Aron and Alissa spent the rest of the day eradicating the thousands of sludges located in the front of the dungeon. They didn't talk much, however, they both knew that the other was complaining about the never ending amount of sludges. Finally, when they defeated the last sludge, it was already midnight outside the dungeon, so they sat down to eat and get some sleep.
Aron was famished. He reached into his bag to get some protein bars, however, Alissa stopped him. Flustered, she hid her face as she told Aron that she had prepared food for the both of him.
Aron didn't notice her embarrassment. He was instead gawking at the fact that the spacial artifact stopped time inside of it. The artifact didn't cost millions, but rather costed billions of dollars.
Trying not to spend any more time thinking about Alissa's fortune, Aron decided to munch on the appetizing sandwiches along with the cold soda. The whole time he was eating, Alissa stared at him, hoping he would like the sandwiches she had made from her own hands. Each time Aron took a bite, a wave of pleasure hit Alissa. She wondered why. She wasn't the one eating the sandwiches.
Then, she also started eating the food, however, she didn't stop watching Aron.
Soon, after eating, Aron noticed Alissa's eyes drooping. He told her to go to sleep and that he would spend the night guarding their camp from monsters. Alissa wanted to stop him, however, seeing him adamant on his decision, Alissa relented. As she went to sleep, she smiled to herself. She liked this part of Aron too.
The whole night, Aron had to put his utmost effort in order to not fall asleep. He downed 6 coke cans and kept pinching himself the whole night, trying to keep his eyes from closing.
Finally, when morning came, Aron was overjoyed. He hoped the little bit of sunlight radiating inside the cave would keep him awake. However, it didn't help a bit. Immediately, a few moments after Allisa woke up, Aron fell asleep. As Allisa watched his battle against sleep, she quietly giggled to herself.
When Aron woke up from his nap, it was already noon. Alissa, seeing him rise, quickly averted her gaze from him. The entire time when he was sleeping, Alissa was staring at her delicate features.
Aron, noticing Alissa look away, wondered if there was something on his face. Then, he remembered that he had just slept during guard duty. He instantly prostrated himself in front of his employer, Alissa, and started asking for forgiveness. Alissa, amused by his behavior, laughed and started teasing him.
"Were you guarding me in your sleep?"
Aron, not noticing Alissa's joking tone, pleaded, "Sorry. Sorry. Can you please forgive me?"
Seeing Aron begging, Alissa felt sorry and told him the truth.
"I was just joking. I had already awoken before you fell asleep. As fellow adventurers, we should have shared the guard duty anyway. So, please treat me as equals and not as your employer."
Aron hesitated. He didn't want to treat someone who had a higher status and was his boss as an equal.
"No, no. I can't do that."
Alissa, as if expecting his response, questioned, "Nowadays, have employees stopped following their boss's orders?"
Aron, recognizing Alissa's intentions, again, tried to stop her, however, seeing Alissa's stubborn expression, Aron gived in.
Aron winked and joked, "Okay. Whatever you say boss!"
Now, on the same page, Alissa clapped him on his back and laughed with him.