A Midnight Secret Outing (1)

Infernosil… Anyway, after returning from making a contract with a Flame Spirit overflowing with chuunibyou vibes, Agnes couldn’t hide her excited emotions.

‘Agnes, where is this? Why are there so many strange stones and trees as soon as we left the forest? Who is that over there? And…’

“This is the Academy, a place where humans gather to study. Those stones and trees over there are like houses where humans live, and they’re not just stones or trees of that shape, but processed with magic….”

Perhaps because it was her first contracted spirit, Agnes was busy answering the spirit’s questions with a quite excited expression.

Since entering the Academy, it was practically the first time I’d seen her make such a joyful smile.

…Always in front of me, I don’t know what she was so dissatisfied with, but she only ever made sullen or angry expressions.

‘It would be better if she smiled like that more often.’

Putting up with the temperaments of tsundere characters is only possible outside of games; a tsundere encountered in reality was simply a woman with a bad personality.

And I clearly realized that fact during this semester’s classes.

Still, as a result, before the Spirit Communication class ended, I somehow managed to give Agnes a spirit, so my goal was achieved.

Furthermore, by giving a Flame Spirit to Agnes, an expert in Flame Magic, I could also aim for an unexpected growth event.

‘Anyway, Agnes will most likely join the Hero Party, so there’s no harm in her getting stronger.’

How Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot will form the Hero Party, which can include 8 people including himself, plus Celista who is outside the main roster, remains to be seen, but in any case, Agnes will definitely try to enter the Hero Party due to her own objectives.

And the Hero wouldn’t specifically cast her aside, as she’s irreplaceable for firepower, even if he doesn’t particularly intend to pursue her.

In other words, the stronger Agnes, who is almost certainly a party member, becomes, the easier the Demon King Subjugation will naturally be, and as a result, the probability of my peaceful future arriving also increases.

Giving her a Flame Spirit as her first spirit was definitely the right choice.

‘In addition, if Agnes gets stronger, the chances of him unnecessarily eyeing other potential party members will also decrease.’

Since the Hero already has Celista, I don’t think he’d particularly covet Lillith, but there’s no harm in having some insurance.

As I was thinking that, I was idly watching Agnes quickly teaching the Flame Spirit about this world’s knowledge.

Her, who was busily talking with her spirit, and my eyes met once.

“…And that over there is the Dormitory, where you and I will live from today….”

“……”

‘…Agnes?’

“…Wait a moment. Infernosilia.”

Agnes, who seemed to be excitedly talking with her spirit, met my eyes and instantly closed her mouth.

I roughly caught on and pretended not to know, avoiding her gaze, and then I heard the sound of her footsteps approaching me.

As if she had something to tell me, her footsteps felt strangely cautious.

-Thud, thud.

“……”

“Um… Lillith.”

“Yes, Blaze-yang.”

“…………Thank you.”

…Of course she should be grateful. How much I struggled to give her a spirit.

In the original work, it was an impossible achievement no matter how you twisted it.

I truly forced it, it was a Flame Spirit I practically spoon-fed to her.

Even Agnes, it seemed, wasn’t completely without conscience, as she was thanking me for even arranging the spirit contract.

To her thanks, I merely pretended not to know, and replied nonchalantly.

“I’m just glad that Blaze-yang’s spirit contract went well, that’s all.”

“Lillith….”

“Still, I think you need to improve your socially inept personality that calls people ‘crazy bitch’ as soon as you meet them. For Blaze-yang’s future as well.”

“…You just had to add one more thing. How annoying.”

Even if she has no ability, she can’t live as a tsundere forever, can she? It’s probably because of that personality that she ended up as a character who only gets the Hero ending or the single ending in the game.

Anyway, what I had to do today was somehow finished, so it was time to go back.

…I had to hurry back, if only to avoid being caught having gone out secretly from Ethan.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Several hours after dusk had completely settled, in the deep hours of dawn.

The Dormitory’s curfew had, of course, long passed; it was late. Quietly walking down the Swordsmanship Department Dormitory’s hallway, I moved towards Ethan’s and my room.

I had to make sure I wasn’t caught, pretending to be asleep with Ethan, then secretly going out at night and returning, until the very end.

‘If I had said I was going out alone at night as a servant, they would have surely prevented me from going out.’

First, it was a brazen act for an Exclusive Maid, and Ethan himself would probably try to hinder my outing with unnecessary worries.

Perhaps because of what happened at the Lake of Knowledge before, he had become much more protective of me compared to before.

Even if it was for Agnes, there was a considerable possibility that he would resent me, his temporary lover, going out alone.

‘But waking Ethan up and taking him with me would be too much trouble.’

In the first place, it was Agnes’s and my business, so taking Ethan, a third party, to the scene would be ridiculous. It would be a miracle if I wasn’t ridiculed by Agnes for bringing Ethan along everywhere.

Therefore, the strategy I thought of was a secret outing.

Anyway, once Ethan falls asleep, he doesn’t usually wake up until his waking time. It was a small habit I had learned from sharing the same bed for several months now.

Sneak out after Ethan falls asleep, and return before Ethan wakes up.

The habit of going to bed later than my master and waking up earlier than my master had been cultivated early on, so sneaking out in the middle of the night was no big deal. The problem was returning.

Figuring out whether Ethan was asleep or not wasn’t difficult since he was right next to me, but when returning, I had to time it perfectly for when Ethan was definitely in a deep sleep.

