The next morning, I woke up to the sound of birds chirping and being spooned by Sephtis in his sleep. Still groggy, I sat up as if nothing was wrong, and checked the clock; 11:02 am, still pretty early.
'...I am so fucked. I didn't think I'd actually get drunk last night!' I thought to myself, looking at Sephtis sleeping soundly beside me, arms still around my waist.
Typically, I know how much it takes for me to drink till I'm drunk, but depending on the alcohol type, there will be times where I'm unaware that I'm drunk and will act perfectly normal…minus my sense of judgment getting screwed.
Unfortunately, last night's wine was one of those kinds. From what I can recall, I had around five bottles before Lorenzo left and Sephtis jumped me. A new record, if I had to be honest.
'Hm, perhaps being in this body isn't such a waste-! Shit that hurts,' I once again thought to myself, pain spiking up from my behind.
Sephtis' size, accompanied by how many rounds we went last night, took a toll on my precious area below, making it very sore. I regretted my actions of last night, but it was too late, and the deed had already been done, so there was no use troubling over it now.
Sighing, I took Sephtis' arms off me, got up from the bed, clutching my back as I almost tripped from the pain. I stretched a little, getting used to the aches, and walked myself on over to Sephtis' bathroom.
'Bah, I'm sure he won't mind me borrowing his bath for a while, not like I plan on using his shampoo and/or conditioner.'
***
Coming out of the bathroom with a towel around my waist, I was greeted by a now awake Sephtis, who was sitting up and yawning with closed eyes. It was obvious he was still half asleep, so I couldn't help but want to see his cute, startled expression.
"Well, good morning sleeping beauty, did ya have a nice nap?" I teased, leaning against the door frame with a smirk on my face.
Following my hopes, Sephtis' ears and tail shot right up, his eyes matching as if they were all connected. With a crooked smile, he slowly turned towards me.
"T-Teacher, good morning!" Sephtis replied nervously, stuttering a little as he usually would when addressing people he wanted to act formally towards, which he didn't usually do with me.
"Hm? What's with the formal tone? The little puppy I know usually greets me with a wagging tail and bright smile with a friendly tone. Where did that one run off to?" I jested with a raised brow, then sat on the bed and squeezed Sephtis cheek a little.
"Urh! Please don't pinch my cheek like that!" He pouted, puffing his cheeks out as I stopped, making me laugh a little, "And you know why I have a more formal tone!"
"Why? Because we spent a night together? You know that that isn't something to be ashamed about, nor that I would dislike you just because I had sex with you," I smiled and laughed, making the air around us more light-hearted as the sun shone brighter through the curtains.
Sephtis looked away shyly, his cheeks flushed with blush, tail wagging at the thought of what I said. He fiddled with the sheets a little, something he would usually do when he was nervous.
"Y-yes, but…That changes our relationship as student and teacher, so I'm just scared of you getting angry at me referring to you as such," Sephtis admitted, looking at me with a saddened expression, shocking me a little.
"...Hehe, well, if you don't want to refer to me as teacher anymore, you don't have to. I never told you that you had to; you have the freedom to call me what you like," I reassured him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.
"...Okay, then would you mind if I called you by your name?" Sephtis puffed his cheeks out a little again while he used his thumb to rub my hand.
"Hmmm, well, I do not have a problem with it, but…mmm," I trailed off, thinking back to Victor and Arwan.
"What? Is it because of the differences in our status? Then I'll just call you 'Lev' or 'Kallisto'in private and Sir in public!" Sephtis insisted, taking both of my hands in his.
"Haha, that's not it! Though, while that may be a factor for most nobles, I personally do not care. My subordinates, however…Thats a different story," I sighed, thinking of how much of a pain it would be if Victor disliked Sephtis and Lorenzo because they act so casual with me.
"I see…Then why don't I just act formally with you around them and casually when it's just Lorenzo and us?" Sephtis proposed, quite excited at the thought of just addressing me by name.
"That will work, though Lorenzo might wonder what happened that caused this sudden shift!" I laughed, thinking of his shocked expression. If he learned that I slept with Sephtis, his jaw might just fall off.
"..." Sephtis was silent for a while, sparing of in thought. He was likely thinking the same thing I was, "Mmm, I wouldn't mind if Lorenzo knew we had sex…He would just know you were mine.'
Sephtis mumbled the last part, staring at my legs as he zoned out a bit. I forgot that I was only in a towel, but was reminded when I noticed Sephtis staring at me and a certain thing poking out from underneath the covers.
'...yeah, no. I'm not into morning sex, and we also just did it, so it's best to put a rest to it for now.'
"Well, I'd best change and go back to my room! We wouldn't want Lorenzo seeing me come out of yours wearing the same clothes I was last night!" I exclaimed, shooting off the bed and rushing to put my clothes on, then zoomed out the door as it closed behind me with a 'clack!'
Sephtis was left behind, a surprised look on his face, but then understanding as he looked down at his own croch, his face turning tomato red from embarrassment.
***
When I finished washing my hair and changing into my clothes for the day, I looked out and saw that Lorenzo had already started his workout for the day.
