Chapter 502 Morning and a Farce

“You want to join our adventurer party?”

“Heh~, you’re an amusing one, but I refuse.”

“Why? Do I really need to spell it out? Our party isn’t looking for new members right now, and—”

“This isn’t some charity shelter. Just anyone can’t waltz in here.”

“……You want me to test your skills? No, no. Clearly you don’t get it.”

“Listen up. An adventurer party like ours takes on only the most dangerous high-rank quests—they aren’t something you can just decide to complete.”

“So we only take reliable folks as comrades. Strangers with no known background are out of the question.”

“……Hmph~, suit yourself. No matter how many times you ask, my answer won’t change.”

“……Ugh, you’re so annoying.”

“Tell you what—if you can become a well-known, veteran adventurer, I’ll give you a shot.”

“……Of course I mean it! We’re no two-bit, back-alley crew.”

“……Oh, you’re awfully confident. We’ll see if you can actually pull it off.”

“Alright, I’ve wasted enough time on you. Farewell, amusing little lady~—if we ever meet again, that is……”

Against the blinding white light, a blurry back raised its right hand, waved gently toward those behind, and vanished into the depths of the radiance……

……

“……Hulim…… Hulim…… Hulim, time to wake up…… Come on, wake up.”

A voice drifted faintly into her mind.

“Unh……”

Hulim Heyerar blearily opened her eyes. Blinding white light pierced through the cracks of her eyelids, jolting her sleeping mind fully awake.

The voice in her ears finally grew clear.

“Hulim, wake up, hurry and wake up.”

“Ugh, who is it…… Disturbing someone so early in the morning.”

She rubbed her eyes, finally adjusting to the daylight.

A pair of fluffy white cat ears, twitching every now and then, came into view.

“You’re finally awake! I never knew you slept this hard, Hulim. And it’s not even early morning—it’s already well past sunrise……”

Hulim turned toward the window.

“Ah, so it is.”

Though the light looked somewhat dim, sunlight had long since streamed into the room.

“Speaking of which……”

Hulim turned back to the figure that had been chattering beside her bed this whole time.

“Miko Kedar, what are you doing in my room?”

“Eep, don’t even ask.”

Miko’s face twisted in exasperation and helplessness.

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“It’s all because of Hena.”

“What did Hena do now?”

“She climbed into my bed again today——!”

“She wrapped around my neck like a rope! I woke up gasping for air, I almost suffocated!”

“……Didn’t you switch rooms already?”

“It didn’t help at all! She doesn’t find me by room at night—she tracks me by scent, scent!”

“……”

Hulim thought for a moment, then spoke slowly.

“So you came here to hide from her?”

“Mm-hmm, exactly!”

Miko nodded vigorously.

“……Have you ever thought of one thing?”

“One thing?”

The white-haired cat-beastfolk tilted her head in confusion.

“What thing?”

“If Hena finds you by scent, what makes you think hiding in my room will keep her away?”

“Uh——”

Miko froze on the spot.

Before she could recover from her shock,

outside the window,

the head of a young girl with ice-blue pupils and white wolf ears hung upside down from the windowsill, peering in.

“Found you——”

“Eep!?”

At the sound, Miko jolted violently, her cat ears and tail puffing up in alarm.

The next second,

Whoosh~!

A gust of wind blew.

The wolf-beastfolk girl hanging upside down outside zoomed in excitedly, tackling Miko from behind.

The two collapsed onto Hulim’s bed together.

“Miko, like.”

“Eep——! Let go of me!”

“……”

The wolf-eared girl suddenly lifted her head, meeting Hulim’s gaze directly.

Her cold, pretty face drew so close that they could feel each other’s breath.

“Good morning, Hulim.”

“……Good morning.”

Whoosh~!

Hulim felt a light breeze pass in front of her.

The wolf-girl’s face vanished from view, pressing right back against Miko’s back.

“Miko, like.”

“Eep——!!!”

A shrill, pleading shriek rang out through the morning room……

“……”

Hulim stared blankly at the farce unfolding before her,

then silently climbed out of bed.

“Hulim, help me!”

She ignored the pleading gaze coming from the bed.

Yep, just ignore it.

“Don’t make too much of a mess, and remember to fix the bed.”

With that calm remark,

Hulim turned and walked straight into the attached bathroom.

“Huh? Wait…… Hulim??? No, don’t ignore me! Come help me——”

Bang!

The bathroom door closed firmly……

Splish-splash.

The sound of a shower echoed inside the bathroom.

Through the door, the commotion in the bedroom was still clearly audible.

“……You’re holding me too tight! Let go, now!”

“Why? Miko, hate Hena?”

“Uh, it’s not that……”

“I said you’re squeezing too hard!!!”

“Let go right now and stay away from me!”

“But Hena, don’t want to leave Miko.”

“Ah! Ah! Ahhh……”

Thud! Thud!

“Energetic so early in the morning—typical Beastfolk, I suppose.”

Hulim muttered a quiet comment about the clattering outside,

then sank into a hot, filled bathtub.

Only her head peeked out above the steaming water, a relaxed expression spreading across her face.

“Phew~.”

She let out a long breath.

“Feeling alive again~.”

“Nothing beats this when you’re still groggy……”

She sank a little lower,

her small lips dipping under the water, blowing out bubbles one after another.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Staring at the string of bubbles, her thoughts began to drift.

She couldn’t shake the feeling……

that she’d been sleeping in more and more often lately.

Especially after gaining the power of Transcendent Diffusion—it had become far more noticeable.

Was it a side effect of the ability?

“……”

If it really was a side effect, it was an odd one.

Even though she slept soundly and defenselessly, she would jolt awake instantly if real danger approached.

In that sense, it wasn’t really a side effect at all.

She did sometimes feel like she’d dreamed of something, but she could never remember it when she woke up.

“……”

Gurgle, gurgle……

Time slipped by.

The noise outside eventually fell silent.

Gurgle——

At a certain moment,

the bubbling under the water stopped.

“……Time to go out.”

Splash~!

The sound of water splashing as Hulim stood and stepped out of the tub.

Creak~!

The bathroom door swung open.

Hulim stepped out, wrapped in a bathrobe.

She froze at the sight of the bedroom.

Miko sat on a chair, puffed up with anger, legs crossed, chin held high.

As for Hena—

she knelt on the floor before Miko, looking like a child who’d been caught misbehaving, eyes downcast and pitiful.

“……”

What in the world was going on now?

Whoosh~!

A warm breeze swept through the room.

It lifted Hulim’s bathrobe off her, drying her wet hair and skin in an instant. Then pieces of clothing floated through the air, slipping onto her one by one, fastening automatically and smoothing out her decorations.

Finally,

the hem of her mage’s tunic swirled gently in place and settled.

The automatic, spell-assisted dressing was done in less than ten seconds.

This was the convenience only a wielder of Multi-Elemental Magic could enjoy.

Hardly anyone else could pull it off.

“Alright, let’s head out——”

She had just turned to leave when she felt two intense stares fixed on her.

Her raised right foot froze mid-step.

“……”

Next time, she’d change clothes when no one was watching……