Chapter 31: Sleeping Positions

We both showed our faces at the Stem Village guild, formally informed them that we were setting off again, and then left the village, heading on foot toward the city of Spilling.

There are two cities that border the Demon King's domain—one of them being Spilling, our current destination.
The other is a city called Exont. These two cities serve as the frontlines in the fight against the Demon King.

Incidentally, Roy, the Hero we befriended in the royal capital, said he was headed for the other city, Exont.

We were attacked by monsters on the way, but they were only B- and C-rank—nothing that could pose a real threat to us.
We also helped out a few groups of adventurers along the way.

Eventually, we arrived at our destination: the city of Spilling.

Its imposing appearance could fairly be called a fortress.
The walls were far taller and more massive than those of Stem Village, with a significant number of sentries posted in various spots along the top.

Once inside Spilling, we headed for the guild, and soon after, found ourselves meeting with Lord Sekigal, the lord of Spilling, alongside the guildmaster.

Lord Sekigal welcomed us and explained the current situation, as well as the role the Heroes were expected to play.

It was immediately clear that this city had far more soldiers than adventurers.
They were composed of both the kingdom’s army and the lord’s personal troops.
There were magic corps, archer units, and cavalry—well-organized forces capable of handling large numbers of B- and C-rank monsters through sheer numbers and discipline.

However, even with that, they were strictly defensive in nature.
Attacking the Demon King’s domain with their current forces was simply out of the question.

In this city, no adventurers ranked below C are present.
Moreover, unlike in other towns and villages where adventurers take on requests at will, here they operate under a degree of organizational structure and order.
Given how much stronger and more dangerous the monsters are in this area, it was understandable.

And then, Lord Sekigal made a request of Hero Kazuya—to act not as part of the main forces, but as an independent strike team.
That is, to operate with his party alone and take on powerful monsters, specifically the Demon King's top officers and, eventually, the Demon King himself.

Now that Kazuya is an S-rank Hero, using him for defense alone would be an enormous waste.
Besides, even if the military could include him among their ranks, they still wouldn’t be able to invade the Demon King’s territory effectively.
Which is why his mission, as a vastly powerful force in his own right, is to infiltrate enemy territory and take them down from within—just him and his party.

It sounded reckless at first, even absurd, but what Lord Sekigal said made sense—and it was convincing.

In the Demon King’s domain, monsters are generally stronger than human soldiers and adventurers.
On the human side, you’re lucky to have a few B-ranks.
But on the Demon King’s side, you’ve got A- and even S-rank monsters just roaming about—and then there are the Demon King's officers on top of that.

Defense is one thing.
But if a full-on organized attack were to happen, even if the Hero was strong, the others wouldn’t be able to keep up.
The difference in power would cause them to become liabilities, and the casualties would be massive.

If humans moved in large groups, the monsters would respond in kind.
And in open battlefields with no fortress walls or defensive systems to rely on, humans wouldn’t stand a chance.

If they were being invaded, that’d be one thing.
But if they launched the invasion and only the Hero survived while all the soldiers were wiped out—it would be meaningless.

Personally, I didn’t like the idea of being tied down by an organization.
So this worked out great for me.

And Kazuya agreed.

"Yeah, I think this is the better approach. It’s easier for just us to move around—and I don’t want to see others getting caught up in this."

He said this directly to Lord Sekigal.

And so, we became a strike team, moving freely to defeat the Demon King and his officers—just as we originally intended.

Afterward, we exchanged some information with Lord Sekigal and left his estate.

According to his intel, the Demon King’s officers—Giant King Typhon was defeated by Kazuya,
the Underground King Underlich by Dominic,
and the Dragon King Leviathan by Roy.

The remaining Demon King officers were the Thunder Emperor, the Snow Queen, the Flame Wolf King, and the Spider Queen—four in total.
And then there was the Demon King himself.
All of them lay deeper within the Demon King’s domain.

