Uh ... I can't sleep.
Maybe it's the evil of napping, but I can't sleep even though it's already midnight.
However, it's amazing that White slept so much in the daytime, but he fell asleep again after finishing dinner and taking a bath.

It's said that kittens sleep for at least 20 hours a day, and I wonder if the cat people sleep at least that much sometimes.
Well....what should I do?
I've slept alone today, and I'm getting tired of sleeping in bed, so maybe I'll go out to a bar that's open all night....
Or maybe I'll move up my workload... No, no, no, no, I'm a man who believes in not wanting to work to begin with. Let's not work this time.

...we're going to go to a bar and find some adventurers, aren't we?
Alright. If we decide to do that, it's been a while since we've gone out for a night on the town!

Slowly open the door and slowly close it.
Since everyone is sensitive to signs and sounds, we carefully and cautiously try not to make any noise to the extreme so as not to wake them up.


"Pshaw!

A low growl from the living room made me involuntarily freeze up with a weird sound!
When I slowly turned my gaze in the direction of the voice, there was a black shadow wobbling in the darkened living room.
The shadow responded to my voice and turned around to face me, and at the same time, the clouds moved and lit up by the moonlight, it was Renge, sitting on the sofa, staring at me with a long expression on her face.

I'm not going to be able to get rid of it.　Your husband?
What's with the sprouts...

Oh my God, you scared me....
I thought it was some kind of monster.
My heart is beating fast....

"What are you doing here so late at night?　Today is ... oh, it's a rest day, isn't it? Are you going to the restaurant with the girls, by any chance?　You like it, don't you........ If you tell me, I'll take care of it myself anytime, okay?

''Uh ... yah ...''

He may have been trying to tease me in his usual fashion, but Renge slurred his words as soon as I returned the question.
I'm suspicious if you think he was drinking water because he was thirsty or something. It's very suspicious to say the least.

'Is that feeling a snack?　I don't mind, but Wendy will be pissed at me later. So, what are you picking up?　Let me have some.
What!　I'm not such a gluttonous character!　That's the kind of thing White is for, isn't it!

I mean, you said today that you had a personality, so I thought you wanted to give me a new character.
I thought it was unnecessary because you've got a strong personality of 'actually a princess maiden'.

Hm?　What's that?
'Uh ... well, it's a letter from Lokak ...'

Come to think of it, old man, you said that Mr. Kuduro sent you a letter.
Could it be that it arrived after Kuduro-san left?

I read the letter as Renge quickly presented it to me, starting with a confirmation of Renge's health condition, and then an explanation of the current situation of Lokak, and the contents of what Kuduro-san told me today were written down.
Then, the details of where the earth dragons were increasing, where they appeared, their size, etc., were drawn and I was surprised to see their eyes wide open.

''This guy........there are more of them than I thought.
Yeah. That's a bit more than I expected...

If you think that terrestrial dragons are appearing in patches, it seems that quite a few of them have been confirmed in various places.

''Can this.......be managed by the army alone.......?

There is a map, and the largest city is probably the capital of Lokak.
And then there are several remote small towns in a desert that stretches across one side of the city.
The size of the earth dragons are written in red dots near them, and there are more than ten of them.

''I don't know.... Each town is used to it, so I think they can defend themselves reasonably well, but it depends on how long it takes the army to fight in one place.......
That one's also... what about Mr. Kuduro?

I heard that he destroyed the organization with his meatball knuckles, and I saw that he was pretty strong....

He's strong. If he was in his prime, he wouldn't be able to win, and if he and the army were to join forces, they would be able to handle it, but he's an old man, so how will he fare in a series of battles while traveling through the desert?


Renge lowered her eyebrows and made a troubled expression.
He probably couldn't sleep because he was worried about reading this letter.
He must be tired after returning from the quest, but he still couldn't sleep and was probably thinking about his hometown, Kuduro-san, and his sister.

''I'm worried...''
Okay...

Mr. Kuduro probably came to bring Renge home for two purposes: to rescue her and to solve this problem.
Still, he was probably thinking first and foremost of Renge's happiness, which he had seen since he was little.
He must have forced himself to be okay with seeing Renge happy now.
Otherwise, there is no way he would have made such a big deal about the emergency and urgent matters.

I sat down in front of Renge and looked straight at him and asked him.

''.........Can this number, if Renge goes, manage it?
........I'm the one who's familiar with the number one dragon....... If we split up the army and the old man and deal with it separately, I think we'll be fine.......
You want to go?

Anyone can easily tell by looking at Renge's expression right now.

''Yah... well, frankly, I guess so, but... I don't know if it's right to say that, but I want you to take into account my own conflicted feelings...'' ...

