The next morning.
Woken by the alarm, Artoria, lying on the floor, rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Morning already? Master… seems to have woken up first."
Last night, since Artoria had no place to stay, Naoki had immediately told her to sleep on the floor in his room.
After all, they were comrades who would fight monsters together, so living together wasn't an issue. Artoria didn't mind either.
Now, seeing Naoki's empty bed beside her, Artoria couldn't help but feel a slight pang of emotion.
She hadn't noticed her Master waking up; she'd been too relaxed. As a Servant, such negligence was unbecoming. She'd have to be more diligent in the future.
"I should get up… Master's probably downstairs."
Thinking this, Artoria shed the pajamas she was wearing and changed into her own clothes folded nearby—those pajamas belonged to Naoki too. Given her build, they fit well, just slightly oversized.
It was now 8 a.m. Based on Artoria's observations yesterday, at this time, Naoki should already be heading to school with Manaka next door—
"Huh? This smell?"
While descending the stairs from the second floor, Artoria's nose suddenly caught a savory aroma—the scent of meat, likely bacon.
Someone was in the kitchen?
"Master?"
Upon reaching the kitchen, Artoria saw Naoki busy at work. Hearing her voice, Naoki turned. "Oh, you're up? Go brush your teeth and wash your face. I'm almost done here."
"Are you making breakfast? Bacon, eggs, grilled sausages… English style?"
"I thought you'd like something like this, since you're kind of English, right? Plus, these sausages were brought back by my parents and have been sitting in the fridge for a while. Might as well use them—oh, check the toaster over there, I think it's done."
Since his parents often worked in England, Naoki had picked up some knowledge of English cuisine. While he strongly disagreed with their culinary standards, breakfast was fairly normal.
Come to think of it, this was the first time he'd made breakfast in four or five years.
"But why did you suddenly make breakfast, Master? I thought your breakfasts were usually prepared by Sajyou…"
"Because you're staying here, aren't you? Manaka can handle my share, but if you don't eat, won't you go hungry?"
"It's fine, I don't actually feel hungry—"
*GURGLE!*
An untimely sound interrupted, freezing Artoria in place. Her face instantly flushed. Naoki couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Alright, alright, go wash up. We'll head to school after eating."
"Okay."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Manaka felt something was off today.
As usual, after calculating when Naoki would likely leave based on past patterns, she stepped out four or five seconds later. Barring any issues, she'd meet Naoki directly today.
For the past ten years, it had always been like this. Meeting Naoki every morning was the highlight of Manaka's day.
But today, something was wrong.
Naoki didn't come out at the expected time.
(Is he oversleeping? Or does he have a stomachache?)
Several possibilities crossed Manaka's mind, but since this wasn't the first time it had happened, she didn't rush. She stood quietly in front of the Natsukawa house, waiting.
After all, it was still early for school.
But…
"It's taking so long, Naoki."
Glancing at her watch, Manaka couldn't help but peer into the Natsukawa house. Being ten minutes late was highly unusual. Could he really still be asleep? Did the alarm not wake him?
Should she go in and check? If he was oversleeping, delaying further might make them late for school.
"Fine, I'll wait a bit longer. If Naoki comes out, I'll really have to scold him."
Just as that thought crossed her mind, the Natsukawa house's door suddenly opened. Before Manaka could turn with a mix of joy and reproach, two voices reached her ears one after another.
"Shoot, Manaka's probably still waiting for me at this hour, right? Lia, you ate too much!"
"Sorry, Master. The breakfast was so delicious, I couldn't help myself…"
One was Naoki's voice. Manaka could never mistake it, even if she went deaf—she'd recognize it instantly.
But the other voice…
Manaka turned stiffly. Besides Naoki, Artoria was, unexpectedly, coming out of the Natsukawa house with him. For some reason, they were chatting and laughing, looking completely at ease.
(Huh? Why is Pendragon-san at Naoki's house? Are they living together? She stayed over? I've never even stayed over, and she did? Huh? Is that allowed? Doesn't Naoki's house only have one bed? Did they sleep together?)
A flood of thoughts surged through Manaka's mind like a tidal wave. Meanwhile, Naoki and Artoria noticed her standing by the door.
"Manaka, morning. Sorry, I got delayed making breakfast for Lia. Been waiting long?"
"No, not too long… More importantly, Pendragon-san… she stayed over? Naoki, you didn't walk her home?"
"About that… she doesn't actually have a home anymore." Naoki explained. "The news this morning mentioned it, right? There was a gas explosion near the Mion River, and her house happened to be near the blast's center. It was completely destroyed. So for now, she's staying at my place temporarily."
This wasn't a lie—it was the truth. During breakfast, Naoki had checked the news to follow up on last night's battle. He found no mention of the monster or the giant he'd manifested. The news only reported a gas leak causing a chain explosion, and even the affected area shown on TV differed from last night. The Fuyuki Bridge stood intact, despite being destroyed by the monster.
[It's likely the self-repair function of this consciousness space. Or perhaps Manaka intervened slightly to ensure the plan proceeds smoothly. In short, while your fight with the monster happened, it's quickly replaced with an unrelated minor disaster.]
That was Merry's explanation to Artoria, which Naoki also heard from her. Of course, the part about Manaka was omitted.
Hearing this, Manaka, who had been a bit down, suddenly felt relieved. "I see… I didn't expect something like that to happen. That's really unfortunate, Pendragon-san."
"Thank you for your concern, Sajyou. I'm fine now. By the way… um, I should tell you, I might be staying at Naoki's—Natsukawa's—house for a while. Please bear with me."
"Huh? For a while?"
"Yes."
Manaka's heart grew heavy again.