“…Still awake?”
“Well, yeah… I’m awake.”
Though my entire body should’ve been exhausted from working out at the gym today, my eyes were still wide open.
After all, there was a woman lying right next to me, gripping my arm and pressing her chest against mine.
She was neither Ravi, who had forced herself on me, nor Amber, who wouldn’t bat an eye at doing something like this.
“Lady Chris, surely people would say this is indecent when we aren’t even dating…”
“A-are you going to give up now, of all times?”
“But if the Silver Order members found out, it would be a huge problem.”
“Such consideration is unnecessary, so… stick closer! It’s for your life!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
In the end, rather than escaping her hold, I ended up pressing my body even closer to hers.
‘…Can I really sleep properly like this?’
I’d never dreamed that I would end up sharing a bed with someone in this world—something I’d never done with anyone before.
Of course, there was that time Ravi forced herself on me, but I had been so out of it then that I didn’t have time to feel embarrassed about every little thing, so I’ll skip over that.
But right now, the excitement refused to fade with each passing second. I was going crazy.
“Kuh…”
In the end, the only thing I could do was let out a small sigh and curse this situation.
‘Just how did things end up like this?’
Time rewinds to the moment she visited this house.
***
“Here’s your black tea.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Chris took the mug I offered and expressed her gratitude.
She blew on the tea briefly to cool it down, then glanced at me before taking a sip.
“…It’s delicious.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Perhaps because we hadn’t seen each other face-to-face for a while, an awkward atmosphere hung in the air.
To begin with, a young man and woman being in the same room was awkward enough.
“…….”
Staying silent would only make this atmosphere worse.
I steeled myself and spoke first.
“So, what brings you here today? It’s quite sudden.”
I couldn’t let my superior wait at the front door, so I’d let her inside, but I still hadn’t heard the reason for her visit.
From her expression, it didn’t seem like urgent business, but even so, it was strange that Chris—a high-ranking officer—had come directly instead of using another means of contact.
‘Did some kind of incident break out?’
Lately, I’d been enjoying peaceful days without fighting anyone, which made me all the more anxious.
If something had happened while I was leisurely working out, one could fairly say I’d failed as an underling.
Amidst that tension, the words that came from her mouth were—
“…Actually, I don’t really know either.”
“Excuse me?”
A tone as if she hadn’t come here of her own will.
I was relieved it wasn’t a serious incident, yet I couldn’t accept her words at face value.
“The Boss gave me a strange order a short while ago. She said that if I showed this to you, you would understand.”
With those words, she pulled out a neatly folded white sheet of paper from her pocket and held it out over the desk.
To grasp the situation, I immediately opened it and began reading the text written there.
“…Hmm.”
To summarize, it seemed she wanted to conduct an experiment regarding my lifespan, so I should stick with Chris for a day.
For reference, it also stated that since Chris hadn’t been briefed yet, we should read the letter together and share the situation.
‘What kind of experiment is this? I can’t even begin to guess…’
Since it was Lapis’s order anyway, disobedience wasn’t an option.
I showed the letter to Chris, let her confirm its contents, and we began discussing what to do from here.
“Since she said it’s an experiment, I suppose we should head to headquarters now?”
“Probably. It’s a bit hard to imagine her telling us to spend the day at this house.”
As it happened, the Silver Order had a massive laboratory managed by Citrin.
In other words, Lapis’s true intention was likely to observe the experiment there. Though I still didn’t know why she had sent Chris specifically to my house.
“Then let’s hurry. We can’t keep the Boss waiting.”
It felt like I could finally escape this awkward atmosphere, so I quickly threw on my coat.
“Wait, what if you trip rushing like that?”
“I’m not a child. I don’t make mistakes like that.”
I walked to the front door, reached out confidently, and opened it—
*Click—!*
“…….”
Along with the sensation of the doorknob meeting resistance, an indescribably unpleasant sound rang out.
*Clunk— clunk—*
I tried a few more times, but the result didn’t change.
Even when I put my strength into turning the handle, the door wouldn’t open. As if something was intentionally obstructing it.
“…It seems magic has been cast. So that we can’t leave this room.”
