Chapter 30: A Sleepy Morning and a Soft Hug

“Then, today’s roll call will be concluded. You’ve all worked hard today.”

As soon as the dormitory supervisor’s words were finished, the students became busy. Some students immediately left for dreamland, while others chatted with their friends. And then, Yuri came to my room.

Wearing pajamas made of thin, comfortable fabric with long sleeves, long pants, and only carrying a pillow, Yuri smiled happily as she entered the room.

“It reminds me of the old days. Hehe…”

Yuri entered the room, went to my bed, and started rolling around on it.

“Hmm~ So this is El’s bed~”

“Well, it’s the same kind of single room, so it’s not really different.”

Unless the sheets are specifically changed, single room beds are all the same anyway. There’s no need to make a distinction by having different types of beds in each room. However, despite my comment, Yuri kept rolling around, seemingly happy.

“But~ it feels more comfortable than my bed~”

Though I felt a little embarrassed seeing a girl my age doing that on my bed, seeing Yuri so happy made me think there was no need to stop her. So, I began to tidy up the desk and prepare for studying.

I don’t know how many minutes passed while she continued rolling around. Finally, Yuri seemed satisfied, took a deep breath while lying on the bed, and got up.

“Okay! Recharged! Now, let’s get started.”

Recharged…? Thinking about how Yuri had been dozing off earlier, it seemed like she was really tired. Was teaching me that physically exhausting?

Yuri sat down next to me at the desk, taking the chair a bit closer. I could smell a fresh scent from her, maybe because she had just taken a shower.

“Where did we leave off?”

“We finished the basics, now only the application part is left.”

True to its name, the application part was filled with various examples in the textbook.

“Anyway, from what I saw when you were solving problems earlier, El has already understood the basic concepts, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“That’s because you taught me in a way that made it easy to understand.”

“Hehe.”

Yuri smiled bashfully at my thanks and compliments. She seemed to be in a particularly good mood today, often showing her bright smile.

“I’ll leave the rest to you, Teacher!”

To match Yuri’s mood, I exaggeratedly bowed with both playfulness and sincerity, making sure to address her as a teacher.

“Yeah, you can ask anything! Shall we start?”

Thus, my one-on-one tutoring with Yuri began again. Yuri taught me gently and patiently things I hadn’t experienced before. She explained how to approach things, which parts to focus on, and how careful I needed to be, sharing her own experiences to make everything clear.

By the way, I kind of feel like a trash person now.

Let’s stop the jokes here, but anyway, thanks to Yuri’s detailed teaching, I was able to catch up with at least the math part.

Of course, I couldn’t say I had fully mastered it, but I could tackle the rest by solving problems and getting more familiar with them.

I stood up from my seat and headed for the refrigerator in the room. Magical items like this are quite expensive, but considering the academy’s dormitory fees, it’s not strange for every room to have one.

I took out a carton of milk from the fridge and handed it to Yuri.

“You must be thirsty after talking so much, right? Want something to drink? There’s not much, though…”

Inside the fridge, there’s only water, milk, and coffee. Since it’s so late at night, and we’re not staying up, there’s no reason for coffee, so I decided to offer her milk first.

“Do you want me to heat it up for you?”

I think I’ve heard that warm milk helps with a good night’s sleep.

“Yeah, then please.”

I took out another carton of milk for myself and warmed it just enough so that steam would rise, but it wouldn’t be too hot. I poured it into a cup and handed it to Yuri.

“Today, you really helped me a lot, Yuri.”

“No, if it were El, you would have understood it quickly even without me teaching you, right? Actually, your written grades are pretty similar to mine…”

“It only looks like that on the outside, but in reality, it’s always tough for me to catch up. If I had suddenly fallen behind like this, it would have been hard to make up for it.”

This wasn’t a joke—if it hadn’t been for Yuri’s help, I would’ve spent several more days struggling and racking my brain by myself. During that time, my plans with friends would have been completely ruined.

So, the words of thanks I’m giving Yuri are heartfelt.

“I’m glad I could help like this… I only received help from you, after all. There was nothing I could do to help.”

Yuri, looking down at the mug filled with milk, spoke in a soft voice.

Hearing Yuri’s gloomy voice, I quickly gulped down the milk in my cup.

Even though I had warmed it just right, it still felt a little hot when I swallowed it all at once. I quickly got up from my seat.

