“Achoo!”
As soon as Ichikawa sat up, he couldn't help but sneeze.
The sky outside had gone completely dark. A cool night breeze blew into the room through the open window.
Shivering in the cold night air, his memories slowly returned.
“Where is that blue female ghost who climbed in through the window?!”
Ichikawa instantly became alert. This was an otherworldly realm, after all; nothing that appeared here would surprise him.
But the only sound in the room was the gentle rustling of the curtains blowing in the night wind.
Ichikawa's gaze slowly swept across every corner of the room. Only after confirming that the blue ghost was nowhere to be seen did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Looks like she's gone.”
Thank goodness. Although being summoned to another world was already absurd enough, at least he didn't have to deal with a “Holy See Blue-Haired Ghost Night Raid Incident” for the time being.
Ichikawa used a nearby chair to slowly push himself up. He walked over to the window and shut it, blocking out the cold wind.
Click.
The moment the window closed, Ichikawa let out a proper sigh of relief. But as he walked toward the bed, he seemed to step on something large.
“Ugh, ow!”
A sleepy voice suddenly cried out from the floor.
Ichikawa: “...”
Furni, who had been sleeping comfortably on the floor, had just had her tail stepped on by the passing Ichikawa. A section of her thick dragon tail peeked out from beneath her voluminous bishop robes. The tip of her tail instantly went rigid upon being stepped on, even twitching slightly against the floor.
“You're rather rude, Mr. Hero~”
Before Ichikawa could even react, Furni swiftly retracted her thick tail. Then, she lazily crawled up from the floor.
Her long blue hair fell disheveled over her shoulders, and since she had just woke up, her eyes were still slightly misty. Her golden eyes glowed faintly in the dark. Sitting right at the edge of the moonlight, she looked up at Ichikawa.
She appeared so frail, dazed, and innocent. At least, in Furni's own mind, that was how she looked. Her golden eyes sent signals of a delicate girl toward Ichikawa through the darkness.
“I-I-I'm so sorry!”
Seeing the “fragile” Bishop Furni before him, Ichikawa's body instantly went rigid. The impression of a “blue female ghost” from earlier was immediately overwritten by the “fragile Lady Bishop.” Without any hesitation, he bowed a perfect ninety degrees to this “fragile” bishop.
With his head lowered, Ichikawa looked as if he were facing the most solemn judgment of his life.
“It's fine~”
Furni gently pressed a hand to her chest while using the other to wipe away non-existent tears. Her voice was as delicate as a tiny flower about to be blown away by the night breeze.
“In that case, Lord Hero must properly complete the tasks entrusted to him~”
Furni gently wiped her tears, looking incredibly fragile.
“I will definitely complete them with absolute dedication!”
Ichikawa immediately looked at Furni with a solemn expression.
“Really?”
Furni continued her performance. She tilted her face up slightly, the corners of her eyes flushed red, her gaze carrying a vulnerability that seemed to say she still chose to believe him despite being mistreated.
【Bro! Your art style! Your art style!】
【Why are there such rugged, blocky lines on a human face?!】
Though she was screaming in her mind, on the outside, she maintained the proper demeanor of a fragile bishop. Folding her hands gently in front of her, her eyes held just the right amount of trust and expectation.
Acting! This was the acting of an adult dragon.
“But...”
Ichikawa looked down at his hands. “Can I really do it? Can I really save this world?”
He stared at his palms.
Suddenly summoned to a completely foreign world, he was suddenly expected to change a nation, fight the demon race, and even save the world. Most importantly, he hadn't even adapted to this world yet.
Watching Ichikawa sink into self-doubt, a faint gleam flashed in Furni's eyes.
【It's time to reel him in.】
Furni walked softly to the side of the bed, the hem of her bishop robes trailing lightly across the floor.
“You can definitely do it, L-o-r-d H-e-r-o.”
As she spoke, she grabbed Ichikawa's hands.
