The regressor is sleeping on top of me as if she wouldn't notice even if the ground collapsed beneath her. Since her hammock had actually slipped down, this was no exaggeration at all. When I, suddenly turned into a bed, flinched reflexively, the regressor frowned and let out a groan.
"Mmm..."
The first thought that came to mind was simply: I'm fucked. This emotional and unreasonable regressor would not hesitate for even a moment to kill me, despite being the one who crawled in herself.
What should visit at night is a fairy, not a murderer who wildly hacks off people's right arms. What the hell is going on? Why is a bomb in my arms!
Glancing up, the rope tying the hammock had lost its tension and hung loose. In the long-abandoned camp, the hammock had been stretched out, and when the regressor finally got in, the tension gave out. Fortunately, it didn't snap but slipped, so the regressor must have descended while still asleep.
Damn, what a coincidence.
Right now the regressor is like a bomb. Wake her? She explodes. Don't wake her? She'll wake up eventually. And still explode. The conclusion of this situation is me dying in an explosion. Even though it's not my fault!
But I'm a magician. No matter how difficult the situation, I must escape gracefully. I examined the cards I could use right away. Several evil gods and their bodies, and the hammock supporting the regressor.
Alright. That's it. Levitation magic.
Levitation magic mostly consists of thin threads. The success of the magic depends on how smoothly and naturally you can move the objects suspended by the threads.
I've never lifted a person over 50kg before, but now that I've gotten stronger, it might be possible.
Let's see, feel the center of gravity. Her face is at my chest, and she's curled up like a shrimp. I secure the rope over there to the wall with my left foot. I wrap and pull the opposite rope with my right foot. The hammock tightens a bit.
Taking a slight breath, I aligned the center of gravity and lifted the hammock's rope.
"...!"
No matter how much stronger I've gotten, lifting a person by pulling a hammock was difficult. Even worse, pulling the top and bottom of the hammock with my limbs made me feel pain as if my entire body was being wrung out.
Still, the fear of death made me exert superhuman strength. The regressor's hammock slowly rose upward.
Good. Lift it like this. Fix the rope to the wall with earth magic and alchemy, then I'll slip out below.
My life as a magician wasn't useless after all. I'm performing such feats while barely keeping the regressor from falling.
The regressor floated about 10cm above my body. This much gap is enough. After merging the wall and rope into one with alchemy, I tried to support the opposite rope and slip out. If I slip out like this and tie the rope again, it's over.
I survived. When I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. As I was trying to slip out, I met Aji's eyes.
"Woof?"
Why are you watching me from there?
I froze like someone who committed a crime, and Aji opened his mouth and asked innocently.
"Wake up? Woke up?"
"Shh. Can't you tell by looking? She woke up, so don't bark."
"Woof? She's still sleeping! I'll wake her up good!"
"Shut up! Don't light the fuse! Let her sleep!"
Why this timing of all times...! Move! I need to get out!
"Mmm..."
However, I overlooked one fact.
Humans move. When they move, the center of gravity changes. If the center of gravity shifts on a precariously suspended thread, it flips right over.
Instantly, the hammock flipped. The regressor, who had been floating, experienced a momentary fall.
In that split second, the regressor's eyes flew open as she grabbed and swung Cheon-aeng.
Cheonbangyeong prepares appropriate defense and counterattack at any moment. Even if one is unconscious and fast asleep, Cheonbangyeong swiftly and accurately targets approaching enemies.
Without even considering the fact that the regressor herself was the one approaching!
Cheon-aeng aims for my neck. If it were a strike the regressor swung consciously, I'd respond with mind-reading, but this is an attack imprinted in her body.
Mind-reading can't read it. It's hard to deflect or respond. I can only pray for regeneration.
"Huh? Hughes?"
It was then. The regressor, who had woken from sleep, urgently stopped her body just before swinging Cheon-aeng. And instantly, her balance collapsed, and the hammock swayed and flipped. The world spun around two or three times.
"Ah!"
As a result, the regressor and I ended up tightly wrapped in the hammock like cocoons.
I, who had watched this process unfold clearly, knew how things could get this tangled, but the regressor, who had just woken up, knew nothing and shouted.
"Wh-what! Why are you in my bed?!"
"My bed? That's what I should be saying! You're the one who fell onto my bed!"
"Nonsense! There's no way I wouldn't notice if I fell!"
"Well said! Likewise, there's no way I wouldn't notice if I crawled into your bed! Not that I'd have any reason to crawl into your bed in the first place!"
"Then why are you with me?!"
"That's what I should be asking! Why didn't you wake up while crawling all the way here! If you had woken up earlier, we wouldn't have to be red-faced like this!"
Fortunately, my neck wasn't slit. Still, she's developed enough patience to ask about the situation before slashing my throat. How truly grateful. Even though I'm the one who was attacked.
