After a satisfying meal, the night grew deep.
To be honest, Red couldn’t fall asleep.
Maybe it was out of concern for Litt’s safety, but he felt wide awake.
The sensation of being watched from outside the house persisted, a gaze fixated on him.
The person had no hostile intent, but it still made Red feel extremely uneasy.
Especially given the current situation.
Red quietly got up, moving like a leopard as he slipped to the window.
His sharp eyes quickly scanned the yard, the tree shadows, the outlines of the neighboring rooftop.
From the tests of the past few days, this hidden protector in the shadows… was strong.
Even stronger than him.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths and still failed to even spot the person’s shadow.
“Tch…”
Red clicked his tongue inwardly, drawing his gaze back as he lay down again, forcing himself to close his eyes.
Since the person had no hostile intent, it likely wasn’t one of those trying to harm Litt, but rather one of the secret sentries hidden to protect her.
Just as he was about to fall asleep—
Knock, knock, knock…
Someone knocked at the door.
“Um… Red, it’s me.”
Outside, Litt’s voice sounded.
Red didn’t know why Litt would come looking for him in the middle of the night, but he still got out of bed and opened the door.
Outside stood the girl, dressed in pajamas and hugging her pillow.
When she saw Red, she bashfully averted her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
Faced with Red’s question, Litt hesitated, her words coming and going, falling into silence for nearly ten seconds before she finally spoke slowly.
“Red… I… can I sleep in your room tonight?”
Hearing that, Red’s brain short-circuited for three whole seconds.
Maybe she noticed the shocked look on his face, so Litt quickly added in a fluster.
“No, no! I didn’t mean it like that… It’s just that I’m feeling inexplicably anxious and wanted to come find you…”
The girl turned her face away, and from the side, Red noticed her ears were completely red—she looked truly embarrassed.
And he couldn’t deny it: this girl, whom he’d always thought of as out of reach, now seemed close enough to touch, right in front of him.
But that feeling lasted only a moment—especially as he sensed that gaze behind him again, Red quickly shook his head, tossing out those thoughts he shouldn’t have.
Litt’s uneasiness must be the aftereffects of the last attack, right?
After all, there were people lurking in the shadows after them, making it hard to sleep at ease.
Even he found it hard to relax, let alone Litt—being scared was normal.
Still, to help Litt feel safe, Red decided not to mention any of those things in the dark.
He took a deep breath and replied with a smile.
“Sure, but my room’s a bit messy. You don’t mind, do you?”
“I don’t mind!”
Litt answered quickly, but soon hid half her face behind her pillow.
“So… can I sleep here?”
“Of course, no problem.”
Red nodded again.
“I’ll sleep on the floor, you take the bed.”
“How about I sleep on the floor?”
Litt tried to argue, but Red reached out and gently said to her,
“You’ve looked after me so much all this time, how could I let you sleep on the floor? Come on, up on the bed.”
“…Mm…”
Litt reluctantly climbed into bed, burying her entire face into the blanket.
Red found a sheet and mat and lay down on the floor.
That gaze from outside still lingered, watching him.
Red glanced at the window, but didn’t pay it much mind.
He planned to set up a few Falcon sentries in the room after Litt fell asleep.
Just in case someone tried to sneak in while they slept.
But when the next day’s sunlight shone through the window and landed on Red’s face, the blinding light forced him awake from his dreams.
“Yawn…”
A bit sleep deprived, he let out a big yawn.
He’d kept watch until late into the night, then after confirming Litt was asleep, he’d set up a few Falcon sentries in the room, and the rest of the night passed in peace.
Those trying to target Litt probably wouldn’t dare act directly with both him and the Watcher’s protection.
But… this situation now was a little awkward.
Red turned his head, looking at Litt sleeping soundly on the bed.
Even though she was wearing pajamas and not a bit of skin was showing, that defenseless sleeping face, along with her calm breathing, still made Red’s heart race uncontrollably.
This scene—though not the first time he’d seen it—always made him feel powerless to resist, no matter how many times he saw it.
A girl completely letting her guard down around him… that kind of impact was something else.
After putting away the Falcon sentries, Red quietly left the bedroom to prepare breakfast for the day.
With the grand opening coming soon, he’d gotten up even earlier than usual.
After Red left, the girl who’d seemed sound asleep opened her eyes.
