This rabbit-eared young lady seemed to have completely abandoned her usual reserve and decorum in her dreams. She lay on her side facing Luna Belle, her entire body clinging to her like an octopus.
One arm passed under Luna Belle's neck, pulling her toward herself, while the other arm wrapped decisively around Luna Belle's waist, her palm unconsciously clutching a corner of Luna Belle's pajamas. A few strands of her smooth golden hair mischievously slipped into Luna Belle's collar, bringing a slight itch. Most lethal of all, one of Alice's legs was bent, her knee pressing against the side of Luna Belle's leg, forming a perfect "entrapment" posture.
Luna Belle could even clearly feel Alice's warm breath brushing against her ear, and her soft body carrying a faint fragrance. She stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling with a look of despair, letting out a silent sigh. Because her chest was held tightly by Alice, this sigh was quite difficult to let out.
It's all Tineva's fault!
She wailed in her heart, and the scene from last night involuntarily surfaced in her mind...
Last night, in the living room of the wooden house, the warm fireplace crackled, and the air was filled with the fragrance of herbal tea and the toasted aroma of roasted nuts. Perhaps it was the atmosphere on the eve of the Harvest Festival, or perhaps the joy of the new shop's completion made everyone relax; somehow, the conversation turned to ghost stories and legends.
As a "local resident" born and raised there, and having lived in the Gloomy Forest for a while, Tineva had a belly full of strange rumors. At first, she just casually mentioned a small story about "Echo Vines" in the forest that would mimic travelers' voices. Unexpectedly, this immediately piqued everyone's interest—especially Alice's. In her usually calm heterochromatic eyes, a complex light mixed with fear and curiosity instantly burst forth.
"Ti... Miss Tineva!" Alice subconsciously hugged the cushion in her arms tighter. On the display screen at her waist, her expression finally froze into a shivering ( ﾟД ﾟ).
At the time, looking at Alice's appearance of being scared to death yet insisting on listening, Luna Belle felt that something was wrong. Ellen, on the other hand, lacked interest. She gave a big yawn, her tail wagging lazily, indicating "What's there to be afraid of in such made-up stories?" and then began to doze off against the sofa armrest. Grace and Silvana were completely immersed in a discussion about magic technology, not caring about ghost stories at all.
Falia sat upright with a serious expression, as if listening to a report on enemy movements, occasionally raising questions based on knightly logic. "If that 'Headless Horseman' really exists, how does its visual perception system work? Does it rely on echolocation?"
This left Tineva speechless for a moment, unable to continue the story.
And Luna Belle herself, although also a bit frightened, couldn't help but keep listening as she watched Tineva's vivid expressions. As a result, under Alice's "encouraging" gaze, Tineva told three horror stories in a row that were said to be widely circulated around White Thorn City, with realistic details and terrifying endings.
There was the white phantom floating on the city walls at midnight, luring latecomers to jump off... the continuous sound of mining coming from an abandoned mine, where those who went in to investigate never came out... and the warning that during the Harvest Festival, if you hear someone calling your name under the moonlight while alone, you must never look back, or else you will see...
At the most critical point, Tineva even deliberately lowered her voice, coordinating with a gust of night wind that happened to blow outside the window, causing Alice to let out a short cry of surprise and shrink into the sofa, the expression on the display screen turning into a bristling (╥﹏╥).
By the time the story session ended, Alice's face had turned a bit pale. When it was time to return to their respective rooms to rest, the problem arose. Alice stood at Luna Belle's door, her fingers nervously twisting her skirt.
"Belle... um... tonight... can I... sleep with you?" Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's buzz, and the display screen at her waist showed a pitiful QAQ. "I... I feel like my room... seems... a bit asymmetrical... it will affect my sleep quality..."
Luna Belle looked at Alice; she actually used such a clumsy excuse to hide her fear, which was truly laughable. She was about to speak up to persuade her, saying that ghost stories are all fake and to believe in science... Er, in this world with magic and monsters, saying "believe in science" seemed a bit strange?
However, before she could say the words of refusal, another lazy voice chimed in. "Hmm... count me in..."
Ellen, who had woken up at some point, rubbed her sleepy eyes, held her pillow, and slowly moved to Luna Belle's door. "The sofa is uncomfortable... I want to change places to sleep..."
Looking at the two people on her left and right at the door, Luna Belle felt her head throbbing. She tried to struggle. "Well... although my bed isn't small, it's not a large hotel bed... if the three of us sleep together, won't it be too crowded..."
"No!" Alice immediately rejected the idea, her tone carrying a sense of finality. Ellen, on the other hand, had already squeezed into the room without further ado. "So sleepy... hurry up..."
Recalling this, Luna Belle sighed deeply once more. Feeling the warmth and pressure coming from both sides of her body, she finally understood profoundly what "happy troubles" meant. She carefully tried to move her arm that was pressed down by Alice, which immediately drew a dissatisfied mutter from the other in her sleep. The arm around her waist tightened a bit more, and the bent knee pushed up a little.
"Mm... symmetry... don't move..."
"..."
Luna Belle gave up struggling and lay there resignedly, staring at the ceiling and beginning to contemplate life. Soon, Ellen beside her was the first to move. Her Thiren shark tail, which was pressing on Luna Belle's leg, wagged unconsciously, then slowly lifted and moved to the side. Her red eyes opened a crack, looking at Luna Belle, who was tightly "locked" by Alice, with the confusion of just waking up.
She mumbled a sentence indistinctly. "...Morning... so crowded..."
"So you know it's crowded..." Luna Belle retorted, but Ellen didn't respond. She just very naturally rolled over Luna Belle. The movement was as smooth as if Luna Belle and Alice were just a low threshold. Without even looking at the two still "entwined" on the bed, she yawned and walked toward the room's en-suite bathroom like a sleepwalker...