Chapter 536: Look, the effect is so good
A night of various meanings quietly passed by, no longer tranquil.
As the sun rose again from the east, ascending over the skies of Britain in Fairy Country and showering the earth with its radiance, the huge tower standing on the grassland also began to cast its reflection on the ground.
At this time, Reiger, too, awoke following his biological clock.
But the moment he woke up, he immediately fell into a state of complete disarray.
"Hmm... Hmm..."
In the midst of peaceful breathing sounds, the fairy girl slept tranquilly, appearing to be in a very comfortable slumber by the look on her face.
That was only natural.
After all, the fairy girl was lying in Reiger’s arms, squeezed together with him on a sofa. Her hands clutched Reiger’s clothes tightly, and occasionally, she would nuzzle her face against Reiger’s chest like a dozing cat, treating Reiger as a cushion.
How could that not be comfortable?
Looking at the scene before him, Reiger first remained silent for roughly thirty seconds, then closed his eyes and started to mutter to himself.
"First, let’s sort out the current situation," he said.
"First off, from the looks of it, it’s clear that Altoria didn’t run over to me, but rather, I ran over to her side," he assessed.
"Moreover, she didn’t just squeeze onto the same sofa as me, but she’s clinging to my clothes like a little girl afraid of thunder," he added.
"To end up like this, it couldn’t possibly be like last time with Liz, intending to offer me close protection, but instead wanting me to offer her close protection," he reasoned.
"Meaning, this girl either felt insecure in her sleep in the middle of the night and subconsciously squeezed onto this sofa, or she had a nightmare and unconsciously ran over here," Reiger analyzed calmly.
"So, what should I be doing right now, given the circumstances?" he pondered.
"Pat her on the head? Or hug her back?" he considered.
"No, neither," he decided.
"Based on the current developments, the thing I should do most is to extricate myself before this girl starts making a fuss," Reiger concluded.
As Reiger muttered to himself, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he seemed not to have noticed that the breathing rhythm of the fairy girl lying in his arms had changed at some point.
The fairy girl who had been rubbing her face against his chest tensed up all over; her pretty face first turned red, then pale, and finally blue—until Reiger mentioned about "extricating himself before the girl starts making a fuss," and only then could the fairy girl no longer pretend to be asleep.
"I’m not going to start screaming the moment I wake up! Can your first reaction not be to run away!?" Altoria propped herself up and yelled anxiously and angrily at Reiger.
Reiger was not at all surprised by Altoria’s sudden outburst, instead, he smiled and said, "Isn’t this just perfect for waking you up? Look, it works so well."
As he spoke, Reiger patted Altoria’s thigh, gesturing for her to get up quickly and stop pressing down on him.
Instantly, Altoria jumped up, hopped off the sofa, and ran back to a corner of the room, squatted there motionless, just like she had the night before.
This time, Altoria buried her bright red face between her knees.
"Why?"
"Why did it turn out like this?"
"I, I, I, I, I, I... How could I have ended up sleeping on the same sofa with Reiger...!?" the fairy girl’s heart was in total disarray.
Just then, Reiger, who had sat up, glanced at Altoria and asked a question.
"What’s gotten into you? Had a nightmare?" he inquired.
At his words, Altoria had a strong reaction.
"No!" Altoria’s voice grew louder and shriller, as if touching upon some sore spot, she exclaimed, "I didn’t have a nightmare!"
"So what exactly is going on right now?" Reiger asked with a smirk, "Could it be that Miss Altoria, who is 16 this year, is actually a fairy who can’t sleep alone and needs someone by her side?"
"No way!" Whether out of embarrassment or anger, Altoria retorted resentfully, "I’ve always slept alone! I’ve never had anyone beside me when I sleep! And I don’t need anyone to sleep beside me!"
"Then explain this." Reiger pointed to the barely visible drool stains on his clothes, speaking nonchalantly, "What kind of development is this, exactly?"
Altoria opened her mouth cutely, her lips quivering up and down for a long time, but she couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation.
She had no choice; she herself was still confused. She had no idea how she’d ended up on the sofa.
She only remembered that last night she seemed to have dreamed of the usual things, dreamed of the malicious storm that formed this world, walking relentlessly inside it, aimlessly wandering.
But then, while walking, she seemed to have seen a sight she had never seen before—a brilliant sun that could dispel darkness and purify evil.
That sun, rising in the storm, was the spitting image of Reiger when he protected her from the assault of Tusk Clan fairies the day before.
She reached out toward that sun with longing, running into the light that could repel the storm.
Could it be...
"...that’s why, in my drowsy state, I unconsciously ran over to Reiger?"
Considering this possibility, Altoria felt her face heat up with embarrassment again, making her feel her cheeks burning.
"Seeing you like this, you seem to have some clue," Reiger noticed Altoria’s unusual demeanor, raised an eyebrow, and said, "So speak up, what happened?"