542 - Spending the Winter # 5

"Who's there!"

Gloria, who had covered her chest area with her clothes and arms, shouted loudly.

Meeting those black, large eyes, I felt my heart drop with a thud.

Kuuuung-.

It truly felt like my heart had literally dropped all the way to my belly button.

To be caught secretly watching a woman change clothes.

This was a fucking indefensible crime scene.

Even if all I saw was, surprisingly, a deep cleavage, the straight curve of her back, her slender waist, and her smooth-looking armpits.

Come to think of it, I saw everything.

Anyway, it was fucking unfair.

Because I wasn't looking at her with lewd intentions. If anything, I was looking at her with a feeling of wanting to protect her.

Like when I looked at my annoying yet family-member sister, whom I couldn't truly hate, I wasn't looking with lewd eyes at all.

So, to put it bluntly, I ran away.

In the end, I couldn't give Gloria the ribbon and scurried into my room.

Although I cheaply expressed it as "scurried in," the process was as swift as a flash of light, thanks to my Agility of 16.

Even if it was Gloria, in a brief, fleeting moment where she couldn't follow my movements, I quickly dashed into bed as if time had stopped.

That probably didn't even take a second.

My fucking heart was pounding so hard I thought I'd be caught, but I didn't forget to calmly and precisely gather my mana and vitality with controlled breathing.

So, I closed my eyes as if I had been sleeping all along.

Soon, with a Gi-iik- sound, I sensed my Door opening. Sabak, sabak, the sound of bare feet treading on the carpet loudly.

Seureureuk-.

The sensation of something approaching my bed and a distinct presence right in front of me were clearly drawn in my mind.

Sareureureu-. Something soft tickled my face. It was easy to realize it was Gloria's rather curly long hair.

I realized Gloria was leaning her head towards me. And that she was bringing her face close to mine.

"...."

"...."

Otherwise, the exhalations from her nose wouldn't be tickling my cheek.

If I were to open my eyes just a slit.

I was afraid her face would be right there, *dudung-*, in front of me. So I had to desperately pretend to be asleep.

Of course, pretending to sleep was something I was confident in.

Back when I was Elfriede's slave, there were plenty of times I ignored her words by pretending to sleep to avoid annoying errands.

In other words, I'm a master of pretending to sleep.

─Wood Release, Art of Pretending to Sleep-.

I wonder if it would work even on the perceptive Gloria.

Just as I was feeling a little nervous.

"...Did you see?"

Gloria spoke to me. Did she notice I wasn't asleep? No, this was more like testing the waters.

But her tone was so soft, it was hard to believe it was Gloria speaking to me.

I almost trembled with emotion and inadvertently confessed that I had seen everything from her nape to her armpits.

"...."

"If you don't tell the truth, I'll crush you with my hand."

What the hell was she going to crush?

I felt like it would fucking hurt, and goosebumps almost broke out all over my body. But as I endured with superhuman patience, Gloria's enigmatic voice was heard again.

"By now, there should be a reaction. Is he really asleep? If he's pretending, there's no way I wouldn't notice."

Seureuk-.

I felt something slender touch my eyelid. Without a doubt, it must have been Gloria's finger.

Probably her left index finger.

Before I could feel any other sensation from it, her finger slowly traced my eyelid, eyebrow, and forehead.

Is she testing me?

If I were truly asleep, what would be the best reaction right now? I desperately racked my brain for an answer.

So I decided to frown slightly and turn my head to the other side.

"Meueumeung-."

I didn't forget to make the peculiar sound characteristic of someone deep in sleep.

Now, what would happen?

As I focused on her presence to gauge her reaction.

"What, making strange noises-."

I heard Gloria's suspicious voice. Did I overdo it? I reflected with that feeling. Am I going to get crushed?

"Making strange noises, you're similar."

However, Gloria's voice quickly softened.

Not only that, but she even bothered to come around to where I had turned over, and touched my face with her finger.

"Is he really asleep? Then, he didn't see anything, right?"

I'm really asleep.

She seemed to keep checking if I was asleep. Seuk seuk. She pressed my cheek with her finger, or pinched my lips.

