“Huff, huff… You’ve… waited a lot…, haven’t you…. ”
It was really two days later. And not even in the evening, but in the middle of lunchtime, Lindy burst through the inn’s door. Actually, even taking into account the distance traveled, it meant she had completed a week’s worth of work in less than a day.
“Uh, um… You came much earlier than expected, huh?”
“I said… I’d be back… within two days….”
Honestly, because I knew how busy Lindy was, I hadn’t really believed when she said she’d finish her work and come back in just two days. I thought I’d at least have to wait three or four days, even if not a whole week.
“Aaah! Bear, you!”
Meanwhile, Luna didn’t even pay attention to Lindy, who was panting heavily, and instead was yelling at Bear, who was on the dining table moving meat dishes toward Presia’s side. On the other hand, Tokki was moving the vegetable-based side dishes toward Luna’s side.
Of course, for Presia, who isn’t really picky eater, and me, sitting in the middle, this was a meaningless act.
I wanted to let it slide, but the sight of only greens piled in front of Luna was pitiful. Most importantly, Luna, who is still in her growth phase, needs to eat a balanced diet.
“Alright, alright, Bear and Tokki. Though I understand your concerns for Master, why don’t you both get down now?”
At my single word, Bear jumped onto Presia’s thigh and Tokki settled on my thigh.
“Eyee!”
Seemingly annoyed by the sight of them immediately responding to me but not her, Luna grabbed Tokki from my lap and pulled it into her own arms.
Tokki, suddenly pulled, was struggling to get free, but since Luna wasn’t deliberately hurting Tokki and was simply holding it with one hand while continuing to eat with the other, I didn’t intervene.
“Hey… Can you pay some attention to me?”
“Oh, sorry. Luna’s yelling caught me off guard. You haven’t had lunch yet, right? How about coming over and having lunch with us? Your face looks like you haven’t eaten much more than lunch, though.”
Of course, Lindy being an elf, her state is hardly noticeable, but not much escapes the sharp eyes of a professional assassin like me. I noticed at a glance that she had attempted to cover up her slightly darkened under-eye circles with makeup. Besides, if she was so busy that she couldn’t even eat and yet had the time to do her makeup, how did she do it?
“B-b-b-but, I’m fine with food. Since I’ve been reviewing documents while riding in the carriage nonstop since yesterday, I’m kind of… ugh! Uuugh…!”
Recalling her travel in the carriage brought back memories of the motion sickness as well, Lindy suddenly started making ominous sounds.
“Hey, hey! Stop it! This is a dining area! Dining area! The restroom is over there, hurry…! Hey, you! Stop it!”
Startled by Lindy’s vomiting fit, I immediately jumped up from my seat and tried to pull her along. However, since she had already retched once, she grabbed onto me and ended up vomiting again.
Fortunately, since she hadn’t eaten much, only saliva dripped out, soaking my clothes. The innkeeper, who was directly in the kitchen cooking, and other patrons around us, gave a sigh of relief, realizing I was the only one affected in the inn’s dining area.
If only someone of her wealth had taken a steady magic carriage. Knowing full well that elves have good balance, she insisted on not needing it…
“Ahh, please continue eating. I’ll take Lindy upstairs to lie down on the bed and be right back. She’ll probably feel better after a rest.”
Of course, the one suffering the most in all this is Lindy who has come to help me despite the hardship. Feeling responsible, I helped her get to the second floor where we were staying. However, before placing her down, I paused for a moment to think.
The relatively larger bed was used by Luna and Presia. Though it would be better for the exhausted Lindy to rest in a large bed, who knows what she, as a perverted lesbian, might do in their bed. No matter how tired Lindy might be, her eccentric tendencies could not be underestimated.
Eventually, with a deep sigh, I placed Lindy on my own bed. Though small, it was fine since she wasn’t truly ill, but merely feeling momentarily nauseous from motion sickness. Moreover, it would be better that I handle whatever she might do than to let her affect Luna and Presia.
“Alright, rest well and get some sleep. By the way, the bed next to you belongs to Luna and Master, so don’t even think about touching it!”
