Chapter 178

After contracting with Infernosilia… or whatever that overly dramatic-sounding fire spirit was called, Agnes returned, unable to hide the excitement on her face.@@novelbin@@

“Agnes, where are we? Why are there so many strange stones and trees right after leaving the forest? Who’s that over there? And….”

“This is the Academy, a place where humans gather to study. Those stones and trees are like the houses where humans live, and the ones that aren’t shaped like those are made with magic….”

Agnes, who seemed unusually thrilled—likely due to this being her first contracted spirit—answered the spirit’s questions with a bright expression.

Since joining the Academy, it was the first time I’d seen her smile like that.

…She always seemed to wear either a sullen or angry expression around me, never anything like this.

‘It would be nice if she smiled like that more often.’

Dealing with tsundere characters might be fun in a game, but in reality, they’re just difficult people.

And that was something I learned all too well during this semester.

But anyway, I managed to help Agnes contract a spirit before the end of our spirit communication class, so I accomplished what I set out to do.

Moreover, giving Agnes, a fire magic expert, a fire spirit could lead to some unexpected growth events.

‘Since Agnes will most likely join the hero’s party, it’s better for her to become stronger—it can only be a good thing.’

The exact composition of the hero’s party, including whether or not the outsider Cerista will join, remains to be seen. But Agnes, driven by her own goals, will definitely aim to join.

And the hero, knowing her irreplaceable firepower, would have no reason to reject her, even if he wasn’t particularly interested in her.

In other words, the stronger Agnes becomes, the easier it will be to defeat the Demon King, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of my peaceful future.

So, giving her a fire spirit as her first spirit was definitely the right choice.

‘Besides, if Agnes becomes stronger, it’ll reduce the chances of her becoming interested in other potential party members.’

Even though the hero already has Cerista, I don’t think he’ll be interested in Lillis, but it doesn’t hurt to have some insurance.

While I was lost in these thoughts, watching Agnes teach the fire spirit about this world, our eyes suddenly met.

“…And that’s the dormitory where you and I will….”

“…….”

‘…Agnes?’

“…Wait a moment, Infernosilia.”

Agnes, who had been enthusiastically chatting with the spirit, suddenly fell silent when our eyes met.

Sensing the awkwardness, I quickly averted my gaze, pretending not to notice, but I could hear her footsteps approaching me.

Her steps, strangely cautious, hinted that she had something to say to me.

Step, step.

“…….”

“Um… Lillis.”

“Yes, Miss Blaze.”

“…………Thank you.”

…Of course she should be thankful. I went through a lot to help her contract that spirit.

In the original story, this was an impossible feat no matter how you twisted it.

I practically spoon-fed her the contract with that fire spirit.

Even Agnes, who isn’t completely devoid of conscience, expressed her gratitude to me for making the spirit contract happen.

I responded to her thanks with feigned ignorance, trying to remain as composed as possible.

“I’m just glad Miss Blaze’s spirit contract went well.”

“Lillis….”

“But I think it would benefit you to work on your social skills a bit, like not calling people ‘crazy’ when you first meet them. It would help with your future.”

“…You always have to add one more comment, don’t you? So irritating.”

No matter how talented she is, she can’t live her whole life as a tsundere. That’s probably why, in the game, her character either ended up with the hero or alone.

Anyway, I’d accomplished my task for the day, so it was time to head back.

…And I had to hurry back to avoid being caught sneaking out by Ethan.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Several hours had passed since dusk had fully set in, and it was now the deep of night.

It was well past the dormitory’s curfew, and I quietly walked through the corridors of the Swordsmanship Department’s dormitory, heading back to the room I shared with Ethan.

I had to make sure that Ethan didn’t discover I’d snuck out while he was asleep.

‘If I’d told him I was going out at night by myself, he definitely wouldn’t have let me go.’

As his personal maid, it was audacious to sneak out like this, and Ethan would likely have been worried and tried to stop me.

Since the incident at the Lake of Knowledge, Ethan had become increasingly protective of me, so there was a good chance he would have objected to me going out alone, even if it was for Agnes.

‘And I’d feel too guilty to wake him up and take him along.’

Besides, it was ridiculous to drag Ethan into something between me and Agnes. If anything, Agnes might mock me for bringing him along everywhere.

That’s why I’d come up with the idea of a secret outing.

After all, once Ethan falls asleep, he doesn’t wake up until it’s time to get up. It’s a small habit I’d noticed after sharing a bed with him for several months.

The plan was simple: sneak out after he falls asleep and return before he wakes up.

