Chapter 161

Fortunately, aside from the second incident, I didn’t throw up, but I still felt uneasy.

In the end, I spent the night with my eyes wide open, unable to close them, in the same bed as Luna. Just in case I needed to act quickly if I felt sick.

It wasn’t just about cleanliness; there was a real chance that I could choke on vomit. I wanted to avoid dying in such a ridiculous manner.

“What…what is going on?! Why am I with you…?!”

Luna regained her senses around lunchtime. She didn’t start shouting as soon as she woke up; it happened right when our eyes met.

The silence at that moment was beyond description. It was also amusing to see Luna’s expression change in real-time.

Anyway, her reaction was completely normal. Waking up drunk in bed with a guy she knows? Yeah, that’s pretty much expected.

Especially since she was naked except for her panties? It’s not weird at all for her to think something like that happened.

“Did you sleep well? Any pains?”

“P-pains?”

“Yeah.”

Having thrown up and being completely plastered, it wouldn’t be strange at all if she was feeling ill.

That was partly out of concern, but I also mixed in some playful teasing. I wasn’t sure if Luna would get it.

At the sound of my question, Luna peeked under the blanket that had covered her. I had cleaned up the vomit, so she should just be left with her dry, fresh body.

“Ugh…my head…my stomach…”

I figured as much. It seemed she was finally feeling the hangover.

I looked at her with a pitying expression and stood up. Luna must have been overwhelmed by her hangover because she flopped back onto the bed.

I wasn’t an expert on hangover food, but I did know about egg soup. It was a dish I frequently had back on Earth, so it came to mind vividly.

I tossed some clothes at Luna, then went to cook the egg soup myself. After adding a bit of salt for flavor, it was ready in no time.

“Eat.”

“Th-thank you… But what’s this? It looks like eggs…”

“Egg soup.”

“Egg soup? Is that a dish from the Hwan Empire?”

Luna muttered quietly as she picked up the spoon. I had no idea if egg soup existed in the Hwan Empire.

She began sipping the soup slowly, trying to calm her upset stomach. It must have suited her taste because she gradually started slurping it faster.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah! It’s really good!”

“That’s a relief.”

If she’d said it was bad, I was ready to throw her out right away. Just kidding.

Time passed, and Luna cleaned her bowl of egg soup. She asked for another helping, but I firmly refused.

“Why? This is really helping my stomach settle…”

“If you keep eating, you’ll just throw up again.”

“Throw up? Wait, again?”

Luna tilted her head at the word “again.” It seemed she picked up on that odd detail despite her headache.

I figured it was about time to reveal the “dark history.” It was better to clear up any misunderstandings as soon as possible.

“Yeah. Don’t you remember anything from yesterday?”

“N-no, I don’t…”

“You threw up on my back. And you did it again while sleeping.”

“….”

Clatter—

The truth, without exaggeration, made Luna drop the spoon she was holding.

Her face turned from blue to red in real-time, alternating between the two colors.

Embarrassment and apology crossed her expression. I quietly waited to see how she would react.

“R-really? I threw up? On you?”

“Yep.”

“Then does that mean… I’m naked…?”

“I washed you off. All squeaky clean.”

“Ughhhh…”

When I mentioned I washed her off like that, Luna covered her face with her hands. Naturally, she couldn’t face me because of her embarrassment.

But the misunderstanding was clarified, so it should be okay. At least that was my guess.

“Of all people, I threw up on Sivar… what the hell did I do…?”

“Luna.”

“Y-yeah…?”

“It’s okay. They say when you drink, you turn into a dog.”

I offered her some half-hearted consolation. Luna peeked at me between her hands that were hiding her face.

“And dogs are beasts.”

“…..Sivar?”

“So that makes you a beast.”

“Kyahhh!!”

Despite trying to comfort her, I couldn’t resist teasing her either. Using a miraculous syllogism, Luna went into a frenzy.

Nothing beats teasing Luna; the reactions were just too good to stop.

Every time she went into one of her freak-outs like this, laughter bubbled up from within me. It was pure, 100% enjoyment.

“I’m a beast… I’m a girl even worse than a beast… what am I going to do…?”

