After asking the person at the church headquarters to pass my message on to Yggdrasil-san, I returned home.
Then I washed the sweat off in the shower, ate dinner, and after that, I told Nana-san about what happened today.
「I see, you broke the record」
「Sorry, but I went ahead and surpassed your record, Nana-san」
「No, I don’t really mind that, but……」
For now, I proudly declared my victory to Nana-san.
…That said, if this made Nana-san get fired up and seriously challenge the time attack, I would not be able to win anymore.
「Um, so in the end, you ran through it using arrow-cutting with 『Paralyze Arrow』?」
「That’s right. It took three days」
Three days. It was only on the third day of trying that I finally managed to beat Nana-san’s record.
「If anything, I am filled with apologies. I never intended to set a record that could only be broken by going that far……」
「…………」
「To begin with, I never meant to improve the original master’s record by such a large margin…… I am truly sorry, Master」
「…No, it’s fine, Nana-san」
Being apologized to like this actually hurts more.
「Still, you said your 『Agility』 increased with this level up, didn’t it? Could it be thanks to that marathon?」
「Hmm. I wonder. I think it had some effect, sure, but I don’t think it was only because of the three-day arrow-cutting marathon. The normal time attacks I was doing before that probably had a fair bit of influence too」
And there’s also that. Lately, I have been using a sword more often, so that probably played a role as well.
When using a sword, unlike a bow, you are not standing still like a fixed turret. You are moving around a lot, so it is possible that my 『Agility』 increased because of that.
「For now, I’ll try some trial and error with the goal of improving my 『Agility』 even more」
「I see. I’ll be cheering you on, Master」
「Thanks, Nana-san. My goal is a balanced type. Someday, I want all my stats to be the same value」
Someday, I want to become that ultimate balanced type.
「Looking at you normally, Master, it feels like only your 『Dexterity』 will keep increasing no matter what……」
「…Yeah, that’s the problem」
It might actually be harder to stop 『Dexterity』 from increasing than it is to raise 『Agility』…….
「Putting that aside, you finally reached level 25」
「Ah, yeah, I finally made it. Well, it’s about the same pace as usual」
「That means it’s finally time for the cheat roulette」
「Yeah, it’s finally here」
This roulette is pretty important too.
After all, there are only three months left until the day I leave for the world trip. This time, I really want to get some kind of cheat that will be useful for traveling.
「――So, Nana-san」
「Yes? What is it?」
「I’ve already reached level 25, so once I fall asleep, I’ll be teleported to heaven right away. ――That said, I can’t go to sleep yet」
「That would be for Yggdrasil-sama, correct」
「Yeah. I have to wait for Yggdrasil-san」
Yggdrasil-san really wants to see my transfer scene.
This has been the case since I was ten years old, so he has already been waiting for six years, and this will be the fourth attempt.
Since he is looking forward to it that much, I want to show him already.
「…But there’s a bit of a problem right now」
「A problem?」
「I worked really hard on the dungeon marathon today, so――――I’m extremely sleepy」
「…………」
I am seriously sleepy. My eyelids feel heavy.
「But we have to wait for Yggdrasil-sama……」
「But Nana-san…… I’m already tired. Somehow, I feel very sleepy……」
「That sounds like a line someone says right before dying…… What famous masterpiece is that from……」
That’s how tired I am. The arrow-cutting marathon is really exhausting. For these past three days, I have been completely worn out every single day.
「Now that you mention it, Master, you have been going to sleep right after dinner lately」
「That’s right. It’s been like that every day……」
「Still, today of all days, I need you to hang in there」
「Yeah, I know. What should I do……」
Of course, I do plan to stay awake properly until Yggdrasil-san arrives.
But at the same time, it is also true that I might accidentally fall asleep like this.
「Isn’t there some good way to wake myself up?」
「Let’s see, something to fight drowsiness…… I have heard that the best thing is to take a nap of about fifteen minutes」
「That’s the worst possible option」
I did that last time. It was absolutely the one thing you should never do.