Dominic had already left from Spilling into enemy territory about three days ago.
Roy was at Exont.
The fate of the Demon King now rested on the shoulders of the three S-rank Heroes—Kazuya included.

---

The next morning, departure day.

If things went well, the next time we returned to a city would be after defeating the Demon King.

To make the most of our last night in town, we stayed at a fancy inn to rest our bodies properly.
Now I was caught in that pleasant in-between state of dreaming and waking—thinking maybe it was time to slowly get up.

I was curled up slightly on my side when I felt something warm and a little heavy resting on my stomach.
And behind me, I could sense someone’s presence.
That presence had reached a hand over to my stomach.

──Then I remembered.

Last night, before we set off, Kazuya had made a request.

He asked if we could share the same bed on our final night.

Honestly, when Kazuya asks me for something like that, deep down, I don’t mind… really.
But still, I couldn’t just say “okay” so easily.

So as a compromise, I agreed—on the condition that he didn’t touch me.

When we actually got under the covers together, I was more nervous than I’d expected.
It was a double bed and fairly spacious, but Kazuya’s over 180 cm tall and has a muscular build.
And I’m not exactly petite myself—at nearly 170 cm.

Because of that, the distance between us felt much closer than I’d anticipated.
We’re always hugging and pressed together anyway, so I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal, but… no, this was different.

When Kazuya moved even slightly, the futon shifted, the air stirred, and I caught his scent.

I reflexively turned my back to him and tried to fall asleep like that.
But I could feel it—his warmth, his presence—it was slowly creeping closer.

"Kazuya?"

The moment I called his name, he stopped moving.

When I slowly turned to look, there he was, right behind me—much closer than before.

"Hey!!"

Startled, I couldn’t help but raise my voice.
But Kazuya didn’t seem the least bit bothered.

"It’s fine. I’m not touching you."

"What!?"

Technically, he wasn’t lying… but he was way too close!
If I moved even a little, I’d end up touching him.
And if that happened, he’d probably say I was the one who broke the rule—not him.

Kazuya was right behind me—close enough that I could feel his body heat.

My heart started pounding, and I could feel my body heating up too.

...Ahh, this is bad.
I was starting to want to just lean back into him.
Kazuya would surely hold me gently and warm me up.
Not just my body… but my heart too—

──Wait, what!?

No no no, snap out of it! Get a grip!

"You’re too close! Back off a bit, will you?! I can’t sleep like this!"

When I finally managed to say that, Kazuya let out a little "cheh" and pouted, then reluctantly backed off.

And so, after calming both my mind and body—though with a tiny bit of regret—I finally drifted off to sleep.

---

──That’s how things had unfolded last night.

And now, Kazuya’s hand had slipped around from behind and was wrapped snugly around my stomach. I could feel the presence of his head nestled near the back of mine.

He was breathing softly, still asleep.

The promise before bed had been: "No touching."

But touching me in his sleep wasn’t something he could control, so technically, he hadn’t broken that promise.

So yeah… this big hand on my stomach—totally allowed. That’s how I decided to interpret it.

I gently laid my hand on top of his, feeling its size, the rugged texture of a man’s hand, and the warmth it held.
I laced our fingers together, pressed my palm against his, even ran my fingers over his hand—just savoring the moment.
Then I let go.

"Good morning, Miki. How’d my hand feel?"

My whole body jolted.

I hurriedly batted his arm away and sat up.

"Wh-When did you wake up!?"

"Hmm… probably around the time you started holding my hand like we were lovers?"

Wait, that’s right at the beginning!

Come on, seriously!? If you were awake, you should’ve said something!

You were being so still I even ran my fingers all over yours!!

"It tickled, and it was really hard not to laugh… Hey, Miki, today I wanna do it while we’re still lying down."

"…Eh, I guess that’s fine."

I replied and turned to face Kazuya while lying down.

"I want to hug you from behind, so turn around."

