Chapter 571 – #117_Sleeping With the Enemy (7)

#571

One.
Dorothy wakes up much later than expected.
I had been asleep for almost 6 hours.

No matter how optimal the posture is, it would be seldom comfortable while being held by another person.

“Huh….”

Dorothy opens her eyes with a sleepy nasal sound that does not go away.
The car was about to wake him up, as he was already afraid of what kind of riot Rruye would cause if he saw this.
It was good timing.

“Uh….”

Despite his drowsy appearance, he could not find any gaps in his silver eyes.
Suddenly, a look of bewilderment hovered above the eyes like a cluster of stars.

It seems that even Dorothy, the world’s own pace, can’t avoid dreaming while sleeping.
Her eyes, which were so hard to read, were like, ‘What is it? What happened?’ She was shouting loudly.

“Aha…. Oh yeah.”

But the bewilderment did not last long.
Dorothy’s strangeness was washed away in a few blinks of her eyes.
Dorothy laughed at herself, as if it was absurd even thinking about it, and rubbed her cheeks against Siwoo’s chest while making a stretching sound.

“What time is it now?”
“It’s 8:00 a.M. If you’ve had enough sleep, please move. I have to go wait on you.”
“Did you really stay like this all night?”

Dorothy walks away in silence as she gently pushes her away.

“A promise is a promise.”
“…….”

It’s like when Leruhe worried about Dorothy, who pretended to have fallen over Siu in the sauna.
The wave that appeared again looked like the nursery rhyme we saw yesterday.

But she didn’t think too hard.

The world is full of problems that cannot be cut with a ruler.
I am not conceited that my bowl is large enough to take in all the parts that I did not measure.

Then there is nothing to think about anyway.
Since I decided to leave today, I’m saying goodbye to trying to dig into her true feelings and feelings that I don’t know whether it’s awkward or bitter.

“Yes.”
“Yes?”

Just when she was about to stand up, she asked Dorothy quietly.

“Would you like to work with me?”
“… Suddenly?”

As usual, she laughed softly and joked, so it didn’t matter.
She couldn’t say ‘okay’ or ‘no’ like before.
It was because of the lump in her heart that she had not been able to untie the knot.

It was the time when, as usual, he ended the conversation with a single blow, and was really about to go to Leruhe.

“I have an island of my own near the Dominican Republic. It’s a white sandy beach where the jade-colored sea breaks into white, but the scenery is pretty awesome.”

Dorothy stared at Siu and continued her words.
She treats everything as a joke.
I thought this too would be an extension of a nasty joke.

She’s got her fisheye look on her dumbfounded face, so she’ll get her revenge.

“It is my own workshop that is not captured on satellite and has no other information within the location point.”
“…… ?”
“The salary is a clean $3 million without any fuss. I’ll give you plenty of bonuses and vacations, of course I’ll negotiate every year~ I can help you with magic research.”

I wondered how it would feel if Dorothy went back to her day job and sat down at the negotiating table.
It is the posture of a first-class negotiator who feels relaxed even when he is broken.

However, if the content is absurd, even if you bring in a grand negotiator instead of a first-class negotiator, you will not be able to convince them.

“What is your job?”

I trembled at the last bit because I was just getting beaten every time.

“Isn’t it natural? My pillow. Just like today, when you sleep, you just need to hug me.”
“Compared to the job, the salary is high.”
“No way~ You can spend a hot night with me as a welfare benefit. If you were a pillow, I could pamper you even for eight hours a day.”
Haha.”

As she exchanges silly jokes and prepares to go to wake Leruhe, Nie’s arm is pulled back.
When she looked back, there was Dorothy with a smile on her face.

“Answer?”

The eyes are thrown so straight that it is hard to regard it as simply a joke.

It’s probably the most serious of her actions so far.
It was only then that I realized that the series of conversations might not be a joke, but….
Either way the answer doesn’t change.
She politely declined.

“I am grateful for the scouting offer, but it seems difficult to change jobs.”
“It’s a pity.”

Seeing Dorothy backing away too meekly to be sincere, she felt that she was a witch she knew but didn’t know.

2.
Dorothy kept her promise.

At breakfast, she had mentioned that she was likely to end her vacation ahead of schedule.
Leruye put out her lower lip with a very sad expression.

“You are leaving already. I am upset.”
“I’m also sorry for you.”
“Why are you in such a hurry?”

Dorothy glanced at Sioux as far as Leruhe could not notice.

“The market is in good flow. I’m getting nervous because I’m spending it peacefully.”

Dorothy, somewhat disheveled in the morning, was gone.
If earlier she had been seen as her first-class negotiator, her friendliness to Leruet was almost at the level of a salesperson dealing with VIPs at a department store.

“Can’t you buy all your luggage? I can’t pay right now, so I’ll issue the national treasury bonds of the Kingdom of Nukelaby.”
“Oh, thank you~ But I’m in a hurry for cash.”
“Isn’t it okay even though the interest rate is guaranteed at 10% for a 10-year maturity?”

