“Ah! Commander?”

Did he really pass out after just one drink?

Considering his large frame, it was a surprisingly low tolerance.

Perhaps it was due to a chronic illness—maybe a liver issue? Shocked, Sel grabbed Lavi’s shoulders.

But supporting the towering man’s weight was beyond her strength.

Sel called out to Lavi repeatedly, but he remained unresponsive, eyes closed.

As his body completely relaxed, he leaned onto Sel.

“Ahh!” She staggered under the weight, and the chair without a backrest tilted, sending both of them toppling backward.

Thud! The chair fell, and their bodies sprawled across the floor.

Her back and shoulders stung. “Ouch,” she groaned, wincing.

As she tried to catch her breath, it felt as though something heavy was pressing down on her.

Looking up at the ceiling, Sel lowered her gaze.

There was a head of black hair resting on her chest.

“Mmm,” he murmured, shifting his head slightly, pulling Sel in closer as if hugging a pillow.

“Commander! Get a hold of yourself. Move… Ugh, please move!”

Even though her chest was bandaged, she couldn’t help feeling embarrassed every time he snuggled closer. She tried to push him off.

“Ahh! Why are you so heavy!”

Lavi’s massive body didn’t budge an inch.

With his tall height and broad build, he was all muscle. His weight alone was far greater than others of similar size, and he was completely unconscious.

Sel, already feeling a bit tipsy, couldn’t summon the strength she needed.

With everything against her, it was impossible to escape the current predicament.

The more she struggled, the more Lavi clung to her, tightly wrapping his arms around her.

After a long, helpless struggle, Sel finally admitted defeat.

“Fine, whatever.” She dropped her arms to the floor in surrender.

After drinking over a bottle of alcohol, her body felt loose, and she felt like she was floating.

She began to hum a tune that drifted into her mind.

The memory of her mother dancing amid glistening raindrops on a magical day of sunshowers appeared briefly, then faded.

Sel took a deep breath, her chest expanding wide.

Along with the breath, Lavi’s scent filled her senses.

It was a scent that paired well with the cool night air.

The stone floor beneath her was cold, but Lavi’s warmth kept her from feeling chilly.

“So, this is what it feels like to be held by someone.”

It felt like the late-winter sun warming the chill in the air, comforting her.

‘Maybe someone will come help us.’

The idea of staying like this until morning was a bit daunting.

She thought about calling out for help.

But the sound of Lavi’s steady breathing in the stillness blurred that thought away.

Before she knew it, her breathing matched his rhythm.

Sleepiness spilled over from him to her.

Sel’s eyelids gently drooped downward.

‘Oh, whatever. I’m a man right now.’

She closed her eyes, a slight smile on her face.

Falling asleep to the sound of someone’s soft breathing turned out to be surprisingly nice.

***

“Warm and quite cozy. Feels good.”

Still lying face-down, Lavi rubbed his face.

His tightly closed lips held a peaceful smile.

“Something small and snug beneath me… feels….”

…Wait. Something beneath me?

With a jolt, he propped himself up, placing his hands on the floor as he lifted his upper body, his sore head pounding.

Through the window, he could see the dim dawn sky.

The chill of dawn snapped his mind back to clarity.

Could it be… last night?

His eyes, round as fists, slowly traveled downward.

Beneath him was the still-sleeping Sel.

It appeared he had been sleeping with his face buried in her chest.

Lavi scurried back three paces on all fours like a frightened child who had seen a ghost, then plopped down.

Words failed him, and he could only mutter, “This… can’t be happening,” over and over again.

Sel, meanwhile, was sound asleep, a faint smile playing on her lips as if she were having a pleasant dream.

The open neckline of her shirt revealed the shadows formed by her collarbone.

Lavi’s green eyes lingered around that area, drifting up her delicate neck to her rosy lips.

An intense thirst suddenly washed over him. Lavi pressed his dry lips together tightly.

Each thud of his heartbeat sent a prickling sensation down his spine to his abdomen.

‘What on earth am I…!’

It felt as if he’d been struck by lightning.

His face twisted as he glanced down between his legs.

His recently recovered, healthy body greeted him eagerly.

Damn it!

Of all times, it had to be in front of Sel. Relief over his recovery gave way to shame.

He needed to get out before anyone saw him.

Standing up clumsily, Lavi grabbed a gray blanket from the counter’s drawer.

Despite his hurry, he carefully shook out the blanket and draped it neatly over Sel.

Then, he hobbled away with an awkward gait, disappearing somewhere in a hurry.

***

“Sel… Sel!”

Someone was calling her desperately. Sel slowly opened her heavy eyelids.

Philip was shaking her awake.

Maybe it was because she’d slept on the hard floor, but her muscles felt stiff and sore all over. Her facial muscles, especially, felt taut.

“Holy—what happened to your face, Sel! Did it get paralyzed?”

“Why’s your handsome face all lopsided?”

Philip rubbed her stiffened lips with his fingers.

The muscles around her mouth, which had been tightly locked, started to loosen and move again.

“Why are you sleeping on the floor? Did you drink too much and pass out?”

“…Was I alone?”

Sel looked around.

Seeing a gray blanket lying nearby, it seemed that Lavi had brought it for her. Feeling a cool chill throughout her body, she wondered if she had kicked it off in her sleep.

The early autumn morning air was quite chilly.

