The morning after

15th of march

You slowly begin to wake up.

It's morning, and your head hurts quite a bit, probably because you drank far too much the previous night.

You sit up in bed and turn your head, only to find Leaf sleeping right next to you.

As you look around, you recognize her room. It's a simple bedroom with the cozy atmosphere: a wooden desk covered with a few books and notes, shelves filled with spellbooks and small magical trinkets, and a comfortable bed surrounded by soft decorations. Nothing is particularly extravagant, but everything feels unmistakably like Leaf's personal space.

You slowly begin to remember that you came here yesterday to drink with Leaf and her mother.

You... also remember what happened.

Your face immediately starts burning with embarrassment.

"Mmh... Erik?" Leaf mumbles as she wakes up and notices you beside her.

She rubs her eyes and slowly sits up as well.

"Fuck... I feel like I got hit by a falling boulder. We probably drank way too much yesterday..." Leaf says.

"Y-yeah... I think so too," you reply.

"Why are you so red?... and why are we in... my... room?"

As she says those words, Leaf begins to remember what happened the previous night. Her eyes widen, and her face immediately turns as red as a tomato.

"W-we didn't do that, right? It was all a dream, right?!" Leaf asks in a distressed tone.

"M-maybe? Because I don't think that's something that we could have..." you begin, but you are suddenly interrupted.

"Dears, breakfast is ready! Come downstairs!" Delia calls from downstairs.

"I-I can't go down yet! You go first!" Leaf says.

"Wait, I don't want to go down either," you reply.

"Well, mister hero, you should be the one going first to protect a lady, so... out of my bed!" Leaf says, pushing you toward the edge of the bed.

You sigh.

"Fine."

"Good" Leaf says before wrapping herself tightly in the sheets to hide herself.

You get up, put your clothes on, and leave the room.

Hesitantly, you make your way downstairs, where you find Delia already preparing breakfast.

"Oh, good morning, dear! Come here, breakfast is almost ready" Delia says, gesturing for you to come closer.

"G-good morning," you reply as you approach.

You blush quite a lot as you get closer to her, still remembering the events of the previous night.

"Are you all right, dear? You're red in the face. Are you perhaps feeling sick?" she asks as she approaches and gently caresses your cheek.

The gesture makes you quickly step back.

"D-don't worry, I'm fine. I just haven't completely recovered from yesterday" you say.

"Oh, you're right. We did drink a little too much. I guess I let myself go a little too much. Luckily, nothing strange happened" she says.

"Y-yeah... nothing... Wait, nothing happened?" you ask.

A shiver suddenly runs down your back as Delia steps closer and looks at you with a rather... tense smile.

"Nothing. Happened. Dear," she says calmly.

"...Okay."

You gulp and quickly sit down at the table.

While Delia starts serving you some eggs, the door opens and Venus crawls into the house.

"Good morning, Delia... Oh, hey there, my dear boy" Venus giggles.

"Hey, Venus. Came to have breakfast with us?" Delia asks.

"I sure did, dear. Though I didn't expect to find my Erik here" she says before suddenly hugging you from behind.

"Hi, Venus..." you mutter.

"Yeah, yesterday Erik, Leaf, and I had a little drinking party" Delia explains.

Suddenly, Venus starts sniffing around you.

"Mmh... wait a second... oohhhh..." Venus smirks and chuckles as she lets you go.

"W-what is it?" you ask, blushing even more.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that I think you did something more than drink, especially since you smell a lot like Delia and se—" Venus begins teasingly.

Before she can finish, Delia, still wearing the same pleasant smile, grabs her by the hair.

"What do you mean, Venus? Nothing happened yesterday" Delia says calmly.

Her voice is perfectly composed, but somehow that makes the situation even more frightening.

"A-ah! I'm sorry, Delia! I was just playing around. Don't get mad at me!" Venus whines.

Delia finally lets her go.

"Good. You two can start eating while I go wake up my darling daughter" Delia says.

She heads upstairs.

Venus sits down beside you, still shivering slightly.

"I haven't been this scared of her since we were young" Venus mutters.

"Yeah... better if we don't talk about that," you reply.

The two of you begin eating in silence.

A few minutes later, Leaf finally comes downstairs. She is visibly nervous and is still shivering slightly, much like you and Venus after Delia's reminder that nothing happened the previous night.

She sits down with you, and the three of you finish breakfast together.

Afterward, you take a quick shower and leave Delia's house with Leaf, heading back home.

The moment you open the door, you're immediately tackled to the floor.

Midori is now sitting on your chest.

"Good morning," you say.

"Morning. You took too long to come back, so now I'm quite upset," she says with a pout.

She lowers herself and lightly bites your neck, leaving a small mark.

"You sure seem a little different. I guess that's what happens when you evolve," you chuckle.

"Maybe..." she mumbles.

"Hey there, ya lovebirds" Marcy says as she peeks out from the doorway.

"You should come in, Erik. Charlie isn't feeling too well after last night" Sig calls from inside.

"Yup. Charchar had quite a rough first experience with alcohol" Marcy adds.

"I'll come in once Midori gets up" you say.

"Fine" Midori replies, finally moving away.

You get back on your feet and enter the house.

Charlie is sprawled across the couch, rolling around while whining.

"Eriiiiiikk... my head hurts and my belly feels bad" she complains.

"Yeah, that can happen when you drink too much. Come here."

You sit on the couch and let her rest her head on your lap.

"Ahhhhh... I feel better already" she says.

"Me too..." Midori pouts as she comes up behind you and wraps her arms around your neck.

The rest of the girls are sitting on chairs or armchairs scattered around the living room, except for Amber, who, as usual, stays just outside the town.

"Well, I hope everyone is doing well after yesterday. Especially you, Marcy. How are you handling the aftermath?" you ask.

"Don't worry, man. I'm good. Us Machop gals can handle poison pretty well... for a little while, at least" Marcy replies.

"And I'm pretty sure you recovered enough since yesterday, Midori" you add.

Midori responds by nuzzling her face against yours with a small pout.

"I guess now... we have one last thing to handle before we head back..." Sig says.

"Did she wake up already?" you ask.

"Well—" Midori begins.

"Y-yes... I'm here," Bibi says as she cautiously peeks into the living room.

"Bibi... how are you today?" you ask with a tender smile.

"...I don't know," she replies as she slowly approaches.

"Yeah... it must be hard after everything that happened. If you want, you can stay here at my house for now. I'm sure Venus and Miss Delia will be able to help yo—"

"N-No!" Bibi suddenly cries out, making you stop.

She immediately looks embarrassed by her outburst.

"I-I mean... thank you for your offer, b-but even if I'm confused right now... I think I know what I want to do..." Bibi says.