Ch.3737. We can’t keep sleeping together like this forever.

“Young master, where have you been? Do you know how much I looked for you when you suddenly ran out last night?”

“When I woke up, I found myself sleeping on the street…”

“Which street? I searched all night for you!”

“I guess we must have missed each other. Haha… I didn’t know my drunken behavior was this bad.”

I forced a smile while recalling the nightmare I had experienced last night.

Luna’s voice that I heard as my consciousness was fading.

-…I see the drug is finally starting to take effect.

A chill ran down my spine.

Somehow, I had barely drunk half of what I could normally handle, yet my head kept spinning…

I never dreamed she would have drugged the wine she prepared.

The more I thought about what she might have tried to do to me while I was unconscious, the more my legs trembled.

To be precise, I hadn’t slept on the street but in a hotel corridor.

Startled by Luna’s voice, I had immediately rushed out of the room.

And I lost consciousness right after casting Invisibility.

*Invisibility: When this skill is used, you become transparent. However, it is canceled when casting magic or making physical attacks.

Fortunately, when I regained consciousness, I woke up exactly where I had collapsed.

Since my Poison Immunity skill hadn’t activated, it probably wasn’t poison in the alcohol, but what kind of drug did she put in?

Luna, with dark circles heavily lining her eyes from supposedly searching for me all night, slowly approached me.

“…Where does your memory cut off?”

“I-I’m not sure? I remember talking about your parents, but strangely, I got drunk so quickly.”

“If it’s about my parents…”

“I think you said they’re doing garden maintenance these days… is that right?”

“Ah, yes… that’s right. I followed you right away when you left, but you suddenly disappeared, and I was so shocked.”

Could she really have been more shocked than I was?

I was so distracted by the sight of Luna’s body after she showered that I forgot the important essence of the matter.

Rather than worrying about attacking her due to lust, I should have been concerned about being attacked myself.

I stared at Luna intently.

She seemed genuinely worried and restless.

Part of me wanted to cut ties with her immediately to feel at ease.

However, I couldn’t predict what might happen if I drove her away.

Creating a person with proper morals?

I thought it would be easy.

I believed that if I just saved her parents, she wouldn’t become a “murderous demon.”

But.

She literally didn’t become a “murderous demon,” but the butterfly effect’s backlash came straight to me.

It meant that human nature doesn’t change easily.

Just look at what she did last night.

Something that a person with normal mental circuitry couldn’t do.

“Ahem, let’s take a break from hunting today.”

“What? Didn’t you say last night that we’d leave early for the hunting grounds?”

“After sleeping on the street, I feel a bit chilly. Let’s take it easy today, look for a room, and get familiar with the area.”

“Look for a room…?”

“We can’t keep sleeping together forever.”

“B-but I’m really fine with it…”

The words “I’m not fine with it. I don’t know what you might do” lingered on my lips.

I was already busy preparing for the monster wave by experiencing various grades of monsters, but now I had to worry about my own safety first…

Jawill Wilson, I’m sorry.

I only realized it was spring after the flowers had fallen.

“Rumors are frightening things. I need to prepare for the possibility that my identity might be exposed. I don’t want you to be in an awkward position either.”

“I understand…”

With the prepared words, we reluctantly agreed to find a room.

Despite it being morning, many hunters had already paid for rooms in advance, so we couldn’t find a good place, but we managed to secure a decent room.

“I’ll pay for a week in advance.”

“Thank you. Please let me know if you need anything.”

I went up to the room, telling Luna we’d rest a bit and then go eat.

After going through all that, I felt completely worn out.

My head was still spinning, perhaps from the lingering effects of the unknown drug.

‘What on earth was she trying to do after drugging me?’

If she wanted to kill me, she would have used poison, so was she really trying to rape me?

Anyone who saw this situation would say I’m a lucky bastard.

But people have preferences, don’t they?

I’m not the one who wants to be on the receiving end.

“Sigh…”

I flopped down on the bed.

My whole body ached as if I had been beaten, from sleeping on the cold floor last night.

