Evolve (14)
There are mornings like that sometimes.
Not the kind where your head hurts because you slept too long, nor the kind where fatigue still lingers around your eyes from too little sleep. I'm talking about those rare days when you wake up feeling completely refreshed, as if every aspect of your body's optimization was perfect, and there's not even the slightest feeling of tiredness. Unlike other days, you just feel exceptionally clear and refreshed.
Today was exactly that sort of day. I slowly opened my eyes, feeling the light flicker through my eyelids. There wasn't even the usual faint sense of discomfort I'd typically feel in the morning, a sign I'd slept well.
That alone was enough to make me incredibly happy. But that feeling didn't last long. No, it couldn't.
I also felt something gently pressing down on my right arm... and there was a rustling sensation as well. The moment I turned my head, I realized the cause.
'... What the?'
I was startled. Licorice was sleeping right next to me—not just in the bed beside mine, but literally beside me, clinging to my arm as she slept.
'What is this?'
I blinked repeatedly, doubting my eyes, but nothing changed. Rather, as my body woke up, Licorice's presence became even clearer.
'Did I move beds in my sleep?'
No, this was definitely my bed. Since I could see the bed that Licorice had brought still in the same place, it meant she was the one who had moved during the night.
"Licorice, wake up."
I gently shook Licorice's shoulder—she didn't seem inclined to let go of my arm. She slept so deeply that she didn't even budge when I shook her.
If anything, her brow furrowed slightly, as if telling me not to bother her, and she snuggled even closer. I couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
Just as I went to give her another shake to wake her, a soft artificial light, mimicking natural sunlight, swept across the room. At the end of that beam was our shared bed.
The light happened to softly illuminate Licorice and I found her sleeping form to be exceptionally charming. I even wondered if the warmth of her body against my arm was what had let me sleep so well.
Without realizing, I ended up admiring her sleeping face. And then Licorice showed signs that she was about to wake up. Her eyelids trembled, then slowly opened.
Her crimson eyes, not yet adjusted to the light, stared blankly at me. She squinted a little, perhaps from blurry vision.
Only for a brief moment did she look confused. Then, when she realized I was staring back at her, Licorice's eyes flew open wide and she took in a sharp breath.
"If you're awake, could you let go of my arm?"
Possibly startled, Licorice clung even tighter to my arm. If she'd just been using my arm as a pillow, it might have been better. But as things stood, it was quite an embarrassing position for me.
Her sleepwear was on the skimpy side, so even if I tried not to notice where my hand was, I couldn't help but be aware of it. I didn't expect I'd ever notice, with anyone besides Nadia, that someone so lean could still be soft.
"W-what...?!"
When I let out a soft sigh, Licorice finally jerked away from me. She crossed her arms in front of her chest as if I was the one who had dragged her over.
"That's what I'd like to ask you! Why'd you come over here and not sleep in your own bed?"
"... Did I?"
Licorice whipped her head around, scanning her surroundings, and her face instantly twisted with embarrassment.
Realizing there was no way out of this, she opened her mouth as if to make an excuse. Her hands, meanwhile, pressed tightly together between her thighs, tugging her rumpled clothes down.
"Well, you see..."
"You see?"
"..."
Licorice clamped her mouth shut, clearly intent on invoking her right to remain silent. I didn't care. I hadn't asked because I needed her answer.
My purpose in pointing out the situation was to make her more mindful, a kind of warning to be more careful.
Since my arm was free at last, I sat up in bed and spoke.
"Please be more careful. Even if we have no choice but to share a room, this kind of thing makes things awkward for me."
"... Hmph. Why? Did your heart race?"
Licorice quickly tidied her messy hair and grinned slyly. She put on an air of nonchalance, but it was laughable; her face was still flushed with embarrassment—it was completely obvious to me.
When I only snorted lightly, Licorice kept trying to provoke me. As if nothing had happened, she closed the distance, poked my shoulder and arm with her finger, and even tried to imitate a seductive look.
I knew it was her way of trying to cover her embarrassment, but today, of all days, it felt particularly cheeky. Maybe she thought I didn't notice because I usually let it slide.
"If we keep living together like this, you and I, humanity—"
"If you finish that sentence with '-preservation' or anything like it, you're really in trouble. I've told you before: don't say things like that carelessly."
