Chapter 144 - Reward

After invoking Shade, I basically released her for now and went to sleep. I was surprised to realize that, while following Aurora-sama's method to summon spirits, several hours had passed. Due to this, I barely had time to test Shade's strength. However, I knew I would use her eventually, so I decided to postpone that matter to the next day.

As soon as I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was visit Fujiwara and Aoi. I had no idea how both of them were, as the previous day had been quite chaotic. As I walked down the hallway towards their rooms, a feeling of tension ran through my body. Although I hadn't noticed it the day before, due to everything that had happened, I was deeply concerned about their condition.

However, my worry proved unnecessary as soon as I opened the door to the room where Fujiwara and Aoi were. To my surprise, not only were the two of them there, but Saemi and Ana were also present. Fujiwara and Aoi were awake and seemed to be having fun, engaged in lively conversation.

As the sound of the door closing echoed through the room, the four of them turned their gazes toward me. It was Fujiwara who broke the silence, being the first to speak.

"Hey, Makoto, you took so long that I thought you wouldn't come to see us. Weren't you worried?"

Fujiwara said with a smile on her face, her tone clearly tinged with humor.

"What do you mean? Since yesterday, I couldn't stop thinking about you and Aoi. If both of you were really hurt, I don't even know what I would do"

I said while letting out a small sigh, moving closer to an empty chair shortly after. When I looked at Fujiwara again, I found her staring at me with a surprised expression on her face.

"What's wrong?"

As soon as I asked that, Fujiwara seemed to snap out of it and immediately shook her head vigorously in denial.

"I-It's nothing, I'm just feeling a bit warm, that's all"

Although Fujiwara acted a bit strangely, I decided to ignore it. As I watched the two of them, I felt something moving by my side. Turning my gaze, I found Ana looking at me intently. Her blue eyes, for some reason, were shining with palpable anticipation.

"Ana? Did something happen?"

I asked, still not understanding what was going on. Although Ana sometimes acted in somewhat strange ways, this was the first time she had looked at me so intensely. While listening to my words, Ana continued to stare at me. For some reason, I realized that I could see a small dog tail on Ana, even though that made no sense.

"Ma-kun, how did I do last time?"

Ana suddenly asked. To be honest, I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but if she mentioned "last time" I assumed she was referring to the battle that had taken place before.

"Of course, you and Saemi have been a great help. I'm really glad that you both are my companions" 

I said with a gentle smile on my face, looking at Ana. Hearing my words, Ana's face, which would normally show disinterest, lit up with a wide smile. It caught me by surprise since I rarely, if ever, saw Ana smile.

"So, Ma-kun, can you compliment Ana for her good work?" 

Ana said as she leaned her head toward my hand, her eyes shining with anticipation. Seeing this, I understood that Ana wanted me to pet her head. So, I complied with her request. As my hand rested on Ana's head, her face lit up even more. The scene seemed extremely cute to me, but in reality, Ana had always been a cute girl in my eyes.

As I did this, Saemi, who was beside me, seemed surprised by my action, and her eyes turned to Ana with a jealous look.

(I guess I should compliment both since they were both working together)

With that thought, I moved my other free hand to Saemi's head. This took her by surprise, and she looked at me, her eyes showing curiosity about what I was doing. However, as soon as she saw my face, her cheeks blushed, and she lowered her head slightly.

This made me let out an involuntary laugh. Saemi and Ana were incredibly cute and reminded me of that all the time.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. You two have received your rewards, so that's it for today. Sylvia can come in at any moment, so let's restrain ourselves a bit" 

Fujiwara suddenly said as he pushed us apart. His expression showed discomfort and envy as he watched Ana and Saemi. As soon as he spoke those words, the bedroom door opened, and a familiar voice echoed through the room.

"Oh, I'm glad to see that you both look well. I asked Rena to bring breakfast since everyone must be hungry" 

Sylvia said, entering the room, followed by Rena, who was pushing a cart filled with various types of food. Without wasting any time, we started eating because, as Sylvia mentioned, we were very hungry.

While having breakfast, Sylvia, who had sat down at some point, started a conversation.

"Oh, right. Yesterday, the guards felt an incredible mana presence coming from my palace. Although I sent them away yesterday evening, saying it was probably nothing, I'm still a little worried. Did you by any chance feel anything strange last night?"

Hearing Sylvia's words, the girls glanced at each other and, after a few seconds, turned to Sylvia, shaking their heads in denial.

"Sorry, Sylvia, but we don't know anything about that. Besides Ana and Saemi, both I and Fujiwara were resting. Moreover, Saemi and Ana told us that nothing happened while we were sleeping, so they probably don't know anything either"

Hearing Aoi's words, Sylvia nodded in understanding.

"I see. Anyway, thank you for letting me know regardless. I'll ask the guards to reinforce security around the palace, just as a precaution"

Hearing Sylvia's words, I raised my hand to get everyone's attention.

"Well... I might have been the cause of that"