I stared blankly at the dawn, then turned my gaze toward Aswell.
His face, sound asleep, was quite cute.
Poke.
"Good night..."
To change soone's heart completely, and then wear such a peaceful expression...
I couldn't help but feel a little irritable, so I poked his cheek.
As I got lost in the strange addictive feeling of his firm yet soft cheek, I stood up and sat on the wooden chair.
"Master Key."
Hum.
I decided to continue my research on Oplite until Aswell woke up.
‘For now, the results from Wintergard weren’t bad.’
However, there was still a lot lacking when it ca to autonomous movent. Additionally, because it could only engage with ground-based monsters, it was difficult to deal with special monsters like flying types.
‘And it’s highly likely it won’t be able to fight against stronger monsters and demons either.’
To put it simply, it had the performance of a prototype.
And yet, that was already an impressive achievent. It was built in just a short ti, and its potential for the future was limitless.
Shink.
I took out a red string from the pocket space and roughly tied up my hair.
Once the strands that had been tickling the back of my neck were tidied up, I felt my mind clear as well.
"First, let’s remove the unnecessary parts from the computational device on the head."
Humming~.
I humd a little tune while thodically working on Oplite’s head with the pen and Master Key.
For so reason, I was in such a good mood that I couldn’t help but hum.
About an hour later...
"Ugh..."
Hearing Aswell's groaning, I smiled and turned my head.
But what I saw in front of was Aswell, tossing and turning with a pained expression.
"Aswell?"
I quickly tossed the Master Key and the device aside, hurrying over to the bed.
Crawling on my knees, I grabbed Aswell's hand.
It’s a little cold.
But I couldn’t tell if it was because sothing was wrong with his body.
"Aswell."
I called his na, but he didn’t wake up. It seed like he was having a bad nightmare, as he was muttering sothing under his breath.
"Aswell, I’m here."
I held his hand tightly, staying by his side to reassure him.
I felt that forcing him to wake up might be risky.
‘If only Aria were here...’
Maybe she could resolve the situation more clearly. The thought that I couldn’t help him made my chest ache.
"Ugh..."
"Aswell? Are you alright?"
"…Louis."
Finally, Aswell woke up.
But his mood seed different.
He was no longer the pure hero who sought righteous and ideal justice.
Instead, he gave off a deeper, more dangerous aura, sothing unknown that felt unsettling.
"Yeah, I’m fine."
Throb.
‘...?'
His cold but gentle voice made my lower abdon ache. Ignoring the strange pain, I waited for him to fully wake up.
***
[I had a dream. It wasn’t a nightmare.]
On the way to the Imperial Capital after leaving the Yord estate, I asked about the events from the morning.
He said he had a dream.
‘I just hope it wasn’t anything bad.’
Aswell said it wasn’t a nightmare, but who knows. Maybe he lied because he didn’t want to worry.
"If you’re not feeling well, you have to tell right away, okay?"
I said with a worried expression, placing my hand on his forehead.
Normally, Aswell would either avoid eye contact or get shy, but today, he t my gaze and spoke.
"Yeah, thanks."
Peck.
"Ugh."
Aswell, smiling softly, kissed the hand that had touched his forehead.
‘Wha—what?’
It seems like he’s definitely changed sohow.
Was it because of the nightmare? Or was it because of what happened yesterday?
What was clear was that, now, Aswell had beco… a lot more forward.
‘...It’s not a bad thing.’
It’s a good thing when the person you love actively approaches you.
But… I’m not used to it.
Until yesterday morning, he was all over the place, but now he’s beco more direct.
I also decided to love Aswell with a fresh mindset.
So, I can accept most things, but right now, it felt too fast.
‘What if, in the near future, he asks for more than just a kiss...?’
What should I do...?
I continued to think, resting my face against his chest so that he wouldn’t see my face.
Aside from Oplite, there was now another presence in my mind that was stirring things up.
‘By the way, when will the last heroine show up?’
It’s been about four days since we started our journey.
Though we passed through the Yord estate, we’re already in the territory of the assassin heroine.
‘But since we’re getting closer to the Imperial Capital, I can’t et her. The Emperor’s there.’
