When Koutarou Amon dropped Lancer off at Kureo Mado's house, he seemed to hesitate about something but eventually held it in. Lancer found this very strange but didn't ask much. After all, if the other person really wanted to say something, they would naturally tell him.
"Click~!"
He used Kureo Mado's key to open the door, but then he heard a sound of footsteps, and then he saw Akira Mado, dressed in pajamas, walk out.
The opponent also hadn't expected the person opening the door to be Lancer. She was stunned for a moment, then turned and walked away, which made Lancer feel a little awkward, but awkwardness aside, he still walked into the house.
"Excuse me for the intrusion."
Lancer had been around Kureo Mado for quite some time, but he had never been to his house. But just as he was taking off his shoes, Akira Mado handed Lancer a pair of slippers.
"People rarely come to the house. These are shoes for guests."
Akira Mado was telling the truth. Although Lancer thought Kureo Mado was a somewhat strange person but a senior who was actually very good to new Investigators, he couldn't deny the opponent's 'strangeness.' Even Kureo Mado's old acquaintances usually looked for him during work hours because they knew that this man, who was completely devoted to his work, rarely went home except for the time he spent with his daughter, so they didn't want to disturb him.
Because he had left in a hurry, Lancer was still wearing his somewhat damaged bodysuit. He looked a bit out of place in the house, which was filled with a warm family atmosphere, or rather, the house made Lancer feel a bit unaccustomed.
In his impression, Kureo Mado was a practical person, and Akira Mado was a cold and aloof genius girl, but thinking carefully, what he had seen more of was the two of them at work. Who knew what they were like in their daily lives? Just like how an ordinary person couldn't possibly imagine Lancer sleeping with three cats wrapped around him.
Because he was indeed a little tired, after Akira Mado told him the location of the guest room, Lancer lay down on the bed and immediately fell asleep.
"Click~!"
Accompanied by a faint sound, the door to the guest room opened. Akira Mado, dressed in pajamas, was stunned as she looked at the pitch-black room. She had originally wanted to chat with Lancer about what had happened during the two years he was missing, but she hadn't expected the room to be completely dark when she opened the door, and the man in the bodysuit was already lying on the bed and sleeping.
"I'll have a busy day tomorrow."
After grumbling quietly as if complaining, Akira Mado walked to the closet, took out a quilt, and covered Lancer with it.
After covering Lancer with the quilt, she looked back at Lancer again before leaving the room.
"Click~"
With another faint sound, the guest room door was locked again, and the room, which had been momentarily lit up by the living room light, returned to darkness, but a rustling sound came from within the darkness.
There was no doubt that the person making the sound was Lancer. He had already been woken up when Akira Mado entered the room. He had learned one thing over the years: unless it's absolutely safe, never fall into a deep sleep, or you might not get a chance to see the sun the next day.
But after noticing that the person who came in was Akira Mado, he simply continued to pretend to be asleep, as he was indeed a little tired.
Smelling the warm scent of the sun on the quilt, Lancer hesitated for two seconds before taking off the bodysuit he was wearing. Although he could have changed into a set of pajamas, considering that he hadn't brought anything with him when he came to the Mado house, it would be too weird to wear a set of pajamas the next day, so he simply slept in just a pair of underwear. This time, no one came to disturb him until morning.
The gentle sunlight shone on Lancer face, making a hint of laziness unconsciously appear on his face, just like a cat basking in the sun, but then he realized that something was wrong. It seemed like there was some weight on his chest?
'Did my luck finally change, and I'm encountering a legendary fanservice plot?'
With this expectation, Lancer opened his eyes, and then he saw a mass of—fluffiness?
"Meow~!"
The cat lying on his quilt stretched, glanced at Lancer, and then lay down again. It was obvious that in the eyes of this feline, Lancer posed no threat.
At the same time, Akira Mado, who had finished making breakfast in the kitchen, began to look for her pet—Neptune.
"Neptune~! Neptune~!"
Normally, at breakfast time, the cat would wobble out from under the sofa or a certain room as soon as she called twice, but strangely, the cat didn't seem to have any intention of coming out today.
After calling twice more with no response, she, wearing an apron, simply started searching the house, but after searching for almost five minutes, she still couldn't find anything. Finally, she looked towards the only closed door in the house.
When she walked to the door, she heard a sound of 'meow~ meow~' coming from inside the room.
'Lancer is awake?'
Since the opponent was awake, Akira Mado simply pushed the door open directly, and then she froze completely.
In her line of sight, a man with his upper body bare was 'massaging' her pet in the sunlight, and the normally aloof feline was purring pleasurably in the opponent's hands. That sound, which was like a spoiled child's, was something even Akira Mado hadn't heard many times over the years.
But this was not the reason why she was frozen. The real reason why she was frozen was that Lancer upper body was haphazardly covered with dozens of large and small scars. These scars were of various types, and just the ones she could recognize included 'perforating wounds,' 'cutting wounds,' 'burns,' and 'crushing injuries.'
She still remembered the wounds she had seen on Lancer body when the doctor was changing his bandages when Lancer was sent to the hospital more than two years ago. Although there were many of them, they were definitely not as exaggerated as they were now.
"Akira? Sorry, did I keep you waiting? I'll get up right away."
Akira Mado only reacted when Lancer spoke, and then she quickly turned around.
"Breakfast is ready. Come and eat. I'll take you to the branch later."
After saying that, Akira Mado turned and left without hesitation. Lancer just took this as a sign that the opponent hadn't forgiven his unannounced departure back then, so he didn't pay too much attention.
On the other side, Akira Mado, who was walking quickly away, pressed the back of her hand against her nose.
She had originally wanted to give Lancer the cold shoulder for a while, after all, his unannounced departure two years ago had caused her and her father sadness for a long time.
But at this moment, the 'anger' she originally had in her heart seemed to suddenly disappear...