“Who’s the one who can’t sleep anyway?” Siloque hesitated for a moment before fully opening the door and entering the living room.
“I just feel that both the room and the bed are way too big. I wanted to play some games to kill time.”
“You didn’t have to play this one, though.”
On the screen, Silvia had already sheathed Teppei Arima’s Saint Sword… Wait, Sister, why are you still pressing the dialogue button in front of your Brother? Shouldn’t the normal reaction be “Oh, how embarrassing”? I can already hear the suspicious sounds leaking from the headphones!
Siloque sat down on the other end of the sofa while answering and picked up the second controller. He originally intended to wait for Hill to finish and play a co-op game with his Sister in her white coat, but Hill unexpectedly turned off the power button herself and removed her headset. The room suddenly became very quiet; Siloque could even hear the sound of water dripping in the bathroom.
Hill suddenly reached out and grabbed the hem of Siloque’s clothes, then pulled him toward her without a word, making him sit beside her.
“Yeah~ I caught Brother.”
“I’m not a Pokémon.” What was with that “Yeah”? Was she imitating that expressionless Corpse Puppet who wore a cute dress and looked like a 12-year-old?
“What’s the harm? Even though Hill is confident in staying up all night, today was a very busy day, and Hill is actually exhausted right now. But because the room is too big, I’m just not used to it… I prefer that Treehouse Brother left behind. Hill likes it.”
“Didn’t you rest this afternoon… Ah, that room isn’t as big as this one, right?”
“Yeah. Besides, Hill isn’t a robot. I can’t be full of energy immediately after charging (resting).”
Hill, hugging her knees, leaned her body to the left and rested her small head on Siloque’s right shoulder. At this moment, Siloque recalled the deformed door at Home and Hill’s Rocket Headbutt welcome. The memory of his spine being misaligned during their first meeting was still vivid… In reality, only half a year had passed, but it felt like several years.
‘Our relationship has really become quite good now. It’s almost too good. Hill might ask me to take responsibility for her one day… I’ll have to change the laws then. No, what am I thinking? This is my biological Sister. She’s also my precious family member and a Partner who has fought alongside me. Occasional close contact is fine, but it’s not the time to cross the line yet.’
Siloque shook his head. ‘Why have my thoughts… become so extreme?’
“So, Brother doesn’t need to say anything right now. Brother has to stay here until Hill falls asleep.”
Hill, pouting with an embarrassed expression, looked so provocative and cute.
“Uh… fine, that’s not a problem.”
Erasing the strange thoughts from his mind, Siloque replied calmly. Hill gave a faint smile and closed her eyes. Within a minute, Siloque actually heard the sound of her rhythmic breathing. Since she only asked him to stay until she fell asleep, Siloque could have just left her on the sofa and returned to his own bedroom. However, she was likely still sleeping lightly, and it would be too difficult to escape without waking her.
In the end, he would have to stay until she woke up. Come to think of it, when he first entered the room, Hill’s smile looked as if she had expected him to come. Had she calculated this from the beginning? Siloque thought as his shoulders relaxed, leaning back against the sofa.
‘If things go well, Cass and the others will start their Dungeon Task in two weeks. At the same time, Hill and I can’t fall behind on our Upgrades. I need to build a good relationship with Inafa within these two weeks. Just a thin top and a blanket aren’t warm enough.’
He thought of Inafa next door. He had felt uneasy just staying in the frighteningly quiet room for a moment. Inafa lived in this Castle every day, feeling that loneliness and cold. In this Castle with three mirrors that couldn’t reflect a Vampire’s appearance, there weren’t many people to talk to besides seeing Tiana occasionally after waking up. Now that the new Barrier was set up, not even a Monster would approach. There wouldn’t even be enemies to challenge, and the whole Castle would become even more deserted.
‘I’ll wake up early tomorrow morning and make breakfast for her.’ Siloque thought of this as a small compensation while taking two sets of blankets out of his Ring Chart. After covering himself and Hill, the remaining chill in the room quickly dissipated. Instead, a comfortable drowsiness crept into his head. Although he was confident he could wake up automatically at 6:00 AM, he planned to sleep a little longer. He manipulated the Status Window of his Ring Chart, set the alarm for 7:30 AM, and closed his eyes.
—
Saturday, May 22.
Siloque’s plan to make breakfast fell through. After entering the kitchen at 8:00 AM —
“Kaka, stupid human, you woke up quite late. I guess it can’t be helped. There’s brewed coffee here; have a cup to cheer yourself up.”
He found Inafa already slicing bacon while wearing a maid outfit. Why was a Vampire up so early?
“Why the maid outfit?”
Siloque picked up a white porcelain cup of coffee and tasted it — it was delicious. With milk added, it tasted sweet and fragrant. If Beiren were to drink it, she would surely give it a score of ninety out of 100.
