“Hm?”
I woke up suddenly, but it wasn’t morning yet.
My internal clock told me it was still the middle of the night, yet for some reason, I had woken up at that hour.
After enduring a grueling period of work, I had a much-needed holiday tomorrow, so why had I woken up?
“Haa…”
I thought perhaps Suella, sleeping beside me, had woken up, but that wasn’t the case either.
We were both naked, so it was easy to tell what we had been doing.
Tomorrow was a holiday, so I should have been tired from being a little too excited, but yet I had woken up.
Why?
There were no external factors like killing intent or malice.
I thought about whether it was a sign of an earthquake, but there was no shaking.
Hmm, it’s truly a mystery.
My consciousness suddenly awakened, and for some reason, my sleepiness completely vanished.
I could fall asleep if I wanted to.
But it felt wrong to sleep.
What a contradiction.
I could only look around with my eyes to avoid waking Suella, who was using my arm as a pillow, but all I saw was my bedroom.
“Hm? Is something wrong?”
As I was doing so, Suella noticed I was awake and slightly opened her eyelids to look at me.
Her voice was a little groggy, which was cute, so I stroked her head.
“No, I just woke up for a bit.”
“Is that so? In that case, I’ll wake up a bit too.”
“No, you don’t have to force yourself to wake up, you know?”
“It’s fine. The time I can spend with you is precious.”
Suella, who was gradually waking up, was happy that I could be with her after so long.
“Tomorrow, or rather, today. We have a date, so you should get some sleep to prepare yourself.”
“Neither you nor I will get sick from a little sleep deprivation.”
I try my best to return home and spend time with her without being bothered by the little gaps in my schedule, but interactions with limited time are always rushed.
I can’t interact with her in the same way I would when I have plenty of time.
Holding each other like this, savoring each other’s warmth.
Not exchanging words, just focusing on that is a form of luxury, I’d say.
I feel happiness in the act of just holding her in the middle of the night.
Suella brings her face closer to my left chest, listening to my heartbeat.
“That’s true… I’ve become quite tough compared to how I used to be.”
“Fufu, you’re right. But it hasn’t been that long to call it ‘the past’.”
“To me, the time since joining this company has been too intense. It’s been so full of events that it’s passing by faster than any other time in my life.”
To Suella, a long-lived Dark Elf, it probably feels like only yesterday or the day before.
However, I, who was originally human but has overcome my lifespan, still feel that a year is a long time.
By the time the flow of time with her aligns with mine, perhaps I’ll be using the word “past” to refer to decades.
The middle of the night, before the morning sun rises.
Tonight, Yukiera and Sachiera are watching over Himik and Memoria, as they want to deepen their bond as a couple.
They have already become like mothers to their daughters, and they often let us spend time alone like this.
“Ouch.”
“Now is my time. Even if they are them, you can’t think about other women.”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
My cheek is pinched by her slender fingers.
A woman’s intuition is sharp. It’s best not to think of anything extra, even a little gratitude, when we’re alone.
To appease her a little, I pull Suella closer and cradle her in my arms.
“Here, please reflect.”
It feels like I’m about to fall asleep like this, but for some reason, my body seems to be pulling towards wakefulness.
“Sorry, I really wanted to take you out on a date during today’s holiday.”
“We are well aware that as the General, you cannot easily go out.”
“I wanted to go to the festival we went to before, but Keiri absolutely denied my request.”
“I would do the same thing. Your life is no longer your own. You are the pillar supporting us, your family, and now a great pillar supporting the Demon Lord’s Army. If something were to happen to you, we have no choice but to accept it.”
“I promise we’ll go to the festival together. As a last resort, I’ll hold a festival in my territory.”
“Fufu, just for a date with me?”
“That’s right, it might not be a bad idea to hold a festival just for a date with Suella. Fortunately, I have the power to do so now.”
Reason tells me to sleep, sleep, but the feeling of secretly waking up in the middle of the night and talking alone encourages my brain to awaken, and I start talking about impossibilities made possible.
My tongue is more eloquent today than usual, words flowing out smoothly.
“Let’s see, we can plan it as an employee appreciation event, and under the guise of inspection, you and I can go to the festival. If we make it a family-only festival on the first day, it shouldn’t be a problem for me to join.”
“That sounds like fun. It was really fun that time too.”
“Me too. I can still clearly remember that time. I was surprised that I could go to a festival with Suella, and I was so excited, thinking about what we should do, like a child again.”
With our faces so close our breaths could be heard, a sense of excitement, like a high school trip in the middle of the night, wells up.
“Now, I can’t do that so easily because of my position. I can’t just play around unless it’s a VIP-only tourist facility. Being important has its inconveniences.”
“That’s how it is. But I think our current life is also enjoyable. You are here, Yukiera and Sachiera are here, Memoria, Himik, Evia-sama, Keiri, our family has grown, and every day is brilliant.”
