Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume13 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 3===

"...No other vacant rooms?"

"Yeah. Because of the great snow, many travelers are unable to proceed and are staying at this Frost Town."

The innkeeper shook his head very apologetically.

...The only room left was a single room.

Also, it was a room used for storage because it was normally unoccupied.

That kind of room was probably beyond what the sheltered Rinslet could tolerate.

"...No helping it, let's go check out other places."

"I think other places should be full too. I've heard that many people are sleeping in stables."

"Stables... Aren't they afraid of getting frozen to death?"

"Still tons better than sleeping in the streets, right? How about it? I'll give you a discount for the room."

Kamito turned to Rinslet.

Blushing red, Rinslet was murmuring something inaudible.

"...~s-squeezed in a room together, th-that kind of thing..."

"...Hey Rinslet&mdash;"

"Y-Yes!"

Rinslet made a strange sound.

"The ruler of this town should be a Laurenfrost retainer, right? If you announce your status, Rinslet, you should be able to get us accommodations for a night."

Kamito made a very practical suggestion, but&mdash;

"That is possible indeed, however..."

Rinslet hesitated and shook her head.

"Although I am a noble, I have never relied on my status to do anything."

"...Oh, I see."

...True. As a noble young lady more sheltered than the average person, her pride was definitely not going to let her ask others for favors by relying on her family's status.

As though prepared with resolve, Rinslet stared straight at the innkeeper.

"No problem. Take us to that room."

"...Rinslet?"

"N-No problem. Even if it means sharing a room with you, Kamito-san, I don't mind at all. Haven't you been sleeping in Claire's room all this time, Kamito-san?"

"That's true but still..."

"O-Or you mean... you dislike sharing a room with me?"

Rinslet pouted her cherry lips, slightly sulking.

Her clear eyes of emerald were staring up at Kamito.

"...F-Fine, I get it."

Kamito surrendered. Since she already said she did not mind, if he still refused, he would be the one who was being boorish.

"Then let's book the room. Please take us there."

"Okay, please come to the second floor."

Led by The Sunny Fox Inn's innkeeper, the two of them mounted the creaking staircase.

The only remaining room was definitely an utter mess of stored objects.

The innkeeper lit a lamp. Looking around, Kamito and Rinslet were shocked speechless.

"This is... even more... than expected..."

"More cramped..."

Indeed, even as a single room this was way too cramped. Just as they could see, there was only one bed while the table and chairs all had random articles piled on top of them. The bed was also covered in gray dust. Clearly the place had not been cleaned for many days.

"Sorry that all we have is a room of this standard. Please use it as you wish."

Rinslet stepped into the room in trepidation.

Creaking sounds, dust flying all over the air&mdash;

"A place to bathe... Looks like there's none."

"Only the school's dorms would have bathing facilities installed in every room."

Kamito shrugged. Several months earlier, during his days of searching for Restia, Kamito had frequently lived in rooms like these.

"...Is this place really okay?"

"O-Of course. A Laurenfrost wolf never goes back on her word."

Rinslet nodded with determination then started to swiftly clear away the dust in the room using a broom with a broken shaft.

...In merely moments, the room was already cleaned up to a decent state.

"Wow! Should I say this is surprising or something? I never knew you were this good!"

"Hmph, so long as I'm serious, this is nothing at all."

Hmph hmph~ Rinslet puffed her chest out with pride.

The bed was wiped clean and tidy, the messy trash was all dealt with. Witnessing skills that would even put a professional maid to shame, Kamito could not help but stare in amazement.

"Okay, let us get some rest early for tomorrow. P-Please hurry over."

Readying the sheets, Rinslet looked back at Kamito.

"Uh, umm..."

Kamito frantically shook his head. Although the room was already cleaned, the fact of one bed had not changed. Hence, Kamito had no intention of sleeping there, but&mdash;

"You can't guarantee sufficient restoration of energy unless you sleep properly on a bed."

"But two people sleeping in one bed is really a bit..."

"In that case, I shall sleep using Fenrir as a mattress."

"...Okay okay, I get it! I'll sleep on the bed, so please don't do that!"