「Well, that was a joke. Let’s see, it would have been nice if we had some coffee」
「Yeah. How about drinking some herbal tea instead? Does herbal tea have caffeine?」
「It doesn’t」
It doesn’t? I thought most kinds of tea usually had it, but herbal tea is caffeine-free. More importantly, Nana-san sure knows a lot.
「Stretching or going for a walk is also supposed to be good」
「I see, some light exercise might actually help. …But it’s already night」
Going outside at this hour feels a bit questionable.
「Hmm. In that case, Master――please take this」
「Hm? Uh……?」
So that’s it……
◇
「Alec! I’m here!」
「Fweh……?」
「Well!? Did I make it in time this――――what are you doing noja?」
「Ah, yes. A hula hoop」
As light exercise to fight off sleepiness, Nana-san handed me a hula hoop.
Even though I was wobbling from fatigue and drowsiness, I kept doing my best to spin it.
Wobbling while using a hula hoop…… heh.
…Ah, it seems I’m so tired right now that even something like this feels funny.
「In order to stay awake until Yggdrasil-sama arrived, Master was doing his best like this」
「Hm? Oh, Nana. You’re here too. …So in other words, Alec still hasn’t gone to sleep yet, correct?」
「That is correct. Please praise him」
「It’s not even a time when children would be asleep yet…… but well, yes. Good job, Alec. Well done」
「Thank you very much」
Time-wise, it really is still early. You could even call it just the beginning of the evening.
Which means, looking at it another way, Yggdrasil-san came quite quickly again this time.
「It looks like I’ll be able to keep my promise with Yggdrasil-san this time」
「Hmm. You may sleep whenever you like now」
「Is that so. Then, before that………… may I go take a shower?」
I had been spinning the hula hoop for quite a while, so I was lightly sweating.
I want a shower.
「A shower? That’s fine, but…… will you be alright?」
「Huh? What do you mean?」
「Won’t you fall asleep while showering?」
「Eh? No, I think I’ll probably be fine……」
If I were to slowly soak in a bathtub in this state, I might fall asleep, sure, but this house doesn’t even have a bathtub. I just rinse off while standing under the shower. That should be fine.
「I see. In other words, Master is trying to say this, correct? 『If you want to stop me from accidentally falling asleep in the bathroom, how about we take a shower together』」
「Eh……」
「Alec, you’re quite the pervert noja」
「Eh……」
What a terrible false accusation…… I did not think anything like that even for a moment.
To begin with, Yggdrasil-san is a young girl, and Nana-san is Nana-san. I have already started to see her as my own daughter. There is no way my lewd thoughts would act up toward either of them.
「No, I’m fine on my own. I’ll go quickly and come right back」
「I see. Be careful, alright?」
「Yes, thank you」
Alright, let’s go.
I will go quickly, shower quickly, and come back quickly. No problem. There is no way I will doze off.
――Unless I slip in the bathroom, fall over, and lose consciousness, I should be fine.
◇
「You were fine」
「Yes, surprisingly so」
「What do you mean by surprisingly」
「Knowing you, Master, I thought you might have slipped in the bathroom and fainted」
「…………」
I do feel like I raised that kind of flag myself…….
But even so, I did not lose to it. I did not doze off, I did not fall, and I safely came back from the shower.
「Actually, we were discussing whether we should go check on you together」
「Nana was saying things like 『He must have fallen for sure』 and trying to scare me noja」
「Well…… I’m glad I didn’t」
What kind of discussion was that. And absolutely, really.
For now, while listening to the two of them talk, I roughly rubbed my wet hair dry with a towel.
My hair is pretty long, so drying it is quite a hassle.
「Alright. I think that’s good enough. ――Then, I’m going to sleep now」
「Hmm. I’ll be watching closely」
「I would also like to observe carefully」
「Y-yeah……」
Being stared at like that actually makes it harder to sleep…… but whatever. I am really at my limit anyway. I should fall asleep right away.
After tossing the towel I had been using onto the back of a chair, I slipped into my futon.
「Alright, I’m off」
「Hmm. I’m looking forward to it」
「Nana-san, please take care of that thing too」
「Yes, leave it to me」
Alright then――sleep.
Good night.
next chapter: Alec-kun, Sixteen Years Old. Sixth Time After Two Years
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