Chapter 100

Ulan stared intently at the bed.

Then came his words.

“You sleep in the bed.”

“Huh? Then where will you sleep, Ulan?”

“I can stay here.”

With that, he patted the sofa.

It was sufficiently large and fluffy, just right for a substitute bed. But for some reason, Ivella looked displeased at his response.

“But that’s uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine. It’s softer than the floor.”

But still…

“More than anything, it would be uncomfortable for you if we shared the bed. It’d be pretty cramped too.”

The sweet suite’s bed was quite spacious.

Two adults could easily fit, and even three could lie there with some extra space. The only problem was Ulan’s massive size.

In other words, it was a sort of consideration.

Yet, despite this consideration, Ivella still wore a dissatisfied expression. A moment later, she fidgeted with her fingers and spoke casually.

“I-I could be a little uncomfortable, though?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean!”

The slight increase in her voice showed her fluster.

Realizing this, Ivella zipped her lips.

Her cheeks were flushed as she quietly pointed at the bed and then murmured with a tiny voice.

“… It’s okay if we use it together.”

“What?”

Ulan’s eyes widened.

He felt like he’d gotten an unexpected response. Ivella quickly waved her hands, explaining.

“I’m not thinking anything weird! If I sleep on the sofa, it’ll be uncomfortable for you, so…”

“I’m fine with it, but are you really okay with that?”

“… Yeah.”

Ivella nodded with a slightly embarrassed face.

With her strangely glowing turquoise eyes meeting his, Ulan slowly bowed his head.

“Alright. Then I’ll sleep in the bed too.”

It was only natural since the bed was more comfortable than the sofa. Ulan accepted her kindness.

Once the sleeping arrangements were settled, Ivella nestled quietly in the bed. When Ulan lay down afterward, the bed suddenly bounced.

“If it feels cramped at all, just tell me.”

“Okay, got it.”

In a voice as tiny as an ant’s, Ivella replied.

With her answer came a snap!

The magic lights went out.

In an instant, the guest room darkened. The heavy sound of rain hitting the window and the howling wind slowly broke the silence.

And one more thing.

There was a sound that disturbed sleep.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It was the sound of Ivella’s heart racing.

She clutched the blanket tightly.

‘I can’t sleep!’

Before lying in bed, she hadn’t noticed, but now she found Ulan was way too close.

It was a distance she could reach just by stretching out her arm.

Moreover, she could feel Ulan’s breathing so clearly, it was hard to say she wasn’t aware of it.

‘Ugh, I can’t calm down.’

Once her composure was shattered, it didn’t come back easily. Ivella pressed her chest lightly, hoping that the sound of her racing heart wouldn’t be noticed.

‘I wonder if Ulan is also…’

Is he as nervous as I am?

Suddenly, that question crossed her mind.

After all, it was probably his first time in such a situation too.

She was curious about what expression he was making. Suddenly flooded with questions, she decided.

‘Ah, whatever.’

She only needed to peek stealthily.

Ivella carefully turned over and stole a glance at Ulan’s position.

But then.

“…!”

She thought she might stop breathing for a moment.

Ulan, lying on his side, was staring right at her. Their eyes met unexpectedly, causing her heart to race even more.

Thump thump!

It felt like it was about to leap out.

As her heartbeat quickened, she became conscious of finally facing Ulan eye-to-eye, and her body began to feel warm.

Just as her consciousness was starting to blur, Ulan suddenly spoke.

“Thanks.”

“… Wh-what for?”

Flustered, she stuttered, tripping over her own tongue.

But Ulan didn’t mind and just continued.

“Thanks to you, today was a pleasant day.”

With that sudden gratitude, a soft smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

“I’ve never strolled around the capital city of the Empire at such a leisurely pace before.”

This was indeed true.

Throughout his past life, he’d never experienced the capital of the Empire in peace like this.

There was a simple reason behind it.

‘During my last life…’

Immediately after the Gate of the Abyss opened, the capital of the Empire had been completely wiped out.

It was not just a phrase; it literally vanished without a trace. Everything but the Imperial Castle had disappeared, as if it had never existed in the first place.

So he expressed his gratitude honestly.

For allowing him to experience what he hadn’t felt in his past life. And for celebrating his birthday as well.

Meanwhile, Ivella, having regained her composure thanks to Ulan’s heartfelt thanks, said,

“I’m glad to hear you had fun.”

With her head resting on the pillow, she smiled brightly and nodded.

“I was actually worried that Ulan might get bored.”

