The Paladin's Adorable Snuggle
“Irene is sleeping. Don’t make it any more troublesome.”
His whisper sent the tentacles fluttering playfully at the tips, as if acknowledging every word.
If Irene had been awake, she would have stared in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock.
Humans communicating with monsters?
Since dungeons began appearing, not a single person had ever managed it.
But Michael spoke again to the beasts.
“Is this Distortion Dungeon causing the premature appearance because of me?”
A nod.
The tentacles answered with another twitch.
Michael exhaled slowly.
He carefully supported Irene’s head and withdrew his arm. In its place, he piled their clothes so she could rest comfortably.
Or perhaps she sensed something was missing.
Even after resting so soundly before, Irene furrowed her brow and began shifting restlessly.
“Oh dear.”
He let out a soft, satisfied chuckle and drew her into his arms.
Leaning against the wall, he held her close.
At first he hoped she might wake, but she only murmured softly, lips moving faintly, then let out a deep sigh.
As if his embrace were the most perfect place in the world to sleep.
Meanwhile, the tentacles moved stealthily.
They hesitated near Michael, afraid of him, yet clearly desperate to get closer to Irene, who rested safely in his arms.
Then, something floated slowly through the air toward them.
A monster that had slain Princess Cecilia’s raid party.
Normally, Michael would have killed it the moment he spotted it while others were present.
But now, he only glanced at it indifferently and paid no further attention.
The creature itself seemed to accept his attitude as natural and merely circled nearby without doing anything.
As time passed, the number of monsters gathering around him steadily increased.
All of them shared one trait.
They bowed their heads toward Michael.
It was the posture of a loyal subject serving their king.
Michael looked at them with a faint smile and said in a low voice,
“If you wish to serve me, you must also show proper respect to my wife.”
At his words, the monsters lowered their heads in unison.
“Return.”
The instant Michael issued the command, the creatures vanished, as if acknowledging his presence.
Back in the quiet dungeon, Michael buried his face in the nape of Irene’s neck.
They had wandered the dungeon and washed in the lake water; he had not used any scent.
Yet her hair carried a sweet, intoxicating fragrance.
Exactly like her scent from their previous life.
Michael pressed his face to her hair and breathed in deeply, lost in her.
Even now, holding her made it hard to believe she was truly alive.
‘I spent too long without her.’
Michael lifted his head and gazed at Irene’s sleeping face.
She was now living her second life.
But he…
Michael reached out into the empty air.
A black metallic fragment materialized from nowhere.
If Irene had woken right then, she would have jumped in shock.
It was identical to the metal piece she had obtained just before death in the reward room.
Michael opened his palm.
The fragment fell into his hand.
He touched it, yet nothing stirred.
‘Of course.’
Michael stared at the piece.
It was far from ordinary.
Among the artifacts brought by the dungeon, this one had the strictest condition for power activation.
Michael recalled the description the Hand of Appraisal had once written in the air.
Its power reversed time.
The activation condition…
‘The death of every monster.’
It was practically impossible.
Yet he had achieved it.
The proof rested peacefully in his arms.
“Irene.”
Michael buried his face in her hair and whispered,
“This cannot be a dream.”
It had to be real.
If this were a dream and she vanished upon waking,
he would have slaughtered everything around him.
Monsters or humans alike.
Just as he had done thousands of times before.
* * *
“Huuu…”
A soft moan escaped Irene’s lips as her eyes fluttered open.
Blinking slowly, her vision gradually sharpened.
She saw a dark brown earthen wall, not the unfamiliar ceiling she remembered.
At the same time, a strange unfamiliar sensation spread through her entire body.
Not the pleasant warmth of her pajamas and blanket as always after sleeping, but something even warmer, yet strangely firm.
Lost in the strange new sensations, she felt a voice beside her.
“You are awake.”
“…”
Irene turned her head.
Right in front of her, smiling gently, was Michael’s face.
She stared blankly at his face for a few seconds.
“Ah!”
All the events before she fell asleep flooded back into her mind.
‘Oh no! Oh my!’
They had been trapped in the dungeon and… intertwined.
Irene tried to sit up abruptly. But before her body could fully rise, sharp pain shot through every part of her.
“Ah…”
Especially in her waist.
As her mind cleared, she realized the pain was not limited to her waist.
Naturally, they were aftereffects of last night’s events.
“Irene? Are you all right?”
“I’m… fine, I think… not sure…”
She could not even tell if she was all right. She was not in so much pain that she would die, but moving her body felt difficult.
But her mind felt even worse.
“Wait, just a moment, my face… a bit closer…”
Irene raised her hand and gently pushed his approaching face away.
His unwavering gaze made her feel embarrassed.
Oh heavens. Even after waking up, his messy appearance still looked perfect on him.
If she had gone mad before, she must be completely insane for him now.
When Irene tried to shove him, he looked like a scolded puppy and fell silent.
Seeing his expression made her feel as if she had done something wrong, so she pulled her hand back.
Almost immediately, Michael attached himself once more and pulled her into his arms.
The only problem was that nothing covered their bodies.
The cold she had felt earlier made her body tremble instinctively, seeking warmth, and she pressed closer into his embrace.
Satisfied with her reaction, Michael tightened his hold and reached for the clothes he had neatly arranged nearby.
He offered them to her so she could dress, but she shook her head.
“Please stay still. Your body must be uncomfortable. I will help you.”
His words made Irene’s face flush.
She was embarrassed not only because of the pain in her body, but also because another person was dressing her.
Yet she could not refuse. Her body felt so sore that putting on clothes was difficult.
When he undressed her, his movements were so careful it felt like another person’s hand.
She would have preferred gentle, careful dressing, but…
“Ugh…”
His hand brushed the base of her still swollen chest with a light flick.
The sharp sensation made her curl up and moan, but Michael remained calm and gently cupped her breast with his own hand.
“…”
Irene stared in surprise at what he was doing.
But Michael answered calmly.
“It seems best to loosen it a little.”
“No, loosen what… ah… it’s not… okay, but…”
She twisted in discomfort, making sounds that were far from fine.
Yet his hand precisely kneaded only the painful spots.
The stimulation she had felt endlessly the night before returned along with a cool relief.
Finally, when his hand fastened the last button of her clothes, Irene grew exhausted and fell back asleep.