When the sun of the following day passed through the pub’s window and fell on Red’s face, the man slowly opened his eyes.
Due to excessive fatigue and grief, his mind felt a bit groggy.
For a moment, he couldn’t recall exactly what had happened last night.
“Ugh…”
He was about to push himself up when he suddenly realized he was lying on the floor with a duvet draped over him.
More importantly… there was a soft, warm presence beside him.
After seeing Letia’s face, the memories gradually flooded back.
Because of what Letia had said, he had been somewhat… in her arms.
He seemed to have cried like a pathetic failure and had gradually drifted off into a daze.
After carefully finishing his recollection, Red placed his hand on his Sun Acupoint and massaged it gently.
‘It’s true that I fell asleep… but why is Letia inside my duvet?’
Red couldn’t quite wrap his head around that point.
Just then, the Boss Lady of the pub walked out from the back room.
Seeing that Red seemed to have regained some of his spirit, she asked with a smile.
“Good morning. Shall I prepare breakfast for the two of you?”
“Ah…”
Red paused for a moment before speaking.
“Thank you. But, could you tell me what happened last night after I fell asleep?”
Red was actually a bit worried right now.
He was afraid Letia might have used her body to soothe the pain in his heart.
After all, this girl was the type to stop his mouth with hers the moment a disagreement arose.
Red truly believed Letia was capable of trying to comfort him with her body.
If that had actually happened, he wouldn’t know how to face her.
And honestly… if he had really done something like that, it would feel somewhat shameless and despicable.
“That?”
Seeing Red’s bewildered expression, the young Boss Lady couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.
“After you fell asleep, she let you lie on the floor using her lap as a pillow. But she fell asleep later too, so I let you both lie down together. Since there was only one duvet, I had to trouble you to share it with her.”
“Ah…”
Red nodded blankly.
However, hearing that Letia hadn’t done anything more extreme made him feel a genuine sense of relief.
“But may I be so bold as to ask?” the Boss Lady spoke up again.
“Red, what do you think of Letia?”
“Probably just a Heroic Companion?”
Red scratched his head.
To say he had absolutely no feelings for Letia beyond being a Heroic Companion would definitely be… no… a lie.
It was just that because this girl rarely acted like a normal human being, he usually didn’t pay much attention to it.
“Just a Heroic Companion?”
The Boss Lady couldn’t help but sigh upon hearing this.
“Then I really do feel a bit sorry for Letia…”
While the two were talking, the girl wrapped in the duvet let out a soft mumble.
Rubbing her eyes, she woke from her slumber.
She looked up, glancing at Red’s somewhat stiff face and the snickering Boss Lady beside him.
After her brain worked at high speed for three seconds—
She rolled over and went back to sleep.
“Wake up already.”
Red sighed and hauled Letia out from under the duvet.
This scene was exactly like their days in Dawnblade.
Every morning, Red had to drag this lazy fish of a girl out of bed like this.
“Let me sleep for five more minutes…”
“You can sleep however you want once we get back. The Boss Lady needs to open for business.”
The Boss Lady chuckled at this and said leisurely.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Customer traffic is light in the morning anyway. It’s no problem to let you two sleep a while longer. What matters is that it’s wonderful to see you’ve pulled yourself together, Red.”
Looking at the Boss Lady’s heartfelt smile, Red shook his head with a wry grin.
“I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you.”
It was undeniable that under Letia’s “drink-your-feelings” style of comfort, the grief in his heart had indeed lessened significantly.
“Phew…”
But looking at Letia, who was sprawled out and snoring with a trail of drool escaping her mouth, Red felt a complicated emotion he couldn’t quite describe.
It felt like being kissed by a monkey.
Inhale… exhale…
Red took a deep breath and then slowly let it out.
“Get up! Don’t cause trouble for the Boss Lady!”
With Red’s shout, Letia reluctantly woke from her dream.
She looked at Red’s darkened face, and since her brain wasn’t fully awake, she thought he still hadn’t moved past his grief.
Thus, she pounced on him once more.
“Mmph!! Mmph!!”
Under this soul-stirring assault, Red’s struggling hands finally went limp and fell to the side.
It felt as if he had gone to Heaven; his whole body remained peaceful for a good while.
“Ah…”
Letia wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth as her mind gradually cleared.
She saw the Boss Lady standing nearby with a knowing, motherly grin.
After a brief moment of thought, she immediately put on a bashful expression.
“Red… doing this kind of thing so early in the morning… isn’t it a bit much?”
“Like you’re one to talk!!”
Hearing that irritating tone, Red crawled up from the floor in a near breakdown and grabbed Letia’s collar firmly.
“That was my first kiss! My first kiss!!
It should have been sweet, fragrant, and soft, but you almost gave me PTSD!!”
Even as Red shook her frantically, Letia maintained an indifferent expression.
She waved her hand like a middle-aged man and spoke.
“Oh, please~ It’s the same for me. That was my first kiss too. What’s the big deal? It’s not like a kiss will make you pregnant~ La-di-da~”
Listening to Letia’s words, Red felt his entire face turn red.
It was purely out of anger.
Inhale… exhale…
He took another deep breath, doing his best to calm his urge to hit someone.
After chanting to himself numerous times not to lower himself to a monkey’s level, he turned to the Boss Lady.
“I’m very sorry for disturbing your business. I’m taking this person away now.”
With that, Red grabbed Letia by the back of her collar—as if picking up a cat by its scruff—and hurried out of the pub.
Watching their departing figures, the Boss Lady felt a bit of regret.
“You could have at least stayed for breakfast.”
As she was being hauled away by the “collar of fate,” Letia didn’t resist or struggle.
Instead, she said quite comfortably.
“This feels like old times… Back when we were in Dawnblade, you used to drag me out of bed like this every day.”
“So you do remember? I’ve never seen anyone as lazy as you.”
“There, there~”
Letia spread her hands.
She then glanced at Red out of the corner of her eye and asked,
“By the way, are you feeling a bit better?”
“Not only am I not better,” Red gave Letia an annoyed look,
“I feel even worse now.”
Whoops