A short chapter…

Chapter 265: Late Night Combat

Night fell, and work pretty much came to an end.

I became quite sleepy, so I believe it’s time to go to sleep.

“Are you going to sleep soon?” (Raphtalia)

“Yeah, I’ll need to get up early tomorrow.” (Naofumi)

I sit on my bed and ponder who to call for guard duty today… No, Raphtalia’s here now, so I can just leave Atlas Countermeasures to her.

“Raphtalia, if Atlas comes here, make sure to kick her out.” (Naofumi)

“Got it!” (Raphtalia)

She’s quite energetic.

I get a different feeling than that of the usual Raphtalia.

“… Why are you taking off your sleeping clothes?” (Naofumi)

“Eh? Ah…” (Raphtalia)

As if she were trying to strip naked, Raphtalia starts removing her clothes.

I understand that it’s hot, but I don’t get why she has to be naked.

Hmm? I hear a knocking on the door.

I don’t know why, but I get a bad premonition as I open the door.

“Yo, Naofumi-chan. I came here with Atlas to sleep.” (Sadina)

“Naofumi-sama, I’ll be sleeping in your room again.” (Atlas)

A drunk Sadina with Atlas in tow gives a wide smile as she tries to come in through the front door.

I silently shut it.

“Go home!” (Naofumi)

“Why~? Isn’t it fine~?” (Sadina)

“Right, Naofumi-sama. Up until yesterday, did you not let us sleep in the same room as you?” (Atlas)

“Now that Raphtalia’s here, things won’t play out the same. Sadina, the same goes for you as well.” (Naofumi)

“Ara~? He’s driving us out.” (Sadina)

“Whatever shall we do?” (Atlas)

Atlas and Sadina begin talking amongst themselves.

If Atlas and Sadina form an alliance, there’s no way Fohl will be able to stop them both.

He’s weak against his sister.

“First, we must get a grasp of the situation…”

I can hear some suspicious conversation, but I ignore them.

“Um…” (Raphtalia)

“Just in case, let’s sleep in the same bed.” (Naofumi)

“Y-yes!” (Raphtalia)

Raphtalia back suddenly straightens as she nods.

“I won’t let it go as Raphtalia-chan plans. But first, I think we should see how things play out, Atlas-chan.” (Sadina)

‘Can Sadina sense what’s going on through some invisible force as well?’ I think, but then I notice the two of them at the window peeking inside.

I slide the curtains shut without saying a word.

“Fufufu, don’t think this is enough to stop our peeping~!” (Sadina)

T-they’re annoying as hell…

Ignoring Sadina’s words, I invite Raphtalia over to the bed.

“E-excuse me!” (Raphtalia)

It’s a response like the one I got from Imya when I first invited her into the bed.

Why is she so tense?

We slept together plenty of times before.

Ah, back then, she even wet the bed.

“Good, good.” (Naofumi)

I lie down flat and place my hand on Raphtalia’s tail.

“Hii!? N-Naofumi-sama, why are you touching my tail?” (Raphtalia)

“Hmm? I often touch Firo’s feathers, and Imya and Kiel’s fur, so I guess my hand naturally went to it.” (Naofumi)

Recently, I’ve been sleeping while touching one of them, so it’s become somewhat of a habit. Or perhaps a custom.

It’s like hugging a Dakimakura to sleep.

“You were doing things like that… You’ve changed quite a bit in the time I haven’t seen you.” (Raphtalia)

“It’s not like anything really changed, you know.” (Naofumi)

I gently stroke Raphtalia’s tail.

“Ah… uu…” (Raphtalia)

The feeling is a mixture of all of the good parts of Firo’ feathers and Kiel’s fur.

I guess she’s a good breed.

It’s really fluffy.

I may make a habit out of this. The feel is top class.

“Hah… hah…” (Raphtalia)

Raphtalia’s breathing becomes strained. Perhaps it’s because she isn’t used to having her tail touched

I pull the cover over myself and close my eyes.

“…”

What is this? I get a strange feeling similar to the one I get when Atlas crawls into the bed.

This is strange. Firo, the loinclothed dog, Imya and all the other Demi-Human slaves, I never got such a feeling with them. Is it impossible to sleep next to Raphtalia?

“Ah… uu…” (Raphtalia)

Raphtalia is shaking. It seems she can’t calm down either.

Every time I stroke her tail, her whole body convulses.

How much time has passed? I’m this sleepy, yet I can’t fall asleep. The feeling irritates me.

“N-Naofumi-sama…” (Raphtalia)

“Fumu.” (Naofumi)

I sit up.

“Raphtalia, I’m sorry. It seems I can’t sleep with you.” (Naofumi)

“Eh!?” (Raphtalia) (ED: *TACTICAL FACEPALM!*)

Raphtalia’s face goes red for a moment as she lets out a confused voice.

