"... Up! Wake up desu!"
Someone was shaking me awake, but I didn't feel like getting up just yet. I don't remember why, but I feel rather tired, maybe I'll sleep for 5 more minutes.
My back really hurts though, so it's hard to fall back asleep.
"U-um, please wake up, or we'll be late desu."
Come to think of it, this voice doesn't belong to mom. It's Reina's voice. Why is Reina waking me up…?
Wait a second… I'm starting to remember. Reina suddenly fell over yesterday, so we took her to the hospital, where I found out she's actually a homunculus. Then we went to the Koiwai house to see if they could help us find a way to cure Reina, only to be kicked out.
Then I found out where Reina had been living this whole time, so I brought her home…
Aaah! That's why Reina's here! I remember now!
I suddenly got up. Now I know why I'm so tired, I went to sleep really late and even slept on the floor. Even though I'd like to stay asleep, I need to go to Ginsei Academy, since I might be able to find a way to help Reina there.
"Kyaaa!"
Maybe I got up too suddenly. I ended up scaring Reina.
"Sorry, Reina, I didn't mean to-!"
It seems that the reason Reina screamed was not because I got up too suddenly, it's that I had poor timing getting up.
I happened to catch Reina just as she was changing. We had only brought some of her stuff from her old home, since Lizel-senpai said she'd have someone pick the rest and deliver it here if Reina decided to stay.
Since it was early morning, Reina was obviously getting ready for school, and that of course included dressing herself.
All that's to say that the first sight I saw today was of Reina getting dressed. She only had her socks and shirt on, but the shirt was open so I could see her breasts. And, because I had been lying on the floor, when I got up my eyes were in the perfect position to see Reina's crotch.
It was such a surreal coincidence that I was at a loss over what to do for a while. I wasn't just being a pervert okay?! Once my brain properly processed the image my eyes were seeing, I immediately apologized to Reina and left the room.
"Sorry Reina, I really didn't mean to do that. I'll take a bath, so get yourself dressed."
Such a thing couldn't be good for my heart so early in the morning, but a bath was sure to help me calm down.
But wait… thinking about it… didn't Reina wake me up? So could she have meant for me to see her…?
N-no, don't think about it. There's no way a girl like Reina would do something like that. It's probably a mistake of some kind.
I simply continued on my way to the bathroom. I was still tired and my back was killing me, but I should feel better after a good bath.
So I opened the door to the changing room. Looks like my luck is on point today.
"Oh, Yuuto. Good morning."
"A-ah, good morning. Wait, that's not it. Sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on you."
I happened to walk in on Miyako exiting the bath. Of course, she was in the process of drying herself and getting dressed. Needless to say, I could see exactly from where Miyabi inherited all her beauty.
That's 2 lucky pervert incidents in a row. Is my luck as a harem protagonist finally catching up?
"It's fine, I was about done. Besides, you should really hurry and get ready if you don't want to be late, so just come in."
Is this the composure of an adult woman? She just treated this like it was nothing. But well, I suppose I'm the same age as her daughter, so Miyako probably doesn't see me as someone from the opposite gender.
And she was right that I should probably get going or I'd be late for school, so, embarrassing as it was, I had to get undressed with Miyako nearby. Maybe she didn't mind it, but it was certainly embarrassing for me.
"By the way, Yuuto, Miyabi told me about Reina's situation. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who can help, but if you need something else do come to me. The Yuugaoze mansion was built over a leyline to serve as a good spot for ritual magic, so it might be useful for something. Miyabi and I will be moving back there later today, so keep it in mind if you ever need it."
"A-ah, I got it."
"And I'll be counting on you to keep Miyabi safe, okay? Fufu."
Miyako gave a small laugh as she left. I suppose she was being considerate of my embarrassment. Though I'm pretty sure she was looking at me while I undressed. But maybe that's just my imagination.
Miyako had wanted Miyabi to leave the Devil King War, in other words, to stop being my Card. But Miyabi ultimately decided to stay. It seems Miyako has already been informed of her decision and isn't against it as long as Miyabi's safe. Of course, I planned to do my best so no one got hurt.
In any case, I entered the bath and washed myself. After the way this day started, I really needed this moment to calm down.
Once I was done, I returned to my room, but Reina was no longer there. The image from when I woke up popped back into my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. I got dressed and headed down to eat breakfast.
We all quickly finished our meals and started our day. Lizel-senpai was, as usual, waiting for us in her car so we could all go to Ginsei Academy together.
After a little bit, Miyabi suddenly asked Lizel-senpai:
"Senpai, what's our mission for today?"
"Let's see… first of all, Reina should avoid making too much of an effort. After your classes are done, Reina can just wait at the Palace until it's time to go home. The rest of us should try to talk with as many people as we can to see if anyone knows someone who works with homunculus."