Even you didn't think about my concern in front of Mr. Kuduro, so I think it's mutual.

'I'm your husband's property now. You can't bother your husband with this kind of family situation.
'You know I said I would make Renge happy, right?　You would have sworn in front of Mr. Kuduro, too. If you think Renge wants to go, just say so. I'll just make it happen.

Renge propped up her knees on the sofa, holding her knees and looking only at me.

"Your husband is a kind man........I thought you would say that, but....... I thought I was being too lenient.... I'm afraid I'm being too pushy and that he won't like me....

It's not like that.
It's the fact that I'm the one who does whatever I want every time, and if you think about it, that's not too much of an advantage.
It's a good idea to go to the store and say, "I want to go to Lokalukaku and quickly kill the earth dragon, is it ok if I go? I don't dislike it, even if you say "I don't like it".
It's in the nature of a man to want to fulfill it even more when he's given such an auspicious and unusual attitude.

You're an idiot do you really think I'm going to hate you?
"...I have a little bit of a girl's heart too, you know?　If there's even the slightest chance of them hating you, it's a maiden to be scared...

I know that.
Sometimes Renge is pretty obsessed with situations and moods.
Basically, though, Solte's maidenhood is high, so she's often pecking away at that.

''Besides... if I said I wanted to go and help her...''
Of course. I'll go with you, with your permission.
That's what happens......... That's why I started working out........

Of course.
I'm not trying to save the world by knocking down demons, or to become strong with some lofty goal in mind.
...I don't want to be unable to keep up with you.
I hate not being able to do anything about it, you know?

''Haha........''
Ha-ha. Give it up. You go with me, I won't stop you. But I'll come with you.

If we continue as we are, if we do nothing and the land of Renge is destroyed, I think Renge will never really be able to smile again.
And I promised my grandfather that I'd make him happy.
If Renge's happiness extends to Lukaku, of course he'll be happy.
I don't think I'd ever be able to laugh again if the person in front of me died, either.

You know.........that's what happens....... Your husband.........wouldn't you like to stop this time?　Earth dragons are much stronger than these demons, you know?
'I'm not saying I'm going to fight you either. I'll support you at key points and basically stay in the air and safe in an invisible prison with Wendy and Mizella.

I'm not going to concede that I'm going to follow you.
But I'm not going to be a burden to you.
I'm not sure if it's useful, but as long as it doesn't drag me down and I can be of help in times of need, that's all that matters.

It's true that the earth dragons don't fly, and long range attacks are only flying rocks, but that doesn't change the fact that it's dangerous.
But I'm sure it'll be okay. I've got Renge, and then there's White and Aina and the others.

I give him a smiling face, with the intention of not giving up.

I'm not sure if they'll listen to me. I've already made my husband's decision...
'Yes. I'm trying to figure out what to do with the food I'm going to make in the desert.
I was already thinking about the future. Of course I'm glad to be able to eat my husband's cooking on the road, but...

Mm-hm.
You have to eat the right food to get the full strength, you know.
It's not impossible that a portable food or a makeshift meal could cause a problem with Renge if she doesn't get her strength up.
Therefore, it is best to be well prepared.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it. Master.
Hmm?
I need to ask you for a favor.

It's too late now. And you're so disciplined........
Well, it seems to be the Red Line with Renge to make sense of things.

Oh. Tell me something.
I want to go to Lokaka. And I want to protect my sister and all my people.
Yeah. Okay. I'll go with you.
Yes...... I will definitely protect your husband.....

With that, Renge sat up and sat down beside me.
Then she hugged me from the side and rubbed her cheek against me.

''This warmth I won't let anyone take it away from me.
'Yeah. It's a nightie, so I won't let anyone take away the feel of these tits against my arms with the casual fluff of no bra, either.
...your husband. Now that's not what I meant. More romantic!　Your husband is a very capable boy, so I hope he'll adjust to it once in a while.
'Oh, I see. So I was a good kid.... Well, how about this?
"Huh?

I spun Renge's body around and pushed her down on the couch to cover her from above.
I supported my body with only my arms and looked straight down at Renge.

'Renge, protect me. In return, I'll make Renge happy.
Oh...... If you do it, you can do it, can't you...

Renge's face is red and she tries desperately to hide her face.
It's embarrassing for me to say it with a straight face too, but I'm very happy to see Renge's unusual reaction.

''Ahhh........a serious face is not fair....... It's obvious that it would be a problem if you were to get so piqued all of a sudden........
Do you fall in love with her again?
'Huh..... It's just like your husband, and I love him even more than before....
Yeah. I love sprouts too.

Renge and I are laughing at each other.
I lay down and relaxed my arms, and with my arms relaxed, I lay on Renge, holding him as we greeted the morning.