"Uh… what are the two of you doing?" Lux asked the Princess, who was tugging on his pants with the help of her retainer, Millie.
Truth be told, he had just woken up a moment ago because he instinctively felt that something wasn't right.
The moment he opened his eyes, he found the adorable Princess and Millie holding his pants, which had been pulled down to his knees.
"T-This is now what you think, Sir Lux," Princess Anastasia stuttered. "Y-You fell asleep while wearing your clothes, so I was just helping you remove them so you could sleep comfortably! E-Explain it to him properly, Millie!"
The green-haired Dwarf sighed before glaring at the Half-Elf.
"Oi, the princess was very worried that you were not comfortable wearing these rugged clothes in your sleep, so she decided to remove them," Millie said. "Don't get the wrong idea, okay? We're just helping you because you helped us back in Dunspear City."
Lux blinked once then twice before the memories of what happened several hours ago started to play in his head.
He vaguely remembered entering his room and landing face first on the bed to sleep due to how tired he was.
"Ah… I see. So that's what happened," Lux finally connected the dots before looking at the blushing Princess, whose eyes were glued at the lower half of his body.
In truth, the reason she tried to remove the red-headed teenager's clothes was out of curiosity.
She wanted to know what the difference between Half-Elves and Dwarves was, but before she could succeed in her mission, the Half-Elf woke up, preventing her from taking a good look at his body.
'Are Dwarves really this daring?' Lux thought as he pulled his pants back up. 'Fortunately, I was wearing swim shorts underneath. If not, the princess might have gotten the shock of her life.'
Since he didn't have the time to change clothes after rescuing the Princess from the Rankers of Twilight Rain, Lux was still wearing the same clothes he wore back then.
After considering the possibility of a sea battle, the Half-Elf put on swimming shorts in advance, allowing him to maneuver in the water better should the need arise.
"What time is it?" Lux asked as he stifled a yawn. "I still feel exhausted."
Princess Anastasia, who had now recovered a bit of her composure, answered with a flushed face.
"It's just past seven, Sir Lux," Princess Anastasia replied. "Would you like to join me for breakfast?"
The Princess had a hopeful look on her face, which made Millie, who was standing beside her, sigh in her heart. Clearly, the Princess wanted to spend more time with the Half-Elf, who might leave the capital city at any given moment.
"If possible, I'd like to take a bath first," Lux said.
Now that he thought about it, he'd actually gone to meet the king in his traveler's clothes, which were covered with filth.
"T-Then you can use the Royal Bathhouse!" Princess Anastasia proposed. "Should I send maidservants to help you take a bath? They are very good at scrubbing bodies."
"Thank you, but I'll pass," Lux replied. "Does this room have a private bathtub? I'd like to soak my body in the water for a while."
Millie nodded. "The guest room is equipped with the best amenities. Please, enjoy your bath. Princess, let's go. I'm sure that His Majesty would like to have breakfast with you."
Princess Anastasia gave the Half-Elf one last glance before nodding her head. However, before she left the room, she made Lux promise that he would eat lunch with her.
Since there was nothing wrong with her offer, the Half-Elf agreed, making the adorable Princess' mood lighten once again.
Half a minute later, Lux sighed in pleasure as he soaked his body in the bathtub.
Eiko was happily swimming in the water because the bathtub was spacious enough to fit three people.
After Princess Anastasia left the room, the baby Slime also woke up and joined her Papa in taking a bath.
She had mostly recovered from the fright she experienced after facing the Creature of Ruin several hours ago.
Her Papa didn't know that while he was talking with the middle-aged Necromancer, the baby Slime's body was frozen stiff, paralyzed with fear, unable to move or even utter a word.
She had faced many strong Monsters and people in the past, but the Monster of Ruin was on a whole new level, making her instincts as a Monster rise to the surface.
Lux only found out what happened to Eiko later on, and he spent some time coaxing the baby Slime until she calmed down.
"Are you feeling better now, Eiko?" Lux asked the baby Slime that was swimming in circles in front of him.
"Pa!" Eiko replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Pa!"
Lux knew that Eiko had a strong personality, but he was still worried that the Monster of Ruin had left a mark in her heart, traumatizing her for life.
Seeing that she was back to her lively self, the Half-Elf was able to breathe a sigh of relief before closing his eyes to recall the face of the middle-aged Necromancer.
For some reason, he had a very strong feeling that he would meet him again sometime in the future.
"Memento Mori and the Monster of Ruin," Lux muttered. "I hope that I don't see them anytime soon."
Now that the Half-Elf was able to lift the Curse of Ruin from his body, he could focus on building his Guild Headquarters using the money that Nevreal had promised him.
Having a base for his guild was a crucial step for its expansion, so Lux wanted to finish that first before he reunited with Colette and the others.
When they meet, he would apologize for not telling them about his plan of faking his death to prevent the Dark Guild, Twilight Rain, from targeting him repeatedly.
"I feel like I'm forgetting something," Lux crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to find the source of the uneasy feeling that was nagging at the back of his mind.
Half a minute later, he opened his eyes because he remembered that he and Eiko were not the only ones brought to the Royal Palace.
Cai and Keane were brought there as well, and knowing how much of a troublemaker the Boar was, Lux felt that he had to prevent it from saying something that might offend the Royal Family that would have it blacklisted from the Dwarven Kingdom of Gweliven.
