Wanna Sleep Over at My Place?
"Eek… EEEH?!?"
I'd fallen asleep…!
"Oh my, you're awake?"
Huh? Something felt soft and pillowy beneath my cheek. Which meant…
"Hck! I-I'm so sorry…!"
I had fallen asleep on the Saintess's lap… If word of this ever got out, I'd be, be murdered…
Ah…!
The sun was already drooping low toward the horizon. And Remia would be waiting for me.
"I-I should get going!"
I hurriedly gathered my things and left the Saintess's house.
"Shall I give you a ride?"
The Saintess pulled up in a car.
A-An expensive car…!
An open-top convertible — every man's dream…!
Thanks to the Saintess, it looked like I'd make it home in no time. Maybe it was the luxury car, but the traffic around us kept giving us a wide berth, and we were cruising along quickly when—
"Heek…?!?"
The Saintess's hand landed on my thigh — and then simply glided down it, slow and deliberate.
"S-Saintess…?"
She withdrew her hand with a smiling crinkle of her eyes. The warmth faded from my thigh, and I felt a tiny pang of disappointment.
Thanks to the Saintess, I made it home in record time. The moment I stepped out of the car, she got out and followed me.
"By the way, Sea…"
"W-Would you like to be friends with me…?"
I hesitated. Friends with the Saintess — wasn't that getting above myself? Wasn't it presumptuous? But she'd done so much for me, and she seemed like a genuinely good person, so getting a little closer didn't seem like a bad thing at all.
"…Yes."
The Saintess covered her mouth and laughed.
"Wonderful. Sea, I mean — ah, no. Just Sea, then. Ahem."
Saying she'd introduce herself properly, she held out her Awakened Registration Card.
"…?"
EX rank…? But there was no such thing as an EX rank in South Korea.
"You're A-rank too, aren't you, Sea? The only reason I'm S-rank is Korean law."
She said it with a little laugh.
"Th-That's not something to laugh about!!"
How was that not an injustice? Having an EX-rank ability legally capped at S-rank — how was that not infuriating?
Sua insisted she didn't mind, and pulled me into a tight hug.
H-her chest…!
When I tried to pull away, blushing, she just said all girls were like this with each other, and that I needed to get used to it.
Is that really how girls are? But I'm a guy….
"So from now on, we're friends?"
"Y-Yeah."
Calling the Saintess by her first name… If the Shinseong Guild ever found out, the Valkyries would come while I slept and—.
So I wasn't the first EX rank after all… Then again, the Saintess's power did look better than S-rank.
"Sain—. No, Sua."
"What is it?"
I told Sua I'd give the Association President who'd made such a law a piece of my mind, that I'd get the law changed—
"Pfft… I wish. Anyway, Sea."
Sua brought up the Wyvern's Core. She said the artifact had originally been a gift meant to make me S-rank, and apologized — she'd never imagined the Wyvern's Core itself would pass judgment and accept me.
"I suppose now I'll just have to love you for you…"
Sua murmured something under her breath, but I couldn't catch it.
"Then I'll head up, S-Sua…"
"C-Could I come along?"
Uh, if she came up now, Remia's reaction would be…
I stole a glance at Sua. She looked so hopeful that I decided to let her come along.
…
Ring-ring—.
"C-Come in."
I punched in the door code and stepped inside. Every light in the apartment was off.
"M-My benefactor, I've been waiting for you…!"
Ah…
Remia standing right in front of the door was not something I'd anticipated. She'd been about to throw herself into my arms when she spotted Sua behind me, and her expression hardened in an instant.
"Who is that woman?"
"Oh dear, Remia. 'That woman'? Say nasty things like that and Sea won't like you, you know?"
With those words, Sua latched onto my arm.
And just like that, I'd made everything worse.
After one hell of a commotion—
"That's my seat, you know?"
"Sea would rather sit next to me, though?"
What on earth was going on at my own dinner table…? I declared I'd sit alone and told the two of them to sit together instead.
"Ow! Sea, Remia pinched my thigh! Boo-hoo!"
"Th-That's a lie, benefactor!"
It was loud and chaotic. But… it wasn't bad, actually.
"Now then, please explain. Benefactor."
Ah…
So, fidgeting the whole way through, I explained everything to Remia.
Except—
There is absolutely no way I can tell her about the lap pillow…!
If she found out about that, something terrible was going to happen. Remia pondered for a long moment, then told me to wait, and dragged Sua off into the bedroom.
Raucous voices spilled out from behind the closed door, but I couldn't make out a word of it.
After a short wait, the two of them emerged.
Remia was grinning ear to ear, and Sua wore a perfectly innocent smile in my direction.
"What did you two talk about?"
"Nothing at all," they both said, brushing it off in unison.
Did they make up?
Come to think of it, they did seem to be getting along better than before.
"Sua, do you want to stay for dinner…?"
Zap—.
Remia shot Sua a glare, but Sua accepted as if she hadn't noticed a thing.
