In the morning, something strange was happening.
When I woke up, I had fallen out of bed.
Tilting my head in confusion, I got up and looked at the bed, and it all made sense.
"Ah, so that's it. Wait—no, what the—!?"
I understood, but then reality sank in and I was left speechless.
Two beautiful women were sleeping in my bed. Completely naked.
Let me repeat that.
Two beautiful women were sleeping in my bed. Completely naked.
Not just any beautiful women, either — stunningly gorgeous, completely naked women were sleeping in my bed.
The one at the far end was a beauty with striking purple hair. That was Narcissus.
The 24-year-old child who'd arbitrarily taken a nap in my bed yesterday.
After waking up, she had gone to the room I assigned her, like she was supposed to.
There just happened to be a room free. The witch's and Bid's room.
The witch wasn't coming back, and Bid had officially joined Torquetam, so that room was over there now.
So it became Narcissus's and Megadia's room.
That was all beside the point — so why was she sleeping here?
Also, Narcissus's sleeping habits were, as expected, terrible. Absolutely terrible.
She was lying on her back with the covers kicked off, legs spread wide apart.
So sloppy it was beyond the point of having renounced womanhood entirely.
At least the futon managed to partially cover the important parts down below. That was something.
The one closest to me was a voluptuous, attractive beauty with long honey-colored hair.
To put it bluntly, she was crazy erotic. Super lewd. Way too sexy.
Or rather, it was Mineha.
She had this absolutely indecent body, but she was still only ten years old.
So technically not a beauty, but a beautiful girl.
Can't really blame her when her appearance was this far from what you'd expect of a beautiful girl.
She was lying on her side, legs neatly together.
But her rear end was completely exposed, facing right toward me.
"Hold on, why are these two sleeping in my bed?"
I could tell Narcissus was naked, which I didn't need to know.
Mineha too... ah, no, this wasn't the first time.
She'd once fallen asleep naked in my bed after a bath, still soaking wet.
The futon and sheets had reeked after that.
"Nya!"
"Dagaa?"
"Nya!"
Dagaa's voice came from the bed. Where? Where was it?
"Dagaa?"
"Nya!"
"There you are! I-Found you… found you"
She was there. Right in the middle of the bed. Right in the middle of all of them.
Right in the middle of their facing chests. Dagaa's tail was poking out, flailing around.
Seriously?
"Nya!"
"Wait, wait, don't turn into a knife! No knives— I'll pull you out myself!"
"Nya?"
A blade in the middle of a pile of naked beauties was a terrible idea.
That was the one thing I had to stop! Dagaa thrashed around.
"……"
"Nya!"
Excuse me, I muttered, and climbed onto my own bed, careful not to step on Mineha.
The bed groaned.
"Nngh…!"
"Mm…"
Both of them reacted, startled.
Don't wake up. Don't wake up.
Please don't wake up, please don't wake up.
I prayed silently, but Dagaa's… tail situation was bad.
Ugh, their chests were incredible… I couldn't help but stare.
Narsesis was lying on her back, so that was just one, but Mineha on her side was something else entirely.
Two extra-larges were stacked in layers. Those chest were deep.
"Na!"
"Sorry, sorry."
She was already trying to turn into a knife. There was no choice but to brace myself.
I carefully slid my hand in from Narsesis's side, past one chest's worth of space.
I worked both arms into the gap between their bodies.
My arm touched Mineha's chest.
Fluffy-ah! What is this softness!? Marshmallows aren't even in the same league!?
"Mnh..."
"S-sorry!"
Her reaction made me flinch.
Th-this was more than my spirit could handle.
And this was a race against time.
Whether Dagaa would lose patience and turn into a knife.
One or the other was going to happen.
This was truly a race against time! I'd do it in one go without hesitating!
I tipped Dagaa slightly toward Narsesis's side, then yanked in one smooth motion—out!
"Aahn!"
"Done! Got it!"
"Gah!"
And with that, I bolted — holding Dagaa, I dashed out of the room.
I had a feeling Mineha might've woken up, but it was probably just my imagination.
I went down the staircase, stopped, and took a deep breath.
I was clearly excited. Calm down. Settle down, my heart.
I managed to compose myself, so I washed my face.
Then I said good morning to Hoss and the others.
I ate the breakfast that was already prepared without batting an eye.
Oh, Luma was there. She'd stayed over last night, apparently. Huh.
Ambrosius and Mirees were there too.
I was told the witch was still asleep.
When I brought up exploring the Forbidden Land and forming a party, Ambrosius agreed readily.
Mirees was interested too, but she couldn't fight, so she had to pass.
Mineha was joining as well, so with me that made five.
I wanted to finish eating and start getting ready, but I didn't have the courage to go back to the room.
The two of them were still asleep.
With no other choice, I headed to Torquetam's place just as I was.
Lightly dressed, sure, but as long as I had Dagaa, it'd be fine.
I had one errand. The Forbidden Land, and the party.
I'd only been to the hideout Torquetam was renting that one time on the first day, but I remembered the way.
