Chapter 16 : Roland is only for me

Flinch—
“Mm.”

Feeling a light weight on my chest, I reached out, touching soft, silky hair.

“…Nice.”

Patting the small head gently, it nuzzled my palm, murmuring in sleep.

Opening my eyes, I saw Freesia clinging to me, drooling slightly.

“Oh, Freesia.”

Drooling? She’s even more relaxed than yesterday morning.

Chuckling, I brushed her silky hair. She stirred, lifting her head briefly, then buried her face in my chest, nuzzling.

“Hm.”

We slept deeply, so it’s time to get up.
But she’s so peaceful, I almost feel bad waking her.

Patting her with one hand, scratching my chin with the other, a voice came from the bedside.

—Ah, ah. Hear me?

“Luma?”
—Yup, it’s me. Hm, you’re defenseless while sleeping, aren’t you? Not that Freesia or you, Roland, are that vulnerable. Ugh, how do you hide your Mindpulse entirely? If I could, that’d be the ultimate defense. Not that I’d attack my mercenary, but I can at least sense a Mindpulse.
“…Mm.”

Her voice was low, considerate, but her nonstop chatter made Freesia stir, though she settled back into my arms. Still, it was noisy.

“Quiet down, Luma. You’ll wake her.”
—Oh, sorry. Thinking it over, I realized you had no way to contact me. So, I figured you’d be up by now.
“Hm, just here to rush me?”
—Rush? No way. I’m here to set up contact. Show your Mindpulse, or don’t you carry a terminal?
“Terminal, huh.”

I’ve got the map-terminal Kang Rimun gave me.
Not sure if it works for calls, but let’s see.

“How’s this?”
—Hm, old-school, but not bad. Press it to the glowing spot there.

Looking up, I saw a glowing slot in the wall by the bed.
Holding the terminal to it, the screen lit up.

—Huh, I was gonna install a comms program, but it’s already set up. Only contact saved… Kang Rimun?
“Hm?”
—He didn’t tell you? Guess he wouldn’t.
“Seems so.”

Well, I can contact Kang Rimun now.
Not a bad deal.

Seeing Kang Rimun’s lone contact listed, the screen flickered, adding a new entry.

—Anyway, there… done. My contact’s saved. Call me whenever you miss me.
“Won’t happen.”
—So firm!
“…Mm, Ro…land?”

Freesia woke, her voice sleepy.
Looking down, she blinked slowly, sprawled on me.

—Oh, Freesia’s up. If she knew I was chatting with you before she woke, she’d be jealous, so I’ll…
“…Leave.”
—Just go—eek?!
Pop—

Still groggy, Freesia stretched toward the wall, and with Luma’s yelp, silence fell.

“…Roland. Don’t like, her. Blocked, again.”
“Oh? I don’t like her either.”
“…Really?”
“Of course.”

Reassured, Freesia’s tense face softened, and she nuzzled my chest again.

“…Good. …Roland. What’s, that?”
“Hm?”
“…That.”

Following her pointing finger, I saw the terminal in my hand.

“Oh, this?”

Glancing casually, I noticed Kang Rimun’s contact, then Luma’s photo below, with—

“Handsome Roland’s go-to fixer, Luma ♡ (maybe exclusive too ♡)”

Frivolous, suggestive text.

“Uh, what?”
“…Roland, wrote, that?”
“No, no way I’d write that.”

Even with my inexperience, the suggestive tone was obvious.
Freesia stared up, her face blank, yet a chilling vibe hit me.

“…Really, not?”
“Really. She said to sync it to the wall for contact setup, so I did. Didn’t know she’d pull this.”

Sweating, I explained, and Freesia’s mood eased slightly.
Wait, her reaction—does she understand the implication?

“…Good. Then, change. …Change it.”
“Yeah, I don’t wanna see this either. But… how?”

Fumbling with the terminal, I had no clue how to edit it.
Sneaking a glance at Freesia, her mood seemed fully relaxed for some reason.

“…I’ll, change.”
“Great, do it.”

Freesia touched the terminal, and the suggestive text vanished, replaced by two words:

“Hate”

“…Roland’s, exclusive. …Me.”
“Uh, F-Freesia?”
“…Yes?”
“You don’t, uh, know what that means, right?”

She tilted her head, staring.

“…Means?”
“Never mind, good you don’t.”

Haha… thought she got mad knowing the meaning, but nope.

