Ch.385[Episode 385] Rest…?

In response to Sir Dominic’s reaction, Captain Elang sighed heavily as if he had expected this.

“I thought you were getting proper rest since you usually enjoy various hobbies and activities.”

At Captain Elang’s words, Sir Dominic scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“Well, there’s no need to worry about that.”

Captain Elang looked at Sir Dominic with gleaming eyes.

“Because you have me, Captain Elang, the professional of relaxation.”

Captain Elang very confidently called himself a relaxation professional.

In other words, he was lazy.

“Now. Follow me, Sir Dominic.”

However, for some reason, Sir Dominic began to find this Elang extremely reliable.

“I’ll show you what true relaxation really is.”

Captain Elang extended his hand toward Sir Dominic.

And Sir Dominic stared at that hand for a moment before taking it.

…

The first place Captain Elang and Sir Dominic went was a barbershop.

“A barbershop?”

Sir Dominic questioned Captain Elang.

“Why are we here?”

“Well, when your body feels refreshed, relaxation works better.”

Captain Elang said this as he seated Sir Dominic in an empty chair.

Then he told the barber to give him a nice haircut.

This was Sir Dominic’s second haircut since coming to Gacharland.

After the haircut, Captain Elang led Sir Dominic to a bathhouse.

“I’m not age-verified so I can’t go in. So go in and wash up properly. I’ll be at a nearby cafe.”

With those words, Captain Elang pushed Sir Dominic into the bathhouse entrance.

Sir Dominic began taking a refreshing bath as Captain Elang had instructed.

At this point, Sir Dominic started to wonder whether Captain Elang was truly a professional of relaxation or a prisoner of relaxation, but he decided to trust the self-proclaimed professional for now.

After finishing his refreshing bath, Sir Dominic was guided to the next course.

The next stop was a clothing store, where they came to buy an undershirt rather than a skin for Sir Dominic.

“I noticed you were wearing cheap ones before.”

“…When did you see that?”

“I caught a glimpse when the edge of your shirt was peeking out from under your skin.”

Saying this, Captain Elang bought Sir Dominic a t-shirt.

The t-shirt was 100% cotton and felt very comfortable when worn.

“Now, the preparations are complete.”

“…Preparations?”

Sir Dominic was already tired from the journey so far.

While Sir Dominic had almost unlimited stamina in battle, he was physically more drained than anyone when it came to unfamiliar relaxation.

However, Captain Elang showed no mercy and headed to the next location despite seeing Sir Dominic’s condition.

“We have a lot to do! We need to move quickly!”

Sir Dominic reluctantly took a step forward at Captain Elang’s urging.

Apparently, Sir Dominic’s suffering was not yet over.

…

When word spread that Sir Dominic was taking a rest, most people nodded in understanding.

“Looking at his track record, it’s about time he took a break. I don’t even know if it makes sense that his value has increased so much in less than two years.”

People who knew Sir Dominic well commented like this.

“Someone once said that adequate rest helps people grow. Perhaps Sir Dominic is taking a rest to grow as well?”

Those who admired Sir Dominic said such things.

“I suppose he’s tired? Hmph. Understandable. It’s been one incident after another for him.”

Even those who had somewhat bad relationships with Sir Dominic understood his need for rest.

Sir Dominic had been running forward like a workaholic for so long that those around him could feel it.

Having worked hard, rest was considered natural.

However, people who knew Sir Dominic very well thought differently.

“…An incident is about to happen.”

“Rest for Sir Dominic? That’s impossible. Something big is definitely about to happen.”

Those who knew Sir Dominic best, such as v.a.l.l.o.c. or the coders, clearly thought that Sir Dominic would either cause an incident or get caught up in a massive one.

Others might think Sir Dominic went looking for incidents, but the coders knew that Sir Dominic had an unusually strong tendency to get caught up in incidents and bugs.

If Sir Dominic was taking a rest, it was obvious that something related to rest would happen.

“…Should I work overtime in advance?”

