Author's Note) Sleep Over!? (Haruhi) (Patreon)

--AN) fixed chapter --

“I-I will get some tea.” I really had no idea what to talk to the school’s belle about. She was leagues above me. While yes, she could hold a conversation about almost anything. But me…. I can only nod my head. I was one of those yes-men…. In other words, me, even coming up with a topic was out of the question unless it had to do with my novels.

“Okay,” Hirano answered with a smile as she continued to look around. “Watanabe, living alone must be hard. No?” 

“I…. It’s no-not too bad…..” I answered, my voice cracking as I spoke and quietening toward the end. 

“Hmm…. I would get lonely.” She was right, it does get lonely. I think my only saving grace is the video calls with my parents.

“My…. My pare-parents, vi-video call me-me….” It was the only thing that really kept me connected to them. I know they love me and I wanted them to do what they enjoyed. They always called and spent an hour talking with me. “The-They com-come back for holidays….”

“Must be nice….” I watched as Hirano’s expression slowly became gloomy. But it only lasted a few seconds before she was smiling again. I wanted to ask why she seemed sad just now, but I did not want to overstep. We had only just met, so it was not my place to pry into someone’s life like that.

“Hirano-san….”

“Just Hirano is fine. You can call me Aoi as well. I don’t mind.” Hirano seemed to cheer up as I began speaking to her. But calling her by her first name right away was a bit much for me.

“Hirano… Wh-Why did you wa-want…. To come to-to my house?” I asked softly. I still had no idea why she decided to come to my house, of all places. There was nothing here at all.

“We are partners, but we do not know much about each other. Just talking at school can only get us so far. We also have a lot to go over for our test as well. In order for us to work seamlessly together, we will need to do three things. Understand each other as much as possible in three days, work out how your magic actually works in battle, and have enough supplies to beat the second-floor boss.” Hirano was really pushing the bar high, especially when it came to beating the second-floor boss.

 The boss on the second floor was not something we could easily defeat. Even the first boss was no laughing matter. I had looked at the dungeon info before joining the school. The dungeon’s first floor was mainly slimes and horned rabbits. The boss was a king slime that was basically immune to all attacks. You had to smash its core in a single hit, or it would not die. A decent warrior could do it with the help of their team, but for just two people, it seemed impossible. 

Not to mention that the dungeon floors were not small by any means. Each floor could take a few days to explore. And finding the boss room was not easy either since the dungeons changed. Each time a floor was beaten, the layout would change. The only saving grace was that each boss room had a gate that led you back to the beginning. And this was just the first floor. I mean, the monsters were easy enough to kill, I guess, with Hirano around, but….

It was the second floor that would not be easy at all. The second floor had goblins, and the boss was a goblin king. Goblins were not good for young girls to be facing. Anytime a team were to go to the second floor, they would need an escape crystal. It was a special item only found in dungeons that would teleport you instantly back to the dungeon entrance.

Goblins were a male-only race, and they… I don’t even want to think about the things they would do to girls if they were caught. I have heard stories of a few incidents. Not at this school but online in other dungeons.

“I… I see… The-Then… what do we do then?” I asked. Hirano seemed to already have things planned out, so I could only follow her lead here. But if we were to kill the first-floor boss, I would have to stop there. It was too risky for the two of us to go to the second floor.

“First off, we need to have a slumber party for the next two nights!” And she dropped a bomb on me….

“Um… it’s not… that I am unwilling…. It-it is just that… My…. My magic might be….” I was worried. I tried not to have too much contact with others, but… if by accident in my sleep I said something…. It has never happened before, but there is no way of knowing if it would.

“I know. My grandfather told me about your word magic. I was the first to hear about the teams. My grandfather told me that word magic was not something to take lightly, but…. Watanabe, you seem like a kind girl who would never hurt anyone without reason, right?” 

Hirano’s words struck home a little. From what I can tell, Hirano’s grandfather probably wanted someone who was strong enough to kill me at my side in case my magic went berserk in the dungeon. But it did not seem that Hirano herself had any ill will towards me. Not that I could get mad at my muse. 

“I… I don’t wish to harm anyone….” I replied. I bit my lip before taking a deep breath. “Y…You can. Stay…” I really couldn’t say no, but I did not know why she wanted to have a sleepover. It was not like there was much to learn about me by sleeping at my house….

“Yay!” Hirano seemed quite excited. Why this was, I do not know…. “I will have to call someone to drop off my things. But I think we can really work out all our plans and be ready for our test. I have already secured us a private training room at the school. So we can learn how your magic works in more detail in a controlled environment. We have some horned rabbits and slimes we can practice on. Don’t worry, I know we will do just fine.”