Waking up, my body felt strangely heavy. No, it was more like I woke up because my body felt so heavy. Did I catch a cold or something while sleeping? That’s never happened before… Still groggy from just waking up, I slowly looked around and quickly figured out why.
“These people… when did they get into my bed? No wonder I feel suffocated…”
The culprits were none other than two uninvited guests—Sabrina and Alice—who had somehow wormed their way into my bed. They clung to me tightly, sealing my arms in place. How could I NOT feel suffocated?
If my memory served me right, I was definitely alone when I fell asleep… Somehow, while I was out cold, they must’ve snuck in.
Seriously, there are plenty of empty beds around here, so why’d they have to come to mine? Sleeping alone is a thing, you know. With a disgruntled sigh, I wriggled my way out of the death grip of the two sleeping beauties.
I may not be the most athletic guy, but I’m surprisingly flexible. Escaping their tangled mess wasn’t too hard.
“What time is it now? Hmm… 10 AM. So I slept for about six hours.”
Haaah. Six hours is decent enough. As I lazily ran my fingers through my messy hair, I rummaged through my bag from last night and pulled out my essentials: the fox mask, Tesseract, and Echo. These precious items now made me anxious if even one went missing.
[Good morning, Mama….]
[I want to go home soon….]
Of course, thanks to burning through too much energy during that intense fight yesterday, both sounded far more exhausted than usual. Well, what can you do?
With a silent apology, I pressed Tesseract and Echo to my forehead, then tucked them away—one inside my shirt, the other in my pocket—and quietly slipped out of the bedroom.
“…!”
“What’s up with you, Yuria? You’re up early. Are you some kind of insomniac? You’re not an old man, you know.”
As I stepped into the living room wearing my mask, Raven greeted me from where he was sprawled across the couch. Dressed in loose pajamas with a stick of snacks dangling from his mouth, he looked every bit the delinquent.
It was odd. Normally, Raven had a carefree sleep schedule. There was no way he’d be awake this early after staying up late into the night.
‘Ah… maybe the intense fight brought back his old habits.’
But thinking about it, that made sense. He only started sleeping more after leaving the military and becoming a civilian Fixer. If the fight with Morty triggered those old instincts… being up this early wasn’t surprising.
“….”
Well, no need to overthink it. He’s good at managing himself anyway. I nodded back at Raven, washed my face in the bathroom, and returned.
Sitting at the edge of the couch where Raven lounged, I leaned against the backrest and pulled out Echo.
There wasn’t much to do until everyone else woke up. I planned to kill time here until lunch.
But maybe sitting at the edge of the couch gave off the wrong impression. Raven adjusted his posture, patting the empty space beside him.
“Why’re you sitting all the way at the edge like that, kid? Come sit comfortably on the inside.”
“…?”
“If Alice sees you like that, she’ll nag you for hogging the spot. Ugh, just imagining it tires me out.”
Ugh, I wasn’t trying to make a silent protest or anything… Feeling awkward, I scratched my head and moved further in.
Raven wasn’t wrong; Alice was the overprotective type. And since he mentioned it, there was no reason to stubbornly cling to the edge of the couch.
Now closer, I caught a faint, refreshing scent wafting from Raven. Guess he showered recently. Maybe he couldn’t sleep either.
“….”
“….”
Even sitting side by side on the spacious couch, we didn’t talk much. Raven watched some boring show on the big TV screen, while I busied myself trolling nasty people online using Echo’s powers.
Of course, I wasn’t pulling off flashy psychic stunts like before. Just messing with trolls’ accounts—mixing up their alt accounts and main ones to give them headaches.
Last time, I felt bad for harassing an admin, so I sent them expensive beef as an apology. In return, they gifted me a special account, which let me keep trolling without relying too much on Echo’s abilities. Maybe next time I should send health supplements instead.
Time passed idly on the couch. Staring blankly at the TV, Raven suddenly spoke without turning his head.
“Yuria, how’s the general store work? Manageable?”
“…!”
“Heh, right. It’s what you were doing before you started working at our office. Shouldn’t be too hard. Guess I asked a pointless question.”
