Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Morning After
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After spending a hot night together, the next day arrived.
I woke up from sleep, locking eyes with Lexi.
"..."
"...W-what are you looking at."
Her first words, with her long ears flushed entirely red, were pretty intense.
After that, the two of us silently got dressed and headed downstairs.
Having moved so vigorously, we were starving, so we sat at the restaurant and had breakfast.
There wasn't much conversation during the meal, but toward the end, Lexi spoke up.
"...Wanna have another drink together next time...?"
"...Sure."
Our speech patterns returned to normal.
We decided to leave last night's events unspoken between us.
...Until the next time we drank together.
I escorted Lexi to the Black Knight Order's lodging.
Thanks to wandering around so often, I now had a rough grasp of the streets here.
The roads weren't that complicated anyway, and with landmark buildings defining each street, it was easy to memorize them that way.
Maybe because it was early morning, the area in front of the knights' lodging felt a bit empty.
Only Knight Captain Dana, who had gotten up early, was staring at the training dummy.
It was the one whose head I'd blown off while demonstrating for Ethan.
Lexi and I approached the captain.
"Captain."
"Oh? You're up? ...And who's that next to you...?"
The captain turned to me, then immediately asked about Lexi beside me.
Lexi met her gaze and responded as if she'd been waiting.
"I'm Lexi, here to assist with the dungeon matter."
"Ah... Nice to meet you."
Knight Captain Dana flinched a bit upon seeing Lexi's long ears but slowly took the hand Lexi extended first and shook it.
In the original story, Dana had reluctantly offered her hand first, but whether she remembered my words or not, Lexi had taken the initiative this time.
Dana seemed a little surprised that an elf would act this way.
"Those ears... you're an elf, right?"
"Yes."
"Hm, for an elf... No, sorry, that was rude. My apologies."
"No, it's fine. I hear that a lot."
Smoother words than in the original passed between them.
Lexi, perhaps thinking of me, responded quietly even to the captain's words that could come off as rude.
It was a demure demeanor.
The two of them headed to the meeting room to discuss the support details, and I went to my room, which felt like I hadn't seen in ages.
As I opened the door, a floral scent wafted out, and there was Cecil wearing my clothes.
"..."
"..."
The clothes were a bit big on her, so her cleavage peeked through the loose gaps.
We stared at each other, and Cecil pouted her lips as she spoke.
"...Wasn't it supposed to be a massage..."
"..."
Along with a tone that carried a hint of resentment.
I couldn't bring myself to respond to that, so I just gave an awkward smile.
Instead, I slowly handed her the perfume I'd promised.
It was something I'd bought new when it crossed my mind while shopping.
"...Is now a bad time to give it?"
In my head, I'd imagined it as decent timing.
But handing it over right now made it seem like perfume was payment for groping her body as much as I wanted, which looked a bit off.
"...Pfft."
They say you can't spit in a smiling face—after glancing back and forth between the perfume I'd given her and my awkward smile, Cecil let out a small smile.
Then she grumbled.
"...Seriously, my body does feel refreshed though..."
The massage using internal energy must have worked, as Cecil made an amazed expression, saying her knotted muscles had loosened up.
Now that she was heading back to her own room, she brushed past me and left one last remark.
"Next time too..."
She didn't finish, but I smiled and replied.
"Got it."
I stretched and took out the items I'd bought yesterday one by one, decorating the room with them.
Lamps, blankets, towels.
And even spare perfume.
With so much happening yesterday, I felt a bit tired, so I only swapped out that much and lay down on the bed.
Ethan would come wake me up anyway, so I figured I'd sleep for at least an hour.
"Mm..."
I tossed and turned.
Then slowly opened my eyes.
The sky was brilliantly clear, making the light streaming through the window sting.
Other than that, nothing seemed different from before I slept.
But for some reason.
A corner of my mind felt uneasy.
"...What time is it?"
I'd bought all sorts of things, but no clock, so I slowly got up from the bed and peered out the window.
There was no one outside.
"That's weird..."
No one?
Maybe no one had woken up yet?
But my body didn't feel like I'd only slept briefly.
If anything, it felt like I'd slept deeply.
