My Servant Is An Elf Knight From Another World

Chapter 1008: Rare Exceptions

I could see the light was still on from my driveway. The pale beige of the living room curtains ensnaring most of its potency in a linen wall of muted white.

My legs were starting to feel like every muscle had been replaced by spilling bags of sand with every took closer to the porch. Something about seeing your front door after a long day... your brain just immediately begins threatening to put you under a coma because home equals safe I suppose— I don’t know, I don’t practice neurology. This brain doesn’t know brains.

After a second or two of shimmying my key into the lock, I gave the door a gentle push and stepped forward to only a dim, empty foyer to welcome my arrival.

Hm, feels like something’s missing here.

I pulled the laces of my shoes, kicked them loose and shuffled deeper inward. The entire place was as spotless as always. Timbered floorings polished to a shine, and dust and dirt eradicated even in the smallest of crevices. A place so immaculate and orderly, it only took a single glance to spot what was amiss.

Someone was on the sofa, head slumped in slumber. Upon catching sight of that, I muted myself; light steps, and a century’s worth of time carefully placing my keys and similar pocket-sized things on the counter. I didn’t even dare to breathe.

Can’t think of many individuals that could make sleeping look like a divine work of art, but in her simplicity, inadvertence, hands rested atop the hems of her dress, silky locks of silver-white catching the fall of her left cheek perched against her shoulder, Ash made it look so breathtakingly easy.

Was I being conceited or did she doze off waiting for me to come back? Discipline like hers, I can’t really think of any other reason for her to be sleeping anywhere that she didn’t deem appropriate of her standing.

I stumbled on the answer almost right away upon getting closer. Her phone laid flat on the carpet, and Mr. Black was there too, indulging himself to the fullest with curious swipes of his paws against the glow of the display.

Didn’t need the aptitude of a snarky, sexy detective to put the pieces together here. Ash had merely fallen victim to the lulling effect when you got your eyes stuck to your phone late in the night. Must’ve been browsing for some time, and in this vast quiet, in such a comfy seat, guess not even Elf-Knights can stave off the common ailments of the modern-day.

I picked her phone up with a protesting Mr. Black attempting to swipe it back to no avail. I bribed him with a pet on the head which fortunately he begrudgingly accepted as sufficient reimbursement. I had no intention of snooping, the thought never even crossed my mind—but the display was already on, and I had to look at it to even pick it up in the first place, so any accidental peeks were simply the fault and blame of the present circumstance.

And there were some accidental peeks, indeed.

Mr. Black must’ve tapped the search bar on the browser for the keyboard was swiped up. He apparently had also been searching for something before I interrupted him, so whatever "23ggg r tve" was supposed to mean, I guess now the world may never know. But just below that was what actually caught my attention, the compact little border listing Ash’s most recent searches.

From oldest to newest, I gleaned her inquiries and I had to suppress a chuckle from slipping out of me seeing the way Ash type in her searches.

<<Google, please debrief me of the shortest route to the residence of my dear friend, Amanda Collins. Here is her address...>>

The rest of the search was obscured beyond the borders of the display’s resolution. A little further up was another inquiry to wise old Google, one that put a buzz within my body.

<<Google, if it is no bother, could you gather for me a variety of reliable suggestions as to what precisely to gift a man on his day of birth?"

Now I don’t know for sure what dear, dependable Google gave to her as result, I wasn’t gonna pry into her privacy any deeper than surface glances, but if her next query was anything to go off of, I sincerely believe we may all be better off migrating to a different search engine.

<<Google, what is 69-ing?">>

Finally, at the very top, I read her final request before sleep eventually overtook her. It wasn’t as long as the rest, nor as vague or abstract as birthday preferences, and yet... It took the longest time for me to fully digest it.

<<Google, could you kindly show me illustrations and images of Lenora of Asteria again?>>

I peered over at the snoozing figure in front of me, the final puzzle piece of her impromptu slumber fitting perfectly into place. Once again, I didn’t want to delve too deep into what she prefers to keep in secret, but I’d be lying if the thought didn’t bother... the wonder of just how many times Ash had slept with this search above everything else.

At the very least, the living room wasn’t the place to sleep with it.

I woke her up. Lightly and as gently as I could, slipping her phone at a small empty space beside her before she roused. I stroked the top of her head, gliding my fingers through the wisps and curls of her hair.

If I could I’d keep at it all night long, but alas, all good things must come to an end as her eyelids slowly fluttered open, and automatically I felt a smile pull my lips, seeing once more the mesmerizing gleam of her emerald eyes peering back at me.

"Hey," I whispered to her. "Good nap?"

"Ah, Master," Ash’s voice was a husky one, still subdued by slumber. In spite of that, her joy was plain to hear, to see. The way she tenderly smiled, accompanied by the slow lethargic wriggle of her ears as she greeted me in turn. "Welcome home."

There’s that missing part.

"Bit surprised my bike didn’t wake you," I remarked, drawing a step back. "I was almost sure you’d beat me to the door first."

Ash took the time to sit up straight and properly composed herself before answering, her voice still low and rough. "Regrettably, it seems my diligence is not without its rare exceptions. Have I disheartened you, Master? Having witnessed this brazen display of complacency in my duties?

I snorted at that. "How the heck am I supposed to keep teasing you if you’re always gonna deprecate yourself first? Is that why you do that? You’ve come up with a tactic against me?"

"What tactic, Master?" Ash queried innocently, batting sleepy eyes back up at me.

Okay, guess I’m not going anywhere with that.

"What’s up with your voice?" I asked instead. "You got a sore throat? You want me to make you something?"

"Ah..." suddenly, she got quiet, hesitant. "It’s... well... it would be insolent of me to admit the cause. Master, if you allow me this defiance, I’d rather not say. Is that okay?"

Yeah, I recognized this reluctance, this hesitance. No other kind of circumstance can get Ash questioning and confronting the extent of her loyalty like this.

I sighed. "Amanda?"

She croaked back in affirmation. "Amanda."

I swear, this woman... If I tried and had the desire to, I’m pretty confident I may actually be able to follow and trace down every single conspiracy theory in the world back to her in the epicenter.

"Okay, then," I said, questioning no more. I stroke the top of her head, her ears fluttering away in response. "Go to bed. Go get some actual sleep now, okay? Rest your voice. Tomorrow, I’ll make you something before I head off to work."

Ash readily complied, rising up to her feet.

"Don’t forget your phone," I said, pointing at it as it flipped over from her movement.

"Oh. Yes," Ash turned up and hurriedly scooped it up to her side. She bowed her head in thanks and began making her way, stopping only once more at the foot of the stairs to raise me a quizzical brow. "And what of you, Master? You don’t seem to me intent on relinquishing yourself to slumber anytime soon."

"Yeah, unfortunately, the day doesn’t seem done with me just yet. Just gonna call Dad real quick. No need to worry about me."

"Very well. Good night," she said, and yet her feet remain rooted still. Ash’s ears gave a slight droop. "And once more, happy birthday, Master. I know it quite impertinent of me to impart my wishes without bestowing a proper gift, but—"

"And there you go again with the deprecating thing," I shook my head at her, exaggerating my weariness with a big, heavy sigh. "I think you know I’ll never think of that, so... what? You’re just fishing for tender words back, aren’t you?"

"Ah, adapted already, have you?" Ash stifled a smile. "Seems my diligence does have its exceptions, after all."

I smiled back. "Good night, Ash."