To explain why I was faced with such a peculiar question from Aslin the moment I opened my eyes, I need to rewind time a bit.

After finishing a major task and collapsing onto the bed, I expected to drift off to sleep easily. My body was heavy with fatigue, yet sleep eluded me that night in the most unusual way.

Normally, a moderate amount of alcohol would help me sleep soundly, even if it came with consequences for my body later. But despite the weariness that made me crawl into bed, close my eyes, and wait for rest, I couldn’t fall into a deep slumber.

It was because of a dream. Not an outright nightmare, though—at least, not the kind that robs you of peaceful sleep.

Considering that my life, except for the last few years, had been a living nightmare, it wasn’t as if my mind conjured up scenes bad enough to label as nightmares. I’d seen enough of those while awake.

This dream was... peculiar.

It started off ordinary. A typical dream where I wandered aimlessly through an endless darkness, devoid of even a sliver of light. Not a nightmare, but far from a comforting dream.

As always, I wandered through the darkness with no way out, expecting to wake up at some point.

But this time, I saw light.

It was green—like the color of lush foliage, soothing just to look at.

The moment I saw that light, something struck me with surprising intensity.

A memory. From when I was much younger, during those back-alley days when every waking and sleeping moment blurred into a shared nightmare.

I remembered a shade of green, warm and vivid, that belonged to a precious memory of someone who had shown me the world was still worth living in. Someone whose face I could barely recall now.

The impulse was overwhelming: I wanted to reach that light.

The moment I spotted the shimmering green glow in the distance, I felt an inexplicable urge. If I could grasp it, perhaps it would take form and reveal something to me.

It was a baseless, almost childish impulse. Yet, in the dream, I wasn’t the type to overthink.

I reached out toward the light that was far beyond my grasp and shouted,

“Wait for me!”

In the dream, I sprinted.

It was strange. My body didn’t tire, no matter how hard I ran. Perhaps it was because it was just a dream, or maybe it was the desperation that this was my one and only chance.

As my legs moved with a speed I could never manage in reality, the light seemed to inch closer.

How long did I run like that?

Eventually, the green light grew larger, close enough that I felt I could reach it with one last stretch of my hand.

But just as I was about to touch it, the light dimmed, as if it were fading away.

“No!!”

In the dream, I screamed, chasing after the waning glow.

Miraculously, my hand managed to close around the light. I didn’t stop there—I held it close, clutching it tightly to ensure it wouldn’t escape.

Just as I was about to sigh in relief…

“Mm… mmph!!”

A noise broke the sacred silence of my solitary dream world.

The pursuit ended abruptly.

As I slowly came to my senses, bewildered, I realized something heavy rested in my arms.

Fully awake now, as if cold water had been dumped over my head, I quickly pulled my arms away.

“Phew… finally!”

The sight before me was Aslin, gasping for air and steadying his breath after what must have been a frantic struggle.

And with that, the chaos caused by the dream came to an end.

“Are You... Okay?”

The first thing I heard after waking from the dream was Aslin’s concerned voice.

Despite my having dragged her into my embrace in my sleep—leaving her struggling for breath and rudely waking her—she showed no trace of anger or blame.

“I heard you groaning in your sleep, as if you were having a nightmare, so I got closer to check… and then, well…”

Aslin scratched the back of her head, looking apologetic as she admitted to disturbing my sleep. Her words only deepened my guilt.

“It’s me who should apologize,” I said, imbuing my voice with as much sincerity as I could muster. “I’m sorry for interrupting your rest.”

After offering my apology, I spoke more gently, encouraging her to return to sleep.

“You must be tired. Get some more rest. There’s still plenty of time before dawn.”

There were certainly more pressing matters on my mind—like the vividness of that dream—but ensuring that Aslin, whose sleep I had disrupted, could rest peacefully was more important.

“You’re… right.”

Even in the dim light of the room, I could see the rosy blush lingering on Aslin’s face, no doubt from the earlier incident of being pulled into my arms. Nodding in agreement, she lay back down.

‘I’ll have to thank her properly later for worrying about me,’ I thought, recalling how she’d been moved by my groans during what must have sounded like a nightmare. Resolving to express my gratitude, I closed my eyes.

Under normal circumstances, I would have drifted back to sleep until morning. But as I’ve hinted, if I had simply fallen asleep, the scene of Aslin asking me an unexpected question wouldn’t have occurred.

“…Endy?”

Not long after lying down, her soft voice broke through the silence, gently pulling me from the edge of sleep.

“…I’m still awake,” I replied cautiously.

Turning toward me, Aslin’s emerald-green eyes—glimmering even in the dark—locked onto mine.

“I don’t know if I have the right to ask this,” she began, her tone tentative yet determined.

Her words brought me fully back to the present.

The only answer I could give at that moment was simple:

“If it’s something I can answer, I’ll do so.”

A deep sigh escaped her lips, as if bracing herself for something important.

“Then…”

Her voice faltered, tinged with a gravity that couldn’t be ignored.

Srrrk—

The sound of the mattress shifting and the blankets rustling grew louder as she moved closer, chasing away any lingering drowsiness.

