“Then, today’s roll call is concluded. You all worked hard today.”

As soon as the dormitory supervisor’s words were spoken, the students became active. Some were heading off to dreamland, while others were chatting with friends. And then Yuli came to my room.

Dressed in long pajama pants and a thin, comfortable top, she entered my room carrying only a pillow, grinning with delight.

“It brings back memories. Hehe…”

Once inside, Yuli plopped onto my bed and started rolling around.

“Ooh~ So this is El’s bed~”

“It’s the same single-room anyway; it’s not like it’s any different.”

Unless the sheets were changed, all single-room beds were pretty much identical. There was no need to have different types of beds in each room. However, despite my reasonable point, Yuli was still rolling around, clearly delighted.

“But it feels comfier than my bed~”

Seeing a girl my age doing that on my bed made me a bit embarrassed, but watching her enjoy herself made me think there was no need to stop her, so I organized my desk and got ready to study.

I wondered how many minutes Yuli rolled around before she seemed satisfied, took a deep breath lying flat on the bed, and finally got up.

“Okay! All charged up! Now, let’s start.”

Charged? Thinking back to earlier, it seemed like Yuli was really tired after dozing off. Was teaching me that exhausting?

Yuli sat down in the chair next to me as I prepared to study. As she pulled her chair a bit closer, I could smell her freshness, probably because she had just washed up.

“Where did we leave off earlier?”

“We finished the basics, and now we just have the application part left.”

True to its name, the application part was filled with all sorts of examples in the textbook.

“Still, seeing you solve problems earlier, El has already grasped the basic concepts, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“That’s all thanks to how Yuli teaches me in an easy-to-understand way.”

“Hehe.”

Yuli smiled brightly at my thanks and compliment. She seemed in high spirits today, frequently showing off her smile.

“Please help me with the remaining part, teacher!”

To match Yuli’s cheerful mood, I overacted a bit, partly joking and partly serious, and bowed my head towards her.

“Sure, ask me as much as you want. Now, shall we begin?”

And so, my one-on-one tutoring session with Teacher Yuli began. Yuli gently taught me things I had never experienced before. She explained how to handle things, which areas to focus on, and how careful I had to be, sharing detailed insights based on her experiences.

…After saying that, I strangely felt like I had turned into garbage.

Let’s just keep the jokes brief. Thanks to Yuli’s careful teaching, I could say that at least I had caught up adequately in math.

Of course, I couldn’t claim that I had fully mastered it, but I could just tackle the remaining parts through practice.

I got up from my seat and headed to the refrigerator that was a basic appliance in the room. Magical items like these usually cost a fortune, but considering the academy’s dormitory fees, it wouldn’t be odd for each room to have one.

I pulled out a carton of milk from the refrigerator and offered it to Yuli.

“Talking so much must have made you thirsty, right? Want something to drink? There’s not much, but…”

Inside the fridge, there was barely any choice—just water, milk, and coffee. Given that it was late at night and I wouldn’t need coffee, water and milk were the only options; hence, I presented the milk first.

“Should I warm it up for you?”

I think I heard somewhere that warm milk helps with sleep.

“Yes, please do.”

I took out another carton of milk for myself, heated it just enough to be warm with a hint of steam, and poured it into a cup, handing it to Yuli.

“I really got a lot of help from you today, Yuli.”

“No, if it were El, you would have understood quickly even without my help, right? Your notes are actually similar to mine…”

“It only looks like that on the outside; honestly, keeping up with the pace has been challenging for me. If something like this happened suddenly, it would have been tough to catch up.”

No jokes here; if it hadn’t been for Yuli’s help, I would have spent several more days pulling my hair out, contemplating alone. Naturally, any plans I had with friends would have been abandoned during that time.

Thus, my thanks to Yuli were sincere.

“I’m glad if this helped in some way… I’m the one who received help from you, so I have nothing to offer in return.”

Yuli looked down at the mug of milk she cradled in both hands and spoke softly.

Hearing her gloomy voice, I quickly gulped down the milk in my cup.

