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“Long time no see.”

It was time to depart for Selian’s mansion. As Selian got off the carriage in front of Anne’s mansion, she greeted me. I knew the carriage was coming for us, but I never expected Selian to come out to welcome me personally.

“Selie!”

Anne was equally surprised, greeting Selian with a happy face. After exchanging light pleasantries, we stood in front of the carriage to bid goodbye as we headed to Selian’s mansion.

“Anne, let’s meet again after the break. I had fun this week.”

“Uh, yeah…”

Since the last labyrinth incident, Anne’s condition had changed significantly. She seemed… more subdued? Of course, despite that, her usual loud voice would occasionally break through, and her straightforward actions still surfaced.

“Well then, I’ll be going now. Have a good rest of the break, Anne.”

As Selian boarded the carriage first and I was about to follow her, a sudden sound made me turn around.

Clap clap.

Startled, I saw Anne pressing her cheeks with both hands, seemingly punishing herself. I couldn’t help but wonder why she was suddenly acting this way, but then she raised her head and met my gaze.

“Showing this kind of image while parting isn’t really my style, right? I’m sorry; I was just thinking too much. I had fun too. Let’s go out together again after the break!”

Still, seeing Anne in high spirits before parting made me happy. I chuckled softly and replied to her.

“Yeah. Let’s have some fun in the second semester to make up for the time we missed during the break. Take care.”

“Okay!”

As I heard Anne’s cheerful voice behind me, I climbed into the carriage, where Selian was watching me. I wondered if she had something to say, but Selian just stared silently.

“What’s up? Do you have something to say?”

“When exactly… No, it’s nothing. Anyway, it’s my turn now.”

Selian said something cryptic. I was about to ask what she meant, but before I could, she took the initiative to speak.

“Well, since we have plenty of time in the carriage, how about having a cup of tea?”

“It’s a bit early, but we don’t have much else to do… Should we?”

Since it wasn’t a critical matter, I decided to enjoy the tea Selian would prepare.

With only one coachman accompanying us, the carriage was just the two of us, so naturally, Selian went ahead and prepared the tea.

Just like the carriages I had previously ridden with Yuli and Anne, this one was also expensive, imbued with various kinds of magic. Thanks to that, it felt as comfortable as being in a room, allowing us to enjoy our tea without the usual bumps.

Of course, this wasn’t a standard tea time. Instead, it was just endless chatter, sipping tea whenever we were thirsty and munching on snacks whenever we craved something sweet. This went on for hours.

Even though we had left Anne’s mansion in the morning, it would probably be late evening by the time we arrived at Selian’s place.

It meant we’d be stuck in the carriage for at least ten hours. There was only so much one could do in a cramped space. The best way to spend time was to take a little nap or chat with Selian.

“Yawn…”

After endlessly munching on treats, I had unintentionally yawned during our limitless conversation with Selian.

It was a truly unexpected yawn that was far from gracious, but thankfully, I didn’t make the mistake of not covering my mouth.

“You seem very tired.”

“Mm… Maybe it’s because I just ate? I feel a bit sleepy.”

I quickly made up an excuse, worried that she might think I yawned because her stories were boring.

Fortunately, Selian didn’t seem upset by my yawn.

“Then would you like to take a nap? I’ll wake you if something comes up.”

“Still, I feel bad sleeping in front of you…”

“I’m fine with it. Just rest.”

If it were Yuli, she would have chided me for napping right after eating, but Selian was instead encouraging me to sleep as much as I wanted.

As I chuckled at my useless thoughts, Selian stood up and moved closer to me.

I turned to see what she was doing, and she was patting her thighs with both hands.

“Here, lie down.”

“Huh?”

As I asked back, Selian tilted her head with a smile, as if wondering what the problem was.

“It would be uncomfortable for you too, right? You don’t have to worry about it.”

“I’m not uncomfortable at all!”

“My head is heavy, so your thighs will definitely go numb.”

“If your head feels heavy, then that means no one in the world has a light head, right? And I’m strong, you know?”

Well, that was true. Even I thought that was a ridiculous excuse.

How heavy could this small head be, and certainly Selian’s body, trained as a knight, would be more than strong enough to handle it.

But the reason I kept pushing back, even with such silly excuses, was very simple.

“…I can’t do it because I’m embarrassed. I might end up wide awake instead.”

Finally, I candidly stated my greatest reason. It’s embarrassing, but if I didn’t say it like this, Selian would probably insist until the end.

But that thought was naive.

“We slept next to each other last time, didn’t we? There’s no need to be embarrassed. Now come on.”

Wait, why is she bringing that up now? Comparing sleeping with a knee pillow to sleeping in the same bed is obviously more embarrassing. But just because one is less embarrassing doesn’t mean the embarrassment disappears completely, does it?

Yet Selian extended her hands, wrapped around my head, and gently pulled me onto her lap.

“Now, sleep comfortably.”

As I lay sideways, I felt Selian’s thigh beneath me. Of all the days, she just had to wear a short skirt today, and I could feel her bare skin where the hem had slightly rolled up.

In my flustered state, Selian placed her hand softly on my head.

Like a mother soothing her child to sleep, Selian slowly stroked my head.

As I felt her gentle touch, my heart raced, and the drowsiness that had fled returned in an instant.