“This is not the time to be creating bugs.”

The coders all stopped working at the news of Sir Dominic’s rest and began checking for potential bugs.

The problem was that there were too many bugs the coders had already created.

…

After Sir Dominic left home at dawn, his house was in complete chaos.

Remy and Dr. Phantom were drunk on non-alcoholic beer, buried among cotton candy, Hime was curled up on the sofa snoring, and Lady Alice was continuously putting something into her mouth.

A normal mortal would have either died from a burst stomach or reached their limit, but Lady Alice, who had become a Star, could continue eating without being constrained by hunger or fullness.

This was stress-induced binge eating.

Since Ferallant was a very harsh place, she had been careful about how much she ate, but Gacharland was much more abundant than Ferallant, so she kept putting food into her mouth without hesitation.

One of the benefits of being a Star was that she wouldn’t gain weight no matter how much she ate.

“You should probably stop eating now.”

Sir Dominica placed the seventh pot of stew in front of Lady Alice just today.

The delivered food that had filled not only Sir Dominic’s room but other rooms as well was now running out, and the fish that had been in the bathtub had long since gone into Lady Alice’s stomach.

If she wanted to eat more, they would have to order additional food, but who would deliver at this hour?

“This is the last of the stew.”

Sir Dominica told Lady Alice.

“Even if you want more, there isn’t any.”

Lady Alice stared at the stew with blank eyes for a moment, then lost consciousness and plunged her head into the pot of stew.

It seemed she had lost consciousness due to excessive binge eating.

“…This is ridiculous, really.”

Sir Dominica sighed and pulled Lady Alice, who had her face in the stew, out.

She didn’t want someone to die with their nose in a plate of water.

Whether aware of this fact or not, Lady Alice was sleeping peacefully with her face in a mess.

…

Two days later, at dawn.

“This truly feels like a proper rest.”

Sir Dominic had spent a day and a half on relaxation.

The places Captain Elang took him were truly suitable for relaxation, and each time they visited, Sir Dominic felt his body and mind being healed.

Of course, Sir Dominic had no reason for his body or mind to be injured, but that was how he felt.

“Thank you, Captain Elang. You truly are a professional of relaxation.”

Sir Dominic extended his right hand to Captain Elang.

He was acknowledging Captain Elang’s professionalism and offering a handshake.

“Oh, it’s nothing. By the way, Sir Dominic-“

“Ah, since we’re here, I should visit the knights’ dining hall for breakfast one more time. Thanks to the fortunate connection I made there, I’ve learned what proper relaxation is.”

Sir Dominic continued to praise the knights’ dining hall where he had coincidentally met Captain Elang.

“Ah, that sounds good. But Sir Dominic-“

“Then I’m wondering what to do next. Should I eat waffles? Or a strawberry frappuccino? There are so many foods in this world that make people comfortable.”

Sir Dominic kept saying only what he wanted to say.

Finally, unable to bear the situation any longer, Captain Elang looked directly at Sir Dominic’s face and said:

“Sir Dominic.”

“…Why do you call me?”

“Sir Dominic…”

Captain Elang swallowed as he looked at Sir Dominic’s body.

For some reason, the words seemed to have trouble coming out of his mouth.

But Captain Elang, brainwashing himself that this was something he had to do, closed his eyes tightly and exclaimed to Sir Dominic:

“Sir Dominic, haven’t you gained weight?”

“…?”

Sir Dominic questioned Captain Elang’s words.

“Gained… weight? What do you mean?”

Sir Dominic said this while looking at his hands and feet.

No, only his hands were visible.

His feet were somehow obscured by his protruding belly and not easily visible.

Sir Dominic pondered what this mass blocking his view could be, and then, taking a hint from Captain Elang’s earlier words, he realized what it was.

“Have I really gained weight?”

“…Yes.”

Sir Dominic asked Captain Elang with a trembling voice.

Captain Elang answered Sir Dominic with difficulty.

Sir Dominic had become round and plump, as if he might roll away.