Otto felt he and Sister Irene had grown closer.
An appropriate distance between friends had originally been maintained, but the gap between him and Sister Irene shortened after he blurted out those mindless questions.
Both of them already fell within each other's preferences.
Spending more time together naturally increased their mutual affection.
More than friends but not quite lovers perfectly described the current relationship between Otto and Rosemary Rita.
Night had already fallen, prompting the pair to build an igloo in the snow. This was a semi-circular structure piled from snow with a hollow center, allowing a person to lie inside and ward off the night's freezing winds.
The Herrscher of Ice had died, but that did not mean this Continent of Ice and Snow would suddenly turn into a tropical rainforest.
The igloo itself was constructed by Otto using his tentacles, since those appendages proved much more flexible than fingers.
Otto and Rosemary Rita had slept on top of a sled back when he and Rosemary Rita first met.
Arriving at the edge of the Land of Extreme Frost, Otto turned into a mother kangaroo. He stayed awake while Rosemary Rita slept in his arms.
Drool even leaked from her mouth.
With the Herrscher of Ice dead, sheltering Rosemary Rita from the wind and rain with tentacles was no longer necessary, as using them drained a lot of mental energy.
Sleeping in Anna's Palace of Ice was out of the question. Following Anna's death, the Ice Palace began to melt and collapse in certain places, meaning anyone sleeping inside would wake up buried in ice.
So the best choice was to sleep in an igloo.
Thus Otto built an igloo.
He built only one.
Looking at this solitary igloo, Irene's kind gaze fell on Otto. Wearing a harmless smile on his face, the boy avoided making eye contact with Irene, acting as if nothing had happened.
Letting out a sigh, Irene rubbed her temples. Her little brother sometimes displayed a maturity far beyond his age.
How could a person even come up with such a scheme?
It looked exactly like a scumbag booking only one room at a hotel.
One could only call it the natural instinct of men.
Her gaze fell on Otto's left hand, which had now reverted from its tentacle state back to its original form.
Those fingers were very nimble, taking less than ten minutes to build an igloo.
So where was the second igloo?
Hurry up and build it!
But Otto remained completely unmoved. Irene understood a little now. The man was definitely not as harmless as his appearance suggested.
What a younger brother full of wicked ideas.
Irene looked at the igloo's entrance. Crawling through the opening was all that was needed for this simple type.
The exterior suggested enough space for four people inside, making standing up impossible after crawling in.
Patting her cheeks, she realized she spoiled him too much. She needed to bravely say "no"!
So Irene took off her high heels and crawled into the igloo, intentionally shifting a bit to the right side.
This left the left side open for the man crawling in later.
A few days ago, she probably would not have accepted this.
But Irene had already seen Otto's fragile side. Such vulnerability easily triggered a woman's maternal instincts, allowing that lonely back to occupy a small spot in her heart.
Of course, Otto's appearance added many points. Ultimately, only a highly attractive person could act so shamelessly.
A normal person trying to copy this would get into trouble.
Following Irene's entry, Otto also crawled in, leaving the two of them lying in the narrow igloo just like that.
Irene faced the igloo wall, turning her back to Otto. Her calm exterior masked a flush of heat in her chest.
She had never lain this close to a man before. A mere ten days ago, the thought of letting a man lie right beside her would have been absolutely unimaginable.
Besides, this person was not even her boyfriend yet!
They were not dating, yet here they were lying so close. Her mind had truly gone muddled.
Going to sleep quickly was the best option. Waking up would bring planning for tomorrow's itinerary. The Herrscher of Ice was dead. What method should the two of them use to attract the master of this world?
Perhaps they should go subjugate the Herrscher of Thunder? That location was a bit far from here. The worry was that someone else might beat them to it again.
Thinking and thinking, her mind unexpectedly drifted to what would happen after they left this world. Both of them were darlings of the Sea of Quanta, so maybe they could partner up to travel to other worlds.
The phrase "traveling as companions" felt very unfamiliar to Rosemary Rita. A smile graced her lips. Was she not traveling as a companion with him right now?
A journey for two might be worth looking forward to.
The silence was profound, however.
Only the sound of steady breathing filled the pitch-black igloo, clearly indicating that her little brother had already fallen asleep. Expectations of him doing other things to her had crossed her mind.
Mental preparations for being held had already been made.
Here she lay while the guy soundly slept beside her. Was he a beast, or worse than a beast?
Turning around carefully without waking Otto, Irene looked through the lightless igloo, her vision making the interior as bright as day.
She saw a face with tightly closed eyes.
It was very pretty.
No matter how she looked at it, her little brother possessed a pretty, girlish face. Such a face would undoubtedly be very popular with girls.
She also liked his looks very much.
The youth's face appeared slightly exhausted. Irene recalled his unpredictable tentacles, figuring that maintaining such a state must drain a lot of stamina.
Remembering how she had been held in his arms for several days without him stopping to rest, Irene slapped another label onto Otto.
He pushed himself too hard.
But to Irene, this was a bonus point.
The current score was five points.
Irene kept score for Otto in her heart, adding a point whenever he did something she admired.
Once he surpassed 20 points, she would offer to be Otto's girlfriend. After all, this shy boy probably wouldn't make that kind of request himself.
Traveling together should be more interesting. Being his girlfriend wasn't an impossible thing either.
"Make sure you behave."
Pouting her lips, Irene blew gently across Otto's face. Being too tired, Otto did not realize he only needed to lower his head to kiss the girl's lips.
I should sleep too.
Tomorrow morning, I will tell him my real name.
I will ask him what his real name is while I am at it.
Closing her eyes, Irene shrank back into Otto's embrace and prepared to sleep.
"Sister Bronya..."
Otto's sleep-talking reached her ears, prompting Irene to open her eyes again.
Sister? Was it a sister far away in his hometown?
If she really were to date him, she would have to manage her relationship with her future sister-in-law well. However, Irene had the confidence to manage their relationship well.