It seemed like a good plan. Since the Koiwai family wouldn't tell us who made Reina, our next best bet was to try and find someone who could make homunculus and ask them if they could take a look at Reina.
If everything worked well, whoever we ended up finding for the job would be able to help Reina get better. What the doctor said about there being no more helping it was worrying, but I wasn't going to give up so easily.
"R-Reina feels bad for making everyone do so much for her desu…"
"You don't have to feel bad for it, Reina. None of this is your fault, and we're just helping a friend."
"Yup, that's right. You were there for me while I was dealing with Ibiza, so of course I'll help Reina however I can."
"Besides, you're now a Card of Lovers, the Knight. You'll have to be in good shape to teach Yuuto swordsmanship."
The way Lizel-senpai put it seemed a little cold, but I could tell her true feelings contained in those words.
In the end, it all boiled down to us wanting to help Reina because she was our friend. Of course we're not just going to stand by and watch her die, or leave her alone because we can't be bothered.
We arrived at Ginsei Academy. Despite the Disaster that took place just 2 days before, things seem mostly back to normal. Lizel-senpai said she'd accompany Reina to her class, so Miyabi and I went to our own classroom.
Nagasawa-sensei arrived not long after us, and the day's lesson soon started. Today's lesson was quite important, and I know it'll be something I'll take for the rest of my life. It even gave me ideas on how to deal with Reina's situation. Or so I wanted to say, but I guess I was more tired than I expected.
I fell asleep and, by the time I woke up, it was already lunchtime. I had completely missed the lesson. The good part of that is that at least I wasn't hungry now.
"Are you that confident on your brains?"
Someone came to talk with me. Oh, it's Geld. After our less than ideal first meeting, we started becoming friends and now we even have these one-off conversations sometimes.
"I wish, I was just really tired."
"I heard about your fight with Ibiza. I could have sworn you were a goner, but you actually pulled it off. I should have joined your team, though the prize was really shitty."
"Yeah I- wait, you didn't join my team?"
"Of course not. I was sure you would have died a humiliating death, why would I join?"
Wow… that hurt more than I thought. No one had any faith in me, huh…
Before I get into a depressing spiral though, I should probably see if Geld can help, since we're already talking and all.
"By the way, Geld, you happen to know anything about homunculus? Like, someone that can make them."
"Hmm, no. But do you really need one with all the girls you have around? I suppose you are Lovers."
"That's not it!"
Yesterday, on the way to Reina's place, Lizel-senpai had told me a few things about homunculus. In short, even the simplest models can be very expensive, so only the richer families have them, and while a situation like Reina's, using a homunculus to substitute a dead person, is not unheard of, homunculus are more commonly used as companions for the richer devils.
So like, a rich family would have a child, and they would ask for a homunculus to be made. The child and the homunculus would grow up together, and the homunculus would be both a friend as well as a tool.
It seems like Geld thinks I just want a homunculus to do perverted things with. Healing Lovers is an important part of Reina's 'job' as my Card, but she's not just some sex doll.
"You really don't know anyone?"
"No, sorry. I was never really interested in playing with dolls."
I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little mad at that, but I also understand Geld meant no harm. It's not like he knew about Reina.
But still, I didn't get it. I understand that homunculus are beings created by artificial means, usually with some sort of objective or goal. But why do devils dismiss them just because they don't come to life naturally? After you've spent your whole life with someone, does it really matter how they came to be?
"Well, I'm going to take a walk. Maybe someone can help me."
"Sure I guess."
And so I left the classroom. There was still a good amount of lunchtime left, so I had the opportunity to take a pretty nice walk around Ginsei Academy.
That said, it's not like I could just go up to anyone and ask "do you know anyone who works with homunculus?" so how should I go about this?
Miyabi was eating lunch with some friends of hers she was going to ask for information. Lizel-senpai would ask Neith and Stella. I suppose I could go ask Ruki, but where even is he?
As I was walking about absentmindedly, I ended up bumping into someone. They dropped their things, so obviously I helped them pick it up.
Since the stuff that was dropped were reference books and other study related items, the person I bumped into was probably a student. It would have been awkward if it was a teacher or some other staff.
"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. Did you get hur- eeeeh?!"
I almost didn't recognize her at first, since her hair is now let down and she's not wearing her usual glasses, but the woman I bumped into is actually Nagasawa-sensei.
But what is she doing with all these student items? Is she returning them to someone?
"Yuuto? Don't tell me you just woke up. Are my lessons that boring to you?"
"N-no, it's not that, I was just really tired from yesterday, that's all. Nagasawa-sensei is actually a good teacher."
