No—rather than waking up naturally, it felt like I had no choice but to wake up because of how stiflingly tight it felt.

Did I sleep in a weird position? Maybe I strained my muscles?

That’s never happened before, though…

Still feeling groggy, I slowly turned my head—

And the reason for my discomfort became painfully obvious.

‘When the hell did these two crawl into my bed?’

The culprits were none other than Sabrina and Alice, who had somehow snuck into my bed during the night.

They were clinging to me so tightly that my arms were completely immobilized.

No wonder I felt so suffocated.

If my memory was correct, I was definitely alone when I fell asleep…

Which meant these intruders must have slipped in while I was completely knocked out.

Seriously?

There were plenty of other large, comfortable beds in this suite—why did they have to squeeze in here?

I frowned at the two, still fast asleep, before slowly wiggling my way out of the bed.

I wasn’t physically strong, but I was flexible enough to slip out of their grasp without waking them up.

Once I was finally free, I glanced at the clock.

‘10 AM… so I slept for about six hours.’

Yawn.

Six hours… not bad.

As I ran my fingers through my messy hair, I began gathering my belongings.

* Fox mask – check.

* Tesseract – check.

* Echo – check.

At this point, if I didn’t have these with me, I would feel anxious.

[ Good morning, Mama… ]

[ I want to go home as soon as possible… ]

It seemed both Tesseract and Echo were still drained from yesterday’s battle.

They sounded much weaker than usual.

Well, not much I could do about that.

After pressing them lightly against my forehead in silent reassurance, I secured them—

Tesseract went inside my clothes, Echo went into my pocket—

And then, I quietly slipped out of the bedroom.

"You're up early, Yuria."

The moment I entered the living room, I was greeted by Raven, who was sprawled across the sofa.

He was wearing loose pajamas, lazily chewing on a stick of candy, looking like a complete delinquent.

I blinked.

That was odd.

Raven wasn’t a morning person.

Even if we had gone to bed late, he should have been asleep until noon.

‘Did last night’s fight trigger his old habits?’

Now that I thought about it, that was very possible.

Raven only became a heavy sleeper after he left the military and became a civilian Fixer.

Maybe the intensity of the fight with Morte had subconsciously reawakened his old instincts.

"Hmm."

Well, it wasn’t my problem.

Raven was perfectly capable of managing his own condition.

I nodded in greeting, then headed to the sink to wash my face.

After freshening up, I walked over to his sofa and sat down at the edge, leaning against the backrest.

Since everyone else was still asleep, I figured I’d kill some time with Echo.

But before I could fully settle in, Raven tapped the empty space beside him and spoke.

"Oi. Why are you sitting all the way at the edge?"

“…?”

“Just sit properly.

If Alice wakes up and sees this, she’ll start nagging me about hogging the whole sofa.

Ugh, just thinking about it is exhausting.”

I wasn’t intentionally trying to make a statement, but…

He had a point.

Alice did have a habit of being overprotective.

If she saw me awkwardly perched on the edge, she’d definitely start a lecture.

Since Raven was offering, I figured there was no reason to refuse.

I shifted closer, now sitting comfortably beside him.

Now that I was closer, I caught a faint whiff of his scent—

A cool, clean fragrance.

He must have just taken a shower.

Maybe he couldn’t fall back asleep?

"…"

With nothing else to do, we both sat in silence.

Raven was watching some random TV show, barely looking entertained.

Meanwhile, I was busy with Echo, causing mild chaos in online forums.

I wasn’t using my powers as recklessly as before—

Just mixing up account information for some toxic users to confuse the hell out of them.

A while ago, I had felt bad about trolling one of the site admins,

So I anonymously sent them expensive beef as an apology.

In return, they gave me a special account, making it way easier to mess with people.

Maybe next time, I’d send them some health supplements.

"Yuria."

I had been so focused on my screen that I almost missed Raven’s voice.

He was still staring at the TV, but he suddenly spoke up.

“How’s work at the general store?”

“…!”

Where did that come from?

“Heh. Never mind.

I just realized it was a dumb question.

You worked there before you started at the office, so obviously it’s not hard for you.”

I had barely nodded when he let out a soft chuckle.

It seemed he had only just now realized how pointless his question was.

After all, the whole reason I was even sent to his office in the first place was because I couldn’t work at the general store anymore.

I didn’t mind answering, though.

I was technically living in his house rent-free, so he could ask a hundred times and I wouldn’t care.