“Hey, you told me not to, but you’re talking about other women, Suella.”
When we gently bump our foreheads together, she giggles and apologizes.
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
“That’s acceptable.”
I can’t help but smile along in turn.
And then, a brief silence.
“……”
From there, our lips naturally meet.
We cherish the simple touch of our lips.
You might think, “What is that?” but in my current position, where life and death are often intertwined, interactions with others, especially the instinct to procreate, are greatly stimulated.
“Jiro-san.”
“Suella.”
That’s why the high school trip-like mood from earlier quickly escalates into the relationship between a man and a woman.
We did it before sleeping, but I felt like it, so there’s nothing to be done.
Knowing that doing this at this hour would surely lead to sleeping in late, we then shared a kiss that connected us deeply.
“It seems you enjoyed yourselves last night.”
“Oh, hahahaha.”
“Today is my turn.”
“What, isn’t that a little of a preemptive move?”
As a result, after finishing our conjugal duties and falling asleep, it’s natural that we would wake up late.
As a pair, we emerged from the bedroom before noon, greeted by Memoria, who was giving milk to Yukiera and looking at me with a sulky gaze, and Sachiera, who was protesting to Himik, who was giving milk to Sachiera with Suella’s defiant smile.
“It’s fine. You and Keiri have had priority lately, so it’s been a while for me too.”
However, with the children, such romantic time is rare for Suella too, and she clings to me, claiming exclusive rights.
“That’s true, I can’t deny it. However, it’s my turn tonight, so I won’t allow any delays in the exchange. Please keep that in mind.”
“Indeed, family agreements must be strictly adhered to.”
Those exclusive rights are time-based, so we can’t dawdle too much.
Even so, given my position, venturing out requires permission.
Going outside the company is virtually impossible.
However, Suella and I are dressed in casual clothes, as if we are about to go out.
This naturally leads to the question of where we are going.
Going to the underground facility would be nice, but…
“It really is spacious here.”
The land within the dungeon, which Evia, who has built her own mansion, gave me, is ordinarily spacious.
It’s spacious enough to have a picnic with the bento box Himik made for me.
“The weather can be freely adjusted, so the comfort of a space without the need for air conditioning is so convenient that it makes ‘barefoot escape’ seem like a good idea.”
Perhaps it’s a Dark Elf trait, but when Suella goes on dates, she often wishes to walk in nature.
This artificial nature, created by the dungeon’s environmental changes, is actually easy to maintain, and I can create a garden of my own liking.
While making lighthearted jokes, I hold the bento box in my right hand and Suella’s right hand in my left. I walk along a promenade that has been adjusted to our liking.
A forest path that provides just the right amount of shade, and beyond it, a lake can be seen.
“It might be considered unorthodox for a Dark Elf like Suella.”
“Not at all. This is also a form of nature. Even if it’s man-made, humans are also a part of nature. This scenery was created by that nature.”
Even the gentle breeze is man-made, but she says it’s fine.
As she smiles, holding back her hair that is rustling in the wind, I still find her beautiful.
“I can see it that way too.”
When one hears the word “artificial,” they might think of things that have no connection to nature, but fundamentally, humans can be seen as part of nature.
You might call it an over-interpretation, but I personally prefer Suella’s way of thinking.
It makes me feel a sense of attachment to the promenade that I sometimes walk on, thinking, “This is nice.”
“Also, look over there.”
“Ah.”
She points to a cottage on a small hill at the end of the promenade.
It’s in a prime location with a panoramic view of the forest and lake.
Compared to the mansion, it’s worlds apart in size.
“It wouldn’t be bad to make it by hand, would it?”
“We struggled so much to make it back then.”
The cottage with the wooden deck is actually a villa that Suella and I built together.
Suella, originally from a forest clan, had knowledge of construction.
She had only built a few times, and there was a gap in her experience.
With magic, it could be made in an instant, but that lacked charm. She wanted to create memories with me, so we built it as a resting place on a small hill at the end of the promenade.
By the way, it’s still under construction, and processed wood is piled up next to the cottage.
“I never thought I’d use an Ore Tree as a tool.”
“You processed it in no time. And with no millimeter of error.”
“I’ve been trained.”
That cottage is something that makes me wonder about what ifs – what if I hadn’t become General, what if I had only dated Suella.
She smiles at my smug look, and it’s this interaction that makes me feel that no matter how busy I am, I must never lose this time.
“But Suella, right? You lifted the parts I made with one hand and assembled them while holding the blueprint.”
“I’ve been trained.”
This cottage, which we’re building with DIY in our spare time, filled with the meaning of a place where we can play with our children in the future, is rather enjoyable. We sit on the wooden deck and start our lunch, placing the bento box there.
“How much should we build today?”
“Let me see.”
We discuss what to do for today’s date.
Today’s Word:
Peace is the best.
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