It was winter, and even with the Goddess Aqua in Axel, nothing could change the fundamental truth of short days and long nights.
Winter evenings in Axel offered few activities, with all the street vendors having already gone home. After considering this, turning in early seemed the best option.
The lord's mansion, situated in the suburbs, was spacious — each room considerably large to ensure the comfort of every party member.
The massive mansion had just five rooms per floor, which worked perfectly with five people in the party — one room for each person.
Fortunately, Adam had anticipated this situation. During the mansion's reconstruction, he had the workers add another floor, transforming the original two-story building into a three-story estate.
This addition both enhanced its status as the lord's mansion and solved the problem of accommodating future party members.
When Kazuma accidentally destroyed the mansion, the rebuilt version naturally became three stories tall. Yet now everyone faced a new dilemma.
"Yunyun, are you sure about this?" Darkness pulled out a set of new bedding from the room, "Are you really okay staying alone on the third floor?"
"Yes, it's fine. Let me stay on the third floor by myself." Yunyun's voice held no trace of fear.
From her perspective, being allowed to stay in the lord's mansion was already a privilege.
"If you don't want to, you can have my room, and I can stay on the third floor instead." Kazuma gestured toward Megumin and said to Yunyun, "My room is next to this one's. Weren't you and Megumin childhood friends? You must have lots to talk about at night."
"I don't mind, Yunyun. If you're scared, you can stay in my room."
"I don't need that!" Yunyun heard the mockery in Megumin's voice and flatly refused, "I came here to settle a score with Megumin, not to get friendly with you! So... I don't need to stay with her, staying alone on the third floor is no problem at all!"
She defiantly declared these words, then took the bedding from Darkness and rushed up to the third floor without looking back.
"She's quite stubborn..."
"Indeed."
"Compared to her, Megumin is quite lacking..."
"Indeed."
Aqua and Kazuma's back-and-forth comparison irritated Megumin greatly.
Only Darkness was lost in her fantasies.
"I-I... I want to stay alone on the third floor too!"
"Huh?"
"T-then... I'd be all alone on the third floor! And then... someone might sneak up at night and do unspeakable things to me! Ha... ha... ha! Mmm—!"
"Hey, fantasize all you want, but what's with that look in your eyes?" Adam was displeased with Darkness's seductive gaze.
He wasn't that kind of person! Besides, if he wanted to do something improper, what difference would the floor make?
"Well, let's all get some sleep."
"Oh!" x4
Yunyun had already gone to bed on the third floor, and everyone else returned to their rooms to rest.
Adam lay in bed. He closed his eyes to concentrate, but couldn't shake the feeling he was forgetting something.
Eventually, he drifted off to sleep.
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Deep in the night, a sound broke the silence.
Click—
Someone gently pushed Adam's door, making an almost inaudible sound. The door didn't open.
He had kept it locked since returning to the mansion, fearing he might wake to find Aqua in his bed and face unnecessary misunderstandings.
Was it Aqua?
It seemed likely. Given her Water Affinity and their closeness, a nighttime visit wouldn't be unusual.
But this knock was different — softer, accompanied by an even quieter voice.
"Um... are you asleep, Mr... Mr... Mr. Adam!"
Though the final words were louder, they remained barely audible. If not for his superhuman hearing, Adam might have missed them entirely.
But this voice belonged to... Yunyun? What brought her here?
Late night, single man, beautiful girl, alone together — these words, if entered into certain search terms, would yield hundreds of gigabytes of results, complete with red warnings and parental supervision notices.
Shaking his head to clear away the inappropriate scenes from his mind, he opened his door.
There stood a delicate beauty before him. She wore pure white cotton pajamas, her black hair flowing down her back, her red eyes carrying a pitiful expression.
Not good! Those inappropriate thoughts invaded his mind again!
"Um... Adam!"
"W-what is it?" Adam coughed lightly, suppressing his unrealistic fantasies, "Ahem, Yunyun... why aren't you asleep? Is something wrong?"
"Um... I... I...!" After hesitating, Yunyun finally admitted, "M-my room keeps making strange noises..."
How embarrassing. She had just proudly declared she was fine staying alone on the third floor, yet here she was, running to the party leader for help.
The proud and competitive girl's face turned red as a tomato!
"Hmm... strange noises?" Adam tapped his chin thoughtfully. He seemed to know the cause.
It was Beatrice. No wonder something felt off — she hadn't appeared at dinner.
Thinking carefully, that tsundere Great Spirit was quite unhappy about Yunyun joining, which explained why she hadn't come out to meet her. She probably blamed this girl for interfering with her chances to get closer to Adam.
Of course, she might also be expressing her dissatisfaction with Adam himself.
"Let me ask, why come to me instead of Megumin?" Adam already had some theories about this.
Perhaps she didn't want her rival Megumin to know, or maybe she thought he'd be better suited to handle it.
But Yunyun's answer caught him off guard.
"Um... I already tried everyone else — not just Megumin, but also Aqua and Darkness... None of them opened their doors."
"...I see." Adam pressed his hand to his forehead.
He wasn't certain about Darkness, but Aqua and Megumin were notoriously heavy sleepers — once asleep, only danger could wake them.
More importantly, Yunyun's knocking had been far too gentle. Those soft taps would have sounded like mere wind to anyone not listening carefully.
"I understand what's happening." Adam wanted to spare her further embarrassment, "Let me think... how about this, you can stay in my room tonight..."
"Ehhh—!!!" Before he could finish, Yunyun let out a startled cry.
His words were too shocking for the shy and timid girl to accept.
"No, don't misunderstand — I'm not suggesting we share the room." Adam explained, which helped calm her agitated state.
"Then... what do you mean?"
"I know why your room has strange noises, but since it's late, we'll have to deal with it tomorrow."
"Oh... oh."
"But we can't let you stay on the third floor alone."
"Mm."
"So you can stay in my room, and I'll go to the third floor. Understand?"
"Ah—ah!" Yunyun finally understood. She had misinterpreted his intentions — Adam had no plan to share a room with her.
"Then I'll head up to the third floor. Good night."
"Y-yes..."
Adam bid her farewell and headed to the third floor, while Yunyun remained standing dazed outside the door.
Meanwhile, he made his way to a certain special room where a jealous Great Spirit awaited his comfort.
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