In the center of the mansion was a great hall equipped with a throne, but the master of the mansion was not sitting on the throne, but on the floor in front of it. So that she could watch her guest up close.
Red sunlight streamed into parts of the mansion, and nearby, evening birds flapped their wings as they sang. But for Koai, none of these things could influence her actions in the slightest. For her, the only thing that mattered was the state of her guest.
Still, why was that? Just looking at her made her feel warm.
The scene itself shouldn't have been that different. Not from when she had slaughtered the one from the south who called himself the "Great Demon King" and challenged her to a fight—Tohreel, no, was it Tohler...?—and looked down upon his prone form.
Koai didn't understand. But she thought it was something she didn't need to worry about right now. What was important was being able to watch the sleeping guest before her.
Eventually, the light faded, and it seemed the sun had set completely. Koai casually approached her guest. As she did, she caught a slightly sweet, nose-tingling scent. She had smelled it when she first summoned her, but it was stronger now.
She recognized this smell; it was the scent of someone drunk on alcohol. Did her world also have alcohol (kumis)?
As she pondered this, she continued to gaze at her.
"Nngh..."
Then, the girl turned over in her sleep. Is she about to wake up? Koai thought with anticipation, but what she witnessed next was a strange sight.
"Ugh... uooogghhh! Cough, hack... haaah..."
With her back to Koai, she was trembling, spewing something from her mouth on the other side.
"What?"
Koai stood up, trying to confirm that it wasn't vomit mixed with blood. She had heard that as long as one wasn't vomiting blood, the injury or illness wasn't... apparently... all that serious.
However, she had never seen anyone vomit in their sleep. Was she alright? She hoped it wasn't caused by some kind of incompatibility between this world and the girl's.
Worried, Koai walked over to the side the girl was facing to check her expression.
"Cough, cough..."
She seemed to be in some distress, but she was still breathing, and there was no red mixed in with her vomit.
Koai casually touched the vomit. It had a slightly sour smell, but... in a way, this too was a part of her. Thinking of it like that, it started to seem like a good thing as well.
And then, she brought the finger that had touched it...
"Ngh... huh??"
It was the girl's voice.
Koai forgot all about "that" and, placing a hand on the floor, brought her own face close to the girl's. Scrape. The sound of her iron mask grinding against the floor was annoying.
But when the girl revealed her black eyes, such things no longer mattered. She had woken up. She had woken up.
"Mmm... ah, the person from my dream."
"Good morning."
The girl immediately furrowed her brow.
"Ah, my head hurts..."
"Are you alright?"
"Maybe not, I feel sick."
Koai felt she wanted to let the girl rest for a while. But then she remembered she had burned down most of the bedroom. It was a shallow act, Koai lamented.
"I'm sorry, there is no bedding."
Koai apologized to her with surprising sincerity.
...What was that just now? Have I ever been able to apologize to someone so naturally?
No, have I ever even thought of apologizing to someone from the bottom of my heart? Have I...?
Ignoring the troubled Koai, the girl, who was a few steps away, once again—
"Ah, I feel so much better! Let's go for a drink!"
She seemed to have completely recovered her spirits. But, 'go for a drink'... what did she mean?
"Ah, yes."
"First, let's take off that helmet, okay?"
She placed her hands on Koai's iron mask.
To expose my face in front of another... it was a demand she would never have permitted if it hadn't come from her. But.
Koai touched the girl's hands on her mask as she removed it.
"See? You're beautiful. It's a waste to hide it."
She didn't seem to mind that Koai had touched her hands.
"So, 'go for a drink'... what did you mean?"
"When I say 'drink,' there's only one thing it could be! Alcohol, alcohol."
"Ah, you mean alcohol (kumis). However, it seems there are no barrels of it in the mansion."
"Let's go to a shop, then!"
She took Koai's hand and, as she tried to walk off somewhere, she stumbled.
"Ahahaha!"
Even though she had almost fallen, she laughed cheerfully.
Koai's heart stumbled. Was it because the girl had taken her hand, or because she had managed not to fall? She didn't know. She didn't know, but it was warm. And that, above all, felt pleasant.
"Apparently, there's a settlement nearby. Shall we try going there?"
Hand in hand, relying on a lamp for light, the two of them headed for the dwelling of the people of the Green Demon Tribe.