"What should I make?"
Sua said she was craving a proper home-cooked meal for the first time in ages.
Then… what do I even cook…?
I told the two of them to keep each other company and headed into the kitchen. Steamed eggs — that was the easiest thing to start with.
"Hmm…"
I beat the eggs, poured them into a bowl, and popped it in the microwave.
What do I do while I wait?
Cooking this easy — just how hopeless was Remia in the kitchen?
A dish even I could make, a guy who'd lived on convenience-store lunch boxes… I was thinking Remia would have to be banned from the kitchen forever when—
Ding.
The steamed eggs were done.
"Alright, everyone, come eat!"
The spread was meager, but with so many people around it somehow felt nice. Watching Remia and Sua bicker and squabble over dinner, I just found myself laughing.
I scooped up a spoonful of the steamed egg, and Remia and Sua followed my lead.
"It's… fishy."
Remia declared it tasted like fish and spat out her mouthful of my steamed egg.
"…?"
Sua tried her best to soldier through it, hiding her expression — but eventually she bolted for the sink.
"S-Sorry— urk! Blghh!"
"…"
"Delicious, though…"
Okay, it was a little fishy. Should I have added salt…? I hadn't, because eggs are tasty enough on their own—
"…Benefactor."
Remia wrinkled her nose and declared her own cooking was better, treating my food like garbage.
"You call this a meal…! Blood! Bring me blood!"
Remia lunged at me.
"Eek!"
Slurp… gulp… ahhh~
As Remia drank my blood, the Saintess's eyes went wide with shock at the sight of us.
"Wh…?!"
After a full-on wrestling match with Remia—
"Hah… hah…"
I was completely drained. I couldn't think of anything at all.
"Hey… Sea."
"Y-Yeah?"
Sua shuffled her feet, fidgeting restlessly, then—
"Could I… sleep over tonight?"
"Absolutely not!!!"
The instant the words left Sua's mouth, Remia objected. But it was getting late, so I told her she could stay—
"Th-Then I'll go grab my pajamas from the car…!"
Wait, they'd been ready in advance? Something about this felt like a trap.
Sua came back up, and in her hands were not one but two outfits.
"Wear this one!"
What she held out was a set of blue pajamas — and a headband.
Why is there a headband…!
I was stalling, too flustered to refuse — surely Remia would back me up this time. But Remia just stood there, watching me in silence.
"For once, I applaud you, Saintess."
"Eh…?"
Remia had betrayed me. Which meant I was going to be made to wear that thing, wasn't it? The two of them giggled together as they closed in on me.
"Hee-hee… Come on, let's try it on, okay?"
"That's right, benefactor. It's not like you even own any pajamas…"
"N-Noooo—!"
"U… uurgh."
Click.
"D-Don't take pictures!"
And so we all piled into the bedroom.
The bed was plenty roomy for two — but a little cramped for three.
"I'll sleep on the floor."
""No!""
They said it in perfect unison and sandwiched me between them.
Remia had a pillow, but Sua didn't, so we reluctantly agreed to share mine.
"I want to share with my benefactor too…!"
"You have your own pillow."
Shuff—.
Remia turned her back to me.
"Good night, everyone."
…
…
Hooo—.
Was Remia asleep?
"Sea, you awake?"
So Sua wasn't sleeping either? Well, it made sense — this wasn't her usual place.
"No…"
Sua hesitated for a long moment, then—
"Sea, the truth is, I'm not a good person."
Where had that come from? I said nothing and just listened.
"The way I talk isn't really me, either. My personality's different too. It's more like… I'm playing the part of the Saintess, I guess?"
Sua spoke slowly, letting out the things she'd been holding in.
"Honestly, I joke around a lot… people call me rude all the time, I've got a rotten personality, and…"
"That's okay."
"That Sua is still Sua. And she's still my Saintess."
Is that so, Sua said with a faint laugh, then squeezed my hand and whispered a thank you.
Isn't she a little too close…?
"Sea."
"Y-Yeah…?"
"Is that favor I asked you for still on the table?"
The favor from before… Did she mean the healing?
Hadn't that already been settled when she gave me the Wyvern's Core? Sure, the Core had become my heart now, but—
"I'm fine with it, but Sain—. No, are you okay with it, Sua?"
Sua said she didn't know, smiled, and snuggled in even closer.
"Good night…"
"…Mm."
Is this just what girls are like with each other? I wondered, and drifted off to sleep.
…
"I-IIIEEEE!!!"
The shriek jolted me awake.
The first thing I saw when my eyes opened was Sua's face — and the realization that the two of us were wrapped around each other in a tight hug.
Unable to bear it a second longer, Remia yanked me toward her.
"Get off her! You cursed Saintess! This was not supposed to be a sleepover…!!"
"Hnn… uurgh… what's going on…"
Huh?
The Saintess's voice was different. Younger, somehow — like a little kid's?
"Hah…! Ahem. Whatever do you mean?"