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Chapter 53 - Utterly Ordinary

"Do I have any equipment that can detect curses or dark magic?"

Nod, nod.

Julia nodded vigorously, her eagerness apparent.

Sylvia, noticing her intense curiosity, paused to consider the reason behind the question.

\'Does she think she’s been cursed?\'

What led her to such a thought?

Sylvia almost asked Julia directly but held back, biting her lip.

The answer would most likely involve Aslan, and she wasn\'t sure she wanted to go down that path.

"Here, this magic orb will light up if it detects the activation of a curse. You can borrow it for now."

"Ah! Thank you! Is it okay if I return it by tonight or tomorrow?"

"That’s fine."

Julia accepted a rosary from Sylvia.

So, this orb detects curses...!

It’s amazing that something like this even exists!

Julia clutched the rosary tightly in both hands, determined not to lose it.

"I’ll take good care of it and return it safely!"

Swoosh.

With that, Julia hung the rosary around her neck, hiding it under her clothes.

This should do the trick.

If Aslan tries to curse me, I’ll catch him in the act!

Julia quickly checked the rosary under her clothes.

Seeing that it wasn’t glowing, she confirmed there wasn’t a curse currently affecting her.

Thump, thump, thump.

She hurried to Aslan’s office and knocked on the door.

Now that she thought about it, she was really sleepy! Extremely sleepy!

"Come in."

"Hand!"

"...?"

"Your hand! Give it to me!... Please!"

Aslan ignored Julia’s bold demand.

Why is he pretending not to care?

He’s the one who goes to such ridiculous lengths to be alone with me...!

Striding into the office, Julia dragged a sofa over to the desk, plopped her shark plushie on top, and closed her eyes, sticking her head out expectantly.

Hmph! Just hand over that big, warm hand of yours already!

"I’ll buy you the teddy bear you originally wanted next time we go out. The shopkeeper now has a variety of dolls in stock."

"...I don’t need it."

"Don’t be stubborn. Just take it. You’ll regret it later."

"No, I’m not being stubborn; I really don’t need it. This one is enough... Hmph."

Ah! Does he think I came here to beg for a doll?

Does he think I got upset because he bought a teddy bear for Charlotte?

Do I really seem that petty, childish, and small-minded?

The thought was absurd...

...But saying it out loud made her feel a bit disappointed.

A teddy bear. I did want one.

A soft, cuddly teddy bear.

Sigh.

Aslan kept pressing the issue, so Julia responded in a serious tone.

Sure, she was a bit disappointed, but that was all.

She didn’t want a new doll.

Even though the shark plushie looked a bit silly, it had grown on her over time.

Maybe it’s because it was the first doll she ever owned.

Asking for another one so soon felt like she was being unfaithful, and it made her feel a bit strange.

For now, it seemed better to focus on loving the shark plushie.

‘Here it comes.’

Finally, Aslan casually extended his hand.

Julia, having waited impatiently, leaned in further to make contact with his hand.

As soon as she touched it, her eyes began to droop, and sleepiness washed over her.

Got you! You just cursed me, didn’t you?

Julia quickly checked under her clothes.

‘Huh? It’s not glowing...?’

But the rosary remained unchanged, showing no sign of activity.

Julia’s mouth hung open in surprise as her thoughts momentarily stalled.

‘So it wasn’t a curse or dark magic...?\'

It wasn’t a curse, dark magic, or anything like that.

Recently, she had been practicing her word of command, becoming more sensitive to the flow of mana, so if any magic had been used, she would have sensed it immediately.

That meant it wasn’t magic either.

So how could she explain this strange phenomenon where she felt sleepy as soon as Aslan’s hand touched her?

‘No matter how I think about it, this is strange...!’

The voices of the spirits had long since fallen silent.

But the long struggle with insomnia had left a trauma behind.

Even now, whenever Julia closed her eyes to sleep, she would hear those voices echoing in her mind.

Even without the voices, she still couldn’t sleep.

The fear that the voices might wake her at any moment was always with her.

‘Could it be that I can only sleep soundly when I’m near Aslan, because he makes me forget that fear...?’

Julia was stunned by this realization.

Am I really feeling safe and comforted just by touching that man’s hand?

