One Bed for the Night
I had slashed the sexually harassing lich to pieces without mercy. The lich she knew was supposed to wield magnificent spells. Yet this one carried some perverse magical device that looked like it belonged in a masturbation session. It even summoned repulsive tentacles. And just before dying, it had tried to steal a peek at her underwear. At that point, the reasonable suspicion—Is this thing even a lich?—was impossible to avoid.
So this is what they mean by a mutant. It wasn’t wrong at all. Unlike any normal lich, this one had been a complete lunatic.
Just as she reached that firm conclusion, an unexpected sight filled her vision.
-Cough!
Baran suddenly vomited blood. If it had been a normal trickle she might have let it pass, but the blood gushed from his mouth with shocking force. While Luden stared at him in blank shock, Baran himself was thinking something entirely different.
Okay. Not bad.
He wore a triumphant little smile as he reviewed the reward message. Experience points were whatever—he received them almost every time he cleared a quest now. But the Mana Recovery Bracelet had come at the perfect moment. How could he not feel good?
I quickly pulled the bracelet from my subspace pouch and slipped it onto my remaining arm.
Oh.
The mana in my body was definitely draining more slowly than before. If Ppiyak’s ridiculous inefficiency had been like a faucet cranked wide open, now it felt closer to half that rate. This was actually usable in real combat.
Of course…
I’ll still need to level up more.
The corner of Baran’s mouth lifted at the thought. At that exact moment Luden’s worried voice reached him.
“Baran. Are you okay?”
She was staring at him with open concern. The blood had clearly frightened her. Baran wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and nodded politely.
“Yes, I am fine. This much is nothing at all.”
“......”
Even though he answered with a gentle smile, Luden’s expression remained heavy with worry. He claimed he was all right, so the injury probably wasn’t severe, but she still had to check.
“Why did you cough up so much blood?”
“Ah, it is all because of Ppiyak.”
“Ppiyak?”
“This fellow right here.”
Baran pointed at the phoenix that was greedily devouring the chicken. Luden tilted her head at the sight.
“Its name is… Ppiyak?”
“Yes. Don’t you think the name suits it well?”
“......”
How tone-deaf did someone have to be to name a legendary phoenix “Ppiyak”? Anyone else would have been dumbfounded. The real problem, however, was that Ppiyak itself showed no dissatisfaction and simply continued munching on the strange fried food.
What exactly is that food that it’s eating so happily?
If she had known it was chicken, Luden would have been horrified. Who could imagine a phoenix willingly eating its own kind? She shook her head, pushing the thought away, and asked once more.
“Anyway, are you really okay?”
“Yes. I simply consumed too much mana while summoning Ppiyak.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Therefore you need not worry.”
“......”
Despite the polite reassurance, the amount of blood he had coughed up seemed excessive. From an outside perspective it looked as if he were suffering from a serious illness. After all, she had never seen anyone vomit blood so violently before.
“Then let us send that creature back first.”
Ah, yes. We should. “Ppiyak.”
-Hm?
“You may return with the chicken now.”
-Understood. Call upon me again if the need arises.
“Yes.”
With that, Ppiyak flew off, clutching the chicken tightly to its chest. Just what kind of food could make a phoenix treasure it so dearly? A spark of curiosity flickered in her mind, but this was no time for idle thoughts. Even though Baran kept insisting he was fine, his face was deathly pale. It was obvious his body had taken a heavy toll.
“Baran, let’s leave quickly.”
Baran looked puzzled by her urgency but nodded. He didn’t know the reason, but leaving was indeed necessary. The two of them retraced their earlier path and exited the dungeon. By the time they emerged, quite a lot of time had passed and the sky outside was pitch black.
“Ugh. It’ll be too late to return to the academy now.”
“It seems so.”
Although the dungeon was an artificial one near the capital, the journey back to the academy still took a long time. The capital itself was vast; “nearby” in name did not mean nearby in distance.
“There is no helping it. Let us find lodging in the capital.”
“Are you sure that’s all right?”
“Yes, it does not matter.”
“Good. Then let’s find a place quickly. The weather looks bad as well.”
With those words the pair set off toward the capital.
“I’m sorry, we’re fully booked.”
“All rooms have already been reserved.”
“I apologize, but no rooms remain.”
After visiting every lodging facility in the capital, they found not a single vacancy. That alone would have been understandable, but—
-Rumble!
As if the world itself were deliberately tormenting them, rain began to pour outside.
What kind of day is this?
First the lich’s grotesque hobbies, now no rooms and pouring rain. Even with an umbrella, the prospect was still unpleasant.
-My disciple. There is a lodging establishment in that direction!
At that moment Miroel, who had gone ahead to scout, announced that she had found a place. Baran nodded at her words.
“Miss Luden.”
“Hm?”
“There is one more. Let us try that one.”
“There’s another place?”
Baran gave a slow nod. She thought she knew every lodging in the capital—she had stayed in the city before enrolling at the academy, after all.
Was there somewhere I missed?
Full of doubt, she followed Baran until they reached their destination.
“Here it is……”
“......”
Luden pressed her lips tightly together as she stared at the building before them. It was unmistakably a motel designed for couples.
Did he know what this place was?
She glanced at Baran, then at the bandage covering his eyes, and shook her head.
No way.
Baran could not see. There was no possibility he had brought them here with any impure intentions. (In truth Baran was internally quite flustered, but Luden had no way of knowing that.)
“Let us go inside quickly.”
“All right.”
The two stepped into the building. Unlike the previous lodgings, the interior was filled with suggestive objects that made one’s face grow hot just by looking at them. Every single person entering was part of a couple.
This makes it look like Baran and I are a couple!
While Luden was panicking internally, Baran approached the counter and asked the staff.
“Excuse me, do you have any rooms available?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Then I would like to rent two rooms.”
As Baran reached for money from his subspace pouch, the staff replied in a slightly apologetic tone.
“I’m sorry. Only one room remains.”
“Ah.”
Baran let out a small sound of surprise. He had not expected only a single room to be left.
“Miss Luden. There is only one room. What should we do?”
“Ugh.”
Normally she would have suggested searching elsewhere. But it was raining heavily outside. Even with umbrellas, they would still get cold. Moreover—
Considering Baran coughed up blood earlier…
It would be better to rest immediately. He kept saying he was fine, but there was no telling what might happen.
“Let’s just stay here.”
“Pardon?”
“Why? Is sharing a room with me that unpleasant?”
“It’s not that, but…”
“Then it’s settled. It’s not like you’re going to try anything anyway.”
“Yes. That is true.”
“Then let’s book this one.”
Baran scratched his cheek awkwardly and nodded. They split the cost evenly, paid, and received the key from the staff before heading up the stairs.
-Step. Step.
She, who could see, took the lead. Before long they reached their room. Luden inserted the key into the lock and turned it.
-Click!
The door unlocked. Without hesitation Luden opened it. The moment the magic light inside the room turned on—
-Flinch!
Her face stiffened at the sight before her. Baran could understand her reaction perfectly.
Yeah. I should have expected this.
There was only one bed in the room.