“It’s okay. I’m here for you.”

“But you didn’t throw up… how can I be worse than someone from the wilderness…?”

But I thought it might be wise to tone down the teasing. She must have felt socially embarrassed right about now.

At least, the good news was that no one else witnessed her dark history besides me. If she wanted, I could keep it a secret.

“Can we keep it a secret?”

“Yeah… please, let’s keep it a secret. Otherwise, I won’t be able to show my face…!”

So what if she threw up? It was something that could happen after drinking.

But Luna was a country girl who had never drunk before. She probably didn’t understand why it happened.

I didn’t want to distance myself from her, so I decided to keep it under wraps. It would be better to just say she slept well.

“…But Sivar, did you really wash me? Not the Saintess?”

“I went yesterday.”

“Really? That timing couldn’t have been worse. What a coincidence… or maybe it worked out better…?”

A Saintess washing someone? Luna really wouldn’t have much to say about that, no matter how many times she died.

Rize might have laughed heartily while washing her, but the discomfort was all on Luna. Perhaps it was better that I washed her instead.

“Uh… Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. Really. And I’m sorry.”

Luna expressed her gratitude and apology in unison, still wrapped in the blanket.

I nodded silently as I stared at her face, which had turned slightly red. At least now she had apologized, so I could let it slide.

“Uh, did I mess up yesterday? Like, did I accidentally let slip a secret of yours…?”

“You didn’t. You just laughed.”

“W-who laughed?”

“Yeah. You were adorable. Like this. ‘Don’t go~'”

I kindly mimicked Luna’s cute tone, mixing in a nasal sound and dragging it out a bit.

Luna’s reaction was priceless. Her face flushed instantly, and she pulled the blanket over her head.

“Ahhh! I want to die!! I seriously want to die!!”

There were muffled sounds coming from under the blanket. Sounds that commonly signify the “blanket kick.”

I patiently waited for her to calm down from her outburst. It was a behavior suitable for her age, so I could afford to look the other way.

“Ugh… Is there… anything else? Anything else at all?”

“Nothing.”

“Thank goodness… Otherwise, I would have hanged myself.”

If it came to that, I’d undoubtedly stop her. She had to be around for the story to continue.

Luna somehow managed to calm her flushed face down. Her fair skin made her blush all the more noticeable.

“Phew… I really shouldn’t drink anymore. I will absolutely not drink again. My head hurts, my stomach is upside down, what is this…?”

“You threw up too.”

“Please don’t mention that… I want to cry.”

Crying might not be a bad thing at all. I kind of wanted to see tears streaming down that face.

At any rate, after that series of ruckus, we ended up chatting about miscellaneous things. Among them was the plan to visit Byzantium.

Even though Rize had returned for urgent matters, the plan to visit Byzantium stayed the same. It just meant we lost our guide.

“Did the Saintess ask the Chancellor to do it?”

“Yeah.”

“Is the Chancellor going with us? I wouldn’t think so, but when is a good time to go?”

“Let’s go tomorrow.”

It’s better to resolve these things in advance. I also had a lot to do during break.

The moment we returned from Byzantium would probably mean over half of the vacation would be gone. So it was better to hurry.

‘That demon guy is starting to make moves now.’

If he commenced his activities, there would definitely be casualties. If we missed the window, he might just jump to another region.

It’s best to target him while he’s closest to the Academy. The timing was a bit precarious, though.

“Got it. Who else is going with us? Grace said she’s returning to her family, and Eli said she wasn’t going.”

“Kara is going.”

“Then it’s you, me, and big sis Kara going together. We should visit big sis Kara’s dorm soon.”

The distance between Byzantium and the Academy isn’t that far. The only downside is that there’s no station.

Currently, they are building a railway, but it won’t be completed for another year. For now, we have to travel by carriage.

‘Before we leave, I should ask Porori to take care of the territory.’

If I was gone for a fortnight, the territory of the Chaos Forest would likely become vague.

Not to mention, I had a ton of work waiting for me once I returned from Byzantium. It looked like it would be a busy vacation.

“…Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“Um… where are my clothes?”

“Oh.”

