A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

Two blankets made of soft, pleasant-to-the-touch fabric.

Wrapped in them, Rizel’s consciousness suddenly surfaced from sleep.

“………?”

Half-awake, she slowly opened her eyes.

The room was quiet, filled with cold air. She didn’t like the chill brushing against her exposed shoulder, so she wriggled and burrowed back under the blankets, turning halfway over.

There was an empty bed on both her right and left. Through the gap in her bangs that partially blocked her view, she gazed drowsily at them.

Jill was probably in the labyrinth. The strongest adventurer, whose hobby was conquering labyrinths, seemed to come alive whenever there was an unexplored labyrinth. Although many labyrinths were magic-engineered and troublesome, not every labyrinth was like that.

Besides, even if they picked a bad one now, there was a convenient solution nearby. If only they would quickly fetch it. That was probably what she thought.

“(…I should keep reading Sars’ magic theory books.)”

Complete trust was somewhat like a kind of pressure.

Rizel relaxed her lips, letting out a breathy smile. Even though her knowledge was no match for specialists in that field, her reliable party members would easily brush off such concerns with a casual “Who cares about that?”

One of those party members, Eleven, probably hadn’t come back since last night. After parting ways at the adventurers’ guild, she hadn’t seen him once.

“(I wonder if they have a hideout?)”

She tugged the blanket that had slid down and relaxed her shoulders.

The Four Keys Gang’s name had reached Astarnia, and it was needless to say for Sars, who dealt more frequently with the Capital City. It seemed they had a few bases there, and Sars might have one or two as well.

Rizel didn’t often discuss such matters with Eleven, so it was just a guess. It wasn’t avoidance but simply private matters. When the topic came up, they spoke normally.

“(…The sound of ‘hideout’ is nice, isn’t it?)”

Her eyelids slowly drooped.

Her not-fully-awake consciousness began to sink back again. If she woke next, it would probably be late enough to be called oversleeping, but the lure of falling back asleep was hard to resist.

Sometimes it was fine, she thought, burying herself in the blankets. Come to think of it, right before waking, she felt something.

Ding

Rizel’s consciousness shot wide awake.

A sound like a failed bell chime. Impossible to forget. She remembered it clearly.

She covered her ear and sprang up, panicking wildly. Magic power she was familiar with was flowing from her earring, though the pain wasn’t as intense as last time. More importantly—

She quickly put her feet on the floor. Searching for her footwear with her eyes, she found and reached for them.

Suddenly, right before her eyes, magic power sparked with a snap, and her spine straightened as if pushed.

“‘Nice pose, Rize?’”

“...Good morning, Your Majesty.”

Beyond the square window that appeared in midair stood the king, grinning mischievously.

Embarrassed to have shown her just-woken-up appearance to the revered king, Rizel pressed down her tousled hair as her eyebrows drooped.

The familiar upper body of the king was framed exactly by the window.

Its border looked hard but occasionally fluctuated, enclosing a transparent, invisible barrier. If broken, it might be possible to touch the other side, but whatever you do—push or pull—it didn’t budge an inch.

“Well, it only looks like a window.”

Watching the king knock on the invisible wall with a knock knock, Rizel finished minimal preparations and sat on the bed, pondering. She had heard there was no strict time limit, so she had immediately dressed after waiting for the king.

After all, long ago, she had scolded the king for teleportation magic when he had suddenly appeared in her room right after waking up. Since then, the king reluctantly avoided that time slot.

Though he said casually, “I don’t mind,” Rizel had her pride as a servant. She could only let him give up.