Even though I had heated it just right, the warmth rushed into my mouth as I swallowed, and then I stood up.

I then stood behind Yuli, sitting in the chair, placed a hand on her head, gently pulled her towards me, and gave her a little embrace. I felt a bit embarrassed, but isn’t this what showing care looks like?

“I hope you can be a little more confident, Yuli. You’ve got many strengths.”

Yuli, softly nestled in my embrace, merely listened quietly. It might be a somewhat intrusive action, but it was also a sign of camaraderie, so I rubbed her head a bit and spoke again.

“If you ever feel scared in any situation, just think of me. I’m always on your side.”

Yuli was an unsuspecting childhood friend, and her kindness to me was more than I deserved. Thus, I felt the need to treat it sincerely at least.

I may not have the courage to reveal my true self or past, but I could do at least this much.

“Hmm~ Hah~”

“Yikes?!”

Yuli, who had been quietly listening to me, took a deep breath and exhaled, raising her head to look at me.

Her breath tickling my abdomen made me involuntarily shout, but Yuli didn’t seem to mind and just continued to look at me with her usual smile.

“Okay! Fully charged again!”

What on earth is Yuli recharging, I wonder?

“Then it’s a promise, right? El will always be on my side. I’ll think of you and encourage myself no matter what happens.”

“If I can help, feel free to ask anytime.”

I shrugged and returned the same smile to her.

“Alright~ Since we’ve finished studying, it’s time to sleep.”

By now, Yuli had finished her milk and set down the empty cup, standing up. It was getting close to midnight. If I stayed up too late, I might struggle in the next day’s classes.

“Then, let’s get ready for bed.”

I pulled out a set of spare blankets from the corner and spread them on the floor. The floor had heating anyway, and thinking back to my assassin days, I was used to sleeping on the street, so I wasn’t picky. Still, there was no need to sleep directly on the bare floor.

As I was arranging my usual pillow on the blankets, Yuli stood nearby, looking at me while tilting her head side to side.

“Uh, El?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you laying blankets on the floor?”

“?”

Was she implying, why wasn’t I sleeping on the floor like a loser? Of course, I knew she didn’t mean that. I just didn’t grasp what she was really trying to say.

“Weren’t we supposed to sleep together on the bed?”

“Ah…”

Sure, Yuli could say that since we were both girls, but for me, just being alone in a room with a girl was already a huge stretch. Sleeping in the same room was one thing, but in the same bed? I’d not only lose sleep, but I’d also likely lose my dignity. Or worse, end up causing a major incident.

Because an incident like that could not happen, I falsely defended myself to Yuli.

“I talk in my sleep. If we sleep together, you won’t be able to sleep well either. So let’s do this separately; you can sleep on the bed as my guest.”

“…I don’t mind sleep-talking. I talk in my sleep too.”

“No! My sleep-talking is really bad, so let’s do it this way: I’ll sleep on the floor, and you can sleep on the bed. Deal?”

As I was almost pleading with my excuse, Yuli seemed to think for a moment before she finally agreed to my request.

“Tsk… I wanted to sleep together like the old days… But I’ll let it pass this time.”

With that, Yuli snatched my pillow from the floor.

“Instead! I need something to hug while I sleep to feel comfy… So I’ll hug this!”

If that’s all it took to work things out, then that’s fine by me.

But she didn’t realize that I had another unused pillow!

I pulled out a fresh, fluffy pillow from where the spare blankets had been kept and placed it back on the floor.

Fortunately, Yuli didn’t express any complaints about me taking out a new pillow. It seemed her grabbing mine wasn’t about me sleeping on the bare floor; rather, it was a habit of hers to need something to hug while sleeping.

“Okay, now lie down on the bed. I’ll turn off the lights.”

I saw Yuli, satisfied as she hugged the pillow tightly, lie down on the bed while I turned off the lights in the room and lay down myself.

Even though I was sleeping on the hard floor instead of a bed for the first time in a while, the blankets laid down made it uncomfortable at all.