I completely forgot to pull them out after washing. I explained the rough situation to her.

Luna’s expression darkened. It seemed her new dress had gotten dirty.

But there was no way she could go out naked. I quickly searched for something that might fit her.

‘No way. I have nothing but shirts and pants.’

A white shirt and pants that fit me perfectly were all I had. This was all I bought.

For a commoner, this would be considered regular clothing, but all of it was the same color. Reluctantly, I decided to make her wear at least this.

“Was expecting it, but it’s way too big. Better than nothing, I guess.”

The difference in our sizes was pretty substantial. Luna had a delicate frame while I was quite sturdy.

Thanks to that, the clothes hung so loosely on her they were almost falling off. Would she even be able to walk properly?

“I’m leaving now. That egg soup was super tasty.”

“Yeah. Be careful on your way.”

“What’s there to be careful of… Aahh!”

Thud!

Just as I said that, Luna tripped over her pants. Good grief.

“Ughhh… that hurts.”

“Do you want to go together?”

“N-no? It’s not that bad. So, goodbye!”

Maybe she felt she couldn’t be a burden to me anymore; she hurried away.

But she waved her hand, showing that she hadn’t forgotten her gratitude. I waved back to Luna as she stepped outside.

‘She should be fine.’

Since she was going straight to the dorm, her mouth shouldn’t cause any trouble.

Probably.

******

Vacations are like sweet, sweet breaks for all the students.

Each one uses the time to recharge their energy or work on personal development. With so much time, suddenly there’s too much to do.

However, not every student gets to enjoy this. Some students who completely bombed their exams fall into a slump for quite a while.

Especially those who scored the lowest during this final exam. The student who was supposed to keep watch, instead, was slacking off while the fortress was taken.

“Damn it. Why did I have to be the one on watch…?”

The student was venting his frustrations after failing their watch duty spectacularly.

Had things been different, they might have attended the freshman gala and shown their face. But the rumors spread far too wide.

If he had been a commoner, it might not have mattered, but as a noble, this disgrace was sheer humiliation. It made it hard for him to even show his face in public.

“Honestly, even if I had done my duty right, I would’ve still bombed. That crazy guy…”

He was blaming Sivar. Thanks to him flaking out on watch duty, his score took a huge hit.

He had his share of the blame, but people are innately treacherous. He didn’t think it was possible not to have been able to stop him.

Sivar’s might was likely at that level. Even if he openly invaded in the morning, claiming the fortress would have been a piece of cake.

“That damn barbarian’s plan was just ridiculous. Acting all tough after just a few battles.”

He had initially felt reassured after witnessing Kara’s strength. But that feeling was short-lived; his view of the barbarians didn’t change.

Having not realized that the problem lay within himself, he stepped out of the dorm. He felt the need to blow off some steam.

“Hey! I’m off now!”

“Huh?”

At that moment, a lovely female voice reached his ears. This was a male-only dorm; the entrance was off-limits to women.

When he turned his head, he saw none other than Luna, renowned for being the top of the new students, strolling through the corridor. And she was wearing quite revealing clothing.

“What? Why is the top new student here? No, wait, isn’t that Sivar’s dorm?”

He stared blankly at the fleeing back of Luna, who looked like she was rushing out.

Under normal circumstances, he would have had an idea of what was going on. But he hadn’t attended the freshman gala yesterday.

“The Saintess was there yesterday…”

Maybe it was due to that, or perhaps just coincidence, but he also witnessed Rize leaving Sivar’s dorm.

With Rize around, Luna’s presence was possible. But if she had vanished, then now it was no longer possible.

It was a violation of rules, but the other aspects resonated much more heavily for him.

“…Could it be?”

Ideas began to piece together like a puzzle in his mind. Come to think of it, Luna was the one who brought Sivar along.

Various things had occurred throughout that process, and Luna had been involved in the middle. That scene just now was the last piece of the puzzle.

“…So that’s what it was.”

The student wore a sly smile.

“That guy is just another guy.”

Normally, he would have taken action before rumors had the chance to spread.

“Score’s gonna take a dive.”

Unfortunately, he was too busy visiting Byzantium and missed the chance to act.

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