Then, I stood behind Yuri, who was sitting in the chair, placed my hand gently on top of her head, pulled her slightly toward me, and gave her a soft hug. Though a bit embarrassed, this was the time to show some affection, wasn’t it?

“I wish you had just a little more confidence, Yuri. You’re a girl with a lot of strengths.”

Yuri, who was softly nestled in my arms, remained quietly listening. It might have been rude, but this action, as much as it was a sign of affection, I gently patted her head and spoke a little more.

“If you ever feel scared in any situation, think of me. I’ll always be on your side.”

Yuri was someone I didn’t really know, a false childhood friend, but the kindness she had shown me was more than enough. So, at least, I needed to be sincere in return.

Though I didn’t have the courage to reveal my true self or my past, this much was something I could do without hesitation.

*Hiss~ Phew~*

“Hiyah?!”

After quietly listening to me, Yuri took a deep breath and exhaled, then dropped her head back, looking up at me.

Her breath, drifting over her thin pajamas, tickled my stomach, and I couldn’t help but let out a small scream. But Yuri didn’t seem to mind at all, just giving me the same familiar smile.

“Yeah! I’m recharged again!”

What exactly is she recharging now, Yuri?

“Then it’s a promise, right? El is always on my side. No matter what happens, I’ll think of you and keep going.”

“If I can be of any help, I’m always here.”

I shrugged my shoulders and returned her smile.

“Okay, now that studying is over, let’s go to bed.”

By now, Yuri must have finished her milk, as she placed the empty cup down and got up from her seat. It was getting close to midnight. If we stayed awake any longer, it could interfere with the classes we had tomorrow.

“Shall we get ready for bed then?”

I took out a set of spare blankets from the corner and spread them on the floor. The floor was already heated, and recalling the days as an assassin, I wasn’t picky about where I slept. But there was no need to force myself to sleep directly on the bare floor.

As I prepared for bed by placing my usual pillow on top of the blanket I laid out, I noticed Yuri standing near me, tilting her head back and forth.

“Um, El?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you laying the blanket on the floor?”

“???”

Is she asking why I’m not sleeping on the bare floor and instead have the audacity to sleep on the blanket? Of course, I know Yuri didn’t mean it that way. I just didn’t understand what Yuri’s words meant.

“Didn’t we agree to sleep in the same bed?”

“Ah…”

Since we’re both girls, Yuri can say something like that, but as a guy, just being alone in a room with a girl is already a huge step for me. It’s not just about sharing the same room—sleeping on the same bed? I couldn’t even sleep a wink, and I’d be too embarrassed to do anything. Otherwise, I might end up causing some kind of trouble.

To avoid such a situation, I defended myself by making up a lie.

“I talk in my sleep a lot. If we sleep together, you won’t get any proper sleep either. So, let’s sleep separately. You’re my guest, so you can sleep on the bed.”

“…Talking in your sleep isn’t a big deal. I do it too.”

“No! My sleep talking is really bad. So I’ll sleep on the floor, and you can sleep on the bed, okay?”

I was almost pleading with my excuses when Yuri hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing to my request.

“Tch… I wanted to sleep in the same bed like we used to… but I’ll let it slide this time.”

With that, Yuri quickly grabbed the pillow I had left on the floor.

“Instead! I have to hug something to sleep well… so I’ll hug this!”

If that’s all it takes to make her agree, then sure, no problem.

But she probably didn’t know I had extra pillows!

I took out another fluffy pillow from the backup blankets and placed it back on the floor.

Luckily, Yuri didn’t express any dissatisfaction with the new pillow. It seemed that the reason Yuri took my pillow was not because she wanted me to sleep without one on the floor, but because she had a habit of hugging something while she slept.

“Alright, now go lie down on the bed. I’ll turn off the lights.”

Seeing Yuri lie down on the bed, content with her pillow, I turned off the room lights and lay down on my side.

It was a bit strange sleeping on the hard floor instead of the bed, but the blankets made it comfortable enough that it wasn’t too uncomfortable.

“Still, sleeping like this together makes me nostalgic… I know you probably won’t remember, El…”

Yuri believed I had forgotten my past memories due to the demonic attack, followed by a life full of struggles.

Because of that, there was a hint of sadness and loneliness in Yuri’s voice, echoing in the dark room.

