“……Ughhh.”

I can tell I’m lying in a bed… but everything hurts.

On top of that, it’s not just pain—my whole body feels heavy… what the hell is this?

As I was squirming around, thinking about things like that, the memories started coming back to me little by little.

I went down into the well behind the orphanage and got into a bit of a scuffle.

I let my irritation get the better of me and got all fired up, which isn’t like me at all… maybe I overdid it?

Come to think of it, I passed out once in a dungeon in the royal capital too… I felt sore all over then too, and it took a while for me to recover.

Maybe this is the same kind of thing?

In any case, I don’t know what happened after that, but the fact that I’m in bed means things probably worked out in the end.

They did work out… right?

“Alright then… huh?”

As I sat up in bed with my heavy body, I noticed Seriana sleeping beside me.

It was rainy and overcast outside, so no light was coming into the room, and I couldn’t tell what time it was… but I could hear faint sounds coming from outside, so it probably wasn’t nighttime.

Even so, she was still fast asleep.

Every once in a while, I’d wake up before her, but she’d always be up shortly after. Today, though, she wasn’t stirring. She must be tired.

Her gentle breathing told me she wasn’t sick or anything.

“…Alright.”

Seriana seemed to be in a deep sleep, but I still tried not to wake her as I quietly slid out of bed.

I couldn’t see the 【Floating Orb】 anywhere, but I decided to look for it later and activated 【Hideout】.

◇

“Whoa… crap, my voice is shot.”

Turning on the lights inside the 【Hideout】 and heading into the living room, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and yelped without thinking.

Then I flinched at the sound of my own voice.

It was raspy, like when you catch a cold.

Everything hurt, and I felt sluggish, but it didn’t feel like I had a fever. If I did, Seriana definitely wouldn’t have been lying next to me.

…Maybe I’m just worn out too?

Well, more importantly…

“…What the hell is this?”

The reflection in the mirror showed me with my hair down and wearing pajamas.

She must’ve changed my clothes while I was unconscious.

I didn’t feel grimy or dusty either—maybe she even wiped my body down?

I owe her one.

But still…

My right arm… looked seriously messed up.

From the wrist to the elbow, it was purple.

“…Is this internal bleeding?”

There was a prickling kind of pain, but it didn’t actually hurt as much as it looked like it should.

I could open and bend my hand, so the treatment must be finished.

Just like with my leg back in the day, the internal bleeding probably didn’t go away.

Still…

“What kind of shape was my arm in…?”

For the color to change over such a wide area… what kind of injury did I even have?

There was pain in my arm back then too, but I didn’t have time to focus on it…

Maybe Fiora’s the one who treated me?

Should I ask her later… or maybe just let it be…?

As I stared at the mirror, lost in thought, Akame poked her head out from over my shoulder.

Right on cue, Shirojita and Mitsume stretched their bodies too.

“Oh? You guys look like you’re doing fine too.”

That fight in the room was completely fueled by my own emotions… I was worried the snakes might’ve been affected by the room somehow, but it looks like they’re okay.

I let out a relieved sigh, and once the snakes had shown themselves and were satisfied, they slipped back under my clothes again.

“Now then… what to do?”

I could leave the 【Hideout】 as is, but Seriana still didn’t seem like she was about to wake up.

Looking at the clock, it was a little past 11 a.m.

We had headed for the church district in the middle of the night. Unless I’d been unconscious for several days, we probably returned to the mansion around dawn—or maybe even later.

If that’s the case…

“Maybe it hasn’t been that long since we went to sleep… I’ll stick around here a bit longer.”

If I woke her up, knowing Seriana, she wouldn’t be the type to fall back asleep, so it might be better to kill time here.

If she wakes up and I’m not there, she’d probably guess I was here in the 【Hideout】 anyway.

“Alright then… guess I’ll take a bath and have a nice cup of coffee!”

A bath followed by slowly enjoying some coffee… I’ve got time, and spending some quiet moments here by myself doesn’t sound bad either.

Now that I’ve decided, first up—bath prep!

◇

“…Ughhhh.”

My natural voice is pretty high, so it doesn’t sound creepy or anything, but my groans echoed through the living room.

The bath was great and all… but I was in no state for coffee.

Up until just a while ago, I felt totally fine, but once I soaked in the water for a bit, my head started pounding and pain flared up all over my body… so much for a graceful morning!

I dried off and got dressed, but even walking was tough now.

Maybe getting my body warm in the bath was actually a bad idea?

“Hee… hee…”

Anyway, collapsing here alone is not an option.

I need to get outside…

Groaning, I began slowly crawling my way toward the entrance of the 【Hideout】.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera ・ Blessing ・ 【Hideout】 +1 【Prayer】 【Blessing of Mira】 【Water’s Garment】 Blessed Item ・ 【Floating Orb】 +1 【Shadow Sword】 +1 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon’s Lung】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent’s Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 【Red Sword】 【Monkey’s Arm】 ・ 8 cards

Seriana ・ 【Area Identification】 ・ 【】 ・ 0 cards

Elena ・ 【】 ・ 【Green Fang】 【Amber Sword】 ・ 4 cards

Alec ・ 【Power Strike】 ・ 【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】 ・ 10 cards