Since she said it already, Kamito had no choice but to obey. But if the fact of his sleeping with Rinslet ever got out, he would certainly be exterminated by the Laurenfrost retainers, right?

(...Or perhaps, I'm just overthinking things?)

Shrugging helplessly, Kamito walked over to the bed.

However, Rinslet gripped the sheets without moving.

"Excuse me, Kamito-san?"

"Huh?"

"I can't change while you're here, Kamito-san!"

"Oh, sorry!"

Kamito frantically left the room.

Then after waiting at the door for a while&mdash;

"Kyah! What's with this nightgown!?"

A small scream was heard from inside the room.

"Rinslet?"

"No, nothing. Umm... You may come in now."

"Oh, okay..."

She had apparently finished changing. Kamito took a deep breath and opened the door.

(...!)

But he gasped, his brain going blank.

Rinslet's pajamas were&mdash;

An extremely sheer nightgown of lace, exquisitely embroidered.

(H-Her panties are totally visible...)

Through the nightgown's thin fabric, the style of her panties was completely clear to see.

Rinslet frantically held a blanket in front of her chest.

"D-Don't get the wrong idea! This must be Carol's fault... I have never ever worn such a shameless nightgown..."

Rinslet's voice grew smaller and smaller.

...It looked like Carol had made another airheaded blunder again.

"I-I see..."

Kamito gulped and slowly walked into the room under the incomparably tense atmosphere.

The bedside lighting shone on her face that was scorching from embarrassment.

Kamito slowly approached. Rinslet was so embarrassed that she buried her head in the blanket.

"...Umm, is this really okay? Sleeping together..."

"A noble never goes back on her word!"

Rinslet turned away.

While she had turned away, Kamito swiftly took off his uniform and changed into his pajamas. Suppressing the wavering in his heart, he squeezed into the sheets.

The crude bed was cold and hard, nothing like the ones at the Academy at all.

"So, won't just one blanket be cold?"

Lying down with their backs against each other, Kamito extinguished the light at the bedside.

"We can't squander the fire spirit crystals carelessly."

Rinslet whispered lightly by his ear.

"Also, the Kyria Mountain Range is much colder than this."

"You're right..."

Under the blanket, Kamito was shivering from cold.

In the darkness, the rustling sound of friction between clothing could be heard&mdash;

Boing~♪

Using both arms, Rinslet hugged Kamito from behind.

"R-Rinslet!? What are you&mdash;"

"L-Like this, it'll be slightly warmer."

Rinslet buried her face into Kamito's back and said softly.

"True, this will be better for warmth, but..."

Embraced by her arms, Kamito was unable to move at all.

Fine hair rubbed against the back of his neck... So tickling...

(...This situation is bad!)

Wanting to change his sleeping posture, Kamito turned slightly.

Boing~♪

"Ah... Mmm... ♪"

"...!"

"K-Kamito-san... Please don't move suddenly, mmm..."

"...Hmm?"

Boing, boing♪

"...Ah, mmmmm..."

Kamito moved again, causing weird noises to be heard.

"Mmm... H-Hah... Serious, Kamito-san, you're so bad."

Wanting to shift his sleeping posture, Kamito felt that something had gotten caught on his clothing.

(In that case, I'll have to use that move...)

Kamito closed his eyes&mdash;

Relaxing his entire body, making his mind as still as water.

"...Kamito-san?"

"Zzz... Zzz..."

...Poke, poke.

"Zzz..."

No reaction even when poked in the cheek. "The Act of Mental Oblivion"&mdash;Trained as part of an assassin's skill set, it was not something anyone could do.

"...Seriously, he's asleep already."

Rinslet remarked a bit disappointed.

"...Then I shall sleep too."

Relaxing her arms slightly, Rinslet gradually drifted off into her dreams.

(...That's falling asleep way too easily!)

Claire was also the type to fall asleep easily. Probably all noble young ladies were like this?

And also due to exhaustion. No matter what, they had to hurry on their journey early the next morning.

In any case, Kamito breathed a sigh of relief. Slightly, he moved his body under the blanket.

They still needed to hasten their expedition tomorrow, aiming to cross the mountain range ravaged by cold winds and heavy snow before sundown.

Closing his eyes, Kamito slept for real this time.