Chapter 272: Refreshed

―――― The 49th day of training.

After last night’s fierce battle, I fell asleep and woke up later than usual. Looking out the window, I see that the sun has already risen. I dazzling sunlight made me feel as if it was grinning at me, and I realized that I’m still tired. Meanwhile, Nell is still asleep next to me while breathing lovely.

There’s no sign of anyone coming to wake us up, maybe it’s because there’s no urgent business today, or maybe it’s because Haru and Chinatsu are being considerate. I can’t go back to sleep after sleeping this much, so I decided to just lie down while looking at Nell’s sleeping face. It’s a way to relieve the stress I have accumulated recently. Sometimes I poke her cheek, and sometimes I play with her golden hair.

The soft skin I’m used to touching guides my fingertip to her cheek. The beautiful hair makes me happy just by looking at it, and it makes me even happier when I touch it――

「…… What are you doing?」

「I was enjoying my wife.」

Okay, I surrender, so stop poking me back! I haven’t shaved yet, so it wouldn’t feel good! Ah, don’t mess up my hair!

Ugh! I guess being too sharp is also a problem. Why won’t she sleep defenselessly in front of her husband, the one whom she should let her guard down to the most? My healing was interrupted thanks to that…. I guess this is also the result of the life-threatening survival in the past.

「Hnnnh…! I feel like I was able to sleep soundly for the first time in a while. I feel so refreshed.」

「Well, after all, you unleashed that much firepower without holding back yesterday after all. Also, there were other battles after that, so you slept well because you were so tired.」n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

――――Whoosh, pomf.

The pillow that Nell was using hit my face. It doesn’t hurt, but I was a little surprised that she threw it so fast and without any preliminary movement. Furthermore, it smells good and makes me even more shaken.

「W-What?」

「I will win next time.」

「…… I don’t know which one you’re talking about unless you tell me specifically. Is it about the match with Maria? Is it about the quarrel on the way home? Or about the night’s――」

At that moment, a blaze of fire appeared in front of me, and I realized my situation. Hey, even if it’s to hide your embarrassment, there’s a limit to it. Ah, Nell’s mood looks great today as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

―――― BAAAAM!

The roaring sound of the explosion echoed throughout Nell’s mansion. This mansion can withstand the explosion because it was built specially to be sturdy, but if it’s an ordinary house, it would collapse in an instant.

「Oh my~. Nell-sama sure is lively from the morning.」

「After all, today is the memorable first day of their newlywed life, right? She would be excited, of course!」

Since the arrival of Deris, such an explosion has become frequent. In the beginning, the servants were surprised, but now they have adapted to it and think of it as just the sound of the bell announcing the morning.

「If you serve Nell-sama, there’s no need to mind about the details~」

「Ufufu. Even I’ve learned to calmly deal with Deris-sama if he’s left charred in the hallway!」

「What a coincidence, me too!」

――Something like that. As expected of the servants of this mansion, it seems that they originally had a strong mind. If you can work here, you can do well in most workplaces. In fact, these women are also such tough women.

And of course, the explosion sound also reached Haruna and Chinatsu.

「It seems that they are awake.」

「Yes, and it seems that Deris-san did something.」

Haruna and Chinatsu were studying in their room when the explosion reverberated. They were learning various things about the Great Eight Demons from the information book of the Great Eight Demons that was given by Deris just before he returned yesterday. It even contains information about the predecessors, and Chinatsu treats it carefully, thinking that it’s something relatively valuable.

「They are really close! Even I felt embarrassed when I heard that explosion.」

「…… Sometimes, I’m wondering if there’s something wrong with my sensitivity. The others are also like that after all….」

「Hm? What are you talking about?」

「No, it’s nothing.」

It seems that ‘explosion = the two are flirting’ has become common sense in this mansion, except for Chinatsu. She feels a little alienated from such a discrepancy in recognition. Well, Nell will look refreshed after the explosion, so she thinks that it’s not entirely wrong.

「Chinatsu-chan, are you still tired? I was relieved that you woke up immediately after that, but you don’t seem to be in your normal condition….」

「I collapsed after all…. I’m sorry for making you worry, Haruna.」

「Touko-chan was also worried about you, you know? She also said something like, Grandma was right after all!」

「I-Is that so…?」

After cleaning up, Haruna and Touko went to visit Chinatsu. At that time, Chinatsu was still asleep, but Touko used her ki

technique to give a boost to Chinatsu’s recovery, so her complexion has improved since then. It seems that Touko had a review meeting with her master, Lily, so she returned before Chinatsu woke up and they couldn’t talk directly.

「Using ki…. Touko has become able to do various things, huh. Also, I have to thank her later.」

「She’s going to spend some time in Diana, so I think you can meet her today if you’re lucky. Perhaps, she’s in the house where Lily-san is sleeping.」

「…… Lily-san has gone back to normal, huh.」

Lily was acting as the perfect Lilyvia of the Great Eight Demons, but now she’s sleeping as the good-for-nothing maid Lily.

When Chinatsu was wondering when she should go looking for Touko, her 『Divine Protection』 suddenly alarmed her. Chinatsu shuddered, immediately stood up, and turned towards the door.

「Chinatsu-chan?」

「It’s much faster than I expected…! Haruna, it seems that it’s time for a trial.」

「A trial!」

Perhaps she liked the word so much, Haruna jumped and took a stance toward the door, just like Chinatsu. Chinatsu smiled bitterly for a moment when Haruna accepted the trial happily, but then she showed a serious look to face the approaching trial.

――――Click.

The doorknob turned and the door opened. Then, they could smell a burnt smell.

「There they are. You two, are you feeling better?」

「Ah, Nell-san… and Shishō?」

Who appeared was Nell with a refreshed look on her face. In her hand, the burnt Deris is grabbed by the neck and he was dragged here. It seems that the source of this smell is Deris, and he is not in perfect condition no matter how you look at it.

「Especially Chinatsu, you should tell me honestly. Don’t force yourself, okay?」

「!?」

In an instant, Chinatsu’s brain was terribly confused. Nell was worried about her. ‘Is this a trap, or am I being tested?’ She could only think about such things and she was shocked more than when Touko was worried about her.

(Could it be that I’m going to die today…?)

Chinatsu’s suffering continues.