“Look! Look!”

Yu was pointing to the picture book he was holding in his hand as he pranced around the two young girls.

“I made an escape plan, and I made it alone! I drew the map myself!”

As he waited for their praise, he continued to show them the map drawn in his sketchbook. It was a crudely drawn map of the orphanage in dry paint, with the escape route drawn in red.

When his head started to spin, he stopped running around them and stood in front of them and handed them the picture book. He kept jumping up and down with excitement.

“If we follow this map at night we can successfully escape from here, trust me!”

Having their trust would fill his little heart with happiness.

“You are so sweet,” the girls said. They both spoke at the same time, as they sometimes did.

Yu admired that they could talk in synchronization. He wished he could talk in sync with them too.

Ryu grabbed Yu's right cheek and Myu grabbed his left cheek and squeezed. When they pulled their hands away, Yu's cheeks were red.

“Get ready for the night then.”

He rubbed her cheeks shyly. It hurt a little to have his cheeks squeezed, but it was his older sisters doing it, so it was okay.

“Unfortunately, we can't do that.”

“Why? I've thought of everything, it's going to be great. Everything will be fine! And mom Maya won't beat me anymore.”

“Yu, we need to stay here...” Ryu said, patting Yu's head. He was smiling at him. “I'm sorry.”

It hurt his little heart to have his perfect plan rejected, especially by his older sisters.

He cried.

---

He was sorry to wake up from the dream. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep so that he could have the same dream again, so that he could feel like he was with them again.

But his attempt was unsuccessful, he could not even imagine their faces because of his headache.

“My head... Oh...”

He held his head with his hand, as if he could relieve the pain. He was trying to remember what had happened last time.

“So, what happened last time?”

He remembered leaving Yurine and coming to the inn. And then he had prepared to do the job, but he couldn't remember the rest. The parts he did remember seemed to have happened last year.

“I was on the ground...”

There was something in his mouth that bothered him, a smell. He couldn't smell it with his nose, but he could feel it in his mouth. He was about to get out of bed to wash his mouth when he felt a heaviness in his stomach.

He lifted his head slightly and looked at his stomach. There was a head there and the owner of the head was also the answer to why Yu was in bed and not on the floor.

Yu's head was aching, but he couldn't help but smile when he saw that his lap was the place Yurine had chosen to sleep.

This was the first time Yurine had voluntarily gotten this close to Yu. He was excited that their relationship had progressed to this point after such a short period of time.

“It would have been better if I didn't have to faint to get to this point.”

Seeing Yurine sleeping on his lap made him hesitate to get out of bed.

But Yu didn't want to wake up and greet her with bad smelled breath, he had to wash his mouth.

“If I could just get away for a little bit... Over there...”

He tried to get out of bed without waking Yurine, but it was not possible.

Yurine purred softly, then slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Yu.

“I think I woke you up...” Yu tried to hide his mistake by smiling slightly.

Yurine put her hand on Yu's stomach to straighten herself up, but not even a second later like a real cat she leapt into the air and landed on her two feet, straightening her tail and pointing her finger at Yu.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!”

“The one who comes and lies beside me-”

“YOU IDIOT! IDIOT! IF YOU'RE GOING TO FAINT, WHY ARE YOU SENDING ME AWAY!”

After Yurine's first reaction, he thought that she would be angry with him because of the position they were lying in. Although he guessed the angry part correctly, the reason for her anger was something Yu had never expected.

Yu's mouth hung open in surprise, not knowing what to say. He made several attempts to speak, but nothing came out of his throat. It had never crossed his mind that Yurine would be worried about him.

“I...”

He was so surprised by Yurine's reaction that when he tried to apologize, he could not for a moment even remember the words he should have used to apologize.

“I'm sorry, I apologize.”

"You must be sorry!"

“I'm sorry, I'm really mortingen straße this time.”

After Yu's apology, Yurine placed her hands on her waist and jumped off the bed, tail wagging.

The first time he had a seizure when he was separated from Yurine, his face, which had been smiling just moments before, turned grim.

“This was different from the other seizures.”

Somewhere inside he felt it. Today's seizure was not like any other seizure. There was something different not only in today's seizure, but also in the seizure he had had in Redchapel.

He couldn't say exactly what was different, but he could feel that it was.

On that vigil, Yurine was right by Yu's side, but she was not able to get him through the seizure as she had done the first time.

He wondered if Yurine had been with him during his seizure today she could have helped him through it.

“What's that pathetic expression?”

When she saw Yu's worried face, she sat down on the bed she had jumped off again. She was at Yu's bedside.

