Servant With Brown Hair
Stories similar to this that you might like too.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s possible.”
The moment the words left my lips, a pained expression crossed her face. She looked like she was about to cry as she shook her head and said, “No… No, it can’t be…”
She took a deep breath before continuing in an even more somber tone than before. “It’s not your fault, Master.” Her voice was so gentle that it made me want to hug her. But instead of doing anything stupid like that, I just nodded at her reassuringly.
“You’re right,” I replied with a smile on my face. “We’ll figure something out somehow.”
For now, we needed to focus our efforts on getting rid of this curse. That meant finding someone who could remove it for us—and fast. Even if there wasn’t anyone nearby capable of dealing with such an issue, we’d have to make do until one came along.
There were plenty of ways around things like curses or spells; all we had to do was come up with ideas and then find people who knew how to carry them out. It would take some time, but eventually, we should be able to get everything back under control.
But first, I wanted to know what kind of spell this was. If I understood the basics behind it correctly, it seemed like it only affected women. Was that really the case? Or did it also affect men, too…?
As I pondered these questions, I decided to ask the girl standing next to me. “Um, Miss Satsuki?”
“Yes?”
“Could you please tell me why this happened to you?”
Satsuki tilted her head slightly, looking confused by my question. “Why…why is that important?”
“Well, um…” I hesitated for a moment, unsure whether I should say it. After all, I didn’t want to upset her any further. But the longer I waited, the harder it became to keep quiet. In fact, I felt like I was being rude simply by not asking. So I forced myself to speak up.
“If I understand correctly, you’ve been cursed since birth. And yet, you seem perfectly healthy.”
“That’s true,” she agreed. “I feel fine. My body isn’t weak or anything. Actually, I’m stronger than most boys my age. Which means…” She paused briefly before continuing in a whisper. “…which means that whatever this spell does, it doesn’t affect me physically.”
Her explanation made sense. The reason she hadn’t noticed the effects of the curse was that they weren’t physical ones. As far as I could see, she was completely normal aside from the fact that she couldn’t use magic.
So what exactly was going on here? Why did she suddenly lose her powers when she reached puberty? Was it because of the curse itself, or was it something else entirely?
There was no way of knowing without talking to her parents. However, I doubted they’d ever agree to meet me. They probably wouldn’t even believe their daughter had lost her abilities. Plus, I still didn’t know where they lived. All I knew was that they were somewhere in the city.
In other words, I had no choice but to wait.
***
After leaving the shrine, we returned to the inn and ate dinner together. Then, once everyone was done eating, I asked Satsuki to show me around town while I figured out what to do next.
“Okay!” she said enthusiastically. “Let’s go!”
I followed after her as she walked down the road toward town. We passed through several streets filled with shops and houses before finally arriving at a large plaza. At its center stood a fountain surrounded by benches and lined with trees.
A group of children was playing nearby, laughing and splashing each other with water.
“This is a nice place,” Satsuki remarked as she watched them play.
“Yeah, it’s pretty big,” I responded. “And it looks like there are lots of kids living around here.”
“Oh yeah! This area has a lot of families with young children. You can tell by the number of little ones running around.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Most of them live near the plaza, so it’s always crowded around here during the day.”
“Huh. I guess that makes sense.”
“Hey, Master!”
Satsuki stopped walking and turned around to look at me. When I saw her face, I realized something was off. Her eyes were wide open and her mouth hung slack-jawed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Uh…um…” She slowly blinked several times before speaking again. “Master, you’re really cute.”
My cheeks flushed bright red as I stared at her. “Wha—”
“Hee hee!” Satsuki giggled. “Sorry, sorry! I just thought you looked adorable, that’s all!”
“Ahh, geez…” I groaned. “Don’t scare me like that.”
She laughed. “It’s okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, it’s fine. Honestly, I don’t mind. I actually kinda liked it.”
“Yay! Thank goodness!” Satsuki cheered. “Now let’s go inside the plaza and sit down for a bit.”
We sat down on one of the benches facing the fountain. It wasn’t long before more people started gathering around us. Some were adults who came to enjoy the evening air, others were children playing nearby, and there were even some couples sitting close together.
The sight of all those happy faces put a smile on my face. Everyone appeared carefree, enjoying themselves as they talked and played. Even though I was tired from our journey, I found myself feeling refreshed by the atmosphere.