“Then, how about you tell me a story from the past? Maybe hearing it will help me remember a bit?”

Of course, hearing Yuri’s stories wouldn’t suddenly make nonexistent memories appear, but I thought that by talking, Yuri’s loneliness might be eased a little.

“Really? Now that I think about it, you’ve become more handsome than before…”

And so, the old stories between Yuri and ‘Elysia’ began.

There were stories about the time we went to the forest and got scolded by our parents, the time we made Elysia’s younger brother upset by playing pranks, and when Yuri acted like a child in front of her older brother…

As I listened to Yuri’s memories, which I didn’t have, I felt my eyes slowly close.

“Mm…”

The sunlight shining through the window and the chirping of birds woke me up naturally. Normally, I would wake up to the sound of an alarm clock, but today, I had somehow woken up a little earlier than the alarm.

I tried to get up, but something was interfering with my body, preventing me from sitting up.

In my drowsy state, I felt something on top of me, and when I looked closely, I saw what seemed like a human arm.

?

I blinked a few times, trying to figure out if I was seeing things, and looked down again. But the human arm was still there.

???

I twisted my body slightly and poked at the thing that looked like a human arm on top of me. I carefully examined it.

?????

It was definitely a human arm. What’s going on? Why is this here?

Since it was morning and my brain wasn’t fully awake, I tried to focus as much as I could to process what was happening. I began to follow the arm’s fingers with my eyes and carefully traced up to the wrist.

As my gaze continued up the slender fingers, thin wrist, and a pinkish thin pajama, I eventually saw the face of the arm’s owner.

“Whoa!”

The moment I saw Yuri’s face up close, I felt my sleepiness vanish. But I still couldn’t understand what was going on.

Why is Yuri sleeping next to me? As far as I remember, Yuri was definitely sleeping on the bed. At least, she was when I fell asleep.

In fact, Yuri had fallen asleep before me. I remembered that her voice had grown quieter and eventually stopped when we were talking about the past. I couldn’t sleep well because I was in the same room as a girl, so I’m sure of that.

Did I climb onto the bed and somehow end up on top of Yuri? I looked around, but it wasn’t the bed; I was clearly lying on the floor where I had spread the blankets.

So, Yuri must have come down to the floor, but when did that happen?

I remembered Yuri had said that my bed was more comfortable than her own. There’s no way she would intentionally come down to the floor like this…

I tried to get up again, but Yuri was holding me tightly, making it impossible for me to move in any direction. To get up, I would have to wake her up.

I moved slowly, trying to ease my body out little by little, but each time I was about to escape, Yuri would stretch out her arm and pull me back into a tight hug.

Each time she pulled me back, I caught a faint scent of her shampoo, which tickled my nose.

…Am I really that much of a pervert, thinking about this while in this situation?

After a while of being stuck like this, the alarm clock rang.

Ding ding ding~ Good morning~

I felt Yuri stir as she made a small noise and moved her body.

I turned slightly and our eyes met—my eyes met Yuri’s half-open ones.

“Hehe… good morning, El.”

“Uh, yeah…”

Even though Yuri had just woken up, she tightened her grip on me, hugging me even more than before, and then took a deep breath, exhaling a few times.

I finally managed to break free from her embrace.

“Yeah! I’m fully charged this morning too!”

It seemed that talk of being “charged” was just part of Yuri’s routine. Before I knew it, Yuri, now full of energy, was the first to get up from the bed. Only then could I finally manage to sluggishly get out of bed as well. My body had been so tense that even standing up felt like a chore.

“Hey… Yuri? Why are you on the floor…?”

“Hmm~? I’m not sure either?”

Yuri’s face looked genuinely confused, though she was still grinning from ear to ear, as if in a good mood.

As a noblewoman, she probably had never slept on the floor, yet here she was, bright and full of energy from the moment she woke up. Just last night, she had said how comfortable my bed was, but it seemed like she wasn’t too particular about where she slept.

“R-right…?”

“Well, I’ll go get ready for school. See you later!”

“Ah? Yeah, see you later.”

Well, I didn’t think I did anything wrong. Since I slept well, I guess there’s no problem, right?

Smiling, I waved Yuri off as she returned to her room to get ready. I then started tidying up the bedding.

Hmm? This pillow looks similar… Is this Yuri’s pillow? Did she take mine by mistake?