Chapter 517 - Continuation
The first night's banquet came to a surprisingly swift end.
Alicia's declaration to call it a night came only about two hours after we started, likely out of consideration for the journey here and to avoid carrying fatigue into the coming days. With a few sleepy faces in the crowd, starting with the very good girl Nia-chan, it was probably good timing.
I was feeling pretty tired myself, one way or another.
I have some confidence in my stamina, but that's only by normal, real-world standards. The toughness of the avatar I'd developed over there doesn't translate to reality, after all.
Well, a certain amount of fatigue was unavoidable. I'd been present for the meeting of the three girls and then sat through a long car ride. I'd gotten excited about the secret-base-like villa, studied, explored, cooked, and made four new real-life acquaintances—
On top of all that, my heart had been thrown into its usual turmoil… so there was no doubt that today had been another day filled to the brim with moderately eventful happenings.
"…Hah."
The fact that today only qualified as moderately eventful made me let out a weary laugh as I collapsed onto my bed. Just what kind of turbulent life have I been living lately?
After the order to disperse for the day was given, the eight of us, led by Sora, Uni, and myself, finished a lively clean-up session a short while ago.
It seemed the only ones with any significant experience in the kitchen were those who had done some cooking today, but this was a group of high-ranking players, almost all of whom exuded an aura of being incredibly competent.
With the kind of impromptu teamwork you'd expect to see in a battle over there, the tedious post-party cleanup was dispatched with the speed of a gale—man, a group of such talented people is so absurdly invincible in every aspect, it's almost funny.
Of course, that excludes Goldow, who had happily drunk himself into a stupor, so it was effectively seven people. I don't mind at all; I hope he takes the chance to fully recover from his daily hardships. You've earned it, our great General Commander.
And so, the current time is just before nine at night. I returned to my room, rinsed off in the guest room's shower, and now, as I lie on my bed in casual clothes, I'm naturally assaulted by waves of drowsiness.
Honestly, I'm tempted to just say goodbye to the day right here and now…
—The continuation is at night.
"Ugh…"
That one task I was most apprehensive about, not knowing what would happen, is still remaining.
At night, just the two of us, studying. It's a set of words that sounds like one thing and another, but given who my partner is, I can't just laugh off the need for caution.
Iris, who's already forty percent more aggressive than usual for this trip, what kind of high-speed assault will she launch this time—
"…………………………Ugh…"
With so much to think about, I feel myself wanting to surrender to my drowsiness.
Would a short nap be okay? Would I be able to wake up to a knock? The fact that I'm not even considering the cowardly option of “let’s just cancel tonight’s session” means I…
—You're doing well.
Am I being the kind of person who deserves to be praised by someone?
◇◆◇◆◇
"—Hh…!"
My consciousness surfaced all at once, without context.
The moment you jolt awake from an unexpected slumber is often one of profound confusion. And since your body's condition can give you a surprisingly accurate sense of how much time has passed, if you remember you have plans, a massive wave of anxiety comes crashing down on you as well.
I'd probably been asleep for about an hour. Judging by the darkness filling the room, I seemed to have avoided the blunder of sleeping until morning… but if Alicia had already come by, it means I would have slept through her knock.
If that's the case, I feel bad. As the one asking for instruction, I should probably go and check on her—and then, a sense of wrongness.
I hadn't intended to actually fall asleep, so I have no memory of turning off the light in my room.
And with that thought…
"………………"
Still half-sitting up, I turned my head—ah, right, I see.
Intruder, discovered.
"I'm torn between apologizing for bailing on our promise and conking out, or scolding you for invading my personal space."
"Let's just say they cancel each other out."
If I hadn't been half-asleep, I would have noticed that one side of the mattress was slightly depressed by a weight other than my own. The intruder, Alicia, was sitting by my pillow and replied with a mischievous smile.
"Sorry, I let my guard down."
"Don't worry about it. I figured you'd be tired."
Still, I apologized for likely having slept through her knock. I'm not sure when she came, but I suppose I should also thank her for her kindness in turning off the light and letting me sleep… though that's probably canceled out by the crime of observing my sleeping face.
I should try not to think about it too much. It's super embarrassing.
Anyway—
"Uh… what should we do? Can I still ask you for help now?"
Thanks to the unintended nap, my stamina gauge had safely increased a bit. I wouldn't say I'm completely refreshed, but I'm in pretty good shape.
So, I tried asking… but Alicia shook her head.
"My job as a tutor is over for today. Like I said, I knew you'd be tired, so I came by with that intention in the first place."
"Oh… is that so."
"Don't worry. As I also said, I'll teach you properly over the rest of the trip, so there's no need to rush. Leave it to me."
Man, she's so reliable it brings a tear to my eye. Even when she was tutoring me, Alicia said she'd be “strict but kind,” but in the end, she was just kind.
She's the ideal tutor, one who can guide her student at lightning speed without even needing to be strict.
"Well, in that case, I'll take you up on that without rushing… For now, why don't you confess just how long you've been sneaking in here and committing the grave sin of observing my sleeping face?"
"Hmm… about an hour ago?"
"Hey, that's exactly when I think I passed out. I was probably still in a light sleep, I should've woken up."
I tapped my phone, which was lying by my pillow, and the time displayed on the lit-up screen was more or less what my internal clock had predicted.
Staring at my face for around three thousand six hundred seconds… weren't you bored?
"You have a cute sleeping face."
"Wait, I didn't ask for your review."
"I think your range of expressions is unfair. When you're calm, you look older than your age, but when you're enjoying yourself innocently or when you let your guard down, you look so much younger… and very cute."
"I see, you intend to destroy me right here and now, don't you…!"
That's the kind of thing you're not supposed to say directly to a person's face. Calm down, quickly.
"If we're talking about contrasts, you're quite the case yourself, Your Highness. To be honest, I still have nightmares about our fight in the Four Pillar War, like a ‘horror experience’! And yet here in reality, you've become this direct-hit honest-to-a-fault bombshell that's my personal kryptonite in a whole other way—"
"The Four Pillar War… You were smiling so much back then, too."
"A guy's personality tends to change a bit during a sword fight! Looking back, I'm filled with nothing but question marks. How in the world did I manage to cross swords head-on with the [Sword Queen]? There's no way I could ever replicate that, seriously…"
"Fufu… right now, you're the cute one."
"Ngh…! Calling a guy cute over and over…!"
Sure, age-wise I'm the younger guy, and in terms of life experience, I wouldn't be surprised if the difference between me and Alicia was like that of an adult and a child—but separate from whether I'm happy about it or not, getting called ‘cute’ by a girl makes a guy feel all weird.
At least, for me, it's just unbearably awkward!
And so the long night begins.