I grabbed the hand that kept poking my shoulder and arm, then pushed Licorice down on the bed by holding her shoulder.
I lifted her chin lightly, as if handling a finely crafted sculpture. Flustered, Licorice looked up at me, unable to even muster a token protest.
"... Huh?"
Her red eyes wavered in confusion, and her lips, dry from sleep, let out a squeaky noise.
"Lee Hyun-woo, you, you..."
"Don't tease so much. I'm holding back, you know."
My voice was even lower than usual, thanks to morning grogginess. The moment the low tone reached her ears, Licorice flinched and shrank her shoulders.
Why does she always put on a front like she's got everything under control, when she can't stand it when I get close like this? I understood everything, but there were times when I couldn't restrain myself, especially after seeing her looking so disheveled in the mornings.
I decided it was time to clear the air, at least a little.
"Do you really want this? I don't mind if you do."
When I raised one corner of my lips and teased her, Licorice rolled her eyes then tightly shut them. She looked frightened, and I figured this much warning would suffice.
I wiped away the predatory demeanor from a moment before, and released her wrist as I spoke.
"I was just trying to scare you. Like I said yesterday: as roommates, let's not provoke each other too much."
"Uh, uh...?"
The shadow that had been looming over Licorice disappeared. Even though her hand was now free and the weight pressing down on her was gone, she didn't seem inclined to get up. She just sat there, frozen, only eventually lowering the hand she'd raised.
Even after a minute, she didn't move, and I started to worry. Maybe I'd really overdone it. Waving my hand in front of her eyes, I called,
"Licorice? Are you okay? ... Licorice?"
I don't know how many times I shook her. At last, Licorice finally moved. She sat up, and as soon as she looked at me, her whole face turned scarlet, her hands flying up to cover her cheeks.
"You..."
Her ears, which she hadn't managed to hide, gave away her blush. She peeked at me through her fingers, her trembling voice teary and shaky, her eyes a little moist.
"You..."
Licorice looked deeply wounded in her pride and struggled to say something—when, knock knock knock. There was a knock at the door. I quickly pinpointed the sound and tried to figure out who it was—no, I would have figured it out,
If only the door hadn't opened before that. The knock hadn't come before the door opened; it had come as someone opened the door.
Normally, for privacy, you couldn't just open someone's door without a verified entry key. The only one I'd shared the key with was Nadia. I caught a glimpse of a fluffy tail in the door gap.
But the energy was off—there was no cheerful laughter, nor did the tail wag. I could instantly sense she wasn't in a good mood.
Some days, the morning feels exceptionally fresh. And without fail, those days are when incidents happen. Not 'will happen,' but 'have happened.' Nadia's arrival completed this fateful chain.
The door burst open. Nadia came striding in. Her eyes swept the room and locked onto Licorice and me. Hurriedly, I tried to salvage the scene.
Licorice, deeply embarrassed, was staring at me with tearful eyes, while I was leaning in out of concern for her. It was a situation anyone might easily misunderstand.
「(⊙﹏⊙)」
Carry looked like she had a lot to say, but was determined to seal her lips. She even mimed zipping them shut. Even to her, it all looked a bit much.
As I rushed to explain, Nadia's eyes turned cold before I could say anything else. Yesterday, it had been Celestia, but today, it was her.
"Wait. Nadia, I think I know what you're thinking, but I can explain everything."
"It's fine, Hyun-woo, I understand. Have fun. Sorry to interrupt."
Nadia lifted the corners of her lips, but her eyes didn't smile at all. She turned to leave, so I shot up and caught the doorknob before she could go.
"I'm sorry I didn't say something sooner. I'll explain everything. It's just a continuation of what we talked about yesterday."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really. Just, come in first."
I took Nadia's hand and brought her over to Licorice's bed. Now that I saw it, the bed was perfectly untouched. It seemed Licorice hadn't moved over during the night, but had lain next to me from the start.
'Why?'
I was curious about her motive, but now wasn't the time to find out. Nadia sniffed the air deeply.
It was a common trait among beastman to be able to detect pheromones that regular humans couldn't. She'd done this ever since we first met, so it was nothing new.
Normally, I'd have passed the 'Nadia test' with flying colors, but since Licorice had slept pressed right up against me, I couldn't hope for a good result this time. Still, I bared my neck dutifully. It wasn't something I could hide, even if I wanted to.
