After exiting the bazaar, Aleshia grabbed some things from the carriage before bringing Lawrend to their room. Lawrend was silent all the way as he kept looking at the beginner magic spell in his hand. He was very reluctant to let it go but he was very guilty that he got a stolen object,
"Aleshia, should I have returned this?"
Lawrend could only ask for Aleshia's opinion even though he was still bitter about her actions.
"No. You're lucky to get that."
Aleshia replied and opened the door to their room. They were located on the second floor of the inn. The room was big enough to fit a big bed with room to spare.
The problem was, they were staying in the same room.
"Aleshia...why didn't you get two rooms?"
Lawrend asked her with a wry smile on his face. He expected her to have gotten two rooms, but it turned out to be only one.
"What? Do you want me to protect you or not?"
Aleshia raised an eyebrow at Lawrend. If she wanted to protect Lawrend she would have to be staying in the same room as him.
"Can't you just come when I need help?"
Lawrend was very conscious about staying in a room with a girl. She was after all very beautiful.
"...You see, here I was doing what you said. So stop complaining and just deal with it."
Anger was reflected in Aleshia's eyes. Lawrend was acting very annoying in her opinion.
"O-okay."
Lawrend was taken aback by her aggressiveness. He hugged Allen tighter to comfort himself.
Aleshia started unpacking the bag she brought while Lawrend sat on the bed and sighed. This journey of his was not turning out as he had expected it to be. He watched silently as Aleshia unpacked.
"Aleshia… Do you think, you could trust me?"
Lawrend blurted out all of a sudden. Even he was surprised. He thought that he was just thinking about it.
"Hm? Trust you? A little, maybe, but I'm sure you're planning something again."
Aleshia has been very wary of Lawrend throughout this journey. That's because Lawrend has placed an Alive Bounty on Ella's head at the first opportunity he got.
It made Aleshia very scared of letting her guard down around him. She doesn't know what surprises he would give her once more. But throughout this journey, she had seen a different Lawrend from what she has seen in the city.
It made her confused. In the end, she decided that it should be one of his plans to let her guard down. So even though she trusted him somewhat by letting Ella live in his mansion while she accompanies him on this journey, she could not bring herself to trust him more than that.
Even that trust was very thin. She has prepared a lot of contingency plans in case they try to do something against Ella.
"Planning?"
Lawrend furrowed his eyebrows at her. He couldn't understand what she meant.
"Stop pretending. I know you have a plan to take advantage of my body or something."
Aleshia snorted at him. She's aware that he was a pervert and is very interested in maids so she was expecting him to lust after her body just like those city guards.
"That... I have no such plans. I only want to build a close relationship with you since I need you in my plans."
Lawrend explained to her, downcast. Her impression of him was so low that he even felt pity for himself.
"See! Plans this, plans that. You're just trying to fool me."
Aleshia had an aha moment when Lawrend mentioned plans. She now believes that her suspicion was correct.
"What do I have to do to earn your trust?"
Lawrend asked her with a forced smile.
"Start by not touching me when we sleep together later."
Aleshia replied with a sigh. She was sure that he would fail this very easily.
"Do I look like someone who would assault his maid?"
Lawrend forced a smile on his face. It was awkward being seen like that.
"Yes."
Aleshia nodded her head vigorously.
"I… Okay, I'll show you."
Lawrend gritted his teeth in humiliation. For him to be seen as such a perverted character is very degrading for him.
"If you fail, don't expect me to trust you ever again."
There was a faint threat from Aleshia's words that made Lawrend shiver a little bit.
"I understand."
Lawrend breathed in and breathed out to calm himself down. As long as he proves that he was not that kind of person, she will one day start to trust him.
Lawrend fed Allen some pieces of grass before falling asleep. The slime was in his embrace as he slept on his side facing away from Aleshia.
Aleshia's eyes sparkled a bit when she saw Lawrend cuddling the slime. It looked somewhat cute in her opinion. She shook her head when she realized that she was having such weird thoughts.
Aleshia quickly changed her clothes while watching Lawrend very carefully in case he decides to take a peep at her.
A few rustles later, Aleshia laid down on the bed. It was very soft. A smile escaped her lips as she felt the softness of the bed. It was very comforting to sleep in a soft bed after sleeping on those hard and crunchy hay-packed beds in the village.
She turned to her side facing Lawrend's direction and watched his back before she slowly fell asleep.
The night passed uneventfully. Aleshia woke up first and glanced at the bright light leaking from the cracks of the closed window. A small smile formed on her face as she looked at the sleeping Lawrend.
"Not bad. This guy might actually be sincere."
Aleshia murmured. It was one thing for her and Lawrend to sleep on the same bed, but it was an impressive feat for Lawrend to be able to endure taking advantage of her in her sleep. All in all, she was happy that he didn't try anything.