[January 9th, 2132.]
To conclude my overly eventful night, I peacefully slept for as long as I pleased. I didn't have any dreams, nor did I toss and turn through the night. My slumber was more akin to a long blink, a fact that made me both happy and a tad disappointed. Before I knew it, my consciousness was drifting back into place, returning me to the world of the waking.
Normally, I'd take my time waking up in the morning, stretching, relaxing in bed, trying and failing to get more sleep, but today, there was something that instantly required my utmost attention.
"This... weight. So... heavy"
The mysterious weight covered nearly the entire right half of my body, and with my small one-person bed, my movement was drastically restricted. A part of me wished to ignore it and keep my eyes closed, but I understood that I couldn't ignore it forever.
With much hesitation, my groggy eyes began to creak open. The first thing that I noticed was what I was wearing. A cheap, plain white shirt and grey shorts. As my hazy mind came into focus, I realized that something was off.
'Why can I see my shirt and shorts? Shouldn't my sheets be covering them? Oh, and why can't I see the entirety of my chest? What's blocking my view?'
I opened my eyes wider.
Wham!
My eyes burst open, snapping into focus. My soul itself felt like it was on fire! The sight in front of my eyes was simply that entrancing.
"Damn it! What the hell do people even do in a situation like this?!"
First thing in the morning, I found myself in a troublesome predicament.
On top of my freshly awoken body was the Vampire Empress herself, Cacophony. She'd slipped under my bedsheets at night and secured a position on my right side, half of her body on the bed and the other half on top of me.
Her arm was curled around me, caressing my chest, and I could feel her large breasts pressing into my arm. When I turned my head, I was face-to-face with her. Truly, the term 'sleeping beauty' couldn't have been any more appropriate. When she was sleeping, her face looked majestic, her pink lips gracing my cheek with her warm breath.
Stuck in that position, I considered making some kind of bold motion... Well, 'considered' might be a bit of a strong term. The thought definitely crossed my mind, but I couldn't muster up the willpower to go through with it.
Now, before you start getting weird ideas, I'm not a pervert! It's not like I was going to, uh, touch up on her or anything! It's just that if I tried to push her off, she'd end up on the floor, and if I shook her awake, then her... two softer, squishier parts would rub against me more than they already were!
See! It's all pure logic and reasoning that led me to the optimal solution! Huh, what is that solution? Don't be dense, my dear reader, it's obviously to lie here and not do anything!
Simply enjoy her warm breath... as it hits my face... Ah, the life...
Sadly, my admiration of her sleeping face would be cut short, though, on the bright side, I wouldn't get the opportunity to make any dumb mistakes.
Her eyes opened slowly, and for a moment she did nothing but watch me and blink. Her eyes seemed glazed over, like she was in a trance. It seemed that Cacophony was the type to enjoy taking her time while waking up in the morning.
"Oh... So you're already awake?" whispered Cacophony.
Damn it, that's all you have to say!
With all the grace of a swan maneuvering on a picturesque lake, Cacophony got up from the bed and stood up. It was then that I realized that she wasn't wearing the dress that she had on yesterday. Instead, she donned an item from my wardrobe. A large white button-up shirt. I'd intentionally bought it a size too large, anticipating that I wouldn't have the funds to buy another anytime soon. Compared to me, the Empress was a few inches taller and had an ample chest that required more space. On her, it hung loosely, stopping at her upper to mid-thigh. It was a far better fit than I would've expected.
I instantly took note of what she had on. That button-up was the only decent piece of clothing that I owned besides my school uniform.
"Are you feeling fine?" she asked.
"Yeah! The demonic and angelic energies in my body need a second to realign after waking up!"
You know what... I take back what I said I said about the gods. They couldn't have been so bad. After all, if I hadn't been blessed with such dark skin, I would've been as red as a tomato.
"Hey... What's up with the outfit?"
"Just thought that I'd try out some fashion from this era. In that book over there, this is how the girl was dressed."
Book? As I looked to my side, my heart dropped for a second time that morning.
On the floor of my bedroom was a manga that I'd gotten from the store. It was, well, allow me to give you the title.
'Killed by The Demon King?! Using My Regresser Powers to Infiltrate The Hero Party And Build The Ideal Harem Life!'
As you can imagine, the book contained many, many drawings of women in more compromising outfits and poses.
Following my gaze to the manga lying on the floor, Cacophony gave a proud smirk.
"You fell asleep quite quickly, so I took the time to explore. I found both this book and this attire in your dresser. Using my reweaving spell, I thinned the fabric in certain areas to make it fit more comfortably."
When she was finished speaking, she proudly tilted her head upward as though giving me time to marvel in her genius.
