After a big battle, Alexis usually took a day off before heading back to the dungeon, but this time he decided to take a couple of days off.
That day, while Alexis was wandering around the fortress, he saw Maria and Valencia walking together.
「Ah, Alexis-sama!」
Valencia ran up to him with a big smile on her face like a flower blooming.
「I didn't know you had come back!」
Alexis nods, "Yeah," as Valencia speaks to him.
「I just got back yesterday.」
「So, that's it... from the looks of it, the defeat was a success, right?」
「Of course」
「I hope I could have been there...」
Alexis responds to Valencia's raised eyebrows with a wry smile, "Well, even so".
「There's only a limited number of people who can go into the dungeon at a time. Eden also took the vanguard already...」
「Then please use me next time. Absolutely!?」
Alexis responded lightly to Valencia's clenched fist, "Okay, okay," and suddenly, his eyes met Maria's, who was staring at him intently.
「—Oh, Maria」
When Alexis tried to speak to her, Maria suddenly looked away.
Alexis had no choice but to speak to Valencia instead.
「...When did you two become such good friends, by the way?」
「Uh, we've been friends for quite a while. Maria-san is very kind like Ane-sama」
After she says this, Valencia asks, "Isn't it, Maria-san?" and Maria's expression becomes troubled.
It is the first time for Alexis to see such an expression on Maria's face, who smiles with a slight smile and a puzzled look.
(...What is this girl? She can make a face like that?)
As Alexis was thinking this, Maria walked toward Valencia and whispered to her, "Let's go, Valencia-chan".
「Ah, yes. —See you later, Alexis-sama! Next time, please take me with you!」
Valencia left with Maria, reminding her to stay with her.
「Yeah, sure」
Alexis waves her off and thinks, "Anyway".
(Even if Fransisca and I can't be replaced, it might be better to go to the dungeon while replacing the members who can be replaced so that we can have more strength physically)
With this in mind, he took a walk in the fortress and met Sara this time.
Sara was walking along with Dorothea, and Alexis said to her, "Hey".
「So now you guys are a set. That's an unusual occurrence」
「What do you mean, now?」
Dorothea replies suspiciously.
"Nothing," Alexis responds. But then, Sara interjects.
「Let's go, Dorothea-chan」
「Uh, yeah」
Dorothea nodded and said, "Bye, Alex-kun!" Then Sara pulled Dorothea's hand and went away.
「What happened to them...?」
Alexis can only look away, tilting his head.
Sara holds Dorothea's hand like a little girl who misses her older cousin. Of course, the cousin is Dorothea, and the little girl is Sara.
If he mentioned such a thing, Sara would surely get angry with him...
(...I'll be myself, huh...)
Alexis decides to leave.
—However, he is not walking for any reason.
He is just taking a walk to get some light exercise, that's all.
* * *
After that, Alexis stopped by the courtyard of the fort.
The garden is a well-tended flower garden, which seems to be tended by the servants called from Krangal in turns most days these days.
He expected to see Fransisca and Fatima having tea at a place with chairs and tables set up, but they were not there.
Unusually, Eden was there.
Eden was all alone, sitting on a chair wearing heavy armor as usual. She did not move a muscle, which made Alexis feel uneasy.
「...Hey, Eden?」
He called out and shook her shoulder, but she didn't say anything.
「...H-Hey. Are you all right...?」
Alexis hurriedly grabbed her armet and pulled it off. He thought something was wrong. But there it was.
「Mmm... *Zzz*...」
Eden closed her eyes and sighed softly in her sleep.
She was sitting on a chair, showing a pouty, innocent sleeping face.
「...What is it? She's just sleeping...」
Alexis patted his chest and then wondered why she was in such a place.
At any rate, he decides to shake her shoulder again to wake her up, just in case, she's not sick.