“Wow, this is amazing,” I whispered.
“I bet it would be fun if we brought a picnic basket and went swimming here later,” Satsuki suggested.
“You think so?” I replied. “Do you have your swimsuit with you?”
“Of course I do!” she exclaimed. “I’ll change into it right now!”
With that, she got up and ran back toward the inn. Moments later, she reappeared wearing a blue bikini underneath her clothes.
“Ooh! Cute!” I complimented. “Where did you get that?”
“A friend gave it to me. Do you want to try it on too?”
“Sure, why not?”
Satsuki handed me the bikini, then pulled off her shirt and shorts. Next, she slipped the top over her head and tied the strings behind her neck. After adjusting the straps, she stepped out of her underwear and slid the bottoms onto her hips. Once they were secure, she tied the drawstring around her waist.
“How does it look?” she asked.
“Very good,” I answered.
“Thanks!” Satsuki smiled.
Then she turned around to face me. The view from behind made my heart skip a beat. My breath caught in my throat as I took in every detail: the smooth curve of her butt, the swell of her breasts, and the soft skin covering her thighs. I couldn’t help but stare.
“Gah!” Satsuki gasped. “Are you staring at me?!”
“N-no, I’m not!” I stammered.
“Well, I am!” she insisted. “I know how much you love looking at girls’ bodies, so I wanted to make sure you could see mine properly.”
“Whew…” I exhaled. “That’s a relief. I was worried I might’ve been making you uncomfortable.”
“Not at all! In fact, I’d say it’s the opposite. Seeing you react like that makes me feel really good about myself.”
“I’m glad.”
“Anyway, let’s go swimming!” Satsuki said excitedly. “There’s no time like the present!”
“Okay!”
Together, we headed toward the fountain. As we approached, I noticed a sign hanging above the water. It read, “Swimming Pool – Adults Only.”
“Hmm… That doesn’t seem very welcoming,” I commented. “Maybe we should give it a miss today.”
“Why? There are plenty of other places where we can swim,” Satsuki replied. “Let’s keep going.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
So, we continued on until we reached another large pool filled with clear water. This one had a different sign posted next to it.
“This place is for kids only,” I read aloud.
“Oh, come on!” Satsuki complained. “Can’t anyone else use the pool?”
“Apparently not.”
“But isn’t there a family bath nearby?”
“Yes, but it’s meant for families with young children. You wouldn’t fit in there anyway.”
“What?! But I’m a kid too!”
“I know, but you’re still an adult. And besides, I don’t think you’d want to spend the night swimming with little kids, would you?”
“Ugh… Fine, I guess not.”
Satsuki sighed loudly, clearly disappointed. Then she turned away from the pool and began walking toward the exit.
“Hey wait!” I called after her. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
She stopped and looked back at me.
“Huh? Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you what happened earlier.”
“Tell me?”
“Remember when I told you about the guy who tried to pick me up?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, he followed me all the way to the inn. He kept trying to talk to me, asking if I wanted a drink or anything. When I refused him, he started getting angry and insulting me. So I just left without saying goodbye.”
“And then you came straight here,” I concluded.
“Exactly. Anyway, I hope you won’t judge me too harshly.”
“Don’t worry about it. In fact, I admire your courage.”
“Thanks,” Satsuki replied, smiling shyly.
“Now, let’s go swimming again before it gets dark.”
“Sounds great!”
We returned to the fountain and walked through the gate. To our surprise, however, we discovered that the pool was already occupied. A group of men and women were lounging around the edge of the water, talking amongst themselves. Most of them wore swimsuits similar to Satsuki’s.
“Whoa…” Satsuki whispered. “They must be regulars.”
“Looks like it.”
The people around us seemed friendly enough, so I decided to approach them. We introduced ourselves and chatted briefly, but soon realized that none of them spoke English. They were probably tourists who didn’t speak Japanese either.
“Sorry, guys,” I apologized. “It looks like we’ll have to pass on this one.”
“Awww…” Satsuki pouted. “I thought maybe they might know some English.”
“You never know,” I responded. “Maybe someone will overhear us and help out.”
“True.”
As we stood there chatting, I spotted a man standing by himself near the entrance. He appeared to be waiting for someone. Maybe he worked here?
“Excuse me,” I said to him. “Do you work here?”
