An Unexpected Discovery at Noon

Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the hotel's wooden windows, casting lazy beams of light into the air, where tiny dust particles floated and sank slowly. Even though the sun was high in the sky, the room remained quiet, save for the sound of two steady breaths mingling together.

Frieren's silver eyelashes fluttered a few times, and her emerald eyes slowly opened, still hazy with the light of first awakening. She instinctively wanted to snuggle closer to the warm source beside her, but felt a distinct emptiness in her abdomen.

"Gurgle..."

A soft but unusually clear rumbling sound from the intestines rang out in the quiet room.

Frieren blinked, becoming a little more awake. She stretched out her slender finger and poked the bulge next to her, still wrapped in the blanket with only a few strands of black hair showing, her voice hoarse from just waking up:

"Lowell... you're up, you're hungry."

The human-shaped figure inside the blanket stirred, uttering a muffled nasal sound, before slowly poking its head out.

Lowell rubbed his sleepy eyes, his dark hair sticking up in a mess, and red marks from the pillow on his face. He squinted to adjust to the light and mumbled unconsciously:

"Huh... sleeping so soundly? What time is it... why hasn't Ruby come to bother you... oh, right,"

He seemed to just realize what was happening, and yawned, "Ruby's gone, she left with Himmel. Finally, I can get a good night's sleep..."

He paused, as if sensing something was amiss. He listened intently to the sounds outside, then tilted his head in confusion. "But where 'Lupa? She should be here to wake us up after training, shouldn't she? Why is it so quiet today?"

Frieren had closed her eyes again, as if using her last bit of strength to finish speaking. Her voice grew softer and softer, filled with deep weariness. "I don't know... Go and see..."

Lowell buried her face in the soft pillow, her voice muffled, "No... you go... it's cold outside..."

"You go."

"You go..."

The two were like two puddles of Slime Melt on the bed, neither willing to leave the warmth of the covers first. After a few seconds of stalemate, Frieren, with her eyes closed, struggled to pull one of her arms out from under the covers, and Lowell sighed helplessly, extending his arm in the same way.

Two hands weakly gestured above the warm blankets. "Rock-Paper-Scissors!"

Frieren made a tightly clenched fist, representing "rock." Lowell, a beat slower, made "scissors."

"Tsk..." Lowell looked at his "scissors," then at Frieren's "rock," and sighed resignedly, "Fine, I lost. I'll go... anyway, we're both in our pajamas..."

He sat up slowly, scratched his already messy black hair, yawned widely, and then shuffled off in his shoes toward the flimsy wooden door leading to the next room. As he walked, he muttered to himself about Lupa's unusual "negligence" today.

With a creak, the wooden door was gently pushed open.

However, the sight that came into view made Lowell freeze instantly at the doorway, all traces of sleepiness vanished, and even his hand resting on the door frame stopped.

On the small double bed next door, where the two people who should have been sleeping separately were now entwined in an extremely intimate position.

Lupa lay facing outwards, her pink twin ponytails slightly disheveled, one hand unconsciously resting on her forehead. Linié, on the other hand, was pressed tightly against her from behind like a koala, her slender arms wrapped around Lupa's waist, her pink head buried in the nape of Lupa's neck, her deep blue pupils covered by her eyelids, her breathing even, fast asleep.

The blankets were only half-covering the two of them, and their pajamas were a little wrinkled from sleeping. This position, no matter how you looked at it, was full of affection that evoked many thoughts and... quite impactful.

Lowell subconsciously rubbed his forehead, his face displaying a complex expression that mixed with "I see," "young people are so energetic," and "don't look where you shouldn't." "Wow..."

Perhaps startled by the sound of the door opening, or perhaps the soldier's intuition sensing the gaze, Lupa, who was sleeping on the outer side, twitched her eyelids, her heterochromatic eyes slowly opening, still shrouded in the haze of first awakening.

She blinked first to adjust to the light, then subconsciously tried to move, but immediately felt an undeniable restraint around her waist and the warm body temperature of another person coming from behind.

Lupa's body stiffened abruptly. She slowly and somewhat stiffly turned her head, and when she saw Linié, who was hugging her tightly like an octopus and sleeping soundly, her heterochromatic eyes widened instantly, and her little face flushed red at a visible speed, all the way to her ears.

"Eh? Li- Linié... you... I... this... no! Master!" Lupa, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, stammered as she tried to explain, frantically trying to break free from Linié's embrace, yet afraid of waking her with any sudden movement. She was in a state of extreme panic and embarrassment. "We were just discussing tactics too late last night and accidentally fell asleep! Really!"

Her movements seemed to disturb Linié as well. The pink-haired girl slowly opened her deep blue eyes, which showed no trace of the confusion of just waking up, remaining calm and undisturbed.

Instead of letting go, she seemed to feel that Lupa's struggles were disturbing her sleep, so she instinctively tightened her arms and buried her face deeper into Lupa's warm back, muttering in her unique, soft, and slightly sleepy voice:

"It's warm, don't move..."

Lupa's face flushed crimson, and she froze, stammering as she continued to plead with Lowell at the door, "Really! Master! We... we just talked a little late yesterday... and then somehow... I fell asleep! There was absolutely nothing else going on!"

Lowell, recovering from his initial surprise, crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, giving a knowing look that said, "I completely understand, no explanation needed," his tone both teasing and tolerant of an "enlightened parent."

"It's okay, it's okay, no need to explain, I understand~ It's great to be able to chat with Linié for so long~ It's a good thing that young people have a good relationship." He deliberately dragged out his words.

"After being out there exposed to the elements and on edge for over ten days, it's only natural to relax a bit after finally returning to a hotel with a roof and a soft bed. Training can be interrupted for a day occasionally, so it's no big deal. Just treat it as a vacation."

He winked at Lupa, his smile growing even more amiable, "Looks like you two are getting along well? That's good. Keep sleeping, no rush to get up."

"No! Master! You've completely misunderstood!" Lupa became even more anxious, her heterochromatic eyes filled with despair, as if she couldn't clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River, wishing she could dig a hole and disappear on the spot.

Just then, Frieren, perhaps growing impatient or disturbed by the commotion outside, rubbed her eyes and slowly made her way to the doorway. A few strands of her long silver hair were sticking up in sleep, and her emerald eyes were half-closed. She first glanced at Lupa and Linié, who were locked in a seemingly endless struggle on the bed, then at Lowell, who wore a look of schadenfreude. Her expression remained unchanged; she simply yawned and calmly commented:

"Looks like you're sleeping soundly. Lowell, I'm hungry, the biscuits you promised."

Upon hearing this, Lowell finally couldn't help but chuckle. He turned and put his arm around Frieren's shoulder, leading the still bewildered elf towards the dining room, while waving back at Lupa, who was still frozen on the bed, and Linié looked like a mere ornament:

"Alright, I won't disturb your rest any longer~ Go back to sleep, we'll bring you lunch~"

The door was gently closed, shutting out the gradually bustling sounds of the street outside and temporarily silencing Lupa's awkward and speechless predicament. Inside the room, only Linié, still tightly hugging her "human heater," and Lupa, looking utterly hopeless and staring at the ceiling, remained.

Lupa thought with a sense of despair, today's training was probably completely ruined. Meanwhile, the culprit behind all this— Linié —seemed completely oblivious, simply snuggling contentedly against the warm, soft "pillow" beneath her, and drifting back into a peaceful sleep, a faint, almost satisfied smile playing on her lips.