Chapter 215: After All, I Can’t Sleep
Inside the cramped tent, the sound of multiple breaths could be heard.
“Zzz… Zzz…”
“…In the end, this is how it turns out.”
After returning to the campsite, Rest had received a thorough scolding for his reckless actions before finally settling down to sleep. It was already close to dawn, but that didn’t mean he could skip out on sleep. The excitement from the worm meat had kept him wide awake, and he hadn’t managed to get a wink of sleep that night. Though his mind was alert, his body craved rest after the intense battles he had faced. Ideally, he would like to sink into slumber like sinking into a swamp, but circumstances prevented that.
“Mmm… I can’t eat anymore… No more pig’s feet filling the classroom. If the cow jumps in too…”
“…What kind of dream is that?”
The one mumbling such oddly vivid sleep talk was, of course, Yuri. She was snuggled up against Rest, her slender, supple limbs wrapped around him. Despite her delicate frame, her strength far surpassed his, making it impossible for him to escape her embrace. In fact, he feared he might be smothered if he wasn’t careful.
Though Rest had decided to rest at the campsite, he had been forced to sleep in the same tent as Yuri to ensure she wouldn’t run away. He had initially planned to sleep alone, claiming it was necessary to maintain the barrier. However, he had proven to himself that as long as he infused enough magical power into it beforehand, the barrier could be maintained even from a distance. Just earlier, he had infused the barrier with magical power again. It should hold until dawn.
“Ah… the pig’s feet and roast are fighting…”
“Mmm…”
Yuri clung to him as if to ensure he wouldn’t escape. Her chest and thighs pressed against him without mercy, asserting their soft presence. It was a situation that could only be explained if they had already crossed certain boundaries. If Yuri’s father had been there, he would have likely gone berserk in a fit of rage.
“The meat… the meat…”
“…You’re the meat. Should I eat you?”
He still had enough composure to joke like that. If he had just eaten the worm meat, he was certain he would have attacked without hesitation.
“Zzz… Zzz…”
Rest was holding back with his iron will, but there was another reason he couldn’t make a move on Yuri. That reason was the presence of another girl sleeping on the opposite side.
“Zzz… Zzz…”
“You too… Ula.”
There lay Urura Lavender, fast asleep in the same tent as Yuri. He could have asked her to move to another tent, but for some reason, it felt completely natural for her to be there.
“Zzz… Zzz…”
“…Please don’t look at me like that.”
What was even more terrifying was that Urura was sleeping with her eyes wide open. There are people who sleep with one eye half-open, but it seemed Urura was the type to sleep with both eyes fully open. Her eyes, wide enough that it seemed they might pop out, stared straight ahead, making Rest feel inexplicably guilty.
“…”
(Still… what a strange color her irises have…)
As he glanced back into Urura’s eyes, Rest thought to himself. At first glance, they appeared to be the color of amethyst, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to shimmer with a rainbow hue. It was a bizarre thought, but if those eyes were jewels, they would surely fetch a high price.
(Thinking that I’m reflected in those eyes doesn’t feel bad, but… honestly, it makes me feel uneasy, like I’m being watched…)
“Zzz… Zzz… Chicken kachii…”
“Zzz… Zzz…”
“Can I really sleep in a situation like this…?”
Feeling awkward on multiple levels, Rest somehow managed to steal thirty minutes of sleep.