“Um, yes,” he replied hesitantly. “I’m the manager.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Is there something I can do for you?”
“Actually, my friend and I were wondering if you knew any English speakers.”
“English? No, sorry.”
“Ah well, thanks anyway.”
“No problem. Have a nice day.”
With that, the manager bowed his head politely and went back inside the building.
“That was weird,” Satsuki remarked. “He acted like he couldn’t understand me. What did I say wrong?”
“Probably nothing. He may not have been able to hear you properly.”
“Oh, I see.”
Then, as if on cue, a woman wearing a blue bikini emerged from the crowd. She walked over to us and greeted us cheerfully.
“Hello there! My name is Maria. Are you enjoying yourselves?”
“Hi,” Satsuki answered. “How are you doing?”
“Great! Thanks for asking. How about you two?”
“Good,” I replied. “We’ve just arrived today.”
“Welcome to the baths!” Maria exclaimed happily. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself here.”
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you.”
Maria smiled warmly at both of us. Her smile reminded me of the girl I met in the forest.
“By the way,” I asked, “do you happen to know any English speakers?”
“Unfortunately, no. The only person who speaks English here is me.”
“Really? Well, thanks anyway.”
“Not a problem. If you ever need anything, feel free to ask anyone else here. Everyone knows how to speak English.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Have fun!”
After thanking her once more, we headed into the changing room. There, we found a large number of lockers lined up against the wall. Each locker had its own key, which could be used to open it.
“This place is huge,” Satsuki commented. “There must be hundreds of people here.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty popular,” I agreed.
“So where should we start?”
“Let’s try the hot springs first. That’s usually the best way to get warmed up.”
“Gotcha.”
Once we changed into our bathing suits, we made our way to the bath area. As expected, it was packed with people. Fortunately, the tubs weren’t very deep, so we managed to find an empty spot right away. After taking off our clothes, we got in the water and soaked for a while.
“Wow, this feels good,” Satsuki sighed. “I think I’m going to like it here.”
“Me too.”
The water felt wonderful, and the steam rising from the hot spring made things even better. Soon, we were relaxed and ready to take on the rest of our tour.
“Hey, look!” Satsuki pointed toward the far end of the pool. “Someone’s coming.”
Sure enough, a young couple was making their way toward us. The man looked familiar…
“Are those the same people from the forest?” Satsuki wondered.
“I guess so.”
The man and woman stopped next to us, then began talking to each other.
“What a coincidence,” the man remarked. “I recognize you. You’re the ones who saved me yesterday.”
“Yes, that’s us.”
“My name is Kaito Nakamura. This is my wife, Yumiko.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Satsuki introduced herself and me, and we shook hands with them.
“Thanks again for saving me,” the man continued. “If you hadn’t come along when you did, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I assured him. “We just did what we needed to do.”
“Well, I hope you’ll stay safe now,” Yumiko added. “Please be careful.”
“Of course.”
Kaito nodded in agreement. Then, he turned to his wife.
“Yumiko, why don’t you go ahead without us?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because I want to talk to these guys alone for a bit.”
“But…”
“It’s fine, really,” Kaito insisted. “You can wait here until we return.”
“All right,” she relented. “Just make sure you hurry back.”
“I will. See you later.”
With that, Kaito and Yumiko left together.
“They seem like a nice couple,” Satsuki observed.
“Yeah. They seemed happy.”
“And they said ‘make sure you hurry back.’ Is something wrong?”
“No, not at all.”
“Hmm.”
She didn’t press further, but I still wasn’t convinced. Something was bothering me.
“Hey, Satsuki,” I called out after a few minutes. “Do you remember the guy who attacked us in the forest?”
“Who?”
“That guy. He showed up in front of us last night.”
“Oh yeah, I remember him now. What about him?”
“He’s been following us since we got here.”
“Seriously?!”
“How do you know?”
“I see him around every now and then,” Satsuki explained. “Whenever I turn my head, he’s there. And whenever I look away, he disappears.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep.”
“Maybe he’s just curious about us,” I suggested.
“Or maybe he wants to hurt us,” Satsuki replied.
“Either way, we shouldn’t let him get close,” I decided. “In fact, we should probably avoid him altogether.”
“I agree.”
“Then we’d better keep moving.”
“Sounds good.”
