Chapter 178: Carry like a princess

Since it was still too early for them to sleep, Vlad decided to spend a couple of hours training to warm up his body. Although the temperature inside the capsule was nowhere near as freezing as it was outside, it was still close to that of the academy campus.

While he was doing basic exercises in the hall, Seraphina busied herself studying the map of the forest and planning her next course of action.

"What are you doing?" Vlad asked, his eyes narrowed in amusement as he came out from the bathroom, having taken a shower after his exercise session.

Vlad’s bed was at the entrance of his room, half inside and half in the hall, while Seraphina pushed it from behind, clearly struggling.

"Oh, you are already out," she said, breathing unsteadily as she wiped the imaginary sweat from her forehead.

"Am I being kicked out?" Vlad asked with a low chuckle, a playful smile dancing on his face.

"Of course not," she muttered as she fell forward onto the bed, catching her breath. "Move the bed to my room. I cannot sleep alone."

No response came from Vlad for a few seconds.

"You listening, commoner—Kyaa!"

She gasped as she saw the ceiling moving down, or more accurately, the bed rising upward. "Wh-what are you doing?"

She gasped, peeking over the edge of the bed where Vlad stood, effortlessly lifting the whole bed with both hands.

"Following your order, My Lady," Vlad replied with a shrug as he moved forward.

"Isn’t it heavy? At least let me get down," Seraphina insisted, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Nah, it’s fine. Your weight barely adds anything to the bed. I told you already. I can carry this much weight for a whole lifetime without breaking a sweat."

Seraphina silently lay back on the bed with a slight blush on her face.

"Where should I place it?" Vlad asked as he reached her room.

"Wherever you see fit," Seraphina’s low voice came from above.

As the bed slowly lowered, she found it connected to her own bed, turning the two single beds into a master bed.

"You know you should work out more," Vlad sighed as he sat beside her. He playfully pinched her nose and continued, "How could you be out of breath from pushing a bed for a couple of metres?"

"Mages do not need physical strength," Seraphina scoffed, crossing her arms defensively. "And let me tell you, I’m perfectly healthy by human standards. It’s just you who is absurdly strong like a barbarian."

Vlad didn’t deny her claim. He was well aware of his uncommon physical strength.

"Well then, strong lady. Could you brief me on tomorrow’s plan?" Vlad asked teasingly, retreating his hand from her nose.

"Raphael will scout the surroundings again around eight in the morning," Seraphina revealed, sitting cross-legged. "Once we confirm the location of the orcs..."

While she explained her plan in a steady tone, Vlad’s eyes remained fixed on her serene face, a realisation dawning on him. She was the same girl he had been terrified of meeting on his first day at the academy. Bratty, arrogant, manipulative, containing all the negative traits of a high noble.

However, that was just her outer shell.

Inside, she was an incredibly kind and amazing girl. Even though she always called him commoner, she never treated him as such. Although Vlad would have become the Sentinel Knight one way or another, he had to accept the fact that the reason he had reached such a level so quickly was thanks to her offer to join the quest and her absolute faith that he could do it.

He didn’t even realise when he had become so close to her that they were already sharing a room and sitting on the same bed without a second thought.

"St-stop staring," Seraphina murmured, pulling him out of his thoughts. "It’s embarrassing."

Without realising it, he had been looking at her unblinkingly for over a minute.

"O-oh," Vlad moved his gaze sideways awkwardly.

"Where were you dazing off?" she demanded with a frown. "Did you even listen to what I said?"

"Of course I did," Vlad’s response came instantly as he repeated her plan. "I was just thinking that you are an incredible person."

"Th-that came out of nowhere," Seraphina exclaimed, obviously flustered by his sudden compliment.

Vlad merely smiled in response.

"Ahem, I was always an incredible person. You just realised it late," she muttered, trying to sound composed.

"Perhaps," Vlad replied, lying down on the bed, his arms resting beneath his head.

"Let me show you something," Seraphina said, her tone excited as she crawled towards the other end of the bed, where a switch was embedded in the wall.

As she pressed the switch, the ceiling of the room shifted, absorbing into the side wall and revealing a layer of glass ceiling. Beyond the transparent roof, the beautiful night sky stretched endlessly above them.

Vlad’s eyes widened.

Bands of greenish-blue light danced across the sky, their ethereal glow slowly rippling through the darkness. The aurora stretched from one horizon to the other, occasionally shifting into faint shades of violet as it shimmered against the star-filled sky.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Vlad simply lay there, staring upward at the magnificent sight.

"It’s beautiful..." he murmured.

Seraphina’s lips curved into a small, satisfied smile as she watched his reaction.

"Brr... is it only me, or is it really getting colder?" Seraphina shivered, pulling up the thick blanket and covering herself.

"Yeah, the temperature has been dropping for a while now," Vlad agreed with a nod.

Seraphina’s brows furrowed in thought. "The capsule is designed to provide some insulation from the cold outside. The temperature shouldn’t have dropped this much unless—"

Her eyes widened.

"Oh no!"

She shot to her feet and hurried outside, making her way toward the neighboring room.

Vlad quickly followed. When he reached the room, he noticed the problem immediately: the window panel was slightly raised, allowing a steady stream of cold air to seep inside.

Seraphina rushed over and slammed the panel shut, but it was already too late.

The insulation had already been compromised.

"I’m an idiot," Seraphina muttered, facepalming as her limbs slightly shivered from the cold.

"Why did you even open the window in the first place?" Vlad asked, shaking his head as he reached her side.

"I intended to keep it open for only a few minutes so the camp wouldn’t become suffocating," she explained with a sigh. "But I completely forgot about it after opening it."

In her hurry, she had forgotten to wear her slippers. The cold floor beneath her bare feet sent shivers through her whole body. She was about to cover herself in her mana to protect herself from the cold when a pair of hands suddenly reached her, grabbing her around the waist and behind the knees.

Before she knew it, she was already in a princess carry in Vlad’s arms.