The Dangers of Sharing a Room
With a loud rumble, a tremendous noise erupted from outside the mansion while I was discussing strategies with the Tea Time members.
“What was that?”
“I’ll go check it out right away!”
One of the knights standing nearby bolted outside in a hurry.
Our mansion sat in the most expensive noble residential district in the imperial capital. With the guard patrols keeping everything under ironclad security, it was a peaceful neighborhood where disturbances simply didn’t happen.
If the government were doing construction, they would bow and scrape for permission even for minor road repairs. There was no way they would have approved anything loud enough to cause that kind of racket without clearance.
Since the knight had gone to investigate, I figured I might as well wait and took a sip of the tea Serina had brewed for us.
“Huff… huff…”
After a short wait, the knight returned panting and made his report.
“Lady Marine is coming this way, pulling a massive carriage behind her.”
‘Marine?’
I had assumed it would take her considerable time to return because of the crowd camped out in front of the knight academy dormitory. The unexpected report left me flustered.
“W-why is Lady Marine coming here?”
Cani’s face hardened. She had been laughing brightly and mingling with the Tea Time members just moments ago.
“Oh, I forgot to mention it. Marine decided to live with us at the mansion from now on. She said she was going to pack her belongings, but I didn’t expect her back this quickly.”
“Ah…”
Cani’s expression crumpled into pure despair. Given how often Marine had scolded her in the past, it was no surprise she wouldn’t welcome the news of them becoming housemates.
“Hmm…”
Carden stroked her chin in thought despite having no beard to speak of, while Serina’s face turned deathly pale as she shot up from her seat.
“W-we have to run away right now!”
“Huh? Why?”
“If Lady Marine sees us spending time with Hendel like this, she’ll explode.”
“Come on, friends can hang out. I know she seems a little obsessed with Hendel, but would she really get that angry?”
“Yes. She will absolutely erupt.”
Having known Marine for years, Serina sounded utterly convinced that rage was incoming.
“You’re right. This is dangerous.”
Cani, who had watched Marine since childhood, agreed with Serina’s assessment.
I had been thinking hmm, is it really that serious? like Carden, but now that I knew Marine only suppressed her true nature in front of me, these two clearly understood the real her better.
“Hendel, is there a back door we can escape through?”
“Hmm… there isn’t really a back door…”
It used to be a duke’s mansion, so there was probably a secret passage somewhere if we searched. But I had never properly looked into the layout of the place, so I had no idea where it might be.
Then one location came to mind.
“Ah! Follow me!”
I grabbed Serina and Carden and started running. Behind us, Cani began erasing every trace of our little gathering.
“This is the room.”
The hiding spot I chose was none other than the room occupied by the (former) Archmage. No matter how powerful a Sword Master Marine had become, borrowing the Archmage’s strength should be more than enough to protect them.
“Oh, you brought friends?”
The Archmage ghost, who had been shut inside writing his book, greeted us with a bright smile the moment he saw our group.
“A g-ghost?”
Serina froze at the sight of the spectral figure grinning while holding a magic tome.
“Ooh… What a fascinating ghost.”
Carden stared at him with open curiosity, studying every detail.
“Hmm… I thought you felt familiar. So you carry the blood of the Demon King.”
“Gasp.”
Carden flinched violently, clearly not expecting him to see through her identity, and quickly backed away.
“The Demon King?”
Serina, who had been frozen stiff, tilted her head in confusion.
It was information they might share someday if they grew close as I hoped, but this was not the time.
I rushed over to the Archmage ghost and rubbed his shoulder.
“Haha… Master Archmage, you really do love your jokes…”
‘Please, please read the room.’
“Hmm. It wasn’t a joke, my disciple.”
The very Serina who had feared the ghost now stepped closer.
“You really are the Archmage? Then whose blood of the Demon King…”
Serina looked at Carden in silence.
Carden broke into a cold sweat and avoided her gaze.
“No wonder your skills seemed beyond ordinary…”
Serina began drawing up her mana. The protagonist’s blood running through her apparently refused to tolerate the presence of a demon.
“W-wait, can we all calm down and talk about this?”
Even while panicking, Carden summoned her demonic power in preparation for an attack.
Boing.
Two adorable little horns sprouted on her head as she drew on her demonic strength.
“I knew it! You really are a demon!”
Serina stabilized her mana and dropped into a combat stance.
‘Ugh, what now?’
Marine was approaching in real time, and we didn’t have nearly enough time to sort out this mess.
“Hmm…”
Snap!
The Archmage ghost—who had been quietly watching the chaos he helped ignite—picked his nose and flicked his finger.
In that instant, the mana flowing from both women vanished without a trace.
