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Mai Sakurajima curled up even tighter.
But she didn't resist.
From Rosen's angle, all he could see were her flushed red ears.
"Lord Rosen… p-please, be gentle…"
The embarrassed words slipped out in a breathy murmur, fanning the flames in Rosen's chest.
Outside, the morning breeze stirred the treetops of the estate. Leaves rustled, and faint sounds—somewhere between pain and delight—drifted into the night.
The next morning.
Bright sunlight rose steadily over the horizon, casting a golden veil over the green of the trees and the gray outlines of modern buildings.
Golden rays slipped through the curtains, scattering into patches of light across the messy bedroom.
Mai Sakurajima's phone chimed.
Not a call—just her alarm.
Half-asleep, she fumbled for the device. When her sleepy eyes finally focused on the screen flashing 8:30, she shot upright in bed, instantly awake.
"Oh no—! I'm gonna be late for school!"
She scrambled up, but a faint, tearing ache in her body stopped her cold.
Her cheeks flared as memories of the night before rushed back.
Even so, her hands kept searching around for her clothes.
Click.
The door opened.
Mai grabbed the nearest piece of clothing and held it against herself.
It was Rosen.
He smiled at the sight of her awake. "Good timing. I made breakfast."
"And don't worry about being late. I've already arranged for you to have a week off from school."
"…A whole week off, just like that?" Mai thought in disbelief.
But she quickly accepted it as reality.
Once Rosen left, she dressed in fresh clothes and stepped into the living room.
The table was lined with toast, milk, eggs—and even a spread of Chinese breakfast dishes.
"You made all this?" Mai blinked in surprise.
Wasn't the great god terrible at cooking?
"Technically, I conjured it," Rosen corrected.
The magic he'd learned in Frieren's world had inspired him. By blending incantations with his ability to manifest imagination, he'd managed to create and reshape physical matter.
The breakfast, though, was the simple kind—things he'd just "brought into being."
"Complicated dishes are still too hard for me to make. And the taste… well, it's nothing special. Edible, at least."
Kind of like convenience-store meals: fine at first, but tiring after a few days.
"I see…" Mai muttered, unsure how she felt.
It was… strangely touching.
"By the way," Rosen added casually, "your mother will be dropping by soon."
"Pffft—!"
Mai nearly spit out her soy milk.
"Relax. There's nothing between us worth hiding. Do you really want to lie to your own mother? Honesty is better."
Right on cue, the doorbell rang.
On the monitor, a woman in an office-lady suit stood stiffly at the door. Elegant, stern, and clearly uneasy.
"…Mom."
Mai froze. She'd actually come.
"I'll bring her in," Rosen said.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
When he reappeared, Mai's mother was standing in the room, wide-eyed, as though her entire worldview had just collapsed.
Rosen had made sure she saw enough to understand: her daughter wasn't dating some shady rich kid, but someone far… different.
When power and status weren't equal, conversations became a lot simpler.
Right now, the mature beauty in her business suit stared at Rosen as if she'd seen a ghost.
Who am I? Where am I? What even is my life?
"I'll leave the rest to you, Mai," Rosen said softly, withdrawing to give mother and daughter space.
Fifteen minutes later.
Mai had poured her heart out: her feelings, frustrations, and misunderstandings—all the things she'd kept bottled up.
Her mother listened. Despite the strangeness of it all, Rosen's earlier display had shattered her sense of reality, making it surprisingly easy for her to accept her daughter's words.
And so, tears flowed, walls crumbled, and the two reconciled at last.
Rosen watched them hugging and sobbing together and couldn't help but marvel—they really were like mirror images, mother and daughter.
"Thank you," Mai's mother said, wiping her tears. "If not for you, I might never have realized I was losing my daughter."
All the anger she'd carried had vanished.
"No thanks necessary. Mai is my companion. Of course I'll help. But there's something I'd like to ask—she's never met her father, has she?"
"…Ah."
The woman glanced at Mai, then sighed.
"Actually, I once went through the same thing she did. I had adolescent syndrome. Not vanishing, like her… but a sudden pregnancy."
Her quiet words left Mai stunned.
Her mother had been forced by her family to end it, but refused. She chose instead to raise Mai alone.
That painful past had made her cling fiercely to her daughter, projecting all her hopes onto her. That was why she'd been so strict.
"So… I really don't have a father…" Mai whispered, overwhelmed.
The world was stranger than she'd ever thought—and her heart ached even more for her mother.
"Either way," her mother said gently, "thank you. My daughter finally has someone she can rely on."
"If you ever need help too," Rosen replied, "I'll gladly lend a hand."
But her mother shook her head.
"As long as Mai is happy, I can be at peace. I don't dare hope for more."
Her eyes lingered on Rosen, warm and almost tender.
Mai couldn't help but notice. Wait—why is Mom looking at him like that…?
Later, Mai left with her mother.
Since Rosen had gotten her a week off, she decided to spend it traveling with her mom, finally making up for lost time together.
Meanwhile, Rosen returned to the chat group, curious to see what he'd missed since yesterday.
"...'
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