An Unexpected Midnight Visit

Time rewound slightly to when Tiasia began summoning her followers. In the supporting character's room.

"Augh~ I'm so sleepy but I can't fall asleep. What the hell is going on..."

The supporting character, who had been so exhausted he thought he'd pass out instantly, found himself tossing and turning in bed instead. Whether it was because of the fatigue or because the events of the day had driven sleep away, he simply couldn't drift off.

"No helping it, I guess. A lot happened today... I thought I was a pretty simple guy, but maybe not~ Now that I think about it, they say counting sheep helps you sleep. Should I test if it actually works?"

Knock knock knock.

Just as the supporting character was about to try the traditional method he'd known since childhood, someone came to his door and ruined the plan.

'Who on earth would visit at this hour...'

Even while staring at the door, he wondered if he'd misheard and checked the wall clock. It pointed to 2:30 AM—definitely not a reasonable time for visitors. But before he could dismiss it as his imagination, the door slowly creaked open.

And the one who opened it was so unexpected that his eyes widened in surprise.

"...What are you doing?"

"Eek... Ah, you weren't asleep...?"

The person who had sneaked into Joyeon's room ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was none other than Artie, who should have been in dreamland in the neighboring room. She glanced around nervously, clearly flustered that he was still awake, then boldly stepped inside and closed the door without a word.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I can't sleep."

"What? That doesn't make any sense."

"I said I can't sleep. Something feels... off. The bed feels different from usual, so I woke up."

"If you're going to lie, at least make it believable."

"I-It's true! It really is!"

Artie puffed up and raised her voice. But Joyeon didn't believe her for a second. After spending several days with her, one thing he could say with certainty was that Artie slept an absurd amount. A minimum of eight hours, up to sixteen. If Tiasia or May didn't wake her, she could sleep the entire day away. He'd also seen her dozing off while sitting in the emergency room during their shifts, so the excuse that her bed felt uncomfortable simply wasn't credible.

"I don't know why it suddenly happened either... It's never been like this before..."

Watching Artie grumble with a pouty face, Joyeon reluctantly conceded that it might be possible.

'Fine. Let's say that's true. Miracles happen, after all. Just like with me right now. But...'

"But what? Why did you sneak into my room?"

Not being able to sleep and sneaking into his room were two entirely different matters. She couldn't sleep, so she came looking for the guy sleeping next door? That didn't even make sense.

"I-It wasn't sneaking! If you're not nearby, I might get hurt again. S-So I just wanted to check if you were okay... And if you were asleep, I thought I shouldn't disturb you, so I came in quietly. I was being considerate!"

"You call that an excuse? The problem is that you came in at all. This isn't your room, it's mine. Or should I sneak into your room while you're asleep too? Since you did it first, it's only fair, right?"

Joyeon countered her attempt to deflect with cold facts. But instead of the angry outburst he'd expected, Artie simply stared at him blankly. Realizing his slip of the tongue, Joyeon felt a chill run down his spine.

'Wait, was that sexual harassment?'

Depending on how the other person took it, his words could be brushed off as a joke—or land him squarely in "pervert" territory. Judging by Artie's reaction, he was teetering on the edge of being branded one. His mind, dulled by fatigue, snapped awake. Instinctively, he opened his mouth to take it back.

"Just now, uh—"

"I-It's fine? I don't really mind?"

"...Huh?"

"You're my lifesaver, after all. And my bodyguard... Besides~ If you came to my room because I'm so pretty and you wanted to see me sleeping, I guess I wouldn't mind~ We've slept together before anyway... Plus you have command authority, so— Ah! You don't have to use it! You don't need to use the command authority! Use it somewhere else!"

Artie rambled on, essentially giving him permission to visit her while she slept. Stunned by her incomprehensible response, Joyeon could only gape at her. Then he noticed—despite her words, her face was flushed and she couldn't meet his eyes properly.

'...I see. She just doesn't want to lose, so she's spouting nonsense to win the argument.'

He completely misinterpreted the situation.

'She kept saying she wasn't interested in dating when we first met and apologized and all, but her confidence is still going strong.'

Joyeon assumed Artie was justifying her actions by allowing him free access to her bedroom despite the embarrassment. Of course, that wasn't the reality at all.

'Hwaaah~ I said it~ I hope I don't come off as too easy... right?'

Artie, if anything, belonged to the former category. She hadn't even considered his words as sexual harassment. Having heard far worse in the ability world, the usual her would have laughed it off with something like "What a pervert~" But right now, her bold permission stemmed from Sosia's advice.

'If the Saint hadn't scared me about possibly missing my chance, I never would've ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠done something like this...'

Various factors had piled up, pushing Artie into making this bold move out of anxiety.

****

A brief silence fell.

Even while thinking Artie was just being stubborn, Joyeon hesitated for a moment over how to respond to her permission to enter. Then he thought, 'She gave permission herself, so she won't take it back later, right? She's not drunk or sleepy either.'

He was a man, after all. Unlike the foolish "protagonists in stories" who would waste such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he wasn't about to let it slip. Even if he didn't actually go to her room tonight, securing the promise alone would be worthwhile.

"Then later—"

- You perverted bastard! I won't allow it!!

'This stalker auntie...'

A high-pitched, clear voice pierced into Joyeon's mind.

- You insolent fool! I am a goddess! How dare you address me like that...!

"Hey, hey, let go! Unlike last time, I'm not trying to kill you right away—I'm talking! We agreed you'd only use this for communication, remember?!"

- Then...! No...! Fine! I get it! I'll stop with the unnecessary talk! You! You haven't forgotten the oath, have you?! If you do anything excessive, I'll curse you!! Don't send Artie any vulgar looks!

Joyeon was dumbfounded by the Ability God, whose beautiful voice spewed nothing but harsh words.

'What did I even do? Did I ask her for anything? This is ridiculous. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Why don't you stop stalking and go manage your own world like a proper goddess?'

- Y-You see?! This human dares to...! You two, why do you keep siding with him!!

That's not wrong...? I-I'm only watching to protect my precious Artie!

With those final words, the Ability God's voice was abruptly dragged away as if someone had pulled her back. Annoyed at how she'd barged into his head uninvited, Joyeon nevertheless found himself able to think more calmly thanks to the interruption.

'No point in giving her ammunition. It's not like I'm actually going to sneak into her room while she's sleeping anyway. Let's just move on.'

"I won't say anything about you coming into my room, so don't say stuff like that even as a joke. If you do, some actual creep might take it seriously and sneak in. Got it?"

"Eh......"

Artie was both flustered by how gentlemanly Joyeon had handled her bold proposal and shocked that he'd rejected her even after she'd gone this far.

"Anyway, go back now. I'm going to sleep."

"Uh... Ah, w-wait. I still can't sleep."

"Then what do you want me to do about it?"

"Just a little. Can't we talk for a bit before sleeping? Even a little is fine... I have some things I'm curious about too."

"...Haa~ Do whatever you want."

Thinking the dangerous situation had been safely defused, and with his drowsiness now completely gone anyway, Joyeon agreed to be her conversation partner. Artie scurried over and perched on the edge of his bed. Joyeon forcibly tore his gaze away from her.

'Does this girl really have no sense of danger? Has she never met a traitor in her previous world?'

'She doesn't even flinch at this level of ambiguous flirting?! Fine! I don't care anymore~!'

Joyeon worried about Artie approaching so defenselessly with pure intentions, while Artie burned with an odd competitive spirit toward the only man who kept rejecting her.