Chapter 103: A Nap in the Forest and a Secret Between Friends

How long had we been lying there, staring at the sky together?

Shaa… shaa…

The soft, rhythmic sound of breathing made me turn my head.

At some point, Anne had dozed off.

Well, I had my suspicions when she was too excited to sleep last night.

She’s not even a kid anymore…

Still, this kind of peaceful nap was a luxury we could only enjoy now.

Even without considering what came after graduation, as our professor had said, once we entered our second year, we wouldn’t have the free time to indulge like this.

And as for me, a Hero? I had no idea when I would be summoned for the Demon King’s subjugation.

It could be tomorrow.

Or it could be years after I graduate.

A Hero is only called upon when the Demon King’s resurrection is complete and he begins his true rampage.

According to old legends, stepping in any earlier would be meaningless—it was simply fate.

Which made me wonder… why was I even chosen as a Hero so early?

But who am I, a mere human, to question the will of the great Goddess above?

I shoved the pointless thought aside.

As I watched Anne sleep peacefully, her small breaths escaping in a soft rhythm, I found myself feeling drowsy as well.

There was still plenty of time before 5 PM, the deadline for our ecological research submission.

It wouldn’t be a problem to rest for a little while.

I turned my head to the other side.

Celian had her eyes closed.

A little further away, Yuri was also asleep, breathing quietly.

With both hands neatly folded over her stomach, it was as if she was announcing, I’m definitely asleep.

“El, why don’t you take a nap too? Everyone else is already sleeping. Just get some rest and wake up when it’s time to eat.”

The only one still awake, Linne, hovered lazily in the air as she spoke.

I wondered what she would do if I also fell asleep, but before I could voice my thoughts, she answered as if reading my mind.

“I’ll sleep too! I’ll go first then. Good night.”

With that, she flopped onto nothing midair, closed her eyes, and pretended to sleep.

It felt strange that a ghost could sleep, but because of her contract with Yuri, Linne had always slept just like a human.

She even had a hammock back in the dorm room.

Well, if she was going to rest too, I didn’t need to hold back either.

Following the rhythmic breathing around me, I inhaled, then exhaled, letting my body relax.

Drowsiness crept in almost immediately.

Slowly, slowly…

Somewhere in the fading edges of my consciousness, I heard a rustling sound.

But my danger instincts didn’t react, which meant it was probably just a small animal, maybe a squirrel.

If it were a real threat, my senses would have instantly snapped me awake.

With that reassurance, I allowed myself to drift into sleep.

---

“Mmph… haah….”

Mmm… I was sleeping so well…

Why is it suddenly so noisy?

I could hear hushed voices.

And… something rustling?

“Mmm….”

“Ah!”

“Shh, shhh….”

Half-asleep, I twisted my body slightly, trying to shake off the drowsiness and open my eyes.

However, since I had just woken up, the midday sun was still too bright.

I squinted against the light, unable to open my eyes properly.

Slowly, bit by bit, I adjusted.

But by the time I fully woke up, whatever had disturbed my sleep was already gone.

“Ugh… why is it so hot…?”

Even though the sun was high in the sky, this was way too warm.

I shifted slightly and looked around—and immediately understood why.

At some point, Anne had moved lower and was now hugging my thigh like a stuffed toy.

Meanwhile, Celian’s hand, perhaps chilled by the cool weather, had somehow snuck inside my shirt.

What kind of sleep habits were these?

Even in their sleep, they were so resourceful.

And if that wasn’t enough, Yuri—who had originally been sleeping on the other side of Celian—had somehow replaced Anne at my side.

She was now holding onto my hand as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

I had always known Anne had terrible sleeping habits, but Celian and Yuri too?

Well, considering they had spent the entire weekend shopping for ingredients and cooking for the picnic, it made sense that they were exhausted.

And the open space must have felt much more freeing than a cramped bed.

…But in the end, I never figured out what had woken me up.

I carefully pulled my hand out of Yuri’s grip and gently removed Celian’s hand from inside my shirt.

“Huh? What’s this…?”

First Presia, and now Celian?

Was sucking on my fingers some kind of new trend?

My fingers were damp and sticky—probably because Yuri had unconsciously put them in her mouth while she was asleep.

