I Was Caught up in a Hero Summoning, but That World Is at Peace

After getting out of the bath and doing only the simplest preparations, I relaxed and read a book while waiting. About five minutes before the promised time, there was a knock at the door.

Certain that it must be Sieg-san, I answered, put the book away into the Magic Box, and headed for the door to greet her. When I opened the door…… just as expected, Sieg-san was standing there.

[Sorry to keep you waiting.]

[No, your timing was perfect. Come in.]

[Excuse my intrusion.]

As I let Sieg-san into the room, I found myself a little shaken. The reason was her outfit. The sleeveless top was nothing unusual for her, but this one seemed loose and relaxed, perhaps meant as sleepwear. It was slightly oversized, and she wore short pants so brief they didn’t even reach halfway down her thighs. She was dressed far more lightly than I had imagined.

No, it suited her, and she looked incredibly cute…… but Sieg-san was on the tall side with long legs, and with her in short pants, my eyes kept flicking toward those beautiful legs.

And her top was also rather risky. Being both sleeveless and oversized, whenever she moved it felt like her chest might be visible from the side, leaving me nervous and on edge.

[Ah, this sofa over here, please.]

[Yes. I’ll go ahead and set the food out on the table.]

[Thank you. Then I’ll take care of this……]

[That is…… the one Kaito-san received from Electrone-sama, if I recall……]

[Yeah. Apparently, it has a function that automatically plays music to match the atmosphere, so I thought it’d be nice to drink while listening to something classy. This room is well-insulated, so sound won’t leak and bother anyone…… or well, even if it did leak, there’s no one using the rooms within hearing distance anyway……]

My house was simply too large for the number of people living in it, leaving plenty of spare rooms. The rooms around mine were also currently unused.

At some point, they might end up as hobby rooms, the way Lilia-san made her collection room, so it seemed that several rooms, including the ones next to mine, were being intentionally kept empty by people like Anima or Illness-san.

Well, even without that, the house wasn’t built in a way that would let sound leak outside or into neighboring rooms, so playing music at night wasn’t a problem at all.

I activated the cat-ear device in automatic mode, and before long, a calm and beautiful melody started to play. The audio quality was extremely good, like listening to a live performance, and was wonderful…… but it suddenly began playing an incredibly moody piece……

[That’s a nice song.]

[It is. Something you’d expect to hear in a bar, fits well.]

It had the atmosphere of a mature evening, perfectly suited for the situation of drinking together with a lover.

[Well then, shall we start with the rest of the wine?]

[Yes. A toast?]

[Good idea, since the mood’s right…… then, cheers.]

[Cheers.]

We lightly tapped our glasses and began our evening drink once again. It was strange, though it was the same wine, the shift in atmosphere changed how it tasted. Compared to drinking it on the hill beneath the stars, it now felt deeper and more serene.

At that moment, Sieg-san leaned lightly against me just as she had on the hill.

Maybe because she had just bathed, she smelled wonderful, and her body was slightly warm. Her touch also felt softer. No, it made sense, she was dressed far lighter than when we drank on the hill, so her warmth and the feel of her body were much easier to sense.

With the pleasant music blending into the atmosphere, everything took on a soft, intimate tone…… No, honestly, having an evening drink alone with my lover, in my own room, with nothing pressing the next day and the mood being absolutely perfect, at that point, not being conscious of it would be impossible.

[It’s delicious.]

[It is…… errr, Sieg-san.]

[Yes?]

On top of everything, the emotions coming through Sieg-san via Sympathy Magic were familiar…… the same kind I had felt when she invited me to stay out with her before.

Thinking back, she had prepared everything that time too, guiding the situation forward, and it felt like things were happening in a similar way tonight.

Considering that, I could guess what she meant earlier on the hill when she said she would tell me “later”…… but rather than waiting for her, I felt like it was something I should say myself. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I had the feeling Sieg-san was waiting for me to speak up.

[……Would you like to stay in my room tonight? There’s only one bed, but it’s big enough for the two of us.]

[……Yes. I was hoping it would turn out that way…… so I’m happy.]

Pushed forward by the mood and everything around us, I finally said it. Sieg-san smiled softly, looking genuinely pleased, and relaxed against me, leaning in even closer.

<Afterword>

Serious-senpai (Cookies & Jam) : [……………………]

Makina : [munch munch…… When you pair it with the jam, it’s a solid 90 points…… munch munch…… hmph!]

Serious-senpai : [Hah!? M- My body is turning ba——— gwaaah!? T- This sugar content! Why would you revive me at a time like this…… I- Isn’t this like turning me into something like that Stomachache Warrior who’s been forbidden from fainting……?]