"Really, it's just one inconvenient thing after another happening to me.
The Cineraria using corpses.
The Jasmine who can heal wounds.
The unusually strong Amaranth.
'...Witches, nuns, armored figures...'
I lie on my bed alone in the dead of night, muttering to myself.
It's humiliating that I, who can usually fall asleep instantly no matter the situation, am now trembling with anxiety, unable to sleep.
I used to be able to sleep soundly, even in the middle of class or on days with exams.
If those three were serious about killing me, they could do it at any time.
But they probably don't because I'm favored by the hero, Shion.
With the instructor Cattleya, Iris, Prince Heath, and Saffron - four saintly swordsmen - as allies, and with my ability to wield the Pegasus Sword, my combat strength is formidable. But I'm still as weak as ever.
The reason they don't just kill me, the weakest link, must be because the risk of angering the hero by doing so is too great.
'...'
As long as Shion is protecting me, my safety is guaranteed. However,
'How pathetic...'
I feel so embarrassed, I almost want to curl up and wallow in it.
A girl's affection is my lifeline?
What a lame guy I am.
Well, it's not like this is anything new.
'...'
But still.
Being scared and suffering from insomnia every night won't solve anything.
It's pointless to worry about things like what if Amaranth or Cineraria suddenly attacks me, or what if Shion gets tired of me and I lose my lifeline.
I should just stand firm without worrying about the future.
I've always acted big without any real talent since my student days.
With that thought, I decide to ignore all my future worries and dive into the world of dreams.
By the way, I hardly ever dream.
I mean, not in terms of future aspirations, but the kind of dreams you have while sleeping.
I did have dreams about the future, though.
To become a hero.
Or to conquer the world.
Such embarrassingly ordinary dreams that I hesitate to even speak of them.
And once I fall asleep, my consciousness completely shuts off, and the next thing I know, it's morning.""However, today I had an unusual dream.
Dreams are usually just recollections or predictions based on past experiences.
Nightmares, prophetic dreams, or the opposite - they're just manifestations of fears coming true or not.
'...'
But what a strange dream it was.
I was conscious, standing still.
The problem was where I was standing.
A starry sky as far as I could see.
Not just overhead, but in all directions, even under my feet.
Yet, there was a sense of standing on solid ground, in this bizarre space that seemed to be thrown into the midst of stars.
'...What is this...'
It was like standing on a giant mirror reflecting the night sky, extending to the horizon.
Well, the mirror at my feet wasn't reflecting me, so maybe it's not a mirror.
Or is this a dream where I'm alone until I wake up?
'...Hehe...'
Oh, that voice in my head, resonating directly.
'Is that you, Holly?'
I murmured, turning towards the source of the voice.
But Holly wasn't there.
Instead, there was another woman.
'...Huh?'
I let out a dumbfounded voice upon seeing her.
She looked exactly like Holly, in face and dress.
An extraordinarily beautiful face, a stunning figure.
Long hair reaching down to her feet, and strange armor that barely covered her chest and groin.
But everything was black.
Her hair, her armor, all pitch black.
Her eyes, staring at me with a smile, were as dark as obsidian.
To put it bluntly, she was a black vershion of Holly.
A sharp-tongued, scheming Holly might suit such an appearance.
In my mind, is Holly associated with the color black?
So in my dreams, Holly appears black.
'You're Holly, aren't you?'
'...'
Right then, the black Holly looked incredibly dishappy and vanished from my sight.
In an instant, I woke up from the dream.
I found myself looking up at the familiar ceiling of my bedroom.
Truly, it was an incomprehensible dream.
Just as I was thinking that, the bed I was lying on creaked.""I sensed someone sitting beside my pillow.
'Holly?'
'No, it's not...'
'!?'
The voice belonged to Shion.
Shion, wearing a white dress, was sitting beside my pillow.
That startled me.
No one but Holly had ever suddenly appeared in my bedroom before.
'...'
'Shion? What's up?'
Shion, sitting by my pillow, seemed to be in a bad mood, sulking about something.
Judging by the brightness outside, it was still early morning.
What could she possibly want at this hour?
'Big brother, I need to talk to you. Please sit here.'
'Ah, yes.'
So I got up and sat on the bed, facing Shion, as she had instructed.
It feels pathetic to be ordered around by such a young girl and to reply with a 'yes'.
'Big brother, remember when I asked to take a bath with you and you refused?'
'Uh? Oh, well...'
Did something like that happen?
Well, even if she invited me to bathe together now, I'd definitely refuse, so I must have done the same then.
No matter how close Shion is to me, it's not okay to take a bath with an eleven-year-old girl.
That's definitely a crime.
'A girl shouldn't show her naked body to a man just like that, right?'
'Yeah, that's right.'
'You said it's not okay for now and that I'll understand the reason when I'm older, right?'
'Ah...'
I was facing Shion on the bed, stifling a yawn.
What's this all about?
Why such a conversation early in the morning?
'Then why did you take a bath with Holly?'
'Huh?'
Holly and I took a bath together?
What is she talking about?
I usually use the grand bath in the Pendragon Royal Palace.
A lavish and enormous bath, reserved for certain royalty and nobility.
It's an extravagant setup, with hot springs drawn from underground and flowing directly from the source. It's said that centuries ago, when the hero built the capital, a child prodigy among the hero's companions used some technology called 'over-technology' to construct it.""The genius who built the bath also constructed the city's water and sewage systems, revolutionizing the concept of hygiene. The construction techniques he left behind remain unanalyzable to this day.
But, to me, that’s just an irrelevant detail.
The grand bath is divided into a men's and women's section.
To avoid bumping into other nobles, I bathe late at night.
But I’ve never bathed with Holly.
'What are you talking about? Are you mistaken, Shion?'
After all, Holly is a spirit, so she doesn't need to eat, sleep, or bathe.
It’s impossible for us to have bathed together…
'You bathed together in the hot springs at Blue Dragon, didn’t you?'
'...!?'
So that’s what this is about!
Sure, when I was suffering from muscle pain after Holly possessed me and boosted my physical abilities, I did go for a therapeutic bath.
And Holly did join me in the hot springs to help wash my back since I could hardly move.
But how does Shion know about this, when she wasn’t at Blue Dragon?
'Holly cheerfully mentioned that your body is super lean and muscular.'
That woman! Why is she sharing such unnecessary details?
'So, big brother, why is it not okay to bathe with me, but okay to bathe with Holly?'
'Eh...'
It’s not like I wanted to bathe with her, so it’s hard to explain.
Then Shion, with a slightly tilted head and wide-open eyes, said with an unusually intimidating tone,
'You haven’t bathed with other women, have you?'
'No, no, no! Absolutely not!'
'Really? Not with Iris, or Cattleya, or Saffron?'
'I haven't! Absolutely not! Besides, those three would be furious if I saw them naked!'
'Is that so?'
'Women get embarrassed if a man sees them naked. That's why there are separate baths for men and women...'
'I heard from Platanus that mixed bathing is more common.'
That handsome tutor!
Teaching her unnecessary things!
'...So, big brother. Why is it okay to bathe with Holly?'
'Ah, well. I don’t really consider her a woman...'
'Holly is a woman. As much as one can be.'
'As much as one can be a woman'—what does that even mean?""What kind of woman is that?