After finishing the cake, Jenny stood up.
“I’m going to wash my hands.”
Because they had eaten the cake with their hands, they were a little sticky.
“Where can I wash the dishes, Jenny-san? I want to help since we enjoyed the meal.”
“How kind of you! Then, let’s go to the staff room.”
“In that case, I’ll also…”
Nox got up to join, but Jenny waved her hand.
“No problem, guests should stay here. Princess Nana, come with me.”
“Yes.”
Nana obediently nodded, quickly picked up Nox’s plate, and followed Jenny.
“Well, they seem to get along, so it’s fine.”
Meanwhile, Nox stayed behind reading a book that Jenny had left on the bench to pass the time.
***
Upon opening the door with the sign ‘Unauthorized Personnel Prohibited’ and entering the staff hallway, Jenny smiled and asked.
“So, Princess Nana, is there something you’d like to ask me?”
“It seems like you know about everything.”
Nana had been waiting for an opportunity to speak alone with Jenny. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have sought to move away from Nox.
“It’s about Nox’s magic, isn’t it? It’s my way of thanking for being with that boy. I can answer any questions about what I know.”
“Thank you.”
After hesitating for a moment, Nana spoke directly:
“I would like to be able to pass through the barrier that activates when Nox is sleeping…”
Jenny was left speechless.
If Nox were present, he would ask what kind of magic they were trying to use.
“Did I say something strange?”
“No, I was just surprised by how brave you are to express it. Why do you say that?”
“I wonder how he would react upon waking up and seeing me there if I slept beside him…”
Once again, Jenny was left speechless. Then, she burst into laughter.
“Haha, that’s great, you really love him so much. The bathroom is over here. It’s the staff break room.”
Amid laughter, Jenny entered the room.
“Although I taught magic to Nox, his magic is much more powerful than mine.”
In the simple kitchen area attached to the break room, Jenny casually washed her hands while chuckling.
Nana was also washing the dishes with cream beside her.
“I think it would be impossible to pass through that barrier with a direct approach, even by gathering all the mages in the world.”
“Is there another approach that could work then?”
“There is a way.”
As she dried her hands with a handkerchief, Jenny winked.
***
That night, after showering, Nana said:
“Nox-sama, please come here.”
She sat on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed in the center, gesturing for Nox to approach.
“What’s wrong?”
Nox, alert to what Jenny might have suggested, was somewhat cautious.
“I have something I want to try. Please.”
“Okay…”
With caution, Nox sat beside her. Then, Nana embraced him tightly and pushed him to the side.
“What, what’s happening?”
The direct contact with the touch of the soft nightwear, instead of his usual adventurer attire, completely baffled Nox.
“…It’s a place to rest your head on the knees. Jenny-san thought Nox-sama would like it.”
Unknowingly, Nox’s head rested on Nana’s lap.
“So it was Jenny’s idea…”
Although he wanted to tell Nana not to put strange ideas in her head, the gentle sensation of her thighs beneath him and the view blocked by the soft curve above created an irresistible temptation.
Confirming that Nox did not resist, Nana began to slowly stroke his black hair.
“When I met Jenny-san, I was surprised that you knew someone in the capital, and I felt a bit jealous that she knew a side of Nox-sama that I didn’t.”
In reality, it was much more than a bit.
“But then, I was grateful that Jenny-san taught you so much magic.”
“…Jenny happened to be visiting the Galaxia library by chance.”
She, who called herself an information expert, was aware of the rumors about the cursed children.
Seeing a young man who matched the description seriously reading a magic book, she decided to “investigate the source of the rumors” and that’s how they met.
“She thought Galaxia would be a boring place, so she taught me a magic to travel long distances in a short time.”
“Is there really such magic?”
“Yes, but I can only use it when traveling alone.”
It involves maximizing physical capabilities to the limit and running tirelessly, making it a purely physical feat.
It is usually used in emergency situations to flee from powerful magical beings and cannot be used repeatedly in the same day.
However, thanks to his inexhaustible magical power and his healing magic, Nox managed to cover the distance between Galaxia and the capital in a day, regularly visiting Jenny for further teachings.
Jenny, in turn, developed closeness and affection for him, feeling fondness for this young man who admired her and treated her like a sister or a mother, while being viewed as a stranger by the nobility.
“That’s why I’m glad to see Nana and Jenny get along…”
Gradually, Nox’s voice lost strength and calmed down. At the same time,
“!”
An invisible barrier enveloped Nox and Nana together.
“I really did it.”
Jenny’s plan to pass through the barrier unconsciously, that is, the secret course to overcome the defense barrier, was a simple strategy in theory: “I just needed to be close to him before he lost consciousness.”
However, Nox, being naturally distrustful, would not easily fall asleep with someone so close. Concerned that Nana might have to resort to drastic measures like drugging him, Jenny offered a solution: the pillow under the head strategy.
“Once he’s asleep, he’ll be out for a while, so you can do whatever you need to do!”
Her thumbs-up gesture didn’t quite fit with the image of the respectable daughter of the capital’s nobility, but Nana silently thanked her.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave, Nox-sama.”
Carefully, Nana slowly lifted her head and removed her leg.
He was still deeply asleep.
After covering him with the blanket, she lay down beside him as planned. She felt a sense of accomplishment thinking that everything would go as planned and that she just had to wake up before Nox in the morning.
“Mmm…”
Nox moved in bed. And then,
“!”
The arm Nana had touched pulled her towards him, and he embraced her.
“…!”
If Nox woke up and discovered her, the plan of using the pillow under the head would no longer work in the future.
As she struggled desperately against the unexpected counterattack, Nana reflected on not going too far with her antics.
