"…Phew."
I washed my face and brushed my teeth in the bathroom, taking a moment to rest.
Having returned, the sight before my eyes slowly made me think that this was, in its own way, truly a situation I could call fortunate.
"Mrrgh…."
Bathory was just sprawled out on the bed.
It was a queen-size bed, certainly large enough for one person to use, and one that could comfortably fit two sleepers, yet there she was, lying flat on her back.
Thanks to that, from the dead center of the bed to the side… the sight of her completely occupying it with her short arms and legs was absurd, but.
I could at least push her, already fast asleep, to the side.
"Saran, are you alright? Would you like some water?"
"I'm not drunk, so I'm fine."
"Ahaha…."
And on the other side, Saran was sitting in a chair.
Seeing that her eyes still couldn't focus, she definitely looked as if she was too drunk to come to her senses.
It was probably more accurate to say she was simply drunk.
"Saran, still, drink some water. If you keep drinking only alcohol, your stomach will be upset tomorrow."
"…Okay."
I smiled gently and suggested as much to Saran, and she didn't refuse outright.
Just a sip of cool water.
Since it was a small house I usually lived in alone, there weren't many cups… and besides, I was too lazy to wash dishes, so I just drank from the glass Saran had used.
As long as I didn't drink from the exact same spot.
After cleansing my insides with that cool water, I finally felt a bit more comfortable.
Drinking alcohol, eating meat, drinking alcohol, eating meat, and then coming back like this—I finally felt like I'd properly cleansed my stomach, you know.
"How was today? It was fun, right?"
"Well enough."
"Hehe, that's a relief. By the way… the bed is spacious when I'm using it alone, but I'm a bit worried since we're all sharing it today. Should I just sleep on the floor?"
"No, let's sleep together."
As expected, Saran offered me a kind answer.
Even though she was drunk, I suppose a person's nature doesn't change much….
No, if I thought about how Bathory kept banging her head against the table and utility poles earlier, that didn't seem to be the case.
"Mm… would you like to sleep right away?"
"…No."
"Ah, that's right."
Come to think of it, Saran didn't even need to sleep early, did she?
My thinking was a bit shortsighted.
I must have been a little drunk myself, but not so drunk that I needed to fall asleep right away.
After that, I continued chatting softly with Saran.
We just talked about what had happened during the day—starting with Bathory's mentoring, the time spent eating meat, and the story from when we moved Bathory just a while ago.
"Charlotte. Have you ever used your hypnosis ability on her?"
"Of course I have? Unlike your case, Saran, it was clear from the start what the issue was with Bathory. It was also the easiest, simplest, and most effective method."
"I see."
In the midst of that, talk of my ability came up.
I wondered if she was curious because Bathory was officially a hero under my charge, and we'd clearly had several counseling sessions.
"What did you do with hypnosis?"
"I just asked a few questions and left a kind of hypnosis that… it's okay to be a little more at ease? Even though it's a hypnosis ability, it's not omnipotent."
"I see."
Saran asked questions and only gave brief replies to my answers.
How should I put it, perhaps because she was drunk, she felt a bit more spaced out in her own world than usual… well, she was drunk.
I continued the conversation with some understanding, and afterward, Saran asked various questions about my ability, almost as if investigating it.
What level of commands the ability could issue, how long it lasted, and what method it used.
She asked about many things, and I answered easily enough….
"Then use it on me too."
"Really?"
"I'm curious, that's why."
"Hmm…."
As a result, I ended up using my ability on Saran?
It was a sudden request in many ways, but lightly hypnotizing her wasn't difficult at all.
I moved Saran to the bed and pushed Bathory to the side to make space.
"Breathe slowly and comfortably."
"Okay."
And then, I led her as I was used to doing.
I calmed her further as she lay comfortably on my bed, and continued speaking words to gradually calm her heart, beating faster than usual due to alcohol—calming it further and further.
"Slowly, slowly… down."
Since her mind was already slightly hazy from the alcohol, it wasn't very difficult.
Feeling Saran's eyes growing increasingly vacant, I snapped my fingers, and her eyes dulled further as she fell completely into a trance.
"Hmm…."
I'd done it because she asked for the hypnosis experience.
What should I do with it?
Honestly, this would have been enough, but since I'd put her in a trance, I felt the urge to help her with something through my ability.
"Saran, how was the mentoring session today?"
"It was annoying…."
"Huh. Which part exactly…?"
"She's a rookie who hasn't even grasped the basics… teaching it to her was stifling……"
"…."
Uh.
Um.
Well….
"Haha…."
It was only natural that someone like Bathory would seem sorely lacking in the eyes of Saran, an E-rank or B-rank hero, despite seeming talented.
Rather, shouldn't I think Saran is amazing for continuing to help her for hours despite that?
Yes, that's what I thought.
