Ayano Kimishima's expression clouded over at once.
Pressing her small palm against Hozuki Nozomi's forehead and finding it alarmingly hot, she couldn't help but turn to Frieren.
"Frieren-sama, what should we do? Is there any way to ease Nozomi-sama's condition?"
"Unfortunately, this is a qualitative shift in his internal mana. Once it's complete, his body will be stronger than before, so he can only see the transformation through on his own."
"If outside magic interferes, it will only throw off the balance."
"However… to ease it… doing things that make him happy might help."
In her eyes, Hozuki Nozomi had always been a mystery. The chest in his room that had produced her and Fern, that artificial spirit, and other odd magics besides—every one of those anomalies convinced her that Hozuki Nozomi was no ordinary person.
Ayano Kimishima, meanwhile, had fallen into thought.
"Things that make Nozomi-sama happy…?"
How was she supposed to manage that?
"Would you show me how, Frieren-sama?"
At that, Frieren tilted her head and lowered herself slowly onto the futon beside Hozuki Nozomi.
Then, cradling his head, she settled it gently upon her lap.
Her snow-pale, delicate hand patted his hair, her gaze soft as still water.
"There, there. You'll be well again soon."
Watching such a tender Frieren from the side, Fern couldn't help but purse her lips.
Still, a small smile soon crept onto her face.
This was a good thing. If Frieren-sama formed a bond that mattered to her, she wouldn't drift off so easily.
Sure enough, Hozuki Nozomi seemed quite content with Frieren's lap pillow and the gentleness of her hand; the strain in his features eased somewhat.
Yet after only a little while, Frieren promptly withdrew the lap pillow from him.
"See? Just like that. Ayano, you take it from here."
"And you, Frieren-sama?"
"I need more sleep. I stayed up too late studying magic last night."
Yawning, Frieren strolled off without ceremony.
Fern touched Hozuki Nozomi's forehead lightly and smiled at Ayano Kimishima.
"I'll leave Hozuki Nozomi in your hands. I need to look after Frieren-sama."
Ayano Kimishima nodded emphatically.
"Please leave it to me. I'll do my utmost!"
Pillowed on Ayano Kimishima's soft thighs, sheathed in white over-the-knee socks, Hozuki Nozomi's face went crimson.
The reason being, the cute maid was pressing her chest squarely against his face.
He was suffocating.
"Ayano, I can't breathe."
"Mmm—my deepest apologies. I thought Nozomi-sama would be pleased."
"I am pleased, but I'm not exactly in fighting shape at the moment. So a plain lap pillow is fine."
"Understood."
In his half-dreaming haze, Hozuki Nozomi felt the scent around him change.
When he cracked his eyes open again, he found himself pillowed on Yukino Yukinoshita's legs.
Those legs deserved to be called top-tier. Long, beautifully proportioned, sheathed in black over-the-knee socks, they cradled the back of his head.
The softness and the sweet fragrance lifted his spirits.
What thrilled him most was that his fiancée had put on the maid outfit they had bought that day.
"Yukino, this look really suits you."
Yukino Yukinoshita's usually cool, aloof face flushed instantly.
She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, lowered her head slowly, and pressed a kiss to his lips.
"Idiot. If you're satisfied, then hurry up and get well."
"Heh, I'll do my best."
As he spoke, he nestled the back of his head against her, then rolled to bury his cheek against her lower abdomen.
The girl's faint, captivating fragrance drifted over him.
Bliss.
Yukino Yukinoshita felt his warm breath on her skin and shivered at the ticklish sensation.
But seeing him so at peace, she didn't push him away.
Instead, her pale, soft hand slid through his hair in slow strokes.
The moment she turned tender, Miss Yukinoshita's charm skyrocketed. Against her usual cool poise, it formed a wonderful gap-moe.
A while later, Yukino Yukinoshita's thighs began to ache.
So the caretaker was swapped.
And thus, while "unwell," Hozuki Nozomi got to fully savor the tender attentions of the girls around him.
