NOVEL WEB Chapter 51
Chapter: 51
“Teacher, are you sleeping?”
I had really talked until late yesterday and fell asleep, but I didn’t do that today.
After dinner, we chatted for a while, and everyone returned to their own rooms, but I didn’t go straight back.
Instead of knocking on the door of Ashley’s Room on the second floor, I just walked right in.
“Teacher?”
“…Camelia.”
“Are you going to sleep?”
“What… is it?”
Hmm.
Ashley really was a heavy sleeper.
She was always prone to sleep, but since we came to the vacation home, it had escalated to the point where, aside from breakfast and dinner… she was pretty much just sleeping all the time.
Of course, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but still a bit worrisome how much she was sleeping.
“I just wanted to have a quick chat with you, Teacher?”
“Umm…”
Maybe that’s why.
She didn’t look particularly sleepier than usual.
If it were any other time, she wouldn’t be responding to me like this when I tried to talk to her.
“What is it… Heyyawn…”
“We’re all going to go see the mountain behind tomorrow, and I was hoping you could join us.”
“Me too…?”
“Yeah. Of course, if you really don’t want to go, you don’t have to, but I’d like it if you could.”
“Ugh…”
To be honest, since I’ve known Ashley since we were eight, we have never really done anything together.
It felt like all I had seen was her sleeping.
I just asked because I wanted to do something with Ashley this time around.
Considering Ashley’s preferences, I thought she would probably refuse, saying she’d just sleep again.
But I could at least ask once.
“What do you think?”
“Should I go out for the first time in a while…”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ve been sleeping a lot lately. Yeah… it would be nice to go out…”
I was genuinely surprised.
Not that I showed it, but it was indeed quite shocking.
After all, it was not someone else, but Ashley who consented to go out.
She must have thought about refusing, but it was odd how casually she agreed.
“Uh… are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I have nothing to do anyway…”
“Uh… then I’m glad…”
It’s true that she had nothing to do, and she had been sleeping quite a bit.
But still, it was quite surprising.
“Oh, Teacher. How do you like the vacation home?”
“Perfect.”
Ashley answered my question immediately.
And she even made a thumbs-up with both hands.
Thinking about how she had been sleeping ever since we arrived here, I kind of understood her reaction.
Even without her Air Conditioning Magic, the vacation home was cooler than expected.
In many ways, it must have been super comfortable for Ashley.
Aside from the coolness, there were no classes, nothing to do, and she could just lay down on a fluffy bed and relax.
“That’s good to hear.”
“I think it would be nice if they changed the bed in the room at the mansion to something like this.”
“Let’s think about that when we go back.”
“Ugh… right. I can’t do anything right now anyway… ugh…”
She answered while stretching.
… Her chest really is huge.
“Cough.”
“What’s wrong…?”
“Oh, nothing.”
I found myself momentarily at a loss for words.
I was just watching Ashley stretch, but her unique figure caught my attention more than I expected.
“Teacher, are you going to sleep again?”
“Maybe…?”
“Hmm… then you should sleep. I’m going out.”
“Okay…? Sleep well… heeeyawn…”
Originally, I had planned to chat with Ashley a bit more.
After all, she didn’t seem as drowsy as usual.
But ironically, because of that, I decided to stop the conversation here.
If I kept bothering her now, she might end up sleeping in tomorrow and not come out.
“Goodnight, Teacher. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah… you too, sleep well… heeeyawn…”
And so I left Ashley’s Room.
I wanted to spend a bit more time with her, but I had to conserve my energy for going out tomorrow.
… It would be weird if losing just a few minutes of sleep caused problems, but with Ashley, I felt like it could happen.
“…She really is big.”
Karen is big too, but Ashley’s size seemed to be the biggest.
I’ve grown a bit since earlier, but still… I was only slightly smaller than Rize.
Compared to when I was little, I’ve definitely gotten taller, but I still felt I was far from finishing my growth.
