"Ugh…."

As I stood there, staring blankly at her with my foggy head, Sierra let out a light breath and shifted slightly in her sleep.

Then, her tightly closed eyes slowly opened.

"...Huh?"

And our eyes met.

"Uh, well... you're awake?"

"......"

A moment of silence.

I could fully understand the look of confusion in her eyes as she stared blankly at me.

She must be bewildered.

Having just woken up, it would take her a while to process the information now right in front of her.

And as soon as the processing was complete—

"Aaaaaahhh!!!"

She screamed, and the natural reaction to the information received was to hit me in the face with a pillow.

"Why—!! W-why are you in my bed?! Pervert!! I thought you were a pure-hearted man who loved his wives!!"

"Eek! I don't know either! I-I woke up and suddenly found Sierra lying beside me!!"

"....Ah."

At my words, something seemed to click in her head, and the pillow she was swinging like a warhammer paused as a soft sound escaped her lips.

What... what was that?

"....Hmm."

Suddenly, her brain seemed to cool down, and she calmly rose from her spot.

Oh, thank goodness. She’s at least still wearing underwear....

"Blegh!"

"What are you staring at?! Will you turn your head away?!"

I buried my face in the pillow she’d been swinging and waited.

Then came the sound of rustling and the zipper being done up, followed by Sierra’s voice.

"Okay. Ken, now get dressed."

"Ah, yes... But what exactly happened to us?"

Lifting my face from the pillow, I saw Sierra in a different outfit than yesterday, combing her hair.

She had folded her clothes from the day before and put them into her bag.

As I sat on the bed and pulled out a spare change of clothes from my spatial pocket, I asked her.

Luckily, I was still wearing my underwear.

"...You threw up."

"...I-I did?"

"Yes, Ken. You suddenly threw up, spilled your drink, and I got soaked in alcohol, and you got soaked in vomit."

That must be why we were both out of our clothes.

Luckily, I always had spare clothes in my spatial pocket, so now I could wear clean clothes.

If I hadn't had spares...

Would I have had to rinse out my vomit-covered clothes and wear them again? Horrible thought.

"....Huh?"

As I gathered my scattered clothes and examined my shirt, I noticed something.

The clothes, which I had expected to be soaked in vomit, were surprisingly not that dirty.

I cautiously brought it to my nose.

"What... what are you doing?!"

"No, it's just... it smells only like alcohol."

"M-More importantly, let’s just hurry up and eat breakfast and leave! I really want to get back to the village."

"Ah, yes."

For some reason, the clothes I wore last night weren't as dirty as I thought.

Maybe I was just lucky.

On the way back to the village, we traveled the same path we had taken the day before, so we could move faster.

"By the way, how do you feel now?"

"...What do you mean?"

Even though we were moving faster, it was still boring just walking in silence.

So I lightly struck up a conversation with Sierra, who was walking beside me.

She responded a bit brusquely, probably because of what had happened in the morning.

"I mean about the opposite sex. You heard plenty about me and my wives yesterday."

"...I did."

"Are you a bit more interested now?"

Probane's real intention behind assigning me to escort her was to get her interested in the opposite sex.

Sierra, who usually rejected men reflexively, needed to become a little more open-minded about meeting them.

"Hmph! How can I trust a man who sneaks into a young girl’s bed?"

But to my disappointment, Sierra snapped her head around, glaring sharply at me with a sidelong glance.

I had no response to that, so I scratched my head without saying a word.

"But still..."

"...Yes?"

"Well, talking about the people you love... You seemed genuinely happy."

Sierra, her earlier sharp tone softened, gave me a sidelong glance, her hands clasped behind her back.

"I think that... if I were to find someone, maybe? Hypothetically speaking, of course? ...It wouldn't be so bad."

"That’s really good to hear."

Having experienced what it means to love and be loved, I’d come to realize how precious that is.

Of course, three might be a bit excessive, but still.

In any case, I genuinely hoped Sierra wouldn’t go through life without experiencing love.

Her answer genuinely pleased me, and I smiled warmly at her.

"Sierra, you're a wonderful person. I’m sure someone good will come into your life."

"....Hmph."

Perhaps out of embarrassment or displeasure, she crossed her arms and turned her head away after hearing my final comment.

"Then, shall we talk about your type of guy, Sierra?"

"...Huh? Me?"

"Since you're open to it now, it's best to set some criteria beforehand, right?"

"Uh, n-no, I..."

"Come on, there's no harm in discussing it. What are your deal-breakers, for example?"

"...Ugh."

After that, Sierra and I enjoyed a more relaxed and friendly conversation as we wrapped up our journey.

"Well, it was short, but I had fun. I'll drop by again tomorrow when Head Priest Probane returns."

"...Yes."

Ken and Sierra returned to the village just as the sun began to set.

The sky, which had been blue, now had a hint of orange, as if a drop of paint had been added.

Arriving earlier than expected, Ken escorted Sierra safely back to the church, giving her a gentle smile and waving.

