No confusion after waking up this time, straight to first thought in head.
"By the way, how long did I sleep earlier?"
"First time, eight hours. This time, eighteen hours."
"WTF—how long has it been since I came here?"
"This seems to be your weakness. If I'm guessing right, you need to sleep more than fifteen hours a day" Healer added, "especially after using certain skills."
"I would've been over the moon if this was the real world, but now I can't see a single good thing about it."
"Others don't need to sleep at all."
"HUHH!!"
"Yeah. Normal necessities of life aren't needed here. No sleeping, eating, washing—nothing."
"Every 24 hours, everyone's clothing auto-updates to fit their situation. Look at yourself—wearing a patient's gown. That probably means no scenarios are coming for the next 24 hours."
"It's... weird."
"I agree," said the kid from the side.
"Hey, kiddo, what's your name?"
"Why do I need to tell you?"
"I'm Ashleen, your big bro's scenario partner."
"You're evil."
"I guess I might be, if you say so," I smiled at him subconsciously.Looking at him up close, he was pretty cute. He even looked like a mini version of Anik.
"...You keep hurting big bro again and again."
"I won't anymore."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Do you have other options?"
"...Only because big bro listens to you. I still don't like you, though."
"Haha, kiddo, I'm honored. You don't have to like me. I like myself enough for both of us."
"You look sick."
"Been like that since birth—can't help it," I shrugged.
"No, for real. You look sick."
"Ohh, must be the gown. Don't worry, your big bro won't blame you if his '80% power' gets lost."
"...It's not like that."
"Ok, ok. You should sleep now."
"Huh?"
"You should sleep, little bro. Kids need enough sleep to grow tall."
"Who's a kid?! And I don't need to sleep! You crazy woman!"
"Hey, healer lady," I called, "if sleeping isn't necessary, it's still possible, right?"
"Yeah, my lady."
"Hey, kiddo," I smiled slyly. "It's an order: go to sleep."
The kid instantly collapsed mid-sentence. I caught him quickly so he wouldn't smack his little head.
"That's for calling me a woman. Come on, I'm just a girl yet."
"Haha, what a weird way to take revenge," Anik chuckled. He had been lying on the bed, still sleeping.
I tucked the kid next to Anik.The two of them together really did look like a father and son... or brothers with a huge age gap.
"By the way, healer lady, does that mean sleeping isn't even good?"
"I'm not sure... but probably not necessary unless you want to," she replied.
"Healer lady," I said.
"Yes?"
"Go to your room and sleep for a couple of hours."
"But why, milady? You might need me later."
"I can always order you awake if needed. I want the people around me to stay a little human at least. No point burning ourselves out and turning into something else entirely."
"That's... an odd way to think. But sounds reasonable," she said with a laugh, leaving quietly.
"Damn. Forgot to ask where my room is."
"It's across from this one," Anik answered.
"How long have you been awake?"
"Since you started bossing the kid around." He had been awake thinking how can she stop Ashleen from turning into a demon. He saw a documentary on psycho kids a few years ago. "Take away all the control they have" said the doc.
"You're good at acting. Are you feeling better though?"
"Yeah."
"By the way, who do you think this little guy is? How did he end up in the orc area? He doesn't even seem traumatized."
"He looks traumatized to me. He might be an NPC. But if he's not... he could prove useful later."
"Why do you think so?"
"He survived until I got to him."
"That's it? That's your entire reason?"
"Yeah. Guess so. Anyway, your memories... why did you want me to see them?"
"I don't know." I scratched my neck awkwardly. "Maybe it's just a habit. Back in the real world, I used to dump everything I felt onto someone... and this time, I didn't know who to tell. I was worried."It felt weird showing my weak side. It was probably the first time I'd done that since arriving here.
"I mean—you are my 80% power source after all..."
"Haha. You're dumb."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." He laughed lightly. "By the way, don't tell me you sent the healer lady off just for that weird reason."
"It was part of the reason. But it still made sense."
"Your face says it wasn't the main reason."
"Maybe. I just don't know what weird scenario might come next. And since I'm a princess now—without any king or queen—there's a huge chance someone's scheming against us."
"Why tell me, though?"
"You asked. And besides—you can't betray me."
"Why not?"
"Because I have 80% of your power. You can't kill me~~"
"I could keep you captive."