152: An Angel’s Smile
“Master, wake up. It’s morning.”
My head was pounding. But I could hear Liz’s gentle voice.
It must be an auditory hallucination.
“I’ll wake up… if Liz kisses me…”
The expected future was for Liz to say, “What are you talking about, Master? Get up. You get hangovers because your poison resistance is low,” and for me to reluctantly get up.
But my Liz-specific future prediction system, which had reached a near-prescient level of accuracy, spit out an error.
“You’re incorrigible, Master…”
I felt Liz sit gently on the bed. And her lips lightly brushed against my cheek.
My eyes snapped open.
My drunkenness had completely vanished. My head still ached a little, but the fatigue was gone.
My entire body was screaming in alarm.
I slowly turned to look at her.
Liz, with a smile like an angel.
For a moment, I thought I had ascended to heaven, but the room was the same as I remembered.
It was just Liz instead of Rebecca. That, too, was as expected.
I sat up and, with some hesitation, greeted her.
“Good morning… Liz.”
“Good morning, Master. Did you sleep well?”
“…Yes.”
“Master, there’s no bath in this room. Shall I clean you up with magic?”
“Ah… yes, please.”
“[Cleansing].”
She chanted the spell several times, and the smell of sweat and alcohol on my clothes and body vanished. She usually told me to do it myself, except before ceremonies, as part of my training.
—No. This was a gathering of the elite from each army.
She was my vice-commander, my assassin, my attendant, and, for all intents and purposes, my maid. She was just making sure I was presentable.
That must have been it.
Then, a thought occurred to me.
“Hey, Liz.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“The herbs from yesterday… do they have any hallucinogenic properties?”
“The herbs from yesterday…? You mean the ‘Devil’s Temptation’?”
“Yes.”
“No. Of course, they do enhance the intoxicating effects, so if you drink the alcohol they’ve been steeped in, your vision might blur a little… Did you have a strange dream?”
What I was seeing now… was not a strange dream.
“No, it’s fine. By the way, I… don’t really remember the banquet from yesterday. I remember giving the speech…” I swallowed hard.
“…Did I do something?”
She smiled, a gentle, reassuring smile.
“It’s alright. You didn’t do anything strange. Nothing for you to worry about.”
I’m scared.
Liz’s smile was cute. I liked her gentle voice.
But this was scary.
“Um… I’m… sorry…?” I apologized, tentatively.
I braced myself for Liz to say, “You’re a supreme commander, and you can apologize without even knowing what you’re apologizing for? How clever. In a way, I respect that.”
“So, there’s nothing to apologize for. You’re a strange one, Master.”
And yet, my mental defense system, which had been prepared for a harsh future, to minimize the psychological damage, had also spit out an error. Not from an overload, but from a complete lack of any load at all, which was, in its own way, terrifying.
“Now, let’s go get breakfast.”
“…Yes.”
She held out her hand, and I took it. She had never done that before.
Not until now.
“I’ll go get our breakfast. Please wait here, Master.”
“…Thank you. Please.”
In the dining hall, Liz left me at the table and walked towards the open kitchen.
“Master, good morning.” Rebecca, who had been sitting at a nearby table, waved and came over with her tray.
“Ah, Rebecca, good morning. You see, Liz…”
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“Ah… yes.”
“How are you feeling?”
“My head… hurts a little.”
And I might be seeing and hearing things.
“I see. I’m not very good at healing magic, but I might be able to do something about a hangover. Do you want me to try later? Or shall I call a specialist—”
“No! There are injured people, right? Prioritize them. Mine is just a hangover…” I waved my hands, stopping her.
It was hard to say that it was already mostly gone.
“I see. But don’t push yourself. You have to take care of yourself.”
Rebecca smiled.
I’m scared.
I’m not… pregnant… am I?
The thought was so absurd that I almost laughed, but Liz and Rebecca were being so… kind.
—Yesterday, we had successfully completed a large-scale operation.
The Lord of Disease had been active… I think. And I had expended a great deal of mana.
Was that why they were being so kind?
But… if that were the case, wouldn’t they just say so?
Something was happening, something I didn’t know about… it was a feeling of walking on thin ice, with something huge and monstrous swimming beneath.
“Master, I’ve brought your food.” Liz smiled gently and placed one of the two trays in front of me.
“Eat up. We’re heading down the mountain after breakfast.” Rebecca smiled, her words also kinder than usual.
I’m happy.
But I’m scared.