Still, just in case, I gave Lindy a quick warning before leaving. Perhaps too exhausted to respond, I didn’t hear any reply.
Creak…
“Huh?”
But right after closing the door, the short sound of a hinge caught my ear. I wondered if I hadn’t closed the door properly and turned my head to look. The door was still firmly shut. Although I briefly worried if someone had entered, there were no specific sounds, and the hinge sound wasn’t long enough to suggest anyone stepping inside.
With a tilted head, I went back down to the dining area and returned to the table where Luna and Presia were eating their lunch. There was no need to worry about ordering more—it seemed they had been waiting for me, stopping their meal out of consideration.
“Eh? Where’s Bear?”
Looking around as I returned to my seat, I noticed Bear, which had been sitting quietly on Presia’s thigh, was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Tokki was still caught in Luna’s arms, having given up on struggling.
“Surveillance.”
“What? There’s nothing really to watch out for inside the city, right?”
In any case where demons might invade, the Holy Sword would surely notice and alert us before Bear could.
“There is.”
But Presia resumed her meal without much explanation. I didn’t pursue further questions, feeling a little guilty for making them wait and stop eating.
Just as I was about to take my fork and put a piece of meat into my mouth—
-Kyaah!
A loud scream echoed, as if it could make the inn shake. The source was none other than from the second floor. While other guests and the innkeeper were confused about where the scream had come from, I immediately ran upstairs.
Even though it might be another guest, we had just put Lindy upstairs, so I couldn’t help but worry.
“Lindy!”
But the moment I opened the door, I could only halt in my tracks.
“What, who are you?! Why are you doing this to me?!”
Sure enough, the screaming had come from Lindy. Not only was she still screaming as if startled by someone, but there was one big issue.
Lindy was lying on the large bed used by Luna and Presia, not the one I had placed her on. Next to her, the enlarged Bear was pinning her down.
“Bear?”
Putting aside what had happened for now, the fact that Lindy was on Luna and Presia’s bed instead was significant. After all, I deliberately placed her on my own bed to prevent her from doing something to theirs.
“Bear, wait. Whatever it is, let’s put Lindy back on my bed…”
Bear seemed to understand, but shook its head at my bed, pointing to it disapproval, then nodded at the large bed Lindy was currently on.
So, it doesn’t approve of my bed but says the large one is fine? Probably Bear thinks the patient Lindy should rest in the more comfortable large bed.
But that’s only because Bear doesn’t know Lindy’s sexual preferences. If Bear knew what Lindy might do to her Master’s bed, there’s no way it would have acted like this.
“Eh, Alicia? Help me!”
Bear, now completely restraining Lindy so that she couldn’t rise. Though originally a stuffed bear and thus not particularly heavy, it seemed to be holding on tightly to the bed, making it impossible for Lindy to escape.
Hmm… But if Bear is holding her down this fiercely, it might actually be fine to let her rest on the large bed. With Bear restraining her like this, Lindy probably won’t entertain any inappropriate thoughts, and she’ll be able to rest comfortably. We can just imagine that she’s hugging a large stuffed bear to sleep. Though Lindy is flailing in confusion right now, with Bear’s help, she’ll likely get a good rest on the bigger bed.
Having judged the situation, I left Lindy, who was still struggling beneath Bear, and exited the room. In front of the door, Presia, who had followed me up, was standing.
Presia quietly closed the door I had opened, then cast a simple magical gesture. Immediately, Lindy’s loud voice that had been carrying earlier disappeared as if by a miracle.
“Well, shall we go back and finish our meal, then?”
Though our meal had been interrupted twice, thanks to me and Lindy. Despite this, Presia showed no signs of annoyance, quietly nodding her head and heading back downstairs with me.
“What’s the matter, senpai?”
“Nah, nothing. It’s just Lindy being Lindy. Don’t worry about it and keep eating your meal.”
After all, despite Presia being quiet and showing little expression changes, she has a kind personality. In the past, she had recruited unnecessary part-time workers just to help a broke me, and today she even kindly gave up her large bed for someone she met today—Lindy.
Feeling somewhat proud of such Presia, I picked up a piece of meat from in front of me and placed it on her plate.
