This is a short story, but I'm posting it anyway.
I had something I wanted to ask about Jeanne and the others.
That powerful voice reached not just my ears but Maria and the others as well, and they came hurrying back to see what was going on.
"Aina, what's going on? Something's off with you..."
Aina bowed her head to a worried-looking Maria.
"I'm sorry for startling you... However, I have something to ask Tenma — no! Something I must ask him!"
Aina was somewhat worked up, and both I and Maria and the others were taken aback.
"Tenma, what did you do to Jeanne and the others — no, what did you do to Aura!"
As Aina pressed closer, I took a step back.
"I mean, even though my little sister is a good-for-nothing, useless airhead... her hair and skin were shiny to a terrifying degree! What kind of magic did you use on Aura's hair! Tenma!"
Those words, fired off with that overwhelming intensity, nearly made me stumble.
"W-what, is that all? I tensed up for nothing..."
"Is that all?! There's no way Aura could take care of herself like that! Please tell me, Tenma!"
Aina kept talking over everything I said... As expected of sisters — their excited behavior was practically identical!
"Aren't you thinking something rude? No — forget that, what did you do, Tenma!"
At Aina's rare outburst, Maria placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from me...
"I'm interested too, Tenma!"
...and she chimed right in.
"Indeed, Jeanne's and Aura's hair and skin were beautiful... Come to think of it, Tenma, you look beautiful too. Did you teach them how to take care of themselves?"
Maria's words prompted Isabella, Chris, and the female knights to gather around me.
"You're right, I did teach them the method... but you noticed? Did Aura tell you?"
Aina puffed out her chest proudly at my words... with her rather lacking chest volume...
"Of course! Setting Jeanne aside, there's no way Aura could do that kind of care by herself!"
What incredible trust! And somehow, I found it oddly convincing.
Being swarmed by the women was getting a little scary, so I decided to teach everyone the method I'd shown Aura and the others.
"It may be a bit unusual, but... Slarin, come on out!"
I called Slarin out from behind me and introduced her to everyone.
"This is my Familiar, and her name is Slarin. As it happens, Slarin has a special ability—I don't know why, but she can dissolve tiny bits of dust and grime stuck to hair and skin!"
My words left the women half-skeptical. However, I ignored their doubt and continued.
"Moreover, by working the liquid from this ability into washed hair, you can make it glossy and beautiful. The effect becomes even greater if you keep at it for several days! And this soap is gentle on the skin—it creates moisture and elasticity!"
It sounded a bit like a shopping channel pitch, but since I'd already tested it on Jeanne, Aura, and even Shiromaru, I could guarantee the results... There was just one ingredient that was a bit difficult to explain...
The dark atmosphere from earlier had vanished in the face of my words. In its place, the women radiated an indescribable aura.
"I see... So it wasn't Aura being amazing after all. That's only natural, I suppose... By the way... could you share some of that with us?"
Aina's words prompted the other women to chime in as well.
"That's not fair, Aina! Tenma, share some with me too!"
"Tenma, I'd like some as well!"
"Tenma! You've got some for me too, right?"
"If you don't mind, we'd like some as well..."
The women closed in all at once. I wouldn't mind giving it to them, but unlike the soap, I hadn't made any of this liquid recently. The only container I had left was this single bottle.
When I explained that, Aina snatched the bottle from my hand and tucked it into her robe before I could react.
"Aina, hand that over at once!"
Maria ordered, but Aina flatly refused to obey.
"There's always a chance something could go wrong! It's not safe for Her Majesty to use it right away — if anything happens, it'll be too late! So first, I'll test it on myself to confirm it's safe. Her Majesty may use it only after I've verified that!"
I understood what Aina was getting at… I did, but after seeing how she'd behaved just a moment ago, her words carried zero conviction!
Sure enough, Maria and the others were not convinced.
"Then it shouldn't be a problem if *we* use it, right, Aina!"
Chris and the female knights said that in unison.
The three of them closed in on Aina, surrounding her from three directions.
"Hey, Aina. If you want to test its effects, we're the ideal candidates, aren't we? Our hair and skin take a beating from all the intense training we do every day. Now hand it over!"
As if taking that as their signal, the female knights who had circled behind Aina lunged — but Aina dodged them with lithe, graceful movements and kept her distance from Chris.
"As expected… You really were recommended as a squadron commander of the Knights Order once — I see now that was no flattery…"
While exclamations of surprise filled the air, the two stared each other down.
The dodged female knights tried to get behind Aina again, but couldn't manage it.
Maria and Isabella were watching for any opening, scheming to snatch the bottle.
"Hyah!"
In the middle of that tense standoff, Luna — who had somehow gotten close to Aina without anyone noticing — successfully grabbed the bottle.
"Here you go, Onii-chan! I got it back for you!"
Luna skipped over to me with a bright, innocent smile and held out the bottle.
"Sure. You can have that one… There's only a little left, but I think it'll be enough for two or three uses. Why don't you start using it today?"
It probably wouldn't have lasted more than one or two uses for an adult, but for Luna—a child with far less hair—it should be enough to notice the effects.
Still, I decided to play it safe and make sure.
"You're not going to try snatching this away from a little girl, are you?"
My words left the group with no choice but to resign themselves, but Aina suddenly seemed to come up with something.
"Tenma… could it be that you've already given that bottle to Aura and the others too?"
Before I could finish saying, "Well, yes, I have," the women—excluding Luna and the two female knights—sprang into action.
Their targets, with a hundred and twenty percent certainty, were those two.
The reason was simple: Luna had the liquid in her hands, and as for the two female knights, even they didn't have the nerve to compete with the queens inside the royal castle.
"Oh dear, they're gone… There were plenty more if soap would have been enough…"
In truth, you could get a nearly identical effect by dissolving the soap in water to make soap water—the most important ingredient was the same, after all.
When I mentioned this, the female knights were interested, so I gave one bar each to the two of them.
I then handed some to Luna, Kurif, and Edgar as well, and just like that, the soap was completely gone save for the half-used bar I'd kept for myself.
It's terribly rude to put it this way, but I believe there's a saying that goes, "A hasty beggar gets less"… With two royals among them, I really do feel bad about the phrasing. But it goes to show just how much hair and skin matter to women.
The guards (all except one) thanked me after that and returned to their respective posts.
Left behind with Luna, I had no choice but to take her hand, slip through the entrance, and head back to our room with Luna leading the way.
On the way down the corridor, we ran into Maria and Isabella, who had collapsed from exhaustion partway through. We all headed to the same room where we'd gathered the day before, and when Luna saw the two of them looking frustrated, she offered to share the soap she'd gotten earlier—they were absolutely delighted.
I also heard afterward that Jeanne hadn't had any of the liquid on her; only Aura had it. But in the scramble between Aina and Chris, it ended up falling on the floor, and neither of them managed to get it in the end.
Furthermore, I was told that after that incident, Chris was so intimidating that the female knights and Edgar swore they would never, ever speak of the soap again.