“Still, sleeping together like this brings back memories… El might not remember, but…”

Yuli seemed to think I had forgotten my old memories since my life had turned chaotic after the demon race attacked.

Perhaps because of that, her voice resonated in the dark room with hints of sorrow and loneliness.

“Then, can you tell me some old stories? If I listen, I might recall some memories too.”

Of course, listening to her wouldn’t magically create memories that weren’t there. But I thought that sharing her old stories might fill her loneliness a little.

“Really? Now that I think about it, El has become even cooler since back in the day…”

And so began Yuli’s tales of old between her and ‘Elysia.’

Like the time we went far into the forest and got scolded by our parents, or the time we upset Elysia’s brother while playing pranks, or when Yuli was being adorable with her brother…

Hearing Yuli’s memories, which were foreign to me, I felt my eyelids getting heavy.

*

“Mmm…”

I awoke to the sunlight streaming in through the window and the chirping of birds. Normally, I’d wake to the sound of an alarm clock, but today, I strangely woke up a bit earlier than the alarm.

As I attempted to rise, I felt something hindering my body.

Still half-asleep, I looked up to see something resembling a human arm on top of me.

?

Did I missee something? I blinked a few times and looked down again, only to confirm that it was still an arm.

???

I twisted my body slightly and poked what looked like a human arm lying on me.

?????

It was definitely a human arm. What is this? Why is this here?

Perhaps due to morning fog, I struggled to comprehend and tried to follow the arm’s outline from my body up to its shoulder and, finally, to the face of the presumed owner.

“Whoa!”

I felt completely awake upon seeing Yuli’s face right in front of me. But I still couldn’t wrap my head around the situation.

Why on earth was Yuli sleeping beside me? I clearly remembered her sleeping on the bed. At least until I fell asleep.

She had even gone to bed before me. I could recall her voice gradually fading until it stopped as she told her stories. It was certain I’d had a tougher time sleeping knowing I was in the same room as a girl.

Did I somehow climb on the bed and make a move on Yuli? I looked around, but I was definitely on the floor where I had spread my blankets.

If that’s the case, Yuli must’ve come down to the floor—when did that happen?

Besides, didn’t Yuli say my bed was comfier than hers? There’s no way she would come down to the floor on purpose…

I attempted to move to get up again, but Yuli was holding me tightly, making it impossible for me to lift myself. To get up, I would have to wake Yuli.

Trying to slowly wiggle my body to escape, each time I thought I was almost free, Yuli would stretch out her arms and pull me back into her embrace.

Each time she did that, I caught a whiff of the lovely scent of her shampoo, which tickled my nose.

…Am I really a pervert for even thinking like this right now?

Caught in this situation of not being able to do anything for a while, the alarm clock finally rang.

Ding ding ding~ Good morning~

As if awakened by the alarm, Yuli stirred and made a small sound as she began moving.

I stole a glance, and our eyes met—Yuli’s half-dreamy eyes met mine.

“Hehe… Good morning, El.”

“Uh, yeah…”

Even though Yuli had just woken up, she tightened her embrace around me even more. Then she took a few deep breaths like the previous day before finally letting go.

“Yes! Fully charged for this morning too!”

Clearly, “charging” was part of Yuli’s habits. Now wide awake, she sprang up first, making it possible for me to finally get up sluggishly. My body, tense from being constrained, made even rising a chore.

“Uh, Yuli? Why are you on the floor…”

“Beats me~? I’m not too sure myself.”

Yuli’s face genuinely expressed confusion, but she kept smiling, appearing oddly cheerful.

Surely, as a noble young lady, she’d never had any experience of sleeping on the floor, yet here she was, full of energy this morning. Last night, she mentioned how comfy my bed was, but maybe she simply didn’t care about where to sleep.

“R-really…?”

“Then I’ll head back to my room to get ready for school. See you later!”

“Uh? Yeah. See you later.”

Well, I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong. Since I had slept soundly, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

I smiled as I watched Yuli, clutching my pillow, head back to her room, and began tidying up my sleeping area.

Huh? This looks similar… Did Yuli take my pillow? It seems she mistook it for hers!