Even though the Emperor wouldn’t be watching her directly, the knights under him would be a problem.
No matter how skilled an assassin she is, escaping from dozens of knight orders would be tough.
‘I’ll et her soon, though...’
I glanced up and saw Aswell still with a determined expression.
I don’t know what has changed him so much, but it’s clear that I still need to protect him.
‘...If there isn’t a double room, should we sleep together in a single room?’
If that’s the case, we’d have to be even closer...
Huff...
No, that’s enough. My head is getting too hot.
I don’t need to think about that right now.
The important thing is that we have to "sleep together."
***
Three days later.
"Third floor."
It was a relatively quiet village compared to the Yord estate, but we had rented one room again, just like before. After paying the fee, the innkeeper lazily pointed with his finger, and we headed to our room.
It was a very ordinary room.
Because of that, it felt as though sothing could happen at any mont.
‘Should I keep the robe closer today?’
With Aswell’s nightmare from a few days ago, sothing in my heart felt unsettled.
ow~.
From below the inn, the cry of a small street cat could be heard.
I smiled without realizing it at the sound of a cat, which I hadn’t heard in such a long ti.
‘...That heroine, she was good with cats too.’
It wasn’t exactly the sa, but I had heard that beastn, with their animal traits, could communicate with the species they originated from and transcend into a form of interaction. So, dog beastn could communicate with dogs, and cat beastn with cats, giving them the advantage of controlling areas or gathering information quickly.
‘Then, the cat outside...?’
"Uhm."
"Louis, what’s wrong?"
"It’s nothing. I just think I should dress a little more tightly today."
There was no guarantee that anything would happen today. There was no evidence that the cat outside was being controlled by the heroine, and even if it were, it could just gather information and leave.
"Is it really cold?"
"No, it’s not. Thanks for worrying."
"It’s nothing."
We had only exchanged a few words, but my heart was fluttering. It was supposed to be an action to prevent the assassin heroine’s surprise attack, but it felt like the purpose was slowly shifting.
"It’s already night. We should go to sleep soon."
"…Yeah."
Looking out the window, the darkness had already settled.
I folded the robe and placed it by the head of the bed, then lay down, waiting for Aswell.
Clunk.
"Aswell?"
"Oh, I just wanted to keep it next to today."
"I see."
Suddenly, he tilted the Holy Sword and placed it on the desk next to him. I wondered what was going on.
"Then co here."
I spread my arms as I lay there, urging Aswell to lie next to .
With a small smile, Aswell slowly entered my embrace.
I wanted to keep him there, but unfortunately, Aswell’s fra was bigger than mine.
In the end, just like the past week, I ended up digging into his embrace.
"…"
The scent of his skin felt incredibly captivating.
As I breathed in his scent, an unknown warmth started to rise in , and sleepiness soon followed.
"Aswell..."
"Go to sleep soon, Louis."
I looked at him with half-closed eyes. Aswell still didn’t seem sleepy, as his gaze remained sharp.
It made my heart flutter again, and before I knew it, I had crawled closer.
I then positioned my face at his level and slowly moved toward his lips.
His slightly longer black hair was incredibly attractive.
ow~.
"……"
"Mmm…"
It felt like pink clouds were forming around Aswell.
I wriggled restlessly, my body becoming more yearning, and I desperately longed for a kiss from him.
‘My body... it’s burning...’
But even then, Aswell didn’t kiss .
Was he trying to tease ?
Even when I wiggled my toes and scratched the back of his hand with my fingers, there was no response.
I felt incredibly frustrated, but I continued to shower him with affectionate gestures.
Right now, I was the subordinate, and Aswell was the superior.
"Aswell... kiss ..."
"…Sorry, Louis."
But the answer that ca in the end was a refusal.
I wasn’t surprised by it.
Clang—!
"So you’ve finally shown yourself."
In the blink of an eye, the Holy Sword was drawn from its sheath. So of Aswell’s black hair was now white, and his eyes glead with a bluish shine.
...And there was the contrasting figure: brown hair, a black hood, and two black daggers.
"…I see, you’re a hero after all. The dicine didn’t work on you."
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