“Well… what can I say, this is just so Red…”
A teasing smile appeared on Litt’s face.
“Well… after all, he is the Dropout Stream harem protagonist.”
She yawned, then turned over.
Get up?
Why bother?
If she didn’t sleep a full eight hours a day, could she still call herself a proper salted fish?
If she had to say, Litt had recently discovered a peculiar pattern.
If she slept alone, she’d often have nightmares—in other words, the chance of seeing the Script was very high, and the experience was all too real.
But if she slept by Red’s side, she could sleep soundly—just close her eyes, and the night would pass in a blink.
She’d stumbled upon this precious discovery the last time she’d dozed off on the sofa and Red carried her back to her room.
Last night’s bold, nearly proactive attempt was also a part of her carefully designed experiment.
Judging by the results… her guess had been right.
But she still had no idea why it worked.
Could it really be the legendary Hero’s Aura at play?
If so, this Hero’s Aura was far more useful than the unreliable Script in her head.
Litt tucked the blanket around herself again and drifted back to sleep.
But less than half an hour later, she woke up again.
Perhaps the time of the event was getting closer, because the scenes from the Script in her mind were becoming more vivid and real.
At first, though the sensations felt nearly real, she could at least tell they were fake.
But now… she couldn’t distinguish truth from illusion at all; even waking up from the dream had become extremely difficult.
Litt sighed, resigned, and struggled out from the warm covers as if all her strength had been drained.
The overwhelming fatigue and lingering palpitations made her too lazy to change, so she went downstairs in her rumpled cotton nightdress, with messy hair, shuffling step by step like a sleepwalker.
As Litt grabbed the stair railing and made her way to the first floor, she sleepily gazed at the busy figure in the kitchen and mumbled,
“Mm… morning…”
She couldn’t help but let out a huge yawn, a hint of tears welling up at the corners of her eyes.
She clearly wasn’t fully awake yet.
“Good morning.”
Red, tinkering with pots and pans, glanced back at Litt before quickly shifting his gaze upward.
Noticing Red’s reaction, Litt asked curiously,
“What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing… not at all…”
Red wanted to look away, but couldn’t help stealing glances at Litt.
The reason was simple.
This utterly defenseless girl hadn’t realized her pajama buttons weren’t done up, and since she was a bit shorter than him, from this angle—
It was as if she wasn’t wearing anything at all!
Not a thing!
Letia has the same habit.
Could it be that girls never wear underwear when they sleep in pajamas?
“Hmm?”
Litt tilted her head, her sleepy eyes still not understanding why Red was acting so awkwardly.
Luckily, after rubbing her eyes for a bit, she finally noticed the issue with her pajamas.
After a brief daze, Litt quickly covered her chest with her hands, puffing out her cheeks and glaring at Red.
“W…ha…!”
“This isn’t on purpose…”
Red awkwardly averted his gaze.
“If you think about it, I’m the wronged one here. Whether I mention it or not, there’s no way to avoid trouble, right?”
Litt seemed to agree with Red’s logic, but her face was still as red as a tomato.
“So… did you… see?”
When Litt asked, Red paused, recalling the mountain-top scenery he’d just witnessed.
Stroking his chin, he subconsciously answered,
“I can’t deny it—it was truly a wonderful view…”
“Ugh…”
Litt’s face turned bright red all the way to her ears, and it seemed like steam was coming out of her head.
She puffed out her cheeks like a pufferfish for a while, then lightly thumped Red on the back with her fist, but said nothing, dashing off to the bathroom.
Looked like she was going to change.
After a while, Litt came out of the bathroom, her appearance neat and tidy, her previous flustered-girlfriend look gone, replaced by her usual gentle and kind White Nun demeanor.
But even so, Red still noticed her lingering exhaustion.
“Didn’t sleep well last night?”
“Mm…”
Litt smiled and nodded.
“A little bit.”
Red could only reply helplessly,
“Well, compared to your big bed, mine’s just a cheap one. The quality of sleep probably suffered.”
But Litt just picked up the soy milk on the table, blowing on it and sneaking a glance at Red, her voice barely a whisper,
“But the real reason I couldn’t sleep… was actually you, Red.”
She wasn’t lying—after all, it was precisely because of Red that she didn’t manage to fall back asleep.
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Now that;s a mystery, why does his presence remove her ability to see the future.