Chapter 781 - Special Period Still in Session
“────Mmmph.”
Logged out. Out of the machine. And dived into bed.
It had been three days since I was last in the virtual world. I didn’t even need to think back on it—I’d spent nearly the entire time in the sky. Returning from that dream world, where the very density of time is different, I had but one thing to say.
“Mmmbr’n f’ls l’k’t’s… blissful…”
It was a rather questionable statement, but for a player whose fate was to undergo a species change into an “Arcadian”—an addict, in other words—the moment they set foot in that world, it was nothing new.
Even the unique lethargy that came from the immense gap in physical abilities, an unavoidable sensation when surfacing back to reality, felt pleasant. I suppose that makes me a respectable veteran, haha.
It felt like I’d come home in two senses of the word. Utterly calming.
And, whether it was related to that mysterious blessing that prevents my physical strength from declining or not, the quality of this dream ark meant my body didn't get stiff even after sleeping for so long.
Therefore, sleeping in a second time was truly no hardship at all. I could fall asleep as naturally as if I had been awake and active in the real world just moments before, which left me with a choice.
Now then, the current real time was just past eleven p.m. Should I indulge my laziness a little longer, drifting from one dream world to another while basking in this profound satisfaction? Or should I resist the minor guilt—or perhaps the sense of depravity—that comes from the cycle of “game, then immediate sleep,” and squeeze in a study session, which had naturally been neglected during my trip…?
My mind was made up. Aaaand three, two, oooone… hyaaah!!
“Hup.”
With a burst of energy—though with a sluggishness that was worlds, no, heavens and abyss apart from my virtual self—I escaped the temptation of my bed. I’d had more than my fill of luxury, so I couldn’t allow myself the sweet indulgence of “just a little more, this is the last time.”
A greedy person trying to conquer both reality and the virtual world has no time to spare—
Just as I diligently headed to my desk to take out my notebook.
“Hm?”
I glanced at my phone, which had started ringing in my hand as if on cue.
My eyes caught the single word displayed as a notification on the lit-up screen.
“—!”
Without a second thought, I bolted.
◇◆◇◆◇
And then, a few minutes later.
“…………………………………………………… This has to be punishable by some kind of crime.”
“I already said I'm sorry!!!”
Having responded at full speed to that single word that screamed urgency, “HELP!!”, I was now being used, expressing my discontent with a sullen face and a resentful voice.
By whom, you ask? None other than Nia-chan, her hair still wet, letting out a comfortable sigh separate from her “words” as the hairdryer I held blew warm air across her hair while she sat on my lap.
Of course, whose lap? My lap. And who was wielding the hairdryer? None other than me. I was even in my complete form, equipped with a large hairbrush in my other hand.
“If you’re actually sorry, could you at least try to hide that ‘ahh, this is paradise~’ vibe you’ve got going on? It’s a universal truth that a girl’s cry for help is a lethal weapon that can manipulate men without question, so it shouldn’t be used so carelessly—”
“Keep your hands moving~ A little more to the right this time~”
“Will this be to your satisfaction, you little—!”
As for what the cry for help was all about, it was for the utterly anticlimactic reason of “my hairdryer broke.”
Sure, for a maiden with such long, beautiful hair, it must have been a major crisis, but I wish she’d chosen her words more carefully. I felt like an idiot for rushing over in a panic.
“I said I'm sorry. I just didn’t realize you loved Nia-chan that much.”
“How about I style your hair into some very princess-like ringlets, you little brat?”
She ought to understand exactly who held her “life” in their hands right now. Of course, I didn’t know the first thing about how to curl hair.
…Well, despite my complaints, there were some extenuating circumstances for Nia.
That “HELP!!” had been a sticker, not a message, and it was a comical one of a character that her best friend, Mitsueda-san, often uses.
Furthermore, five seconds after I’d tossed my phone aside and dashed off, a more detailed message had arrived saying, “Sorry, my hairdryer broke and I can't dry my hair, please help.” Taking that into account… yes. In short…
“…………………… Well, maybe a part of the blame lies with me…???”
“A part? It was almost entirely your fault for jumping to conclusions.”
“So, how do you curl hair?”
“Stop! I’m sorry! I truly am reflecting on my actions!!!”
Annoying as it was, it seemed it was just my overreaction—though, as the one entrusted with her care by her best friend, I had no intention of changing my slightly overprotective stance.
“Haaah… well, whatever. By the way, Nia, isn’t your hair volume insane? You mean to tell me you fight a life-or-death battle with this every day after your bath? Seriously???”
“This is just a maiden's routine, you know~? And don't tell a maiden her hair volume is ‘insane’.”
“But isn’t hair just… hair?”
“Words with un-cute nuances are an absolute no-go for girls!”
“What’s with this girl?”
And so, she was naturally fresh from the bath. It wasn’t surprising that she’d bathed so late at night; her best friend had leaked that Nia loved baths.
Plus, the unique scent wafting gently from her body was no surprise either. Not to say anything perverted, but that was because it was something I had brought for her.
“So, how was the souvenir?”
“Mmm… it felt like… a hot spring!”
“Well, it is from a hot spring.”
The bath bomb was a souvenir I’d bought on my trip. Whether she truly liked it or not was a mystery, but from her reaction, she at least seemed to have enjoyed it. That was good enough.
“It feels a little weird to smell a different scent on myself.”
“Can you even notice your own usual scent?”
“That's why this is a scent I can specially notice~. And don't talk about a maiden's ‘scent’.”
“You have a lot of forbidden words…”
This, too, was the first time in three days. We continued our conversation—one so aimless it couldn’t help but feel peaceful, with no destination from the very start.
“Nia-chan.”
“Yeees?”
“You're too close. It’s hard to work.”
“I'm not accepting complaints, especially from someone whose hands move like they’re so used to this~”
As usual… no, correction: thirty, forty, fifty percent more aggressively than usual, I supported her slender body as she pressed against me, tackling this second-ever, ultra-high-difficulty mission of my life.
And to the foreign young lady who was letting out cheerful sighs, I never once uttered the foolish thought, Couldn't you have just asked Ashe?
My first night back passed peacefully.
He's an insanely fast learner. Of course he'd get used to it after doing it just once. Now, whether it really was only once during the trip… only the two of them know for sure.