Chapter 20: A New Morning

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The early morning breeze drifted gently through the gap in the window, lightly stirring the air inside the room. The sky had slowly begun to brighten, and the presence of dawn wrapped itself around the surroundings.

A ray of morning sunlight caught Lloyd’s eyes from outside the window, and the brightness made him wake up with a faint stir.

Huh…? Where is this again?

A ceiling he didn’t recognize entered his vision, prompting the question to surface. The room was filled with the quiet stillness of morning, and the soft light streaming in cast long, narrow shadows across the floor.

Nn~…!

When he stretched out his arms and legs, the wooden floor creaked. The old house, still not fully repaired, let out a small groan that echoed faintly through the silence of early awakening. As he stretched, something white caught the corner of his eye, and he turned to look beside him. There, wrapped in a blanket, was a small and adorable girl. The silver hair falling across her forehead swayed gently.

Right…

Seeing the girl quietly breathing in a steady rhythm beside him snapped his drowsy mind back into clarity.

I brought Lusha back with me to Zaxon Village.

After being expelled from his party, he had met the “White Saint”—who was being hunted as a “False Saint”—that very same day, and he had decided to help her escape. The two of them had then headed toward Zaxon, the abandoned village where Lloyd had been born and raised.

“Just being able to sleep with a roof over our heads makes me feel so much safer.”

He remembered Lusha saying that last night, wrapped up in her blanket, and his lips naturally loosened into a smile. That smile of hers had been somewhat childlike and so genuinely relieved that he felt warmth bloom in his chest.

Even though this house was a single-story building, it still had several rooms. A living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, and one room that had likely been used as a storage space. Lloyd had thought it would be inappropriate to sleep in the same place, but Lusha hadn’t seemed bothered at all and simply wrapped herself in a blanket beside him. Tired as he was, he had ended up falling asleep like that as well.

Looking around the room, the once near-ruined interior had begun to regain its shape as a home. The collapsing walls, floors, and pillars had been repaired by Lusha’s restoration magic. The house had been repaired to at least an old but livable condition. The two of them had brushed away the dust, cleaned, and fixed the broken furniture, slowly bringing back the atmosphere of a lived-in home.

That said, there were still many inconveniences. There wasn’t even a single curtain, and the sunlight forced them awake at dawn. When the wind blew, cold air snuck in through the gaps in the windows, and without a mattress, they could only sleep after stacking several blankets.

I need to make sure Lusha can live comfortably as soon as possible.

With that thought in mind, he quietly sat up and brushed away the strands of hair resting on her sleeping face. At that moment, her eyelashes trembled faintly beneath her half-closed eyelids. Then slowly, her pale blue eyes opened.

“Ah…? Lloyd? Did you just do something?”

Her defenseless, sleepy expression and the way she asked him that question with drowsy eyes made Lloyd freeze in surprise. Despite her normally pure and serene demeanor, something about her appearance now felt strangely alluring.

“N-No! Nothing. You just had something on your face.”

He couldn’t admit he had been admiring her sleeping face, so he gave her a vague excuse.

“I see. Thank you.”

Completely unaware that his excuse had been flimsy, Lusha smiled shyly. Then, as she lifted her upper body slightly, she suddenly let out an “Ah,” as though recalling something. She straightened her posture and…

“Good morning, Lloyd.”

She bowed politely toward him. She looked a little embarrassed, yet also happy. That simple greeting and her unguarded smile made warmth slowly spread through Lloyd’s chest.

“Yeah. Good morning, Lusha.”

They exchanged bashful smiles and sat up. Lloyd stood first and offered his hand to Lusha as if escorting her. With a soft “Thank you very much,” she took his hand and stood.

“Weren’t we going into town today?”

“Yeah. We’ll head out once we get ready. Before that, I should chop some firewood.”

Lusha could use magic to start a fire, but they needed firewood to keep it going. He had gathered the wood yesterday, so all that was left was to split it.

“Then I’ll do the laundry.”

She glanced toward the bucket sitting in the corner of the living room, then turned back to him.

“I’ll wash yours too, so please set aside the clothes you want cleaned.”

“Eh, mine too? That seems… I’d feel bad making you do that. I can wash my own later.”

He didn’t want to make a Saint do laundry, but Lusha didn’t budge at all.

“One person’s worth and two people’s worth are almost the same. I only have one outfit anyway, so it won’t take long.”

“Is that so? Then… I guess I’ll ask you to help me with the laundry then.”

Right after he said that, he moved to take off his clothes—only for a small scream to sound beside him.

“Eh? What?”

“P-Please don’t take them off so suddenly! I’ll look away!”

Lusha turned her back in a panic. Her face looked bright red, and it likely wasn’t just the morning sun causing it.

“Ah. Sorry.”

He had casually started taking his clothes off and completely forgotten he was in the presence of a Saint. Once he confirmed she was facing away, Lloyd took off only his undershirt, folded it, and placed it on the floor. Since she would probably refuse to turn around if he remained shirtless, he threw his coat on for now.

“Um…Sorry. Could we save the coat and pants for another time?”

After confirming he had put on his coat, Lusha turned back toward him. She must have realized he had no spare clothes either. Both of them had little more than the clothes on their backs, after all.

…Wait? Did she just say she only had one outfit too? Well, she’d probably only wash the robe on top. 

He decided not to think too deeply about it.

“Yeah. I plan to buy more clothes today anyway, so maybe you can wash them tomorrow?”

“Leave it to me!”

Lusha clenched her fist in determination, looking full of energy. Then the two of them stepped outside into the yard and stretched toward the sun. Since they moved in the same motion at the same time, they glanced at each other and burst into laughter. Looking around, all he saw was a ruined, deserted village. No people, nothing living with Lusha as the only exception.  And yet… Why did he feel so fulfilled?

As he pondered that feeling, Lloyd began chopping wood. Lusha, using a magic tool, filled the bucket with water. A new morning for the two of them was just about to begin.

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