“You two sleep in the tent,” Chen Mian said, standing up and brushing the grass clippings off his clothes. “I'll keep watch.”
“But you...” Flora looked at him, her lips parting slightly.
“It makes no difference to me,” Chen Mian interrupted. “Go on.”
Flora hesitated for a couple of seconds before finally turning to walk toward the tent.
Loviki had already crawled out of her blanket. Holding it in her arms, she stood at the entrance of the tent and glanced at Chen Mian.
“I'll leave the blanket for you.” She draped it over the crossbar at the tent's entrance.
“Sure.” Chen Mian nodded and took the blanket.
Loviki then ducked inside the tent.
After the tent flap fell, it remained quiet inside for about ten seconds.
Then Chen Mian heard Loviki's lowered voice: “You're smiling.”
“I am not.”
“You are, I saw it.”
A rustling sound came from inside the tent, followed by Flora's muffled cry into her pillow: “Loviki, don't tickle me—”
“Then tell the truth.”
“I really wasn't... pfft... don't, don't touch me there...”
Chen Mian tossed another dry branch into the campfire, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.
The effects of the Moonlight Mushroom Condensation had already worn off, but Loviki clearly didn't need magic potions to interrogate Flora.
After a while, silence returned to the tent.
“Mr. Chen Mian.” The tent flap was lifted at the corner, and Flora poked her head out. “If it gets cold, you must come inside. There's plenty of room for three of us to squeeze in.”
“Yeah, we can squeeze,” Loviki's voice came from deep within the tent. She sounded nonchalant, but she was speaking a bit faster than usual.
“Got it,” Chen Mian said, sitting down by the campfire.
Naturally, he wouldn't squeeze into the tent with them. Sleeping alongside girls he had only known for a few days felt inappropriate no matter how he looked at it.
Besides, it really made no difference to him. His body had already far surpassed the limits of a normal human; even sleeping on a bed of snow wouldn't affect him in the slightest.
“Good night, Mr. Chen Mian.”
“Good night.”
The flap fell.
Another silence lasted for less than ten seconds.
“Loviki, don't hog all the blankets.”
“I'm not hogging them.”
“You are, I saw you.”
“That's because you have the sleeping bag on your side.”
“The sleeping bag is for lying on, not for covering...”
After that, there was no more sound.
The surroundings gradually quieted down, leaving only the crackling of the burning firewood.
He opened his system panel and glanced at it.
【Current Points: 2340.】
【Flora's Sense of Belonging: Level 2 (Tenant)】
【Loviki's Sense of Belonging: Level 2 (Tenant)】
He was still 530 Points away from upgrading the apartment. If he collected all the Points he could get every day...
The apartment would be able to upgrade to Level 3 in another two days.
Chen Mian dispersed his mana to erect a mana barrier around the area. He then leaned against the deadwood, pulled the blanket up, and closed his eyes.
About an hour passed. The tent flap was lifted once more, this time with extreme gentleness, making almost no sound at all.
A slender figure quietly slipped out.
It was Flora.
She was barefoot, stepping onto the grass with her hair loose, wearing the coat Chen Mian had lent her earlier draped over her shoulders. She carefully bypassed the tent fabric on Loviki's side and walked over to the campfire.
A brief moment passed.
“Mr. Chen Mian.”
Chen Mian opened his eyes to see Flora squatting beside him, holding a small cloth bundle in her hands.
She opened the bundle to reveal a few neatly shaped square pastries with crispy, golden-brown crusts.
“I couldn't sleep just now, and I remembered there was a bit of Silver-light Fruit puree and flour left in the basket, so I used the campfire's residual heat to fry a few small cakes.” Her voice was very soft and gentle. “You're keeping watch, so you'll definitely get hungry if you don't sleep well.”
Chen Mian took one. The pastry was still warm, slightly charred at the edges, and gave off a faint, sweet aroma.
He took a bite, and the refreshing sweetness of the Silver-light Fruit spread in his mouth, accompanied by the fragrant aroma of freshly fried dough. “It's delicious.”
Flora's eyes crinkled into crescents as she sat down beside him, picking up a piece of her own to nibble on.
The two of them sat in silence, enjoying the quiet moment.
“I can't sleep,” Flora said suddenly.
“Is Loviki hogging the blankets?”
“No.” She paused. “She's asleep, and she actually sleeps very peacefully.”
“Then why can't you sleep?”
Flora stared at the campfire, her ears turning slightly red in the firelight. “I don't know... I just can't.”
Chen Mian didn't press further. He popped the last bite of pastry into his mouth and brushed the crumbs off his hands.
“Your hands.”
Flora was taken aback for a moment, then obediently held out her hands, her fingertips still dusted with flour.
Chen Mian conjured a tiny water ball. A thin stream of water flowed over her fingertips, washing away the flour until they were perfectly clean.
“Thank you.” Flora looked down at her clean fingertips, then looked up at him.
The campfire's light danced in her eyes, exceptionally bright.
She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something.
Suddenly, a muffled thud came from inside the tent, followed by Loviki's mumbled sleep-talking: “Where's my sword...”
Both of them turned to look at the tent at the same time.
A few seconds of silence ensued.
Loviki rolled over, and everything went quiet again.
Flora covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
“She might be dreaming about a fight,” Chen Mian said in a low voice.
“Yeah,” Flora's voice trembled with suppressed laughter. “And she can't find her sword.”
“Then she's definitely going to lose.”
Flora finally couldn't hold it in and let out a soft laugh. She laughed for quite a while before stopping to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes. She stood up and brushed the grass clippings off her skirt. “Mr. Chen Mian.”
“Mhm.”
“Good night.” She paused, the corners of her mouth curving up. “This time, it's official.”
“Good night.”
Flora turned and walked back to the tent, her steps much lighter and brisker than before.
The flap fell, followed by the faint rustling of fabric inside before everything returned to tranquility.
Chen Mian watched the campfire, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly as he tossed the last dry branch into the flames.
Loviki's voice suddenly rang out, carrying a trace of subtle mischief. “...I heard that.”
“...You were pretending to be asleep?!”
“I just woke up, woken by your heartbeat.”
“M-My heart isn't beating that loudly, and you shouldn't be able to hear it if you just woke up.”
“Oh, it is. Thump, thump, thump. It's shaking the ground,” Loviki said, dodging the main point.
Another rustle came from inside the tent, followed by Flora's muffled groan as she buried her face in her pillow, and Loviki's lazy, amused voice: “Stop hiding. I'm awake anyway. Tell me, what other pastries can you make?”
“A lot... probably dozens of kinds.”
“Then I want honey pancakes for breakfast tomorrow.”
“...Alright.”
“With Silver-light Fruit jam.”
“...You ask for too much.”
“Consider it hush money. Now, go back to sleep.”
Silence fell for a few seconds.
“...Loviki.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
“...Thank me for what?”
“I don't know. I just wanted to say it.”
...
When the first ray of morning sunlight spilled over the land, Chen Mian opened his eyes.
The campfire had already gone out, leaving only a pile of gray-white embers.
He stood up, stretched his shoulders, and walked over to the tent. The flap wasn't fully closed, leaving a small gap.
Flora and Loviki were squeezed together. The blanket had been kicked to the corner, Flora's hair was scattered across Loviki's shoulder, and Loviki had an arm draped over Flora's waist.
Neither of them had woken up yet.
Chen Mian gently pulled the flap shut, then turned to walk toward the makeshift kitchen stove.
Rate on N.U.
