The next morning.
Before he had even opened his eyes, Rod once again sensed something unusual in his hand. Judging by the shape and softness, however, it was probably Lavinia.
When he finally woke up, the first thing he saw was the blonde girl standing before him, dressed in a white shirt.
Her snow-like, delicate skin and bare shoulders came into view. As before, she wore only a shirt on her upper body, with nothing but underwear below. The full curve of her lower body, turned away from him, made Rod's heart stir uncontrollably.
Startled, Rod's eyes widened.
Yet mindful of propriety between men and women, he dared to take only a quick glance, so naturally, he kept his eyes fixed, unblinking, on the half-awake Lavinia.
At the same time, in the spirit of caring for his companion's health, he spent quite a while "observing" her, and only after some effort did he finally spot a small strip of fabric hidden between the curve of her hips.
All he could say was that, as expected of an Italian, certain things were indeed more open compared to other foreign countries.
Since Lavinia had not yet woken up, and the morning air carried a faint chill, Rod thoughtfully pressed closer to her, sharing some of his body heat to keep her warm.
Such thoughtfulness, surely he deserved to be ranked first among the world's top ten most touching individuals!
After a while, perhaps feeling slightly uncomfortable from being held, Lavinia murmured softly and slowly woke.
Sensing someone beside her, she rubbed her sleepy eyes, sat up, and looked at Rod, already dressed and standing by the bed. "Good morning, Rod."
After speaking, she stretched lazily and yawned.
"Huh? Why am I not in my own bed again… Oh… I remember. Last night I got up to use the bathroom and, half-asleep, just found a random room and fell asleep there."
As she spoke, Lavinia tugged slightly at her underwear, looking a bit uncomfortable from the tightness. "Strange. It didn't feel like this when I wore it before."
Thinking this, she suddenly glanced downward, carefully examining herself. After a long silent moment, she finally lifted her gaze again.
She wasn't sure whether Rod had done anything.
But based on what she had learned from certain manga she had read, the chances were probably quite high.
Still, she let it go.
After all, she had been the one who had secretly climbed into Rod's bed. At their age, it was only natural for boys to have a few strange thoughts. Besides, nothing inappropriate had actually happened.
"I'm so hungry, Rod. Is there anything to eat?"
Her stomach suddenly growled like a whining puppy. She covered it with both hands and looked at him expectantly.
"There should be. I already told the three Fallen Angels yesterday," Rod replied, nodding. His eyes, however, still drifted back toward Lavinia.
Truthfully, he couldn't quite figure out her attitude.
He had saved her life, and after becoming homeless she had agreed to leave Kyoto with him. Yet every night she somehow "accidentally" wandered into his room while supposedly going to the bathroom and ended up sleeping in his bed.
Rod couldn't help wondering whether this woman might actually have a thing for him.
Even so, he hadn't taken the final step.
After all, who knew what was going on in the mind of this absent-minded girl? They had only known each other for a few days. If he rushed things and tried to cross that final line, and she resisted, their relationship might never return to what it was before.
Even in the High School DxD world, building a harem still required some basic principles.
After all, this was an ecchi series, not that 'kind' of series.
Of course, for the sake of his own mental and physical health, Rod hadn't deliberately kept his distance either, nor had he planned some grand campus-romance confession. While he couldn't move too directly for now, he could still take things slowly. Who knew? Perhaps after a few more days of getting closer, their relationship would naturally deepen.
"I'll go change my clothes," Lavinia said, stepping down from the bed, still yawning as she walked away.
The oversized shirt hung loosely over her body, while her already minimal shorts seemed to vanish somewhere unnoticed again.
"Oh, Miss Lavinia?"
"Good morning, Asia."
"G-Good morning… but… why are you wearing Mr. Rod's clothes?"
"This one? I'm not sure. If you like it, I can give it to you…"
"Really?! N-No, I'd better not!"
Asia's face lit up for a moment, but when she saw Rod step out of the room, she quickly swallowed her words.
…
The living room on the first floor was already filled with the aroma of food.
A dazzling variety of dishes covered the table.
Besides the classic toast, milk, and jam, there were even other type of breakfast items such as soup dumplings and fried dough sticks. There were also appetizing vegetable soups and meat broths.
"Good morning, Master!"
Mittelt, dressed in a maid outfit, greeted Rod with a smile.
"Master."
Kalawarna straightened her posture and gave a slight bow, the movement accentuating her graceful curves.
"What are you two standing there for? The shumai are about to come out, come carry them!"
An impatient voice called from the kitchen.
Raynare, dressed in casual homewear with an apron tied around her waist and a ladle in hand, turned toward Rod. The moment she saw him, her expression softened. "Master, breakfast is ready. I wasn't sure what everyone preferred, so I prepared a bit of everything. If you don't like it, I can cook something else, but we're running low on ingredients, so we may need to go to the supermarket later today."
Rod looked surprised. "You made all of this?"
"Yes, Master."
Seeing her nod, Rod was genuinely shocked. He had assumed the three Fallen Angels had simply ordered takeout. He hadn't expected her to prepare everything herself.
"Where did you learn to cook?" he asked curiously.
Raynare scratched her cheek, slightly embarrassed. "I've always liked studying cooking, and making meals myself saves money, so over time I just learned quite a lot."
"Yeah, Raynare isn't great at most things, but the food she makes is really delicious!" Mittelt added cheerfully, earning herself a glare from Raynare.
With companions like these, each less reliable than the last, how was she supposed to improve by becoming just a restaurant chef?
"Not bad. From now on, you'll be the head maid," Rod said.
He hadn't expected that a moment of kindness would end up netting him such a valuable asset. Without Raynare, they wouldn't even know what to eat for their daily meals.
Hearing this, Raynare immediately stood at attention, her back straightening.
But she quickly snapped back to reality.
Wait, that wasn't right.
Hadn't he beaten her into submission and forced her into servitude? Why should she feel grateful to this guy?
Hmph!
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