"Please, Eve... huff... huff... I surre—"
Before Raziel could finish his sentence, Eve delivered a swift kick to his stomach, sending him flying five meters through the air before he crashed into the only tree standing in his backyard.
"Get up, little master! You still need to improve your reflexes!" Eve called out, trying to encourage Raziel as he lay on the ground, clutching his stomach in pain.
Two weeks passed since the party, and Raziel's life had changed slightly. Sylfi moved back to her own house a few days ago, and the rumors about her infidelity faded considerably.
The journal responsible for the headline faced immense pressure from the Harvesteads and Valternorths, forcing them to issue an apology and publish a retraction denying the rumors.
Though their reputation took a heavy hit, it was far better than facing the combined wrath of two powerful families.
Although Raziel still preferred minimal contact with Sylfi, they agreed to maintain a friendly public interaction. This arrangement would help preserve their image until they could find a way to break the engagement without causing a major backlash.
Despite Mikael using the marriage as bait, they still had time to achieve their objective.
As Raziel's life took this new direction, he sought Eve to train him in aura and turned to Clarice for guidance in mana.
Determined to grow stronger, he knew that next month would mark the beginning of episode three, when the second-year students would start their training to become adventurers.
Feeling a bit pressured, Raziel hadn't been resting well lately. His mornings were spent training with Eve, his afternoons with Clarice, and his nights studying techniques from both primary classes.
His once sacred lazy life had been put on hold for a while.
"I-I'm dead..." Raziel muttered, pretending to faint, hoping Eve would let him rest for a bit.
Before he could begin recovering, Eve leaped into the air and shouted, "Hyaaa!"
"Ooof!" She landed, sitting on his stomach, making Raziel feel as though he might vomit his guts out.
"You have five minutes to rest, and after that, you need to run through the entire neighborhood ten times today!" Eve said sternly, making Raziel regret asking this crazy girl to train him.
She was truly ruthless like a devil in the guise of a pretty girl.
"I... will really die," Raziel muttered with a pained tone.
After his brief complaint, he seized the opportunity to rest for a bit. However, Raziel couldn't ignore that Eve remained in her current position, which only grew more embarrassing for him.
Eve's accentuated figure, highlighted by her usual butler attire, made him momentarily forget his exhausted condition. His thoughts took a more lustful turn.
Since Raziel heard Eve's confession that night, he could no longer ignore her advances. Having never experienced proper love or dated anyone before, these small acts of genuine affection deeply touched his heart.
At first, he didn't want to develop such feelings out of respect for Eve, as she loved the original owner of the body and not specifically him.
However, some aspects of the original owner remained with him, not just the body. Feelings and emotions from the original Raziel still affected him sometimes.
This nearly caused an identity crisis for him, but in the end, Raziel decided to accept himself as a blend of both identities. With no way to return home and no desire to do so, he resolved to focus on pursuing what he wanted to do.
"Eve, could you please get up?" Raziel asked, feeling a bit embarrassed as he tried to maintain his composure.
"Hmm... why? I'm comfortable here," she said with a playful smile, then adjusted her position, settling on his stomach and facing him.
'Girl, if you keep this up, I really won't be able to control myself!' Raziel thought, feeling alarmed as he realized this scenario could lead to something very complicated.
Not that he minded.
Suddenly, the girl shifted slightly, bringing her buttocks closer to his sensitive area, making their position even more embarrassing. Raziel quickly grabbed Eve's waist, stopping her from encroaching on the danger zone.
'Is this girl doing it on purpose? Eve, you really need to be careful!' Raziel thought, feeling his lower body reacting slowly.
"L-Little m-m-master, w-what are you doing?" Eve stuttered, noticing him grab her waist and feeling a strange, hard sensation from his lower body.
The orange-haired girl's face turned as red as a tomato upon realizing how embarrassing their current position was, causing her to do what she did best in such situations: freeze in embarrassment.
"Oy, Eve, don't freeze now... Shit, the operator is online! I repeat, the operator is online!" he panicked, seeing his childhood friend stop moving while his lower self was ready for action.
Thankfully, Raziel avoided a major crisis when Eve finally snapped out of her trance and jumped off his stomach, her face flushed red. She quickly composed herself and then had him run ten laps around the neighborhood without rest.