I turned my back to him, and then came another request.

"Like how you were curled up earlier—can you do that again?"

"Man, you’re being awfully demanding today…"

Still, I curled up again, like I had been when I woke up.

"And that… is all your fault, Miki!!"

"Hyaah!?"

With that shout, he suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around me from behind.

He pressed his whole body against my curled-up back, entwining our legs together.

I instinctively squirmed, twisting my limbs and body to try and break free—but the difference in strength was undeniable. I couldn’t move at all.

"Don’t fight it, Miki. This is a little punishment."

"Punishment!? For what?! I didn’t do anything!!"

Kazuya pinned me down easily as I kept struggling.

Eventually, I realized it was pointless to resist and gave up.

While I was panting, out of breath, Kazuya’s breathing hadn’t even changed—completely calm.
That contrast made it clear: if he ever got serious, I wouldn’t be able to fight him off. I learned that the hard way.

There was, however, one simple way to get out of this situation.

But I didn’t feel like using it.

If I just said "I don’t like this," Kazuya would let me go, no questions asked.

But he had said this was a punishment.
If it really was for something I’d done, then I felt I ought to accept it.
If not, then I’d immediately say I didn’t like it and be done with it.

Yeah, that made sense. So first, I’d hear what this supposed "punishment" was for—and then decide.

I took a breath and asked:

"Why is this a punishment? What exactly did I do?"

Still hugging me tightly from behind, Kazuya whispered into my ear.

"I knew you had a habit of tossing and turning in your sleep, so I figured I’d just put up with it. But… what you did wasn’t just that."

…So apparently, my sleeping posture was the issue. I didn’t remember any of it, so it didn’t seem fair to be blamed for something I had no control over…
Maybe I accidentally elbowed or hit him? If that’s all, then I hope he can let it slide.

I mean, yeah, that would be my fault, sure.

"If I hit or smacked you while tossing in my sleep, then I’m sorry. I really am."

I apologized honestly.

But Kazuya showed no signs of letting me go, and instead said this:

"If it was just getting smacked, I could live with that. But it wasn’t. Let me tell you what actually happened—"

According to Kazuya:

Not long after I started snoring softly, I yanked the blanket off, then gradually scooted over and pressed myself right up against him.

Then I grabbed his arm and nuzzled into it, looking extremely content.

Thinking something was off, Kazuya tried talking to me, asking if I was awake—but I gave no answer.
Instead, I muttered something and bit his neck.

Not only that, I kept my mouth there and started licking his neck like I was savoring it, then bit him again.

It hurt enough that Kazuya finally pried me off, bringing that episode to a close.

But when he eventually drifted off to sleep himself, he was woken up again.

Opening his eyes, he found himself wrapped up in my arms, his head pulled right into my chest.

He said that, as a guy, being buried in my generous bosom made him incredibly happy—
but after a while, it got hard to breathe, and he had to pull himself away, reluctantly.

And even after all that, my sleep attacks continued.

It wasn’t until dawn that Kazuya finally got some decent sleep.

He called it a "battle with temptation" and said I should praise him for winning against his instincts.

Honestly, for him to endure all of that… yeah, that is impressive.
If it were me, I probably would’ve lost control a long time ago.

Then this morning, he woke up to find me playing with his hand again.
It reminded him of everything that happened last night, and he thought:

"Yeah, this calls for a punishment."

…Yeah. If what Kazuya said was all true, then it really was my fault.
If I were in his position, I’d definitely have lost it and pounced on him.

So yeah, fine—I’ll take this punishment. I’ll let him have his little revenge.

"──Alright, fine. If that’s how it is, I’ll accept your punishment. But! If it gets too much, I will say I don’t like it, okay!?"

I accepted the punishment, but not without setting some boundaries.

"Got it, I know. I wouldn’t want to force anything on you like this. So don’t worry. Alright, here we go."

Neither of us could’ve imagined just how far things would go from there.