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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“……”
Ed looked at Enya with a puzzled expression after hearing her question.
He was rendered speechless, completely caught off guard by her unexpected question about why he was hugging Isabella from behind.
“How did you even know that…?”
It didn’t make any sense.
The area was completely concealed by curtains; no one could have seen inside.
Unless someone had installed a camera, anticipating that he and Isabella would lie down on that bed, there was no way to know what had transpired there.
“…So, I was right.”
But Enya simply nodded, as if her suspicions had been confirmed.
Then she began to explain the basis of her deduction.
“Actually…I saw it for a split second. When you opened the curtains to come out, I caught a glimpse of Isabella sleeping.”
“……”
“And at that moment, the way Isabella was sleeping looked strange. She was lying too far to one side…and more than anything, there were traces of someone else having been there next to her…It looked exactly like the position someone would be in if they were hugging Isabella from behind.”
So that’s what happened.
Truly monstrous dynamic vision.
To have captured such a fleeting moment when he opened the curtains and to remember it in such detail.
Her exceptional talent in swordsmanship stemmed from her remarkable ability to perceive and seize fleeting moments.
She could instantly and accurately grasp a multitude of postures in detail, allowing her to learn any sword technique with ease.
“I see…through that gap…”
Ed completely understood the situation.
Unlike other students, Enya could definitely capture that split-second frame and remember it perfectly.
“…Yeah. I’m sorry if it felt like I was prying. But I was curious and wanted to ask. How did you…become so close with Isabella? You know, Isabella was originally my friend. I was just…curious.”
Enya used the excuse of being Isabella’s friend to justify her question.
But in reality, she was just jealous of their closeness.
She was the first to become friends with Ed, so why did he hug Isabella from behind? And why did Isabella allow it?
And why was Bella, who had suffered from chronic insomnia, able to sleep soundly in Ed’s arms?
She was so bothered by these thoughts that she felt like she would explode.
It was gnawing at her, making it difficult to live normally until she knew the reason.
Then, Ed shrugged and said,
“Well…actually, hugging her from behind was nothing special. It was just a type of sleep therapy.”
Ed spoke casually, as if it were no big deal.
Enya swallowed hard and focused on his next words.
“Hugging from behind…it’s a common sleep therapy technique. Some people can sleep better when they feel someone’s presence.”
Enya felt relieved by Ed’s answer.
The way he spoke so dispassionately, like a doctor treating a patient, felt trustworthy.
If what Ed said was true, he had merely provided the appropriate treatment for Isabella.
However, she was curious about how Ed knew about such a treatment method.
To this question, Ed replied,
“Well…actually, I already knew about sleep therapy. The village chief in my hometown taught me.”
He learned sleep therapy from the village chief.
Of course, that claim was a lie.
He couldn’t explain that he had learned it in a previous playthrough, so he used the village chief, who had participated in the Great War, as an excuse.
Fortunately, Enya seemed to believe him.
“Ah…I see…”
“Right. But please keep this a secret. It could be troublesome if other people find out.”
“Of course! Absolutely! I won’t tell anyone!”
Enya, now feeling better, responded with a bright smile.
Now that she had confirmed that there was nothing going on between Isabella and Ed, she had nothing to be concerned about.
“Hehe. This beer is delicious. Can I have another glass?”
“Sure. As long as you don’t exceed your limit.”
“Hey~ It’s only been two glasses. I’ll be fine.”
Having regained her usual energy, Enya smiled brightly and continued to drink the beer.
Now that the issue that had been bothering her for the past few days was finally resolved, Enya, feeling elated, kept refilling her beer glass with a cheerful smile.
“Where’s the bathroom?”
However, she had suddenly consumed too much liquid, and so, she urgently needed to pee.
Ed chuckled and replied,
“Over there. Go further inside from the shower room.”
“Okay. I’ll go wash my face.”
Enya used washing her face as an excuse to leave the room.
She also closed the door behind her.
She didn’t want Ed to hear her peeing.
“Phew. That’s a relief.”
Fortunately, the bathroom was a bit away from Ed’s room.
Would the sound not be heard at this distance?
Enya sat on the toilet and relieved herself.
As she did so, she buried her face in the shirt Ed had given her.
A sweet, floral scent wafted up.
Ed already used something similar to fabric softener.
“It smells so good…”
Enya smiled with her face flushed.
The thought that she was wearing the clothes Ed usually wore made her giggle.
The feeling of the soft fabric against her skin as she moved, coupled with the thought of it touching Ed’s skin, stimulated lewd thoughts, and she had to pinch her thighs several times to control herself.