*
“Young Lady, there might be bugs, so be careful…”
“It’s fine. I had no problem yesterday while I was walking around with Ella!”
Rize was worrying too much about nothing, but there really was no problem.
After all, I had no bite marks on my body.
“Young Lady.”
“I’m really okay, you know? And if I do get bitten, I can just apply some medicine then.”
“……..”
Rize was truly full of worries.
Rosalyn, who was walking next to me in the mountains, wasn’t nearly as concerned.
In fact, Rosalyn seemed to be enjoying the hike, smelling the scents of the grass and flowers.
“Karen, how about you? Isn’t it nice?”
“It is… it’s beautiful.”
“Good, that’s a relief.”
Seeing Rosalyn and Karen enjoying the scenery certainly put me in a good mood.
Although Rize was nagging and didn’t comment on the scenery, she definitely wasn’t in a bad mood.
Even if she didn’t show it now, she had clearly shown her enjoyment earlier when we entered the mountains.
“Rize, let’s not just nag and have fun too, okay?”
“…Young Lady.”
“Isn’t this a vacation?”
I took Rize’s hand and began to persuade her.
Because if I just told Rize it was okay, she definitely wouldn’t listen to me.
Knowing Rize’s personality, this was the easiest way to persuade her.
“Rize, okay?”
“…Just be careful.”
“I got it, Rize. Now let’s just have fun.”
“…Yes.”
And so we all began hiking through the mountains.
I had already played around with Ella the day before, but adding other people like this made it definitely better.
“Teacher, how about you?”
“It… has mana… feels good…”
“Really?”
“Yeah…”
Ashley, with her eyes closed, was happily walking…
She had an expression of pure comfort as she embraced the natural breeze.
Seeing her like this made me think I did a good thing bringing her here.
Sure, the others showed good reactions to seeing the mountains too, but none were as happy as Ashley.
“Camelia, what’s over there?”
“Um… over there is a small garden… I guess. It should just be a place decorated with some flowers and grass.”
“Really? Then what’s on the opposite side?”
“The opposite side is a hiking trail leading straight up the mountain.”
Rosalyn was truly enjoying herself, taking in the mountain as if it were her own.
I bet if she had come alone… she might have even gone hiking all the way up.
“Should we go that way? It is summer, so I’d prefer the other side… that seems better.”
Aside from that, I didn’t want to go hiking.
So I started leading everyone towards the opposite side.
In fact, this way has a small valley, too.
Although I had seen it with Ella yesterday, the others had yet to see it at all.
“Mother, how do you like it?”
“Lovely. It really… feels like we came to the right place.”
Yesterday, Ella had complimented this place, but Rosalyn actually seemed to enjoy it even more.
It wasn’t surprising since Rosalyn loved flowers and grass.
She looked especially pleased.
While Karen and Ashley were sitting comfortably in a good spot, Rosalyn was walking around, admiring the flowers and grass.
“Rize, should we sit for a bit?”
“Not necessary. If Young Lady wants to…”
“No, I just want to take a break.”
Rosalyn could enjoy herself in her own way, while Rize and I could rest in the way we preferred.
Karen and Ashley were the first to recline, and we moved our mat to join them.
“What’s Ella doing over here?”
“Hehe! I’ve already seen it yesterday! I’m just resting now!”
I thought Ella would be busy looking around too, but she was relaxing on the mat.
Hmm…
Well, I guess that’s fine.
After all, I was planning to sit and rest with them anyway.
“Heeyawn…”
I just laid down.
Today was just… going to be about resting comfortably like this before heading back to the vacation home.
The air felt refreshing, the view was beautiful, and the sounds around were peaceful.
Really, the only sound I heard was Ella’s little chirping.
“Heeyawn… tomorrow I should…”
Maybe go play at the valley.
It was my plan for tomorrow, but I just entertained the thought for now.
Of course, Ashley and Karen might not join, but it sounded like fun.