Chapter 34
I was still turning over what to say when, as if on cue, Ninabel poked her head out of my pocket and asked,
“Master! Did you get a new slave?”
“Not a slave… more like a partner.”
“Ohhh, I see!”
Slave—if the three people outside heard that, it’d be a disaster.
I should probably teach Ninabel some basic human common sense for the future.
An awkward silence settled over us. I rubbed the back of my neck for no reason and ventured,
“Um… should we call it a night?”
“Yes.”
We put out the lamp and lay down side by side on the bed. It was a narrow single, so it felt uncomfortably tight.
Still, I couldn’t very well make Lycian sleep on the floor. We didn’t have a single spare blanket or quilt left.
Of course, if I told him I was uncomfortable and to get off, Lycian would probably comply without complaint.
“…Good night, Lycian.”
“Sweet dreams, Muriel.”
I whispered softly, and his low reply came from right beside me.
For some reason my heart felt unsettled. I let out a quiet sigh and turned onto my side.
The next morning.
The moment I opened my eyes at dawn, I nearly fainted from shock.
‘What is this—what happened?!’
I tucked snugly in Lycian’s arms, hugging his waist with both arms…!
‘How did this even happen…?!’
I must have done something in my sleep, but that was the problem—I couldn’t remember a thing.
…I only hugged him, right? I didn’t do anything else, did I?
‘I’m losing it….’
I carefully lifted my gaze. Lycian was still fast asleep.
If I wanted to avoid this situation, now was my only chance.
‘I need to get out before he wakes up…!’
First, I slowly loosened my arms from around his waist. I moved painfully carefully so I wouldn’t wake him.
Then, inch by inch—like a crab—I shuffled sideways to put some distance between us.
‘Okay, almost there—!’
Right before I could escape, an arm shot out and wrapped around my waist, yanking me back with firm strength.
“…!”
Dragged right back, I found myself trapped in his arms again. A low sigh drifted down from above my head.
I tilted my chin up slightly to peek. His eyes were still closed.
‘What kind of sleep habit is this….’
My heart pounded wildly. …What do I do? Should I wake him? My thoughts tangled into a mess.
‘I’m going to die of embarrassment like this… but I don’t have a choice.’
I’d just made up my mind to wake him and grabbed his arm when—
“Master~! Good morning~!”
Ninabel slipped in through the slightly open window and flew toward me—only to freeze midair.
“Y-you…!”
The round droplet trembled violently.
She couldn’t finish her sentence for a long moment, then suddenly bellowed at full volume, enough to shake the whole room.
“You damn pervert bastard—!! Get away from her right now?!?!”
What happened next was exactly what I expected.
The dewdrop rice cake shot forward like an arrow and smack! slapped Lycian across the face. Until that moment, he’d been sleeping peacefully—now he frowned and slowly opened his eyes.
In a voice thick with sleep, he muttered,
“…What?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’?! You shameless bastard! Get up and move!!”
Instead of letting go, Lycian sat up while still holding me—and promptly grabbed the top of the dewdrop rice cake’s head in one fist, lifting it into the air.
“So noisy this early in the morning….”
“Ack! L-let go of me?!”
The spirit flailed wildly. Lycian did release her.
Or rather… he threw her. Like a basketball.
“Y-you jerk!”
When Ninabel lunged at him again, Lycian casually swatted her aside and looked back at me.
This time she bounced away with a hollow thok, like a badminton shuttlecock. I watched her fly off with faint pity. At least spirits weren’t affected by simple physical attacks.
‘If she were human, she’d be in pieces by now….’
“Did you sleep well, Muriel?”
As if nothing at all had happened, Lycian smiled calmly and greeted me good morning. I nodded with a faintly enlightened smile.
“Yeah….”
There had been a bit of a commotion, but all in all, it was a peaceful morning.
When we stepped into the living room, Allen, Daphne, and Mikhail were already up from their bedding. Ninabel’s shrieking must have woken them completely.
Mikhail still looked half-asleep, and Allen was dozing off again, clinging to him like he might fall over otherwise.
Only Daphne stared at us with bright, curious eyes.
