“Ugh~ Today is~ Ken’s sleepover day~”
I don’t know what’s got Raphne so happy, but she’s humming cheerfully while preparing dinner.
Luckily, it seems she has no strong objections to me spending the night.
Her usual excessive skinship in no way detracts from that either…
Maybe she doesn’t even see me as a man…?
‘Well, I guess to her, I’m more like a pet pig.’
It’s a bit heart-wrenching to know my favorite character doesn’t see me as male, but let’s not dwell on it.
What’s important now is fixing the Thunder Spear Aspetra.
‘So first…’
In front of me lies the broken Thunder Spear Aspetra.
Before checking my repair skills, there was something I had to confirm first.
That’s right—what materials I need for the repair.
I checked my skill status.
[Unique Skill: Item Crafting.
Skill Level
Handicraft LV 3
Weapon Creation LV 3
Potion Creation LV 1
Magical Tool Creation LV 2
Repair LV 1
Material Identification LV 1]
Fortunately, I had just obtained the skill needed for repair not too long ago.
Among them, the one I urgently need now is the Material Identification skill.
I picked up the spear in front of me.
‘Now… Material Identification.’
With determination, my mana flows through my fingertips into the broken spear.
The mana that passes through every corner of the spear returns to my fingertips.
Soon, I began to recall the materials used in this spear in my mind.
‘…As expected, S-rank items have completely different materials.’
I swallowed hard after confirming the kinds of materials popping up.
This spear, a limited-time item that I’d never even seen used in a game, is actually an S-rank legendary weapon.
The materials used in such a weapon are things you can’t just casually find in the market.
But thankfully, Anette has taken care of this part.
Anette has decided to cover all the materials needed for the repair.
‘Can I get dragon bones and… orichalcum right away?’
Materials that would be easier to obtain in the latter part of the game.
But those can only be found in the demon-infested Karab Continent.
It would probably cost a fortune to obtain them in the Kingdom of Lilias.
‘Well, they’re a wealthy family anyway. I probably don’t need to worry.’
Opportunities to acquire such high-quality materials don’t come along often.
Since it’s a rare chance, let’s write down a little extra on what I need.
Having made a list of repair materials, I pulled out a small whistle from my Subspace Pocket.
This is the summoning whistle for the familiar I just received from Anette.
Until the repair of the spear is completed, I’ll use the familiar to deliver items or messages to avoid unnecessary suspicion.
Peep-peep!
The sound resonated like a pan flute, and soon a bird-shaped familiar made of mana appeared before me.
“I appreciate your help.”
Caw!
The familiar, with a letter in its beak, immediately soared into the sky.
As it flew off, shrinking into the distance, it soon turned transparent and vanished.
‘Then I guess I’ll wrap things up until the materials arrive.’
Anette gave me two days, so the materials should arrive soon.
So during the remaining time, what I have to do is set my sights on grinding my repair skill!
Fortunately, I had crafted plenty of weapons to break for repairs when I made Siegfried’s black sword earlier.
A moment of silence for my test subjects that will fall victim to my skills.
Then I boldly swung the hammer down on the weapons.
Clang!
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing echoed, and soon the weapons began to look miserable as their edges dulled and grips broke away.
“…Ken, are you still not finished?”
I continued to repeatedly break and repair the weapons.
Afterward, I ate the dinner prepared by Raphne and started the process again.
My current repair skill level is 2.
I’m not aiming for level 4 through grinding, but it’d be nice to at least reach level 3.
“Yeah, I need to do a bit more. You can go to sleep first, Raphne. You can use Silence Magic, right?”
It’ll be tough for her to sleep with all the noise from breaking and repairing items, so I asked her to create a barrier to block out the sound for today.
But Raphne shook her head and came closer to me.
“N-no, I’ll wait until you’re done, Ken!”
“Huh? You really don’t have to! You must be tired; it’s okay to sleep first!”
“Uh-huh, I’ll be fine! I want to help you. Is there anything I can do?”
With that response, Raphne sat down next to me.
‘I need to finish this quickly.’
She doesn’t mean to burden me, but I still feel guilty for keeping her awake.
“Okay, could you change the water in that barrel for me?”
“Sure! Just tell me what to do!”
Raphne cheerfully answered my request and promptly moved with the barrel.
After seeing that, I steeled my resolve and started hammering away again.
[System: The proficiency in Item Crafting has reached its maximum. Relevant skill levels have increased.]
[Item Crafting – Repair LV 3]
‘…Alright.’
Holding a dagger that I’ve repaired who-knows-how-many times, I stared blankly at the status window.
It’s already dark outside, and the night has gotten late.
“Raphne, it’s time for you to sleep in bed.”
Raphne, who had been keeping me company, had succumbed to sleep, resting her head on my lap.
Well, she did help out a lot until now, so I should praise her.
More than that, I had no idea she could sleep soundly despite the noise from my repairs.
“Raphne, …Raphne, wake up, it’s over.”
“……Mmm.”
She showed no signs of waking up.
‘I guess there’s no helping it.’
I’ll reward her for letting me sleep here tonight. Let’s provide her with a special delivery service to the bed.
I carefully lifted her so she wouldn’t wake up.
