"Wake up, Itsuki."
"...Hm? Okay."
As my mom gently shook me awake, I mumbled and curled up under the warm covers.
I wanted to sleep a little longer. After all, I had been physically active for the entire three-day weekend, and now my whole body ached with muscle pain.
Sure, my body in this life is young—or rather, still a child—so sleeping usually takes care of the fatigue. But the muscle soreness sticks around even more stubbornly.
"Nina-chan is already awake, you know."
"Uh!"
Hearing that, I quickly opened my eyes.
Oh, right. Nina-chan spent the night!
I scrambled out of bed, hurriedly changed my clothes, and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. When I finally made it to the living room, I saw Nina-chan sipping on some miso soup.
She looked over at me and said one word.
"Good morning, Itsuki."
"Uh, yeah. Good morning."
Having a friend stay over at my house was a completely new experience for me—so new, in fact, that I couldn't help but feel a bit flustered.
Honestly... I had never stayed over at someone's house, nor had anyone ever stayed over at mine. Even with Aya-chan, despite almost having a sleepover due to her dad, Renji-san's work, it always ended up being postponed or muddled for some reason.
So this really was my first time.
Though, to be fair, all we did was finish Nina-chan's unfinished homework, have dinner, take baths, and go to bed.
Still, it was a fun experience, without a doubt.
"Nina-chan, did you sleep well?"
"...Yeah, I slept fine."
Although Nina-chan answered that she had slept well, her face didn't look like she had gotten much rest. Well, I couldn't blame her—sleeping at someone else's house for the first time can be unsettling, even if you've visited a few times before.
I had similar experiences during school trips back in my previous life as a student. Some people can fall asleep easily in unfamiliar hotels or inns, while others can't—I'm definitely in the latter group, and judging by Nina-chan's reaction, she seems to be the same.
As I picked at my breakfast of grilled salmon, tamagoyaki, and miso soup, I thought to myself. By the way, this wasn't a special meal because Nina-chan was here. This was just the typical breakfast at my house.
Impressive, right?
"It's my first time eating rice in the morning."
"You usually eat bread?"
I asked, and Nina-chan nodded.
I thought maybe it was a cultural thing since she wasn't originally from Japan, but even some Japanese people are more into bread for breakfast, so I kept that thought to myself.
As we quietly continued eating breakfast, Hina, who was still half-asleep, was led into the room by my mom. Her hair was a mess, she was still in her pajamas, and yet, she was clutching a hairbrush in her right hand.
"Here you go, nii-chan."
"Alright."
At the end of the finger—where the snake's head would be—was an actual human head, grinning with an impossibly wide smile as it opened its mouth.
"Good morning! A-a-and now, it's 6 PM in the morning!!"
"...!"
Nina-chan gasped softly and grabbed my hand. It was a habit of hers.
She no longer froze in panic or hyperventilated when confronted with monsters, but the sudden appearance of one still sent waves of fear through her body.
That's why she always held my hand—she had told me that once.
"It's okay."
I tried to soothe her with a gentle voice as I extended my "Silveit Thread."
In one swift motion, I sliced off the head of the snake-like finger.
"Oh, oh! It's morning, so I'll be just fine! Greeting people is important!"
Bizarrely, despite having its head cut off, the monster's body started to regenerate from the severed head.
Meanwhile, the headless end puffed up like a balloon before bursting open, revealing a brand new head.
"Now there are two of me—now it's 6 PM and 9 AM!"
The two long fingers, now with snake-like heads, started intertwining with each other as if they were mating.
...Gross. And I still had no idea what they were saying.
With a grimace, I wrapped both of the snake-like fingers in two strands of "Silveit Thread" and began chanting.
"Flame Cocoon."
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A wall of fire erupted around the snake-like fingers, engulfing them.
"Oh, oh! It's hot, it's burning! Now it's 8 AM! Now sizzling at 10 AM!!"
The two snake fingers writhed in agony as their faces contorted in pain, but my flames wouldn't disappear, nor would they allow them to escape.
Of course not.
This spell wraps around its target with "Silveit Thread," creating an inescapable prison of flames. Unlike "Flame Sting," which pierces its target, this spell has higher damage potential, especially against slower-moving enemies.
The charred remains of the snake-like fingers fell to the ground, completely motionless. They soon dissolved into black smoke and drifted up into the sky.
As the morning sun pierced through the rising black smoke, Nina-chan quietly spoke.
"Hey, Itsuki."
"Yeah?"
"Do you... always fight monsters on your way to school?"
"No, not that often."
"R-Really."
Hearing my answer, Nina-chan let out a small sigh of relief and started walking again—but she didn't let go of my hand.