Seureuk-. She even pulled back my lip to reveal my teeth.

"Really funny."

What was so funny that she burst out laughing by herself? Her hand, which had been touching my lips, now moved up my chin and began to touch my ear.

The sensation of her finger touching my earlobe was strangely peculiar. Just as I was feeling embarrassed and thinking of turning over again-.

"Hassan-nim, there are documents to sign-imnidat... Aaat-!"

Someone burst the Door open and came into the room. That distinctive, exaggerated "Aaat-" shout was undoubtedly Paranoy.

"To intrude into Hassan-nim's room so brazenly, this poses a risk of assassination-imnidat...! Guards-! Come here at once-imnidat...!"

Padadadak-.

I felt a great commotion of Paranoy making a fuss and something rushing out. And I, fittingly, was able to open my eyes and get up amidst such a disturbance.

"What is it, what's happening?"

"This Paranoy has saved Hassan-nim's life-imnidat...! This deserves praise far beyond having my head stroked before falling asleep-imnidat...!"

Over Paranoy's noisy chattering shoulder, I looked at the wide-open Door. Perhaps noticing my gaze, Paranoy grumbled.

"Hassan-nim, it would be good to be careful-imnidat...! The Samarian's gaze, looking at the sleeping Hassan-nim, was not ordinary-imnidat...!"

"Really?"

"In that sense, this Paranoy will stand guard beside Hassan-nim until you fall asleep-imnidat...!"

Paranoy standing guard for me. Regardless of the situation, I felt quite touched by his thoughtfulness.

"It is important that Hassan-nim does not misunderstand that this Paranoy did not flee the room because of rumors of a ghost in the bedroom-imnidat...!"

Just as I thought.

"There's a ghost in your room?"

"That is correct-imnidat...! Of course, this Paranoy is not bothered by it, but anyway, you may stroke my head once-imnidat...!"

"Alright."

"Then, may I first check if Hassan-nim's bed is indeed soft enough for a god's resting place-imnidat...? I am by no means trying to sleep-imnidat...!"

In the end, I was pushed aside by Paranoy, who occupied most of the bed, and had to sleep in an awkward position.

"Meuhheuhheuh.... Giant Paranoy.... Humans as small as ants.... Nymph Destruction Ray...."

Although it was uncomfortable with him even sleep-talking, it wasn't unbearable. I was rather curious what kind of dream he was having to mention a Nymph Destruction Ray.

"Meueuseuut... Eueuhheuhheuh-."

His cheek is fucking soft.

Anyway. A ghost in Paranoy's room. If I don't solve it quickly, I might lose my bed every day.

* * *

And so.

Time passed-.

The next morning.

I naturally ran into Gloria in the mansion's hallway.

But she didn't strike up a conversation haphazardly like yesterday.

Just sinking into quiet silence.

"I saw your room was empty yesterday. Did you go out at night?"

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"...."

Even though I spoke, Gloria didn't answer. She was just busy glaring at me with narrowed eyebrows, as if trying to gauge my mood.

I also quickly scanned her appearance from top to bottom. To my Rinnegan, the ocular jutsu of Hassan, God of Reincarnation, her body was covered in grass and dust.

She probably got caught by Paranoy yesterday, then ran out of the mansion as if fleeing, and either slept in the garden or stayed up all night.

Did she feel my gaze?

"What, what are you looking at like that?"

From her question, I could tell she was very concerned about what happened before she fell asleep yesterday. Unless I was an idiot, there was no way I wouldn't know.

Yesterday, she had been spending time alone, trying on the various clothes I bought her in front of a long mirror, or holding them up to her body.

I accidentally peeked at her, and she vaguely noticed that fact-.

So her emotions were very ambiguous, and she didn't know how to act-. That was Gloria's mental state as I roughly estimated it.

Although being caught merely changing clothes might not seem like a big deal.

I thought that for Gloria, it might be as embarrassing as me getting caught masturbating by my sister.

Because everyone feels things differently.

If I got caught masturbating by my sister? I probably would have left home right then and never returned. I might even think it'd be better to go to another world.