"I-I see. But still, your grades are going to suffer if you keep that up. But never mind that now. Come with me."
"W-wait, I-"
"Hehe, I'll have you show how sorry you are for sleeping in class by making you help your teacher."
W-what is this? Is Nagasawa-sensei going to make me do something illegal? Why do I feel danger in her eyes?
Even if I tried to escape, she wouldn't let go. But wait, Nagasawa-sensei is a teacher, maybe she knows something about homunculus that can help. Guess I have no choice but to go along with her.
In the end, I had little choice but to give in to my demise. Though it seemed like things wouldn't be as bad as I originally thought.
Nagasawa-sensei brought me to a classroom. There was already 1 other person inside. The Candidate of Priestess, Fleminar.
"Oh, you actually found someone willing to help, and it's Morioka-kun. Maybe he'll actually survive this."
"U-um, what am I actually doing here?"
"Did she not tell you, Morioka-kun? You'll be helping me give her a few lessons on magic theory."
What's that? Sounds… actually interesting. I haven't really had time to study much of anything, but I've been interested in magic ever since I found out it's a thing. Lizel-senpai and everyone tells me that I'm actually quite good at it, so maybe that's why.
Maybe I'd be able to learn a thing or 2 myself, so I decided to help out. That said, all that Fleminar had me do was activate a Basic Magic, for now Figa, but not fire it.
"Now, pay close attention. I'll want you to tell me exactly what happens in the end."
Of course, Fleminar was talking with Nagasawa-sensei. I was just the adjudant, I guess.
Then, before I noticed, the spell blew up on my face. I remember something like this happened before, but it was with Ibiza then.
Is this some kind of ability Fleminar has? But if it's part of the lesson, it has to be related to magic theory, right?
"Don't slack off, Morioka-kun. Time for the next spell."
"W-wait, am I going to get blown up every time?!"
"Save the questions for the end. But no, you aren't."
Fleminar wasn't lying. I was also frozen and electrocuted, as well as other effects depending on the spell Fleminar had me use.
The 'class' only lasted for like 30 minutes, but to me it felt like an eternity. If I knew I'd be beaten up so badly, I wouldn't have come along! I wasn't even able to learn anything!
"I-is Yuuto going to be fine? We didn't go overboard, right?"
"I'll heal him, but he might not make it in time for the rest of the classes."
"O-okay, I'll especially allow it for today only, Yuuto. Make sure to study hard, okay?"
Those were the last things I heard before my consciousness drifted away.
Eventually, I woke back up. I felt… actually better than I'd been feeling the whole day. I guess Fleminar really did heal me.
"Good evening, Morioka-kun. I hope you'll forgive your teacher, we needed someone to help with the practical part of the lesson, and you've been a big source of stress for her from what I can tell, so I hope you didn't mind helping out."
"It would have been nice to know about it beforehand, but I suppose it's in the past now. What was all that, anyway?"
Also, I'm causing a lot of stress to Nagasawa-sensei? I didn't think I was that bad of a student, but I suppose I'm having trouble keeping up… to be fair I haven't really had any time to study since entering Ginsei Academy.
"I have a lot of free time, so I've been trying to find something to do, and I took notice of your teacher. As you might know, she is a commoner devil, so she wasn't able to attend college, but I've noticed she still has the drive to learn. Since I'm not doing anything while I'm here, I offered to give her lessons during free time."
Wow, I didn't know that. I mean, I knew about Nagasawa-sensei being a commoner devil, but not about everything else. I suppose she must suffer difficulties I can't even begin to imagine.
Also, this talk reminded me that Fleminar isn't really a student, but an adult woman that already finished her studies here in Ginsei Academy, but had to enroll again because she was chosen as Priestess' Candidate for the second time.
All that's to say that… well… there's an adult woman in a schoolgirl's uniform in front of me. Even though it's just a normal uniform, why does it make me feel so-
N-no, stop thinking about it, Yuuto. Think about something else, anything.
"Do you, hum, happen to know someone who deals with homunculus?"
"What's this all so sudden? But yes. Actually, I have created a few homunculus in the past myself."
"Wait, what?!"
What luck! And all that because I was trying to not think about a sexy schoolgirl cosplay. Even though I'm thinking about it now! At least don't let it show!
"Actually, I have a homunculus I need a professional to look at. If you don't min-"
"Sure. Let me tell you where you can find me after classes."
Fleminar wrote directions in a piece of paper she gave to me. Now that I think about it, having another Candidate take a look at my Card might not be my best idea yet, but it's not like I can afford to choose now.
I thanked Fleminar and then left the room. I sent a message to Reina as well and Lizel-senpai and Miyabi telling them I'd found someone to take a look at Reina.
