Ronan woke up feeling absolutely drenched.
His back was soaked in sweat while his throat felt painfully dry.
Frowning slightly, he forced himself out of bed and slowly made his way toward the kitchen in search of water.
His legs still felt sore from yesterday's madness, though thankfully it was nowhere near as unbearable as before.
After reaching the kitchen, Ronan immediately poured himself water before drinking several large gulps.
Cold water slid down his dry throat bringing almost instant relief.
Only after satisfying his thirst did he finally notice the smell coming from himself.
Ronan paused briefly before taking a cautious sniff at his clothes.
Instant regret followed immediately.
"…God."
The smell was horrible. Sweat, dirt, exhaustion, and sleeping outside all mixed together into something genuinely unpleasant.
At that moment, all Ronan wanted was a proper shower.
As he headed toward the bathroom, he suddenly remembered the bed he had just slept on.
His sweat-soaked back had probably drenched the bedsheets too.
Ronan sighed tiredly. "I'll have to wash those too…"
Hopefully the sweat hadn't seeped in too deeply already.
After thinking about it for a moment, he decided he would probably deal with it properly on Saturday instead.
Entering the bathroom, Ronan suddenly remembered that he had not even brushed his teeth yet today.
His expression stiffened slightly.
"…My breath probably smells terrible too."
Considering everything that happened yesterday, that honestly was not surprising.
In the end, he decided to simply brush his teeth while showering afterward.
As he prepared the water, another thought suddenly surfaced.
What time is it…? I forgot to check.
Ronan frowned slightly. And I missed work again today…
That alone already gave him a headache.
Missing one day could still be explained away somewhat naturally.
But twice in such a short period? People would definitely start asking questions.
Worse— Some might even think he was taking their kindness for granted after everyone at the tailor shop showed concern toward him earlier.
"Ineed a proper excuse…"
Ronan muttered quietly while rubbing his forehead tiredly.
Still, not everything seemed terrible right now.
At the very least, his body did not feel feverish. Aside from sore limbs and exhaustion, he did not seem to have actually fallen sick after sleeping outside all night.
Honestly speaking, that alone already felt fortunate enough.
Maybe the garlic earlier actually did its job or something.
Ronan honestly had no better explanation.
Right now, he was seated quietly at the small veranda outside his house while sipping from a cup of hot coffee.
He had absolutely no plans of wandering around today with legs this sore.
So for once, he decided to simply relax.
Cold breeze brushed gently against his face as he watched people pass by the streets ahead going about their usual lives.
Workers heading somewhere with hurried footsteps.
Children running around noisily. Public carriages occasionally rolling across the roads.
It felt strangely peaceful. Watching scenes like this had always been something both Percy and Ronan enjoyed.
Because of that, Ronan did not feel particularly resistant toward moments like these.
In fact— For the first time in several days, his mind finally felt somewhat calm.
Well, the calm did not last very long.
Before he realized it, Ronan's thoughts had already wandered elsewhere again.
What time is it?
And where did I leave that revolver…?
Is it still under the pillow?
Sighing quietly, Ronan slowly stood up from the veranda chair before dragging his weary body back upstairs.
The pocket watch rested atop the small table beside the gas lamp.
He picked it up and checked the time.
4:50 PM.
"Hm… not as late as I expected."
After setting the watch back down, his gaze slowly shifted toward the bed.
Or more specifically— The pillow.
Ronan approached it cautiously before slowly lifting it upward.
The silvery revolver still rested beneath it exactly where he had hidden it earlier.
He unconsciously gulped. Even now, simply seeing the gun made him nervous.
Ronan instinctively glanced outside the window first just to make sure nobody was somehow watching before finally picking the revolver up properly for inspection.
The metal felt surprisingly cold in his hands.
Truthfully speaking, he had no idea what exactly he was even supposed to inspect.
This was his first time holding an actual gun up close.
For Percy, it was even more unusual since ordinary civilians like him rarely ever came across firearms in the first place.
As for Ronan— The only guns he had ever really seen before were from movies back on Earth. Mostly old revolvers similar to this one.
Still, he was far from knowledgeable about firearms.
So after awkwardly staring at it for several silent moments, the only thought Ronan could honestly come up with was—
"…Well. It's definitely a gun."
Feeling slightly perplexed, Ronan soon found himself stuck in a dilemma. Should he carry the revolver around with him whenever he went outside—
Or hide it somewhere inside the house instead? As for surrendering it to the authorities—
That option never even truly crossed his mind.
It would only bring unnecessary trouble.
More importantly, he had absolutely no believable way to explain how he obtained it in the first place.
Sure, the investigator seemed relatively reasonable from what Ronan had seen so far.
But in the end, trusting someone entirely based on feelings alone felt foolish.
Especially in a world where monsters apparently existed.
After thinking things through for quite some time, Ronan eventually came to a conclusion.
He would keep the revolver with him.
At the very least, having some form of protection nearby made him feel slightly safer mentally.
As for the risk of getting caught carrying it—
Ronan believed it should still be manageable as long as he avoided drawing attention to himself.
Thankfully, according to Percy's memories, Percy himself had never really been involved with the police or authorities before aside from the previous incident with the investigators.
So unless his luck became catastrophically bad again—
He should probably be fine.