The Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ninth Floor.
Naohara stopped in front of a door. He was about to push it open, but then paused as if remembering something.
He straightened his clothes, making sure everything looked presentable, and only then did he knock lightly.
"Enter."
Momonga's dignified voice came from inside. Hearing it, Naohara couldn't help but smile before opening the door and stepping in.
Inside, Momonga was fiddling with a mirror, adjusting his posture over and over. Sebas stood quietly nearby, watching in silence.
On the sofa, Herohero—currently in his humanoid slime form—was lying with his head on Solution's lap, enjoying the fruit she fed him. He looked utterly at ease.
Solution's fingers, along with pieces of fruit, plunged directly into Herohero's gelatinous face. After a brief ripple across the surface, her fingers emerged coated in slime, the fruit already completely digested.
"Momonga, what are you up to?"
"And Herohero, you've fallen way too fast."
Naohara teased as he looked from one to the other.
"Oh, it's you, Naohara. Next time, don't bother knocking. I appreciate the politeness, but it feels way too strange coming from you."
Momonga looked at him calmly.
Back when they had lived in the same apartment, Naohara had never knocked before entering. He would just walk in as if it were his own home, sometimes making Momonga wonder whose apartment it actually was.
Politeness was fine.
But Naohara being polite? That was unsettling.
"Hey, hey, I'm polite for once and you're complaining?"
Naohara felt genuinely offended.
Just what kind of image had he left in this guy's mind?
"Ha! That's hilarious. Sounds like you two have quite the history."
Herohero laughed lazily from Solution's lap.
"Well, we were neighbors for years."
Naohara shrugged at him.
He didn't bother arguing. There would be chances to laugh back at Herohero later.
"Momonga, don't go ruining my reputation."
Walking over, Naohara hooked an arm around Momonga's skull in a headlock.
He could be surprisingly petty when it came to things like this.
"Cough—Naohara, let go! My bones—my bones are going to crack!"
Momonga struggled frantically, his skeletal hands slapping weakly at Naohara's arm.
Sebas quietly stepped back into a corner.
Matters between Supreme Beings were not something he could interfere with.
Besides, it was obvious they weren't truly angry.
"See? That's what you get. Watch your mouth next time."
After deciding it was enough, Naohara finally let go and grinned at him.
Momonga shot him a speechless look but said nothing. Another squeeze like that and his old bones might actually give out.
[Message]
"Herohero, looks like Naohara's fine."
"Couldn't look more normal."
Momonga communicated privately.
"Yeah, nothing seems off on the surface. Looks like he sorted himself out. We worried for nothing."
"Should've just gone to find him earlier instead of waiting."
Herohero replied with a hint of regret. He had prepared several contingency plans, only for Naohara to resolve things on his own before he could use any of them.
"Good. Then I can stop worrying about this and that."
"Seeing Naohara still as carefree as ever puts me at ease."
Momonga felt relieved. He was genuinely happy his friend had managed to pull himself together.
Earlier, when Sebas had come in carrying a pile of items, he'd explained to Momonga and Herohero what had happened in the corridor.
Hearing that Naohara had been in a low mood and looked completely drained had kept the two of them anxious for a long time.
If they hadn't decided it was better to let him have some quiet and not disturb him for the moment, Momonga would have rushed out immediately to talk to him. In the end, it was Herohero who barely managed to stop him, insisting they should give Naohara a little time.
Once the Message ended, Momonga sat back down as if nothing had happened.
Since Naohara hadn't come to them to vent and had chosen to carry it himself, he must have had his reasons. As his friend, the only thing Momonga needed to do now was cooperate and act as though nothing had happened.
The problem was resolved, and Naohara was back to normal. The process didn't matter.
"By the way, Naohara, you slept in again. Even after transmigrating to another world, that habit of yours hasn't changed at all."
"You slept until noon. Herohero and I waited for you in the cafeteria all morning for breakfast."
Now that he had relaxed, Momonga couldn't help giving Naohara an annoyed look.
He and Herohero had gotten up early, planning to enjoy a cheerful breakfast together.
But they waited and waited. Before they knew it, it was almost noon, and Naohara still hadn't shown up.
"Uh… did we actually agree to eat breakfast together?"
"What do you think?"
"Want me to help you remember, Naohara? The few words we said before we split up last night?"
Herohero spoke lazily while lying on Solution's lap, watching him with a slow, pointed stare.
"Alright, alright. I forgot."
With both of them giving him that death stare, Naohara just spread his hands, utterly shameless about it, as if to say, do whatever you want.
"I'm not asking you to do anything. I'm just reminding you. Don't forget next time."
Momonga shook his head and sighed.
When it came to Naohara, he couldn't bear to scold him too harshly, and he definitely couldn't beat him in a fight. In the end, all he could do was give him a couple of warnings.
Besides, Momonga knew full well Naohara would probably forget again the moment he turned around. If sleeping in were that easy to fix, Momonga wouldn't have had to drag him out of bed every morning back when they still had to go to work.
"Do you know how painful it is to stare at good food and not be able to eat it?"
"Naohara, if you oversleep again, I'm going to your room and dragging you out myself."
Herohero threatened him in a menacing tone, making it clear he wouldn't hold back next time.
"So you two didn't eat?"
Naohara blinked at them, confused.
"Eat what? Not everyone was there."
Herohero complained.
If he'd eaten, he wouldn't be lying here letting Solution feed him fruit.
Nazarick's fruit was high-class, sure, but fruit still couldn't compare to meat.
"Since you weren't there, Naohara, neither Herohero nor I really had an appetite, so we didn't eat."
Momonga explained.
He didn't mind either way. As an undead, he didn't actually need food.
The only one truly suffering was Herohero, since he still needed to eat.
Momonga had even told him earlier that he could just eat first without waiting, but Herohero had refused, insisting that eating without everyone present wasn't worth it.
"Sorry about that, Herohero. Next time I oversleep, I'll leave it to you."
Naohara chuckled, walked over, and flopped down on the sofa beside him.
"You little—so you want me to be your alarm clock?"
"Nice idea."
Herohero sounded utterly done with him. Naohara's shamelessness had reached a whole new level, and now he was trying to recruit free labor in broad daylight.
If he agreed, Herohero was certain Naohara would take it seriously. With Naohara's personality, if no one went to wake him up, he really would sleep until noon every time.
"Leave it to me. I did it all the time before, anyway."
Momonga said calmly, looking between the two of them, volunteering to handle waking Naohara up from now on.
Back before they transmigrated, it had been Momonga dragging Naohara out of bed every single morning, so he knew exactly how to do it.
"Didn't think I'd still be bothering you even in another world, Momonga. Sorry."
Thinking back on how, for decades, Momonga had basically pulled him out of bed every day and saved him from being late to work, Naohara felt a little embarrassed.
"Good. Then you'd better remember."
"And if you ever get your hands on something good, you tell me first, got it?"
"Heh… yeah, yeah. Absolutely!"