Chapter 42: Sequelae

The day dawned.

– Chirp! Chirp!

The chirping of birds and the warm sunlight woke me from my sleep.

As I roused my groggy mind, my briefly dizzy head instantly cleared.

I stretched and rubbed my eyes, just as I was about to slowly sit up.

“Huuah…! I slept well…! Mmph!”

A powerful pressure held my body firmly, and something large and soft completely enveloped my face.

My breath caught, and I, now fully awake, struggled and thrashed, but the embrace tightening around me only grew stronger.

“Mmmph… S-stop…!”

After desperately moving my body back and forth, I barely managed to pull just my head out.

‘Let me see the face of this audacious person who dared to ambush me,’ I thought, and as I lifted my head, what I saw was…..

…Hestia, sound asleep with her eyes closed, her face as expressionless as ever.

Like a child tightly hugging a giant doll they didn’t want to lose, she had wrapped her arms and legs strongly around my entire body.

And what’s more…

…she was completely in her underwear!

The soft sensation of bare skin pressing against mine made my mind feel hazy.

‘…How long has she been like this…?’

I pulled my head, which was about to be buried again in the two large mounds of flesh, straight up and opened my mouth.

“This is crazy… Hestia? Please wake up. Hestia!”

However, despite my calls, she seemed unwilling to wake up, only tightening her grip on my body.

I, who had been barely holding on, ended up buried once more in Hestia’s soft chest…

…and I had to feel the subtle scent of her skin strongly stirring my mind.

‘…I don’t know anymore.’

‘Just don’t throw a fit about being embarrassed later…’

And so, I closed my eyes in Hestia’s embrace, which was so soft it was hard to believe she was a warrior.

****

A little more time passed, and as the sun climbed through the inn window, brightly illuminating the bed…

…Hestia, who had been tossing and turning, finally showed signs of waking up.

“M-mm…?”

“Did you sleep well?”

“………”

“………”

“Did I… keep holding you…?”

“Yes.”

“………I-I’m sorry…”

Hestia, with movements as unnatural as a broken machine, carefully released the arms that had been tightly embracing me.

Finally regaining my freedom, I stretched expansively and mumbled to myself, as if to make sure she heard me.

“Ugh…! How many hours has it been since I could change my position…?”

“………”

“Still, it was warm, so I slept well. How was it for you, Hestia?”

“I-It was fine…”

Hestia calmly wrapped the outer clothes that had been lying on the bed around herself, trying to cover her body in her underwear…

She seemed to be trying to maintain her composure, but the violent trembling in her eyes was impossible to hide.

‘…I knew this would happen.’

‘Of course, I did tease her, but it’s her fault that she’s now squirming with embarrassment.’

‘I merely played along with her actions…’

Hestia sat slumped on the bed, staring blankly into space.

Taking the hint, I packed my bags first.

“I’ll be downstairs, so Hestia, take your time getting ready and come down.”

With that, I decided to give her some time alone and left the room.

As soon as I came down to the first floor, the innkeeper rushed over.

I didn’t know what was wrong, but cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

“W-was your night peaceful…?”

“Yes, well… I slept comfortably.”

‘An inn bed is an inn bed, what can you expect…’

Once I politely confirmed, he dramatically wiped his chest and spoke with a trembling voice.

“I-I’m relieved you slept comfortably… The Hero… wasn’t uncomfortable, were they?”

“I wonder? I haven’t really asked…”

“Ugh… T-then, perhaps… any complaints about the bed being too small or the room being cramped…?”

“………?”

‘Why suddenly a satisfaction survey here…?’

‘Is he concerned because Hestia is the Hero?’

As I tilted my head, he fidgeted and mumbled quietly to himself.

He must have thought I was an ordinary person and wouldn’t overhear him.

“Ah, this has become a headache… If I had known he was a man, I would have given them another room…”

‘Ah… So it’s because of you?’

Seeing him furtively watch the stairs leading to the second floor with a tense expression, the puzzle finally seemed to fit together.

‘I knew something felt off…’

Hestia is naive about the ways of the world, so she is often influenced by the actions of those around her.

It’s highly likely that the innkeeper is also to blame for only renting one room.

When Hestia told the innkeeper she had a companion, she must have simply said “friend.”

The innkeeper, hearing only the word ‘friend,’ must have mistaken me for a woman and thus only provided one room.

