Volume 15 Chapter 1 Sleeping Together
"......Huh?"
When I woke up, Ravuri was sleeping next to me.
She was clinging to me tightly, burying her face in my chest.
"This is weird..."
Ravuri's room was supposed to be next door.
We had even discussed sleeping in the same room for protection, but Ravuri had firmly refused, saying "Privacy is important!"
It was unlikely that Ravuri would come to my place on her own.
Maybe she got lost in her sleep and ended up in the wrong room.
"Ugh..."
...I couldn't move, and it was hot.
If the person clinging to me was in armor, I'd be thrilled, but since it was just a normal human, it was a bit of a letdown.
Anyway, I tried to shake Ravuri awake.
"...No."
"Huh?"
With a sudden burst of energy, she flailed her arms and pushed me away.
Then, she clung to me even tighter.
I thought she was awake, but no, she was still asleep.
However, there were tiny tears glistening in her tightly shut eyes, as if she was having a bad dream.
"...I don't like this."
She was crying.
"...Someone, please... protect Rav..."
The atmosphere was different from my usual interactions with Ravuri.
Usually, she was full of energy, but maybe the monster attacks and fatigue had taken a toll on her mentally.
If it was a bad dream, it would be better to wake her up.
"Ravuri, wake up."
"...Nn."
After shaking her body for a bit, her eyelids slowly opened.
"Noo...?"
With a dazed expression, she looked at me with sleepy eyes.
"Fwa...good morning...good morning..."
"Yeah, good morning."
"...Ravuri."
"Yes, Ravuri."
"...Huh?"
At that moment, her eyes snapped open wide.
She regained her composure and grasped the situation.
"Eh... ah...?"
As I watched, Ravuri's face turned bright red.
"W-what... why... why is Noo in Rav's bed!?"
"No, this is my bed, though."
"Why are we sleeping together!? And in such closeness!? Why!?"
"Yeah, it's weird, isn't it?"
"W-wait! No, no, no! Don't look at Rav like that!"
She pulled the blanket over her face.
"Get out!"
"Whoa!"
Something flew from the bedside and hit me.
It was a pillow, a Gluttony Mimic Bag, and Juju...
"Ugh..."
Juju, who had fallen onto the bed, let out a pained cry.
'What's going on...what's this?'
"Good morning, Juju."
'It's not good morning! Right now, I'm experiencing the most acrobatic wake-up call in history!'
"Another memory of the holy city has been made, huh?"
'This is a terrible memory...'
"Well, if you have any complaints, tell Ravuri."
'Huh?'
Anyway, I explained the situation to Juju.
"That's what happened."
'So, you're saying that the princess saw Noroa when she woke up, panicked, and threw me with an over-the-shoulder toss?'
"Something like that."
'It's all your fault!'
"Why?"
'Hmm...you just don't understand the heart of a maiden.'
"I don't think you understand it either."
"Is that so? A maiden wants to show only her beautiful self to men."
'Ah...come to think of it, Cirrul also hated being seen with bedhead.'
When we were at Ravenyard, Cirrul and I shared a room, but she would sleep later and wake up earlier than me.
By the time I woke up, she would have already fixed her hair.
"But I thought Ravuri would be more...careless about that kind of thing."
'This is normal. You're just too aloof with people.'
"Am I really that aloof?"
'Totally aloof.'
"Aloof, huh."
'Speaking of 'aloof,' now I'm craving some Alaskan salmon...'
"That's completely irrelevant."
Since my room had been taken over by Ravuri, I had no choice but to head to the dining hall.
Cirrul was already up and had set the table. I didn't see Kuku or the twins. Kuku was probably still sleeping, and the twins were still in bed.
"Hey, I heard Ravuri's screams from upstairs...did something happen?"
"No, it's nothing major."
"Good, I'm relieved..."
"Yeah, I slept with Ravuri yesterday, but..."
"......Huh?"
A plate suddenly fell from Cirrul's hand.
