Ch.93After the Storm (3)

“Haaawn… I’m bored.”

Sitting by the window watching the sky, I yawned as boredom washed over me like a tide.

Clank-

I wanted nothing more than to go outside for some fresh air, but the iron chains still binding my arms and legs prevented that.

“Lilly is taking quite a while to return…”

“Indeed. It’s been four days since you woke up, Frey. I’m worried something might have happened to her.”

It was concerning that Lilly, who I thought would return quickly, hadn’t come back even after four days had passed.

While it was unlikely that a fairy of Lilly’s caliber would be kidnapped, I couldn’t help but worry with the complete lack of news.

[There’s a saying that no news is good news, isn’t there?]

[Why don’t you try to be patient a little longer?]

‘That saying doesn’t apply to me right now. If Lilly doesn’t come, I can’t leave this place.’

[Ah, right, there is that issue.]

While I was writhing in boredom, Lumia was having quite a peaceful time.

Of course, that didn’t mean she had any special entertainment.

Lumia was just good at waiting.

[I don’t understand why waiting is so difficult for you~]

‘If you’re so good at waiting, why don’t you teach me how? I can’t figure it out even from looking at your memories.’

[Hmm~ Should I?]

I couldn’t help but be slightly surprised when Lumia seemed to consider it and then readily agreed to tell me.

Given her mischievous personality, which had influenced my own character, I was used to her playing all sorts of pranks.

‘I was worried about what she’d make me do this time, but fortunately she seems to be out of ideas.’

Of course, that was just my misconception.

[Well, the method is simple.]

[Just have your body stolen and wait for death like I did, and you’ll naturally learn how.]

‘…You know I feel bad about that.’

[Pfft, that’s exactly why I said it~]

It was a moment of dizziness as her prank struck a vulnerable spot when I let my guard down.

Whoosh-!

I sensed something approaching rapidly from outside the window, cutting through the air.

At first, I thought it might be an arrow, but then I recognized the familiar magical energy.

“Lilly?”

“Freeeey!!!”

“Why are you so late? I was worried sick! And why do you look like Vulcan after pulling an all-nighter?”

Lilly, who flew quickly into my arms, looked almost like a homeless person.

Like someone who had been through a lot, she appeared unwashed with deep fatigue visible on her face.

“Don’t ask, don’t even ask. Just let me stay like this for a moment.”

“Ahaha… Looks like you’ve had a rough time too, Lilly.”

Lilly snuggled into my arms as if asking for comfort while expressing her fatigue.

It seemed like she might be using her exhaustion as an excuse to satisfy her personal desires, but this time I decided to let it slide.

[And that way, you’ll get less nagging, right?]

‘I only thought that a little bit. Just a little.’

Lumia exposed my inner thoughts like some kind of conscience, but I did my best to ignore her.

Time passed slowly as I comforted Lilly in my arms.

After a while, though not too long, Lilly looked up at me with a refreshed expression, seemingly having rested enough in my embrace.

In response, I looked back at her, trying to create the most beautiful reunion scene possible to make it harder for her to scold me.

“Phew, Frey.”

“Yes, I’m right here.”

“Time for your scolding now, isn’t it?”

Of course, my attempt was completely ineffective.

Lilly seemed to have forgotten that she had just used my embrace for comfort, as she made me kneel and began a storm of lecturing.

“You knew that thing the prince dropped was dangerous, didn’t you! So why did you grab it with your bare hands?!”

“Ahaha, I’m sorry. I just thought I should retrieve it quickly…”

“Don’t try to smooth-talk your way out of this with a smile! I’m being serious right now!”

I tried to use my charm with a slight smile, but Lilly caught on and shut me down immediately.

Rather than reducing the intensity of her nagging, my attempt only made it worse—a major failure.

‘I guess I’ll just have to listen quietly…’

And so Lilly’s lecture, which I could neither block nor avoid, continued until the sun that had been high in the sky finally set.

