As Ai walks over to the other side of the bed, I consider how I should handle this situation.

Lin is hiding under the bed, Ai is going to be worried about the whole situation, and I’m definitely not going to be getting any sleep.

Well, if I allow this to continue like this.

With a quick jump, I hop off the bed. Lowering to my knees, I can hear a sharp intake of breath from underneath the bed. Peeking under it, I come face to face with Lin.

Once again, she seems frozen, unsure of what to do.

I speak up.

“So, are you just gonna stay under there or come out so we can talk?”

Her lower jaw trembles, as she opens her mouth to speak.

“S-squeak.”

All that comes out is the sound like what a mouse would sound like.

Her face turns even redder.

“Cough. Squeeaaaaak.”

She doubles down on the clear mistake.

…

My mouth opens.

Closes.

Opens.

I can’t think of anything to respond to that.

Lin and I, laying on the ground, with her pretending to be a mouse to avoid suspicion, ultimately being even more suspicious.

Wow… that’s really “Adorable.”

Her mouth widens a bit.

Ah. I said that out loud… didn’t I.

A peek over the bed shows Ai looking at me with an intensity. Her eyes narrowed.

Ahhhhhh fuck.

“Yeahhh, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean… could you come out from under the bed?

Lin’s eyes, still wide, shiver. Slowly, she nods.

Backing up, I make space for her to come out. She inches out, but due to the large size of her breasts, she seems to get stuck.

She continues to struggle a bit to get out, which causes me to wonder if I should try to help her out…

“Uh, do you need any help? Maybe Ai, if you don’t want me to help.”

She looks up at her, her eyes shaking even more intently. Slowly, she lowers her head to the ground, her forehead touching the stone.

Still looking down, she nods.

Using my scan, I figure out the easiest way to get her out. The hologram shows exactly what will happen.

Wow, she’s pretty stuck in there. This will be a little awkward.

“Hey Ai, could you come grab her out? It will be awkward if I do it. From what I can tell, part of Lin’s shirt is caught on the rock below her.”

Both women look sharply up at me, clearly wondering how I would know that is the case. Her face tightens, but nonetheless, Ai gets up and starts pulling her.

She doesn’t seem to have much success.

“Here, you need to pull from right here and lift slightly, as you pull her out.”

I point to under her armpits so she can get a little more leverage.

Once again, they look at me strangely.

There’s no way I’m going to be doing this and snag a look. Especially in a situation like this. Thank goodness for my scan or this would have been really, really awkward, and not help our relationship.

Turning away from them, I still keep my scan on, so I can make sure she’s not hurting her. I take off my robe, my shirt still on me.

As I hear Ai heave from a sudden yank, I prepare myself for…

A loud ripping sound echoes through the room, as the piece of her shirt that was snagged on a rock, tears all the way through, as Ai continues to pull. Revealing her breasts.

Can’t make this stuff up. Well, actually you can, but still.

Both girl’s eyes dart to me, but my back is turned away. I can sense them relax.

I’ve also discovered that I can partially block out certain information in the scan, allowing me not to see all of her breasts. Unfortunately, I still got an eye… mindful.

Hopefully, I can work on this ability… for more combat related reasons.

Ai relaxes, while Lin still seems a little tense, for obvious reasons.

I hold out my robe behind me, for the newly freed Lin, motioning for her to take it.

Taking it quickly, she glances at me before quietly walking towards the hallway.

“Hey Lin?”

She pauses, but doesn’t turn around.

“Yeah?”

“… I appreciate you stopping by my room, even if I don’t know for what reason. It would be nice to talk with you guys together later. Not for working items, but just… talking. Would that be okay with you?”

She stays silent for a slightly awkward while, before turning towards me and giving a subtle smile. And a nod, before moving out of the room to theirs.

As her footsteps lead away from the room, it’s just Ai and I in the room now.

Ai gives a sigh and walks back to what is now her side of the bed. Laying down.

The difference from the previous night is that she is now facing my side.

Okay… this is weird. But I’m admittedly grateful enough and tired enough to not care.

Time to lie down and attempt to sleep.

I moved to my side of the bed and lay down face first. Using my scan, I can see that Ai is looking at me with a confused look.

“What are you doing?”

“Considering the difficulties of life.”

“And why do these ‘difficulties of life’ require you to lay face down like a crazy person?”

I can feel the air quotes in her words. Turning to lean on my side, I can’t help but to not answer her question.

“Look, just let me lie here for a moment.”

Ai lays there quietly, until she suddenly speaks up again.

“Adorable, huh?”

Ugh. She’s really not going to give me a break, huh?

I turn in the bed to face her, my eyes locking onto hers. I can feel my face scrunch up seriously.

“Ai. Can you honestly tell me, that if you saw Lin hiding under a bed, squeaking like a mouse… you wouldn’t think that’s cute?”

I can practically hear her swallow. She coughs and breaks first.

“Yeah… but I’m her sister.”

I give a sigh.

“At this point, I feel the same way.”

She blinks at my admission.

“Oh. I guess if that’s the case, then never mind.”

She turns in the other direction.

This will be an interesting future conversation. But I’m happy to just let it go through.

The night goes quietly.

I honestly expected her to speak more on this, but she says nothing for the rest of the night. She actually seems more relaxed today, maybe because she has something to think about.

Of course, she still needed to be healed the next day, due to sleep deprivation. And I didn’t sleep either.

Fuckin’ A.

… I’m really going to have to come up with a solution to this.

Nonetheless, I start the day with my workouts and my awareness.

Since I haven’t slept since Ai has come in, I likely won’t be able to practice the awareness aspect while I sleep.

Actually… this might be the best time to practice it. It seems to work best when I’m in a semi-alert state. Having an attractive woman that I need to monitor, so she won’t do something crazy, will likely help with that.

I’ll try to sleep tonight and will see if it will work.

… I really hope she doesn’t try anything.

Before I continue on to check out the gauntlet Gong has prepared for me, my mind turns to the upcoming sect pickup.

It’s coming… I likely have a two, maybe three weeks, to get everything together.

I’ll have to do what I can within that period.

God help me.