"...uh...

　The consciousness that had been sinking deep into the depths slowly surfaces.
　Little by little, my vision becomes brighter and my mind becomes clearer.

　I slowly open my eyes.

''........This place.......''

　This is my room.
　I can see the ceiling, which I recently moved into.

"Well...

　I'm so heavy.
　And my memory is fuzzy.

　Why am I sleeping?
　I feel like I was doing something important...

Nya..........
?

　Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice.
　I lightly raise my body and look in the direction of the voice.

''Soooooo.........''

　Kanade was lying on the bed with his upper body resting on the bed.
　He looked a little difficult and didn't seem to be sleeping very well.
　Her ears were twitching occasionally.

'Kanade?'
Nyah.

　 I just remembered.
　I remember fighting Suz-san.
　
　That wasn't really a victory.

　And then...........I took the plunge, and as a result of that, I must have fallen down.
　Kanade.........maybe he was taking care of me.

Thanks.
Hmmm?

　I stroked my head and Kanade jerked away.
　Oh shit, I think I woke her up.

　Kanade slowly raises himself up and yawns, cooing.
　Then he rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at me....

Meow, Lane!

　He noticed that I was awake and peened and turned his ears upside down.

'You're awake!　You're up!　You're okay!　There is no pain!　I'm not thirsty!　I'm not hungry!
Oh, please calm down. I don't know what you're talking about.
I'm sorry.
Okay. That's how much you cared about me, right?　I don't mean to worry you, but I'm glad Kanade feels the same way.
Meow....

　Kanade looks embarrassed and blushes.
　But this time it's not just that...
　He turned his somewhat feverish gaze towards me.

　It's not a reaction I would normally see.
　What's wrong with me?

"Kanade?
...nyah!

　When I called out to him, he seemed to huff and puff and Kanade freaked out.

'Nah, nah, it's nothing!　Yes, I'm not even a nympha!
Yeah?
'Yeah, yeah. I was just spaced out for a minute... or maybe I was fawning over you... or whatever, because it's nothing!
Oh, yeah.

　With Kanade's momentum, I decided not to pursue it further.
　It's a reaction I've never had before, so I was curious...
　Well, there are one or two things you want to keep hidden, even if they are your friends.
　I decided not to worry too much about it.

'By the way ... how long have I been sleeping?'
Three days.
That much...
Lane!
Yes?

　Suddenly Kanade gets a stern stare, and I can't help but get cocky.

''Why did you do something so reckless?''
'Well you mean ... the triple boost?'
'Yes!　You don't know what kind of repercussions there would be if you did that and if you were bad, you could have died!　As it turns out, I only had to sleep in for three days... but you know how worried I and everyone else was... nyahhhh...

　Kanade was a little tearful.
　Seeing that, I'm deeply sorry.
　Even though it was for the purpose of not letting Kanade go with me, it would be meaningless if I was worried about her because of it.

　Or rather.........
　It was very tough to be cried at.
　It was more bearable than being yelled at.

'I'm sorry I'm sorry I was so reckless,'
Really...?
True. I think I was rash.
Don't you ever do that again?
....

　I didn't have a quick answer.
　I'm going to be careful, but....
　What if the same thing happens?
　What if our people are in danger?
　If I was in a situation where I couldn't choose my means then, I wouldn't hesitate to do something reckless.

　Kanade seemed to understand that and turned his jit eyes at me.

''Nyah.......Rain's idiot.
'Ugh I feel really bad about causing you to worry. It's just that when it comes down to it, I can't afford to choose any other means... and I may end up being reckless again.
You don't want us to be the ones who have to worry.
I'm ... sorry. I'm speechless.
But I guess that's just the way Rayne is.

　Kanade laughs softly.
　Then she takes my hand in both of hers.

'I don't have the right to constrain Rain's actions but I don't want you to do anything rash.
I know. I'll try not to do anything like that again.
'Nyaah I want you to say that part, absolutely, but I can't help it. That's Rayne, you know. Just ... don't forget, okay?　That we're here.
'Oh....'
'Rain isn't alone. Even when you can't do it alone, we're here for you.......if we all do our best, we might be able to make it. So don't hesitate to rely on us in those situations....
...Yeah. I'll be able to count on you then.
Meow.

　Kanade, who seemed satisfied with my answer, purred in a good mood.

　.........
　At that moment, the door opened and Suzu-san appeared.
　Perhaps she came to check on me.
　Suzu-san sees me and Kanade holding hands and rolls her eyes.
　A little while later, she smiles a happy, smiling face.

'Oh, dear. Did I interrupt you?
'Oh, Mother!　Disturbance, you know...
'I'm still Kanade's mother, you know. I think I know how Kanade-chan feels. So I'll leave the rest to the two youngsters and I'll pull back. Hmph.
No, it's not!　
Hmmm, spring has come to Kanade-chan.
I mean, how do you know!
She's a mother.
Neeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

　Suz smiled enigmatically.
　And Kanade was red up to his ears, fluttering and writhing in agony.

　What on earth is going on?
　I'm not sure what's going on here, but...
　Even after all that happened, Kanade and Suzu were able to laugh at each other...
　I was very happy about that.



----------



　Another day goes by and....
　I've recovered enough to move around moderately well.
　However, it might be too early for adventure.

　Well, I have a good amount of reserves, so there's no problem if I don't move for a while.......
　I've heard that adventurers like that are warned by the guild, and they can't stay indoors forever.
　Maybe it's better to move my body lightly, as well as rehabilitate myself.

　With that in mind, I left the room and moved to the living room where everyone was present.

'Good morning,'
Hey, Rain.

　Kanade greets me cheerfully.
　She smiles brightly, as usual... but what is it?
　For a little while now, the quality of that smile seemed to be different.
　What exactly is the difference, you ask....?

　Everyone else seems to be in good spirits.
　We exchange morning greetings and take our seats.

'Rain, are you feeling okay now?'

　Luna, who was getting ready to eat, looked at me with concern.

'Yeah, I'm fine now. The muscle pain, or something like that, is still there for a bit, though. Nothing for going about your daily life like this.
'Well, that's good. Now, eat something nice and hearty to help you recover quickly. Now, here is my special breakfast.

　I accept the breakfast that Luna offers me.
　Normally, we take turns on meal duty.............................but today it's my turn.
　But Luna took over for me, as I know it will still be tough.
　I realize that I'm always being helped by everyone.

'Well, we've got one for everyone!
It looks good.

　Luna will serve you breakfast and...
　Nina saw that and wagged her tail. Easy to understand.

"You can come in, tin.
Thank you.

　Suzu was still staying at our house.
　Although I had given up on taking Kanade back with me, I was sad to say goodbye to him.
　So we decided to let him stay with us for a while.

　We chanted together, "Itadakimasu," and each of us helped ourselves to our breakfast.
　Yup.
　Luna's food is delicious again today.
　Luna's food is so good again today, I can't stop eating it.

"By the way...

　Suzu, who was also eating a healthy breakfast, looked at me as if she suddenly remembered something.

I'd like to make a suggestion.
Is this a proposal?
Would you like to train with me?