The Most Arbitrary Wizard

"I'm here."

Sean expressionlessly bypassed the blushing, heart-pounding Eleanor, walking into the bathroom as if nothing were amiss.

'That's what's great about hotels. The bathrobes are already hanging in the bathroom, so I don't have to prepare one. As for hygiene... A cruise ship this luxurious wouldn't fail to clean its bathrobes properly. Nothing to worry about.'

Steam billowed from the bathtub, and the water temperature was perfect.

He had broken out in a cold sweat tonight, so Sean subconsciously began to undress. But halfway through, he suddenly felt a gaze fixed on his back. He turned to see Elise standing perfectly still, doing her best to suppress a smile.

Sean: "?"

Elise asked, feigning innocence, "What's wrong, Master?"

"Why haven't you left yet?" Sean asked.

Elise: "I'm here to help you bathe, Master."

Sean: "..."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course."

Elise puffed out her chest, assuring him, "Please don't worry, Master. My sister and I have received professional training. We absolutely won't look where we aren't supposed to!"

Sean: "..."

'I was fine before you said anything. Now I'm even more worried.'

"Let's skip it tonight. Maybe next time."

Sean said. He needed some time to get used to life as a "Master."

"But you can stand by the door and keep me company."

Elise was initially disappointed by Sean's refusal, thinking, 'What a shame, I won't get to admire Lord Blake's dashing figure.' But his next words made her beam. 'Oh well, if I can't see him, I can't see him. Getting to hear the sound of the water will be wonderful too!'

She dutifully stepped outside the door and asked, "Master, is this distance acceptable?"

Sean: "This is fine."

He'd asked Elise to stay and chat mainly to learn more about the New World.

Before his identity had been revealed, he couldn't ask too many basic questions—from simple things like the current year to bigger questions like why a Day of Abstinence existed. These were things everyone in the New World knew. Asking too much would arouse unnecessary suspicion. Sean had been looking things up online, but the information he found was curated by the Church Court, its authenticity highly suspect. It was far more convenient to just ask Elise.

Elise, of course, answered all of Sean's questions without holding anything back.

'If Sean had asked, she would have even told him what color her underwear was, hehe.'

As Elise answered and described things, the map of the New World that Sean wanted began to take shape in his mind.

Sean was trying to match the regions of the two worlds.

His previous discussion with Elvire and the others about "digging" a tunnel to the New World hadn't been a joke. If they could truly bypass the Black Sea this way, then by finding the right location and digging from both worlds simultaneously—a two-pronged attack—they could achieve twice the results with half the effort.

Elise, unaware of Sean's intentions, continued talking from outside the door. "Oh, Master, you have no idea. At first, my sister and I were so worried you were going to send us away..."

Not only would they have failed the mission Her Highness the Saintess gave them, but their own situation would have become very awkward.

If they shamelessly stuck to Sean, they'd be a nuisance, but if they left him, they had nowhere else to go...

That would have been true homelessness.

Sean wanted to laugh. "Do I seem like a fool to you?" he asked.

"Of course not!" Elise said earnestly. "Master is very intelligent. I realized that when we went to the bookstore to find Mr. Scholar."

"Then why would I send you away?" Sean asked.

'A pair of beautiful sisters want to be my Maids—and they're twins... no, wait, they're Grand Mages. Only an idiot would turn them down.'

'And don't give me any of that nonsense about being lazy and indulgent.'

'I—Mr. Sean Black—how much have I given for the Era of Polymath? How many paths did I research? How many new fields did I pioneer? I've dedicated my entire life to my work, poured my heart and soul into academia, built the Holy Sanctuary, discovered the Divine Path... Now that I finally have some free time, what's wrong with enjoying it a little?'

'Hmph.'

At that thought, Sean decisively threw open the shower curtain and yelled, "Elise!"

Elise: "Yes?"

'Why is he suddenly shouting?'

Sean: "Get in here and scrub my back!"

'Scrub his back?!'

Elise's eyes instantly lit up. "Yes, Master!"

"Where's your sister?"

Eleanor, who had just walked over: "..."

"I'm here, Master."

Sean: "Excellent, you come too!"

Eleanor: "...Yes, Master."

And so...

「Half an hour later.」

Sean emerged from the bathroom, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

He even had a new, lazily stylish hairdo.

Elise had styled it.

But the young woman wasn't happy at the moment.

Or rather, she hadn't had her fill of fun.

She muttered under her breath, "What was that all about? Everything was hidden by the bubbles. I couldn't see a thing..."

Eleanor, for her part, was conflicted. She wasn't sure whether to be happy that Sean was a true gentleman or disappointed that she'd only gotten to see the well-defined muscles of his back. She had thought his interest was piqued, her heart pounding at the thought that things were moving too fast. But ultimately, the level of exposure during the bath was hardly any greater than when Sean had simply worn a bathrobe in front of her at the hotel.

"Alright, I need to go find Miss Flame Crow. You two should get some rest," Sean said, having changed into fresh clothes.

He had the air of a "good man"—leaving as soon as business was done, his mind already back on work.

Elise's eyes were full of anticipation. "Master, aren't you staying the night with us?"

Sean: "?"

"In your dreams."

"A mere Maid trying to get ideas above her station?"

Sean snorted. "I'm off."

Only after the door closed did Eleanor glare at her sister. "You've really got some nerve."

'Trying to get Sean to stay the night.'

Elise grinned and hugged her sister's arm. "Oh, come on, I was just joking."

"Besides, don't you think interacting with him like this is more relaxing, Sis?"

Eleanor didn't buy her nonsense for a second, saying pointedly, "Many a true word is spoken in jest."

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