“Phew… I guess I’ll end today’s lecture here.”

“Yes, that would be good. If I hear any more, my ears might start bleeding.”

“I wasn’t planning to lecture you for days on end anyway.”

As she said this, Lilly shuddered as if recalling an unpleasant memory.

“Looks like you got scolded plenty by the Queen too. How long were you held there?”

“The lecture lasted for five whole days until this morning… She was going to continue, but I managed to escape.”

“Ahaha… I guess what we did wasn’t something that could be easily overlooked.”

While impersonating the Apos Hunt might have been forgivable, the unauthorized use of the gate wasn’t something that could be easily dismissed.

Not only was there the enormous cost of using it once, but the ability to move to any other gate was itself problematic.

‘I guess Lilly was able to escape only because we moved within the Empire…’

If we had crossed from the Empire to another country, it probably wouldn’t have ended with just a scolding.

We might have had to face judgment before the leaders of various nations.

“Still, we could have received leniency for saving Gagap, but I suppose it would take time to get to that point of consideration.

Besides, I don’t think simple impersonation would allow international gate usage anyway.”

“Frey, if you had received that lecture yourself, you’d think differently. I’d rather face that judgment multiple times than… ugh…”

Lilly’s reaction was quite convincing, suggesting she had received enough lecturing to make her ears fall off.

It was so bad that even I was becoming afraid of meeting the Queen.

“She certainly seems terrifying when angry. The problem is that we need to meet her sometime soon.”

“Eek! Let’s postpone that as much as possible unless it’s urgent…! At least a month, no, half a year…!”

“Even if you say that, it’s related to my identity, so we can’t delay it too much. At most, we could push it back a month or two.”

Of course, we would need to consider the Queen’s schedule too, but she would likely be able to spare some time.

Since Lilly was refusing to meet her, if we arranged an appointment through Vulcan or someone else, we could probably set a date soon.

“Hueeeng…”

“Making that face won’t change anything since we have many other appointments. But I’ll make sure you don’t have any stressful situations while you rest. Just take it easy for now.”

“Sigh, alright…”

She seemed really reluctant to meet the Queen, but I managed to comfort the pouting Lilly.

After finishing both her rest and lecture, Lilly slowly examined my condition and belatedly asked a question.

“By the way, Frey. Why are you all tied up like that?”

“Because you were late. I needed a medical examination, but that’s difficult without you.”

“Hmm…”

At my words, Lilly looked me up and down like a doctor diagnosing a patient.

After repeating this process a couple of times, Lilly gave her simple assessment.

“Well, you look better behaved all tied up like that. How about staying that way?”

“Um… so my body is fine, right?”

“Yes, though I’d rather you were a bit sick so I could keep you tied up. You look perfectly fine. You might even be healthier than before.”

With those words, Lilly waved her hand and removed all the chains binding my hands and feet.

I wondered how they opened and closed since there was no visible keyhole, but it seemed they operated with magical energy.

‘There must be some pre-registered magical pattern.’

Clank-

Freed from the chains that had bound me, I stretched out with satisfaction and made a pleased sound.

“Ahh! That feels refreshing after being so confined.”

“Couldn’t you stretch even when you were tied up? Why are you acting so relieved?”

“When I was tied up, stretching just didn’t give me this feeling.”

How should I put this… Even though I had no intention of going out, being forbidden from leaving made me feel more confined.

It was a matter of choice versus force.

“Well, I’d like to go out and have fun right away, but the sun has already set. Since the city is still being rebuilt, there probably won’t be any nighttime activities.”

“Most people will be busy during the day too. Last I checked, monsters that weren’t cleaned up in time were running rampant.”

“Then shall we go on a picnic tomorrow and clear out some monsters in the area?”

“I question whether that counts as a picnic, but… well, we don’t have anything else to do, so why not.”

And using this as justification, I planned to extract some useful items from Vulcan—making it a doubly productive outing.