If I hadn't done that with Sephtis the night before, I'd likely be out there with him, running laps around the house's perimeter, maybe sparring with the two doofus' that I now lived with.
'Hm, think of that, I kind of miss Victor and Arwan. They were good sparring partners and quite helpful! Though I suppose the helpfulness is cause they work for me.' I thought to myself, feeling a little goofy.
Today, I was wearing a simple white button-up with a black tie, black dress pants, and a black suit-vest that had the tails of a tailcoat attached to it. I left my hair down and bangs unstyled, besides the small braids and the middle part of my bangs, my hair covered my spacial brooch and disguise brooh next to it.
"Y'know, it's taken me a little while to get used to not having Victor or someone else take me tea in the morning, but it isn't so bad to prepare it myself. It's a good way to adjust to the mechanics of this world.'
I walked downstairs and made my way to the kitchen, where Sephtis had made himself some weird, gross-looking green drink.
"Pardon my language, but what the fuck is that?" I exclaimed, walking up beside him. I leaned down to smell it, but came back up with my nose scrunched up and my eyebrows creased in disgust.
"Oh, hello L-Lev. Sorry if the smell bothered you, this is just an energy drink I usually make for myself in the morning before my workout," He stuttered, not used to referring to me by name.
"And you can actually drink that gross crap?" I replied, crossing my arms and tilting my head.
"Mmm, it gets bearable, and you get used to it the more you do….want to try it?" Sephtis asked, a smile on his face as his tail swayed beside him.
"Hah, thanks but no thanks, I'd like to keep my appetite," I joked, walking over to the cupboard and pulling out tea leaves and a tea cup.
"Alright. Want me to make some food to go with the tea and sit and eat with you as we both finish?" Sephtis offered, coming up behind me and resting his chin on my neck as I filled the kettle with water, I could tell his tail was wagging by the air hitting me from behind.
"Well, who am I to pass up a chance to have tea with a wereman as cute as you?" I teased, now in a good mood at his adorable display of affection, and perhaps his attempt at seducing me.
"Okay! I'll start preparing those snacks then, and I'll bring them out to the garden!" Sephtis beamed, rushing over to the snack cabinet.
***
About five minutes later, Sephtis and I were happily chatting away over tea, snacks, and the strange green muck Sephtis was drinking when Lorenzo came over.
He was using a towel to wipe the sweat from his face and neck, and had swept his hair to the side. If I were any more naive about what he was like, I probably would've started drooling over him.
'Well, it's a good thing I have the better eye candy sitting beside me!'
"Hey, guys! Enjoying the nice weather with some tea and snacks, huh?" Lorenzo chuckled to himself, stopping right in front of our table.
"Indeed. You may take a seat and join us if you'd like," I offered, gesturing to the seat next to me. Luckily, I wasn't as sensitive to smells as Sephtis was, so I wasn't bothered by his sweat, unlike Sephtis, whose face was slowly starting to scrunch up.
"Don't mind if I do then!" Lorenzo announced, sitting next to me and across from Sephtis, "Are you alright, Sephtis? You look like a bug just flew up your nose, hahaha!"
"N-no, I am alright. It's just that mt drink suddenly turned a little pungent, that's all!" He made up, not wanting to offend Lorenzo.
'Poor guy, the smell of this muscle head's sweat is probably grossing him out to oblivion.'
"Pfft, well, that's not hard to believe in the slightest. What even is that crap?" Lorenzo asked, eating one of the cookies on the table and pouring himself a cup of tea.
"It's an energy drink made of herbs and veggies, I usually drink it to start of my day and work out," Sephtis explained again, his ears tilting down as he mumbled, "Does it really look that gross?"
"Hm, well, if you can really stand to drink it, it must work quite well!" Lorenzo commented, shrugging as he sipped his tea, "Besides that, what's the agenda for today?"
***
On a ship just a kingdom's voyage away from the Silversun Kingdom, the wind was rather kind and gentle, spraying a gentle seabreeze on the inhabitants of the vessel.
A man walked on the deck, enjoying a nice stroll as the familiar breeze and spray brushed by him, reminding him of home.
"Pardon me, is this seat taken?" He asked, smiling down at a small woman with long, stark white hair and gold eyes who dressed in a priestess' uniform
"Hm? Oh, no, go right ahead," the white-haired woman replied, scooching over to make room for the tall, hooded gentleman.
"My thanks! Apologies for taking up some of your space, but the other seats on the boat are all taken up," The hooded man asked, sitting down and fixing his cloak.
"It is no problem, quite understandable on a big merchant boat like this one!... Say, where are you off to? Or are you a part of the crew?" She asked, tilting her head and putting a smile on her face.
"Ah, no, I am not a part of the crew. I am on my way to the Silversun Kingdom. I hope to meet a loved one of mine," He explained, the air around him turning to one of longing.
"Is that so? Then I suppose you and I are on our way to the same destination!" The woman beamed, happy to find a new companion, "Say, why don't we travel together till we find the people we need to? My name is Retha Kreindel. What's yours?"
"Hm, I am not opposed to that idea! You may call me Llyr, and I look forward to our collaboration!" Llyr agreed, happy to find someone to help him find Lev faster.