But before I could dwell on it further—

Raven suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

Then, without a word, he handed it to me.

I took it curiously and examined it.

It was…

A small, thin metal bracelet.

“…?”

Raven's voice was casual as he leaned back against the sofa.

“Your mask—Greg gave it to you, right?

I figured, as your boss, I never really gave you anything.

So just think of this as a farewell gift and take it.”

“….”

Farewell gift?

We literally see each other every day.

I wasn’t sure how to react, so I just sat there, the bracelet resting in my palm, my eyes darting around in thought.

In the end, I simply nodded gratefully and murmured a quiet, “Thanks.”

Since it was something he had put thought into, there was no reason to refuse.

I should just accept it properly.

The bracelet was a chain-link design, made of silver metal.

It was thin, lightweight, and barely noticeable.

When I slipped it onto my wrist, it didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.

In fact, it felt just right—almost like it wasn’t there.

Curious, I lifted my arm and showed it off to Raven.

Seeing this, he gave a small, approving smirk and added—

“That’s a lucky charm. Try to wear it every day. It’s a good thing.”

“…?”

A lucky charm?

It didn’t look like one of those symbolic talismans or charms, though.

Tilting my head in confusion, I turned to question him further.

But Raven just shrugged, as if he had nothing else to say, and turned his attention back to the TV.

Still—

Getting a gift was always a nice feeling.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I poked his shoulder a couple of times with my finger.

A silent "Thanks, you idiot."

…Not that I expected him to get the message.

A little while later, the rest of the group started waking up one by one.

* 3rd place: Reine.

* 4th place: David.

* 5th & 6th place: Alice and Sabrina (together).

Looking at this lineup, it was pretty much ranked by responsibility levels.

Which meant—

I, somehow, had gotten 2nd place in waking up early.

…I like this.

Once everyone had washed up and gathered in the living room,

Alice, still wringing water from her hair, turned to Raven and asked—

"Jin, are we heading home today?"

“Huh? What, you in a hurry to leave?”

“No… not really.

But considering what happened yesterday…”

Her question was reasonable.

The undead incident had happened just half a day ago.

So it made sense for her to wonder if we were heading back.

Most people who were shaken by the event had already checked out.

But what about us?

Everyone turned to Raven, waiting for his answer.

"If even one of you wants to leave, we’ll go."

He stretched his arms above his head before continuing.

“But honestly, don’t you think this is kind of unfair to the hotel?”

“Huh? In what way?”

“This whole situation wasn’t St. Maria’s fault.

If anything, the hotel is just as much a victim as we are.

I mean, who could’ve predicted a necromancer sneaking in and launching a terror attack?”

…Fair point.

Technically, the hotel could have done more to prevent this.

But no one, not even the most cautious person, would have expected something like this.

And considering they had hired Fixers in advance, keeping the death toll at zero—

St. Maria had actually done a great job handling things.

“Yeah… I guess that’s true.”

Alice nodded, seemingly convinced.

Raven smirked.

“Right? So, as Fixers, staying here to help revive the atmosphere would be the right thing to do.”

“That’s… really admirable, Jin…!”

Alice's eyes sparkled with admiration.

She was the type of person who couldn’t ignore those in need.

Hearing Raven talk about helping the hotel probably deeply moved her.

But David wasn’t buying it.

He adjusted his glasses, the lenses glinting as he spoke—

“And the real reason?”

Raven’s grin turned sly.

“Pffft."

"Heh. Fine, you got me.

The hotel owner personally asked us to stay for free,

Hoping we’d help reassure guests that the place was still safe.

And you know what?

I wasn’t about to turn down free lodging.

When’s the last time I got to eat without worrying about the bill?!”

“…Wow.”

“So it’s just business.”

Alice’s admiring gaze immediately died out.

David sighed.

The room fell into silence for a moment.

Then—

I let out a quiet snicker.

Because honestly?

This was just so Raven.

"Alright! Let’s start with lunch!"

Ignoring the cold stares, Raven clapped his hands and pumped his fist into the air.

“Let’s eat our money’s worth! On me!”

“…On you?”

David adjusted his glasses again.

“Technically speaking, the hotel is the one paying…”

“But it was Raven who earned this deal.

So technically, he’s not wrong.”

And just like that—

We followed after Raven, heading toward the hotel's dining hall.

A free meal at an expensive hotel restaurant?

This was the best deal ever.