‘The REM sleep cycle is 90 minutes. The cycle from deep sleep to deep sleep is also 90 minutes, so…’

Roughly based on when I left, I should go in about 3 hours later.

The time it took to leave the Dormitory and move to the Black Forest was 22 minutes. The time it took for Agnes to make a spirit contract at the Spirit Pond and return was 1 hour and 47 minutes. The time spent talking about this and that with the returned Agnes was 19 minutes. Returning again took 22 minutes.

With the thought of waiting about 10 more minutes before going in, I recalled the last assignment I had to finish this week during that short time.

‘Now the only remaining assignment is the Swordsmanship Duel with Harold the day after tomorrow…’

The Final Hunting Festival, anyway, I was planning to participate as a pair with Ethan, so it wasn’t something I particularly needed to worry about.

What was truly important was the Swordsmanship Duel with Harold.

The assignment I still couldn’t be sure of winning was precisely this 1-on-1 duel with Harold.

Of course, Harold had a penalty attached: he had to remove all his stamina and mana, and only use basic swordsmanship techniques, but the penalty beyond that, in the first place, was the difference between a Sword Master and an ordinary person.

Other than exploiting a gap he couldn’t even imagine, a direct strategy would be impossible, but the problem was whether such a gap even existed for Harold, a Sword Master who had experienced all sorts of hardships.

Thinking that, I quietly waited for time to pass in front of the Dormitory door.

After quietly counting 600 seconds in my mind, with the quietest steps possible, I moved into the Dormitory.

-Click, creak.

“……”

As soon as I opened the door and stepped inside, what I saw was a dark room.

Relying only on the faint light emitted by Sally herself, I had to move my steps, but since I had to walk quietly anyway, not being able to see my footing well wasn’t a big problem.

Even when I went outside, I had gone out and returned wearing my sleeping maid uniform, so there was no need to change clothes.

-Softly, softly.

With steps that minimized sound as much as possible, after slowly moving towards the bed where Ethan was sleeping.

After quietly sliding my body into the empty space beside him, I naturally prepared to go to sleep.

-Rustle.

‘…Phew.’

Somehow, it seems I wasn’t caught.

I decided to forget about the Swordsmanship Duel with Harold that had filled my mind with worry until just now.

Anyway, I couldn’t win by just thinking about it while lying in bed, and indeed, before actually fighting in practice, I wouldn’t know if the strategy I prepared would work or not.

Moreover, next week there was also the Final Hunting Festival with Ethan, so I didn’t have the luxury of only focusing on this.

With my body tired from a late-night outing after a long time, I quietly buried myself in the blanket.

The moment I quietly closed my eyes and was about to fall asleep, a small rustle occurred next to where I was lying.

-Rustle, rustle.

“……?”

…What is it? Is he just tossing and turning?

Sleep talking is a characteristic of REM sleep. It would have been dangerous if I had come in even a little later.

If something went wrong, the thought that Ethan might have woken up the moment I opened the Dormitory door sent a sudden chill down my spine.

Well, as a result, it’s a relief that I was able to finish my night outing safely and return….

-Clench.

‘……Huh?’

As I was thinking that and trying to relax, I felt my left wrist quietly being grabbed from inside the blanket.

My mind stopped its previous thoughts, and for a moment, my thoughts ceased.

‘Seriously, this guy’s sleeping habits are really something….’

While sleeping, why grab someone else’s wrist, of all things?

He had such a tight grip that even a slight shake showed no intention of letting go at all.

…Well, there’s nothing I can do. I guess I’ll just have to sleep like this today.

In the first place, I was supposed to be in a deep sleep next to Ethan right now, so if I clumsily tried to pull away, it would only raise suspicion.

At least, it’s better to be subjected to his sleep habits than to be caught having gone out at night….

“Lilli…th….”

“……!”

What, what is it?

Could he really have been awake?

At Ethan’s voice, suddenly calling my name, my heart instantly sank.

After agonizing over whether to answer or not, I was finally able to calmly determine why he had called my name.

‘…Sleep talking, along with sleep habits, is common.’

My name just happening to pop out must be a coincidence.

In the first place, since entering the Academy, I had the most contact with Ethan, so it was natural for me to appear in Ethan’s dreams.

He must be dreaming about the date we had last time, or what happened on the lake.

That’s why he’s naturally holding my wrist, and calling my name.

Thinking it was nothing again, the moment I tried to fall back asleep, Ethan tossed and turned once more.

…A much bigger and more troublesome toss and turn than before.

-Slide.

‘……Huh?’

-Press.

‘…No, wait.’

He seemed to naturally turn his body towards me, then Ethan completely lay on top of me.

Treating me like some kind of pillow to hug and sleep with, his crushing attitude now made me feel utterly dumbfounded.

‘Even if it’s just a sleeping habit….’

This is, a little… isn’t it too much compared to usual?

Even on days when he tossed and turned a lot, I don’t think he’s ever entangled himself with me this excessively.

Anyway, no matter how much I tried to ignore it and sleep, I couldn’t fall asleep in this state.

So, just as I roughly decided to push Ethan away and move to the side, and grabbed his shoulder to push him to the other side.

…Into my ear, Ethan’s clear voice quietly reached me.

“Lillith.”

“……?”

“…Where have you been?”