A First Day Off

My name was Roylotte Blake.

At the moment, I was thoroughly enjoying a real break.

The weather was wonderful today.

The murmur of the river was soothing to the ears.

Beneath a tree covered in fresh young leaves, soft grass spread out like a carpet, making it perfect for lying down.

“…Roy, is it really okay to sleep in a place like this?”

“Of course. We’re taking a break right now. You should lie down too. It feels great.”

“…”

Yuri timidly lay down on her back beside me.

Gentle sunlight poured down, and the breeze was wonderfully refreshing.

I intended to spend the whole day relaxing here.

As for how things had ended up this way—

At the moment, we were taking a break from adventurer work, but Yuri kept working even on days off.

She cleaned, did the laundry, cooked whenever it was her turn, and when it wasn’t, she went hunting or gathered medicinal herbs, then took them to the nearest town to sell.

When I suggested that Yuri take at least one full day off before we accepted our next job—

“I’m allowed to take a day off?”

“Of course you are. Everyone needs rest.”

“Is resting really that necessary?”

Seeing Yuri blink at me in confusion, I couldn’t help putting a hand to my forehead.

Had she seriously never taken a proper day off before?

A Hero would naturally receive plenty of monster-subjugation requests, and sometimes had to appear in high society as well. I understood that they were busy, but surely they could have afforded at least one day of rest.

(Then again, was that Hero really that busy…? Even when they threw Yuri out, he seemed to be relaxing and drinking at a tavern.)

If the Hero had truly been busy enough to be run ragged, word of his exploits probably would’ve reached even my ears.

(Maybe Yuri was the only one who was busy… I can easily picture everyone dumping one job after another on her.)

And perhaps working had become so deeply ingrained in Yuri that she cheerfully made a suggestion.

“If I’m taking a break, I’ll clean the rooms upstairs.”

I nearly fell over.

I was telling her to take a break specifically so she wouldn’t clean or do laundry, yet she clearly hadn’t understood me at all.

Even if I told her to rest while I handled the cleaning and laundry instead, Yuri probably wouldn’t agree.

People like her simply couldn’t relax by themselves while someone else was working.

After thinking for a while, I pointed one index finger toward the ceiling and spoke to Yuri.

“No… Actually, could you help me make lunch instead?”

“Lunch?”

“Yeah. A packed lunch.”

I deliberately didn’t tell her why and simply asked her to help me prepare it.

If we stayed at home, Yuri would probably spend the entire day cleaning.

So I had decided we should take lunch and go somewhere a little way from the house.

“Roy, the bread’s ready.”

“Great. Let’s add the fillings.”

Even making savory sandwiches together was fun, from simple ones filled with cheese and ham to hearty ones stuffed with salad and meat.

After filling the basket with the sandwiches and some fruit, I spoke to Yuri.

“All right, let’s head out.”

“Huh? Where are we going?”

“You’ve never been to the top of this mountain, have you?”

“No… I’ve gone into the forest a lot while hunting, but I’ve never been all the way to the summit.”

“There’s a small meadow up there, and this is the time of year when the flowers bloom beautifully. Let’s go take a look.”

“Huh…!? Ah… o-okay.”

This wasn’t a particularly tall mountain, so it took less than fifteen minutes to reach the summit from the house.

At the top was a meadow-like clearing, and the Eto Mountain Cherry trees were in full bloom at this time of year.

Whenever a soft breeze blew, petals danced through the air like snow.

Yuri’s eyes sparkled at the sight.

“Beautiful…”

I sat down on the fluffy grass and began spreading out our lunch.

Yuri saw me and hurried over to help.

Eating the savory sandwiches we’d made together while admiring the Eto Mountain Cherry blossoms… Yeah, this was the perfect way to spend the day.

Watching Yuri gaze up at the blossoms while happily eating her sandwich made me decide that we should come up here for lunch every once in a while.

And now Yuri and I were lying around together on the grass.

Ahh… The breeze felt wonderful.

The sunlight was pleasantly warm today. There wasn’t any sign of dangerous monsters either, and everything was incredibly peaceful.

Then I suddenly heard slow, rhythmic breathing, so I glanced to the side and found Yuri asleep with her eyes closed.

She must have been exhausted.

She really hadn’t had any proper opportunity to rest before.

I took off the cloak I was wearing and draped it over Yuri.

“Mmm…”

Yuri rolled over in her sleep and turned toward me.

That brought her face extremely close to mine.

Just how close? There were barely three fingers’ width between us, close enough that our lips might touch if we moved any nearer.

“…………”

I couldn’t help staring at her lips.

Her beautifully shaped, glossy lips moved ever so slightly.

I almost reached out toward her cheek, but came back to my senses and hurriedly pulled my hand away.

Damn it… What the hell was I trying to do?

I was basically her guardian.

I couldn’t allow myself to harbor improper thoughts about her.

Until recently, she had still given off the impression of a boy, but now her hair had grown longer and had been neatly trimmed.

She looked completely like an adult woman now.

If I kept staring at Yuri’s sleeping face any longer, I felt like I might lose control of myself.

I rolled over as well, turning my back to her.

“Mmm… Roy…”

Yuri called my name in her sleep.

Hey, don’t tempt me like that.

No, no, I knew. She wasn’t actually tempting me. She was just saying my name in her sleep.

“Roy…”

Once again, she called my name.

Why did you have to keep calling my name in your dreams?

You were going to make me start getting the wrong idea.

Yuri slept for nearly an hour, and I remained tense the entire time.

Perhaps thanks to getting a good nap, Yuri looked completely refreshed.

I, on the other hand, was a little exhausted.

I’d go to bed early tonight.

When we returned from our picnic, someone was leaning against the door of the house with his arms folded.

Once I got close enough to recognize his face, I called his name.

“Wolk, have you been waiting there this whole time?”

“Well, about ten minutes.”

Wolk answered with a shrug.

There was only one reason the head of the Eto Branch of the Adventurers’ Guild would personally come all the way to my house.

A request must have come in that ordinary adventurers couldn’t handle.

I spoke to Wolk.

“Come on in. We made way too many savory sandwiches this morning. You can have one while you’re here.”