Chapter 48: The Otaku Discovers That Comfort Costs Money (And Immediately Has Opinions)
Morning arrived like it always did in Southval.
Quiet.
Clean.
Lying.
Meliodas woke to the sound of Rem humming somewhere near the window and immediately regretted having ears that worked.
Not because the humming was bad.
Because it was cheerful.
At dawn.
He cracked one eye open and found her perched on the windowsill like a cat that had decided furniture was beneath her, tail flicking lazily as she watched the street below.
Bud remained curled on the pillow beside Meliodas's head, glow dim, still recovering from the gate sealing. He'd stayed behind when Meliodas went out. Too tired for market chaos.
Kaelen was already awake—sitting on the floor, eyes closed, breathing slow and controlled. Practicing the Archmage's first lesson already.
Good kid.
Edrin still sat at the desk, though he must have slept at some point. The pile of paper beside him had grown significantly. His quill moved in small, precise strokes.
Meliodas sat up.
His back immediately informed him that inn mattresses in this world were not designed by anyone who had ever valued spinal health.
He rotated one shoulder. Then the other.
Nothing cracked.
Disappointing.
Rem glanced over. "You look like you fought the bed and lost."
"Beds here are crimes against humanity."
"That's a weird phrase."
"Accurate, though."
She laughed softly and went back to window-watching.
Meliodas stood, stretched, and walked to the desk.
Edrin looked up.
"Almost done," he said quietly. "Another hour."
"Good."
Meliodas looked at the pages. Names. Locations. Symbols. Dates. Edrin had been thorough.
'Fear's a good motivator.'
He turned away and caught Kaelen's eye.
The young prince opened his own.
"Master."
"Keep practicing. We'll start real training today."
Kaelen nodded and closed his eyes again.
Meliodas moved to the window, and Rem obligingly shifted to make room.
The street below was already active. Merchants setting up stalls. Children running. A baker arguing with a customer about the price of bread.
Normal things.
Things that didn't know about grafting or bloodlines or cracks in reality.
Meliodas watched for a moment.
Then his back twinged again.
He sighed.
"I need a better mattress."
Rem snorted. "That's your priority?"
"Sleep affects everything. Reaction time. Decision-making. Patience." He glanced at her. "You try sleeping on a bag of straw and see how nice you are the next day."
"I'm nice every day."
"Liar."
She grinned, unbothered.
Meliodas looked back at the street.
An idea formed.
Not a dramatic one.
Just practical.
'Mattresses here are terrible. I know how to make a better one. Basic spring mattress. Coils. Padding. Canvas.'
He'd seen enough DIY videos in his old life. How hard could it be?
'And if it works... people might pay for it.'
He thought about the guild. The C-rank jobs he could take now. The silver he could earn.
100 copper = 1 silver
100 silver = 1 gold
100 gold = 1 platinum
Platinum was for nobles and rich merchants. B-rank and S-rank adventurers might have some.
Meliodas currently had... maybe 30 copper to his name.
Not enough.
But a good mattress? In a world where everyone slept on straw?
That could be worth something.
He turned from the window.
"I'm going out."
Rem perked up. "Where?"
"Market."
"For what?"
"Looking."
She blinked. "For what?"
"Materials. Ideas. Something."
Meliodas didn't elaborate. He was already pulling on his coat.
Bud stirred on the pillow, sending a sleepy pulse through the bond.
'Leaving without me?'
'You rest. I'll be back.'
'Fine. Bring food.'
Meliodas almost smiled.
Kaelen opened one eye. "Master, do you need me to—"
"Stay. Practice. Keep an eye on things."
Kaelen nodded and closed his eye again.
Edrin kept writing.
Rem slid off the windowsill. "I'm coming."
"Didn't ask."
"You never do."
She followed anyway.
---
The market was busier than Meliodas expected.
Stalls lined both sides of the main street, selling everything from vegetables to second-hand tools to cloth that looked like it had been stored in a very optimistic barn.
Rem stuck close, tail occasionally brushing against his leg. She didn't seem to notice. Meliodas had stopped commenting on it.
