Waking Up is Heaven and Hell
A new morning has come. Just as I thought that, I was already awake. Alicia was in the middle of taking off my négligée and changing my clothes. Why? I tilted my head in confusion, and Alicia’s eyes widened, and suddenly she hugged me. I really don’t know what happened. Strangely, I don’t feel drowsy, so it’s not like I was dazed.
“You are finally back~~”
“I can’t breathe. Didn’t I say I will be back?”
“Your tone has changed quite a bit!! Madam will be mad at you!”
Yeah, I feel like something has changed. I think it’s fine to stay like this.
Now, when I asked how this situation came about, it seems that I’ve been asleep for about three days.
The reason I have no memory is that my core, which is my soul, wasn’t active, so I woke up but didn’t react much and didn’t say a word. In other words, during the repair of my soul, even if I woke up, it was like my soul was absent. I thought it wouldn’t even be active according to my expectations, but it seems to repeat habitual behavior.
“Did something happen?”
“… Nothing at all, nope.”
I glared at her, but Alicia remained silent, only averting her gaze.
Anyway, she asked if I was feeling okay, so I tried to check my body…
“My magic power circuits are in bad shape. Magic will be… fine once I fix them.”
Just like when I modified them by forcibly controlling the strange flow of magic power, I began repairing the circuits one by one. I was sweating quite a bit, but with magic power leaking from my body, it felt uncomfortable, and this would slow down my recovery. It took about 30 minutes to repair them.
However, even with this, I wouldn’t be able to withstand using magic power at full power, so I’ll have to modify them again. In essence, the magic power circuits are a simplified flow like stick figures, but as long as I can expand and strengthen them to a degree recognizable by my magic power vision, it should be fine.
As my clothes became unusable due to sweating during the process of changing, I used magic to generate hot water to clean myself and put on different clothes. Just doing that, an hour had passed since I regained consciousness.
“You have come to!!”
“Father, please don’t shatter the door. I spend quite a lot of effort to reinforce it, and even I, myself, can’t break it…”
Currently, I was in a dorm room, but I had modified the door to protect against my older brother, who would occasionally enter. It seems like residents can freely change the inside of their rooms and doors. In fact, I was told that if this was denied, noble children would complain.
Father, upon confirming that I was back, hugged and nuzzled me. His beard was bushy and irritating. My Big brother was also hugging me from the other side. What is this situation?
“A~li~ce~”
As the two of them embraced me, a foreboding voice resounded, like the roar of a demon at the bottom of hell. I instantly become rigid, and both my Father and Big brother straightened their backs.
“You always get into dangerous situations. Can’t you learn a little bit from your reflections?”
“……”
I immediately adopted the expressionless demeanor I had before returning. I empted my mind and hid all emotions. I pretended not to have returned to avoid a lecture.
Mother quietly and elegantly approached, then seizes my head and lifts it… Owowowowowowowow!!
But my expression didn’t change. I scolded my trembling body in my mind and feigned indifference. At this rate, I’ll be taken to hell.
“Hmph~ Is that the attitude you’re going to take? I was so worried about you, you cruel daughter of mine~ you’re awake, aren’t you?”
“I-I’m nyot awyake…”
I involuntarily blurted out, then covered my mouth. That was fatal. Mother’s mouth curved up like a crescent moon. Honestly, it was scarier than a horde of monsters. My body immediately started trembling. I would really like to go to the bathroom, so please put me down.
“I knew you were awake after all♪ Come over here for a moment.”
“Alicia, come together!!”
Once again, Alicia, who was carelessly approaching, received a lightning-fast grab to her ear and was seized as well. If the master is going to hell, the servant should go with them. I can’t allow her to enjoy peace alone.
“No――――――!! Is it not just the tail?! Please let go.”
With the expression of anguish on my face and feeling my skull creaking, I tried to drag Alicia down with me in my struggle… I’m sorry, I’ll behave, so please don’t squeeze any further… I might really get crushed… Ah, my consciousness… Why did I wake up only to face this…
“For now, let’s go with 300 times, okay♪”
“I’ll grant you the right to fluff Alicia’s ears, as long as you spare my life…”
Let’s seek forgiveness with Alicia’s wonderful equipment, at least for now.
“I don’t need that, you know?”
Wh… what? Does she mean to say she has no intentions of touching this wonderful equipment?! I spent a long time crafting this top-of-the-line item from a stray fox’s fur to make it look pristine… It’s a bit messy now, but it’s still incredibly fluffy, and you’re saying you don’t need it?!
I, as a representative of the fluff enthusiasts, cannot overlook this indifference. I must immediately educate Mother about the magnificence of this.
“Mother, you’re mistaken. This is one of the most valuable assets. I believe this is something that our nation should protect.”
“But it doesn’t matter right now, does it? You haven’t reflected on your actions, have you? Let’s do it a little more, maybe around 100 times. And since Alicia was with you and didn’t stop you, she should come too. Even if you’re Draco’s friend, you’ve gone too far. As a Knight, you should have intervened. This child’s life and the fate of other countries shouldn’t be tied together.”
Huh? Is she going to bring Alicia as welll? Well, I was planning to take her, but she has nothing to do with this!! I can’t allow Alicia to be punished because of my actions. While it’s true that she should have intervened, Alicia has no ability to deter me.
I released Alicia’s furry ears.