Raphne, resting her head on my chest like a princess…
‘This is what it means to carry someone without them realizing it.’
Raphne, who didn’t wake up at all, looked somehow more comfortable than usual.
Usually, Raphne always seems tense and anxious, but now her face radiated peace.
“……Ken, hey.”
‘What kind of dream is she having?’
Still, if that dream helps her relax, then it’s a good dream.
I moved to her bed and gently laid her down, attempting to keep her from waking.
I lightly set her down, resting her head on the soft pillow, and then cautiously removed my hands.
Covering her up to her chest with the blanket, I thought.
‘So, I guess I’ll sleep now too.’
Of course, there’s no way I’d share the same bed or anything like that.
No matter how much I adore my favorite female character, I wouldn’t take the liberty to invade her personal space like that.
‘…So I’ll wait to see if the materials come tomorrow.’
I spread out my blanket on the floor, a bit away from Raphne’s bed, and lay down there.
While I prefer a bed as a Korean, there’s a certain comfort in lying on the floor that calms my heart.
I began planning my schedule for tomorrow while turning off the power of my exhausted body.
“…Ken, …ugh, Keeeen.”
…Just as I was about to doze off.
“…No, …no, Ken, …Keeen.”
‘…Huh? What’s going on?’
In a haze, I heard my name being called.
If this were my room in the dormitory all alone, it would be a terrifying scenario.
But here, there’s only one person who would be calling my name in such a panic.
“……Raphne?”
I rose and gazed at the bed.
“Ken, …no, …I’m sorry, …please don’t go.”
“R-Raphne. Are you okay?”
Raphne’s trembling voice was enough to get me out of my spot and toward the bed.
With tears welling in her eyes, Raphne seemed to be stuck in a nightmare.
And then….
“Ken, Keeeenn━!!”
“Whoaah!!”
With her watery eyes wide open, Raphne called my name and bolted upright.
My startled scream echoed in the room.
“……Oh, Ken. …Where is this?”
Raphne must have realized she woke up from her dream and looked at me, clutching her pounding chest in surprise.
Our eyes met.
“…Waaah, hic.”
And Raphne burst into tears again.
“…Wahhhh, Keeeen…!”
“R-Raphne? Are you okay? What happened?”
Raphne, soaking her face with tears, had seemingly been frightened by a nightmare and crawled over to cling to my waist.
“Ken, don’t go… I’m sorry, hic, I did something wrong… Ugh, ugh, hic.”
‘Looks like she was really scared.’
I could assume what kind of nightmare she had, but even after she recognized she was awake, Raphne couldn’t stop crying.
Her face buried in my chest, she continued to sob.
‘I can kinda guess what the content was….’
“Wah, umm… Ken, hic, you said you didn’t like me, that you didn’t want to see me anymore, …huh, and then you left the room….”
Just as I expected.
I stroked Raphne’s head to calm her as she kept crying.
At that, Raphne snuggled even deeper into my embrace.
“So it was just a nightmare, Raphne. It was only a dream, so please don’t worry too much. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Sniffle, I know that… but it’s still scary….”
Seeing Raphne not wanting to part from me made me curious if she frequently has such dreams.
I wondered what she did when she experienced such nightmares alone.
‘She must’ve found it really frightening.’
I imagined the loneliness of waking up from a nightmare with no one around.
Thinking of Raphne enduring through that alone made my heart ache.
I gradually released Raphne from my hold and carefully laid her head on the pillow.
“Hik, ugh.”
She continued to shed tears even as she was laid down on the pillow.
Crying too much will surely give her a headache.
I then pulled the blanket up over Raphne once more.
“Listen, Ken….”
At that moment, Raphne grabbed my sleeve.
“Uh, yeah?”
Her tear-filled, red eyes looked carefully back at me.
Like a little chick looking for its mother.
“I’m scared, …can’t we sleep together?”
Oh my, what is that even supposed to mean?
“R-Raphne. No matter what, I’m a man…!”
“But, but…! If I fall asleep like this, I feel like I’ll have the same dream again! If you’re next to me… I’d feel more comfortable and could sleep well. Hic.”
I recalled Raphne’s calm expression when she was sound asleep just a moment ago.
Maybe it’d be that way precisely because she could sleep next to me.
Could she be spending every night in a state of anxiety and tension until she falls asleep?
Thinking about that made my heart ache.
No, but still, I’m a man.
I wouldn’t cross the line I need to uphold as a gentleman!
“Hehe… thanks, Ken.”
“Umm, just this once.”
With her arms wrapped around my neck, Raphne pulled me close like a body pillow and soon closed her eyes to the sound of her peaceful breathing.
“…When I smell Ken’s scent, I feel at ease.”
“…Uh-huh.”
I’m glad she feels relaxed.
But please don’t whisper that in my ear!
Because those delicate breaths make me a bit sensitive…
“Mmm, Keeeen….”
Raphne, resting her head on my chest and draping an arm over my shoulder, soon drifted into a deep sleep.
‘…This is troubling.’
But since I was now surrounded by softness, I found it hard to fall asleep myself.
The warmth of Raphne’s body and her scent were buzzing in my nose.
It seems like tonight’s going to be a long one….
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