As Joanie rummaged through the mountain of clutter, she ultimately gave up on organizing it all.
She straightened her back and asked Aaron, “What about Kana?”
For the past few days, every time Joanie logged into Silia Online, Kana’s face greeted her.
Well, technically, it wasn’t visible because of the hood she wore, and Kana wasn’t specifically welcoming her either.
Perhaps that’s why Joanie felt oddly out of place welcoming another solo morning after a long time.
Even though she had spent way more time alone than together.
“She’s probably still asleep. That girl really loves her sleep.”
“Really?”
Aaron’s reply made Joanie squawk.
“Kana sleeps a lot? I’ve never seen her sleeping!”
“Didn’t she come with the party? It wasn’t the safest environment for her to relax.”
“Oh….”
Was that it?
Since Aaron had known Kana for much longer than Joanie, unless he was lying, he must be right.
Plus, the fact that Kana still hadn’t shown her face boosted her trust in his words.
Aaron, glancing at the clock, said, “It’s about time to wake her. Are you coming?”
“Can I? Is that okay?”
“…? Aren’t we having breakfast together? You don’t have other plans or anything…?”
“No! I’ll eat with you! Please let me!”
“…”
Aaron walked ahead, sporting a perplexed expression at Joanie’s overly excited reaction.
He soon stopped in front of an ornate door and lightly knocked.
Knock knock.
“Kana.”
“….”
“….”
After waiting briefly for a response, he knocked again.
Knock knock.
Yet still, there was no answer.
“Seems like she’s still asleep.”
“…What if she’s already gotten up and left?”
“Does she seem like that kind of person?”
“Hmm….”
Joanie shook her head as if in thought.
“Not really.”
If she was huddled up in a corner, maybe, but Kana wasn’t the type to wander off alone.
Aaron grasped the doorknob.
“Um, is it okay to just walk in like this? What if she gets mad we barged in?”
“If it’s Kana, she already knows we’re here.”
Creeeak.
“She’s just pretending she doesn’t want to wake up.”
Ignoring Joanie’s concern, Aaron opened the door.
The room Joanie had slept in last night, thanks to Aaron, was quite lavish.
She had stayed in decent hotels several times, and it was impressive enough to warrant admiration.
However, Kana’s room was even more luxurious than the one Joanie had stayed in the night before.
First of all, it was much larger, and the interior, including the furniture, was stunning.
It felt like a royal room straight out of a history book turned into a hotel, and Joanie gazed around with sparkling eyes.
“Kana, wake up.”
No regard for that, Aaron approached the bed and spoke softly to the bulging blanket.
Joanie paused her room tour and moved next to Aaron.
“Uuuh….”
‘…Gasp!’
At the very edge of the blanket, a small head peeked out cutely.
Every time Kana made a sleepy sound, the blanket rose and fell with her breaths.
Seeing Kana sleep peacefully, her face devoid of worries, Joanie couldn’t help but stifle an excited gasp.
Kana looked adorable when resting her head on Aaron’s arm, but curled up like a small animal, the cuteness was off the charts.
‘I have to capture this…!’
Before taking a screenshot, Joanie switched the broadcast screen to standby.
-?? What is this???
– Mom, it’s too dark here…
– Excuse me, the light’s out here!
– What? I want to see too!
“Hm hm. I’ll cover the screen for a moment to protect Kana’s privacy.”
There’s a saying that the most despicable thing in the world is to give and then take away.
Knowing how dishonest and rude that is, people tend not to just take back what they’ve given, no matter how precious it is to them.
Just like a couple breaking up, not wanting to end the relationship unless it’s truly necessary.
The viewers felt just like that about Joanie’s actions.
The screen had dimmed, and the audience—who had been sharing in Kana’s cuteness—were left in the dark.
They couldn’t handle the abrupt change, and the chat exploded with intense reactions.
Of course, Joanie’s reason for covering the screen was not as beautiful as she had said; it wasn’t about protecting Kana’s privacy at all.
That was merely a flimsy excuse to rationalize her selfish desire to hide Kana’s embarrassing moments.
– Quit talking nonsense and turn the screen back on while you’re at it^^
– Teacher, my cat is really sick…
– 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
– I’m getting annoyed, lol.
– A kind person looking out for a fictional character’s rights, huh?
– Wha—?
– WTF?!?!?!?!
Nobody believed Joanie at face value.
While the chat was ablaze, Joanie was narrowing her eyes at the pile of screenshots she had just taken.
Once her pink eyes peeked open through half-lidded eyelids, she finally stopped satisfying her desires.
Seeing the quickly growing folder of screenshots made her beam.
“Wake up already. We need to go eat breakfast.”
Aaron spoke to her with a soft voice that was entirely different from how he addressed Joanie.
– Whoa;;
– I’m a guy, but I think I understand why women fall for that voiceㅇㅇ;
– 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
His tone was like that used with a child….
No, it was practically a tender voice used when talking to a real child, stirring a brief stir in the chat.
Kana’s drowsy eyes, that had been looking up at Aaron, slowly drifted shut again.
“Uuuh… I don’t want to eat.”
“Gasp… So cute….”
Joanie held her heart at Kana’s adorably grumpy protest.
“You have to eat breakfast to grow taller.”
“…I told you not to talk about my height.”
Her eyes snapped open, and Kana glared irritably at Aaron.
