I considered rushing out to bring Mariel back who had dashed away suddenly, but surely she had something urgent to attend to, given her frantic exit. Besides, Anne’s condition wasn’t dire enough to warrant such attention from a Saint like Mariel.

After tilting my head in confusion at Mariel’s abrupt leaving, I turned my focus back to unfastening the clasp of Anne’s chest plate. Carefully and cautiously, it took me a while to find it. It wasn’t that I was being distracted by her cute chest rising and falling as she breathed, not at all.

Before long, I finally located the clasp and unlocked the armor. Now, all that remained was to gently remove the chest plate without waking Anne.

I lifted the front plate of the armor and set it aside. Her chest, which had been hidden under the armor, was revealed, but it wasn’t particularly large, so nothing too notable stood out.

Next, I gently lifted her body and dragged the back plate of the armor from her back. Glancing up to check on Anne, thankfully, she didn’t seem to have awoken.

With the back plate dropped beside the bed, I had finally removed the armor that had been uncomfortable for Anne, and just as I was about to help her get off the bed—

Whoosh!

Before I could even react, my gaze shifted. One moment I was looking down at the bed, and the next I was staring at the ceiling.

Wondering what had just happened, I tried to sit up from the bed, but my hands were firmly gripped by something, rendering me completely immobile.

Whew!

Suddenly, a fist came flying toward my face with a roaring wind. A punch so fast it nearly shattered my face stopped just in front of my eyes, causing the shockwave to mess up my hair.

“…Elysia?”

As Anne’s voice reached me, the fist that had nearly hit me slowly pulled back. Unable to turn my head, I just rolled my eyes to get a glance; Anne’s other hand was firmly pinning my hands above my head.

It’s embarrassing to admit, but I think I might have wet myself a little. When I get back, I’ll definitely need to check my underwear.

It was just a few hours ago that Anne nearly crushed my head with her fist. And now, here we are—this was the second time today my head was almost smashed by her fist. Honestly, if it were just a little dribble, I’d consider that lucky.

“What… what’s going on…?”

Anne, sitting on top of me, looked down at me with a curious expression. She might be small, so it didn’t feel too heavy, but her presence was definitely solid. Honestly, her head tilting as she regarded me was just downright adorable.

After a moment of contemplation, Anne seemed to realize that it was me who had been groping all over her, and a slightly flustered expression crossed her face.

“Um, uh… well… you looked uncomfortable, so I was just helping you out of your armor…”

I hurriedly offered my explanation, hoping Anne wouldn’t take it the wrong way. Sure, I was a guy who naturally liked girls, but I definitely wasn’t a pervert who would do something like Lindy. I absolutely didn’t want any misunderstandings that could ruin our friendship.

Of course, from Anne’s perspective, it wouldn’t sound all that strange to think I was being a creep. After all, I was fiddling with her body while she was asleep.

“Is that all…?”

Nevertheless, even with my plainly truthful excuse, Anne seemed to still harbor doubt, trailing off her words once more.

I nodded to reply, but Anne continued to look at me with suspicion. It seemed she hadn’t fully cleared her doubts yet.

But what can I do if it’s the truth? I genuinely just wanted to help her out and make her comfortable.

“Tch.”

But sincere feelings do get through, as Anne clicked her tongue and finally released my hands from her grip.

Knowing Anne’s character, this matter would definitely end here without further suspicion lingering.

As she got off me, I too stood up and sat beside Anne, who was now perched on the edge of the bed.

“By the way, why am I here? I clearly remember fighting Vulcan… fighting…?”

It seemed Anne had no recollection of what happened after she went berserk, her head shaking as she tried to remember.

“Hmm… I can’t recall the middle part, but seeing that we’re both fine now, it looks like we defeated Vulcan safely. Just like you, Elysia!”

“Defeating Vulcan was more you than me…”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Just like earlier, you absolutely smashed Vulcan’s face.”

“Are you joking?”

Anne denied it, hitting my arm as if she couldn’t believe what I said. But no matter how much she denied it, facts are facts. When I just looked at her and shrugged, she seemed to finally realize the truth.

Also, when Anne hits, even if it’s playful, it genuinely hurts. Couldn’t she stop?

“Maybe the lack of memory was due to going berserk. You might be experiencing muscle soreness or fatigue from overexerting yourself, so if anything feels wrong, just tell me. I can have Mariel come here immediately.”

