Upon waking up early in the morning, Shana Reiji was assaulted by the drowsiness that came from a lack of sleep. Still lying on a borrowed bed, he shook his head, trying to clear the fog in his mind. Regardless, his thoughts remained hazy and slow, his body not quite feeling like his own. He didn’t feel fully awake yet either, like somehow he was still dreaming.
Maybe it was best to just go back to sleep and stop thinking. How long had it been since he’d wanted to stay in bed like this? He couldn’t help coveting the warmth of his blanket. But why was it that he still found himself unable to resist such laziness? He hadn’t stayed up late enough that he’d lost out on a good night’s sleep. But he was still so terribly drowsy.
In this world, he didn’t have television or games or studying or his phone—nothing to keep him up late—so he generally went to bed early. If anything, here he’d adopted the routine of a modern worker; he slept early and woke early so that he could practice swordplay or magic as soon as possible.
So why did he feel like he hadn’t slept? Was he simply in poor condition? Or was it stress? He hadn’t exhausted himself to the point of being in poor health, nor did he have anything on his mind that would worry him. The only real problem lately was whether Suimei’s group had successfully returned to his old world, but that wasn’t something he was particularly concerned about.
The magic circle had been meticulously prepared by none other than Suimei. Reiji couldn’t even picture his friend, always so cautious in everything, failing. Had his magicka failed, they could’ve been sent somewhere else entirely or just been annihilated on the spot. Those possibilities came to mind, but Reiji didn’t associate any danger with such thoughts.
If anything, whenever Suimei messed up, he was sure to stumble carelessly into yet another silly episode of his life. Whenever it came to important stuff like this, it was as if some magic or miracle worked behind the scenes to smooth it all over. Suimei was a magician, so maybe it was only natural for him to get away with such marvels.
“I should really get up...”
Judging by the light pouring through the window, it had been morning for a while. All the dust in the room seemed to glimmer with sunlight. Reiji glanced at the desk. It was horribly cluttered—covered in weird gadgets, undecipherable scribblings, and failed magic circles.
Reiji was currently staying in the Yakagi residence located in the Nelferian Empire. Several days had passed since Suimei’s group had returned to the modern world. In the meantime, Reiji’s group was borrowing the place and had been entrusted with its care. There were more than enough rooms here for everyone to have their own personal space. What’s more, unlike in Astel and the self-governed state, they even had a bath. With recent television news in Japan going on about how cramped homes were getting, Reiji wondered how much this place must’ve cost.
As for Graziella...
“I need to keep an eye on you lot.”
With that announcement, she’d claimed one of the rooms in the Yakagi residence. Despite sleeping in the castle upon first returning to the Empire, she’d inexplicably started staying here instead. Reiji had no idea what had compelled her to do so, but her decision had made it easy for him to see her whenever he wanted to. Passing information had gotten far more convenient too.
Titania, on the other hand, was unhappy about Graziella’s decision for reasons Reiji couldn’t figure out.
It was with those thoughts stumbling around in his sluggish mind that Reiji walked down the corridor. He couldn’t hold back a yawn, even though he was fully standing and mobile. He was sorely tempted to just go back to bed, and without paying too much attention to what he was doing, he opened the door in front of him. He was under the impression it was the door to the living room. He couldn’t remember that this was, in fact, Titania’s room. As a result, it wasn’t Reiji but the room’s occupant who suffered for his carelessness.
“Huh...?”
“Oh...”
Reiji first saw a girl with light-blue hair evenly cut above her shoulders and eyes of the same color, shining like gems. Though she was somewhat petite, her body was supple and well-balanced, and her breasts were modest yet still ample. Just like her breasts, her butt was small but beautifully shaped. Her slender limbs had Reiji once more question how the laws of physics allowed her to wield her two swords with such expertise.
Reiji had opened the door exactly when Titania had finished taking off her underwear. She was as naked as the day she was born, all her important parts laid bare. In an instant, she flushed red all the way to the tips of her ears and immediately turned her back to him.