Chapter 170: Time to Reunite with the Demon Queen

After the unfounded jealousy of the two heroines was completely placated by their leader’s cold and precise logic, the party continued on their way.

And Ryan finally returned to his personal residence.

Upon stepping through the wooden door, Irina welcomed him with a warm and impeccable smile, offering a slight bow in greeting.

After exchanging formal greetings, Helen and Mirian also entered the house, leaving their previous childish bickering from the workshop entirely behind them.

The hours had already passed quickly amidst the organization of the refuge, and the village’s artificial night began to reflect high above, simulating a dark, clear sky.

After sharing a hearty dinner and taking a long, hot bath to relax his muscles, Ryan retired to his spacious bedroom, more than ready to get some sleep.

After a few minutes, while he was lying beneath the heavy sheets with his eyes closed, his senses picked up the unmistakable sound of the door creaking open.

He heard the stealthy footsteps of three people sneaking into the room through the gloom.

"Keep quiet, he must be fast asleep by now." A voice that clearly belonged to Irina whispered.

"But you are the only one talking." Helen replied in another rebellious whisper.

"Shhh, you two keep your voices down." Mirian intervened, trying to establish some order. "Ryan is meeting with Ophelia tomorrow, so let him sleep in peace and get some rest."

But despite that sensible declaration of intent, the mattress sank under the additional weight. The three girls made themselves comfortable in the massive bed right next to him, seeking his closeness and warmth.

Accustomed to his party’s dynamics and surrounded by the steady breathing of his heroines, Ryan let himself drift off and fell into a deep sleep.

...

The night passed with absolute peace within the village refuge.

Dawn was slowly arriving. Even though the bright light of the village’s false sun had not yet completely illuminated the immense sky, the entire atmosphere already felt clear, fully dissipating the dense darkness of the artificial night.

From outside the house, a soft, guttural sound, typical of a massive animal, broke the morning silence.

’I feel like I got some really good rest. It has been quite a while since I relaxed like this.’ Ryan thought, opening his eyes and sitting up on the edge of the bed with impeccable physical solidness.

He looked around. Helen was right by his side, fast asleep and taking up way more space than her fair share, while Irina rested peacefully at the other end of the bed.

’Is Mirian not here?’ Ryan noticed immediately upon seeing the empty space among the sheets.

The strange animal noise resonated outside the house once more, a bit clearer this time around.

Ryan stood up without making a sound. He was wearing only dark pants and was completely barefoot, his bare torso exposing the musculature sculpted by his immense Strength stats.

Without even bothering to look for a shirt or equip his heavy dark coat, he walked over to the window and peeked through the glass.

Outside, on the grass of the garden, he saw Mirian. She was crouching down, gently caressing the large scales of Vel, the wyvern that rested peacefully right at her feet.

’It is weird to see her awake this early.’ Ryan analyzed, knowing his heroines’ habits perfectly well.

Ryan opened the door and stepped out into the patio. The fresh morning breeze hit his body.

"How long have you been awake?" Ryan asked in his usual calm voice.

"Ryan, good morning." She said, turning her face in surprise.

Upon seeing him standing there, she quickly got up, dusting off the fabric of her dress a bit, and walked over to him. Without uttering another word, she stood on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around Ryan’s neck, and kissed him softly on the lips.

Ryan closed his eyes for a second and returned the pleasant morning kiss, wrapping an arm around her waist.

When they pulled apart, Mirian gave him a somewhat shy smile.

"I woke up a little while ago." She explained, lowering her gaze slightly toward Ryan’s chest. "But to be honest, it was getting pretty uncomfortable with the four of us squeezed together in the same bed." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

’To begin with, none of you should have come in to invade the bed in the first place.’ Ryan thought with a hint of irony, although he didn’t verbalize the complaint.

Vel, the wyvern, noticed Ryan. The massive beast brought its scaly head closer and let out a light, vibrating purr, beginning to rub against him to seek attention.

Ryan calmly extended his arm and placed his hand on her head, petting the tough exoskeleton.

"She has been very spoiled ever since you started paying attention to her." Mirian said, letting out a soft laugh.

After a brief and comfortable silence, Mirian’s tone shifted to a much more reflective one. She spoke up again, gazing toward the distant houses of the village.

"I was just thinking... some time ago, I never would have imagined that things would take this route."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Ryan asked, focusing his attention completely on her.

"Well, that everything we have gone through has happened so fast, don’t you think?"

Ryan remained entirely silent, observing her with complete calmness. She took a few steps across the grass and stood with her back turned to him, clasping her hands behind her lower back in a relaxed posture.

"Our true adventure practically started down at the bottom of this very S-rank dungeon." Mirian recounted, recalling their worst moments.

"Now we live inside of it, but you... you started out as a simple support lacking in confidence, someone that we were supposed to take care of..."

Mirian turned to face him once again. The wind gently rustled her yellow hair as she leaned her body forward a bit, looking directly into his eyes with palpable admiration.

"And just look at you now. Now you are capable of leading an entire hidden kingdom made up of diverse races, of negotiating tactics with nobles, and even of sitting down to speak as equals with a Demon King. Ryan... you simply never cease to amaze me."

Ryan smiled genuinely at the heroine’s words.

Even though Mirian was usually the most honest and direct with her thoughts in the entire party, it wasn’t exactly something he had expected to hear in the middle of this peaceful morning.

But her words sounded incredibly sincere. Even though Ryan perfectly understood the mechanics of his debt ’bug’ and his resulting stats.

Hearing that recognition regarding his growth from the perspective of someone from this world felt quite pleasant.

For him, it served as a warm reminder of just how much his companions truly appreciated him and trusted his leadership.

Ryan closed the distance between the two of them. He raised his right hand and rested it gently on Mirian’s head, stroking her yellow hair.

"Go inside and wake the others up." Ryan said, regaining his usual tone but without losing the softness of the moment.

"It is time to get ready to go see the Demon Queen."