I stood up and gently laid Anne down back on the bed.

“Come to think of it, I do feel a bit tired…”

Fortunately, Anne surrendered to my touch and willingly lay down. Once I tucked her in, the cute, little face peeking out from the blanket was nothing short of adorable. Of course, knowing who Anne truly is, it wouldn’t be so cute all the time.

In a moment of weakness, my hand reached out, and I couldn’t help but pat her head. I then quickly withdrew my hand, trying to act nonchalant as I changed the subject.

“By the way, I’m kind of curious about something…”

“Hmm?”

“Something about Selly’s turn and Anne’s turn… or how Selly cut in line during Anne’s turn… What was that about? I heard you both talking before you passed out.”

“Did I really say that?”

“Even while you were unconscious, Selly shouted it, and you understood it quite well.”

“Er, um…”

However, Anne seemed genuinely startled by my question, showing clear signs of confusion. She pulled the blanket up to cover her mouth, but her trembling eyes easily betrayed her.

“So, Selly apologized for cutting in line and said she’d give Anne two turns in return, and you don’t remember that?”

“Really!?”

But then in an instant, she shot up, loudly asking about my previous statement with a look of surprise that made me almost jump back.

“Um, yeah…”

It seemed she might not recall the conversation but understood well enough what they’d said regarding turns and such.

“Then Selly’s turn is in two days…”

As she counted off her fingers, muttering to herself, I grew even more curious about what she was saying and asked her again.

“What’s going on? Now I’m curious.”

“Well, um…”

But it seemed Anne, while still having forgotten certain things, was not wanting to share this with me either. Even when I probed further, she just stammered while hesitating to answer.

“Are you two sharing a tasty treat or something?”

But there wouldn’t be too many things that would make Anne act that way. Even if she was over twenty, her youthful appearance showed how innocent she was. Most likely, it was just about a delicious dessert she’d happened upon by chance.

“Uh? Y-yeah! We were taking turns eating something, but then Selly cut in line… So, if I eat Selly’s share too, that’ll be fine!”

Finally, Anne let it slip about the thing she had been hiding from me. I guess she wanted to keep it a secret since it would mean I’d have one less portion to share.

“If it’s something Anne loves that much… it must be some famous pastry shop chocolate, right?”

“Y-yeah… it’s really rich… and sweet…”

I was spot on. After all, Anne loved chocolate more than anyone else. It made sense she would want to keep it secret to share between just the two of us.

“You don’t have to panic. I won’t take any from you.”

Even while answering, I noticed her looking to see if I might take some from her share, which was all rather cute.

“Now let’s lay back down. Even if you feel fine, your body might not be…”

Seeing her adorable self made me give a dad smile… or should it be a mom smile now? Regardless, I grinned and gently laid her back down on the bed.

“Hey… Elysia?”

“Yeah?”

As I turned off the lights illuminating the tent, Anne called my name from the darkness.

“Can I go sleep in the tent with the others? Being alone… feels lonely…”

It seemed Anne thought I was heading back to my original tent after I turned off the light. With a kind of spoiled tone, I couldn’t help but smirk at her.

“I won’t leave a patient alone, even if she says she’s fine. I brought in a cot to sleep by your side, so just rest here peacefully for the night.”

“Really?”

“Should I take some extra for myself? You’re really quite greedy, Anne.”

Anne shook her head vigorously at my words. It was dark, so a normal person wouldn’t have noticed, but under my unusual eyes, I could see her beaming smile clearly.

I placed another cot beside Anne’s bed and lay down on it. However, for some reason, Anne, who looked like she was about to chat my ear off, was unusually quiet before sleep.

Instead, I noticed her blanket wriggling slightly in the darkness, and soon enough, a little hand began to peek out from under the covers. A tiny, adorable hand creeping over to me.

But she looked too shy to just say it, so she lay there with her palm wide open, waiting silently.

I was curious about what kind of reaction Anne would have if I pretended to be asleep, but that would be a terribly mean thing to do.

So, I too pulled my hand from under the blanket and gently placed it on hers. Anne then began to wiggle our hands together, intertwining our fingers and crossing them firmly. Though I couldn’t see her face, I knew for sure she was smiling just like me.

Even though it was a pitch-black night without a word exchanged, we shared many unspoken conversations through our interlaced hands, and as I closed my eyes, I found peace.

Of course, I didn’t expect that when I woke the next morning, I’d find Anne had slipped into my cot.