Dorothy seemed a bit taken aback when the detailed proposal came out after trying to get out of it with an appropriate excuse.

“Today is not the only day. Now that I know where the Queen is, she can come anytime.”
“Still…. There are still many things I want to do with you. A reunion after 10 years is too short. Too bad.”

Leruet sighed heavily, poking out her lips as if her still uneaten lollipop had fallen to the dirt floor.
It was around the time that she let out a feeling of relief when she saw Dorothy, who had unexpectedly fulfilled her promise.

“Queen.”
“Why?”
“Can I borrow him for a moment?”

Both Siu, who was listening to the conversation by her side, and Leruye himself, who received her question, were totally unexpected requests.

It is clear that Siwoo is also making an absurd expression like Leruhe now.
I never thought I’d really say something that I dismissed as a joke.

“What did you just say?”
“I asked if I could borrow Shin Si-woo.”

The expression of embarrassment disappears from Leruhe’s face for a moment.
During that short period of time, he did not miss seeing Leruhe staring at Siu as if he was surprised.

She shook her head eagerly because her eyes were like ‘Is there an agreement without me knowing?’.
Because Siwoo clearly expressed his intention to refuse.

“That is difficult. You must be aware that this is not a common-sense suggestion. But for what purpose you are taking me, I will hear the reason.”
“You look smart~ I’m going to try to get you to do this and that.”

Leruhe’s expression was complicated.
She seemed to be contemplating whether to be angry or to speak kindly.

“Shin Si-woo is a beast-like man who dreams of becoming one of the four concubines even if he looks far-sighted. She doesn’t know what kind of menial things will happen if she goes on a trip alone with you.”

First of all, it seems to be convincing.
Leruet preaches the danger of Shin Si-woo in a calm and low tone.

“Thank you for your concern~ But I am bolder than the Queen thinks.”

Dorothy responded with a smile that was as nonchalant as it was nasty.

Siwoo expressed his intention to refuse anyway.
The possibility of Leruye’s permission is infinitely slim, and even if she does, Siu has no intention of leaving.

I didn’t know what Dorothy had in mind to say such a thing.
The air got heavy.

“Do you know what you mean by taking away the official seal of the Kingdom of Nukelabi from me?”

The Queen’s high soprano jade sound resonates softly.
It sounded like the roar of a beast preying on its prey.

“You steal it. I meant to borrow it for a while. I’m sorry if you were offended.”

Dorothy willingly backs down this time as well.
As much as Dorothy withdrew, she let go of her displeasure at Le Rue.
Of course, I stubbornly informed my opinion about the parts that I would not yield to.

“Forgive me. I don’t want Jim to blush on the last day either.”
“It was a light joke. I’m really sorry.”
“It was enough to know. Jim wants to cherish his friendship with you, so he won’t bring it up.”
“Yes, I understand.”

Siwoo, who had been watching with an anxious mind thinking, ‘Should we fight?’, Was relieved.

Meal is over
Dorothy packed up her belongings and prepared to leave.

“Then, thank you for taking care of me during my stay. I’ll just go.”

Lruhe was briefly angry about Siwoo’s problem, but was quickly released as usual.
Now, it seems that Dorothy’s regret for leaving earlier than expected has increased.

“Dorothy.”
“Yes, my queen.”

Leruet strides forward and hugs Dorothy tightly.
It was a friendly hug, like hugging a precious doll.

“When are you planning to come next time?”
“I don’t know either~ Maybe it’s time for the next vacation?”

Leruye even considered the possibility that Dorothy, on the outside, was calm, but she was upset on the inside.

“I hope you don’t feel too sad.”
“Oh? Which part?”
“The fact that Jim didn’t give up Shin Si-woo.”

Dorothy smiled while patting Leruhe’s head.

“It’s okay~ I knew it was an unreasonable request.”
“The burden is precious to you too. When the day comes when the trials are over and you can travel freely…. Let’s have a fun trip together.”
“…….”

Dorothy, who was silent for a moment, answered with a smile.

“I hope that day will come too.”

3.
Just like when Dorothy first met, she left abruptly, and only Siu and Leru were left in the submarine again.

It’s hard to pinpoint that he’s an annoying hindrance, but he hasn’t been able to do the trials because of Dorothy anyway, so he’s going to work harder than he has in the meantime.

“Siw.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t want to leave with Dorothy, did you?”
“It can’t be.”

Whenever Dorothy asks Si-Woo to be friendly, she seems to have a feeling of uneasiness right away.
After comforting the anxious Lruhe, he decided to start the ordeal right away.

It was probably because I was in a hurry as much as it was delayed….
That was the wrong choice.

That she shouldn’t have.
She belatedly realizes that she should have stayed with Leruhe a little longer.