"What's wrong? You've seen me in my pajamas countless times, so it's not like you have anything to be embarrassed about... What's with the plate? Are you okay?"
"Ah, no...I just felt like breaking a plate."
"What's with that feeling?"
"Hehehe, breaking plates is so much fun...!"
"Hey, calm down, Cirrul! What's going on between you and the plate?"
It took about 10 minutes to calm Cirrul down.
She must have had a lot of pent-up frustration towards the plate.
Anyway, let me explain the situation in detail.
"I see... So Rav mistakenly went to Sir Noroa's room..."
It seems Cirrul had some misunderstanding.
"I see, that's what happened."
Oh, it looks like she realized something.
"But, I think I might have made Ravuri angry..."
As a bodyguard, I want to build a good relationship, but it's hard to deal with people.
"I don't think you made her angry, though."
"Huh?"
"Rav seems to be the type who's cautious around people. Even in the past, she was like a turtle hiding in its shell, not really interacting with others."
'I can't really imagine that. More importantly, can I have another bread?'
"Rav has changed a lot recently, but...was she worried about something?"
'Just a little. Bread, please.'
"If she has any troubles, she can feel free to talk to me about it."
"Yeah... but Ravuri might be afraid to show her true self. She might think that others won't accept her real self."
"Afraid?"
'Bread, please. Hey, bread, please. Don't ignore me!'
"She might think that her true self won't be accepted by others. Even with us, she might be putting on a perfect facade and wearing a mask..."
'Bread...wait, can't you hear my voice?'
"A mask..."
Suddenly, I remembered Ravuri's sleeping face from earlier.
Ravuri back then looked like she was suffering from something. However, when she's awake, Ravuri never shows a face that suggests she's worried about anything.
"Everyone, lovely♪."
Just as I was talking about it, Ravuri arrived.
Her clothes and hairstyle were perfectly done, and she had a lively atmosphere as she sat down at the dining table.
No matter how you looked at her, she was the usual Ravuri. It made me think that her earlier distress was just a lie.
But for some reason, she wouldn't meet my eyes.
'Hey, you. Just now, you did a great job with that over-the-top...'
"Jujju is lovely today too, isn't she♪."
'I know, I know.'
Juju had a completely satisfied expression.
"Hmm... what's wrong, Cil? You don't look lovely at all..."
"Huh? Ah, um..."
Cirrul's gaze wandered around. It seemed like she didn't want to talk about Ravuri's story.
"It's just that my mouth hurts a bit, that's all."
"...what, mouth hurt!? Cil, how... Oh, we have to call a doctor... ."
"Oh, it's no big deal, Rav."
"Ah, I heard that honey is good for mouth hurts! Does anyone have honey?"
'I have honey right here.'
Juju took out a small bottle of honey from her clothes.
Why did she have it there?
"Ah, about that mouth hurt... it was a lie..."
"Cil, stay still! I'll start the operation!"
"Nh... nhmu...!?"
And so, Cirrul's mouth hurt surgery began.
"...I came to see how you're doing, and you're all lively as usual."
"Huh...?"
I turned around, but there was no one... ah, there was.
It was Miss Miimo. Her back was low, and I didn't notice her at first.
"You're here, Miss Miimo."
"...Sorry, I was hard to see."
"No, it's okay... rather, why are you here?"
"I rang the bell, but no one came out, so I had to ask the ghost child to let me in."
"Ah, I'm sorry about that."
"No, it's okay."
"So, what brings you here so early in the morning?"
The top Inquisitor came all the way to Parasite Palace herself.
I got a little on guard, wondering if something had happened.
"Is it an emergency or something?"
"...Yeah, that's right."
Miss Miimo looked troubled.
She glanced at Ravuri and continued.
"Her Majesty the Holy King has summoned you. She wants you to come immediately."
"! What's going on!? Has something happened?"
"...You'll find out when you get there."
"Got it."
I quickly changed into my uniform and headed to the Great Holy Castle.
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