The Next Day

Roland slowly opened his eyes.

Sasha was hugging him tight, still looking fast asleep.

In truth, as long as one of them woke up, the other could wake at any time.

But when both of them were asleep, their sleeping posture sometimes got out of hand. They had clearly gone to sleep on two separate floor beds, yet somehow ended up tangled together again, like a pair of magnets.

Roland rubbed his eyes and stretched.

Then he walked to the window and pulled the curtains open.

The weather was as nice as ever today.

The sunlight was bright. From this apartment floor, he could overlook the entire slum of low houses. The children were already up and playing, and everyone else had started getting busy too. It was a lively atmosphere, completely different from the bustle of the city.

He was in a great mood, but then, from below the balcony, he suddenly heard a girl's voice.

“Ro! Land!”

“Huh?”

Roland froze for a moment, then looked down.

What he saw was silver hair drifting lightly in the wind, and a breathtakingly beautiful face.

Tina.

It was her!!

“M-Miss Tina?!”

“Did you sleep well? It's already twelve noon, you know. Looks like you were sleeping pretty deeply. Then let's get going.”

As soon as Tina finished speaking, a huge airship suddenly descended from the sky and slowly came to a stop in the square outside Roland's apartment.

Quite a few children found it novel and immediately crowded around it, shouting excitedly.

Tina took out a fruit basket from her Spatial Storage Ring and said with a smile,

“Whoever can wake Roland up gets candy.”

“Really? Then... R-Roland big brother!! Wake up!”

As soon as the first shout rang out, the other children quickly joined in.

“Roland, wake up!”

“Ro-ran, wake uuup!”

“Roland!”

“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”

“The sun's on your butt already!”

“Big Brother Roland, did Sasha wet the bed? She still hasn't come out!”

“Hahaha! Sasha wet the bed!”

“She wet the bed!”

...

“Hey! You little brats! You switched sides over a bit of candy? Didn't I feed you before?!”

Roland pointed at the children, while Sasha also walked out. She hadn't even fixed her hair, and it was sticking up all over. Her sleepy look only made everyone more convinced.

“Who said I wet the bed? Believe it or not, I'll beat you all till you're crying for your moms today.”

After all, Sasha looked about ten years old, so when she had nothing to do, she often played with these kids as if she were one of them. She wasn't exactly their leader, but in practice, her words carried even more weight than their parents'.

“Ah! Sasha's gonna hit people! Run!”

“Run!”

The children ran off laughing, and Tina gave the whole fruit basket to them.

Roland scratched his head...

Seeing Tina still looking at him, he could only let out a resigned sigh.

“Alright, I got it. Let me wash up first. I'll be right there.”

...

...

After they came out of the apartment,

there was another girl standing beside Tina.

Naturally, it was Agnes.

But this time, Agnes looked much more serious than before.

“How long were you waiting here?”

Roland was puzzled. The moment he opened the window, he saw her, so she obviously hadn't timed it on purpose.

Agnes said with a face full of resentment,

“She got here at seven-thirty. Miss Tina stood here waiting alone for nearly five hours, do you know that? And it's this hot out too. If Miss hadn't stopped me from disturbing you, I would've dragged you out long ago.”

“...Sorry...”

Even Roland hadn't expected to sleep this long this time. Nearly fourteen hours. Maybe he'd really overexerted himself yesterday.

“Then where were you just now?”

Roland shot back, and Agnes gave a cold snort.

“Resting in the air-conditioned room on the ship.”

Miss Agni, are you really taking your own lady this lightly as her subordinate?

Roland grumbled inwardly. What kind of servant lets her lady stand outside in the sun while she rests alone inside the ship?

“Good afternoon, Miss Agni. Miss Tina.”

Sasha, meanwhile, gave them a proper greeting.

Agnes immediately threw herself at her and took two deep sniffs.

“Good morning, good afternoon, good evening! Little Sasha is as cute as ever today!!”

“...”

You're pretty cute too, Miss Agni.

Roland muttered inwardly, only to be met with a cold glare from Agnes.

“But why does your brother always look at people like that...”

“Uh...”

Before talking about someone else's expression, maybe look at your own first!

Roland was angry but didn't dare say it. Thankfully, Tina spoke up to wrap things up.

“Anyway, let's head out first. It's not good to leave such a big ship parked here too long.”

Agnes said, “Yes. Then, Miss, Little Sasha, this way please.”

Roland: “...”

“Hold it. Ladies first, got it?”

When Agnes saw Roland trying to follow, she immediately patted his chest.

Roland clicked his tongue.

“Then next time we're about to die, can I say the same thing?”

“If you really don't know how to cherish women at all, then of course you can.” Agnes put on a pitiful look, and Roland fell silent for a moment.

“...”

“What, I make one joke and you take it seriously? Don't worry, Roland. If we're dying, you'll definitely be the first one thrown in front.”

“Don't say something that scary with such a straight face!”

“Hehehe.”

“...”

“Um... Roland.”

After joking around, Agnes turned serious again and looked at the backs of Tina and Sasha as they entered the ship.

“How exactly do you see your sister?”

“...”

Agnes had obviously already learned what happened yesterday. Tina must have told her.

Roland shrugged with a smile.

“How else would I see my own sister? Other than being my family, my partner who depends on me and whom I depend on, and the other half of me I absolutely can't ignore, she's nothing else.”

“Mm. That was kind of a pointless question.”

It seemed Agnes had wanted to confirm something from Roland.

“Anyway, no matter what happens, you won't give up on Sasha, right?”

“Don't make it sound like we're at the final chapter. If there's some hidden secret, just tell me already.”

“No. It's just that, as you know, the relationship between the Elves and the Pure Land people is so bad that only death can settle it. So in the journey ahead, you need to prepare for the worst. And those terrible accidents are beyond anyone's control. So the only thing you can do is hold fast to your convictions and protect the people you treasure.”

A faint shadow lingered in Agnes's eyes.

‘Don't end up like me. So laughable.’

Her last words were so soft they were almost impossible to hear.

In the end, she shook her head.

“Anyway, today's main purpose is to put your mind at ease about joining the organization. As long as Little Sasha stays with me, nothing will happen to her!”

“Hopefully.”

“Roland, every time you answer someone, you never like using a definite sentence.”

Agnes crossed her arms and smiled faintly.

“That way, sure, you won't suffer any losses. But you'll never earn anyone's trust either.”