He smirked, seeing my vigorous nod and realizing his question was unnecessary.
After all, the reason I was entrusted to the office in the first place was because I couldn’t work at the store anymore. Seems he realized belatedly how strange his question was. But hey, since I’m freeloading at his place, no harm in asking a hundred times.
Chuckling to himself, he rummaged through his pocket and suddenly handed me something.
What’s this? Taking it curiously, I realized it was a small, thin metal bracelet.
“…?”
“It’s a gift. That mask you’re wearing—Greg gave it to you, right? Thinking about it, I’ve never given you anything as the boss. Just think of it as a farewell present.”
“….”
Farewell present? We see each other every day though… Unsure how to react, I rolled my eyes while holding the bracelet in my palm. Eventually, I bowed my head gratefully.
Still, it was a heartfelt gift, so there was no reason to refuse. Better accept it graciously.
The bracelet was a simple chain made of interlocking metal loops. Its understated silver color, light weight, and slim design made it unobtrusive. Trying it on, it didn’t feel burdensome at all. Not bad—it’s like wearing nothing.
I proudly showed off the bracelet on my wrist to Raven. He gave a small smile and casually remarked, “That’s a lucky charm bracelet. Wear it every day if you can. It’s a good one.”
“…?”
A lucky charm bracelet? Doesn’t really look like one. Tilting my head in confusion, Raven shrugged, clearly done explaining, and turned back to the TV.
Still, getting a gift was a happy occasion. Feeling oddly flustered, I poked Raven’s shoulder with my finger.
Men being tsundere is annoying, but I’ll let it slide this time. That was the gist of it, though it probably didn’t get across.
*
Some more time passed, and the others began emerging from their rooms one by one. Third was Raine, fourth David, and fifth and sixth were Alice and Sabrina together.
Looking at it this way, it seemed like the order of diligence. Feeling pretty proud about coming in second among these folks.
And as the group gathered in the living room after freshening up, Alice, still wringing out her wet hair, asked Raven, “Mr. Jin, are we going home today?”
“Huh? Why? Eager to go home?”
“No… not really. But after what happened yesterday…”
Alice’s question was perfectly reasonable. Barely half a day ago, the undead incident occurred. Naturally, everyone wondered if we’d head straight home now.
People traumatized by the event would likely rush home. What about us? Everyone waited for Raven’s response.
“If anyone wants to go home, they can. But honestly, wouldn’t that be a bit unfair to the hotel?”
“Uh, how so?”
“This incident wasn’t Saint Maria’s fault. If anything, they’re the real victims who got dragged into this mess. Who could’ve predicted a necromancer sneaking into the hotel during the chaos?”
He had a point. While the hotel wasn’t entirely blameless for failing to prevent the incident, no one could’ve foreseen a criminal sneaking in to cause terror. It was practically an act of nature.
And thanks to hiring Fixers beforehand, they managed to minimize casualties. Saint Maria did everything they could.
“That’s… certainly not wrong.”
“Exactly. So it’s better if people like us stay to help boost morale. It’s part of being a proper Fixer.”
“Mr. Jin…!”
Alice looked genuinely moved by Raven’s words. She was naturally kind-hearted and couldn’t resist lending a hand to those in need. Clearly, she was touched by his suggestion to help the hotel.
But David, noticing the contradiction in his statement, pushed up his glasses with a glint and said, “Your real motive?”
“Hehehe, the owner offered free facility use if we stayed… to help rebuild the hotel’s safe image! How could I resist? Free food without worrying about expenses—how long has it been since we had that luxury!”
“Wow…”
“So it was business, huh.”
Figures. Why put on such a pretentious act earlier? The group’s gaze toward Raven turned icy.
But I quietly chuckled, finding his true nature amusing. This was just so Raven.
“Alright, let’s start with lunch today! Let’s go! My treat!”
“You’re… actually treating us?”
“The free perks were earned by Raven showing his skills. So yeah, calling it his treat isn’t wrong.”
And so, we followed Raven confidently toward the dining area. Eating hotel food without worrying about costs? Now THAT’S a profitable deal.
