Ch.266266. Instead of Senior, Oppa (5)

I slipped under the covers and rested my head on the pillow, but there was still an empty space left in the bed.

Looking at that space, Renias curled up her lips in a smile.

Soon, Junon would fill this spot after finishing brushing his teeth. And just like yesterday, and the day before, they would fall asleep together.

Her heart fluttered with anticipation.

Yet even in this moment, there was one small flaw.

“Ugh… if only I hadn’t made that mistake with oppa on the first day.”

That was her only regret.

If she had shown from the beginning that this wasn’t something to be embarrassed about, if she hadn’t overreacted by shouting and making a fuss, they could have been sleeping in the same bed like this every night.

“Why did I react so strangely… hmph. If this happens again, I absolutely won’t give in no matter how much he begs.”

What had she done to make such a big deal about being in their underwear while embracing each other? Renias momentarily hated herself for it.

After seeing that reaction, he probably wouldn’t indulge this childish request unless it was a special circumstance. Today, she was only able to push forward because he had made consecutive mistakes that were difficult to overlook. And someone as meticulous as him, who plans everything down to the last detail, wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

Even trying to think of a solution felt overwhelming.

In the midst of her thoughts, Junon, having finished brushing his teeth, approached and poked the silver-haired rabbit’s cheek.

“Ah! Hehehe.”

“You always do this to me. I was curious if there was something fun about it, so I tried it myself.”

“Really? How does it feel when you poke my cheek, oppa?”

“…Just the texture of skin, I guess.”

“What’s that supposed to mean~?”

“That’s why I don’t understand why you always poke instead of just saying something.”

“Hehe. I don’t know either.”

In truth, there wasn’t much meaning behind the cheek poking.

At most, when she saw him with a contemplative expression, it looked too stoic. She poked him hoping his expression would change to something more animated.

Of course, there was also the purely personal reason of wanting to turn his attention toward her, but now it had become something of a habit.

Anyway, that aside.

“So now you’re copying me? Hehe.”

“I’m not copying. I told you I was just curious.”

“Why not? Next time when I’m spacing out, you can poke my cheek too.”

The fact that he had imitated her habit secretly made her happy.

Pat pat.

Renias lightly pulled back the blanket and gently patted the bed with her palm.

“Hurry and let me use your arm as a pillow~.”

She mixed in a slightly cute, aegyo-filled voice.

Junon entered the empty space in the bed with an expression that suggested he couldn’t resist her.

She immediately lifted her head to receive his arm as a pillow, and as soon as his arm slid under, she nestled right into his embrace.

Using his arm as a pillow, nestled in his arms. Borrowing the sentiment of the night, Renias silently rehearsed the words she wanted to say.

‘This incident… it was really painful for me. I think I was able to endure it because of you, oppa.’

After Ronelion collapsed like that, she wondered how she would continue living in this world.

How could she overcome this loneliness, feeling as if she had been left all alone?

Those anxious thoughts were all that filled her mind.

‘Because you were there. Because you came looking for me. And because you comforted me. That’s why I think I was able to endure it.’

What she always saw at the dining table was her parents in a music box, unchanged for years.

At mealtimes, her parents, who never aged, would always visit through the voice of the music box.

‘Today, I didn’t see them.’

She herself hadn’t changed. What changed was the person sitting across from her at the table, eating together. The only change was that a real person, not an illusion, filled that space.

Even Ronelion, who occasionally worried about her, was now bedridden, so she thought there would be no more family to eat with her at the table.

Through this opportunity, Renias realized something.

That sitting at a table together for meals wasn’t something only family could do. And that this person could become her new family.

Her affection grew and grew, beginning to sprout into a new emotion.

‘I like you. Junon oppa.’

With this silent confession, the girl who had awakened to love fell into a deep sleep, eagerly awaiting the day when she could actually speak these words aloud.

***

A body that had always lived with tension, trying to survive on the battlefield, would quickly lose sleep at the slightest sound, even at the touch of morning dew falling from leaves onto skin.

It wasn’t from the moment of opening his eyes. It was when his heightened senses, alert to potential threats, instinctively perceived something.

That was precisely when Junon would wake up.

For someone who had habitually taken short naps on the battlefield every day, the biting wind, the morning dew on rough skin, and the small rustling sounds from the undergrowth served as alarm clocks.

Having twisted his body in various ways to somehow survive, his extremely heightened vigilance automatically determined his sleep duration, which had become a habit.

The past etched in his mind, a habit formed from times when he always had to live with tension. Even when he could relax and sleep, Junon’s sleep time never exceeded 5 hours.

Now he wakes to entirely different sensations.

Instead of the smell of undergrowth and dew, he smells his own shampoo and body wash.

Instead of the sound of an early bird landing with a flutter to catch worms, he hears the soft breathing of a sleeping girl.

