61 Bonding

Since the time he turned ten-years-old, Linnaeus could count the number of times he slept under a roof on both hands.

Being constantly hunted down made you quickly realize that confined spaces were dangerous so he would generally find a location where other vagrants gathered. This allowed him to blend in a little better but, no matter how much time passed, it wasn't something anyone could ever get used to.

Linnaeus was such a light sleeper that the subtle change in a person's breathing was enough to stir him awake, his nerves tensing as his fight or flight instincts took over. This habit was ingrained so deeply into his character that, even when he lived alongside Saht, it was impossible to ever lower his guard enough to get a good night's rest. In fact, unless he had been knocked unconscious, sleeping for more than fifteen minutes at a time was a rare occurrence.

Now, Linnaeus was in a familiar scenario, the warm body of another person pressed snugly against his own as he stared aimlessly at the back of his eyelids.

When Linnaeus had left to gather information the previous night, Eliza had moved their individual beds together, forming one large, shared, bed. As it didn't matter to him, either way, Linnaeus had ultimately given in to her pestering as, for reasons he was only vaguely aware of, her presence was very calming to him.

Linnaeus knew that Eliza put on a pretense of being a big sister but the truth of the matter was that she seemed to be trying to act as his surrogate mother. While she didn't show it much around Emilia and Krone, she would hug him tightly when they were alone together. There had even been a point where she caressed his head while humming a lullaby but, after failing to lull him to sleep, she began using more direct methods to try and get him to relax.

Though he had come to know her better, Linnaeus didn't completely understand why Eliza acted in such a way toward him. He speculated that she missed her own mother and, learning he had grown up without one, wanted to help ease both of their burdens slightly. The only other reason he could think of was that she showed him empathy so that he became more reliant on her, effectively tying their fates together and ensuring he would do everything in his power to protect her.

Ultimately, it didn't really matter why Eliza behaved this way as her presence did actually help him relax. He still couldn't fall into a deep sleep but, with a warm body at his side, something deep inside him appreciated the gesture of kindness and affection. It also helped that she had particularly large breasts so, even if she was squeezing him a little too tightly, it wasn't uncomfortable...

---

As was the case every time they slept together, it was Linnaeus' duty to stir Eliza awake as she wasn't exactly a morning person. He had to practically drag her out of bed and, for the briefest of moments, their roles were reversed.

Fortunately, Eliza had enough sense to wear her bodysuit at all times so, even in her most slovenly state, she wasn't exactly indecent. Though the skintight suit left little the imagination, it was better than being completely naked as, despite what she might say, he knew it would be impossible for them to have a completely platonic relationship if things developed to that point.

Linnaeus wasn't a child and, while Eliza herself was still a maiden, he already had a bit of experience, even if it was derived from 'necessity' more than lust. This was an inherent truth so, no matter how much she tried to coddle him, his innocence had died a very long time ago.

Eliza, unaware of the thoughts going through Linnaeus' mind, released a long yawn while the latter used a simple comb to untangle the curls in her hair. It had gotten a little out of hand as a result of her having to rough it for more than a month so, while he was out last night, Linnaeus purchased a small jade comb as a gift.

To her credit, Eliza managed to pretend she wasn't annoyed by the many times the comb got caught on a knot. This was something that caused pain regardless of Endurance and [Pain Tolerance] but, to avoid a situation where Linnaeus never combed her hair again, she lightly clenched her teeth while pretending to be half-asleep.

Linnaeus was, of course, aware of this fact. However, he wasn't the type to ignore the efforts of other people. They had a strange synergistic relationship going on so, while it had an illusory quality, he was willing to keep it up as long as she was.

When he finally managed to comb through all the knots, Eliza's previously 'puffy' hair had become considerably more manageable. It still curled naturally but, compared to the bird's nest it had been before, it was a significant improvement.

As it was his honest feelings, Linnaeus used the opportunity when their gazes met in the mirror to smile slightly and comment, "Your hair looks a lot nicer like this. Before moving on to the next Floor, I'll make sure to pick up some hair care products and soap..."

Hearing Linnaeus' remark, Eliza rolled her eyes but she couldn't hide the smile on her face due to the two tiny dimples on her cheeks. She knew he was just being nice and, while his words sounded like a compliment, it was more-so a statement of basic fact than anything else. Still, it made her happy just knowing he showed at least a basic level of consideration for her as, compared to the scheming and pretentious nature of the people she had been forced to associate with, his honesty was a breath of fresh air.

Eliza knew she wasn't a beautiful woman by any means. While she wasn't ugly, her plain looks had always been a sore spot as a result of being born in the Evendoom family. She hated hearing people compliment her with words they didn't mean so, while Linnaeus was still a little awkward, his honest and straightforward remarks, combined with his own inordinately beautiful appearance, dealt critical damage to her heart.