"Just get off me!"
The regressor reached out and swung Cheon-aeng. Slash, the rope was cut, and the regressor and I, who were tied to the hammock, thudded to the floor. The regressor panicked seeing the floor arrive much sooner than expected.
'It really is the bottom? The place I slept was the top. What? So I really did go into Hughes's bed? Why? How?'
Don't ask how and just leave quickly if you're going to! At this rate...!
"It's noisy inside. Are you awake?"
It was then. Rash, who had burst through the door, stopped dead in his tracks. Before him were the regressor and me, wrapped tightly together in the hammock like a single mass. The regressor had been struggling to pull her body out, so she was practically pressed against me.
Wow. So this is what it looked like from a third party's perspective. It's basically like getting caught cheating.
While both the regressor and I froze, not knowing what to say, Rash scratched his chin and muttered while looking troubledly outside.
"My. It must have been cold last night."
Rash muttered to himself, pretending not to see. Then Aji answered while barking blankly.
"Woof? It wasn't cold! It was warm!"
Contrary to expectations that she'd throw a fit, the regressor was quiet. Finishing her meal with a sullen expression, the regressor urged the journey forward without another word.
I explained the situation with a few clues and circumstantial evidence, and the regressor couldn't find any flaws in my words. The regressor reluctantly admitted this was an accident.
It wasn't a big deal to begin with. It was just a story about the hung hammock slipping and falling. It might be unpleasant, but that's it, and once past it, it's not a problem at all.
'No, it doesn't make sense! I've learned Cheonbangyeong. Even if I was asleep, how could I not know when someone is right next to me!'
But the regressor was filled with bewilderment and fury. It was the calm before the storm. I watched the regressor and read her thoughts.
'Did I let them get too close? But none of my comrades have ever been able to approach within Cheonbangyeong's range... Is it because I was the one who moved? Or is it because Hughes is too weak?'
I'm the one who was attacked, but it's funny that I have to explain myself. The sorrow of the weak.
'It doesn't make sense. It must be because of the blessing. I let my guard down too much from the fact that I received the Saintess's blessing. Everything was going smoothly so I relaxed...'
Then the regressor suddenly realized something and tilted her head.
'...Everything should be going smoothly, so why did the hammock slip while I was asleep? That's not a good thing.'
"Teacher."
"Yes. Rash."
Walking for a while after my strength had been drained. Rash approached me, who had been peeking at the regressor's thoughts, and whispered quietly.
"I too overcame many hurdles to achieve love. Culture, etiquette, territoriality, even physical conditions. We faced countless hardships and overcame them by adapting to each other. It was possible because we both had our own abilities and determination."
"What's with this out-of-nowhere talk? That's scary."
Rash, who was clearly misunderstanding something deeply, said in a worried tone.
"However, the young one is still young. She probably doesn't know yet how high and rough those hurdles can be. If you're a teacher, I think it's proper to at least inform her of those difficulties first. Especially when age, gender, and everything else are barriers."
Whatever happened during their time apart, Rash offered me advice with a mature attitude. Deep advice that seemed like it was brewed from his own life... my ass.
"What are you talking about? Didn't you hear earlier? Shei is the one who came into my bed, and I didn't do anything! I was groaning under sleep paralysis until I opened my eyes in the morning!"
It would be different if she had thought about it beforehand. This was an accident for me too! The regressor doesn't guard against me, but she doesn't let herself get attached to this round that she'll eventually have to abandon. If I approach carelessly, I could get a knife in the throat before I can even read her thoughts like now.
"It was the young one's one-sided feelings?"
"No, in the first place..."
The regressor is a woman and has no feelings for me. But the regressor keeps causing misunderstandings, making it difficult to even mention this fact.
But why should I care? If she wants to clear up the misunderstanding, she can do it herself. It doesn't particularly matter to me.
"It can't be helped, right? I'm a normal person who likes women. Whatever her thinking was for coming in, I'm the one who's more uncomfortable?"
"Hah. I see. The young one has it hard too."
"That's not it!"
Unable to listen anymore, the regressor approached shouting.
"It was an accident! The rope just loosened! It's nothing..."
But the question piercing through the regressor still remained, tormenting her. The regressor, who had been shouting in excitement, suddenly fell silent at a thought that arose and became lost in thought.
'Why did this nothing of an incident happen now of all times...? What? What does it mean? How does this help?'
Deep in thought, the regressor stopped talking and started walking again. As if walking itself was the purpose.
What. Give some reaction. When you act so strangely like that.
"Hmm. I'm sorry, Teacher. I didn't know she'd be hurt so seriously. Since you're the adult, please understand the young one's feelings."
I'm the one who's going to look weird!