A warm blanket. A bed that, while not extremely plush, is decent enough to lie on.

But these sensations alone aren’t enough to wake him.

-Thump. Thump.

The sound of a heartbeat transmitted along with Renias’s body heat, pressed close against him, replaced the dewdrops or flies that used to cling to his skin.

Before him, a silver-haired beauty was sleeping in his arms, with a face full of happiness—this situation itself was what made him open his eyes.

And why does his body feel so languid? His eyes keep trying to close again.

Once awake, he had never dawdled, feeling time was too precious. But the soft touch of skin against his and the warmth spreading throughout his body made movement feel sluggish.

‘What time is it now?’

Turning his head to look at the clock, he realized he had been asleep for 6 hours and 30 minutes straight.

Considering his habit of reflexively waking up at a certain time, he had slept in quite late.

‘…I didn’t even stay up all night, yet I slept this much.’

The one thing that brought about this change in his sleep pattern was obvious.

“Mmm… hehe.”

As he gently stroked her silver hair with his fingers, she rubbed her cheek against him with a silly grin, apparently feeling good.

It seemed Renias had disrupted his regular biological rhythm.

But this was getting a bit dangerous.

When he stroked her head, she moved closer, causing something soft to press against his body. Since indulging her whims was yesterday’s affair, today he needed to be firm again.

Junon shook Renias’s shoulder with the hand that had been stroking her hair to wake her up.

“Renias. It’s time to get up.”

“Mmm… just a little longer…”

“No. Get up quickly.”

“Mmm. But I’m sleepy…”

For Renias, who was used to sleeping in, was 6 hours and 30 minutes too short?

Junon couldn’t tell if she was genuinely tired or deliberately acting cute.

Still, he chose to wake her. Forgetting yesterday’s events aside, he wasn’t one for long sleep times, and dawdling didn’t suit his temperament.

When she showed no signs of getting up despite his continued efforts to shake her shoulder, Junon played his trump card.

“If you don’t get up, I’ll make breakfast today?”

“…!”

They say cooking is a woman’s pride, don’t they? He thought this might work since her ears were open, and indeed, Renias detached her arms and head with a grumble.

But still seeming groggy, she rubbed her eyes as she raised her upper body.

‘…Oh no.’

Junon quickly turned his head away.

“Hmm? Oppa, what’s wrong?”

“…Have you forgotten what you’re wearing?”

“My clothes?”

At the mention of her attire, Renias looked down with drowsy eyes, then understood with a start why he had turned away.

‘W-was it this bad…?’

The light had been a bit dim last night… had he not seen properly?

When she saw herself in the mirror, she thought that even though some buttons had fallen off, it wasn’t so precarious that she couldn’t move.

That’s why yesterday she had deliberately gone up to tease Junon, enjoying his flustered expression.

But now she realized it wasn’t just a matter of one button missing—several had fallen off, fully exposing her cleavage. Her shoulders were completely bare, and the loose clothing looked like it would reveal one breast entirely if there was even the slightest breeze.

‘So I… teased oppa dressed like this? And slept embracing him in this state?’

It was practically the behavior of a seductress. In some ways, it was more provocative than underwear. At least underwear covered everything that needed covering, but this didn’t cover anything!

Realizing she had been rubbing her bare skin against him in this outfit, Renias covered her chest with both arms and lowered her head in shame.

Her face was already burning red and steaming, and when she reached for something to cover herself, it happened to be the blanket she had shared with Junon, which the quick-witted rabbit immediately let go of upon realizing this.

Looking around, with her consciousness now fully alert, she had nothing to cover herself with except her arms.

Meanwhile, Junon, with his back to Renias, cleared his throat and said:

“Ahem. Let me be clear, I’m going to buy you clothes first. Understood?”

“Y-yes. I understand…”

After asking her to write down her clothing size on a piece of paper, he left without looking back at the bed even once.

“I-I hope oppa doesn’t think I’m a pervert…”

That would be terrible!

The silver-haired girl’s face was completely flushed.

***

“Phew… that was dangerous.”

A beautiful girl wearing only a torn-up shirt in the morning a man wakes up to.

If he hadn’t left quickly, he might have caused a major incident right there.

“Did I bring everything?”

The paper with Renias’s clothing size and money were in his pocket. He hadn’t washed up, but… wearing a hoodie, his messy hair was adequately covered.

This should be fine. He just needed to quickly buy clothes and give them to Renias so she could wash up and get dressed.

I put on my hastily crumpled shoes properly and headed to the marketplace.

The first thing that caught my eye was a newspaper.

“…”

[Mirpark Blockade Battle. Nobles fighting desperately despite central city being surrounded for days.]

Hadn’t they said the magic beasts would arrive at the Tembris party today, after consuming all the Badlight and Elcherium?

If so, there was probably no need to worry, but…

“How much is this?”

I needed to see how this operation was progressing.