Anyway, Gloria was exactly like that right now.

She was probably agonizing with tension, watching my reaction and wondering how I would act. After a long time of seemingly boiling with emotion, Gloria parted her lips as if making a big decision.

"Yesterday, by any chance, did you hear anything from your Nymph?"

Ah, what she was concerned about wasn't being peeked at, but being caught by Paranoy?

"No. I didn't hear anything. Was something wrong?"

"...No? Nothing?"

Her acting is awkward.

It must be because she lived her life without ever acting or lying.

Teasing her here would be fun, but I felt like I'd get crushed when I slept, so I decided to pretend not to know.

Because what needed to be prioritized now was acquiring the whale's horn.

"Let's just go. We have a lot to do."

I took Gloria and headed to Sodomora's Underground Market. Before entering the market, I didn't forget to give a brief warning.

"Here, nothing is strange, no matter what happens. So, if possible, restrain yourself."

"Hmph, so this is that famous Underground Market of Sodomora. The place where the Thieves' Guild thrives, and crime runs rampant-."

Sodomora's Underground Market and the Thieves' Guild were fucking famous even in the Gaia Kingdom, so Gloria seemed to know something about them too.

Of course, that's in the past tense.

Because that's how it used to be.

After the Thieves' Guild Hydra was destroyed, the Underground Market collapsed.

It should have, but after the Thieves' Guild Hydra was crushed, the underground market, which had faltered once, flourished again as a bustling black market as if nothing had happened.

It feels a bit strange to say a black market is bustling, but it wasn't completely disregarding laws or morals like before, so it was somewhat within acceptable limits.

That's probably because the new Thieves' Guild ruling the Underground Market, the Sky Flying Squirrels, is keeping things in line.

How did the Thieves' Guild name change from Hydra to Sky Flying Squirrels? It does look fucking harmless. Flying squirrels are cute, after all.

Anyway.

━Hii-! Look at that! It's Hassan-! What brings him to the Underground Market? Did he come to catch the Thieves' Guild again? They must have been behaving well this time...!

As I entered the underground, people stirred greatly.

Since I had a history of smashing the Underground Market, it was natural for those living in the shadows to feel anxious.

━Who's that black-haired girl next to him?

━I don't know, is she his sister? Both their clothes are similar, and their faces are similar-.

━What do you mean similar? This one, whenever she sees Samarians, she says they all look like Hassan. Is it because she's from Hydra, or because she got hit so hard? Heuhheuhheuh.

━Not similar, huh. Still, she looks kinda cute. Wild, too-. Looks like she doesn't know much. Maybe if I sweet-talk her a bit, I could get a meal with her-.

━So you like wild girls like that. You got a harsh beating from Amazoness Renee last time, too.

This time, with Gloria also drawing attention, the people's murmurs were even louder.

Of course, they probably thought they were whispering, but I could hear everything vividly.

Before something unexpected happened, I quickly looked around and said.

"I didn't come to fight or break things. I came to get an item. I'm looking for something called a whale's horn. Is there any Shop that handles it? I'm bidding on a whale's horn."

At my words, the black market dealers hid behind pillars or in the shadows, looking at each other's faces.

━A whale's horn?

━I know rabbit horns. How does a whale have a horn?

━I don't know. Is it some enigmatic problem the gods talk about....

Just then, a Jallangjallang- sound came from somewhere. At the same time, the residents of the underground world began to retreat, covering their bodies.

━It's an executive-.

━The Flying Squirrels' executive is here-.

It seemed an executive from the Thieves' Guild had arrived. So, when I turned my head towards the sound of bells.

I saw a woman, her body and face completely covered with black cloth, walking towards me.

How did I know she was a woman? Because her figure was accentuated by her tightly fitted clothes.

And that figure was also someone I knew. Quite familiar to my Rinnegan.

But I can't remember her name. She was a female executive of the Thieves' Guild. I only remember that she was a female executive of the Thieves' Guild.

"Long time no see, you. To come all the way here-. So, what item are you looking for?"

"Ah, I get it. You're Dorgo's sister."