He was glad that Yurine was worried about him, but he didn't want to worry her more by telling her his thoughts about his illness. So he brought up another problem he had.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“My head feels like it's going to explode.”

The headache was not a small problem that could be ignored. If it continued for a while Yu would not be able to bear it.

“Will your healing spell relieve the pain?”

If the answer was no, the first thing on his to-do list was to find painkillers.

“I can stop you feeling the pain, but if it's not a wound, it will stay there.”

Yurine's epilepsy treatment was the same. During the seizure, it helped Yu to get through it and afterwards to carry on as if nothing had happened, but the problem that caused the seizure was still there.

“Basically it's a magical painkiller, the logic is the same.”

But this painkiller was not very effective last time. During the seizure at Redwood, Yurine had failed to heal Yu instantly and when Yu wake up, he was somewhere else.

“Please.”

The pain in his head was almost more than he could bear. If it continued for a while Yu would start crying in front of Yurine because of his headache and he didn't want that to happen.

Yurine held Yu's head with her hands. On previous occasions, she had not touched Yu with her hands when casting the spell.

“I wonder if it's because she sees me as closer to her now, or if it's because the spell is more effective in that way. I hope it's about being close.”

Even if her spell was going to fail, she would have preferred the first one to be right.

As the white light seeping through the cat-eared sword fairy's fingers caught Yu's eyes, the pain in his head slowly subsided and finally disappeared completely.

Yu could take a deep breath now, he felt his mind was like still water.

“Thank you, what would I do without you?”

“Nothing. Realize that and be glad that I'm with you.”

Yu's words of pure gratitude were answered by Yurine in a way that was far from humble. Her demeanor brought a smile to Yu's face.

“I'm glad, I'm glad you're with me.”

Yurine's cheeks turned slightly pink, and he saw the corner of her lips turn up slightly.

Yu couldn't take it anymore. Yurine's rosy cheeks raised the level of sweetness above Yu's threshold of resistance. He leaned back and prepared his words.

“So you were worried about me.”

“Wha!?” Yurine jumped off the bed like she had just done, turned to Yu and straightened her tail. “I'm not worried!”

Yurine's face instantly turned red. Yu responded to Yurine's behavior with a chuckle.

“We both know it was inevitable. Sooner or later you would have been charmed to those exquisite eyes of mine that melt your heart. Impossible for any girl to resist.”

“I SAID I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT YOU! CUT THE CRAP!”

“I see... So you deny being worried but you don't deny being charmed?”

“IT'S NOT LIKE THAT! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE SAYING! OUCH! OUCH! YOUR ASS FLIES IN TWO MINUTES!”

“I'm sure it's not.”

“NOT SO!”

“Yes, that's what I said.”

“YOU'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY!”

“You're so romantic, so the extent of love-”

“ENOUGH! GET OUT OF BED!”

Yurine couldn't take Yu's teasing any longer, and without even waiting for him to finish, she pushed him and forced him out of bed. At that moment Yu stepped on something slippery and his face turned sour.

“Disgusting...” he looked at the floor. “Did I throw up here?”

Brown vomit got on his socks. At least he was lucky that he had vomited on the wooden floor and not on the carpet, because after the time that had passed he might not have been able to get the vomit off the carpet.

“I don't have to clean up your vomit every time. You will clean this place right now.”

Even though he did not like the situation, he had no right to oppose Yurine. He moved to clean up his mess.

It was only after he had cleaned up his vomit by candlelight that he thought to draw the curtain. Even though the candle was burning in the room, he opened the curtain to let in the light of the stars and the lanterns outside, and the room became a little brighter.

"I wonder if they'll feed you at this hour."

She hadn't eaten dinner because she had planned to eat it with Yurine. Since they had eaten all their meals together during the time they lived together, even if they were separated for a short time, she did not want to break the order they had established and eat alone.

But because he fainted, it was past the time they normally ate. He did not know if the inn would give them dinner at this time. If they were told it was too late, they would have to pay extra for dinner.

They could not enjoy eating, but their stomachs were rumbling and they still needed to consume food.

“Let's go and see what's going on.” He washed his mouth clean and headed for the door, but Yurine wasn't following him. “What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?”

Yurine crossed her arms, puffed out her cheeks, stomped her heel and looked at Yu. Yu must have done something wrong.

“I'm waiting for an explanation,” Yurine said.

Yu went through the whole day like a movie in his mind, from beginning to end, trying to figure out where he had gone wrong and made Yurine angry.

“What did I do?”

He had spent the whole day going through her mind, but he couldn't find an answer. What could he have done today to make her angry?

She had just been angry with him for fainting, but he had apologized for it and said he was glad she was there. Or was it because he had arranged a little trip for her without her permission?