“Not at all! I was never bored.”

Ulan immediately refuted that.

Sightseeing the theater, cafes, night markets, and so on.

Every experience with Ivella was fresh and new. And meeting Fertisha, who was a comrade from his past life, had also been enjoyable.

Overall, it was a delightful and meaningful day.

“I also enjoyed seeing something new.”

“Huh? Something new?”

“I meant how you looked today.”

“Ah, that…”

Ivella’s cheeks turned slightly red.

It reminded her of that moment when they met at the academy’s front gate in the morning.

Ulan, too, seemed to recall that moment, mumbling in an unembellished voice,

“You looked truly beautiful.”

“… Ugh!”

Her face instantly blushed crimson.

She couldn’t believe he would surprise her like this.

It was cheating, she thought to herself.

But it didn’t feel bad, so she quickly smiled brightly.

‘Still…’

As they gradually discussed the time they spent together today, the tension that had wrapped around her body melted away.

And the heat that had been rising within her vanished without a trace.

Could it be that?

With a much more relaxed expression, Ivella exchanged various conversations with Ulan.

From the past to today’s experiences, and even about the academy’s schedule.

As their diverse discussions continued, their night deepened.

14.

The next morning.

Ivella’s brows trembled.

The sunlight streaming in through the curtains had disrupted her sound sleep. After a moment of tossing about, she lifted her tightly shut eyelids.

“… Huh?”

With a dazed expression due to still being half-asleep, she glanced around, her face tousled.

It was a strange sight.

“Why am I in a place like this…?”

At that moment, Ivella suddenly had a shocked expression.

It was all due to her attire. She was only wearing a bathrobe, and underneath, she was completely bare.

Panicking, she hugged the blanket tightly.

“Ah.”

Suddenly, memories from the previous day came flooding back.

After the carriage ride was abruptly halted, she had come to the hotel and shared a room with Ulan.

And lying in the same bed, they had talked about various things before falling asleep.

‘Right. I fell asleep like that, didn’t I?’

After recalling everything, Ivella let out a sigh of relief. It seemed nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

If anything had happened, she, being a light sleeper, would’ve known right away.

Then, at that moment.

“Are you awake?”

She heard Ulan’s voice.

It seemed he had already gotten up and finished showering, showing off his damp muscles. Seeing that, Ivella suddenly hid her face in the blanket.

“What’s wrong?”

“… I just feel kind of shy.”

It wasn’t just that her gaze had landed on those muscles, but more so that she felt unexpectedly shy being face-to-face with Ulan right after waking up.

However, as time passed, that shyness began to fade away. Meanwhile, Ulan slightly pulled back the curtains and pointed outside.

“By the way, the rain stopped.”

The weather was clear and bright.

Before her lay a sky as blue as could be.

“We can head out now.”

He hurriedly prepared to leave.

On the other hand, Ivella wore a stern expression. Then, she seemed to sulk a bit and spoke up.

“Are you not… bothered at all?”

“What do you mean?”

“About… sharing a bed with me. It feels like I’m the only one who’s shy…”

Perhaps due to recalling the memories of yesterday, she still couldn’t look Ulan in the eye. In contrast, Ulan was different. He faced Ivella with a demeanor as usual.

Recognizing this fact, Ivella asked incredulously,

“You’re not used to this situation, are you?”

“If you think about it, I’m quite familiar with it.”

“Yeah, I thought so… wait, what?”

Ivella’s head tilted in surprise at his unexpected answer.

Meanwhile, Ulan recalled memories from his past life.

Before the Gate of the Abyss had opened, as he traveled the battlefield gathering fame, he had met Ivella and fought alongside her as comrades.

‘And in that process…’

He had spent many nights camping and sleeping together. Of course, it wasn’t only with her, but he often shared a bed with Delia or Fertisha too.

That was why he had said he was familiar with it.

However, Ivella interpreted it somewhat differently.

“Why are you familiar with that?”

“Well, that’s…”

“Was it a recent experience? When? Where? With whom? Was it someone I know?”

Ivella leaned closer, as if demanding an explanation.

There was an inexplicable assertiveness in her turquoise eyes.

Meanwhile, Ulan pondered for a moment.

‘I can’t reveal details of my past life…’

He recalled the most recent event.

And immediately answered.

“Yeah, I slept with Delia.”

“De, Delia?!”

“We spent the night together in a cave.”

Before the Abyss Worshippers raid happened.

Ulan explained the incidents that had occurred while he and Delia were out on a Practical Hunting mission.