Am I really feeling so at ease that I can forget my deep trauma?

This can’t be true...

She briefly tried to deny it, but quickly accepted the truth.

"..."

She cautiously peeked up, sneaking a glance at Aslan.

He had one hand on Julia’s head, occasionally stroking her hair, sometimes touching her ears, and every now and then, pretending it was an accident as he poked her cheek, all while continuing his work nonchalantly.

‘He looks uncomfortable...’

He had never shown any signs of difficulty.

Aslan had never once complained or voiced any dissatisfaction.

Julia had always believed that he had deliberately engineered the situation, that he had cursed her to make her come to him.

But now, realizing that Aslan had been enduring discomfort as well, Julia felt a pang of guilt.

‘Why doesn’t he show it...?’

It must be annoying.

It must be uncomfortable.

He must have thought a hundred times how annoying this little brat is.

So why had he never shown any signs of it?

Suddenly curious, Julia asked,

"Hey, Aslan."

"..."

"Am I annoying?"

She couldn’t hold it in any longer.

The question she had been trying to keep to herself slipped out.

As soon as she said it, she regretted it.

She already knew what the answer would be.

"Hey? Answer me. Am I annoying... Hmph?"

"Very annoying. You’re a lot of work too."

"..."

...Of course.

Julia’s shoulders slumped.

Yeah. I should stop coming here.

I should figure out how to sleep on my own.

She was about to make that resolution when she asked another question,

"Then, what would you think if I could sleep without you... Hmph?"

"It would be much more convenient."

"..."

"And maybe a little lonely."

Huh, really?

Seriously?

Julia’s shoulders twitched slightly.

"I don’t really mind."

"...You don’t mind? Really? I tried forcing myself to sleep today, and I managed to doze off for a bit. In a few days, I might really be able to sleep without your hand. Should I stop coming to see you at night?"

"Just keep coming."

"...Okay. I will."

Aslan’s firm response made Julia’s lips curl into a smile.

Heehee. So I’m not a nuisance.

In fact, he’d miss me if I weren’t here.

So Aslan doesn’t see me as a burden after all.

That thought made her spirits lift again.

‘Wait!? Why am I relieved?’

Huh? Come to think of it, why do I feel bad about burdening Aslan?

If I’m bothering that villain, shouldn’t that be a good thing?

So why am I happy about this...?

Julia’s thoughts became a jumbled mess.

At that moment, Charlotte’s words echoed in her mind:

‘Julia, which side are you on? Do you really just want to sleep peacefully? Is that the only reason you want to monopolize Mister?’

I don’t know...

Which side am I on?

Why do I get so annoyed whenever Charlotte monopolizes him?

Julia closed her eyes tightly.

Unable to resist the drowsiness any longer, she gradually drifted off.

It was, as always, a pleasant sensation.

.

.

.

"Excuse me, Lord Aslan. I need to retrieve something quickly..."

Sylvia entered the office, scanned the room, and walked directly over to where Julia was sleeping soundly.

"She’s asleep. Don’t wake her."

"The item I need to retrieve is with her."

"Hmm."

"I’ll be careful not to wake her."

"Do what you must. But if she wakes up, your pay gets docked."

"Understood."

With trembling hands, Sylvia carefully reached for Julia’s neck and retrieved the rosary hidden under her clothes.

That rosary...

"I have to leave urgently. After investigating, it seems one of the applicants who passed the interview is involved in some unsavory activities. I’ll head to the scene to verify, and if confirmed, I’ll remove them from consideration."

"Very well. Good luck."

The rosary Sylvia had always carried with her...

I don’t know what it means to her, but it’s obviously precious.

She may be okay with setting it aside temporarily, but she wouldn’t leave it behind when going out.

But why was it with Julia?

"Does that rosary have any special abilities?"

"This rosary? No. It’s nothing special. Just an utterly ordinary rosary."

"I see. Make sure you catch the culprit in the act."

"I will."

Sylvia bowed respectfully and left the office.

An utterly ordinary rosary, huh?

"Guess I’ll just play with her cheeks."

It wasn’t anything important.

I decided not to worry about it.

After all, it was more rewarding to spend that time touching Julia’s cheeks than worrying about unnecessary things.