He found a fabric stall first.
The merchant was a round woman with quick eyes and faster hands, already assessing Meliodas's clothes and calculating how much she could charge.
"Need something?"
Meliodas glanced at her canvas. "How much for that?"
"The heavy cloth? One silver, eight copper for enough to cover a bed."
Meliodas nodded. Didn't react. Didn't explain why he was asking.
The merchant squinted at him. "Making something?"
"No."
She clearly didn't believe him, but {Adorable} softened her next words. "Well, if you decide you need it, price is firm."
Meliodas nodded again and moved on.
Rem bumped his shoulder. "You're very mysterious about fabric."
"I'm mysterious about everything."
"True."
They passed a blacksmith's stall. Meliodas glanced at the metalwork—tools, horseshoes, basic implements. No springs. Nothing coiled.
He didn't ask.
Just observed.
Moved on.
A wire merchant caught his eye. Thin metal wire, flexible, meant for crafts and repairs.
He paused.
"How much?"
The merchant—a thin man with wire-rimmed glasses—glanced up. "Depends how much you want."
"For enough to make... small coils. Hand-sized. Twenty of them."
The man did quick math. "Four silver."
Meliodas nodded once.
Didn't haggle.
Didn't explain.
Just filed the information away and kept walking.
Rem watched him with obvious amusement. "You're very weird when you're planning something."
"I'm always planning something."
"That's what makes it weird."
He didn't argue.
They circled the market for another hour. Meliodas noted prices, materials, availability. Canvas. Wire. Wool. Feathers. Thread. Tools.
Total estimated cost: 9-10 silver.
He had 30 copper.
0.3 silver.
'A ten silver deficit. Easy for a C-rank. A few jobs.'
But that would take days.
He wanted this sooner.
Then he remembered something.
He stopped walking.
Rem nearly bumped into him. "What?"
"I already have a mattress."
She blinked. "You do? Where?"
"Not here. Somewhere else."
"Your existence is confusing."
"Yes."
He was already thinking.
The {Dimensional House}. He'd used it once, after leaving the Gargantuan Wilds. Kaelen had bathed there. They'd all slept there.
In real beds.
With real mattresses.
'Why am I walking around a market trying to buy materials I already own?'
Because he'd forgotten. Simple as that.
Rem was watching him with that expression she got when she knew he was hiding something and was patiently waiting to find out what.
"You want to explain the face?"
"No."
"Good, I love mysteries."
She grinned.
Meliodas looked around. They were near the edge of the market now, where stalls gave way to residential streets.
No one was watching too closely.
{Indistinct} was still active, softening attention.
But opening a door to another dimension in the middle of a public street was still a bad idea.
"Need somewhere private," he muttered.
Rem's ears perked up. "I know places."
"You said that already."
"And I meant it. Come on."
She grabbed his wrist and pulled.
---
Rem's "private place" turned out to be an abandoned storage shed behind a closed tannery.
It smelled faintly of old leather and desperation, but it had four walls, a roof, and—most importantly—no windows.
Meliodas approved.
Rem crossed her arms, tail swishing. "Well?"
He didn't answer.
He just focused.
The air in front of him shimmered.
A door formed.
Not from wood.
From nowwhere.
Rem's ears shot straight up.
Her tail went rigid.
"What—"
Meliodas opened the door.
Inside, the {Small House} waited. Cozy. Warm. Exactly as they'd left it weeks ago, after escaping the Gargantuan Wilds.
And through the doorway to the bedroom, he could see the bed.
The mattress.
Normal. Comfortable. From another world entirely.
Rem stared.
Her mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
"You have a pocket house."
"Something like that."
"A whole house?"
"Yes."
"That you can carry anywhere?"
"Yep."
She turned to look at him with an expression that was part awe, part accusation, and part something else he couldn't quite read.
"And you've been sleeping on inn mattresses this whole time?"
"...I forgot."
Rem stared at him for a long, incredulous moment.
Then she laughed.
Not a small laugh.
A full, genuine, can't-believe-this-is-my-life laugh that echoed off the shed walls.