“Are you talking about me sending you on a trip with Nerissa?”

Yurine continued to stare at Yu without saying anything, tapping her heel on the floor faster and faster. So the problem must surely be something else.

To rub the answer in Yu's face, she grabbed the thing and showed it to Yu.

“What is this thing?”

“Ohfuc...”

In Yurine's hands was the mannequin magazine Yu had planned to use for the job before he fainted.

“What explanation can I give?”

It was the first time Yu had ever blushed so red with shame. His face was red up to his ears. He could handle this magazine falling into someone else's hands, but how could he handle it falling into his little daughter's hands?

If he didn't handle it successfully, he would lose all credibility with Yurine and become a pervert in her eyes.

He didn't know what to do, his nerves were breaking down as he felt the embarrassment intensely, and that's why he had a smile on his face that he didn't realize he had.

“Why are you grinning so big?”

“Am I grinning?”

It was only when Yurine said that he realized he was smiling. When he realized, he tried to stop his smile, but the more he tried to make it disappear, the more he smiled. His nerves were completely broken.

“So? What do you say?”

“What the hell is that thing?”

He didn't have any answer to give. If the pictures in the magazine had been a little less obscene, maybe he could have made an excuse, but those pictures were not excusable.

“That's what I'm asking.”

“Use your head, Yu. This is just a little girl. You're a grown-up, smart, charismatic, cool guy. It shouldn't be too hard to fool her,” he tried to motivate himself, but he couldn't find anything to fool Yurine.

“Where did you get that? Let me see what it is.” He reached for Yurine to take the magazine, but she dodged away from Yu. “Give me that.”

This time his move was faster, but still slow compared to the speed of Yurine's mana-powered body.

“Give me that!” he said pleadingly.

He was running to take the magazine from her, but he couldn't keep up with Yurine's speed. Yurine was much more agile and faster than Yu and no matter what Yu did, she got rid of him.

“Why do you want this? You disgusting pervert! What are you going to do with it?”

“I'm trying to take it because it might be dangerous.” Yu said the first thing that came to his mind. “Maybe it's a trap or something, someone is plotting against us. Yes, yes, it must be like that. They are jealous of us.”

Yurine paid no attention to Yu's words.

“Why are there pictures of women on every page of this book!?”

She was turning the pages, looking at the pictures inside the magazine. Yu tried to take the magazine from Yurine when she was looking at the magazine and not at him, but she dodged him without even looking up.

“Why don't you give it to me? It's not useful to you. Where did you get it?”

It was a stupid question, it didn't help the situation.

“What's it going to do for you?”

“I-It's none of your business…”

He couldn't tell Yurine what to do with the magazine and he couldn't give her an answer that would satisfy her.

“Huh... You pervert! And where did you get such a thing? The pictures on it are so realistic... Or else! No way!” Yurine looked at Yu with wide eyes as if she realized a terrible truth. “Asshole! Heretic!”

“Heretic?”

He could accept the asshole, and Yurine had already used many words to insult Yu, but this was the first time he had heard of the heretic. What should he make of it?

“You trapped these innocent women in this cursed book for your sick pleasure? What kind of monster are you!?”

“I didn't do anything like that! As if I'm strong enough to do such a thing!”

If Yu was powerful enough to trap people inside books, the parallel world adventure would not be so difficult and painful.

“Then why are these pictures so realistic!? Gods, who did I make a deal with!”

“I told you, I come from another world!”

“What's that got to do with it? In that world you put women in books!?”

“Of course not!”

He jumped on Yurine to catch her. Yurine easily dodged this move too, and after another failed attempt, Yu crashed into the wall.

Yurine jumped on the bed as Yu grabbed her sore spots.

"That's it! These women will suffer no more for your sick pleasures!"

“They're not suffering! They got paid to be in that magazine! I'm sure they're happy with their money!”

Yurine didn't pay any attention, ignoring Yu's explanation.

“Now I will free the poor souls of these women!”

“You will free?” When Yu realized what Yurine was about to do, he rushed over. “Stop! No!”

When Yurine saw Yu running at her, she jumped up, stepped on Yu's head, pushed him away and dropped him on the bed. Yurine landed neatly on the floor as Yu fell.

“No...”

Yu pulled himself together and turned around, but it was too late.

Yurine quickly tore the magazine in half.

“No!”

Yurine continued to tear the magazine apart while Yu fell to his knees.

“No! No! No... Why?”

He tried to pick up the fallen pieces and put them together, but it was futile. Small pieces slipped through his fingers and the magazine was gone forever.

“My treasure that will be passed down for generations... How could you waste it?”

When Yurine finished, all the pieces of the magazine were on the floor.