Even I thought that being asked to help the newest recruit who had just joined the Bureau while I was suddenly away on a business trip sounded honestly annoying.
"Then do you really think Bathory, whom you taught today, can reach C-rank?"
Since Saran's first answer had been quite shocking, I decided to ask a bit more sincerely.
This seemed better for the mentoring going forward.
There was nothing worse than forcing mismatched people together needlessly, so I asked from the belief that this was right.
"That… I really think it's possible."
"Oho…."
"She has talent. Though she's still lacking."
"I see. Did you really dislike teaching someone like Bathory?"
"Charlotte asked me to. I just did it, that's all."
"That's amazing… doing something so troublesome and burdensome so nonchalantly."
"…I received help. That's why I did it."
Still, listening to each answer that followed, a smile slowly spread across my face rather than shock.
To the point that I even felt a little proud of her.
"Saran, what has been worrying you lately?"
Having heard everything about today's mentoring, I naturally asked the familiar question.
It was a question I often used during counseling, and its effects usually manifested immediately and very well, but in Saran's case, she herself often didn't know.
"…A mission is coming up soon, and I don't think I'll be able to see Charlotte then."
"Oh my."
What a cute worry.
We hadn't even met that many times yet, so a worry more trivial than I expected made me start to feel a bit happier.
I never thought she'd think like this.
That a snake-like beauty who always had a cold, stoic expression would say such a thing—I had really never expected it.
Having heard such words, I began to think there was no reason to keep asking about things she hadn't revealed first, so I slowly asked Saran another question.
"Saran, if Charlotte touches your tongue… what would you do?"
"I don't mind."
"Ooh…."
No further questions or requests were necessary at all.
With just that, the corners of my lips began to rise endlessly at Saran's perfect answer, enough to say everything was satisfied, and finally, I told Saran that as the hypnosis ended—
"From now on, drowsiness will wash over you in an instant, and you will fall asleep just like that. Sleep deeply and comfortably."
"Okay…."
I cast hypnosis to put her to sleep as well.
As a result, Bathory lay on one side and Saran on the other. I hadn't expected this from the start, but… how should I put it, it felt like having flowers in both hands.
With a cute, pretty beauty on each side, I couldn't help but be happy.
"…Ah."
But tomorrow, I have to go to work.
I was worried I'd be tired in more ways than one from the morning.
I was already tired right now.
*
"……! …!"
An indistinct sound.
Small, continuous rustling sounds.
Slowly opening my eyes to the unclear sounds and focusing my ears, what I heard was….
"Manager…!"
"Bathory… did you… sleep well……?"
It was the little goblin girl.
My eyes first took in the face of the small girl looking at me while tapping my shoulder.
And from her direction, a pleasant, peach-like scent instantly reached me….
For some reason, my arm on the opposite side of Bathory was incredibly numb right now.
"What's the matter…."
"I, why am, am I here…."
…It seemed Bathory had blacked out.
She hadn't drunk to a serious degree, but since she'd drunk enough to get properly drunk, perhaps it was natural to show such behavior.
I'd just woken up, so I was a bit dizzy, but….
"Yesterday, you got so drunk that Saran and I just moved you here…."
"Ah, aah…."
"How much of yesterday do you remember?"
"I-I'm sorry…!"
"You don't need to apologize…."
She seemed to remember banging her head on the table and acting foolish from the middle onward.
By the way, Bathory must have just woken up a short while ago herself.
Seeing her considerably cute appearance from the morning felt somewhat wondrous… and when I turned my head to the side, unlike Bathory, the incredibly beautiful Saran was sleeping soundly.
To be exact….
"…What the."
She was hugging my arm tightly, squeeeezing… sleeping with an extremely comfortable, contented expression—a sight wondrous enough to behold.
So that's why it had been uncomfortable since a while ago.
It was a face not usually seen from her… but anyway.
Thanks to the heroes positioned on either side of me since morning, I was starting to feel slightly dizzy.
"Mmm, it's still… quite a while until work…. Bathory, shall we sleep a little more…? Just lie down comfortably next to me and sleep together……"
"Huh, y-yes…?!"
Anyway, in that groggy state, I checked the clock.
There were still at least about three hours left until work.
I'd set the alarm on my phone before sleeping yesterday… and fundamentally, Bathory, who had fallen asleep early yesterday, had woken up early and roused me, which was why my eyes were open now.
If I fell asleep like this, I felt like I could just… sleep more deeply and wake up.
That's why I said it, and naturally, Bathory was flustered.
But… really, I was so sleepy…….
"I'm tired… and I have to go to work today too… hurry……."
I simply extended my remaining arm toward Bathory, telling her to hurry and sleep even a little longer.
But, unless there was a natural disaster, an office worker had to go to work….
Sad as it was, that was the way of the world….