He briefly entertained the notion that staying "sick" forever wouldn't be so bad.
However. By evening, he felt entirely restored.
His head no longer ached. His body, in fact, felt more powerful than before. The mana within him had doubled.
He woke feeling refreshed and invigorated.
Hozuki Nozomi immediately made his way to Yukino Yukinoshita's room.
He scooped her up by the waist, still dressed in her maid outfit.
"A-ah… you scoundrel, you… you're all right now?"
Yukino Yukinoshita gasped in surprise, arms flying up around his neck on instinct—then a delighted expression bloomed across her face.
Hozuki Nozomi gazed down at her tenderly.
"Of course. I'm fine already."
"With such a wonderful Yukino nursing me, naturally I had to recover in a hurry."
Yukino Yukinoshita gave him a shy side-glance. "You're incorrigible. Barely back on your feet and already thinking of bullying people."
"That's because this outfit of yours is just too incredible, Yukino. You look breathtaking in it."
"But remember—only one man is ever allowed to see you wear it. And that's me."
With that, he lowered his head and captured Miss Yukinoshita's cherry-red lips.
He carried her to the bed and set her down without breaking the kiss, one knee sinking into the mattress beside her hip. His hand slid up her stockinged thigh, thumb tracing the strip of bare skin between the hem of her socks and the ruffled edge of her skirt. Yukino Yukinoshita's breath hitched into his mouth, her fingers curling into the collar of his shirt.
"Nn—wait, the apron…"
"Leave it on."
Her ears flushed scarlet. He unhooked the small clasp at the back of her collar, freeing just enough of the neckline to bare the pale slope of her throat and collarbone, then dragged his lips along that line. Her back arched, a soft "haa…" slipping past her teeth. His hand slipped beneath the frilled skirt, palm flattening against the warm silk of her inner thigh.
"Idiot… the door…"
"Locked it already."
He pushed her stockings down to her knees, kissed the tremor from her belly, and had her murmuring his name against the pillow within minutes—the maid outfit rumpled but never removed, exactly as he'd promised.
A short while later, Yuki Suo, too, was carried into the room by him.
She had taken good care of him earlier as well.
…
The next day.
Hozuki Nozomi, fully restored, headed to school alongside the girls.
At noon, once class had ended, he crossed paths with Kirisu Mafuyu in the corridor.
The two drifted past each other, both apparently intent on pretending the other wasn't there.
"Wait. Stop right there."
Kirisu Mafuyu, it seemed, couldn't quite bear it.
Hands planted on her hips, she leveled a displeased glare at him.
"Something the matter, Kirisu-sensei?"
Hozuki Nozomi turned back with an innocent look.
Kirisu Mafuyu snorted. "Why is it that you see me and don't even bother to greet me? Where are your manners?"
More than that, he was now calling her Kirisu-sensei. He used to shamelessly call her Mafuyu-sensei.
Hozuki Nozomi let out a small sigh at her interrogation.
"Isn't that because you, Mafuyu-sensei, have been fleeing the moment you spot me lately, ignoring me completely? I'm a delicate soul, you see, so I assumed you wanted nothing more to do with me and resolved to honor your wishes."
"I never said any such thing—you're reading too much into it. And I did not run away!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Hozuki Nozomi's voice went soft. He glanced around, confirming the corridor was empty.
All at once his boldness returned.
He closed the distance between them in a single step.
Kirisu Mafuyu's face flushed; she inhaled sharply and backpedaled on instinct.
He pressed forward, herding her until her back met the wall at the foot of the staircase, one arm braced beside her head.
"Y-you brat, what do you think you're doing? I, I'm your teacher."
Kirisu Mafuyu's cheeks burned. She folded her arms in front of her chest by reflex and tried to fix him with a composed glare.
To all of that, Hozuki Nozomi's answer was to lean in.
Her lips were caught, and Kirisu Mafuyu's eyes flew wide.
"Mmmph—!"
He, how could he do this?
He'd actually kissed me. Again!