Another day quickly passed.
Looking at the sorted, clear, and organized intelligence summaries and data analysis reports that almost covered the entire surface of the desk, Red finally stretched with satisfaction—a massive stretch, as if trying to shake off every ounce of fatigue.
The joints in his body couldn’t help but let out a series of faint pops.
He had been nailed to this desk since yesterday.
The small break room that originally belonged to him was now Letia’s territory.
Consequently, when he wanted a brief rest halfway through his work, he could only lie face-down on the cold desk and force his eyes shut for 2 hours.
Then, he had to force himself to stay alert and dive back into the vast sea of information filtering.
Tired as he was, Red nodded with considerable satisfaction as he looked at the results of his hard work.
“Phew…”
He exhaled a long breath, his voice carrying a hint of raspiness.
“Now, I just need to post these on the Adventurer Guild’s bulletin board, and my mission will be complete.”
Red instinctively checked the time.
It was already 9:30 AM.
In other words, he had been organizing everything from 10:30 AM yesterday until 9:30 AM today.
Subtracting the 2 hours of rest in between, he had worked for a full 21 hours.
No wonder he was so exhausted.
Back when he was with Dawnblade, his average rest time basically never exceeded 5 hours.
His longest continuous working period was 46 hours, during which he only ate two meals and didn’t close his eyes once.
Red had long since grown accustomed to it.
“Time to go wake that lazy bug up.”
Red pushed himself up by his numb knees and stretched his stiff neck.
‘That girl slept so soundly yesterday that she didn’t even eat dinner. This morning… I should at least stuff something into her stomach.’
As he thought about Letia’s lazy habits, he couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.
‘Am I really going to have to be both a father and a mother to her? The worrying never ends.’
He walked to the door of Letia’s small bedroom, curled his knuckles, and knocked neither too lightly nor too heavily against the wooden panel.
“Hey, it’s time to get up.”
There was silence inside.
A few seconds later, a muffled, blurry voice like a dream-mutter drifted out.
“Mmm… wait… wait for me just a little bit longer…”
“Don’t you dare go back to sleep.”
After his warning, he turned and walked into the kitchen, skillfully beginning to prepare breakfast.
The aroma of eggs and bread, accompanied by a sizzling sound, soon permeated the air.
According to past experience, by the time he finished making breakfast, Letia would be done washing up.
Today was no different.
Flip-flop, flip-flop.
Accompanied by the sound of pattering slippers, Letia walked out of the bedroom.
She let out a massive yawn, her entire being still shrouded in lingering sleepiness.
She was wearing a loose bathrobe, and the collar had unconsciously slipped to one side, revealing a small portion of her smooth, rounded shoulder.
That signature soft white hair of hers was fluffy and messy at the moment, but it didn’t give off a sloppy feeling.
On the contrary, the girl had a different kind of charm compared to her usual self.
Perhaps as long as a person was beautiful, they could never look truly eyesore-inducing, no matter what state they were in.
“Awake?”
“Mhm…”
Letia nodded slightly.
“Did you help me change my clothes last night?”
“What else?”
Red glanced at Letia, seemingly confirming something.
“You were so drunk. I couldn’t just throw you onto the bed like that. If the smell of alcohol got all over the duvet, I’d have to wash the bedding for you, too.”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
Letia didn’t have much of a surprised reaction.
She seemed to have accepted the fact that Red treated her like a doll to be moved around.
Or rather, she was so thick-skinned that she didn’t care about this little bit of embarrassment at all.
“But what are you looking at? Is there something on my face?”
“No.”
Red was merely confirming if the person in front of him had any memories of last night.
After all, if he thought about it carefully, those few mumbled sentences he had said in front of her were essentially no different from a confession.
‘If she still had an impression of it… I would probably be teased mercilessly.’
“Though your personality is certainly easygoing. I thought you’d act all bashful and angry when you heard I helped you change.”
“Well…”
Letia said indistinctly as she munched on a sandwich.
“Actually, I don’t care at all. Never mind helping me change; even if you really performed some lewd play on me, I wouldn’t say anything. As long as you remember to wash me afterward and transfer 100,000 to me, I have no other requirements.”
Red watched the girl in front of him act like a dead pig that didn’t fear boiling water, and he couldn’t help but clutch his forehead.
As expected, he really couldn’t hope to find any heart-fluttering feelings from this salted fish.
“One hundred thousand for once is a bit too expensive, isn’t it?”
“How is that expensive? It’s been this price for so many years, okay? Don’t just say things with your eyes open. Being a girl is very difficult.”
“You don’t feel like a girl to me at all…”
Red sighed.
“Just eat your sandwich.”
“Mhp-mhp-mhp…”
Letia stuffed the entire sandwich into her mouth, her cheeks bulging.
Once she swallowed, she acted as if she knew nothing and spoke to Red.
“You really made things difficult for me yesterday. Why did you have to tell Liz that I’m dating you?”
Letia’s tone wasn’t accusatory; it was more out of curiosity and inquiry.
Upon hearing her ask this, Red immediately felt a surge of relief.
It seemed she truly had no memory of what he had said last night.
“The reason is simple,” Red said without a hint of guilt.
“I just used you as a shield for a bit.”
“Oh… I’m aware that Liz is having some second thoughts.”
Red replied frankly, “Some things are in the past. There’s no need for her to have second thoughts or anything of the sort.”
At that moment, a sly smile suddenly appeared on Letia’s face.
“However… it’s not like I can’t act as your shield, but everything has a price. I won’t do a job without remuneration.”
“Fine, you really are obsessed with money,” Red said helplessly, assuming Letia would reach out for cash as usual.
“Tell me, how much do you want?”
“No, no, no. I don’t want money this time.”
Letia wagged her index finger.
“Then what do you want?”
“What I want is very simple. From now on, in front of Liz, you must act like a qualified boyfriend. You have to meet all my requirements and do whatever I tell you to do!”
Red was stunned.
‘Wait… what kind of requirement is this?’
“Heh~ So, are you going to agree?”
Letia playfully stuck out her tongue.
“After all, this is a matter of mutual consent, right?”
“I mean, technically you’re right…”
Red scratched his head again.
He felt like he truly couldn’t see through the person in front of him.
Since Letia had made such a request, he could only reluctantly agree.
Going back and forth… it didn’t seem like he was losing out?
While Red was thinking, Letia pulled two small umbrellas out from somewhere.
Her face took on a perverted expression, and she practically started drooling from the corner of her mouth.
“Since we’re boyfriend and girlfriend… now that things have come to this, why not start by opening a round of the Grand Lotto! Hehehe…”
Looking at Letia with hearts in her eyes, she looked exactly like a monkey that had discovered a fragrant peach.
Red gasped and slowly took a few steps back.
Like hell he wasn’t losing out!!
“You’re supposed to be a proper Priest, aren’t you? Your Master in heaven will definitely cry if he sees you like this! He’ll definitely cry, you know!?”