In the end, sleep overcame my embarrassment, and I felt my eyelids slowly begin to close.

*

Clunk.

“Huh…?”

I woke up from the shaking of my body. To be precise, it felt as if the entire carriage I was sitting in had bounced around.

Still dazed from just waking up, it took a moment to regain my senses and remember where I was lying.

Worried that I might have drooled while sleeping, I raised my hand to wipe my mouth but thankfully there seemed to be no sign of that disaster.

Since I was fully awake, I couldn’t stay with my head resting on Selian’s thigh, so I slowly sat up.

“Ah!”

As I rose, I heard a sigh escape Selian’s lips. Turning around, I saw Selian reaching out like a child who lost a toy.

“Selie?”

“Y-yes!”

Selian stuttered her reply, unlike her usual self. Her face was flushed, and her breathing seemed a bit heavy.

Though the carriage was enchanted with warmth and moisture spells, it felt surprisingly stuffy inside.

Glancing over at the carriage window, I noticed the sky outside was already painted with a reddish sunset.

…How many hours did I sleep?

“Are you okay?”

What I thought would be a quick nap had turned into a deep slumber.

No matter how trained Selian’s body is, it was inevitable that she would feel uncomfortable from me lying on her thigh all that time.

“Ah… I’m fine. Really, I’m fine. Actually….”

“Uh?”

“Ah, no! It’s nothing at all.”

Seeing Selian this flustered reminded me of the first time I accidentally touched one of her important letters while we were studying together.

But before I could marvel at her reaction, the carriage door swung open.

“I’m sorry, miss. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, I’m fine. What’s going on?”

“It seems we need you to step outside for a moment.”

The person who opened the door was the coachman. As I descended the carriage with Selian, I quickly figured out the situation.

“Our wheel came off. I checked everything before we departed, so I don’t know what happened…”

The coachman’s voice conveyed genuine bewilderment.

It seemed that the clunk that woke me was caused by the carriage losing its balance when the wheel fell off.

“Phew, fortunately, as planned….”

“Huh?”

“Ah, no! I mean, thankfully the magic on the carriage is intact. That’s what I meant.”

Selian whispered so quietly I reacted without thinking, causing her to startle and raise her voice.

Given that the wheel of a moving carriage lost its grip, it was indeed fortunate that we only had a single jolt. While the wheel may have been faulty, the magic on the carriage was still in perfect shape.

“Oh! The wheel is still fine. We should be able to fix it and get moving again. Please wait just a moment; I’ll handle it quickly.”

The coachman, inspecting the trouble, quickly got to work.

“At least it’s a relief. Still, we should arrive before it gets darker… Selian?”

Just as I was about to sigh and talk to Selian, she had already moved away from me.

Selian walked up next to the coachman, inspecting the wheel closely.

Raising her hand, she lightly tapped the wheel, seemingly checking if it was indeed intact as the coachman had said.

As Selian pressed down with force, it was clear the wheel was indeed undamaged…

“Um… Selian? Checking is good, but don’t apply too much force…”

Crack.

“Ah.”

Having accidentally misjudged her strength, Selian broke a spoke off the wheel with her touch. The coachman dropped his hammer, staring at the sight in disbelief.

“Hehe… I’m sorry.”

*

With time spent on repairing the wheel, it had already turned into a late night with the moon high in the sky. Even if the carriage was repaired, it would be dangerous to drive through a dark road, so we decided to camp outside for the night.

We couldn’t stay in the dark, so we set up a small fire a little far from the carriage.

After finishing dinner and helping fix the carriage, it was already time to sleep.

“Uncle Ben, you should sleep in the carriage.”

“Oh no, you two should sleep inside. I can manage just fine outside.”

“No, even in the middle of nowhere, it’s not entirely safe. It’s better for us to sleep outside and keep watch.”

Still, the warmth and various magic in the carriage made it vastly more comfortable than outside, so sleeping inside wouldn’t be a major issue.

Despite the coachman’s fervent refusals, he eventually had no choice but to accept since Selian made a good argument.

After stepping into the carriage, still looking apologetic, it was just Selian and me outside. Of course, we had been inside the carriage just moments ago.

“Well then, should we rest now?”

Selian wrapped herself in a luxurious blanket and sat down near the fire. I looked around to see if there was an extra blanket, but there didn’t seem to be one. If there had been, Selian would have already brought it out.

I also sat down opposite Selian, across from the fire.

Then, just as Selian had settled into her seat, she suddenly jumped up and sat ridiculously close to me.

“Selie…?”

“There’s only one blanket, and I’m really sensitive to the cold… so can we cuddle together?”

“…I guess so.”

After going back and forth, feeling somewhat used to it by now, I accepted without much hesitation. However, Selian pressed in even closer than I had anticipated, practically burrowing into my side.

With both of us wrapped in a single blanket, Selian began speaking.

“This reminds me of old times; it feels nice.”

“Thinking of you camping out like this feels surreal.”

“Back in the day, I often had to camp out. Just like today, the two of us would….”

It seemed Selian was quite accustomed to these nights as a Hero candidate. Of course, I couldn’t say I had zero experience either, so I also felt a bit nostalgic about her words.

And so, Selian and I spent the night chatting until we drifted off, our heads leaning against each other.