When I glanced over, her expression startled me more than her sudden movement.

Her face was resolute, her lips trembling slightly as if struggling to find the courage to speak.

Her vivid green eyes darted about, betraying the inner turmoil she often displayed when she felt a sense of guilt or unease.

Curiosity swirled within me. What could she possibly want to say that made her hesitate so much?

Determined to hear her out, I steeled myself to receive whatever words she would finally utter.

And then…

“Do you… not find me attractive?”

Her question, blunt and direct, hit me like a lightning bolt out of a clear sky.

“…?”

My thoughts ground to a halt as I tried to process the utterly unexpected words that had just come from her.

‘What Should I Even Say to That?’

‘Do you not find me attractive?’

Of all the questions I’ve been asked recently, this was the first time I encountered one so utterly baffling to respond to.

It wasn’t that answering was difficult—far from it.

The conclusion was simple: Aslin, standing before me, was undeniably attractive.

I could vividly recall being struck by her appearance the first time I met her, to the point of finding it unfortunate that people often reduced her to just “the Swordmaster.” How could anyone look at her and think she wasn’t captivating?

But still, the words “you’re attractive” hesitated on the tip of my tongue.

Why? Because I couldn’t predict what might follow if I voiced my thoughts sincerely.

A follow-up like, “Do you really think that?” would be manageable. But if she asked, “Why do you think I’m attractive?“—then I’d be forced to say things so embarrassingly sentimental that I could feel my dignity shriveling in advance.

‘…Just imagining that scenario makes me blush.’

I decided to remain silent, but…

“…I see.”

My hesitation, which she mistook for an unspoken rejection, caused her emerald eyes to droop and her lips to curve downward in dejection.

“I shouldn’t have said that so carelessly, but… you’re a woman far too attractive for someone like me,” I confessed, finally voicing the sincerity I’d held back.

Before I could think about the consequences of calling her “attractive,” her crestfallen expression had spurred me into action. Watching her face darken with sadness had been unbearable.

‘You idiot, you’ve done it again—blurting things out without thinking.’

Regret filled my chest as it had so many times before, but it quickly evaporated when I saw her reaction.

“…Really?”

Aslin’s lips trembled as she spoke, and her eyes, which had been so downcast moments earlier, began to shine faintly with hope.

Her smile—subtle, almost shy—began to spread across her face, replacing my regret with a warm sense of relief.

She looked best when she smiled, no matter the situation.

‘…’

Whoops. I nearly got lost in admiring her smile again.

Her smile was a dangerous thing—capable of making my heart skip irregularly if I stared for too long. I worried that witnessing it too often might one day lead to my premature demise.

But what could I do? From the moment I first saw the once-grim Aslin offer a genuine, bashful smile, I’d wished to see it grace her face more often.

And now, here it was, right before me. Surely, I was allowed to lose myself in the sight for a moment.

I thought back to a few days ago when she had been on the verge of tears, apologizing for something that wasn’t even her fault. The memory of my heart sinking back then contrasted sharply with the joy I felt now, seeing her uplifted by my simple words.

Yet, as if my sincerity hadn’t fully reached her, she muttered, “Even if it’s just to humor me… thank you for saying so.”

Her smile was there, but her words revealed she thought my comment was mere flattery.

‘What do I do now?’

I’d said everything I could to express my honesty, but her response showed she wasn’t entirely convinced. Should I elaborate—explaining why I found her attractive in painstaking detail?

Just the thought made me cringe. Someone else might laugh and call this a frivolous problem, but to me, it felt monumental.

Before I could decide how to proceed, Aslin’s sudden action stole my breath.

“…Aslin?”

Without warning, she wrapped her arms around my waist.

I froze, taken aback by her unexpected embrace, but before I could even react…

Shaaa… shaaa…

The steady rhythm of her breathing signaled she had already fallen asleep.

“Ha…”

I couldn’t help but chuckle softly, relief washing over me.

It was a laughter that carried multiple layers of relief: relief that I didn’t have to make some overly sentimental speech, relief that my simple words had been enough to comfort her, and—admittedly—relief at feeling the warmth of her presence.

Smack!

‘Get it together!’

I silently chastised myself, careful not to disturb Aslin’s sleep. The last thing I needed was my thoughts wandering into… less-than-innocent territory.

“Sleep well,” I murmured, gently placing her back on her side of the bed.

As I brushed a strand of hair from her face and lay down myself, I could still feel the warmth where she had embraced me.

.

.

.

I closed my eyes, hoping to sleep.

But when I woke, the scene was almost surreal.

“Good morning,” came her soft, embarrassed voice.

I opened my eyes to find myself in the same position as before—Aslin’s arms securely wrapped around me.

“Why…” I murmured, bewildered. I had been so careful to sleep on the opposite side of the bed. Yet here we were, the distance between us completely closed.

“It’s becoming a habit,” she murmured, her tone playful yet content. “You’re warm and comfortable… it’s hard to resist.”

Judging by her relaxed demeanor, it seemed there was no stopping this.

‘The nights… are becoming increasingly dangerous in more ways than one.’