Would things have been different if Lio had accompanied us?

I vowed never to have such shallow thoughts about doing anything alone with Luna again.

*

“This place seems to have so many types of food.”

“Yeah, eat slowly.”

After taking a short nap at the inn, we had lunch at a restaurant.

I desperately wanted to return to the estate and go on an expedition with Jawill Wilson instead of Luna, but what could I do?

I had barely convinced Padericks for this journey.

“We’ll start hunting monsters again tomorrow, right?”

“Of course, the purpose of coming to Evis was to hunt monsters in the first place.”

“But why did you suddenly come all the way to Evis to hunt? There are monsters in Lake too.”

“Our estate only has weak monsters right now.”

“Wasn’t the reason for hunting monsters for the sake of the villagers?”

“That’s right, and that’s also why we came here.”

Luna tilted her head, seeming not to understand.

“Even if we hunt monsters here, it doesn’t affect our estate, does it?”

“Even though the monsters in our estate are weak now, there’s no guarantee they’ll always remain that way. So, we need to prepare in advance.”

“Ah… so that was your deeper intention.”

“Besides, areas with only weak monsters have a higher probability of experiencing a monster wave.”

“A monster wave?”

I put down my spoon and adjusted my posture at Luna’s question.

“It’s a phenomenon where monsters increase exponentially. Unlike most ordinary monsters that hide in the forest, they come down to attack villages.”

“B-but monsters coming down to villages happens maybe once or twice a year, right?”

“That’s right. And since the knights quickly deal with the monsters that do come down, the villagers haven’t suffered any harm.”

“So you’re saying they come down all at once in a group?”

“Yes, and if a monster wave appears without preparation, something terrible will happen.”

Luna shuddered, probably imagining a monster wave occurring in our estate.

“That’s so scary.”

“That’s why we prepare in advance. When a monster wave occurs, various types of monsters will appear simultaneously, so we need to know their weaknesses.”

“I understand now. I thought you came to Evis simply because you wanted to hunt monsters.”

“That’s why I was hesitant about bringing you along on this trip. It’s a dangerous situation where we don’t know what kind of monsters might appear.”

“Ah…”

I’ll continue dropping hints like this for the next week.

Enough to naturally exclude Luna from the next expedition.

“I need to become stronger.”

“I brought you instead of Lio Sergang this time to prepare for a possible monster wave. Experience is important, after all.”

“Yes, I’ll definitely learn more about monsters.”

“Good, and since I brought you this time, I’m thinking of going with Lio Sergang or Jawill Wilson next time. I can’t just give you all the experience.”

“R-right…? It’s all for the village…”

“That’s right.”

Luna trailed off despite my clear explanation.

I felt deeply that common sense didn’t apply with her.

And so we resumed eating.

Befitting a hunter’s estate, the protein-rich food was quite good, but the memory of last night kept surfacing, making it hard to enjoy the meal.

After finishing her meal, Luna carefully placed her chopsticks on the table and spoke cautiously.

“There’s still some alcohol left from last night… would you like to drink?”

“No, since we missed monster hunting today because of alcohol, I’ll save the drinking for when we get back to the mansion, even if it’s disappointing.”

“…I see. I was really worried when you suddenly disappeared yesterday.”

“By the way, it seems ‘oppa’ has really stuck to your tongue now?”

Luna scratched her reddened cheeks and shook her head slightly.

“Well, it’s because you told me to…”

Just then, a large man placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, the atmosphere looks good here?”

The smell of alcohol wafting from his mouth, probably from drinking since early afternoon, made me frown deeply.

I heard that provocations were common in Evis, but I didn’t expect someone to approach so recklessly.

“What is it?”

Ignoring my question, the large man turned his gaze toward Luna.

“Miss, instead of hanging out with this pimp-looking guy, how about having fun with us?”

What kind of outdated provocation was this…

I was thinking that he might prefer hanging out with me if he saw Luna’s true nature, when Luna suddenly emitted her characteristic eerie aura.

“…Take your filthy hand off right now.”