A Soft Landing
Having been through it once before, I stepped calmly into the light without flinching or panicking the way I had the first time. And then—
"Urghk!"
"Kyaa!"
The foothold that had been under me a moment ago vanished, and my feet flailed in empty air. Toppling over without warning was the natural result. If there had been nothing in the way I might at least have managed to catch my balance, but while I was thrashing about I slammed into something and went sprawling forward.
"Ugh…."
I face-planted hard into the ground. My nose and mouth must have smacked into something on the way down, because a dull ache spread across my face, but thankfully it hadn't been anything rock-hard, so the pain never rose past a manageable sting. When I lifted my head and looked around, the first thing that caught my eye was Emma, who—unlike me—had touched down as lightly as a feather. The way she was staring down at me rolling on the floor was downright painful. Please don't look at me like that.
I took in a little more of the surroundings and saw blue sky overhead. We had definitely made it out of the labyrinth.
"Ah…. Ugh…."
A small sound from underneath me made me glance down, and a familiar face looked back up. That same vivid scarlet hair I'd seen only a short while ago—identical to Emma's.
"Ann!"
I hadn't seen her for a few hours at most, yet the rush of relief was overwhelming—stronger, even, than when I'd gone a whole week without seeing her before coming to her estate. Given everything that had just happened, I supposed that made sense.
But while my face lit up with a bright smile, Ann only stared up at me with round, dazed eyes. That was when I realized I was sitting on top of her. Even if I weighed less now that I was in a woman's body than I had as a man, getting suddenly crushed under someone was bound to be startling—especially when that someone was still wearing a bit of gear.
I scrambled to my feet at once and held out a hand to help her up. Ann didn't take it. She just lay there on the ground, unmoving. Worry that she might be hurt started to rise—then she sat up on her own without accepting my hand at all.
The vacant, soul-left-the-body look was gone, replaced by something restless and flustered. Even so, she refused to meet my eyes, desperately looking anywhere but at my face.
Ah…. She's sulking because I sat on her. Honestly, it had been a pure accident with zero intent on my part. I wished she'd cut me a little slack.
"Um……. Sorry. Are you okay?"
I was still the one at fault, so I started with an apology and checked on her condition. Instead of answering, Ann briefly covered her mouth with one hand, then moved that hand to her chest, right over her heart. Had sitting on her really hurt that much?
Her silent face had gone as red as her hair.
"Lady Emma!"
A sudden shout made me turn. Dylan was sprinting toward Emma's side. With a moment to spare, I took a better look around: knights and soldiers arrayed on one side, and on the other Ian along with a group of adventurers whose faces I didn't recognize.
That was when I finally understood why Ann was so mortified. In front of everyone—her everyday retainers and a bunch of complete strangers—she'd been pinned under me in the most undignified way possible. Of course she was embarrassed.
Just because Ann didn't put on airs as a noble didn't mean she was shameless. She might have a tomboy streak, but she was still a girl in the prime of her youth—unlike me.
"Thank goodness, Lady Emma! You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Ah, nothing worth mentioning. What about all of you? Anything happen after we disappeared?"
"Young Lady Ann performed her duties as acting head of the house with complete fidelity. She advanced the camp and set it up here, and through Young Master Ian she sent the previous adventurers home and brought in new high-ranking ones."
So that explained why Ann had been standing out front by herself. Acting head of the house, though…. I'd always thought of her as just a kid, but hearing that made her seem both surprising and reliable. Of course, her small, cute stature meant the impression only lasted a second.
"How much time has passed?"
"It is noon of the day after the head of the house vanished. We were just about to enter the labyrinth ourselves."
"Good—we avoided missing each other, then. The orc settlement's been dealt with and the situation is over, so shall we head back?"
"Yes, understood."
Finished speaking with Dylan, Emma walked over to Ann.
"Well done. You didn't forget your role. As both your mother and the head of the house, I'm proud of you, Ann."
With that, Emma reached out and ruffled Ann's hair. Mother and daughter they might be, but to anyone watching it just looked like one child petting another child's head. Ann, face still flushed, kept her head bowed and simply nodded. Emma gave a small snort of laughter and lowered her hand.
"All right! Time to head home! Start packing up!"
At Emma's call the soldiers began striking the tents and dousing the campfires. Amid the bustle, someone from the adventurer group called out in a loud voice.
"We came all the way out here—what about us?"
"You think I'd ignore your dedication? Has House Klein ever been stingy about pay? I'll make sure you're properly compensated, so don't worry and head on back."
"Aw, don't say it like that, Countess. Everyone here already knows how well you treat us adventurers. This guy was just too shy to ask after your health, so go easy on him."
It wasn't the sort of exchange you'd expect between a noble—especially the head of a house—and a mere adventurer. Yet neither Emma nor any of the retainers nearby moved to stop him. If anything, they were smirking.
"Um…. Did I end up making you spend money for nothing?"
High-ranking adventurers meant a hefty outlay. Feeling vaguely responsible for putting Emma out, I ventured the question carefully. She thumped me on the back a couple of times and answered.
"Nothing for Miss Elicia to worry about, so don't. This is exactly when you squeeze a little extra support money out of His Majesty. We don't lose a thing and we earn the adventurers' trust—that's a win for us. Those fellows get a nice payday for what amounts to a stroll, so it's a win for them too. Mutual benefit."
Strictly speaking it was all tax money the crown had collected, but House Klein did the work that earned those subsidies in the first place. Emma was right—no point fretting over something I couldn't repay anyway.
"Shall we get going too?"
"…Yeah."
I tried speaking to Ann again as she stood quietly beside me. The flush had faded from her face, so the embarrassment seemed to have passed, but she was still far more timid than usual—unfamiliar.
She didn't look sulky the way she had earlier; more like she was watching my reaction. She'd probably realized the whole sitting-on-her thing had been a pure accident and was now being overly considerate. That was Ann for you—too kind for her own good.
I'd never seen her this meek before, and it was novel, but the lively Ann was still the one I preferred. So I pulled her into a sudden hug. If it had been Yurina or Celian I never would have dared—I'd have been too embarrassed—but with Ann, who was always the first to throw her arms around me, it felt just barely safe.
"Was our Ann that worried about this big sister?"
I said it in a slightly babyish, teasing voice while holding her. Her reaction, though, was nothing like what I'd expected. Normally she would have shoved my arms off and yelled, "Who's your big sister?!" Instead she just nestled quietly against me and gave a tiny little nod.
Who are you?! What did you do with my Ann?!
I glanced around, but aside from Emma there was no one who even resembled her.
This wouldn't do. I had to confirm whether the Ann in my arms was the real one. I let go, then deployed the secret weapon reserved exclusively for Ann—the one that would make her react like Ann if she was genuine, or force her to confess where she'd hidden the real Ann if she wasn't.
Ann looked up at me with only her eyes, her cute face tilted, but I had no intention of going easy.
"Give me back my Ann!"
"Eek! Ehehehk!"
While she was still staring up at me with bright, uncomprehending eyes, I went for her sides and tickled her mercilessly. The timid version vanished on the spot, leaving only an Ann who was dying of laughter.
Thud.
And then a perfect body blow drove into my ribs.
Mm. This was Ann. I'd sacrificed one set of ribs to get her back—so all's well that ends well, right?