Lilia's Tale: Freyja's Endeavor

Chapter 32: Progress

Once arrived, I thoughtlessly wandered to the place I would usually go to and had Alice come out. I summoned another goblin for her to try things out and went back to thinking. Whatever was causing me so much anxiety was beyond me no matter what I thought of.

After much mental search, I finally caved in. I decided it wouldn't do me any good to keep pondering on the issue. Whatever it was, it would show itself to me eventually. I sighed loudly, gently slapped my own cheeks and decided to go back to focusing on my school life.

For the remaining evening, I worked together with Alice to come up with ideas. Unfortunately, my scientific background made finding possibilities too difficult, as was the case before, so we couldn't find anything. I went back to my room and prepared to take a bath, my mind still clouded.

As I went into the changing room, I noticed clothes already being strewn around. As I realised it was Sayuri's, she came out from the bathroom proper.

"Oh, Lilia, you're back?" she nonchalantly said.

"Ah, yeah, sorry. I'll let you finish," I hurriedly replied as I left the room.

I waited some time for her to dress up and leave. Once she opened the door, she asked directly:

"You're still not okay are you?"

"Well, it doesn't really matter. I'm sorry I need to take a bath to relax."

I was hoping that it would stop her from asking. For some reason, her expression was annoying me. It felt condescending and arrogant, as if the recent events where I had to rely on her had somehow had some perverse effect on her. I was surprised at first, then remembered her mother's attitude. Maybe it detained on her.

Either way, I went to undress and realised I hadn't grabbed any clothes. I went back out and grabbed whatever I could find without looking too into it and headed back to the bathroom. I gave a glimpse at Sayuri's reaction and she looked...hurt?

As I undressed and readied to go clean myself, I realised what had been transpiring. I knew that she had grown close to me, maybe because I was the one caring for her. Last night, I had to rely on her for comfort and she did her best, as if imitating what I had been doing for her.

Her attitude must have come from that as well. I was a bit unsure as to how to approach that situation as I didn't have any experience with it. My head started aching as I tried thinking of a solution, prompting me to stop thinking altogether for the day. I undressed and went into the bath. As I relaxed, I slowly fell asleep.

I suddenly jolted awake, as if a nightmare had taken over my sleep. I could not remember anything, however, so I was deeply confused as to what had transpired.

"Alice?"

"Yes, Master?"

"You told me you were connected to me mentally, is that right?"

"Yes, we are."

"Did anything happen in my sleep?"

"Nothing happened. No dream or nightmare, it seems, Master."

"Okay thank you."

I sighed, relieved that nothing bad had actually happened, and got out of the bath. I was still concerned as to why I had such an awakening, but I tried not to give it too much though for now. I had other priorities.

I got out of the bath and dressed myself before heading out. As I arrived in the lounge, I noticed nobody was there yet. It reminded me of my early days as I woke up very early nearly every day. Times sure have changed.

I waited for people to wake up. Mark wasn't the first one to arrive, surprisingly, though when he saw me he came over.

"Hey Lilia, I heard you weren't feeling well yesterday? Are you sick maybe?"