"You forgot." she gasped. "You have a magical house with real beds and you forgot."
"In my defense, a lot has happened."
She kept laughing.
Meliodas waited patiently.
When she finally composed herself—mostly—she wiped her eyes and looked at him with something new in her gaze.
Respect.
Real respect.
"That," she said, "is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. And I'm from a kingdom where the queen once tried to marry a horse for diplomatic reasons."
Meliodas didn't ask.
He stepped through the door.
Rem followed without hesitation.
---
The inside of the {Small House} was exactly as they'd left it.
Clean. Warm. Quiet.
The kitchen had the Sweetroll Plate. The living area had cushions. The bedroom had a bed.
A real bed.
Rem walked slowly, taking it all in. Her tail moved in slow, fascinated sweeps.
"Magic lights," she murmured, touching the wall. "No runes. No crystals. How?"
"Electricity."
"That's not a word."
"It is where I'm from."
She accepted that with surprising ease, then drifted toward the bedroom.
Stopped.
Stared at the bed.
"This is... soft."
"Yes."
She sat on it. Then lay back.
Her eyes closed for a moment.
When they opened again, they were dangerous.
"Meliodas."
"What?"
"I'm never leaving this house."
He sighed. "You have to."
"No."
"Rem."
"I said no."
He didn't bother responding.
He walked to the bed, grabbed the mattress with one hand, and lifted it effortlessly.
{Strength: B} had its uses.
Rem raised an eyebrow. "Show-off."
"Practicality."
He carried the mattress through the house, out the door, and set it down in the shed.
Took about thirty seconds.
No struggling.
No heavy breathing.
Just efficient movement.
Rem watched with approval. "Much better than the first time."
"There won't be a first time."
"There was. I saw it in my imagination."
"You're lying."
"Probably."
She looked at the mattress, then at him.
Then, very deliberately, she grabbed his wrist and pulled.
Meliodas, caught off guard, stumbled forward.
She tugged again. Stronger than expected, beast-people strength... and they both tumbled onto the mattress.
It was soft.
Very soft.
And Rem was very close.
Her face was inches from his.
Her tail had somehow wrapped around his ankle.
The shed was silent.
Meliodas stared at her.
She stared back.
Her ears flicked once.
Neither moved.
Then Rem leaned forward and kissed him.
Not a quick peck.
Not a playful tease.
A real kiss.
Warm.
Deliberate.
Long.
Very long...
Meliodas's brain, for once, completely shut down.
He didn't pull away.
He didn't push her off.
He just... stopped functioning.
When she finally pulled back, her smile was slow and satisfied.
"Comfortable?" she murmured.
Meliodas opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Rem's tail flicked happily against his ankle.
"You're cute when you're broken."
"I'm not..."
"You are. It's adorable."
He stared at her.
She stared back, utterly unbothered.
The moment stretched.
Then stretched some more.
Meliodas's brain finally rebooted.
"That was..."
"Yes?"
"...A lot."
She laughed softly, not mocking, just pleased and then released his wrist.
But she didn't move away.
Neither did he.
The mattress was, objectively, very comfortable.
That was his excuse.
He was sticking to it.
After what felt like both too long and not long enough, Meliodas cleared his throat.
"We should..."
"Probably."
Neither moved.
Another moment passed.
Then Rem sighed dramatically and sat up, freeing him from the trap of her proximity.
"You're no fun."
"I'm plenty fun. Just not... this."
"This is fun."
"For you."
"Yes."
He sat up too, purposely not looking at her.
The mattress sat between them like a witness.
His lips still tingled.
His ears felt warm.
He was absolutely not thinking about any of it.
'I'm not thinking about that. I'm not.'
The thought was so loud in his own head that he almost missed Rem's next words.
"So. How do we get that back to the inn?"
Meliodas blinked.
Right. Practical matters.
He reached out and touched the mattress.
{Pocket Space} opened, invisible, effortless.
[POCKET SPACE: MATTRESS STORED]
The mattress vanished.
Rem blinked. "Where did it go?"
"Storage."
