Chapter 96: A Sleepless Night and Lingering Worries

 “El? You don’t look so good today. Is something wrong?”

“…I was debating whether to bring it up, but I guess Celie is speaking up for me.”

“Huh? Nothing’s wrong. Do I really look that bad?”

“Yes. Your dark circles are quite deep, your skin looks a little dry, and you seem out of it—your movements feel sluggish, too. Of course, even that version of you is still charming.”

…Was my condition really that bad?

“Haha… It’s just that the book Celie recommended was so interesting that I stayed up all night under the covers reading it.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed the book I suggested, but I didn’t recommend it so you could lose sleep over it…”

If we listed out all the books Celian had recommended, we could probably fill an entire bookshelf.

Of course, the fact that I managed to read that many books in just six months was impressive, but the fact that Celian had already read them all and knew which to suggest was even more remarkable.

Not a single book she recommended was boring.

“No matter how good a book is, you still need to sleep at night.”

“Hehe… Sorry. I won’t do it again.”

It was true that I had stayed up all night reading.

But there was one thing wrong with the order of events.

I didn’t lie to my friends, but I also didn’t bother telling them unnecessary details.

I hadn’t lost sleep because I was reading—I read because I couldn’t sleep.

In reality, I had gone to bed at the usual time.

But not long after, I woke up.

As always, I couldn’t remember the dream, but I knew it had been unsettling.

The disgusting feeling lingering over me was proof of that.

Even worse, I had felt a sudden pain near my lower abdomen, where the Servitude Engraving was.

For a moment, I thought it was that time of the month.

But it was still a few days too early, and there were no signs of it, so I could only assume it was another one of those unexplained pains—like last time.

At least it hadn’t been as severe as before.

If it had, I might have woken up my friends and worried them unnecessarily.

I had ended up tossing and turning under the blankets, unable to sleep.

Eventually, I gave up and reached for a book.

This situation had been repeating so often that I started wondering if I had some kind of serious illness.

But if that were the case, surely Mariel or Serena would have noticed and given me a warning.

—El smells delicious for some reason.

I had been lost in thought when Linne, drawn to negative energy, floated over to me and started sniffing.

She’s not a dog—why was she smelling me?

“Linne! D-Delicious smell? Don’t say weird things and just come over here already.”

Thankfully, Yuri intervened, and Linne, though still sniffing, flew toward her instead.

“Hm? I don’t smell anything special, though?”

But as soon as Linne moved away, Anne replaced her, circling around me and sniffing curiously.

Unlike Linne, she didn’t seem as interested and soon lost interest.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing. If we keep wasting time, we’ll be late. Let’s go.”

And yet, for some reason, Celian was staring at me.

Fortunately, thanks to her urging, I was spared from further questioning about last night.

“Hello… Oh? You’re not the same person as before.”

“Aah, the previous person finished their disciplinary period and returned to their original position. Six months was a long time.”

On the way to meet Presia, I stopped by the magic department’s lobby as usual and greeted the person at the information desk—only to find a different person in their place.

“You’re Elysia Frentz, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Sharon.”

The woman extended her hand to me as she introduced herself.

“Oh, yes. Nice to meet you.”

I didn’t know her well enough to shake hands, but I didn’t want to leave her hanging and create an awkward atmosphere, so I took her hand and gave it a light shake.

“Wow, your hands are softer than I expected. I heard you were highly skilled in swordsmanship, so I thought you’d have more calluses.”

“Hmm… I suppose you could call it a unique trait?”

Logically, someone who trained as much as I did should have calloused hands.

I had plenty of calluses, scars from endurance training, and all sorts of marks from my time as an assassin.

But due to the old wizard’s philosophy, the TS spell had erased every single one of them, leaving my skin smooth.

And even after all this time, no new calluses had formed.

At least I wasn’t inconvenienced by it.

“That’s a shame. I didn’t even get to say goodbye properly…”

“Well, we’ll probably run into each other again. The academy may seem big, but it’s still just an academy.”