'...He smiles a lot.'

That was Sierra's impression of Ken as she watched his back after two days of traveling together.

"...What is this feeling?"

Sierra watched Ken’s retreating back, feeling an odd sense of emptiness in her chest.

She placed her hand on her chest, gently gripping it as if to steady the trembling.

'A strange sensation.'

It was a feeling she had never experienced before, and it wasn’t a pleasant one.

It was similar to the feeling of being hungry.

And Sierra realized she had felt this sensation once before, last night.

"Ugh... I'm fine, really."

"No, you’re not. You threw up everywhere. Now just go to sleep."

In her memory, she saw her stumbling self, being awkwardly supported by Ken as he led her back to the room.

It was a scene from last night that Ken himself didn't remember.

The drinking had gone on late, and by the time night fell, there was only one room left at the inn.

The two, drunk, had no choice but to share the remaining room.

"Now, hurry up and get changed and go to sleep."

"T-To change my clothes?! You pervert!"

Smack.

Without really understanding what she was saying, Sierra slapped Ken out of habit.

But as her palm connected with his cheek, it felt as if she were hitting a stone pillar.

Ken, unfazed, simply sat her down on the bed.

"I'll sleep now... Please change your clothes... They're filthy."

"F-Filthy..."

Ken said no more, staggering to his own space and turning his back to her, casually stripping off his clothes.

Though her vomit hadn’t gotten on Ken, the alcohol she’d spilled had soaked his clothes.

And so, wearing only his underwear, Ken crawled into bed and immediately fell asleep.

'...This is awkward.'

Sierra, who had been watching him, hiccuped as she rose to her feet, her face flushed.

Her mouth felt gross after having thrown up.

She took out her toothbrush from her bag and headed to the bathroom.

After brushing her teeth thoroughly and feeling refreshed, she returned to the room and, like Ken, casually discarded her dirty clothes.

"....."

In just her underwear, Sierra turned her head slightly to look at the sleeping Ken.

"Hey..."

She approached him, her steps wobbly, and crouched next to his head, whispering softly.

"Are you really asleep?"

"...Mumble."

Was he just pretending to sleep, ready to attack her as soon as she nodded off?

To confirm this, she approached and whispered to him, but fortunately, Ken was sound asleep.

'He really is handsome...'

She approached him to confirm something, but without realizing it, she found herself staring at his sleeping face.

His clean skin and well-sculpted features were like those crafted by a skilled sculptor.

Even in his drunken sleep, his appearance was stunning.

'...To think he used to be unattractive.'

Though she had never seen it, Ken had told her he used to be overweight and unattractive.

She found it hard to believe, imagining how such a face could look unattractive even with weight.

'...I’m jealous.'

She couldn't help but envy his wives.

He had explained how his wives loved him even when he was overweight.

Then, during their adventures together, he lost weight.

The women who had loved him when he was overweight ended up with an incredibly handsome husband.

Luck like that was rare indeed.

"...A kiss."

Among the stories Ken had told her, the one that had left the deepest impression on Sierra was about his kisses with his wives.

Not one of them had happened under normal circumstances, but each one was filled with sincerity and tenderness.

Remembering that story, Sierra’s eyes naturally fell on Ken’s lips.

'I wonder what it feels like.'

That thought briefly flitted through her mind.

Drunk, she found herself slowly leaning toward him without even realizing it.

Soon, there was only a finger-width distance between her lips and his face.

Thump, thump.

'Wait... Why am I?'

Her heartbeat suddenly pounded in her chest.

This sensation, somehow different from drunkenness, made Sierra's head feel fuzzy.

Should she be doing this?

To someone who was asleep.

Then—

"...No... don’t..."

"Eek!"

Ken muttered something in his sleep, making Sierra scream quietly as she quickly pulled back from his face.

And as she held her breath, wondering if he was awake, Ken’s sleep-talking continued.

"...I have... three people I love... already..."

What sort of dream could prompt him to say something like that?

The tension melted from Sierra as she let out a small sigh.

'...What was I even thinking?'

If anything, instead of him coming onto her, she was the one who almost did something.

Even if she was drunk, what she almost did just now was definitely inappropriate for a priestess.

'But still...'

Sierra gazed at Ken’s sleeping face once again.

"...Hmph."

Ken stirred slightly and moved closer to the wall.

Hiccuping drunkenly, Sierra's eyes wandered to the empty space in his bed.

Just moments ago, she had almost closed the distance between their faces, and now, she climbed into the empty space beside him without much hesitation.

'...I envy them.'

Lying down beside Ken, who had his back against the wall, Sierra looked at his sleeping face.

'...If only someone could love me like that too.'

Having intended to just lie down briefly, Sierra ended up falling asleep next to Ken, the warmth of the bed where he had been and the effect of the alcohol overwhelming her.

'...Then maybe, just maybe, I’d like to experience it too.'

And that was how she ended up falling asleep beside Ken.

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