The sun blazed in the sky, shining so brilliantly that I couldn’t look directly at it.
The clear blue sky had not even a wisp of a cloud, and the heat was so intense that it felt as though it could melt a person’s brain.
It was as if every element in this world was conspiring to lull me into the realm of sleep.
At this rate, I might succumb to complete laziness.
“Yaaawn... So sleepy…”
As I rubbed my eyes, I managed to get rid of some gunk that had built up in the corner.
It was quite a large one, surprisingly.
While I was sitting with one knee raised, the area in front of me suddenly went dark.
Looking up, I saw the silhouette of a girl.
“Hmm, sleep-deprived again, Bruno? If you keep messing up your sleeping schedule at such a young age, you’ll end up a wreck when you’re older.”
This cheerful, golden-haired girl full of energy even in the morning was Ekaterina.
She frowned at the sight of me looking sleepy.
She seemed particularly displeased by people who let their daily rhythms go astray.
Her nickname was Katya.
She had insisted that being addressed formally didn’t feel approachable, so although I’d been hesitant at first, I now called her by her nickname.
Initially, I thought she was stuck-up because she was a noble’s daughter, but spending time with her revealed that her haughty demeanor was limited to her speech.
Her words were mature, but otherwise, she wasn’t all that different from the girls back in my village.
Thanks to the margrave’s liberal approach to parenting, Katya had grown up full of vigor.
As for me, I had trouble falling asleep last night because I’d taken a nap during the day...
Yesterday, I’d discovered a nice shady spot.
I ended up napping right next to Ivy, who was basking in the sunlight.
“Mii~.”
“Look, even Ivy is telling you not to slack off.”
“No, she’s saying, ‘Yesterday was fun,’ actually.”
“What!? Could Ivy have been an accomplice?!”
Katya dramatically expressed her shock with exaggerated gestures as if she had just witnessed the end of the world.
She clasped both cheeks with her hands and widened her eyes.
Katya had grown considerably fond of Ivy over time.
Like everyone else, she couldn’t understand Ivy’s words, but she had her own way of trying to communicate with her.
As a noble’s daughter, and likely destined for greatness, I hoped she’d protect Ivy when the time came.
Currently, Ivy and I were assigned to guard Katya.
Almost two weeks had passed since the day we met the margrave.
So far, there had been no attacks.
Ivy was always prepared to create barriers in case something happened.
But while Ivy was constantly on alert, I had nothing to do.
Recently, I felt like a bottle of soda gone flat.
All I did was play with Katya and share meals with her—a carefree life.
…But I knew this wasn’t okay.
With nothing happening, I had let my guard down.
This was a job, after all, so I needed to be more diligent.
I opened my eyes wide and straightened my back.
Then, standing up, I stretched deeply.
“Oh, the hero’s demeanor is back. If only you kept that level of alertness all the time.”
“Stop calling me that. It really doesn’t suit me.”
“Ha-ha, I know, I know. ‘I’m just an ordinary guy, and Ivy’s the amazing one.’ I’ve heard it a million times already.”
Since we spent so much time together, the first thing I did was clear up Katya’s misunderstanding.
I told her it was Ivy who defeated the guildmaster and tamed the griffon, and that I was just a regular guy riding on her coattails.
At first, she had been skeptical, but after seeing Ivy heal wounds, grow in size, and float in the air from time to time, she understood the truth.
She realized that Ivy was the extraordinary one—not me.
Meeting her before any strange preconceptions or biases could form had been fortunate.
Though she still seemed to hold me in slight reverence, I figured that would fade with time.
Girls often dream big, but they also wake from those dreams quickly.
“By the way, where’s Sanshita today?”
“Oh, I had him deliver a letter.”
“Using a first-tier griffon as a carrier pigeon... No matter how many times I hear it, it’s still hard to believe.”
Sanshita was the name of the griffon.
The day after we met the margrave, we had been debating between my suggestion, Fujinmaru, and Ivy’s favorite, Flauros, when I accidentally referred to the griffon as Sanshita—a nickname meaning “third-rate.”
“Well, Sanshita, huh… That’s some bold naming sense. I like it. Especially its fearless audacity,” the margrave had said.
And so, the poor griffon was officially named Sanshita.
The only consolation was that he seemed oddly pleased to declare, “I’m Sanshita!” Otherwise, I’d feel even guiltier.
Now, Sanshita was delivering a letter to my parents, soaring through the skies.
Having once flown with him to the town, I knew he wouldn’t get lost.
Thanks to taming him, I could now return to my hometown in just a few hours if I wanted to.
It was also nice to be able to show the villagers that I could now command both Ivy and a griffon.
No one would dare harm my family anymore.
“Mi~.”
“Exactly.”
Ivy, perched on my shoulder, agreed, saying there wasn’t much to do even if we were wide awake.
She wasn’t wrong.
As bodyguards, it was better if no attacks occurred.
But when nothing happened, it felt like we had no purpose—a true dilemma.
The guard assignment had no set end date.
It was vaguely defined as “until Katya’s safety was assured.”
…Still, the pay was generous, enough to repay my debts and save for a small house.
I’d even started dreaming of a place with a spacious garden for Ivy to roam freely.
And just like that, an idea came to me.
Once it did, I couldn’t ignore it.
I had the margrave’s permission, after all.
“Katya, would it be okay if I took a longer break?”
“Hmm, I don’t mind.”
While it might seem reckless for a guard to leave, it wasn’t the first time.
Ivy’s barriers were indestructible, even against Sanshita’s full-force attacks.
With her barriers in place, I wasn’t needed by her side 24/7.
So, Ivy fortified her invisible barrier and nodded, ready for us to head out.
Thus, we ventured out of the margrave’s vast estate, me still adjusting to this unusual freedom.