Ahhhhh it's home for good old times.........
I go through the gate and open the front door through the garden.

'I guess I'll have to redo the garden.
'Yeah. Well, it's going to be tomorrow...
'Yes. We'll start by cleaning up your house.

I should have asked Dharma to take care of it while I was out, I think now, but it's too late.
After all, after being gone for nearly half a month, the house was a little dusty.

I guess I'll have to start with the beds.
Yeah. Let's get you a place to sleep as a top priority.
'Your husband can rest!　We'll just get it done ourselves.
'That's not going to happen. You said you'd at least clean your own room and alchemy room.
''Then we will clean the master's room, and the master will take care of the alchemy room. It's an important work room that supports our lives.

Comfortable work comes from a comfortable space, you know.
I don't want to work in a room covered in dust, so I'll have to take you up on your offer.
........and since you're back, there's a lot of work to be done....

First of all, I have to create a vibrator to distribute to Yasis and a potion to distribute to the Adventurer's Guild.
I feel like I'm on the verge of working after the holidays........

''Good. Well then, each of you will follow Wendy's instructions to clean up. After that, we'll go shopping and have dinner. We'll see everyone in town tomorrow.
"Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir.
I'm sorry.

Each of us picked up our own cleaning tools and began to act.
As I descended into the basement, I remembered what happened when we left the royal capital.

We left early in the morning.
Even though the sun hadn't even risen yet, many people had come to see us off.
Not to mention Hayato and his friends, Fried, the maids, Iris and Ayame, and even Teresa and her assistant captain came to see me off.
Now that I think about it, I've made a lot of acquaintances in the royal capital.

Hayato will be going to attack the dungeon in a little while, so it may be difficult to see him for a while.
Anyway, Hayato and the others will need Gekkochocho for both of us, so if you're going to get it for us, it's probably best to do it sooner rather than later.

After that tournament, I've come to place more importance on safety.
I don't want to get caught up in something like that again, but it's not something I can do by choice.
For that reason, I'd like to have enough elixirs for a few people as soon as possible.

But not too much, because if we are too vigilant, our days will be tense and we won't be able to move around.
I've been told by Iris that there's nothing to worry about, so to some extent, I'll just enjoy this world as I have been.

Come to think of it, Iris will be coming to Ains Hale in a little while.
I heard that she'll be visiting my house as well, so I'll have to think of a new ice cream for her to try in the meantime.

I don't think I'll be able to meet Teresa and the others unless I go to King's Landing, but I hear that she may come to our church on a mission, so I'll welcome her then.

There were some big problems, but the royal capital was pretty fun in the royal capital.
We've been making a lot of money, and should we make some serious calculations to not work on this?

Well, well, I don't mind continuing to do alchemy, even though it's a job, because it's close to a hobby and I enjoy it.
But, you know, I do long for the luxury of drinking in the daytime and spending the whole day in idleness.

I don't spend the day in a lazy way, I spend it lazily and deliberately.
There are only working people in the world.
The world is full of working people and I'm just lounging around.
It's a luxury.
Maybe White would understand and spend time with me.

But it's not like I'm living on my own anymore.
I can't make you feel hungry, and making money is important, right?


The alchemy room was covered in dust as I thought it would be, so I cleaned the dust off from the highest point.
Then I took the dust off and wiped the rest of the room wet.
Naturally, the air purifier was already activated before I started cleaning.

After cleaning the alchemy room, I sat down on a chair made of clean black moam skin.
It's a long time since I've felt anything like this.
And before I know it, the tiredness of the long journey and the comfortable chair makes me close my eyelids and begin to lure me into the dream world.

No, no, it's not a good idea to go to bed now.
I'd have to shop for dinner, prepare dinner, and if I was going to sleep, I'd have to sleep in bed to get tired.
I have to go to various places tomorrow to tell them I'm back, and I'm going to bring a souvenir with me.

Oh, but I can't resist.
This sleepiness, the most pleasant way to sleep.
I've passed the doze, and I can't even get the strength to open my eyes.
The feeling that you shouldn't sleep has already become a weak force.
Don't fall asleep.........

Sooo............................

His mind stopped working and he should not have been sleeping, but before he knew it, he was breathing calmly as if he were breathing in his sleep.
Such a non-working head could barely detect the presence of someone in the room.

''Well I came to check on you, but you're asleep.

Is that the voice of Solte?
When did you ... or maybe you were asleep?
I thought I was awake, but if I didn't notice, then I must have fallen asleep before I knew it.

''You're ... sleeping, right?''

He touched my bangs lightly.
Somehow, I can feel her gaze on me.

Should I say that I'm awake here?
No, I'm curious about what Sorte does when I'm asleep with no memory, and I'll have to watch her for a bit.

'Ei.'
"Phew!

He poked me in the cheek!
It didn't hurt, but it sounded weird.
Oh no, did they notice this?
Not yet, there's still a chance!

Yeah, yeah.
Uh, uh...
'Uh-huh. Weird.

Okay.
Now I can say it in my sleep!
Still, I don't think it's weird to play with people's faces.
This dog you're in a bad mood because you thought he was asleep.

