Roland woke in a broad, soft bed in a manor ablaze with flowers and turned his head to look beside him.
A figure brimming with mature beauty reclined there, her waist-length waves cascading like a waterfall. Dawn streamed through the window, lending her hair an enchanting golden sheen.
Her snow-white skin gleamed like fine jade. He ran a hand over it and felt nothing but silk-smooth warmth.
"Darling, you're awake?"
Lunifis looked at him with a faint smile, her eyes full of tender affection.
"Mm."
Roland got up, stretched, and rubbed his lower back.
Ow, these scrawny arms and legs of mine.
Just one all-nighter, and I'm already aching.
That shouldn't happen. It really shouldn't.
Staying up late really is the greatest threat to your health. Even "Bull's Strength" and "Bear's Endurance" are useless. I'd be better off obediently going to bed before eleven.
Lunifis, however, was bright-eyed and radiant, without the slightest sign of fatigue.
She chuckled and pressed the electric button beside the bed, summoning several of her maids to help Roland dress and wash.
Several dining carts were wheeled in right behind them, and breakfast was laid out in the bedroom.
"Darling, have something to eat."
Like a true wife, she coaxed Roland with gentle affection, filling the room with warmth.
After breakfast, Roland and Lunifis went outside and strolled hand in hand through the residence's flower-filled garden.
The residence occupied a sizable area, and an artificial lake lay on the garden's eastern side. Its waters shimmered in the morning light, and some of the fish and shrimp raised there could be seen coming to the surface to breathe and forage.
There, they talked about the Lainer Kingdom.
The committee's upcoming agenda concerned changes to its policies toward other worlds.
Those changes could bring tremendous challenges or