As we talked, we started walking through the pools. We passed by several different areas before finally reaching the sauna area. It was much quieter than the baths, and the air inside was thick with heat.
“Ahh, this feels great,” Satsuki sighed as she entered the room.
“Yeah, it does.”
We sat down on some benches near the entrance and waited for a few moments. Eventually, someone came over to us.
“Hello,” the man greeted us. “Did you need something?”
“Hi,” Satsuki answered.
“I’m sorry if I interrupted your conversation,” the man apologized. “I saw you sitting here, and I wanted to say hello.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, are you two staying here long?”
“Not exactly,” I told him. “We’re only passing through.”
“Really? That’s too bad.”
“Why’s that?”
“This place is amazing. I wish I could stay longer.”
“So do I,” Satsuki agreed.
“Sorry, but I’ve gotta run,” the man said apologetically. “Anyway, it was nice meeting both of you.”
“Same here.”
After saying goodbye, the man quickly made his exit.
“Was that our mysterious stalker?” Satsuki asked.
“Looks like it.”
“I wonder where he went.”
“Probably somewhere else in the building,” I guessed.
“Makes sense.”
“Let’s go find him.”
“Okay.”
We walked deeper into the sauna, looking for any sign of the man. After searching for a while, we eventually found him.
“There he is!” I exclaimed.
The man had already vanished from sight, though. He must have been hiding behind one of the walls or something.
“What should we do?” Satsuki wondered.
“I guess we should try to catch him off guard,” I decided. “If we corner him, we might be able to figure out who he is.”
“Good idea.”
“Ready?”
“Sure.”
“On three.”
“One… Two…”
“Three!”
We ran toward the wall. The man jumped out of nowhere, startling us.
“H-hey! Don’t scare me like that!” I shouted.
“Oops.”
Satsuki laughed nervously.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she replied. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Well, what were you trying to do?” the man inquired.
“Uh, nothing special,” I lied. “We just wanted to say hi.”
“You’re welcome,” he responded.
“Now that we’ve met, would you mind telling us your name?”
“My name is Ryoji,” he informed us.
“Ryoji?”
“Yup.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ryoji,” Satsuki said.
“Likewise.”
“Where did you come from?”
“From a town nearby.”
“A small village?”
“Something like that.”
“Wow, really?”
“Yep.”
“That’s pretty far away,” Satsuki remarked.
“Yeah, it sure is.”
“Do you live alone?”
“No, not at all,” Ryoji admitted. “I have a family, actually.”
“Really? Where are they?”
“They’re still back home.”
“Oh, I see.”
“But I don’t think I’ll ever see them again.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I left them behind.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, I didn’t want to leave my hometown, so I ran away when I was young,” Ryoji explained. “Ever since then, I’ve been traveling around the world.”
“And now you’re here.”
“Right.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m twenty years old.”
“Twenty?!”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You’re younger than me!”
“I am?”
“I thought you were older.”
“Maybe I look young because I’m Japanese.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
“Still, I feel like I’ve seen more of the world than most people twice my age.”
“Is that true?”
“Definitely,” Ryoji confirmed. “I’ve traveled all across Europe, Asia, and Africa.”
“Wow, that sounds incredible.”
“It sure is.”
“Have you seen anything interesting?”
“All kinds of things,” Ryoji answered. “I even saw a ghost once.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Did you talk to it?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“I wasn’t ready yet.”
“Oh, I see.”
“It was scary as hell, though.”
“I bet.”
“I can’t believe I survived it.”
“Me neither.”
“I’m glad I got away with just some scratches on my face.”
“That’s good.”
“So how about you guys?” Ryoji inquired. “What do you do?”
“Um, well…”
“I work as an assistant manager at a bookstore,” Satsuki told him.
“Cool.”
“What about you?”
“I’m a student,” Ryoji revealed. “At least, I used to be. Now I spend all day working at the library.”
“Sounds nice.”
“It’s great.”
“I wish I could study too.”
“Hey, maybe you will someday,” Ryoji suggested. “Who knows?”
“Okay, thanks for the advice,” I said. “Bye.”
“See ya later,” Ryoji called after us.
After saying goodbye to Ryoji, we went back inside the house. We sat down in the living room, where we talked about our new friend.
“He seems like a cool guy,” Satsuki commented.
“Yeah, he does,” I agreed.
The End