“Yes. Are you awake?”
Nainiae might have been standing in waiting since morning, or possibly early morning, in front of the door. She was responding to Riley who was mumbling after just waking up.
“Yeah.”
“Excuse me.” 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Having heard Riley saying that he was awake, Nainiae carefully opened the door, entered the room, and bowed to greet him for the morning.
“It’s a great morning.”
“Morning? Um? It’s still morning?”
He slept for a long time, so he figured it was around lunch time. He tilted his head side to side.
“It’s around 11 a.m. How would you like your meal?”
11 a.m.
Riley thought it was a pretty odd hour to wake up. With a blank look on his face, he turned his head and look out the window to watch the rainy scenery.
“Um.”
Because it rained here all day, the scenery was always dark. Warm street lights were lit even during the day time to light the city. It felt like he was at another world.
“If I eat now, would that count as brunch?”
Riley vacantly mumbled, and Nainiae asked about the word as she tilted her head side to side.
“Brunch?”
“It means breakfast that’s also lunch.”
Riley got up as he explained. He cracked and relaxed his stiff shoulders and turned around to see Nainiae.
“I should eat.”
A beautiful person’s place of stay is also beautiful.
Those were the teaching from Iris. Following the teaching, Riley, with his own hands, tidied up the bed that he slept in.
Riley gave Nainiae the sleepwear that he took off and said,
“What should we eat?”
“…”
Nainiae held the clothes that Riley handed to her, opened the dimensional storage, and brought out the clothes that she had ready for Riley. She thought about what to suggest for the meal while at it. She answered carefully,
“Anything will do as long as it is something that you want.”
There was the incident from yesterday, so it was an answer after a careful consideration.
Somehow, the response was very much like Nainiae. Riley peeked a smile.
“What is it? Were you thinking about yesterday?”
“No… Not in particular.”
Riley wondered if Nainiae was feeling wronged by it.
Having heard his question, Nainiae shook her head and responded.
“I got it. I got it.”
Riley smiled mischievously and patted Nainiae’s head to calm her down. He grabbed the clothes that Nainiae handed to him.
“So, what should we go eat? What would spread rumors that we had a great meal?”
Riley placed his arms in the clothes and fixed the area around the neck.
He was not quite awake from the sleep, so he was feeling strange still. Having finished changing clothes, Riley turned around and looked at Nainiae as he stepped outside the room.
“Ah, that’s right!”
“…?”
Noticing Riley suddenly turning back to see her, Nainiae stopped walking and tilted her head side to side.
“How about a warm fish soup?”
“…”
She was not expecting it at all. Nainiae flinched her shoulder and bit her lips.
“That would be all right with you, right?”
Riley smiled and asked, and Nainiae, who couldn’t afford to not say anything in response, said,
“… Yes.”
* * *
“Where would you like to go today?”
“I’m not sure?”
Having finished brunch, Riley enjoyed Rainfield’s coffee which was supposedly made from Rainfield’s rain. Having heard Nainiae’s question, Riley didn’t quite answer.