It’s not like Yuri’s saliva was dirty or anything, but if one of the girls woke up right now, they might think I was the one sucking my fingers.

I quickly wiped my hand on my uniform.

After escaping from two of them, I lifted my upper body slightly and scanned the area.

I left Anne alone since she was still clinging to my leg.

Could it have been some pervert sneaking around to watch my beautiful friends sleep?

I carefully observed my surroundings… but there were no unfamiliar presences.

Well… except for me, of course.

In the end, I was still a bit bothered, but since my danger sense hadn’t triggered any warnings, I decided it wasn’t worth worrying about.

While I was scanning my surroundings, I noticed that Celian and Yuri’s breathing had become slightly rough, as if they were having bad dreams.

Their faces were even flushed red.

Worried that they might be running a fever, I placed a hand on each of their foreheads.

The moment my hand touched them, both Celian and Yuri flinched.

Even in their sleep, their swordsmanship instincts were sharp enough to react.

I hesitated, concerned that I had woken them up, but they remained still, eyes still closed.

Fortunately, their body temperature didn’t seem unusually high.

With all my friends asleep, I was the only one left awake.

After some thought, I decided to lie back down.

Judging by the sun’s position, not much time had passed, and although Celian and Yuri seemed to be having slightly restless dreams, I didn’t want to wake them unnecessarily.

At least I was able to pull my hands away from them without much trouble, but Anne was a different story.

She had completely wrapped her arms and legs around my thigh, hugging it tightly like a stuffed toy.

Trying to move her would definitely wake her up, so I left her as she was.

Since I had been sleeping just moments ago, it didn’t take long for drowsiness to creep back in, and despite the mild discomfort, I soon drifted off again.

---

“El… El…!”

“Mmm….”

Someone was calling my name, shaking my shoulder gently.

Even though I had been in a deep sleep, I couldn’t ignore it forever.

Eventually, I had no choice but to open my eyes.

“It’s almost time for lunch, so wake up.”

“Huh…? Lunch…?”

“Yes, lunchtime. Anne! Anne, wake up too.”

Letting out a small groan, I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

Celian, who had woken me, turned her attention to Anne, who was still clinging to my thigh.

Even Anne couldn’t resist Celian’s persistent nudging, and after some effort, she finally let go, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she sat up.

Celian, who had woken me up, and Yuri, who had apparently been up for a while, were already setting up the lunch we had brought.

“Your faces look much better. You must have slept well.”

When I had briefly woken up earlier, Celian and Yuri hadn’t seemed to be in the best condition, which had worried me.

But now, they both looked refreshed, their complexions much brighter than before.

Actually… their skin was practically glowing.

“R-Really? It’s probably because the air is so fresh here. Right, Yuri?”

“Y-Yeah! That must be it! There’s no other reason, right, Celian?”

“Of course not!”

For some reason, the two of them seemed strangely in sync.

“Mmm… I’m hungry….”

Unlike the two of them, Anne spoke in a drowsy, half-asleep voice, rubbing her stomach.

“Alright, alright! Since Anne is hungry, let’s eat. Is everything ready?”

“Yep! Just come over and eat. Hurry before it gets cold!”

Unlike Anne and me, who were usually the ones being taken care of, Celian and Yuri were much more used to looking after others.

As soon as Anne mentioned being hungry, they immediately pulled both of us over to where the food was set up.

But… the only thing we had brought were sandwiches.

Saying “hurry before it gets cold”—Yuri’s sense of humor had improved.

“Haa… I don’t think she’s noticed…?”

“Shh, shhh!”

“Hmm? What did you say?”

For some reason, Celian and Yuri seemed even more in sync today than usual.

Even now, they were whispering to each other, careful to keep their voices low.

“Ah! It’s nothing! Don’t worry about it—just eat, you must be hungry!”

“Yes, eat before it gets cold.”

…Again with the sandwiches getting cold.

But I decided to let it slide.

Whatever they were whispering about, they had a reason for keeping it to themselves.

Besides, seeing my friends getting along so well made me feel warm inside.

With that thought, I smiled slightly at them before reaching for a sandwich, following Anne’s example as she stuffed her cheeks full.

…Well, since I hadn’t helped make them, they couldn’t compare to my meat pie.

But with Yuri’s cooking skills and Celian’s care put into them, these sandwiches tasted wonderful.