"Yukito-san, how about you go upstairs? Those two haven't come back since earlier, isn't that a bit worrying?"
Hime asked when the papers we needed to stamp were only a few left; she seemed like she wanted to finish all of this by herself.
Even so, I couldn't ignore her request. If I could help her by going along with what she asked, then why wouldn't I do it?
I placed the stack of papers beside me onto the table, along with the other stacks.
I immediately stood up and paused for a moment at the doorway. It felt like I wanted to say something to her, but I didn't know what kind of words could lift her spirits.
If I just stay silent... My head started thinking about what would happen if Hime felt disappointed or annoyed at me—
"Hime, are you sure you want to finish everything by yourself?" I turned around and looked at her with the door behind me still open.
Hime only glanced at me, then returned to her work on the papers, as if she was signaling that she was listening, but couldn't look at me.
Then, it was like she was saying, "just say it, I'll listen," like that.
I wonder, can I now guess what she's thinking just by looking at her reactions or facial expressions?
"Well, I'll be back later, okay?"
I left the room while watching her as I slowly pushed the door closed.
Even until the door was completely shut, I didn't feel any gaze from her at all. Tonight, she really made me confused.
Maybe after everything that happened today, she experienced something that made her emotions unstable? Even though we were chatting casually before.
I hope she returns to normal tomorrow morning. I can't feel at ease if she's gloomy or unwell.
——
Knock, knock.
I knocked on Vol-san's room door to check if anyone was inside.
When I went up the stairs earlier, I didn't hear any sound from inside, as if no one was there.
I only needed to knock twice before getting a response from inside.
"Who is it? Come in, but be careful, okay?"
That voice… Yuu-chan's voice, right? If she's still inside, then Luke and Vol-san must also be there. No reason to wait any longer.
Yuu-chan told me to be careful, she probably just thought that whoever was entering was seeing their potion-making for the first time.
Creak.
As I turned the doorknob and pushed it open slowly, I was immediately startled before I could even step inside.
BAAMM!
My entire body was instantly hit by gray-colored smoke that blurred my vision, like I was inside a fog.
This smoke exploded the moment the door opened, so I could only stand still at the doorway, letting it touch my skin.
There was no smell coming from this smoke, and it didn't leave any residue on my clothes. That means it really behaves just like fog, huh?
Huh, smoke? When I came here before, there was only pink smoke covering the entire floor of the room.
But now, that pink smoke seemed to be covered or maybe disappeared because of this gray smoke… This feels a bit off.
I covered my mouth as I stepped inside. I didn't want my mouth to be filled with this unknown smoke.
I tried to create some wind by moving my hands up and down so I could see my path a little more clearly.
I kept walking while using my hands to feel around the objects in front of me. For now, that was all I could rely on.
My vision was completely blinded by this smoke, and I also didn't remember the layout of this room, which made things a bit complicated.
Thud.
H-huh… There's something I bumped into in front of me, w-what is this?
I couldn't see it clearly, but its shape was like a lamp usually found at the end of a luxurious room, not much shorter than a human.
Rustle, rustle.
I tried to feel that object to confirm it, but the sensation I felt was different from what I expected.
There was something like fine threads shaped in a round form, then when my hand tried to reach lower, I felt a texture like I was touching someone's skin.
My hand kept feeling it more firmly. I couldn't touch it gently, I had to press it a little—
In that case...
Bwang.
I tried to pull the part with that skin-like texture, and it felt like I was pinching someone's cheek.
W-wait… Why does it feel different now? I also heard a sound like something snapping just now… W-what exactly did I bump into?!
—
Slowly, the smoke gradually disappeared as if blown away by the wind, and my vision gradually returned so I could see again—
Luke was holding a magic stone in his hand right in front of the table, preparing to mix the ingredients.
Vol-san was pouring one liquid into another to complete the potion that destroys the slave collar.
S-so, the one in front of me—
As my eyes slowly saw it, this time my guess was correct. In fact, it was exactly what it should be.
Yuu-chan stood in front of me, her hands pressed together, and above them was a cluster of magic gathered like a bright blue sphere.
Her hair was slightly messy, and one of her cheeks was being touched by someone's hand.
On the cheek that was being touched, there was a red mark as if it had just been pulled—
She looked at me with her eyebrows lowered, pouting slightly as she stood still.
"Yukito-sama, how long are you going to keep my cheek like this?" Yuu-chan asked about her current condition.
I quickly pulled my hand away after gently rubbing her cheek as a sign of apology.
"Sorry, sorry, I thought you were that lamp earlier..." I apologized while chuckling at my mistake.
——
"What's wrong, Yukito?" Luke asked after noticing my presence here.
"Oh, all of you are asked to gather downstairs with Hime, there's something we want to discuss with you," I answered while helping Yuu-chan with her magic.
Vol-san looked a bit surprised, maybe because he didn't expect that he would be included in our discussion.
"M-me too? Somehow, it feels like you two have just made an important plan, right?" Vol-san asked, expressing what was on his mind.
——
The four of us immediately went down from the third floor, before I could ask about the gray smoke that exploded earlier when I tried to enter.
Even though I was really curious about it, Yuu-chan said she wouldn't tell me after what I did to her.
I understand how she feels though… Oh, Hime really finished the rest by herself.
When we entered, all the stacks of papers were already on the floor beside the sofa. Hime must have moved all of them using magic so the table became empty again.
Did Hime work that fast just now? She finished all of it in a relatively short time… But, I'm thinking about her, right?