I slowly opened up my eyes, my whole body filled with this distant yet overwhelming sense of bliss.
I breathed in and then breathed out, staring at the ceiling of the inn while happily indulging in the warmth of Selia's bare skin pressed against mine.
'So this is how it feels, to truly fulfill one's genetic purpose, huh?'
I closed my eyes.
The last night… To call it wild would be a gross understatement.
Even now, after catching on some sleep, I was utterly spent. There wasn't a single iota of strength or a single strand of desire in my hips.
Just this ever-present bliss permeating through every single limb, bit, and cell of my flesh.
And if that alone wasn't enough of a relaxing experience, I still could enjoy the slight sound of Selia's peaceful breathing to my side, her slight, floral scent, the softness of her skin…
"I'm really going to get spoiled to hell and back if I ever dare to get used to it."
A long, labored sigh escaped from my mouth.
"Mhmmm…"
Still asleep, Selia uttered a slight mutter, just loud enough to highlight her presence yet not potent enough to force her out of her slumber.
"It's okay…" I whispered, my voice softer than ever before, "you can sleep. It's fine."
My hand, already resting down on Selia's back, started to slowly move up and down, caressing the skin over her spine on its way to the top of her head where, upon reaching its destination, it started to caress her hair instead.
"Just what the hell did I do to deserve you?" I whispered as I stared down on Selia's peaceful face, unable to tear my eyes from it.
The way her body would slightly lift with her breath, only to collapse on me when she exhaled. The way her chin slightly shifted with her breathing, the way her chest moved to the rhythm of her breaths…
Even the slight strand of saliva forming in the corner of her mouth as she happily slept away, resting to regain the strength she expended during our nightly activities.
"That might become the greatest challenge of my life in this world," I muttered, now more to myself than to any sort of audience. "To figure out what drew you towards me."
For a little bit longer, I simply stared at Selia's face, perfectly content with doing nothing but adoring her delicate features.
But I could remain rested only for so long. And as much as I wanted to resist such motion, the world wasn't going to wait for either of us.
At first, I wanted to somehow slip out of Selia's grasp, replacing my chest with a pillow for her to rest her head on. And the very moment I came up with the idea, I started to work towards it.
First, I started to pull away, a single inch at a time, slowly sliding my arm from underneath Selia's body all the while softly muttering sweet nothings in hopes of keeping her confined to her sleep.
Before long, I managed to free my arm all the way to my elbow. Then came the hardest part.
I first lifted my entire body up. It was a delicate process, given how Selia continued to use my chest for a pillow. Yet, once I pushed my upper body high enough, Selia adjusted her position all on her own, only to end up burying her chest in the pillow I hurriedly brought closer.
Then, with my chest already freed, I could switch an angle to the point where I pretty much loomed over Selia's sleeping body before tugging again and again, until finally freeing my hand from underneath her side.
'Finally free…!'
I exhaled a long sigh before instantly turning my eyes towards the girl's face, confirming she was still soundly asleep.
'The question for now is, what do I do next?'
Focused on the idea of freeing myself from underneath Selia's cuddle without letting her wake up, I failed to consider why I wanted to do so in the first place.
Yet, with just a single moment of having my eyes jump from Selia's peaceful face to the window shining with the light of the morning and then back to Selia's face, I managed to regain the most important thing — a purpose.
'What could be better as a first thing she would see in the morning… than a nice breakfast brought right to her bed with a cup of steaming-hot coffee to start her day?'
With a scheming grin on my lips, I tip-toed to the end of the room before carefully opening the door, slipping out and then just as carefully closing the doors behind me.
Even on the corridor outside of our room I did my best to stay as silent as possible, only daring to move at a normal pace once I reached the stairs.
Down below, the night of drinking and relaxing was only now slowly coming to an end. Some of the strong-headed regulars were sipping away at the remains of their drinks while others already lay with their heads flat on the table.
Here and there, someone would lay directly on the floor, some even in the pools of their own piss or vomit.
'So tonight's party was quite the success, huh?' I smiled to my own thought as I danced around all the drunk-sleeping locals, making my way directly to the inn's kitchen.
"Huh?"
The inn's owner raised his head from where he was dozing off pretty much the very moment I intruded upon his kitchen.
At first, his face twisted with displeasure as his arm instinctively swung to point at the doorway I just crossed in a silent order for me to leave.
'Not the first time someone stumbled into his domain at this hour,' I guessed, watching how the man used his other hand to wipe the groggy look off his eyes and then blink them a few times before giving me a second look.
"You…?"
This time, his arm fell down as his face turned from annoyance to simple, mild surprise.
"I'm sorry to bother," I lowered my head in an apology. "But is there, by any chance, some food left?" I raised my head as I asked my question of the hour. "Preferably, something that I could help you to whip out quick or maybe some leftovers that I could help reheat…"
This time, the man's face now filled with confusion. He then raised his hand to his face before scratching his cheek as he gave me a slightly bewildered stare.
"Food?" He asked, confirming my request, "but we won't be serving lunch until much later in the day, when the second shift arrives to take over…"
I pressed my lips into a thin line. The man's grief and reluctance to do shit right now… I could perfectly understand it.
I stood exactly in the same spot as he was standing in right now, back when I wasted my life away at a minimum wage job just to keep the bills paid. So, I knew the pain of having a customer come in with a troublesome request right as one's only thought is about going home.
In the end, my request was just that, a request. In other words, it was an ask the innkeeper was perfectly free to refuse.
"Sir, I…"
I hesitated for a bit, before allowing the blush to cover my cheeks right before I lowered my head, acting as if I was greatly ashamed.
"After all the help I've received from the Saintess?" I shook my head before raising my face up and staring right into the innkeeper's eyes. "It's not much, but bringing her a fresh breakfast directly to the bed as she wakes up is the least I can do! Which is why…"
Despite the extremely low stakes for this unexpected event, I pressed my hands tightly against my side before bowing down as deep as the flexibility of my spine would allow.
"Mister, I implore you, would you allow me to facilitate your kitchen to prepare some fresh food for her?"
I knew about the reverence Selia enjoyed in this city. And right now, I had no plans of holding back from using any sort of edge that could potentially help me get my way.
Even if I had to crawl to hell and back, I was going to bring her a platter of fresh food and a cup of freshly brewed coffee!
"That's…"
The innkeeper averted his eyes.
Even after how far I went, he still hesitated whether or not to allow me into his domain. Even though he did it yesterday… right now, Saintess was only present on my lips, not on my side.
Still, I wasn't going to give up. After all, I had one hell of a trump card left to play.
"Sir, along the meal, I plan to brew some of that yesterday's coffee for Saintess to enjoy," I stated right as I straightened my back and, while standing like a soldier at attention, I stared right back into the man's heavy eyes, "and I wouldn't mind brewing more than she would fancy with her meal. An excess of which I'm more than happy to leave behind as payment."