“Yeah. But why are you asking? Were you with someone last night?”

Sel hesitated to answer. Although she was hiding her gender, just the thought of sleeping with a man was uncomfortable.

“No, I was alone.”

‘You could have woken me up if you saw me like this, instead of just leaving quietly on your own.’

She had noticed Lavi’s stingy personality ever since he picked up candy she dropped and ate it, but what could she do? He was her employer, after all.

Shaking her head bitterly, Sel got up from her spot.

***

“…Lavi? I thought I heard a groan. Are you alright?”

Eric knocked on Lavi’s door, concerned, as it was still morning.

A low voice came from the quiet room inside.

“…I’m fine, don’t worry. And don’t come into my room today.”

“Oh my, locking the door too, Lavi? Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

One downside of the mercenary guild was that mercenaries tended to have overly keen senses.

They could read the slightest movements at the most unnecessary times. Eric, who always sharpened his instincts only in these situations, was particularly annoying.

Lavi yelled in frustration.

“I said I’m fine! Just go away! Leave me alone!”

“Lavi? You’re making me feel like a mother barging into her teenage son’s room.”

“You little…!”

Lavi cursed and flung open the door.

In his right hand, he was holding his hastily pulled-up pants.

Eric, who was already jotting something down in his notebook, looked up and smiled slightly.

“You little… acting like you know everything…!”

“Hmm? Know everything about what, exactly?”

Eric smoothly stepped back, subtly shaking his head.

A faint smile lingered on the corner of his mouth.

“What are you writing down!”

“Don’t worry, Lavi. You’re just a little later than others; it’s completely natural. And if there’s anything difficult to deal with, feel free to talk to me. As your senior, I can offer some advice…!”

Eric couldn’t finish his sentence as he dodged a blade that came his way.

“Wow, so sensitive…”

Clucking his tongue, Eric quickly disappeared downstairs.

His steps were noticeably light, almost as if he were dancing.

***

“Hey, doesn’t the deputy commander seem off lately?”

Braeden, in the first-floor lobby, nudged Choro in the ribs.

Choro, stroking his beard, turned his head.

There, Eric was brewing coffee with a long-spouted pot.

Though his eyes seemed dry, his lips twitched slightly upward, as if they were struggling to hold back a smile.

“Yeah, he does look like he’s been enjoying life lately.”

“That’s what I mean—it’s just weird.”

“He must be having a lot of fun.”

Choro, dismissing it casually, went back to reviewing the ledger in his hand.

Only his name was listed as the person responsible for a noble faction in Latrancia’s request to eliminate an illegal assassination group. Was he expected to go there and die alone?

“Ah, that’s a misfiled document. Lavi’s not himself these days, you see.”

Eric, who had approached Choro without notice, looked over the ledger and spoke, his words laced with a bit of amusement.

“The assassination group has a B-rank skill level, so you’ll want to take about four more people. Make sure to include Gion as the sniper.”

“Do I handle the team composition myself, or… oh, Commander!”

Choro greeted Lavi, who had just come down to the first floor.

But Lavi didn’t respond.

He had only left his room in the afternoon and looked pale.

With sunken eyes, Lavi surveyed the first floor before heading back upstairs like a corpse.

“Seeing him like that, I doubt Lavi’s going to be able to focus on this. Handle it yourself.”

With his coffee cup in hand, Eric strolled after Lavi at a leisurely pace.

Back in his room, Lavi buried himself back under the blankets.

He glanced at the first floor, just in case, but Sel wasn’t there.

‘Right, she wouldn’t be sprawled out on the floor until this hour. Why do I keep thinking about Sel…’

It saddened him. This change in himself scared him.

“Lavi, really. Doesn’t seem like you’re sleeping… wait, are you crying?”

Eric was horrified to see the blanket bundle trembling slightly.

He had been so sensitive in the morning, and now he seemed to be lost in emotion.

Now was the time to organize the ledgers and handle paperwork.

Eric pondered whether he should postpone his tasks.

“Commander, are you crying?”

Sel, fiddling with a ledger and entering through the open door, asked Eric.

The trembling bundle froze like a rock.

Sel’s mumbled comment about Lavi being unexpectedly sensitive only deepened Lavi’s sadness.

“Oh, Sel, good timing. Lavi’s in no condition to work today. By the way, why is your lip uneven? Did you have a stroke or something at your young age?”

Though a stroke wasn’t contagious, Eric instinctively took a step back.

An unconscious desire for a long, healthy life had triggered this reaction.

“Oh, it’s just that sleeping on the floor stiffened my muscles here… pfft.”

Sel, whose words were still slightly slurred from the stiffness, burst out laughing.

Every time she said something, Lavi’s blanket bundle would shake up and down dramatically.

Lavi banged his head on the sofa repeatedly.

Clearly, he felt a pang of guilt for sneaking off alone at dawn.

“Since no one’s in good shape, let’s continue tomorrow. Everyone, make sure to rest until then.”

And the rookie.

With his hands in his pockets, Eric called Sel over and tossed her a candy.

“Thanks, Eric. But if it’s only for me, the Commander might…”

As she politely bowed and nodded toward Lavi, Eric sighed and tossed a strawberry-flavored candy on top of the blanket bundle.

The small candy perched on top of the large blanket bundle, like a barnacle on a whale’s back, where it remained for quite a while.