“Hmm…ha…”
Enya, unaware of her alcohol tolerance, had continued to drink beer.
As a result, she found herself indulging in perverse fantasies, trying to savor Ed’s scent, something she normally wouldn’t do.
After sufficiently playing with Ed’s shirt, she washed her hands and checked her face in the mirror.
She was surprised to see her face redder than she expected.
“Am I…drunk…?”
She rarely drank at social gatherings, so she wasn’t aware of her alcohol tolerance.
To think her face would get this red from just seven glasses of beer.
“I should be careful…”
So, Enya made up her mind.
This time, she wouldn’t act impulsively in front of Ed and would behave normally.
With that resolve, she splashed cold water on her face.
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When she returned to Ed’s room after washing her face, Ed was laying out bedding next to the bed.
Enya tilted her head and asked,
“Huh? Are you going to sleep already?”
“Oh, you’re back? It’s almost time to sleep. Look-”
Enya followed Ed’s finger.
The clock was pointing to 11:30 PM.
When had time flown by so quickly?
It felt like time accelerated whenever she was with Ed.
“Ah…it’s already this late.”
“Yeah. Shall we lie down now?””
Ed said that and sat down on the bedding he had laid out on the floor.
Enya said with a puzzled look,
“Ah, no! You’re the owner of the house, you should sleep on the bed.”
Ed chuckled and replied,
“Then I’ll be punished for lese-majesty, Your Highness.”
“Ah…no, I’m fine.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve slept here plenty of times.”
Ed said that and patted the portable folding bed.
Enya tilted her head and replied,
“You’ve slept there a lot…?”
“Yeah. Sometimes I sleep in the lab. I lay this down on the floor when I do.”
“…Ah.”
Ed was so dedicated to his research that he often slept in the lab.
Enya nodded, thinking it was a very Ed-like thing to do.
He must have put in tremendous passion and effort to create that incredible suit and gauntlets.
‘Ed…is working so hard and getting ahead…’
However, the more Ed moved forward, the more intimidated Enya felt for some reasons.
She felt so insignificant compared to him, who was constantly progressing.
She was praised as a genius swordsman, but in reality, wasn’t she just an empty vessel?
Her ranking proved it.
A mere 5th place.
She had originally thought she could at least reach 2nd place, even if 1st was out of reach.
But her quickdraw technique had many flaws and limitations, and she was easily defeated when they were exposed.
-I don’t understand why you insist on such childish swordsmanship. It’s a waste of your talent.
Recently, she had even been scolded by Professor Garcia.
He had strongly recommended that she find a swordsmanship style that suited her, asking why she chose such a style with so much talent, and even offered to guide her.
-No, I will definitely prove it. Just you wait.
But she had stubbornly refused his help.
She believed her quickdraw technique was still incomplete and appeared flawed only because it wasn’t fully developed. She was confident that, once perfected, it would make her the strongest.
“Um, Enya?”
At that moment, Ed called her.
He called out to her because she was just standing there blankly, lost in thought.
“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something else.”
Enya gave an awkward smile and scratched the back of her head.
Ed chuckled and told her to get into bed because he was going to turn off the lights.
“Ah…I’m so sorry. I feel like I’m being a burden.”
“It’s okay. It’s not like it’s the first or second time I’ve slept on a makeshift mattress. So, shall I turn off the lights?”
“Oh? Okay.”
Ed pressed the switch connected to the spell and turned off all the lights in the room.
Enya climbed into Ed’s bed and covered herself with the comfortable blanket.
Being covered with a blanket while the air conditioner was blasting felt strangely comforting.
‘I’m…in Ed’s space…’
And for some reason, Enya felt like this was a lewd moment.
She was under the blanket that Ed used.
Wasn’t this a different level of sleeping together than with Isabella?
She was covered with what Ed had covered himself with, and she was wriggling around in the bed where Ed had wriggled around.
‘Ugh! Am I a pervert?!’
However, Enya herself was surprised, as it was the first time in her life she had ever felt this way.
To think she could have such lewd thoughts.
But she couldn’t help it.
She kept having those thoughts.
Wasn’t this room the most personal and private space of the person she liked?
Being right in the middle of it, she couldn’t help but be plagued by all sorts of fantasies.
“Enya.”
But at that moment.
Ed, who was lying on the floor, called out to her.
Enya, as if her lewd fantasies had been exposed, was startled and answered Ed in an agitated voice,
“Huh? I didn’t do anything!?”
“…?”
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[T/N: She didn’t do anything? I doubt that -_- ]
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