I wonder if he's tired.... I don't think he's going to wake up.

Yes, I'm tired.
It's been a long journey and I'm tired.

"...Hey. I have to talk to you about something important.

Hmm?
What is it?
Your voice changed in an instant.

'No, it doesn't. ...Can I ask you something?　Ummm ... can I ask you to do me a favor?　Am I being selfish...?

I'm mumbling something to myself, but what is it?

'Huh..... I feel awkward leaving without saying anything, and I don't want to be misunderstood when we pass each other again, so I have to say it properly, but when it comes time to say it, I get nervous.......
....
Do you think they'll run out of patience...?

Hmmm ... okay.
It's good luck for you to just pretend to be asleep.
I can read the atmosphere, you know.
I'm also not a good actor.
If I wake up now, I'm going to be detected for sure.

I have to do it right.
Hmm....
Really, you're not awake don't tell me you're actually awake?

Yes, sir.
I'm awake.

"Sorte?　What are you doing?
"?　What, it's not Aina. Don't freak me out.
'My lord is ... sleeping. What's going on?　Have you been playing tricks on me?
Yeah. It doesn't happen at all.

He pokes me on the cheek again.
No. Normally, it's a stone's throw away, right?
I mean, if you get poked in the cheek so many times, you'd think anyone would wake up with a stone, right?
But I don't know what to look like when I wake up now after hearing something so serious.

'Hey, hey. You're asleep, so you'd feel sorry for me if I woke you up.
"Yes. I've got to go shopping for dinner, so I can't help but wake you up.
'That's true, but...'
Do you want me to kiss you?
Nah!

Nah!

Isn't that the old story?　The story of waking up a sleeping princess with a kiss.
'I know that, of course, but my lord isn't a princess, is he?

Yeah, yeah!
Sure, I'm weaker, frailer, and poorer than you guys, but I'm not a princess!

'You don't have to say that to me, I know. But look, it's not going to happen, and there's only two of us, so why not take a chance?
If you're going to attack someone in their sleep like that...
'If you don't, fine. I can't do anything this embarrassing if I'm awake.

Oh, wait.
Are you sure?
Should we take it easy?
Or did it happen right before... no, no, no, no.

Wait!
...what?
No, I mean I'm not...
'Hmmm, just kidding. I'm just kidding. I haven't even had my first kiss yet. I still want you to be the first to kiss me, Lord.
What...!　You're kidding me, Solte!
He usually calls me a damsel in distress, and I'm just trying to pay him back.
It's a wren!
Aina's laughing at the side!
You wanted to see me?　Oh, you're both skipping work!　Wendy!　The two of them are flirting with your husband and slacking off!

There's no such thing as a chickadee!
I was just sleeping!
Just pretending.

'Oh dear. You both need to be punished.
What the hell?　I'm done with my place of responsibility!
'Yeah, that's where Solte was in charge, but there was a lot of dust in some of the details, so I came to call for you... and Wendy's going to be mad at you if you don't.
Eh....
Solte-tan, no matter how much you want to have your husband all to yourself, you shouldn't be doing any cleaning at all!
No, I didn't!　I really just didn't realize it!
'Yes, sir. Then Solte-san will be removed from the shopping role as a punishment. Two of the four of us, Aina-san, Renge-san, Shiro and I, will go shopping with Master, and we will decide on that before we wake him up.
Hey, come on, let me in!

Phew.
I finally left.
By the way, pretending to be asleep is pretty hard, isn't it?
You have to be aware of your breathing, your actions, and more importantly, you don't know when to get up!

Well I don't know what to do.
Hmm?

To sum up what happened earlier.
Looks like there's something serious about Sorte.
He's going out.
Misunderstanding, misunderstanding.
To be on the right track, hey...
Hmm?　Hey, did anyone respond?

Lord?
Mr. White!　How long have you been around!
From the beginning. Before Solte walked in.

Yes.........
No, yeah?

How did you...?
'Normal?　Lord was asleep and I was hiding under the desk to surprise him.

No. Is it something you wouldn't notice if it was me and you were in the shadows?

Sorte and the others, do you think they're going somewhere?
Yeah, I guess so. But where are we going?
Hmm, maybe I'll go fight a bad guy.
I knew it was going to be like that...
Hm. But you can do what you want, Lord. You can stop him. You can stop him. You can let him go.
Hmmm....

I felt like I was ready for it....
That's why it was so hard to wake up.
It's true that I want to stop them, but this is the ordeal that the three of them have set out to get over.

It's not a convenient way to watch over the girls' future safely and stop them if it turns out to be dangerous....

Well.........anyway, since we found out beforehand, let's just think about it.
Hm. I'll do anything White can do to help.
I can't believe I'm worried about him.
"....those three belong to the Lord too. So it's only natural for White to protect them.

White's cheeks colored a little.
It can't be helped. Let's just put it that way this time.
Now, what to do........
I sit down deeply in my chair again and look up at the ceiling.
White, as if to say he was in place, got on his knees and leaned his body against it, and the two of them waited thoughtfully until Wendy and the others came back.