“I heard shouting. What happened? Do you have other family members here besides you two?”
“Well… actually….”
Trying to hide it would only make things suspicious. And it would come out eventually anyway.
Right on cue, Ninabel peeked out from behind my back. I grabbed her and lifted her up with both hands, presenting her to the three of them.
“So, this droplet here is….”
“…A hamster?”
“Not an actual hamster.”
“Then why does it look like a hamster? It’s a droplet.”
I don’t know either….
I gave an awkward laugh, and Daphne arched a brow.
‘According to Lycian, Ninabel takes the form of a hamster because she’s trying to look cute.’
For the record, Ninabel insists she’s genuinely adorable—and regularly insults Lycian for having “bad eyesight” if he fails to acknowledge that fact.
As for me… a droplet shaped like a hamster is still just a droplet. I’ve never said that out loud, though. I don’t want to hurt her feelings.
“She just really likes hamsters, so she takes that form….”
When I gave a vague excuse, Daphne responded with an absentminded “Ahh,” and nodded.
Even faced with the bizarre droplet, she didn’t seem particularly surprised.
After a moment, Daphne looked straight at Ninabel and asked,
“This droplet… it’s a spirit, isn’t it?”
“Huh—you could tell?”
“Of course. One look and it’s obvious. Spirits that communicate with humans are rare, but not nonexistent.”
The reason spirits rarely try to communicate with humans dates back to the ‘Spirit Hunt’ a thousand years ago.
Back then, far more spirits interacted with humans and formed contracts.
But after the Spirit Hunt, spirits’ trust in humanity plummeted. Since then, they’ve kept their distance.
A spirit like Ninabel—who holds such pure goodwill toward humans—is extremely rare.
“My name is Ninabel, and I’m a water spirit. Nice to meet you!”
Twisting shyly, she introduced herself. Literally twisting—her tentacle-like arms coiled together like braided dough.
Even at the ridiculous sight, Daphne merely suppressed a small laugh and politely shook the offered tentacle.
“I’m Daphne Winzel. Human. I mainly use a bow—I’m an archer. Should I introduce the others too?”
“Yeah!”
Cradling Ninabel in her arms, Daphne walked over to Mikhail and Allen. Ninabel greeted them as well.
“Mikhail Keynes…. As you can tell from the ears, I’m a half-elf. A mage.”
“I’m Allen Moore! I can cook and handle basic first aid, and I usually take a backline support role….”
As expected, Mikhail was a half-elf. And a mage, too—it suited him perfectly.
“Nice to meet you both! Nini’s been alone for a very long time, so I’m happy to make so many friends!”
Ninabel was visibly excited. The little thing who growled whenever she saw Lycian was perfectly friendly with the other three.
I guess Ninabel and Lycian just had terrible compatibility.
Meanwhile.
Mikhail had been secretly observing Lycian, a strange sense of déjà vu nagging at him.
‘He looks like someone….’
He was certain he’d seen a face like that before, but he couldn’t place it.
‘My memory can’t be this bad.’
Hmm. Resting his hand on his chin, he let out a long sigh—and the moment he tried to sneak another look, his eyes met Lycian’s directly.
“…!”
Startled by the cold gleam in those eyes, Mikhail quickly looked away.
He didn’t know who the man resembled—but one thing he was sure of.
‘He’s dangerous….’
Did Muriel know that?
Should he warn her privately?
After a long moment of deliberation, Mikhail decided not to meddle.
Still, a faint unease lingered in his chest.
‘But… it should be fine.’
The way Lycian looked at Muriel—there was no falsehood in it, no matter how many times he examined it.
A man who held that kind of emotion wouldn’t harm her.
‘That’s enough. Don’t interfere.’
With that, Mikhail stopped trying to probe Lycian’s identity.
A few hours later.
After their party left Muriel’s farm and arrived at the dungeon hub city—
Mikhail suddenly realized who Lycian resembled.
“……I remember.”
“…? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Daphne asked, puzzled. Allen looked equally confused, but Mikhail merely let out a hollow laugh.
‘He really is a big shot you don’t want to get tangled up with….’