Chapter 117 - A Voice

I didn't want to reveal the fact I had already been through several lives. In turn, that made me lie about wanting to be talentless so that they wouldn't be worried about me. Yet, I still wanted to learn how to cast spells.

And so, I lied again, saying that I was trying to learn "drawing" when in reality, it was just spellcasting.

Just revealing the truth would set up a whole bunch of complications, such as disbelief and confusion.

So the reason I wanted to keep it a secret...

"I guess it's just more trouble than it's worth."

Ned nodded.

"That's pretty much the reason people have secrets in the first place."

I blinked a few times.

"I see..."

After a few moments, I turned towards Ned.

"So... you also have your own secrets?"

Ned smiled awkwardly.

"Well yeah, I would be a hypocrite if I said everyone had their secrets except for me."

I blinked a few times.

"Um... do you keep them for the same reason as I do?"

Ned tilted his head to the side and remained silent for a few moments. He seemed to be lost in thought.

"...I guess."

I sighed.

"Really makes me curious, though."

Ned laughed.

"I'm sure it does. But sometimes, it's best to keep things under wraps if you want everyone to be happy."

I blinked a few times.

...Was that really true?

Why couldn't everyone be happy when the truth was known?

In this way, It's almost like... happiness was a veil. One that could be taken off at any moment, ruining everything it once was.

The room fell silent.

After a few moments, Ned sighed.

"...Sorry to ask you this when you're probably tired, but could you keep watch on Mildred for a while?"

I nodded slightly. I was still unable to raise my head from the ground without it hurting pretty badly.

"Yeah, I should be able to."

Ned smiled weakly.

"Thanks, I just feel really sleepy. I imagine you won't be able to do much if something actually happens with your condition, so I will sleep here. Just yell at me if anything goes wrong."

I laughed.

"I'll make sure to yell extra loud."

Ned rolled his eyes.

"I'll be waiting for it with shut ears."

He laid his head down on the table and instantly began snoring.

I didn't notice it before, but Ned's eyebrows were slightly tensed. The only reason I even noticed it now, was because they relaxed after he rested his head on the desk.

...I guess Ned had a pretty bad headache, or was just really sleepy.

Yet, that didn't stop him from looking after me and Mildred. That was probably enough to conclude that even if Ned did have his secrets, he was still looking out for others.

So... maybe it's fine if Ned has a few things he wasn't willing to tell.

The room was quiet, but not in a scary way. That was because Ned and Mildred were both faintly snoring, so while there was nobody to talk to, I wasn't alone.

After a few moments, I tried once more to lift my head off the ground. Unfortunately, the pain hardly calmed down even after all this time.

A soft sigh escaped me. It seemed like I wouldn't be able to practice magic today...

For some reason, it really felt like everything was trying to pull me away from studying the magic spell at any cost. I was getting a bit frustrated, to say the least.

Well, at least Mildred was ok.

I don't know how much time passed by, but it should've been around an hour.

Although I said confidently that I would watch over Mildred, my eyes were closed for most of the time.

Every time I forced my eyelids open, they slowly dropped down right after.

...I wouldn't fall asleep, right?

Now that I think about it, I've been spending so much time sleeping. Obviously, sleeping should take a while, but lately, I've been doing it a little too much.

There was the time I ended up oversleeping until noon as well as the times I ended up napping.

Not to mention a few moments ago, where I passed out.

All things considered, I've probably been spending most of my time sleeping. I couldn't help but wonder if there were any side effects of sleeping so much, other than the lost time, of course.

I yawned and felt my eyes get a little wet.

"...Gotta stay awake."

"Is this a sleepover party?"

I turned to look at the door and saw Erin. She had both hands on the doorframe while her head peeked out from the side.

A soft smile formed on my face.

"Kind of?"

Erin skipped inside, with a cheerful smile.

"Hehe, you all look so cozy!"

I chuckled.

"Yeah, honestly, I can hardly stop myself from falling asleep right now."

Erin tilted her head to the side.

"Eh? But you're supposed to stay up really really late whenever you have sleepovers!"

I raised an eyebrow while the smile on my face grew wider.

"But isn't sleep right there in the word sleepover? That would totally contradict the meaning."

Erin put her hands on her hips and stuck out her elbows.

"Heh, that's because you aren't thinking of the reason we have a sleepover in the first place!"

My eyes were about to close, but I forced them open.

"Haha... and what is the reason?"

Erin smirked.

"It's so that when we are dead tired after playing for so long, we can go right to sleep! This way, the biggest amount of playtime is squeezed out!"

I laughed.

"Ah, that makes sense. Though, I think Mildred and Ned are both dead tired already."

Erin pouted.

"Mmm..."

Then, she raised her hands in the air and smiled.

"Then we can play until we are dead tired!"

A cheeky smile appeared on my face.

"Ah alright."

Erin giggled.

"So what should we do?"

I slowly closed my eyes.

"Ah, there could be many things. The only problem is, I'm already dead tired. In fact, I probably can't stop myself from falling asleep right now..."

Erin seemed a little angry.

"Ehhhhh?"

With that, I fell asleep.

...

I slowly opened my eyes.

My headache had settled to a faint, but dull pain.

As for my body, it was still on the ground next to Mildred's bed. There was no sign of Ned or Erin, but there was still faint breathing coming from the bed.

I guess Mildred was still sleeping. She seemed fine, at least there were no convulsions.

There was faint moonlight shining through from the curtains. It was well into the night. All things considered, I should be sleeping as I still needed to water the farm in the morning.

...But with how much I've slept, it was hard to even feel tired anymore.

Maybe if I walked around a bit, it would come to me.

With that, I sat up.

I let out a faint groan, as the feeling returned to my limbs. After taking a peek at Mildred, who was sleeping soundly, I left.

The halls were fairly dark. It seems like they were usually illuminated by the sun.

The sound of my tapping footsteps faintly echoed throughout the halls. It was a little ominous, though that was probably my imagination.

And so, I aimlessly traveled down the halls. I eventually reached the palace entrance. Although there was a small desire to walk outside, I was a little too afraid. 

...I mean, Erin said someone was watching her from outside.

While part of me suspected that Erin was just paranoid, it also made me a little afraid to go outside.

Then, I wandered to the kitchen.

It reminded me that I hadn't joined the others to cook for a while now. I've either been sleeping or trying to memorize the spells. Unfortunately, it was right before I was beginning to feel a little confident and willing to try doing the actual cooking.

...By now, I kinda forgot some of the things I tried to remember. I guess just looking wasn't the best way to remember things.

Honestly, I was only feeling more awake as time passed. However, I just attributed it to the fact I was waking up.

Eventually, I made my way to the built-in hot spring of the palace.

There was still some steam rising from the place. It seemed like it was active all the time, which seemed pretty convenient.

Though... I've never used it.

I wonder if the others ever came to this place. Whether in this life, or the others.

Although it was tempting to rest in the hot spring, I didn't think it would help. My body probably had too much energy right now, so walking would probably get rid of that extra energy.

And so, I made my way to the dining room, which was right next to the courtyard.

Right when I was about to reminisce about the memories here...

"And how sure are you about that?"