“I don’t know why, but I can’t sleep.” (Naofumi)

“Fufufu, Naofumi-chan. Shall the two of us sleep with you, then?” (Sadina)

Sadina’s voice emanates from the other side of the window.

What sort of cause and effect is that?

And those guys are still here? Go to sleep already.

“I heard all about it, Naofumi-chan. The reason you won’t sleep next to Atlas-chan is because you don’t want Raphtalia-chan to misunderstand, right?” (Sadina)

“Well…” (Naofumi)

The larger truth of the matter is that I’ll wake up if something happens around me while I’m asleep.

But recently, I’ve been able to ignore it.

“Then, we just have to sleep with you with Raphtalia-chan’s permission. Now let us start this carnival of lust!” (Sadina)

“What carnival!? Stop messing around!” (Naofumi)

“Naofumi-chan, the night has just begun~!” (Sadina)

“Sadina-oneesan, could you quiet down and go home!? Atlas-chan too!” (Raphtalia)

Raphtalia opens the curtain and directs these words at the two.

Right. Drive them away.

The fact that she can put it clearly like that is Raphtalia’s strong point.

“What are you talking about, Raphtalia-chan? We are your allies, you know. You want to do fun things with Naofumi-chan, right?” (Sadina)

“That’s right, Raphtalia-san. Let’s all sleep together with Naofumi-san.” (Atlas)

“I’m not making any alliances here!” (Raphtalia)

“That’s right. It’s not like she has to sleep in the same bed as me. If she just sleeps in the adjacent bed and keeps watch over you two, there are no problems.” (Naofumi)

I close the curtains Raphtalia opened.

“And so, Raphtalia, can you sleep in the next bed?” (Naofumi)

“Hah… I understand…” (Raphtalia)

With an extremely regretful tone, Raphtalia sulks over to the next bed and lies down.

… Now then, I should sleep too.

I thought that as I close my eyes, but…

“Sadina-oneesan… I can tell that you’re in the room already. There’s no use in concealing your presence.” (Raphtalia)

Before I noticed it, Sadina had infiltrated the room and Raphtalia had scolded her.

It’s a pain to get up, so I pretend to sleep.

“I see. In order to pursue Naofumi-chan, I must eliminate the large obstacle known as Raphtalia-chan. Onee-san won’t lose.” (Sadina)

“Reinforcements have arrived!” (Atlas)

“Fine… Then I’ll be your opponent! Naofumi-sama, just sleep over there without worry.” (Raphtalia)

The three left the room with a bang.

I hear the sound of clashing metal and thunder from outside.

“Why can Atlas-chan use Musou Kassei!?” (Raphtalia)

“I learned from watching Rishia-san.” (Atlas)

“Just from watching?” (Raphtalia)

“Naofumi-sama also learned it.” (Atlas)

“For what purpose did I go on that journey!?” (Raphtalia)

“I won’t lose!” (Sadina)

“Even so, the one with the most experience is me! Hengen Musou Sword Skill-!” (Raphtalia)

Well, I can leave it to Raphtalia without worry.

Even Atlas shouldn’t be able to defeat her.

“Master~! Let’s sleep together~.” (Firo)

Firo, who was supposed to be sleeping at Melty’s place, arrives.

Did she run here?

She came when I was half asleep, so I absentmindedly nod.

“Yeah, then in the one-in-a-million chance that Sadina and Atlas break through, you can be their opponent.” (Naofumi)

“Okay. Kiel-kun and Imya-chan are with me too~.” (Firo)

“Niichan, Raphtalia-chan, Sadina-neechan, and Atlas-chan are having an epic battle outside right now.” (Kiel)

“Yes… The battle was getting intense, so everyone woke up to watch it.” (Imya)

“Yeah, I thought it was getting loud. So that was the reason. Well, I’m going to sleep, so see ‘ya tomorrow.” (Naofumi)

“Who do you think will win, Niichan?” (Kiel)

“Raphtalia.” (Naofumi)

“I see. Well, when I get bored of the fight, I’ll sleep with Nii-chan.” (Kiel)

“Ah, yes, yes.” (Naofumi)

By the way, it seems the three of them fought until dawn. When I left the house in the morning, I found the three of them sitting back to back.

I thought Raphtalia would be able to take both of them out easily though.

But, I’m the one who went to sleep by myself, so I can’t really say anything.

Raphtalia told me I could sleep without worry, so I had faith though…

“T-that’s quite some skill you’ve got there!” (Raphtalia)

“Amazing. If Sadina-san wasn’t here, I would have lost instantly.” (Atlas)

“Raphtalia-chan’s gotten strong~. But still, I won’t lose.” (Sadina)

“It’s already morning, people.” (Naofumi)

“Eh?” (All Three)

These people continued fighting without realizing it.

Just how militaristic are these people?

Even Raphtalia’s become a battle maniac.

Though the fault lies with me for leaving these two to her.

But, it’s no joke if Sadina and Atlas have teamed up.

I can’t have Raphtalia battling all night. I have to do something.