“Huh? Is the stupid human an idiot? You must be an idiot. I can’t bake Bread or clean in my usual formal dress, so this outfit is easier to move in. I was wondering why that apron yesterday felt so weird. I’m really getting more and more of a commoner’s temperament lately.”
Inafa moved briskly around the kitchen. Honestly, because Inafa was born with a noble air, the maid outfit, while fitting her well, didn’t quite suit her. Seeing her happily pouring tomato juice over the soft-boiled eggs, Siloque concluded — Inafa liked wearing the maid outfit.
“Anyway, more importantly, Inafa, marry me.”
“…Hah?! Y — y — y — you must be sleep-deprived!!”
Inafa threw a porcelain cup with a whistling sound, and Siloque caught it with one hand with a *thud*.
“No, no, no, I said that out of a sense of responsibility.”
“This, that… Hmm? Tsk!”
Inafa’s gaze darted around shyly at first, but then she noticed Siloque snickering and realized she had been played.
“Is that something you can just say casually! Go out and wait for me!”
Inafa glared at Siloque in a fit of rage, summoning her Skeletal Armored Blood Spirit behind her, making the kitchen very crowded. ‘Well, I got dumped.’ Jokes shouldn’t be taken too far, or he might actually be killed. Siloque walked out of the kitchen, deeply reflecting as he held his numb, aching right hand with his left. In any case, Siloque obediently went to the dining table to space out.
For breakfast, Inafa served Siloque a dish made by boiling a grain somewhere between rice and wheat with milk, then adding salt and sprinkling on some nuts and dried fruits. To the side, there was also golden-brown toast, eggs and bacon, fruit salad, and more. It wasn’t hard to see that Inafa’s proficiency with the new kitchen equipment had increased significantly.
“How is it, stupid human? Does it taste good?”
“It’s great. The salty, sweet, and fragrant flavors are blended perfectly. It’s sweet but not greasy, and the texture is rich.”
“Kaka, good, good. This is what I cook every time I wake up, so it’s bound to be delicious.”
Inafa stood tall with her flat chest, squeezing tomato juice into her milk porridge. Hill wasn’t there; she was currently sleeping in and would probably only get up around lunchtime.
It was very Western-style food — more accurately, very Dungeon-style food. Siloque liked the taste; it even gave him a nostalgic feeling. Thinking deeper, he remembered his pre-reincarnation days when he went to the gym. A Friend had suggested he eat more oatmeal to increase his carbohydrates, but that oatmeal back then was too unpalatable. It smelled sweet but tasted bland, leading him to eventually give up on oatmeal and switch to protein powder instead.
The milk porridge Inafa made was very fragrant, but her own bowl had so much tomato juice added that it had turned completely red… ‘Doesn’t that ruin the original flavor? Is it really good?’ Although Inafa seemed to be enjoying it, eating half a pot of porridge herself and leaving the rest for Hill.
“Inafa, how do you usually maintain this Castle? Did you use some kind of Magic? There isn’t even a speck of dust on the windowsills.”
“Kaka, although I used a bit of Magic, I cleaned it all myself.”
“Personally? Why not leave it to the Blood Spirit? That would be much easier.”
“This is the Castle Mom left for me; it’s more reassuring to clean it myself. Besides, I have plenty of time. Cleaning it myself makes it easier to kill time.”
As she said this, Inafa’s face was filled with pride from beginning to end.
“Oh… that’s impressive.”
Siloque suddenly understood why she wanted to give him and Hill a tour so badly. It was a bit like someone who had built a fully painted and customized high-end model and wanted to show it off. After all, no one usually approached this place, and she could only talk to Tiana. It was rare to have a Customer, so of course she wanted to feel some admiring gazes and satisfy her vanity.
Siloque scooped up the cereal while thinking, only realizing his plate was empty when he came back to his senses. Regretting that he hadn’t savored the taste properly, he thanked Inafa.
“Thanks for the meal, Inafa. The porridge was delicious.”
“That’s good. Kaka, since you like it so much, I’ll make more tomorrow morning.”
Inafa smiled, and as she took Siloque’s porcelain bowl, an expectant look appeared on her face.
“So, what’s next? I can take you guys around for the whole day today. I’ll even brew tea and make Star Biscuits in the Afternoon. We can go have afternoon tea in the back garden, enjoy the beautiful lake, and see the Great Tree that looks like it connects to the top of the Third Floor.”
Inafa spoke with a captivated expression on her face.
“No.”
For Siloque, this proposal was very tempting, and he really wanted to agree. Unfortunately, he really hadn’t come here to sightsee. He shook his head gently, discarding the hesitation in his heart before replying:
“Hill and I have to go out and hunt… eliminate Monsters and Upgrade.”
The blonde, golden-eyed maid became visibly dejected, her fork stabbing into the soft-boiled egg, making the dark yellow yolk burst out with a squelch.