A window frame made of oak, with a hazy, translucent frosted glass inset.

It seems the window wasn't fully closed to let in the breeze, leaving a slight gap through which the cold winter wind sneaked into the warm room.

The early morning sunlight filtered through the glass from outside, shining on the velvet quilt embroidered with a wolf's head.

In the corner of the room, the crackling of burning wood echoed from the fireplace, the warmth from the fire dispelling the chill coming through the window.

Kane, groggy, felt the sunlight on his face, trying hard to open his eyelids, but they wouldn't obey.

Forget it, after all, it's his own body, so let it be.

Oh right, there's still a demon to slay today!

No wait, the dungeon was cleared yesterday.

Upon realizing this, a sense of relief washed over him, and he extended a leg from under the quilt to feel the cold outside.

His big toe and index toe fumbled along the wall, finally finding what he sought, pinching a piece of cotton cloth and pulling it back to block the sunlight.

The room fell into dimness once more.

And Kane turned comfortably on Cotton Candy, drifting back to sleep.

Just sleep a little more, just a bit more, then wake up, was the final thought before plunging into sleep.

Knock knock knock!

A sound came from the solid wooden door of the inn, somewhat muffled.

"Kane, are you in there? If you're awake, come out quickly, everyone's waiting for you."

Hearing Kreya's voice from outside, the sleeping Kane drowsily responded.

"Okay."

Then, inexplicably, he drifted back to sleep again.

It seemed only a brief moment passed.

Kane suddenly threw off the quilt and sat up.

Whoa, what time was it?

He turned his head, looking for the clock in the room.

Eventually, he spotted an antique bronze pendulum clock on the wall by the bedside and took a closer look.

It was already afternoon!

Under him, Cotton Candy seemed to be ensuring his sleep, neither shaking nor wishing to leave, merely humming something to itself in the room.

Noticing Kane awakened on his body, Cotton Candy squinted and happily greeted him.

"Beep beep!"

"Good morning to you too, Cotton Candy. No, it's not morning anymore."

Quickly tossing off the quilt, he jumped off Cotton Candy, dashed into the adjacent washroom, freshened up, dressed, and rushed out.

Opening the solid wooden room door, a blast of cold wind greeted him.

Without the room's fireplace, the chilly wind outside was indeed hard to bear.

And his warm clothing was still in Kreya's space equipment; when he checked into the inn last night, he hadn't taken them out.

And Kreya's room was directly across the hallway.

He shivered slightly and headed over to Kreya's room, knocking on her door.

"Beep beep!"

Hearing Cotton Candy's voice, Kane turned his head and was startled.

Because Cotton Candy's white cloud body had turned into a pale blue cloud, with snowflakes actually starting to float off of it.

That's ridiculous! What an exaggeration!

Just then, Kreya's door opened slightly, and Lilulu poked her head through the gap.

Cotton Candy turned into a misty form and slipped through the crack.

"Ah! What went in?"

Kane directly widened the gap just enough to fit himself and slipped in too, closing the door behind him.

"Why'd you take so long to open the door? Look how frosty Cotton Candy is."

Hmm?? At Kane's remark, Lilulu was full of question marks.

Inside Kreya's room, a few people sat around a large table.

Since Kreya's room was considerably larger than theirs, her fireplace was also a size bigger.

A heap of wood crackled inside, burning brightly.

The blazing fire brought warmth, warding off the cold winter entirely outside the room.

Neither Kane, Kreya, Longbei, nor Meizike was accustomed to the cold, as they had always resided in milder climates where even in winter, snow was rarely seen.

Even Lilulu, who lived in a mystical space, was in an eternally-spring garden.

Being extremely unaccustomed to the winter's cold after returning from the dungeon, they all huddled inside the inn, unwilling to step out.

They had stayed in the dungeon for over two months, arriving just at the end of autumn when Frost Wolf Castle's climate wasn't nearly as cold as it was now.

Now it had fully transitioned into the heart of winter.

As Kreya glanced at Kane, watching Longbei and Meizike's dungeon card game from the side, she rolled her eyes.

"You finally decided to wake up, I thought you were planning to sleep on Cotton Candy all day."

Near noon, Kreya had knocked on Kane's door, calling him to get up and had received his acknowledgment.

Only for him to wake up late in the afternoon.

"Hehe."

Faced with Kreya's chiding words, Kane didn't reply but instead chuckled and sat down beside her.

He sat right by Kreya, on the thick carpeted floor.

Seeing Kreya's blanket covering her lower body, Kane shamelessly spread it out to cover them both.

Under the cover of the blanket, Kane held Kreya's hand, interlocking their fingers tightly.

Kreya symbolically tried to pull away, but seeing Kane had no intention of letting go, ceased her struggle.

Witnessing Kane's cheeky grin directly aimed at her, her cheeks flushed red as she glared at him fiercely.

Seemingly still not satisfied, she bumped him with her body.

Who knew Kane would be so cheeky? As she withdrew her body from the bump, he glued himself to her, pressing closely side by side.

Feeling Kane's action, Kreya's cheeks flushed bright red, the color spreading to her ears, and with her free hand, reached under the blanket to tightly pinch his thigh.

"Ouch!"

The pain in his thigh made Kane take a sharp intake of breath.

This woman's strength was not to be underestimated.

Out of their sight, behind them,

Lilulu, Cotton Candy, and Yu Yu watched their actions just like that.

Yu Yu, with its camera lens-like eyes, had a green dot flashing, already recording.

It nodded its body while recording, seemingly having learned something?

The cloud-like body of Cotton Candy even sprouted two cloud-formed arms, rubbing its chin while observing Kane and Kreya's actions as if evaluating something.

"Beep beep!"

Listening to Cotton Candy's sound, Lilulu nodded approvingly nearby.

"You've summed it up quite well, Lilulu officially invites you to be my assistant."

"Beep beep!"

"Of course, don't underestimate Lilulu, our works can definitely reach every household."

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