“Huh…?”
“What?”
Both of them looked utterly bewildered.
“Disciple, you’re busy, yes?”
“Yes, Master.”
The Archmage ghost waved me away.
“I’ll soothe these two. Go handle your affairs.”
“Whoa, thank you so much!”
As expected of my master. Marveling at his generous heart, I hurried out of the room.
“Huff huff, Young Master! Lady Marine has entered the mansion!”
It was Cani, who had come looking for me at the perfect moment.
“Let’s go.”
I dashed toward the main gate with Cani right beside me.
“Huff… huff…”
My stamina as a mage and Cani’s as a maid were evenly matched. We both arrived at the front gate panting heavily.
“…”
Marine, who had been waiting there, studied me and Cani with a slightly pouty expression.
“What were you two doing to end up panting like that?”
“Uhh… We heard you were coming and ran out as fast as we could to greet you.”
“Hmmmm…”
Cani nodded her head desperately from beside me.
“Well… I’ll believe you. Where should I put my luggage?”
A single carriage stood behind Marine. Since no other people were visible, it looked like she had pulled it here herself.
“What kind of things did you bring?”
“I’ll show you.”
With a low hum, Marine spun her finger with a flick—like a baby dinosaur from Earth—and the tarp covering the carriage flew away into the air.
The carriage was packed with all sorts of items: a bed, a mirror, cosmetics, clothes, paintings, picture frames, and more.
I swallowed hard and asked.
“Um… it looks like every single painting and frame features me…?”
Marine nodded.
“Yes. They’re all of Hendel.”
“Why me?”
“Because we’re friends.”
“…”
“It’s common sense for friends to keep each other’s pictures and frames, isn’t it?”
I wasn’t aware of that particular piece of common sense.
“Since Hendel is my friend too, you have pictures and frames of me, right?”
Cani knew the mansion’s contents far better than I did, so I shot her a glance. She immediately caught my signal and answered in my place.
“Oh my, the Young Master treasures you so much, Lady Marine. There are two portraits of you.”
Wait, we had those?
Marine looked mildly satisfied.
“Hendel, can I see them too?”
“U-um, sure.”
The gentle smile on Marine’s face vanished in an instant as she turned to Cani with a command.
“Bring the paintings.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Cani scampered off like her tail was on fire. Now left alone with Marine, I called over the nearby knights and maids.
“Take this luggage to the room next to mine.”
“Wait.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s just sleep in the same room.”
“???”
What had I just heard? I knew becoming a Sword Master had made Marine more proactive, but I never imagined she would suggest sharing the same room instead of simply living in the same house.
“The contract…”
“Why? There’s no clause in the contract forbidding us from sharing a room. It only restricts sexual relations.”
“That’s true, but…”
Marine stopped the knights who were reaching for the luggage.
“Then I’ll move my things into Hendel’s room myself.”
She lifted the bed with her left hand and the wardrobe with her right.
I racked my brain desperately.
“W-wait a second.”
Marine whipped her head around.
“Why?”
Her expression had turned ice-cold. She had always been kind to me, but ever since becoming a Sword Master she seemed to be revealing her frightening side even around me.
I swallowed nervously.
“I… I don’t have the confidence to endure sharing a room with you, Marine.”
Bang.
The sound of Marine setting the bed down was terrifying.
“Why? You don’t want to share a room with me? Does it bother you?”
The air around us grew heavy, as if reflecting her mood.
“Eek.”
The untrained maids were the first to shrink back in fear.
“It’s because I don’t have the confidence to hold myself back while sharing a room with you…”
The heavy atmosphere vanished in an instant. Marine’s cheeks flushed bright red.
“W-what do you mean by that?”
She clearly understood but was pretending she didn’t. Look at her.
“I’m a healthy young man too… and at an age where marriage is possible. So I don’t have the confidence that I won’t do anything bad while sharing a room with you, Marine.”
Marine’s face grew redder and redder. Her eyes spun in circles.
“I-I see! Since Hendel is a man too… I-I’ll be considerate and take the room next door!”
Her face was so red that, if this were a manga, steam would have been shooting from the top of her head. Whether her brain had short-circuited or not, she staggered into the mansion still carrying the bed in one hand and the wardrobe in the other.
Crash!
She bumped into a statue on her unsteady way in and shattered it, but she didn’t seem to notice as she continued inside.
She used to break her mother’s cherished artworks when she was little. Marine really did have a talent for destroying art pieces.
Only after Marine had disappeared into the mansion did a powerful wave of belated embarrassment crash over me.
To think I had said something so mortifying to my childhood friend.
I waved the whispering servants away and slowly walked into the mansion myself.
It was a day I seriously wanted to die.