A while later.

After explaining everything.

Ivella finally realized.

That when Ulan said they “slept together,” it meant literally just sleeping.

“… What?”

However, it was still too early to feel relieved.

She was disturbed by pieces of information that bothered her.

“So you hugged each other when you woke up?”

“Yeah. It was probably because the cave floor was hard and we couldn’t get used to it.”

The fact that Delia had hugged Ulan while sleeping caused Ivella to twitch her eyebrows and bite her lips.

Whether he knew or not, Ulan finished explaining and turned away.

“Besides, we should get going soon.”

“… “

“The rain has stopped, so the carriage should be running.”

The weather was clear, but there was also a possibility of rain pouring down again. Therefore, it would be wise to head to the academy while the carriage was still running.

Yet, strangely, there was no reply from Ivella. Ulan found it odd and turned back to the bed to check.

“Ivella?”

But at that moment.

Suddenly, Ivella hugged Ulan.

No, it would be more precise to say she was in his arms.

Along with a soft, fluffy sensation, the faint scent of shampoo wafted from her hair.

“What’s with this sudden…”

Ulan’s eyes widened in surprise at her sudden action.

In contrast, Ivella’s ears turned bright red. She buried her face in his arms and whispered softly.

“… No.”

“What?”

“It’s just that I’m not used to it either.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I’m just not used to the bed being so soft.”

After that nonsensical excuse, she did not leave Ulan’s embrace for a while. As they silently felt each other’s heartbeats, she suddenly declared.

“O-Okay! That’s enough!”

Ivella broke free from his embrace.

Her face, ears, and even her neck turned bright red as she said she was going to wash up before dashing to the bathroom.

Meanwhile, during that time.

Ulan, left alone in the living room, sat on the bed, letting out a sigh he’d been holding back.

“… Phew.”

This time, it had truly been dangerous.

Had he held on a moment longer, he might have lost control of the restraint he’d been maintaining.

After all, it was only natural.

From his breakfast yesterday to today, Ivella had stimulated all his senses enough.

‘This is definitely different from my past life.’

Ivella had skin as flawless as white jade.

Her soft skin and curvy body were mesmerizing.

And to top it off, her beautiful face was captivating.

If it had been the Ulan from his previous life here, he would have lost his senses instantly due to Ivella’s charm.

However, this time he couldn’t let that happen.

There was a fact that kept him grounded.

‘Ivella and I are not that kind of relationship.’

The sword maiden, Ivella Elea’ad.

They had navigated countless battlefields together, crossing many narrow lines as comrades. And she was as precious as family to him.

He didn’t want their relationship to become something casual over just one night of desire.

‘Of course, just because we’re comrades doesn’t mean…’

There was no law mandating restraint either.

After all, there was no absoluteness between men and women.

Even in his past life, Ulan had mixed bodies with many female mercenaries while traversing the war zones.

As long as hearts were aligned, they had tumbled in bed for days on end.

‘But…’

Ivella was a little different.

While it was hard to explain why accurately, he didn’t want to engage in something so trivial with her.

Moreover, given the trust in their comradeship.

So ever since that breakfast to now, he had been exercising superhuman restraint to suppress his desires.

“Phew.”

Letting out another sigh as he barely managed to calm his excitement,

Rattle!

Ivella emerged from the shower.

She was dressed in the dress she wore yesterday.

However, possibly recalling how she had hugged Ulan, she couldn’t quite meet his gaze.

“Shall we head out?”

“Yeah, let’s go back.”

There was an awkward atmosphere that lingered for a bit.

But that moment passed, and they resumed their usual light banter. After leaving the hotel and heading to the carriage platform,

Ivella suddenly blurted out a random thought.

“By the way, Ulan, you’re a warrior to your core.”

“What brought that on all of a sudden?”

“I felt it when we hugged for a bit. I never suspected you’d have a sword right there.”

“……”

Ulan, who had gone silent for a moment, shook his head.

“That’s not a sword.”

“Huh? It was definitely a sword though?”

“Nope.”

“Then what is it?”

“You’ll find out later.”

“Later? Oh, you’re going to tell me later?”

But he didn’t reply.

Instead, Ulan quickened his pace.

After the unexpected overnight outing was finished,

The two hopped onto a carriage heading back to Arsen Academy.

About a fortnight later,

About thirty students from the Holy Nation Eloden Academy visited Arsen Academy.

This was an event they had planned in advance.

It was precisely for the ‘Exchange Match’.

Chapter 25: I Came to Deliver Good Words

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