“…Me. Always… by Roland. Forever, too.”
“Yup, stay by me always.”
“…That’s, exclusive. Right?”

She interpreted Luma’s “exclusive” as always being by my side.
If that noisy woman clung to me, I’d shake her off in disgust.

Pat, pat—
“…Why?”
“Just… you’re pure.”
“…Bad, thing?”
“Bad? Nah, it’s great. But that word can be misunderstood, so don’t use it.”
“…Misunderstood?”
“Yup.”

Freesia tilted her head, her expression unreadable as always.
What’s she thinking?

“…Got it. No, misunderstanding.”
“Hm? Yeah, no misunderstanding.”

Feels off somehow.

Rubbing my brow, the terminal buzzed.
Checking it, Luma’s contact list was gone, replaced by a message with her photo—her message.

“Lighthall Lodge location and overview.”

So, contact isn’t just voice but text too.
Makes sense—easier than real-time talk.

Ignoring Luma’s fluff, I skimmed the key info, set the terminal down, and got up.

Slide—
“…Roland, hug.”

Freesia, sliding off me, looked up, arms outstretched.

Pat, pat—
“Gotta wash up, right? I’ll hug you after.”
“…Okay.”

She puffed her cheeks slightly, displeased, but nuzzled my hand, deflating.

Squeeze—
“Uh, Freesia? Choking me a bit.”

Maybe because I didn’t hug her much during washing and eating, she clung tightly now, fully prepped with the drone, ready to head out.

“…! Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”

Didn’t hurt or anything.

Chuckling, I patted her head, holding her as I opened the door.

“Now that I think about it, should we extend our stay?”
“…Hm?”

Pondering, I pulled out the terminal to try operating it.

“Uh… Freesia, can you contact Luma?”
“…Why?”

She seemed wary, likely from this morning.

“She’d know this place best. Plus, we didn’t hear how much the job pays.”
“…Fine.”

Frowning slightly, she reached out, and a screen with Luma’s text appeared.

“…What, send?”
“Hm? Oh, can you make it a real-time call?”
“…Phone, …okay.”
Ring—

Phone, huh?

Nodding at the new term, Luma’s voice soon came through.

—Roland? Heading out?
“Yup, but got questions.”
—Oh my, curious about me? Maybe…
“Hm?”

This feels bad.

—My three sizes?
“…?”

Three sizes? No clue, but it’s Luma, so I can guess her intent.
Freesia, like me, didn’t get it but sensed the vibe, her already heavy mood sinking further.

—Happy to share—eek?!
“What happened?”
“…I, did it.”
“Hm?”
—Sob, you kicked me out so harshly this morning, and now this? Too much, Freesia!

Freesia did something again.
Her powers are fascinating.

“…Not, too much. …Roland. Mine.”
—What, hogging that handsome man all to yourself?
“…Hog. …Yup. Will, hog.”
—Oh my, greedy little thing.
“Haha…”

What’s Luma doing, bickering with a kid?

“Stop taking her seriously.”
—Oh, she seems serious.
“Enough. How much is the job’s pay?”
—About 10,000 credits. Oh, you might not get the value?
“Hm. How many nights at this hotel’s Lumiere Standard?”
—Oh, calculating that way? About eight nights.
“Eight nights, huh.”

Kang Rimun’s chip had around 2,500 credits, right?

“Know any better lodging?”
—Of course. Want fancier? Or better value?
“Value?”
—Like, better quality for the price. Or maybe a house?
“Hm…”

A house.
Cheongdo’d be ideal, but probably tough.

“Anywhere with Cheongdo’s vibe and facilities like here? Where I can get natural meals with enough money, or a shop selling natural ingredients?”
—Oh my, high standards from Cheongdo, huh? Glimmer Garden doesn’t have Cheongdo’s vibe… Delmin’s close. If you’re okay with less, maybe Rain Rift?
“Price?”
—Rain Rift’s 6,000–9,000 credits monthly rent. But natural food’s hard to get, so it doesn’t fit. Delmin’s 10,000–30,000 credits, plus a hefty deposit. There’s a mart selling natural ingredients, but they’re rare, so you’d need to live nearby. Even then, it’s mostly canned, not fresh.
“Hm.”

Living in Delmin would need fast transport for jobs elsewhere.

“How much for a vehicle?”
—Oh, buying a car? Got a license?
“License?”
—No license, I can send a car for each job. But I’ll take a bigger cut.
“Hmph.”

A bigger cut’s fine if it saves buying or driving a car.