At seven in the morning, a peculiar atmosphere filled the largest room of a Western-style house in Mifune City's villa district.
Roland opened his eyes and brushed aside the soft, warm quilt covering him.
He had long since stopped needing sleep, but often, to maintain a sense of reality, he still rested periodically.
Just as he was about to stretch, he seemed to realize something and carefully lifted a corner of the quilt. Before he could get up, a smooth, pale arm caught hold of him.
"Sleep a little longer..."
Though Mana Ouma's coaxing did not make Roland lose his composure, it did successfully stop him from getting up.
He looked helplessly at Mana Ouma, who lay in the crook of his arm, rubbing her eyes groggily and propping up her upper body, and reached out to stroke her long hair.
At that moment, her exquisitely beautiful, almost unearthly features were filled with a satisfaction that mingled exhaustion and happiness.
Feeling the warmth of Roland's palm, Mana Ouma not only offered no resistance but rubbed her face against his chest of her own accord, her eyes narrowing in comfort.
"Now you want to stay in bed? Weren't you the one who got jealous over nothing and threw yourself at me yesterday?"
"Mm... you've got some nerve saying that, Master."
Mana Ouma puffed out her impossibly exquisite cheeks, her deep crimson eyes full of reproach.
She only ever showed this coquettish side of herself in front of Roland. His teasing made her raise her little fists and pound them against him.
"All right, all right, I was wrong..."
Smiling, Roland gathered the girl's delicate body into his arms and whispered right beside her ear.
"Are you angry?"
"Yes!"
The girl turned her head aside, trying hard to show how angry she