***
In the afternoon, Raziel sat cross-legged on the ground in his backyard, testing his mana reserves by absorbing and expelling mana through a mental exercise Clarice had assigned. She walked around him, curious to see if anything unusual would happen.
Clarice possessed a deep passion for studying mana. Despite her natural affinity with water and wind elements, she enjoyed exploring other elements as well.
Another area she was particularly interested in was alchemy. This interest stemmed from her mother, who used to make medicine for poor children in their old home.
While Clarice thought about her mother, Raziel opened his eyes and stood up. The blonde girl praised his dedication and offered him a glass of water.
She felt increasingly comfortable being around him these days. Clarice now had more time to rest each day, and Raziel often allowed her to visit Mariet.
He also provided her with money to buy flowers and covered the cost of the carriage. His generosity led her to reflect on how she had ended up accepting the job as his maid, leaving her with a sense of intrigue.
When her mother suddenly collapsed one day and was sent to the local hospital, Clarice felt terrified. Receiving the news that her mother had an almost incurable disease with a very expensive treatment plunged her into despair.
One of her mother's acquaintances, noticing Clarice's situation, mentioned that the Harvestead family was hiring a temporary maid.
However, she warned Clarice to be cautious, as such positions were sometimes a cover for women looking to secure more intimate roles.
Clarice initially hesitated but was swayed by the high salary offered. Determined to find out if the position was genuine, she decided to investigate further.
Everything went smoothly until her interview with Mikael. The vicious man believed she might captivate his naive son and keep him distracted from Sylfi for a while.
Mikael, ever the manipulative figure, uncovered Clarice's desperate situation. Like a devil whispering in her ear, he convinced the poor girl to accept an outrageous deal, leaving her feeling as though everything was lost.
Luckily, Raziel didn't pay much attention to her, often only bossing her around or completely ignoring her presence, even when it was just the two of them in the house.
Now, with Raziel helping her mother and treating her with more kindness, Clarice no longer regretted working for him. In fact, she found herself grateful for the situation.
"Young master, before we begin training in elemental control, try to rest a bit," Clarice suggested, glancing at Raziel as he lay slumped in a chair, looking utterly exhausted.
"Thank you very much. I'll take your advice to heart," Raziel replied, quickly feeling his muscles go numb from all the exercises Eve had put him through earlier.
Unlike his orange-haired friend, Clarice typically didn't push him too hard during training.
Although mana users generally required less physical exertion than aura users, their fatigue stemmed from the strain of continuously absorbing and releasing mana. This process could cause exhaustion comparable to that of intense physical exercise.
For this reason, they focused on expanding Raziel's mana reserves with caution, as his spells now consumed more mana than before due to his advancement to the second circle.
While resting, Raziel glanced at Clarice and recalled that her mother would likely be awake next week after using two more rainbow stones. Once Mariet was cured, Clarice would no longer need to be his maid.
Raziel didn't want to admit it, but he enjoyed having her around. Unlike in the game, where she was expressionless and serious, this version of Clarice was cheerful and shy, which somewhat warmed his heart.
'It's not like I really care anyway. This is necessary to protect my peace,' Raziel thought, feeling a little down.
Thankfully, he would still have Eve by his side.
Putting those thoughts aside, Raziel relaxed for a few more minutes. Once he felt satisfied, he resumed his training until nightfall.
In the quiet and peaceful night, Raziel relaxed with Eve in his room, both lying on the bed.
Raziel was engrossed in aura books, while Eve read novels and nibbled on snacks that Clarice had prepared.
The room was silent, and neither of them spoke. Eve continued to feel deeply embarrassed by the earlier incident.
As she regretted her earlier behavior, Raziel suddenly asked, "Eve, tomorrow is Saturday, right?"
"Y-Yes, it is, little master. Are you planning to do something tomorrow?" Eve stammered, her voice a bit shy.
"Yes, I am. Are you free?"
"Well... yes, I don't have anything planned for tomorrow."
"Good. Then let's go on a date."
"Alright…"
"..."
"..."
"WHAT!?"
Eve's shout was so loud that it probably could be heard throughout the entire neighborhood.