Turn here, go straight, turn left — wait. I don't recognize this spot.
Yup. I'm lost.
I'd heard the white house belonged to the Tassan family and was Samaniya's personal property.
Torquetam was still staying there, worried about her living alone.
Last time I came nobody was home, but today they were all there.
"I can go to the Forbidden Land now."
I got straight to the point in the sitting room.
"Oh my. That's wonderful news."
"I believe it's deep in the Heizen Great Forest, yes?"
"Yeah, that place."
Bidd nodded, looking relaxed.
She seemed to have fit right in already.
She'd originally traveled together with Torquetam, and they lived together.
So there was no awkwardness, no sense of being out of place when she joined.
"Come to think of it, Bidd, you've been there before, haven't you?"
"I have, y'know. But I never had time to really look around, so if the chance comes up I'd like to go again."
"So — I'd like to invite you all to an exploration party for the Forbidden Land. What do you think?"
I didn't expect anyone to refuse.
The Relic plate Pakira wanted — the Rank Up plate — was in the Forbidden Land.
Lupinus, Bidd, and Riv were all raring to go.
— It's just... I'm sorry.
— Huh?
— The timing's really bad right now, y'see.
— Hmm... truly regrettable... such a shame...
— So you can't make it?
I hadn't expected to be turned down.
Pakira drooped her ears apologetically and explained.
— Well. I'm truly sorry. Right now, we've been hired by the Zenzera family.
— We're serving as Lady Seiran's bodyguards.
— Bodyguards?
— Wof, you remember, right? The Jinryu remnants.
— Of course.
— They attacked yesterday.
— Wait, they actually came!?
I was surprised. So they'd attacked the head of the Zenzera family.
— Mm... but... bam! ...We repelled them, though.
— That's why we can't. I'm sorry.
Pakira gave a small bow of her head.
— No, if that's the situation, it can't be helped.
It was true that I was disappointed. But there was nothing to be done about it.
Still, that's bold. To go after one of the two great families outright — that's pure spite.
The Jinryu clan brought their destruction on themselves. It had nothing to do with Seiran.
"So I'll be filing a formal named commission, if you'll allow me."
"A named commission?"
"Yes. Well, the truth is, I'd been thinking about this from the start. It didn't feel right asking for free."
"We aren't really the type to worry about stuff like that, though."
"…Among friends… there are still… manners…"
Fair point — I really wasn't the type to worry about that sort of thing.
If anything, I was the kind of person who felt bad about *receiving* payment.
But what they said made perfect sense. I nodded honestly.
"Understood. I'll take the commission."
"I'm glad you've accepted."
"Well then. I'm counting on you, Wof."
"Yes. I'll definitely get my hands on a Relic [Rank Up] plate."
"Oh, and if you find any treasure, I want in too."
"Sure. I'll bring back whatever I can find."
I answered Bidd with a cheerful smile.
Lupinus gave a wry smirk.
"You're awfully confident."
"The one who says it first wins."
"So, have the other members been decided?"
"Yes. Mineha, Narcissus, Megadia, and—"
"Ah, I ran into Narcissus and Megadia yesterday, at the Zenzela main residence."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. Lady Narcissus. She showed up like some kind of dojo challenger."
What is she even doing. That 24-year-old kid.
Still sleeping in someone else's bed right now in some outrageous nude pose, that 24-year-old kid.
"Then Jinryu remnants attacked us. Quite a few of them, and skilled — they were serious. So we teamed up with the girls and drove them off."
"Unexpected helpers, but it must have been rough all the same."
"Huh? Even with two Rank I fighters backing you up, it was rough?"
"Mm. Those slayers are no joke."
That guy was tough too, if I'm being honest.
The Jinryu remnants... you can't underestimate them.
"That's why enhanced security is absolutely necessary."
"I see... Oh, right, we also have Ambrosius as a member."
"What — he's here too!?"
Pakira was surprised. It must have been an unexpected name.
Her tail was bristling.
"Yes. He came on as a dungeon specialist."
"That man. He's got all sorts of titles, doesn't he."
"Ambrosius is from the Edda region, I believe. I've never met him."
"Hmm… Riv hasn't… met him either…"
"We haven't either."
So that was the case.
Pakira let out a sigh.
"Troublesome, but we'll have to pay our respects later."
"He's currently at the hideout. I believe he's staying in the witch's giant carriage. I'll let you know later."
"Mm. I am rather curious about that giant carriage of the witch's."
"That thing is amazing! It even has a bath!"
"A giant carriage with a bath, you say?"
"Hmm… Riv also… has a tent… with a bath…"
"Don't go competing. That one is questionable too."
One of Riv's sci-fi-esque items.
Bath included, bed included. In terms of my past life's memories, it was something like a prefab housing unit?
That's not a tent at all.
"Oh, also, she's not part of the exploration party, but Milece is here too."
I nearly forgot about the second-generation dungeon master.
Everyone tilted their heads.
W-well, I guess that's how it would go.