"I'm sorry... it seems I was half-asleep after getting up to use the bathroom."
Yuri, now fully awake, sat up in bed and offered her apology.
She had been muttering clichéd sleep-talk like "I can't eat another bite," and it seemed her reason for climbing into bed was just as predictable.
"I must have hugged you unconsciously... I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."
"............Yeah."
Rest averted his gaze from the apologetic Yuri through sheer Steel Will.
He had noticed this since they lived together in the cottage, but Yuri apparently had a habit of stripping in her sleep. She had cast off her nightwear while slumbering, and her underwear was so disarrayed that it left her chest and hips in a staggering state of exposure.
(God... a lucky sukebe moment first thing in the morning? What kind of rom-com protagonist am I...?)
It was a fair question. Despite being reincarnated into a fantasy world, he had stumbled into an event that felt like it belonged to an entirely different genre.
Still, Rest had survived his share of carnage. He wasn't about to lose his cool now just because a girl he knew was half-naked. Striving to maintain a facade of calm, he picked up her clothes from the floor.
"Look, I accept the apology. Just be careful from now on and we won't have a problem."
"...I'm really sorry."
"Anyway, put your clothes on. If you don't hurry, breakfast will—"
"Excuse me. Are you awake yet?"
With a click, the door opened and an inn clerk walked in. She wasn't the same person from yesterday, but a younger woman.
"I've brought your break—eep!?"
The clerk, who had entered pushing a wagon, let out a strangled cry the moment she saw the two of them on the bed.
"M-M-M-My deepest apologies!"
And with that shriek, she vanished.
Yet another textbook cliché. Rest’s shoulders slumped, still holding out the clothes.
"Well, it looks like breakfast has arrived. Let's get you changed."
"Guh!"
Rest’s ordeal was not yet over. Yuri, who had just been apologizing, began stripping off her underwear.
With a grunt, she pulled the garments away. Her breasts spilled free. In the split second before he looked away, the pink tips of her nipples were seared into his retinas.
Exactly what had Rest done to deserve this?
(Is this a punishment?! Or is it a reward for working so hard on the land development!?)
"W-Why are you stripping?! I told you to put your clothes on!"
"Well, my underwear was soaking with sweat. I'm a maiden too; I don't want to be in a sweaty state in front of a boy."
"A maiden doesn't strip in front of a man!"
Rest barked the retort. Was he the one in the wrong...? Yuri continued to undress without a hint of shame. Behind his turned head, he heard the rustle of clothing sliding off.
She had been taking off her top just now... so was she taking off her panties now? Faced with an unprecedented situation, Rest’s imagination was stirred more than ever before.
"There, I'm finished changing. Shall we have breakfast?"
Yuri, now dressed, spoke with a smile. She wheeled the wagon abandoned by the clerk into the room and began arranging the dishes on the table.
"Oh, this looks delicious. You're eating too, right, Rest?"
"...Yeah, I'm eating."
Rest replied almost out of desperation, a strange sense of humiliation in his chest.
(Why do I feel like I'm the one who got played... if anything, I'm the winner here, right?)
It wasn't a matter of winning or losing, but since he had seen her practically naked, Rest should have been the victor. Yet, looking at Yuri’s nonchalant face, he couldn't help but feel like the loser.
"I'll pour the tea. Primula taught me how."
"............"
Rest glared at the cheerfully laughing Yuri with narrowed, resentful eyes.