“No, who on earth would do such a thing…”
“Judging from the situation, it was probably Lapis.”
The moment Chris finished speaking, the letter we had just read suddenly flew up and attached itself to the front door.
‘What kind of magic lets you pull off a feat like that?’
Unable to hide my surprise, I watched the spectacle before my eyes as an extremely familiar phrase began to carve itself into the door.
[ A room from which you cannot leave until — ]
“Don’t tell me this is…”
A phrase I had seen countless times in novels.
But I absolutely couldn’t accept that Lapis would entangle her precious confidant with some stray mutt from who knows where.
Contrary to my expectations, however—
[ A room from which you cannot leave until you share a bed. ]
“…….”
I hurriedly opened the dictionary app on my smartphone and looked up the word written before my eyes.
Surely it had a meaning separate from the “sharing a bed” that I knew. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense.
[ Dongchim, 同寢 ]
[ (Of a man and woman) sleeping together. ]
‘Ah, fuck.’
Unfortunately, no such exception existed.
In other words, a mere underling like me had to spend the night with Chris, a high-ranking officer, but…
I glanced at Chris furtively, gauging her reaction.
‘The letter definitely said it was an experiment regarding my lifespan.’
If so, Chris was closer to a victim who had simply gotten caught up in this experiment.
Even if I wasn’t certain, it was only right to explain the situation with what I could surmise.
I had no choice but to confess everything I had figured out.
That as an Irregular from another world, this world was trying to push out a human named Jade.
That I had avoided danger several times through the mana Ravi had forcefully injected into me, but the fundamental problem remained unsolved.
Having heard the full story, Chris flushed as if angry and clung to me.
“Why are you only telling me such an important fact now!”
“Well… it wasn’t certain yet.”
“Even so, your life was on the line! You should have relied on me, even just a little!”
I was a bit surprised. I hadn’t expected her to worry so much about a mere underling like me.
“I’m sorry?”
“Haah, forget it. Let’s quickly sort out the situation.”
Lapis had probably discovered a means to avoid my lifespan—that is, my predetermined fate.
But since it hadn’t yet led to certainty, it seemed she had sent Chris to my room to test that means.
“Even so, why such an order…”
“I know what you want to say, but we have no choice but to obey for now. She must have her reasons.”
As a subordinate, I had to do as I was told. Lapis’s insight had never missed the mark until now.
If this guaranteed my safety, there was no reason to refuse.
“What about Neil? Will he be able to sleep alone?”
Neil was the precious younger brother she had devotedly cared for.
It was summer vacation, but I’d asked because I wondered if he might feel lonely if Chris was away for a day; however, it seemed to be a needless worry.
“There’s no need to worry about him. He said he’s sleeping at a friend’s house today.”
“That’s a relief.”
Perhaps noticing that my expression was still dark despite that, Chris slightly lowered her head and began muttering.
“I knew it. It’s a burden, isn’t it? Sharing a bed with a woman like me…”
She blamed herself in an incredibly fragile voice, completely at odds with her usual solemn tone.
The gap between this and the sight of her boosting the morale of countless underlings from a podium was considerable.
‘I bet she usually forces her tone lower and acts dignified.’
But she was far too young to bear such responsibility. Even though we were the same age, the weight on her shoulders was completely different from mine.
I felt it would be nice if she could at least relax and be herself around me.
“There’s no way you’d be a burden. If anything, I want to spend every day with you.”
“Y-you’ve been good at saying such embarrassing things since last time!”
As expected, the moment she heard my words, she flushed and raised her voice.
“That’s because Lady Chris is saying strange things.”
“You really don’t know your place…”
Teasing her was indeed rewarding. Though it’s almost half-serious.
“Rather than that, even if we are sharing a bed, it should be fine for me to sleep on the floor, right?”
“What are you talking about? You’re the homeowner, and I’m the one who barged in uninvited. You should use the bed.”
“But making my superior sleep on the cold floor…”
Amidst our heated debate over who would use the bed, an email from Lapis that suddenly arrived on Chris’s smartphone resolved the matter in an instant.
[ I forgot to mention, but if possible, the two of you should lock arms and stick close together. And of course, sleep in the same bed. ]