"Ugh..."
I woke up with a splitting headache—so severe that dying felt like it would be a relief.
As I opened my eyes, the light from the lamp overhead, despite being weak, felt blinding. It took me a while to get used to it before I looked around the dark room.
This... feels like a horror event or something. There's no ghost that would pop out from under the bed, is there?
Just as I was entertaining such weird thoughts—
"You're awake, Master."
"...!"
A voice came from beside me.
That instant, it felt like my heart would jump out of my throat. It was throbbing like three beats a second, triggering my fight-or-flight response.
Rather, Miranda?! I didn't even notice she was there!
"A-Ah... My head hurts, though..." I replied, trying to act normal while shaking off the pain and fear. "How long was I out...?"
"Yes," Miranda nodded, smiling thinly. "You've been asleep for 13 hours now, Master."
"Thirteen...?"
If I recall correctly, it was around noon when we reached our target... That means it's past midnight now?
"Wait..."
If I remember right... weren't we surrounded by ants?!
Right—an ambush by ants, and an incoming Stampede!
"The dungeon!" I gasped, grabbing Miranda's shoulders. "What happened?! Did Father handle the stampede properly?!"
"If it's the stampede, then it's already over, Master."
Miranda whispered as she gently pulled my hands off her shoulders—
"..?"
—and placed them over her flatlands.
No... I can feel a small bulge, soft with a bit of a pointy tip... wait, wut?!
I pulled my hands back, shocked by the sudden progress. This... I didn't do that, did I? Right, it was Miranda who led my hands over! I'm not at fault...!
"Master..."
Slowly, Miranda leaned closer to the bed.
As she did, the lamp overhead lit her figure, revealing her face covered with traces of green and red blood. Her maid uniform was cut here and there, with signs of already healed injuries.
Matching her creepy, thin smile...
"Eeep!"
At the sight of her figure, I... blacked out.
---
I woke up once again.
This time, the windows on the far end of the room let the gentle rays of the morning sun filter in, showing it was already daytime.
"...!"
I jumped up, looked around, and confirmed that I was alone.
No ghastly, bloody Miranda anywhere near the bed. It was silent, with only the sounds from downstairs—maids preparing breakfast, I presume.
"So it was a dream..." I sighed.
I raised my hands and stared at them, opening and closing them slowly.
The sensation of Miranda's budding chest... That was my imagination, right? I'm sure it was. At this moment, she has no reason to act like that toward me.
Then... was that a wet dream?
Damn, am I backed up despite still being four years old? I haven't even fapped in this life yet!
Thankfully, the headache was gone.
Although my body felt lethargic, I could move properly. With a bit of water-element healing... alright, I'm back in tip-top shape!
"Young Master Rex, we're coming in!"
Just as I was about to leave the room, the door opened and three maids entered.
Frau, the energetic redhead.
Celine, the gentle, green-haired maid.
And Odette, the always-smiling blonde beauty.
Of course, I know they're all Father's, so I didn't dare look at them lasciviously. Rather, since they've been with me for so long, I consider them closer to older sisters by now.
Older sisters who ride fa—well, enough of that.
"Y-Young Master?!"
As soon as they saw me standing, their faces turned pale.
"What are you doing?! You need to stay in bed!" Odette reprimanded, her smile fading for an instant. "Don't you remember how severe your injuries were?! If Madam sees you pushing yourself, we'd be the ones getting reprimanded!"
"That's right, Young Master! So please, lie down!"
"Yes, yes, let us do our job!"
Even Celine and Frau got angry.
I'm not even pushing myself. I'm already fully healed. I know my body best... but their jobs—or rather, lives—were on the line, so I'll just play along.
As I lay back in the still-warm bed, I remembered a question I'd been keeping.
"Right, what about the Stampede?" I asked. "Is it over? What's the damage?"
Hearing my question, Frau tilted her head as she fixed my blanket. "Stampede...?" she whispered, puzzled.
"Did something like that happen...?"
"I haven't heard of it." Having the question passed to her, Celine shook her head. "If such a thing occurred, all the knights would've been deployed already..."
Odette returned to her usual smile, patting my head with her cold, smooth hand. "I guess Young Master thought it was a stampede since you got injured in the dungeon? How cute~!"
"Huh...?"
The three didn't look like they were just saying that to reassure me.
'Was there really no Stampede...? But the signs were all there... And we were even ambushed by the ants...'
"AH!"
At that moment, I recalled someone who was with me in the dungeon the entire time.
"Right, Miranda! Where is she?! Is she safe too?!"
"Young Master..."
The three looked at me as if I were a pitiful child.
"Of course she was alright. She was the one who saved you, bringing you back for healing," Celine answered with a wry smile.
Frau placed a finger on her chin, recalling the scene.
"Well, she looked battered when she arrived with you, but her injuries weren't worse than yours. She's already training with the knights now as proof."
"..."
Miranda saved me from that situation?
How...?
No, rather—why didn't she tell Father and the knights about the stampede? And why did the Stampede stop? As I entertained such questions, a wild idea crossed my mind.
'No way... did she stop the stampede on her own to save me?'
If she did, then...
I shivered at the thought.
Did her talent blossom in the midst of despair? I need to ask her to know...
"Frau," I called. "Can you tell Miranda to see me as soon as she can? I have things I want to tell her..."
"If it's just that, then I'll pass it to her, Young Master! What do you—"
"No."
I stopped her mid-sentence and clarified.
"I want to ask her directly."
I want to confirm if my thoughts are true.
And for that, I need to see Miranda directly... and appraise her once more.