If he had known I was a man, he would have given us two rooms on his own accord, but…

…Hestia wouldn’t have explained in detail…

If it had been another adventurer or mercenary, they would have demanded an extra room, but she likely just thought, ‘Is this how it’s supposed to be?’ and accepted whatever was given.

From the beginning, Hestia had always traveled alone.

So, it’s only natural that renting a single room would be more familiar to her.

Seeing the innkeeper provide only one room, she would have naturally thought,

‘It must be common for companions to share a room.’

If he had been perceptive enough to give them two rooms, Hestia would have assumed it was normal to sleep separately…

Thanks to the innkeeper, this has become quite a troublesome situation.

‘…The more I think about it, the more vexing it becomes?’

“Oh, right! Now that you mention it, the Hero’s expression wasn’t very good this morning.”

“R-r-really?”

“Yes, well… she had a look on her face like, ‘How did things end up like this?’”

– Thud!

Just then, a tremendous thud echoed throughout the entire inn…

The innkeeper’s face froze at the inexplicable disturbance, and I, seizing the opportunity, decided to tease him.

“Oh dear, the Hero really… I told her to just bear with it sometimes…”

“Surely not… Th-that impact just now…?”

“Perhaps your guess is correct.”

I shook my head, speaking in a tone that suggested there was nothing to be done.

“Oh my… It seems the Hero is quite displeased.”

“H-heek!!!”

The innkeeper’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor, his face ashen.

Seeing his comical appearance, I felt a certain degree of satisfaction.

I decided to stop teasing him and was about to tell him that I actually didn’t know the source of that sound, when…

– Thump, thump…

“………I apologize for making you wait…”

“Oh? Hestia, you’re here?”

“Y-yes…”

Hestia stumbled as she came down the stairs.

Unlike usual, her expressionless face held a subtle weariness, and she subtly avoided my gaze.

Unlike me, who knew well that the reason was her lingering embarrassment, the innkeeper, oblivious, merely bowed profusely, sweating profusely.

“O-oh, Hero! Was your night peaceful? If you had any discomfort, please tell me. I will surely take it to heart…!”

“It’s fine.”

Despite the overwhelming courtesy, Hestia, as if accustomed to it, gave only a brief reply and approached my side.

She hesitated and opened her mouth in a small voice.

“U-um, yesterday I…”

“It’s fine.”

“Y-yes?”

“I said it’s fine if you’re going to apologize. Honestly, I wasn’t even upset…”

“………Thank you.”

Hestia bowed her head in thanks…

Only after hearing my reply did she finally seem to shake off her embarrassment, and the awkwardness also seemed to lessen considerably.

‘Anyway…’

‘She really is a funny woman…’

Hestia gave a brief greeting to the innkeeper and then spoke to me.

“Then, I’ll wait outside. You can come out slowly after you finish talking with the innkeeper.”

“Oh, that’s fi—”

“Guest, if you don’t mind, may I ask one thing I’m curious about?”

“Yes?”

In truth, I didn’t have anything specific to talk about and was about to leave the inn with her, but the innkeeper suddenly stopped me, so I had no choice but to let her go first.

The innkeeper glanced at Hestia, who was about to step outside, and whispered to me in a low voice.

“Perhaps… what is your relationship with the Hero…? P-please don’t feel obligated to answer if you think it’s an impertinent question!”

“Well… hmm, just friends…?”

I vaguely brushed it off, but he persisted, seemingly even more curious.

“Are you… truly just friends? O-of course, I’m not forcing you to answer.”

“Well, we’re close enough to hug each other tightly and sleep in the same bed.”

I gave him an answer that was nothing but the honest truth.

– CRACK!!!

At that moment, a tremendous tearing sound, as if wood was being forcibly ripped apart, echoed throughout the entire inn.

Startled, the innkeeper and I turned our heads in the direction from which the sound seemed to originate.

………And there, Hestia stood, her face flushed crimson, holding a grotesquely torn wooden door in her hands.

“Ugh…”

She covered her face with trembling hands and rushed out of the inn.

“………”

“………”

The innkeeper and I stared silently at the shattered door for a while.

I had thought her expression yesterday, filled with intense emotion, was surely the peak…

…yet, the Hestia from just now exuded an equally intense emotion.

‘…I’ll say it again, she truly is an amusing woman.’