“I’ll treat you to your favorite meat dish, so hurry and get up.”
“Okay….”
Finally giving in to their coaxing, Kana reluctantly pulled herself up from the bed.
As if trying to fight off sleep, she sat on the edge of the bed and blinked repeatedly.
Every now and then, when her eyes would close, that small head would bob down, only to perk back up again.
“Hi, Kana! Did you sleep well?”
“…Yep. Hi.”
‘Kana….’
You really do sleep a lot…
Joanie was momentarily surprised by the morning greeting she had never heard before from Kana, but then quickly grinned.
*
Dooong—
I poked the suspicious-looking food on my plate with my fork.
“Don’t play with food.”
“…It’s meat, right?”
“Yeah, but…”
As Aaron nonchalantly munched on greens, he replied.
And those greens were, of course, sitting right on my plate as well.
“Meat cooked with veggies isn’t meat dish.”
How could he not know this vital truth?
Garnishes on steak are fine.
Those can just be pushed aside and eaten.
But if it’s mixed in completely, making it impossible to pick them out, that’s NOT a meat dish.
“Aren’t you a bit old to be picky?”
I scoffed.
“There’s no age limit on not eating something I dislike.”
“…Proud of that, huh?”
“If that’s the case, then Aaron still thinks I’m a kid.”
If he had that much to say, at least he shouldn’t treat me like a child.
“No matter what age a child is, they always look like kids to their parents. I’m not your parent, but I’ve seen you since you were a little kid, so I think it’s fair enough.”
“I’ve been like this since I was really little, so it’s unchangeable.”
“You don’t have a say in this, huh?”
“I grew up in an environment where I couldn’t speak out.”
“…!”
Neither Aaron nor I cared much, yet Joanie glanced at me with a horrified expression.
I wasn’t wrong, nor was I saying anything that should be deemed inappropriate, so why the surprise?
After a long time rummaging around, I finally succeeded in picking every last green off my plate and resumed eating.
“How long do you plan to stay in Liberi?”
“No idea. Maybe two to three days?”
“Hmm. This probably won’t happen, but if you run low on money or need anything, just let me know. I’ll help however I can.”
“…Who are you?”
Was Aaron really saying this after being a penny-pincher every chance he got?
A perplexed look crossed my face as I pointed my fork at him, and he looked back at me with pity.
“Didn’t that time happen because of the budget of the order? It’s not like I can spend recklessly, or else I’d have to go to the treasury and beg for funds if the budget ran out—like you would.”
“….”
I quietly ate my food.
Having eaten that earlier slice of guilt, I couldn’t bring myself to deny what he was saying.
‘Give me money.’
‘What? You think money can just magically appear when asked? If I throw a fit, will it suddenly show up? No! There’s None!’
‘But there is.’
‘Ah, I said there’s nothing! See! There’s nothing!’
‘Oh, here’s some money. You thought it was just for lazy freeloaders, right?’
‘…Are you nuts?! Forget what you just said. Just end this conversation today!’
The echo of the treasury officer’s seemingly alive voice came rushing back to me clearly.
He might have been a strict guy, but I think he was decent enough. However, he probably died that day.
“You’re not stingy; you’re just the one being reckless.”
Aaron didn’t take his judgmental gaze off me even as he stood up.
His plate was clean, completely devoid of greens.
“Well, I’ll take that as you understood what I said and be off now.”
“Where are you going?”
“Where else? I have to work. I’m not like you—a freeloader.”
Having money is such a luxury. You wouldn’t know until you have it.
Although he couldn’t get the leader’s position, Aaron had worked at Crimson Aegis far longer than I had, so he must have had plenty of money, but he couldn’t imagine a life of leisure.
Once the pitiful Aaron left the dining table, Joanie leaned over to me and asked while I was searching for leftover meat among the greens.
“Kana, Kana! What are you going to do today?”
“I’m going to sleep.”
This bed is really nice.
The bed is soft, and the blankets are cozy…
If it were up to me, I would want to lie here for hours, but since Aaron disturbed me, I couldn’t. So I thought I’d fulfill that missed dream.
“Ehh….”
Joanie looked disappointed after hearing my reply.
“Aren’t you going outside?”
“…Why should I?”
I have nothing to do anyway.
“It’ll be boring just in the room.”
“Snoozing isn’t boring.”
“Come on! Let’s go have fun~ okay?”
“…Get away.”
I frowned, pulling away from Joanie, who kept sticking to me.
It seemed like if I stayed still, she would sprout thorns all over, never leaving me in peace.
“I’ll buy something tasty too. Yeah, the chocolate you love! I heard there’s a shop with the yummiest chocolates. Let’s go there, what do you think?”
“Fine, fine, just back off.”
If I had ignored her, she would have chased me all the way back to my room, so I reluctantly surrendered.
…Alright, since it seems like I’ll be here for two more days, one day’s worth of compromise shouldn’t kill me.
I’ll just spend today with her, and then I’ll stick to my room for the remaining days.
Doing this is a tactical retreat, not because of the temptation from those chocolates Joanie mentioned.
“If it’s not tasty…”
Stab!
I stabbed the greens aggressively with my fork.
“Ugh, okay…!”
Joanie nodded, sweating bullets.
It seemed like my message got through loud and clear.
Satisfied, I raised the fork to my mouth.
“…Yuck.”
…Sure enough, it’s not tasty.
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