Yukito and Max had already discussed today's incident.
And Max asked Yukito about his view of Hime, because he was worried about her immense power.
But Yukito told Max that everything would be fine. He believed that Hime would remain herself.
He had even decided that from now on, he would be the one to protect Hime if any trouble arose.
Max felt satisfied with Yukito's answer; he thought his question had been answered very thoroughly.
It also showed that Yukito saw Hime as a girl he might one day want to stay with forever.
Of course, that would all depend on Yukito and what might happen to him.
—
But without Max and Yukito realizing it, while they were talking about Hime—
——
(Hime side)
Ah... I can see again.
Even though my eyes still feel very heavy, I can already open them and see once more.
I see a wooden ceiling above me, and my body lying on top of a bed.
I try to get up from my lying position, and I manage to sit on the bed. My body still feels very weak, but I can still move it.
In the corner of the room, I see Yuu-chan sleeping in a chair.
She looks really cute sleeping in that position.
The last thing I remember was after I defeated those goblins. Then my consciousness just disappeared.
Before I knew it, I was already lying in a room I had never been in before.
——
If Yuu-chan is here, that means I'm in Max-san's house.
That means someone brought me here and laid me down on this bed. Who was it?
If I was unconscious earlier, that means someone carried me.
Was it Yuu-chan? Impossible, she wouldn't have the strength to carry me.
So that leaves Yukito-san, Zev-san, and Max-san. One of those three must have carried me.
Maybe... my body was touched, or something was placed on me. I have to find out about that.
Even though it sounds absurd, I don't know why I suddenly feel suspicious like this.
Even though Zev-san and Max-san are good people, and Yukito-san already trusts them.
Still, I have to know who carried me earlier.
Because of that, I get up from the bed and walk toward the door. I'll go out and ask Yukito-san.
But before I can go out, I decide to peek through the crack in the door first. That's because I just heard the sound of someone talking.
Sure enough, it's Yukito-san and Max-san. They seem to be talking about something, and I can only hear faintly.
If I look more closely, Yukito-san seems a little upset after hearing what Max-san said.
What did Max-san say to Yukito-san? Could it be that he wanted Yukito-san to do something for him?
Because I also feel a little annoyed, I want to open this door. But before that happens, I hear Yukito-san saying my name.
"Hime isn't that kind of girl," said Yukito-san.
I was immediately shocked; reflexively, I sat down and leaned against the back of the door. For some reason, my cheeks and ears feel hot like this.
"The Hime I know, she's a good girl, always looking out for me... in fact, I can say that she always watches over me."
Again, I hear Yukito-san saying my name.
My face must be completely red by now, and my heart is pounding faster than usual.
"A beautiful girl, and someone I can rely on to keep protecting me," said Yukito-san again.
.....
Damn, my head's spinning again.
My face feels hot again, and my ears and cheeks are burning red.
My heart feels warm, but my heartbeat keeps thumping so fast. What is this feeling...
——
Behind the door, Hime couldn't control her emotions after hearing Yukito's words.
Her face and ears were visibly flushed, from embarrassment and pure joy.
Yukito himself didn't realize that what he said was heard directly by Hime.
For Hime, it was as if Yukito had just confessed his feelings.
But for Yukito, it was just something ordinary—because that's really how he saw Hime all this time.
——
(Yukito side)
"Yukito, you really consider that girl someone close to you, don't you?" asked Max-san again.
"Of course," I replied.
As someone close, as a party member, and as someone who has been with me since the beginning.
Hime and Yuu-chan are the first two people in this world who wanted to stay with me.
So how could I not feel the same way about them?
Max-san stood up and walked to the sink, he looked like he wanted to make something.
"Ah, by the way, your girl friend might already be awake. I think I heard the sound of a door moving earlier," he said.
Hearing that, I immediately went to the room where Hime was sleeping. And sure enough, the door seemed like it had just been opened.
I tried to push the door open, but something was blocking it from the inside.
Which made it unable to open fully, only slightly ajar.
I decided to force my way in, and I was shocked to see what was actually blocking the door.
"Hime!" I shouted.
I checked her condition—she was still breathing, meaning she was fine.
Meanwhile, Yuu-chan was sleeping soundly in the corner of the room. It seemed she didn't know why Hime ended up by the door.
Quickly, I lifted her body and carried her back to the bed.
Of course, I was confused and curious—how did Hime end up behind the door?
If Yuu-chan was still asleep, that meant Hime had already woken up and tried to walk out of the room.
But if that's the case, why did she fall again behind the door?
Max-san, who heard me shouting Hime's name, immediately came into the room as well.
"Yukito! What happened to that girl?" asked Max-san, who also looked a little panicked.
I told Max-san what had just happened to Hime.
Then he came closer to me to check Hime's condition too. Maybe he could figure out what actually happened to her.
"Maybe she woke up for a moment earlier, and because her body was still weak, she ended up collapsing there," he said.
That might be it. It could've happened that way.
"I'll prepare some food for you all to eat later," said Max-san.
"Wait a second, you don't have to trouble yourself for us—" I said.
Of course, from the beginning, our purpose here was only to eliminate that goblin nest.
So I didn't want to trouble Max-san to the point of having to cook for us.
"Don't worry~ I was planning to cook anyway," he said with a smile.
"...alright then.." I replied.
Max-san left the room, leaving just the three of us.
Seeing her still unconscious made me want to do something to help her wake up faster.
But I didn't want to force her... so I decided to wait a little longer until she woke up.