Wrapping in Sheets to Deceive the Eyes

You know, now that I think about it, Rokuko and I still hadn't given them our self-introductions. At most, they've just heard me call Rokuko by name.

In other words… they probably don't care about individuals like me or Rokuko; as long as we are heroes. Yeah, considering the bracelet, it's quite a suspicious summoning.

Rokuko beckoned me closer… Hm? When I approached her, she pulled me in and hugs me tightly.

Wh-what are you doing here—

"… It's late to bring it up, but we should be careful of eavesdropping."

"Ah—"

—Now that she mentioned it, we were careful when we were summoned to the room, but we let our guard down as soon as we came to the private room. Despite this place still being a dangerous area.

"I suppose… I should put the bracelets in my [Storage]?"

With that, Rokuko removed the bracelet that was hanging from her neck by a string.

[Storage] was a space isolated from the flow of time, so there should be no problem even if the bracelet turned out to be a listening device. The menu screen was set to be invisible to others… and maybe small animal summoning could be seen as a hero's ability?

"… I feel like I've blurted out a lot of things."

"It's more natural to let some things slip. They'll think we're just talking about another world if we say something incomprehensible… Hey, could you hug me tighter?"

"S-sure."

On top of the bed, I hugged Rokuko tightly like a body pillow… I pulled the sheets over us.

"Now, while we gather information… what do you want to do, Kehma?"

Rokuko whispered in my ear from up close. It was a bit ticklish, but anyway.

"… There are two choices we can make now."

"Move or wait, right?"

"Yeah. I'd like to choose to escape as soon as possible, but since they're going to prepare a paper with the terms of our job, waiting is also an option."

That being said, that minister didn't even confirm if we could read this world's language. It's doubtful whether he'll really write it for us. It wouldn't be hard to imagine them putting something in our dinner.

"I have [Super Transformation] and resistance to being knocked out, but dinner would still be risky."

"We can't eat it without someone tasting it for poison."

"… I could say that I have the ability to summon mice and have them taste-test it?"

It's probably not possible that there's a poison that doesn't work on anything but a human, but there should be few poisons that don't affect mice but do affect humans… right?

"Maybe it's safer not to eat it after all…"

"Then I'll say I'm not feeling well and won't eat… What will you do, Kehma?"

"Hmm."

With that, Rokuko took out a melon bread. Was it stored in her [Storage] or did she get it with DP?

"Do you want some, Kehma?"

"Mm."

Still under the sheets, Rokuko handed me some melon bread and I took a bite. Munch munch. Delicious.

"Maybe we should just sleep and not wake up until tomorrow morning."

"That's a good idea."

Rokuko nommed on her melon bread. Eating at such a close distance feels somewhat, well, strangely sensual…?

"…"

"Kehma?"

"No, it's nothing… What about the scouting?"

"I've got the surrounding area figured out for now. If we take until morning, I should be able to get a grasp of the layout of the castle."

"Alright, I'll leave it to you… I'll tell the maid that we're going to sleep now and that we don't need dinner."

Moving away from Rokuko, I got out of the sheets and stuck my head out of the room.

The maid who'd been sitting on a chair nearby came over to ask if there was anything I needed. She'd been diligently waiting in the empty hallway, very dedicated to her job.

"To be honest, we were about to go to bed when you summoned us. Yawn… So I'm already sleepy. Don't wake us up until tomorrow morning. Oh, and we don't need food."

"… Understood. What would you like to do tomorrow morning?"

"Have the documents detailing our job as heroes ready, as well as some light snacks we can nibble on while looking at them."

"Understood."

Yawning, I told the maid our plans. She rung a bell and maid came over, received the message, and left.

… Is this maid like our personal attendant? Maybe she's just keeping an eye on us?

At any rate, I returned to the room since I was done delivering my message. I locked the door and went back to Rokuko.

"Kehma, let's sleep together?"

Still wrapped in the sheets, Rokuko beckoned me in with a coquettish smile.

"… Well, there's only one bed, so I guess we have no choice, right?"

"That's right. There's only one bed, so we have no choice."

I'd been wrapped up in the [Divine Blanket] in the Demonlands, so it wasn't like this is the first time. Still, I felt both a bit uneasy and a bit excited.

"… But should we really be sleeping?"

"Go ahead and sleep, Kehma. I'll wake you up if something happens."

I asked if it wouldn't be better to stay awake in case of an attack, but she dismissed the idea.

"I want you to sleep when you can because you tend to do unpredictable things when you're sleep-deprived."

"Alright."

Being a Dungeon Core, Rokuko didn't need to sleep, so she'd be staying awake. I had resistance to being knocked out, so while I could stay awake without sleeping, I had nothing to say in response to her reasoning.

And so it was decided that only I would sleep.

… Wrapped in the sheets with Rokuko.

I hope that Haku-san doesn't… nah, even in Daido, it shouldn't be revealed… right?

"Rokuko."

"… What is it?"

"Let's keep this a secret from Haku-san."

"Mm."

Replying, Rokuko stroked my head.