"Finally, we can sleep on a bed..." Sophia murmured as Katherine paid the front desk a few coins.
"Hey, it's not that bad. Besides, you guys are going to miss that mattress when you realize what kind of bed hotels usually have."
As the three kids followed Katherine to the staircase, they noticed several people drinking some sort of beer and chatting with each other.
"Mom, are those adventurers?" Alex asked curiously, noting that several of them carried swords or some sort of wand.
"Adventurers? They are more like drunkards who drink every night... Never be like them, okay?"
Katherine lectured as she looked back to Alex, who nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, here's our bed for tonight."
The door slowly opened, revealing a twin bed made of cloth, with straws filled on the inside.
"Huh?"
"What? Don't act surprised. Do you guys genuinely think hotels are supposed to be comfortable?"
Katherine quickly took off her shoes and hurried the three kids to take off their shoes as well.
"Mom, couldn't we at least buy two rooms instead?" Mary complained, feeling a little squished, being the first one on the bed.
"Too bad you guys aren't adults yet, so they aren't willing to rent a room just for you, my little princess."
"Whatever..."
As Katherine pulled the blanket back up, everyone quickly closed their eyes as the day had been extremely tiring.
Soon, everyone fell asleep except Alex, who just couldn't fall asleep on the hard straw bed.
What was made worse was that Katherine, who slept on the edge, had her entire body surrounding him so that she would not fall off the bed.
Meanwhile, Sophia's body was on his back, being pushed by Mary, who was taking up too much space sleeping upright next to the wall.
"When did Sophia start having boobs?" Alex thought to himself as he could feel a little bump against his back.
"No, no, no. I need to stop thinking about this. She's your sister, for God's sake."
As Alex tried to distract himself a little, Katherine's arm suddenly surrounded him, with her legs wrapping around his leg.
"Mom?"
Hearing a steady sleeping sound from Katherine, Alex realized he was being used like a body pillow.
He tried to push her back a little, but it was no use, as her body was way too heavy to push away without waking her up.
"Come on, Alex, she's your mother. Don't think about her body. Just go to sleep and wake up tomorrow.
One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep, five sheep, six sheep, seven sheep..."
As Alex kept counting sheep in his head, he soon got too exhausted and fell asleep on the bed.
---
The next day...
Katherine was the first to wake up, feeling fully energized as she didn't need to maintain her magical spell to watch guard at night.
"Alex is so cute..." Katherine thought to herself as the first thing she saw was Alex being fully embraced by her body.
"Here's your guy's clothes. I just washed and dried them," Katherine murmured as she put the empty laundry basket on the back of the wagon.
"Thank you... Mom, why is one of my panties missing?" Sophia curiously asked.
"Your brother is wearing it right now. I'll buy you another one later." Katherine replied as she began setting up the campfire.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to wear it without telling——"
"It's okay... Don't worry about it. I don't mind you wearing my clothes." Sophia interrupted as both of their faces blushed a little.
"Mom! I'm hungry!" Mary complained as none of them had eaten breakfast.
"Okay, okay, I'm cooking already..."
After the short lunch, the four boarded the horse-drawn wagon and resumed their journey to the capital.
Mary's constant complaint eventually replaced the awkward atmosphere as she was getting bored once again.
The three were once again given a chance to sit in front of Katherine's lap, but Alex hesitated when it was hit the turn.
"What's wrong, Alex?" Mary curiously asked.
"Nothing."
As Alex quickly ran up to be with Katherine, he was hit by a strong wind, almost pushing him over.
"Woah, be careful... Who told you to run?" Katherine asked with a hint of anger in her voice as she gently put him onto her lap.
"Sorry..."
The two sat together in silence until Katherine had enough of the awkwardness.
"Alex, you don't always have to be so independent... You can rely on Mom to help you." Katherine murmured as she slowed the wagon down a little.
Alex didn't say anything back, wanting to hear Katherine speak her mind out first.
"You know, sometimes I feel a little scared having you as a child... It's not because of your body."
Katherine paused for a second, then continued.
"You're way too mature, Alex. You're only ten, but sometimes I feel like you're an adult.
You always take care of the other two girls when they ask you to do something, almost like an older brother to them.
I just want to tell you... you can always rely on your mom, okay? I'll always be here for you."
As Katherine fell into silence, Alex's mind was conflicted. He wanted to tell her the truth.
However, he knew it would most likely ruin his relationship not just with Katherine but with the whole family.
Eventually, Alex made up his mind as he prepared himself with the courage to confess the truth.
"Mom, I'm actually——"
"Oh shit!"
Katherine immediately interrupted Alex as the road ahead of them had a giant log that blocked the entire road.
With the reins pulling back completely, the horses quickly came to a stop just as they were about to crash.
"Mom! What's wrong?" Sophia and Mary asked as they ran out to the front of the wagon, their face full of worry.
"Just a wooden log in the way... Alex, what did you want to say again?" Katherine curiously asked.