"Not a surprise at this point, that you have storage magic too."
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then she laughed again, that same incredulous, delighted laugh.
"You're ridiculous."
"I know."
She shook her head, still smiling.
Then she reached into her own pocket and pulled out a small pouch.
Heavy.
Clinking.
She tossed it to him.
Meliodas caught it instinctively.
Opened it.
Gold.
A lot of gold.
He looked up at her.
She shrugged, ears flicking. "Fifty-eight gold. All I had left after sneaking out."
Meliodas stared at her.
Then at the gold.
Then back at her.
"Why?"
Rem smiled, not her usual mischievous grin, but something softer. More honest.
"You're already engaged to me." she said simply. "And what's mine is yours."
Meliodas opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
"That's... not how money works."
"It's how I work."
He held the pouch for a long moment.
Fifty-eight gold.
5,800 silver.
580,000 copper.
Enough to buy materials. Hire help. Set up a workshop. Maybe even start something real.
He looked at Rem.
She looked back, unblinking.
"I can't accept this."
"Why not?"
"Because it's too much."
"Is that enough?"
"You're..."
"Investing." She crossed her arms, tail flicking confidently. "You make the mattress. You sell the mattress. You make more mattresses. You get rich. I get a cut. And I get to sleep on the prototype."
Meliodas blinked.
"That's... actually a good business plan."
"I know. I'm brilliant."
He looked at the gold again.
Then at the spot where the mattress had been.
Then at the woman who had just handed him a small fortune, kissed him senseless, and declared him hers.
'This is insane.'
'This is also happening.'
He closed the pouch and tucked it into his coat.
"Fifty-eight gold. I'll pay you back with interest."
"No, you'll invest it. And when you're rich, you'll remember who believed in you first."
Meliodas met her eyes.
For once, she wasn't joking.
He nodded slowly.
"I will."
Rem's smile brightened.
Then she glanced at the empty space where the mattress had been.
"So. How do we explain the new mattress at the inn?"
"We don't. I'll put it in the room tonight. No one will notice until they lie on it."
"Sneaky. I like it."
They stepped out of the shed and back into the market.
The sun was higher now. The crowd thicker.
Meliodas's coat felt heavier with fifty-eight gold in it.
His lips still tingled.
His ears were definitely warm.
He wasn't thinking about any of it.
He definitely wasn't.
Rem walked beside him, humming again.
Neither mentioned the kiss.
Neither mentioned the way Rem's tail had started brushing against his leg more often than strictly necessary.
Neither mentioned the fact that Meliodas's face still felt slightly flushed.
Some things, Meliodas had learned, were better left unexamined.
---
They returned to the inn to find Kaelen still meditating and Edrin still writing.
Bud had moved from the pillow to the windowsill, soaking up sunlight.
He sent a sleepy pulse as they entered.
'You were gone long. Did you get food?'
'No. Got something better.'
'What?'
'Money. A business partner. And a headache.'
Bud's glow brightened slightly.
'The headache sounds personal.'
'It is.'
'Good. Buy food.'
Meliodas almost laughed.
Almost.
Kaelen opened his eyes. "Master? Did you find what you needed?"
Meliodas considered how to answer.
'I found a mattress, fifty-eight gold, a business partner, and got kissed within an inch of my life by your almost-sister-in-law.'
He settled for: "Progress."
Kaelen nodded, accepting that with the faith of someone who had learned not to ask too many questions.
Edrin kept writing.
Rem flopped onto the bed, the terrible inn bed and sighed dramatically.
"I can't wait to sleep on something that doesn't feel like a sack of angry hay."
Meliodas looked at the window.
Southval gleamed in the morning light.
Clean.
Quiet.
Lying.
But today, at least, they had a plan.
A direction.
Fifty-eight gold worth of possibilities.
And a memory he was absolutely not going to think about.
'Not thinking about it.'
'Not at all.'
Bud's pulse came back immediately, dry and amused.
'Liar.'
Meliodas closed his eyes for a long-suffering moment.
'...Shut up.'
---
[END OF CHAPTER 48]