Ascending the tower with my SSS class

The sensation of his body slowly returned to Uriel. He felt heavy and tired, as if he had slept for far too long; however, despite his fatigue, it was time to wake up again.

The first thing he seemed to see was a room lit by several candles of different sizes. The bed felt warm; someone had placed several fur blankets over him to make sure he wouldn’t feel cold.

When he looked to the right, his eyes met the crimson gaze of someone he had never seen in his life: a rather short young woman with hair as red as blood. She was reading a book beside him; when she noticed him, she smiled as if an old friend had come to visit.

"URAAAAAA! He’s awake, comrade!"

The shout completely snapped Uriel out of whatever confusion he had from waking up. It was an effective way to immediately lose any trace of morning drowsiness.

"HAHAHA, this is wonderful! Splendid! VLADIMIIIIR!"

The door to the room opened, and through it entered a massive man about two meters tall. His black hair reached his waist, and his beard covered much of his face; he looked like a wild animal that had somehow been dressed in human clothing.

"Do you need something, Comrade Anastasia?"

Despite his appearance, he treated the girl with great respect, which was amusing considering this Anastasia barely reached halfway up the man’s body with her head.

"Go tell those holy fools their man has awakened; then send someone to notify those horned demons."

Vladimir observed Uriel for a few seconds. His gaze made him feel as though every aspect of him was being analyzed.

"There’s no need to send anyone to speak with the demons, I’ll go myself. I’ll also get something to cover his eye wound."

"Oh, really!? Comrade Vladimir, aren’t you being a bit too cooperative? Well, what does it matter? Fine, go."

Vladimir bowed, turning slowly toward the door, but something seemed strange to Uriel. For some reason, he felt the man was moving too slowly, almost as if he were waiting for something else.

Suddenly, Uriel heard something odd beside him. When he turned to see what it was, he saw the little miss named Anastasia staring blankly into space, whispering to herself. As Uriel focused on what was happening, he realized something slightly terrifying.

"Very well, wait for Comrade Uriel to wake up... done what? What are you saying? Ah, yes, I almost forgot, thank you for reminding me. No, no, no, we’re buying another one just because you like pink; I prefer red, and I’m the one in charge here, yes."

For a few moments, her gaze stopped being distant, focusing once again.

"Oh, Comrade Vladimir, you’re still here? Good, that’s good. Also bring my hat, if you can."

Vladimir nodded and, this time, left the room at a normal pace.

Uriel, however, wanted him to come back. Now he understood: the person they had left him with was crazy; she had started talking to herself out of nowhere.

"Hey, Comrade Uriel, what’s wrong? You’ve suddenly gone pale—are you okay? Oh, what’s that, you say he must be hungry? Yes, that’s true, he’s been asleep for a long time after all, hasn’t he?"

There was no one else in the room besides the two of them.

Anastasia pulled from a bag next to her chair what looked like a piece of hard bread and some dried meat.

"Here, you need to regain your strength, Comrade Uriel."

Uriel decided to accept it. Although this person frightened him a little, she had done nothing but help him, which also seemed somewhat strange. Why was she helping him? This was the second time he had encountered human beings like himself. In a way, he was grateful he didn’t have to fight to the death.

Anastasia happily watched as Uriel devoured the bread she had offered him.

"You must be the quiet type, aren’t you, comrade? You haven’t said a single word since you woke up; I’m starting to feel a bit ignored."

Uriel opened his eyes, surprised. It was true, he hadn’t said anything at all, but it felt strange. Had communicating always been this complicated? No... what was that ridiculous idea? Of course he had to speak to communicate with people. Why wouldn’t it be that way?

Suddenly, for some reason, Uriel’s head was struck by a sharp pain; even so, he forced himself to respond.

"Thank you... uh, Anastasia."

"Oh! Come on, Comrade Uriel, don’t treat me so coldly; this is my home where you’re staying."

Uriel considered what might have made her think he was being cold.

"Forgive me... Comrade Anastasia?"

Anastasia’s eyes lit up, shining like bright rubies.

"Very good, that’s much better. And don’t worry, now this is our home."

For some reason, Anastasia paused at that last phrase and looked into Uriel’s eyes, expectant of something. Uriel noticed her cheeks slowly puffing up, to the point it almost seemed like she was about to burst.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Anastasia burst into laughter as if she had heard the best joke of her life. She was genuinely delighted.

"Oh my, are you a tough nut to crack, Comrade Uriel? Well, I also have some things to do. You can stay here as long as you like; meanwhile, this is how we treat heroes in the motherland."

The red-haired woman stood up and headed toward the door, whispering quietly to herself.

Uriel gave her one last look. She was, without a doubt, a beautiful girl. She wore a red-and-black outfit made of several pieces, almost too formal for combat, it seemed to him. It was decorated in a style that reminded him of exaggerated Victorian dresses, though only in decoration; despite that, it still had a very modern shape.

His gaze couldn’t help drifting to her waist, which left Uriel impressed. It almost seemed that everything that hadn’t gone into height or chest had gone to her backside; he could tell even with it covered by her skirt.

He quickly looked away in embarrassment, and his gaze shifted to the book on her table.

He was curious about what kind of book could capture the interest of someone so peculiar, so he examined it and read the cover: "Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei." Was this German? Uriel didn’t understand it. He set it back on the table and returned to resting.