Now that I thought about it, how was working at the information desk considered a disciplinary action?

Academy staff handled that job anyway, so how could it be a punishment?

“Anyway! Everything has been properly handed over, and I already heard about you from Professor Presia. So don’t worry about the time—you’re free to come and go as you please.”

“Oh, thank you. It’s just that sometimes the boss—no, the professor—calls me over late at night, so it’s helpful to know. Take care.”

As I thanked her, Sharon raised the same hand she had used to shake mine and waved lightly.

“Yes, see you next time. I won’t wash this hand until then, since I got to shake hands with the Hero!”

“…That’s a bit…”

Leaving behind the information desk worker—whose words I couldn’t tell if they were a joke or not—I headed toward my original destination: Room 707.

“Welcome.”

When I entered the room, Presia greeted me, standing at her desk.

It was rare for her to be awake this early, considering it wasn’t even evening yet.

“You’re up today? What a shame.”

One of my little pleasures was waking Presia up when she was sleeping soundly.

Some might call me a pervert, but watching a cute girl curled up like a cat, breathing softly in her sleep, was a healing experience.

That’s why, whenever I visited, I often took a moment to watch her sleep before waking her up.

“A shame?”

I had kept this secret from her, thinking she might not like knowing that I watched her sleep.

But my real thoughts had slipped out.

And, of course, Presia didn’t miss it.

“Oh, um… well…”

“Is it something you can’t tell me…?”

Her voice carried a hint of sadness, as if she was hurt.

I had no way out.

If I stayed silent, she would think I didn’t trust her.

But if I told the truth, she might start looking at me like a creep.

Either way, my image would take a hit.

After a brief struggle, I decided to just be honest.

If my reputation was going to suffer either way, I might as well be at peace with it.

“Well… The truth is, I like watching you before I wake you up.”

“…Huh?”

“B-Because… it’s all your fault for being so cute!”

“…Huh…?”

No use holding back now. If I hesitated, it would just make things worse.

Might as well go all in with confidence.

“You might not realize it, but when you sleep, you look just like a doll! It’s seriously unfair!”

“…Uh…?”

At this point, even I wasn’t sure what I was saying anymore.

Forget thinking ahead—just say whatever comes to mind!

Presia looked completely overwhelmed, struggling to process my words.

“Think about it! If you slept like Anne—kicking off the blankets, putting your feet on other people’s stomachs, or having your shirt ride up to expose your belly—then sure, I could ignore it. But you? You sleep so peacefully, breathing softly with that cute face. Who could possibly resist? If you ask a hundred people, I bet ninety-nine of them would agree with me! And the last one would probably try to steal you, thinking you were an actual doll!”

“W-Wait a minute…”

I couldn’t let her think.

I needed to keep pushing.

“Right, Bear and Bunny, you two agree with me, don’t you? You’re her closest companions—you know better than anyone how cute she is when she sleeps. Doesn’t she look just like a doll?”

As if to complete the irony, I was now asking actual dolls for their opinion.

Luckily, Bear, the more perceptive one, nodded immediately.

Bunny, however, seemed hesitant, glancing toward Presia and her legs for some reason.

Since Bunny was taking too long, Bear subtly nudged it from the side—out of Presia’s sight.

Only then did Bunny seem to understand, nodding along.

“See! Even they agree! That means I’m not at fault. If anything, it’s your fault for being so cute!”

“…W-Wait… Am I really… that cute?”

“Of course! If anyone says otherwise, they’re blind! No, wait—even a blind person could tell from your voice alone, because your voice is adorable too!”

“Hehe… El thinks I’m cute…”

Fortunately, she seemed pleased by my words.

It looked like she had completely forgotten about questioning my habit of watching her sleep.

With a bright smile, she opened a cupboard and pulled out various fancy cookies—literally taking out every single type.

She was practically rewarding me for my shameless confession.

Good. One problem solved.

Presia was happy.

I was happy, munching on cookies and sipping tea.

…Wait.

Why did I come here again?