-Oi, what are you doing?

Edita Sensei stumbled across me mid-exercise.

She looked puzzled as she watched me run.

Oh, if it isnt Edita-san.

I slowed down and changed my direction to run to her side. No, I stopped a few meters away as a busamen like me tends to sweat a lot and I probably smell bad. Im going to avoid getting close to her and run in place a small distance away.

I thought some exercise sounded good after being cooped up in my cabin all this time.

right.

Theres no chance Im telling her that Im trying to reverse my balding. Thanks to that, my excuse was a little flimsy, but theres not much I can do about that. I couldnt think of anything better.

Did you need me for something?

Ah no, thats not why Im here..

If so, I was hoping to run for a little longer.

S-Sure.

After saying goodbye to Sensei, I returned to my run.

The deck of the airship provided enough room for a decent exercise. If I can find a net and poles, we could even play tennis. Some form of magic protects us from the high winds we should be feeling at this altitude. Its quite nice.

Not long after I resumed running, Edita Sensei suddenly yelled,

Im running too!

E-Edita-san?

I-Im running too! I want to exercise!

.

Shes insisting on doing things outside her comfort zone again.

My blonde haired, thick thighed Sensei is easily influenced by those around her. Shes the type of person who wants to join in with whatever others are doing. Im sure things would get interesting if I brought her to a happening bar.

Id like to go to one myself some day. Ah, a happening bar.

Pardon me!

Just as she said, my blonde Sensei started running beside me.

I could see her out of my peripheral running alongside me. Her beautiful blonde hair flowing out behind her in response to her movement. The glistening sunlight from her hair was mesmerizing. The difference between her lustrous hair and my filthy black hair is night and day.

I could also catch glimpses of her face as well. It looked oddly dignified for the physical activity we were doing and surprisingly cool. It made her look more mature than usual and made me fall in love with her even more. The stiff jaw line she was showing looked so cool. I want her to rape me.

The two of us continued our run along the deck for several minutes.

As the distance we ran increased, the dignified expression of Edita Sensei slowly disappeared.

At the start, she looked cool and relaxed, but it didnt take long for the physical exertion to take effect on her. She was drenched in sweat after only a short run. There was sweat running down her forehead and cheeks and her clothes were so wet that they clung to her skin. They were even see through in some areas. What a sight.

Haa, ha, ha. Ha, ha, haa~

Senseis heavy breathing excited me more than I expected.

Were only running side-by-side but it feels like Im raping her. I wanted to run a little faster, but Sensei struggled to keep up with me. Shes the type of person that hates to lose. I cant help but find her adorable, but it makes me want to abuse her even more.

Her moans gave me the motivation to keep going. I think this is whats called a runners high. I feel like I can go on forever. I was to give Sensei a deep kiss as shes panting with her mouth half open.

Uaa~.

As I was lost in my fantasy, Sensei tripped on something.

She fell down and I was too late to react.

Edita-san.

Uuuu~.

Sensei curled up with her knee to her chest.

She looked to be in a lot of pain.

I suppressed the urge to watch any longer and shot off a quick heal.

Are you alright?

I-Im sorry. I tripped.

You should take a break. Starting out with something intense like this can be dangerous to your body. You should start out with something easier like a brisk walk and allow your body to naturally grow accustomed to it.

okay.

She gave me a slight nod as she remained seated on the deck.

She looked a bit dejected.

Whats wrong? Are you still hurt?

Thats not it. Your heal cures everything.

Really? Then, thats good.

Sensei was drenched in sweat. The sweat wasnt limited to her forehead and face but also her armpits, chest, thighs, and almost every other part of her body. Her hair was also damp from sweat. Her lovely body odor tickled my nose.

Her modest chest rose and fell as she tried to regain her breath. Seeing them like that, I couldnt help but desire to bury my face in them. I want to feel my blonde thick thighed Senseis sweat all over me. I want to use her sweat in place of my own to cool me off.

Im still curious why you got the sudden urge to exercise with me.

S-Same as you. I felt that Ive been trapped inside too much lately.

Sure.

I figured with so much free time on this trip, this would be a good time to get some exercise in.

Thats a good idea.

R-Right?

I dont know if I believe her, but she seems motivated so why question her? Not to mention that having her run alongside me motivates me to run harder.

If she keeps this up, I could see myself happily running every day.

***