Her seemingly fragile golden eyes gazed affectionately into Ichikawa's. The moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating her face. Her soft voice, the slight redness at the corners of her eyes, and the unreserved trust in her gaze—everything was perfectly orchestrated on this night.
Seeing that the bishop trusted him so much, Ichikawa's gaze grew firm once more.
“Lady Bishop, wait for my good news!”
Staring at Furni as tears silently rolled down her cheeks, his heart was practically on fire.
The feeling of being trusted and expected of something kindled a burning passion deep within his chest.
【Nice~ Hooked!】
The little version of Furni in her mind was already laughing maniacally, even beating a giant golden drum with her tail.
Boom, boom, boom.
Success! The young Hero had entered hot-blooded mode!
She lowered her head slightly, as if deeply moved by Ichikawa's resolute words.
“Lord Hero, please come to this address tomorrow.”
“Someone will tell you what to do next.”
Furni slipped a piece of paper into Ichikawa's hand.
Then, her face flushed red as if she had suddenly grown shy, and she spun around to run to the window.
“P-Please rest well.”
Standing by the window, Furni looked back at Ichikawa, her lips moving silently.
“Lord Hero.”
Although Ichikawa didn't hear her final words, the moonlight allowed him to clearly read her lip movements. Those words seemed to drop directly into his heart.
With that, Furni leaped out the window. Her blue silhouette instantly vanished from Ichikawa's sight.
Staring at the spot where the blue-haired figure had vanished, Ichikawa felt his heart pounding furiously—so much so that he completely overlooked her bizarre method of departure.
He looked down at the slip of paper in his hand. Combined with the way Furni had blushed when handing it to him, he was already starting to look forward to their meeting tomorrow.
“Tomorrow...”
Ichikawa clenched the paper tightly.
Meanwhile, the Furni he was looking forward to was currently splayed out on the grass directly beneath his room.
“Ah~”
Furni lay face-down in the grass.
“Ever since I tried this method last time, it actually feels pretty good~”
She lay on the soft grass, deep in thought.
This method of leaving seemed much less exhausting than taking the stairs. As long as it saved energy, it was an excellent plan! Such was the philosophy of Furni's lifestyle.
“Um... excuse me, are you alright?”
A hesitant voice called out from nearby.
A patrolling sister had happened to spot the blue-haired figure lying on the grass.
It was already so late. Why was someone lying face-down here?
【...I've been spotted.】
Furni lay on the grass. After a brief silence, she seemed to think of a brilliant solution.
“I'm fine!”
“Perfectly fine!”
Because she had landed face-first into the grass, Furni's entire face was now covered in nosebleed and grass clippings. A few leaves hung from her long blue hair. She slowly crawled up from the ground in an incredibly bizarre, horror-movie fashion.
Her golden eyes gleamed in the night, and with her blood-covered face currently grinning wildly, she could have easily starred in a film titled 《Midnight Holy See Lawn Terror: The Case of the Crawling, Bloody-Faced Bishop》.
Seeing Furni like this, the sister's pupils shrank instantly. In the next second, a blood-curdling scream rang out.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!”
By the time the sister finished screaming, she had already lost consciousness and fainted.
Poke~
Furni squatted down, poked the sister's cheek, and casually removed the soundproofing magic.
“Sorry about that, little sister.”
With that, she raised her hand.
A teleportation magic circle expanded beneath the sister. After using teleportation magic to send the unconscious sister back to her room to rest, she walked toward her own room with light, relaxed steps.
She wiped the blood from her face as she walked. Her tail slipped out from beneath her bishop robes, swaying gently in a great mood. Aside from scaring a little sister unconscious, tonight's operation could be considered highly successful.
Along the way, she didn't forget to look back at Ichikawa's window. The window was still open.
Then, using her usual lazy, deadpan voice, she projected her encouragement across the distance.
“You must do your best~ Hero-san~”
In his room, Ichikawa, who was still staring at the slip of paper, happened to sneeze.
“Achoo!”
Rate on N.U.
