Chapter 49: Morning of Hope

――――The eighth day of training.

When I open the window, a fresh morning breeze enters the room. The sunshine pouring in from the cloudless blue sky seems to be welcoming us warmly. It’s a comfortable awakening, and strangely enough, the frustration that has been building up has been lifted. I must give thanks for the most refreshing morning ever.

「………」

「………」

On such a refreshing morning, I and Nell are sitting at the small table, where we drank a lot of wine yesterday, with our heads in our hands. The floor was littered with empty bottles of wine that I didn’t know who had emptied them, and there were so many of them that it was a bit disconcerting. Good grief, who threw such things into Nell-sama’s room? If you confess now, the super gentle Nell-sama will forgive you, you know? Come on, be honest.

「You see, how should I put it… sorry, I don’t remember at all.」

「…… Un, me too.」

Yes, we are the culprits. We don’t remember how long we continued to drink last night and when we went to bed. Well, expensive wine is not good. Since it’s easy to drink, it makes you drink more than you can handle. Still, I didn’t have a hangover and my head was really refreshed after waking up. And I can’t forget what I saw the moment I woke up refreshingly.

Haru didn’t sleep with me yesterday. For better or worse, Nell’s room was locked. I don’t think Haru would even try to break into this room on the second floor through the window. Or rather, she’s unexpectedly a disciple with common sense, so she wouldn’t do that. My~, I’m glad. The worst case is for this situation being seen by Haru and Chinatsu, but it looks like we managed to avoid it. Only on that point, good job, yesterday’s me.

But hey, yesterday’s me. This is not good, this is not good, you know? You vowed with a strong will not to make the same mistake that happened in the past by not drinking again, right? How is that? I can’t believe that you got drunk and did whatever you want to the point you lose your memory. Think about your age! You are old enough to not make such a mistake, aren’t you?

「I-I’m sorry. The truth is, I’ve stopped drinking since then, and since it’s been a while, my limit is, err…」

「No, I’m at fault too. I’m really sorry. I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. Well, you see…… I’m sorry.」

Yes, it’s entirely my fault. No matter how you put it, it’s ultimately my fault.

Yeah, that’s right. I woke up to find myself naked in Nell’s bed. So did Nell! You can guess the rest. Don’t put any more sin on me. I’m reflecting on it…!

―――― Knock knock.

「「!?」」

I and the Strongest Knight-sama jumped when we heard the sound of the door being knocked. We should never let Haru and Chinatsu see us like this. Our honor as a master is on the stake.

「Nell-sama, the breakfast is ready.」

It seems it was a servant. ‘Oi oi, even though we are now dressed, it’s bad if we are being found together here early in the morning.’ I made eye contact with Nell. ‘I know, just shut up!’ She gave me a powerful gaze.

「Okay. I will go to the dining room later after I changed my clothes. Please tell so to the people who have already gathered there.」

「Understood. Also, it seems that Deris-sama isn’t in his room. Do you know where he is?」

「「………」」

This servant can’t see inside the room, right? We are not being found out, right? I made eye contact again. Nell was a little troubled, but then she glanced out the window.

「… I don’t know. Maybe he’s going for a morning walk? I’m sure he’ll be back soon, so just prepare the breakfast.」

The servant, perhaps convinced by Nell’s words, said a brief greeting and left.

「Nice excuse.」

「Haa, it was bad for my heart…」

「Anyway, we have to go for breakfast. They will suspect us if we are too late. I’ll be back after loitering randomly.」

I cast Flage magic on myself, optically camouflaging my body. This should make it hard to find visually. Now I just need to jump down from the second floor and escape like a ninja. Let’s go for breakfast when I find the chance.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

「Ah, right, Nell.」

「What?」

「How about we start over again?」

「…… I-I will think about it.」

After capturing the image of Nell, blushing while turning away, in my mind, I jumped out of the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I managed to get through the breakfast with the perfect alibi and disguise of a morning walk. I thought that my heart would stop when Haru made an awfully surprised expression, ‘Shishō took a walk in the morning…!?’, but I did my best to change the subject by talking about today’s expedition. Nell didn’t talk much for some reason, so I also did my best covering for her. What an exhausting morning….

After finishing the breakfast and the preparation for the expedition, we all head to the meeting place. Outside the walls of the Castle Town Dianna, they said that they have a carriage waiting there.

「Ah, everyone, over here!」

As we approached our destination, Canon greeted us while waving his hand. Hearing Canon’s high-pitched voice, Muno rushed from the back, and Elder Daganov came out a little later.

「I’m very sorry, Nell-danchō! I’ve shown you such an unsightly figure, I――」

「Eh? A-Ah… it’s okay. I had a mock battle with Haruna after that, but she was stronger than I imagined. Even Daganov can’t win against her.」

「S-She’s that strong… Haruna-dono, I’m sorry for being so rude yesterday! Deris-dono, I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused!」

「P-Please don’t mind about it! I also apologize for defeating you in an instant!」

Haru, that’s not where you should apologize.

「Well, you are a big deal, Muno-kun. You can stick to your will and make such a statement to that Nell. I hope you can learn from him, Canon.」

「Deris-san, please don’t be ridiculous…」

「Canon is right. I am not the kind of person to be recognized. I heard about you yesterday. Deris-dono once worked hard as an adventurer with Nell-danchō, and you were companions who polished each other’s strengths. To my shame, I was thinking that you have a despicable thought. Ah, I want to kill yesterday’s me! I’m embarrassed!」

Yeah, I’m sorry. I also want to kill yesterday’s me. I’m sorry for being a despicable bastard. Nell, don’t suddenly stay silent! Someone might suspect us if you don’t show your usual merciless attitude!

「Well, Muno. Deris-dono is troubled, so leave it at that. Danchō, we are ready to go. Shall we leave now?」

「Y-Yeah, let’s go.」

「………?」

「Shishō, I’m looking forward to it!」

Thanks for your help, Elder Daganov.

Thus, the carriage runs on the road, taking Nell, who’s being eroded by maiden mode, Chinatsu, who begins to suspiciously think about it, and Haru, who is operating normally. At this point, I can only feel uneasy.