CHAPTER 103: PILLOWS, PROBLEMS, AND A PRETTY STRANGER

When Mikel left Ran last night, he quickly fell asleep without the slightest guilt. He had been in Ran’s position, and to be honest, Mikel was still in that same position. It was just that he wasn’t staying up practicing, learning, burning, bleeding—but that didn’t mean he wasn’t just as hungry.

He respected that.

Because of that, he couldn’t help but see Ran in a different light. This was the Ran who had talked back to his bullies, even when he knew it meant more beatings.

---

"Hmm..." Mikel groaned, his eyes flickering beneath their lids.

Though his eyes were still closed, his mind was slowly being pulled from slumber. Along with it came a faint, unfamiliar, soft scent of candy. The aroma was strong enough to tickle his nostrils. Then, softness.

For some reason, his bed and pillows felt softer and warmer than usual. He had never been in a cloud, but right now, that’s how it felt, especially with this sweet scent filling his nostrils.

Mikel pulled the pillow closer, only to hear a slight whimper.

"..." Still with his eyes closed, he paused.

Wait a second... he thought. I don’t have a pillow to hug—

The moment that realization popped into his head, his eyes snapped open in surprise. Much to his horror, what graced his eyes early in the morning was a young lady’s sleeping face.

Her frail hand clutched his chest, her head resting on the crook of his arm like it belonged there. Her legs were comfortably wrapped between his.

He froze.

[Good morning, Mas...]

Even Doom seemed to glitch as it finally noticed the thing in Mikel’s embrace.

[Scanning...]

[A female human detected. Identity Unknown.]

[System Suggestion: ... No system suggestion.]

[The heavens must be on your side today, Master. Enjoy.]

[System Message: I am NOT logging this into your combat history.]

Then, as if giving Mikel some privacy, Doom’s screen respectfully zapped out of existence.

What in the actual...

Mikel blinked at the screen in disbelief.

I’ve fought Type X spirits, faced ghosts with vendettas, survived cursed relics... and this is still the weirdest thing to wake up to.

But when his eyes landed on the "female human," he scrunched up his nose. Yet, he didn’t move, remaining frozen on the spot.

He didn’t know her, and he had no idea how she got into the boys’ dormitory. That didn’t matter, though.

Why is she sleeping in my bed?!

Mikel lifted his head and tilted it, catching Ran snoring in his own bed across from him.

"Hey!" he whispered-yelled. "Ran!"

But Ran just snored. Considering he had only returned to their room about three hours ago, it explained his deep sleep.

"Tch!" Mikel clicked his tongue and looked around the bed. He spotted a small towel near his feet.

Using his feet, he clipped the small towel with his toes and tossed it toward Ran’s bed. However, the towel barely touched the end of the bed before flopping to the floor like a dead fish, completely useless.

Damn!

He hissed through gritted teeth, gazing down at the young lady in his arms. Although she smelled nice, her skin was soft, and he could feel the warmth of her against him, which made him tense, Mikel was not one to take advantage of a young lady.

Besides, he already had plenty of detention days, classroom cleaning duties, and a cosmetics class on the weekend. Ticking the boxes for more punishments was never his plan. Sure, this was the boys’ dormitory, and this young lady was clearly the one who had gone into the wrong room.

Even so, Eron had also been in the wrong, and Mikel still ended up getting punished.

Mikel raised his head and cleared his throat.

"Ran," he called, this time, his voice louder. "Ran—Gallos, wake up your boss."

But nothing.

He clenched his teeth in distress, realizing the only way to wake Ran now was to slap him. Snapping his eyes at the young lady, he drew a deep breath and carefully, reluctantly, drew away. He was careful not to wake this intruder as he pulled his arm, but she still moaned.

"Hmm," she moaned, and with just that, the hand where the Blood Chain was shook.

SLAP!

Mikel slapped and grabbed the hand behind the young lady’s head.

What are you getting excited about?! You’re a bracelet for crying out loud!

In response, his cursed relic stung his wrist a bit. Thankfully, he was used to it.

"Mhm..." the young lady hummed again, her long yet thin lashes fluttering open. The moment her eyes partially opened, they revealed a pair of clear golden eyes.

She blinked slowly, then blinked some more. Her brows knitted slightly, staring back at the different eye color looking back at her. Her gaze scanned Mikel’s slanted brows, matching his slightly slanted eye shape, and overall face.

In her eyes, the face of a grumpy cat overlapped with his.

"Cat?" she hummed, tilting her head a bit.

His face twitched as she looked back at him with curiosity. If anyone should be curious here, it should be him.

"Ugh—" Mikel clicked his tongue, and this time, he abruptly pulled his arm from under her head. "You’re awake, so there’s no need to be careful."

With that, Mikel quickly sat up and crawled out of the bed as fast as he could.

Meanwhile, the young lady’s head bumped on the mattress, making her frown. She then sat up, her knees bent, her feet pointing outward. She turned her head to where Mikel was, watching him move to the other bed.

"Hey, Ran—" Mikel, instead of slapping Ran awake, grabbed him by the collar and shoulder. "Wake up."

And with that, he forcibly sat Ran up. This movement immediately snapped Ran awake.

Groggy, Ran looked around in confusion. All he knew was that now, he was seated on the side of the bed. He looked up at the owner of the hands holding him, brows knitted.

"Mikel?" Seeing the strange look on Mikel’s face, Ran’s mind quickly cleared.

"Ran, do we get punished if someone sleeps in our room accidentally? Or maybe, just wrongly?"

"Huh?"

Mikel snapped his eyes down at him and tipped his head. "My bed."

Confused, Ran slowly set his eyes on the bed across from them. There, someone was seated in a W-sitting position on Mikel’s bed. He blinked, and then blinked some more, rubbed his eyes, and leaned forward, until his face started twisting.

"Zi—Zira?!" he gasped, and Mikel furrowed his brows.

"Wait, you know her?"

The young lady, on the other hand, smiled sweetly.

"Hello, Big Brother Ran."