Morning had arrived.
Soft light filtered through the gaps in the curtains.
"……Nn……"
Slowly, my consciousness rose to the surface. My body felt heavy. No, rather than heavy, it was more like—
"……Still hard to move my body……" I muttered under my breath.
In that instant, a voice spoke from right beside me.
"Are you awake?"
"Whoa!?" Startled, I jerked my head toward the sound.
Yuka was there. Once again, she was far too close for comfort. She sat on the edge of the bed, her face nearly level with mine.
"……Yuka?"
"Yes." Her expression was as blank as ever. She was truly something else—what could she possibly be thinking?
"Good morning, Lord Luka." Even so, her voice was remarkably soft.
Wait, was it just me, or was something off?
"O-Oh…… Good morning."
I felt a strange sense of dissonance. Maybe I was just imagining things?
"How are you feeling?" Her hand reached out and touched my forehead. "……No fever."
She kept her hand there, eventually letting her fingers slide down to brush against my cheek. She held them there for a long time—too long. Was Yuka always this touchy?
"……Yuka?"
"Yes." Her response was immediate, but her hand didn't move an inch. I didn't know how to react.
"Umm……?"
"There is no problem."
What exactly wasn't a problem?
"Lord Luka, your magical power is still unstable. You must not move under any circumstances," she said, grabbing my wrist this time. "I will check your pulse."
Was she a doctor now?
"……Do you usually check a pulse with your face that close?"
"No, I am touching your wrist."
If that was the case, her face was still way too near. Since waking up, I’d seen nothing but Yuka’s features. She was staring at me with such intensity that I wondered if she even knew how to blink.
Just then, the door clicked open.
"Luka-kun, are you—"
Elysia stood in the doorway. She froze the moment she saw the distance between Yuka and me.
"……What are you doing?" Her voice was dangerously low.
"Nursing him," Yuka replied. I doubted anyone would look at this and see "nursing." "It is a necessary task."
I decided to keep my mouth shut. A vein throbbed in Elysia's temple.
"……I can do that as well. Move aside." She approached swiftly—far too fast. "Luka-kun, excuse me."
Elysia sat on the other side of the bed and took my other hand.
"……?"
"Your pulse is a bit fast," she noted.
My pulse was apparently very popular. I briefly considered giving it a nickname, but decided that was a terrible idea.
"I will check your heartbeat as well," Elysia added.
I was wide awake and talking to her—did she really need to check my vitals that thoroughly? Her hand started moving toward my chest.
"Wait, wait, wait!" I stopped her. "Is that really necessary?"
"It is," she replied with a dead serious expression. "It is an essential check."
I wondered what medical textbook she was reading. Yuka spoke up from the side.
"I have already checked it."
"Your check was insufficient."
"I have already measured it," Yuka insisted.
"I need to grasp the situation more accurately."
The air in the room grew stifling.
"……Umm, excuse me?" I was the patient here, wasn't I?
At that moment, the door slammed open.
"Master—!"
Fia came flying in and threw herself onto the bed.
"Good mornin'……!"
"Gueh!?"
I was being crushed! At this rate, I’d be the first person in history to die from "Total Body Compression" therapy.
"Wait, Fia, hold on—"
"Master, good mornin'……!"
I got it, I really did. But if she didn't let go, I was going to pass out again. Still, who could scold Fia when her voice was trembling with tears? If such a person existed, they could answer to me. I tried to reach out to pat her head, but my arms wouldn't move.
"Huh?" They felt incredibly heavy.
"You must remain still," Yuka said, her grip on my arm tightening to pin it down.
"Please do not move recklessly. You get hurt so easily, Luka-kun."
Did she think I was made of glass?
"Yes, you must prioritize your recovery for now," Elysia agreed.
They had been at each other's throats a second ago, yet they were perfectly in sync now.
Behind them, Allen entered the room. His eyes were bloodshot.
"Lord Luka……! Good morning, truly……!"
Had he been crying since yesterday?
"You're exaggerating," I said with a weak laugh. "I don't die that easily, you know."
The air in the room turned ice-cold. Everyone stopped moving.
Had I said something wrong?
"……Lord Luka," Yuka said, her voice quiet but heavy with pressure. "That statement shows you understand yourself far too little. Please…… do not treat your life so lightly."
I felt thoroughly scolded.
Elysia joined in, her eyes devoid of their usual warmth. "I do not mean to disparage you, Luka-kun, but you lack the ability to protect yourself. You are far more fragile than we are. You need to understand your own value."
I felt like a child being lectured by his parents. Fia remained clung to me, whispering softly.
"……If Master dies, I’ll……"
I couldn't hear the rest, but the tone told me she was saying something terrifying. I had definitely stepped on a landmine.
"……Sorry," I said, offering a sincere apology.
"Good," Yuka replied in her usual tone. "There will not be a next time."
The finality in her voice was chilling. Elysia nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. I will not forgive a second offense."
Despite the weight of their words, I couldn't help but smile a little.
"……Well, thanks for worrying about me."
For a brief moment, the tension in the room seemed to melt.
"……It is only natural," Yuka said, squeezing my hand a bit tighter than before. "Lord Luka is my master, after all."
Elysia took my other hand. "I have decided to protect you."
I was restrained on both sides. Was this what they meant by a flower in each hand? It felt less like a dream and more like a gilded cage. Fia was still clinging to my chest, making it impossible to move.
I closed my eyes for a moment. It was warm, certainly. But……
"……It feels a bit heavy," I whispered to myself, so quietly that no one could hear.
On the outskirts of the Royal Capital, in a back alley with sparse foot traffic, a young man leaned against a wall. He wore light clothing and had a listless, casual posture—the kind of frivolous youth one could find anywhere in the city.
"Man, I thought I was a goner~" He chuckled to himself, scratching his head.
This was the same young man who had encountered Luka and the others in the streets previously. However, his eyes were different now—sharper, more calculating.
"The Ash Necros were terrifying……" he muttered.
"You've had a difficult time." A voice spoke from behind him.
"Whoa!?" The man leaped away, spinning around to see Leonis standing there.
Leonis wore his usual gentle smile, but his eyes remained cold and observant.
"……As always, you're far too good at hiding your presence," the man complained with a wry smile. "It's bad for my heart."
"It is the result of my training," Leonis replied smoothly. "So, what is the report?"
The man's expression sharpened. "Everything went mostly as expected. The Ash Necros were moving on a significant scale. They even brought out an Original Tome Replica."
Leonis narrowed his eyes. "……I see. And were you able to retrieve the replica?"
"Ugh, about that…… it was gone by the time I checked the scene. I searched thoroughly, I swear!"
On the day of the battle, Leonis had not been able to visually confirm the replica's location. By process of elimination, if someone at the Clock Tower had taken it, the current owner was either a hidden Apostle or……
"I would hate to suspect my schoolmates, but…… perhaps Luka and his group have it."
"Ah, the ones from the Ducal house?"
"Yes. You identified them correctly before, which made things much easier for me."
"Well, yeah. Honestly, it wasn't the boy so much as the monsters surrounding him."
"……Setting that aside," Leonis said, "I suppose I should go pay him a visit as well."