As a maid, I was already used to going to bed later and getting up earlier than my master, so slipping out in the middle of the night wasn’t a problem. The tricky part was getting back in.

‘A sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes, so if I return about three hours after leaving, I should be fine.’

It took me 22 minutes to leave the dormitory and reach the pitch-black forest. Agnes took 1 hour and 47 minutes to make her spirit contract at the Spirit’s Pond and return. We spent 19 minutes talking after she got back, and it took 22 minutes to return.

I figured I’d wait about 10 more minutes before heading back. During that time, I started thinking about my last remaining task for this week.

‘The only thing left now is the swordsmanship duel with Harold the day after tomorrow….’

I wasn’t too worried about the End-of-Semester Hunting Festival since Ethan and I would be participating as a pair. The real challenge was the swordsmanship duel with Harold.

I still wasn’t confident I could win.

Even though Harold would have all his strength, magic, and advanced sword techniques restricted during our duel, the real challenge was the difference between a Sword Master and a regular person.

Unless I could find an unexpected opening, it would be impossible to win. But the problem was finding an opening that someone like Harold, who’s been through countless battles, wouldn’t see coming.

I waited quietly by the dormitory door as I pondered these thoughts.

After counting 600 seconds in my head, I slowly moved inside, walking as quietly as possible.

Clack, creak.

“…….”

The room was dark as soon as I entered.

I had to rely on the faint light coming from Sally, but I needed to move quietly anyway, so not seeing well wasn’t much of a problem.

I hadn’t changed out of my night maid uniform when I went out, so there was no need to change now.

Softly, softly.

I tiptoed to the bed where Ethan was sleeping, quietly slipped into the empty spot next to him, and prepared to go to sleep.

Ssssshhh.

‘…Phew.’

It seemed like I hadn’t been caught.

I let go of the worries about the swordsmanship duel with Harold that had been plaguing my mind.

There was no point in thinking about it while lying in bed; I wouldn’t know if my strategy would work until I faced him in battle.

Besides, with the End-of-Semester Hunting Festival with Ethan next week, I didn’t have the luxury to focus solely on this.

Exhausted from the late-night outing, I buried myself under the covers, ready to fall asleep.

But just as I closed my eyes and was about to drift off, there was a slight movement next to me.

Ssssh, sshh.

“……?”

…Was he just turning over in his sleep?

Sleep talking is a characteristic of REM sleep. I must have cut it close.

I realized that if I had returned even a little later, I might have been caught as soon as I entered the dormitory. The thought sent a chill down my spine.

But, in the end, I’d managed to sneak out and back in without getting caught, so I relaxed…

Tight.

‘……Huh?’

…Or so I thought until I felt my left wrist being gently grasped under the covers.

My mind froze for a moment, unable to process what was happening.

‘Seriously, does he have to grab my wrist in his sleep?’

Ethan was holding onto my wrist so tightly that it didn’t seem like he’d let go even if I shook it gently.

…Well, I guess I’ll just have to sleep like this tonight.

After all, I should be deeply asleep beside Ethan at this time, so if I clumsily pulled away, it might make him suspicious.

It was better to endure a bit of sleep talk than to get caught sneaking out.

“Lillis….”

“……!”

What? What just happened?

Did he really wake up?

My heart sank as Ethan suddenly called my name.

As I debated whether to respond or not, I finally calmed down enough to analyze why he might have called my name.

‘…It’s common to sleep talk along with sleep habits.’

It must have just slipped out in his sleep.

Since I’ve had the most interactions with Ethan since joining the Academy, it’s natural for me to appear in his dreams.

He was probably dreaming about one of our dates or the time we spent at the lake.

Thinking it was no big deal, I was about to go back to sleep when Ethan shifted again.

…A much larger and more troublesome movement than before.

Srrrt.

‘……Huh?’

Squeeze.

‘…Wait a minute.’

He turned towards me, and then… he practically laid on top of me.

He was treating me like a pillow, wrapping his arms around me as he lay down. The whole situation felt so absurd that I almost wanted to laugh.

‘Even if it’s just sleep talk….’

This is a bit… over the top, isn’t it?

Even on nights when his sleep habits were particularly bad, he’d never tangled himself up with me like this.

No matter how much I wanted to ignore it and go to sleep, I couldn’t sleep in this position.

So, I decided to push Ethan off and move to the side, but just as I grabbed his shoulder to shove him away…

…I heard Ethan’s clear voice softly whisper in my ear.

“Lillis.”

“……?”

“…Where did you go?”