In order to hide her embarrassment and happiness, Eliza stretched her body and, before he could get away, she pushed Linnaeus into the chair and said, "Comb." in a stern tone. This made him frown ever so slightly but, after a moment of consideration, he ultimately relinquished the comb, allowing Eliza to return the favor from before.

Unlike her own naturally curly hair, Linnaeus had a propensity to grow straight while forming small, gently flowing, locks. He had his [Barrier Aura] active at almost all times so dust, humidity, and other stressful factors for any woman had no effect on him whatsoever. This gave his hair a natural, silky smooth, quality that honestly irked Eliza more than a little.

With his hair far more agreeable than her own, Eliza managed to comb through it in less than a minute. He had cut it short the previous night so it was a lot easier to deal with than it otherwise would have been.

Once his hair had been combed through, Linnaeus managed to extricate himself from the chair and say, "We should get ready. I'm certain Emilia is already awake so we'll knock on Krone's door before heading down for breakfast. There is a lot we need to discuss and I'd rather get it out of the way sooner, rather than later..."

Eliza had given Linnaeus a hard look when he escaped her grasp but, by the time he was finished speaking, she returned to her usual calm and collected self. There would be plenty of time for the two of them to bond in the future so she wasn't going to pressure him too much. Rather, she was very curious to know what he had learned since he was unwilling to divulge everything the previous night.

With Eliza behaving, Linnaeus fixed his own equipment before making his way out into the hallway. At nearly the exact same moment, Emilia's door opened and, with a smile on her face, she poked her head out and asked, "Sleep well~?"

Understanding she was trying to tease him, Linnaeus maintained his usual calm as he nodded his head and answered, "It was very comfortable. How about you, did you sleep in long...?"

Eliza had been just behind Linnaeus when he made his remark so her face turned scarlet as several thoughts ran through her mind. She didn't have to imagine what part of her was 'comfortable' so, before Emilia could recover from her surprise, Eliza balled her hand into a fist before lightly smacking Linnaeus' shielded head.

As Eliza wasn't actually trying to hurt him, Linnaeus' [Sense Danger] didn't activate so, upon feeling an impact against his [Barrier Aura], he quickly rolled to the side before bounding up, daggers drawn as his red eyes came into focus. This caused Eliza and Emilia to stare back at him, their expressions a perfect representation of their loss for words.

Realizing she had made a mistake, Eliza quickly recovered her senses and, with a genuine expression of concern, she muttered, "I'm sorry, Lin...I shouldn't have hit you, even if I knew it wouldn't do any damage..."

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Understanding what had happened, Linnaeus forced himself to calm down. He realized his words could be misinterpreted the moment he said them but, without consideration for how Eliza herself would react, he made a thoughtless remark just to catch Emilia off guard. In essence, it was his fault that Eliza had struck him so, while part of him couldn't reconcile this, Linnaeus' rationale allowed him to hang his head slightly as he apologized in turn.

Eliza could tell that Linnaeus hadn't completely forgiven her as, when she stepped toward him, his body had visibly tensed. Despite this, she continued to slowly close the distance between them, her steps slow and measured until she was right in front of him. Then, at a very slow and easy to avoid rate, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly as she repeated, "I really am sorry, Lin. Please forgive me..."

Hearing the pained undertone to Eliza's voice, Linnaeus slowly began to relax his body as he took a few deep breaths. This was extremely awkward for Eliza, as she was hugging his face near her bosom but, not wanting to spook him any further, she tolerated the fluttery feeling in her stomach. It helped that Emilia was still present as she had someone to glare at...

Emilia was also feeling a little awkward as, with her enhanced senses and the thing walls of the Inn, she knew Eliza and Linnaeus hadn't done anything. She only wanted to tease him a bit since he was always so serious. His response had nearly brought a smile to her face but, seeing how he reacted when Eliza lightly struck the back of his head, it was very apparent that Linnaeus still hadn't opened his heart to any of them.

Not wanting to be the only one left out, Emilia did something inexplicable to both Linnaeus and Eliza as she moved to a seated position before laying down on her back. She had her head angled toward them and, after moving her hands up to her chest, she cocked her head to the side while turning her eyes up at the duo and saying, "I'm sorry..." in a sheepish tone.

Seeing the rather ridiculous display, Linnaeus' tensions seemed to release all at once and, while still in Eliza's embrace, he released a light chuckle. This caused the tense atmosphere to quickly dissipate, just in time for Krone to come out of his own room, a dull look on his face as he saw the trio putting on some kind of play...