As I turned my head toward her direction, I felt unsure as to where I should look. In a way, the vibe was worse than when she was naked.
'Something about her still being clothed, but still in a state of undress is... well, it's doing a number on my heart.'
Needing to look away, I turned to face the clock on my wall. The shorthand was pointing to eleven, and the longhand was pointing toward six.
My brain took a moment to process it.
"Hold on! It's eleven thirty!"
I confirmed that yesterday was Wednesday, which meant that today would have to be Thursday. And that meant that I had school today. But, since I slept in for this long, my options were all bad. Even if I skipped showering and went straight to school, the walk would take at least half an hour. That meant that, at best, I could get to school at twelve o'clock.
'I'd miss all of my morning classes and get punished for being tardy!'
Interrupting my flurry of thoughts was Cacophony's voice.
"Veri? How are you feeling? Have you recovered?"
I groaned as I sat up in bed.
"Yeah... I should be fine. For a perfect specimen like myself, nothing could ever dream of keeping me down for long. After I get some breakfast in my system, I'll be right as rain."
A bit of surprise showed on Cacophony's face. "Breakfast... As in breaking your nightly fast? But, does that mean you're going to eat right now?"
Suddenly, I was perplexed as well. "Yeah... is there something wrong?"
"Don't you have some work to attend to? If I'm not mistaken, the common folk tend to their morning labors before they eat their first meal. I did notice that there were no farms in the area. Is this district where the wealthy live, perhaps?"
Common folk? The hell? She's talking like I do. I kind of feel annoyed getting my lines stolen like that. Ignoring that fact, as her servant, it was my job to set Cacophony on the right path. But really, being her 'servant', what did that even mean?
She mentioned morning labor and farms. I'm guessing that in the past, people would tend to their crops first thing in the morning before they went back inside to eat their first meal of the day. To me, that sounds like a troublesome way to live, but maybe if once you ease into that life, it simply becomes routine.
'And to think, if I hadn't made different choices back then, I'd be working on some farm right now.'
Slowly, I responded to her question. "This isn't a wealthy district. It's the opposite, in fact. And whatever you're thinking of probably doesn't exist anymore... At least not for most people living in this country. It's not like our mornings are totally free either, though. For example, I've gotta head to school, and adults usually have to go to work."
For some reason, I felt a slight sense of pride as I explained it to her. Like a master imparting wisdom to a student.
"Then who plows the fields?"
"Wha- Huh?"
I stumbled over my words, not expecting her follow-up question. Her expression remained the same, showing no hints of jest or teasing. She was being absolutely earnest. See this, I figured that I should do my best to give an answer.
"Farmers. Since your time, food yields have increased due to improved farming methods. We can produce enough food to sustain our population even with less manpower working on farms."
"I see. Then what percent would you say works on farmland?"
"I see. Then only a small portion of the population works on farmland now," she mused. "How small?"
I scratched my head. "Uh… I'd say... Somewhere in the ballpark of twenty and thirty percent? In the past, um, not your super distant past, I mean like one hundred years ago, I hear it was only one to two percent."
Cacophony nodded. "I understand. So farming techniques and technology increased to the point where only one percent of the population needed to be on farmland, but something happened, and the number has risen to twenty percent."
She moved on from that topic quickly, "Why don't you show me your morning routine?"
"Alright then. When I get up, I usually start the day off by taking a hot shower. Then I head to the kitchen, eat breakfast, and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I'm done with all that, I head to school."
"Brush your teeth?" she echoed.
"It's a… nonmagical way of keeping them white and bacteria-free," I said. "You'll see later. It's nothing too special, but as your master, I'll ensure that this art is drilled into your vampiric head."
She nodded solemnly in understanding, as though I'd just revealed an ancient ritual. "And this 'shower'?"
Ah, I hadn't expected to need to explain something like that.
"It's like bathing. A different way of doing it. More convenient, I guess."
"That sounds pleasant. I haven't gotten to clean off in five hundred years after all. I've been yearning for a steam bath, but trying out the modern equivalents takes priority."
"You're in luck. I'm a generous man, no, the most generous man in the world, so I'll let you head in first and shower. I'll get started on breakfast."
Cacophony raised both of her arms and cracked her back. As she did, the white dress shirt rose just a tad, revealing more of her thighs. "No. Before that, I'd like you to provide me with a brief tour of your residence. Despite my stint of exploration last night, I'd like you to explain everything to me in detail."
I looked at her with narrowed eyes and took a few seconds to think.
'Going to school... isn't an option at this point. I've already missed half of my classes today, and on top of that, I'd get a punishment for being tardy to school. Compared to that, I could fake a note and try to get my absence excused... Plus, I'm not really in the mood to get to school after almost dying...'
With a short exhale, my decision had been made.