"...Yawn! Hah!"
I opened the window, and an inexplicable shout rang out.
I wanted to look toward the source, but unfortunately, it was in the opposite direction from the window.
"...Could it be?"
One possibility popped into my head.
I quickly changed into the armor on the rack and stepped outside.
The sound was coming from the open area in front of the lodging, where the training dummies were.
And sure enough, there was Ethan swinging a massive sword, sweat pouring off him.
"Hah! Hyah!"
And at a pretty fast pace too.
It was a frightening growth rate.
"...Is this even possible?"
I'd been treated like a genius back when I attended the martial academy in the wuxia world, but Ethan was on another level.
Then again, in the original story, even without anyone teaching him, he'd grown enough in one year to save the knight captain.
In the original, Dana had wanted to teach Ethan herself and ordered one of the knights to do it, but that knight never actually trained him.
Thinking about it now, I could see why the knights kept their distance from him.
Ethan had entered the coveted, admired profession of knight just because he'd been in a village that got attacked.
He was bound to be the target of jealousy and envy.
The other knights probably didn't even imagine he had this kind of talent.
"...Stop."
"Ah, you're awake, sir?"
"Thanks to you."
For some reason, Ethan hadn't woken me up.
When I asked why, he brought up one person.
"The mage who came to support said you'd be tired..."
It was Lexi's consideration.
Ethan, who had trained from early morning until what felt like late lunch without waking me, already looked exhausted.
More than helping with training itself, he needed other kinds of support now.
"Alright, wipe off that sweat and come with me. Let's head to the adventurers' district."
"Pardon? Why there..."
"You need to replenish some nutrients."
Ethan hurriedly wiped his sweat with his collar and followed me.
The last time I'd gone to the adventurers' district looking for lodging, what I'd seen more of than lodgings were restaurants.
From the moment I saw those, I'd thought of Ethan.
The knight order lodging did serve breakfast and dinner.
But it was hard to call them tasty or abundant.
Just bread, soup, and maybe sausages or processed veggies.
That was plenty for me, but it was different for Ethan.
For Ethan, who sweated and worked harder than anyone in the order, that food probably didn't even register.
Plus, when the knights went out for monster subjugation at lunch, there wasn't even food.
And Ethan was still growing, so he needed more nutrients than most.
"This place—"
Ethan gaped at the large restaurant.
It was the biggest and most upscale one in the adventurers' district.
Yet it was packed with people, so it must have been popular.
Even the staff uniforms looked high-class.
With neat, no-frills attire and matching precise movements, the staff moved in perfect harmony.
A female server approached us and handed over what looked like a menu, which I passed straight to Ethan.
"Order whatever you want."
"Really, sir?"
"Yeah."
I glanced at the prices, but it was no issue at all.
I'd splurged on all sorts of items yesterday, but I still had money overflowing.
On top of that.
Treating Ethan well was my own form of atonement.
Ethan hesitantly picked two items in the end.
I ordered my own food plus one meat dish.
It was a bit much, but whatever was left could just be leftovers.
"Here are your orders."
The food came out quickly, and Ethan was waiting for my go-ahead.
"What're you waiting for? Eat."
Only after I said that did Ethan devour the food like a vacuum.
It was pitiful that a guy like him, with his awkward position in the order, couldn't even say he was hungry.
So I found myself saying it without thinking.
"Hmm, if you bulk up a bit more, tons of women would be all over you, saying they like you."
It was my honest thought.
His looks, his build, his personality—they were all solid.
Of course, there was a hidden meaning.
Lots of women would like you, so don't get too fixated on the captain.
But Ethan's response was unwavering.
"...Then maybe the captain too..."
"..."
That steadfast heart was another thing women would like.
But that's why it made me uncomfortable.
Someday.
I'd have to be the one stealing my first disciple's first love.
And not too far in the future either.
And deeper in my heart, an uncontrollable twisted lust boiled up.
Whatever I said, I enjoyed being the one who took.
"Who knows..."
I dodged the answer and instead pushed the ordered meat dish toward him.
Ethan simply thanked my gesture and dug into the meat.
That sight eased my guilt a little.