As expected, Nadia swished her tail irritably, smacking it against the bed. Her scrunched-up expression said everything.
She glanced sidelong at Licorice as she hastily tidied her clothes and cleared her throat. That was it, though—she seemed willing to let it slide for now. Her gaze told me she expected an explanation.
I nodded at Licorice, silently promising to tell all, and she nodded back.
"So here's what happened..."
***
"And that's how it was."
I told them everything I knew. It wasn't a long story, but it was shocking enough that it took a while to process. I was thirsty after finishing.
As I massaged my throat, Carry—ever the perceptive one—passed me a packet of purified water from the transport box. I thanked her and took a drink.
"... You might be a clone of Lobelia?"
Nadia murmured in disbelief. Licorice scoffed.
"Not 'might be'—I am. My memory's not wrong."
"And it's true you started having nightmares as a side effect after losing control?"
"To be honest, I don't like admitting weakness in front of Woof-woof, but it's true. I tried to tough it out for a few days, but the torture every night brought me to my limit."
As she wrapped a robe over her light sleepwear, Licorice continued.
"Somehow, without realizing it, I ended up sleeping here, and that night, I didn't have any nightmares. After having one every night for so long, not having one was so noticeable."
She kept stressing that it was unavoidable—almost like she felt guilty about something.
"If you ask me, I think I stopped having nightmares thanks to that fresh sprout over there. Even today, I slept fine."
"That does seem likely. If I'd let you be, you might've drooled all over the place."
All I'd meant was that she looked totally at peace asleep, but Licorice shot me a glare. She shut her mouth tight, warning me to drop it.
"Anyway, yeah. I slept here because I didn't want nightmares, and it worked. That was the expected outcome, more or less."
Nadia nodded as if she understood.
"So you leaned on Hyun-woo because you didn't want to show weakness. You knew he wouldn't push you away because he's kind. Am I right?"
"Is that the issue here?"
Licorice said, genuinely surprised. She'd thought proving her connection to Lobelia and establishing her loyalty was the main thing, but was thrown off by Nadia's question.
"What else would the problem be? That's the most important part to me."
"You believed I'd suspect you. It's hard to believe, after all—a party member you've known all this time suddenly turns out to be the enemy's clone. Not just any enemy, either, but someone likely even more dangerous than the pureblood supremacist group. Not being surprised would be weird. But..."
"But...?"
"I trust you. Even if you're Lobelia's clone, you're not her. Everything I've seen from you has been real."
"Even though I could lose control at any moment?"
"Yes. We're already preparing for that, aren't we? Or aren't we? The you I know would be ready."
Tension left Licorice's body as she smiled, relieved by Nadia's answer. She looked between Nadia and me.
"... Birds of a feather stick together, I guess."
She muttered that it felt strange, and though I couldn't hear the whole thing clearly, she looked more at ease afterward.
"Well, thanks for saying that. To be honest, I thought you'd be wary of me. All the information I know, that woman does too."
"You thought we would exclude you?"
"Exclude... Yeah, that's about right. If I shut my eyes and ears, Lobelia's access to information is limited."
"But you said she can't intervene as she wishes, right?"
"Still, people are emotional creatures. Even the strongest trust can unravel in the face of a single doubt."
"If we cut you off, this place would fall apart. Since we can't control everything, the best strategy is to stay close and strengthen ourselves."
Nadia mentioned the weapons data Licorice had obtained by hacking, which had helped the Albatross produce and supply new equipment with their current materials and minerals.
"If Lobelia ever intervenes, it's up to us to deal with the challenge. We can do it as long as we're together, right, Hyun-woo?"
"Of course."
I was in complete agreement with Nadia's words.
The atmosphere was actually rather warm, until Nadia, smiling mischievously, suddenly got serious and pressed further.
"Now, answer me: You knew Hyun-woo wouldn't refuse, didn't you?"
"If I say yes...? No, wait, I don't even have to explain all that. There are a lot of complicated reasons involved!"
Here we go again, with Licorice putting on airs and acting like she held some great secret. She lifted her chin slightly, as if to say she had everything under control.
I see, Nadia murmured, and quietly reached into Carry's transport box for a toolbox. As soon as Licorice saw the heavy tool in Nadia's hand, her face went pale.