Kinda makes you want to ride it!!!

Alright, car's done.

That said, it's basically a giant Mini 4WD with just an engine slapped on—no brakes, no safety devices whatsoever. But hey, it can self-propel, at least.

Yes. It can self-propel, at least!

… Kinda makes you want to ride it!!!

So, after registering with my Guild Card that "I'm going peddling toward Karkassa," I left town and, once I was a good distance away, boarded the magic engine car: Star-kun No. 2.

(No. 1 is that stone model mixer and the wooden No. 0 is stored in my room after a few adjustments.)

If anyone asks how I got it, I'll just say a kind old Healer gave it to me!

"Okay, then, departing for Karkassa — let's go! Yay!"

"Yay!!"

The enthusiastic response came only from Aishia. Dea-kun just looked anxious.

"Is it really okay to ride this?"

"Well, even if we crash, I can handle it with my magic. No problemo."

"Please stop it before we crash!?"

"… I'll put defensive magic on everyone."

"Please stop it before we crash!?"

Hahaha. Leave it to Onee-san.

Set the Goblin General's magic stone in the power source! Switch on!

Vroom! The car lurched forward with whiplash-inducing force.

Whoa, dangerous. If I hadn't put invincibility on everyone, that might've been bad.

"Eek, aah, Master, it's shaking so much—ow!"

"You'll bite your tongue if you talk — whoa, the shaking is kinda insane without any suspension."

"O-Onee-san, there's a curve ahead, c-can we turn?"

Hmm, doesn't look like it. The steering wheel isn't doing anything.

We're going too fast; even when I turn it, we just slide. The wooden wheels have no grip. Plus, they're wearing down and might break.

"I'll turn off the switch for now."

"Y-Yes."

Click. I turned off the switch, and the car coasted on inertia for a while. We missed the curve entirely, went straight onto the grass, rattled over the uneven ground, and finally… the magic engine car 'Star-kun No. 2' came to a stop.

"… Is the engine inside broken?"

"Let me check with spatial perception… Ah, some pistons are cracked. The gears are chipped too. The magic stone might've been too powerful."

It was just running for a bit, but the engine internals are already wrecked.

It shot to top speed instantly, so the stress on the parts must've been tremendous. If only I'd made it out of metal… Hmm, but anyway, hill starts would be impossible with this design. How did accelerator pedals adjust speed again?

That said, it moved.

Without using Spatial Magic, it carried people and actually drove. The magic engine car 'Star-kun No. 2' accomplished that much.

Aishia leaned out of the vehicle to look back. The starting point was far behind us.

"Whoa, we moved quite a bit, Master."

"Yeah. This might actually work. What do you think, Dea-kun?"

"… There are mountains of improvements needed. We didn't feel any wind thanks to your defensive magic, but normally it would've been brutal."

"True, we need a windshield. Suspension too."

"This seems like it'll be rewarding in many ways."

Despite his complaints, Dea-kun's face showed the excited expression of a boy thrilled at heart.

…

"Wait, hold on! Dea-kun, be more girly!"

"W-What? Why so suddenly?"

"Have you forgotten you're dressed as a cute girl, Dea-kun? You could be more, you know, bashful about it."

When I said that, Dea-kun scratched his cheek.

"Even if you say that, after wearing girls' clothes for so long, I've gotten used to it… And it's pointless to be embarrassed in front of you two now."

"Grr!"

Habituation. That's a serious issue.

This level of shamelessness won't produce nearly enough embarrassment for the Goddess!

This is not good, not good at all!

There has to be some way… some approach to make him feel embarrassed…!!

"! Speaking of which, Dea-kun. When was the last time you took a bath?"

"Eh? Ah… Come to think of it, maybe not recently…"

Yes. I know they haven't used the bath much due to being absorbed in Magic Tool creation and such!

I pulled Dea-kun close and sniffed near his neck. Even if it was just for show, I gave him a good sniff.

… He smells sweet like flowers?

Is that an Elf thing? Wow, he smells great even without bathing… But I steeled my heart and spoke.

"You smell a bit."

"…!? R-Really?"

Oh? I pulled back to look, and Dea-kun's face was bright red.

Yes, yes! Being sniffed by the Onee-san you have a crush on and then told you smell—that would definitely be embarrassing!

Alright, one more push.

"Yeah. This… needs a thorough washing! How about we all take a bath together today, the three of us!"

"Understood, Master!"

"Ehh!? I-I can bathe alone!"

Yesss, yes! Even his ears are red!

I anticipated Dea-kun bashfully refusing. Fufufu.

Well, even if he'd agreed, bathing together would be no big deal. I saw plenty of naked guys in my previous life.

"Hmm? Do you make sure to wash behind your ears? I'll prepare soap too."

"I will!"

… Ah, but if I keep forcing embarrassment like this, he'll just get used to it again. I need to think of ways to prevent habituation…

Resorting to extreme measures only leads to escalation. Ah, what to do.

"Wait, then is it okay for just me to bathe with Master?"

"… Huh?"

Somehow it ended up going that way, and I found myself washing Aishia from head to toe.

I also had her as a massage practice partner, so I'm satisfied.