47 Chapter 47: Summer Break

Now that he is out of the Academy for the time being and back in his own house, Leon can finally afford to do his favorite pastime; one that he developed in his last life and followed into his new one despite all odds. A small, petty thing that even the likes of Hofortan nobility can't possibly look down upon.

Sleeping in.

It is a bad habit, and one that someone of his rank and rising status shouldn't have. He was to be an example to others, a role model that many were sure to emulate and follow– whether out of genuine respect or plain desire to reach the same heights he achieved. Leon understands; being a Raven himself he had no small number of wannabes that took after his AC builds and used his own tactics.

But he is a mortal man, and all mortal men have their weaknesses. It just so happens that Leon's is sleeping, lounging on the softest bed with heated heavy blankets that make him think of happier times with people whose deaths drove him to literally overthrow the world order.

Such is the warmth and weight of the blanket that it feels so real in his arms, molding so well into his figure that he can't quite stop the pleased hum that leaves his lips. He pulls the blanket close and buries his face into it, breathing deeply of its scent– lilacs and blueberries with a hint of citrus–

His eyes snap open, recognizing the scent. He leans up and blearily blinks the sleep out of his eyes, enough to see who it is that snuck into his bed while he was asleep.

"Mmm…" Clarice says, half-asleep. "Come back to bed Leon, it's summer break. You don't have to wake up so early."

"...how'd you get in my bed?" Leon boggles. "I locked my door from the inside. With three separate locks."

"The windows only got one…" Clarice yawns, rolling over to look at him with groggy, half-lidded eyes. "Lana was nice enough to help me up…"

She's dressed in a loosely buttoned white shirt, his white shirt, with panties and nothing else. Her physique is lucious, all curves and supple flesh with flawless skin all framed perfectly in those clothes. All that coupled with the low light of the room streaming from the breeze-rippled curtains gives her an almost otherworldly look that elevates her from beautiful to downright gorgeous.

His blood boils, gaze entranced. Clarice grins despite her grogginess, reaching over to put a hand on his and running her thumb over her knuckles.

"Keep me company…?" she asks, voice low and lips smiling.

Leon takes a deep breath and moves his hand to grab hers. He shifts forward, planting a hand on Clarice's far side to loom over her and forcing her to twist so she's laying on her back to face him. Her free hand comes up and runs its fingers all over his chest, lingering over the small scars.

He unashamedly lets his gaze wander, drinking in her features almost greedily. Then he wanders down to her barely clothed breasts, and Clarice grins as her free hand hooks its fingers on the shirt and tugs it aside– spill one generously-sized breast. She takes one deep breath and exhales suddenly, the motion making her chest bounce. Leon's eyes follow the motion and she laughs, but the reincarnate is not flustered in the least.

Hustler has bigger, the biggest maybe, but it didn't change the fact that they are fake. Clarice's weren't, and that was perhaps the most important difference.

"Well?" Clarice hums. "Are you just gonna stare?"

"...are you sure about this, Clarice?" Leon asks, if only to put his own worries to rest. "If we go through with this–"

"I'm a big girl, Leon. I know the risks." she reaches over and frees her other breast. "And I wouldn't have done this if I wasn't sure."

The reincarnate takes a deep breath and leans down. Their lips touch, gently at first but slowly growing in intensity as they get used to one another. She moves under him, shifting and writhing into better and more comfortable positions; toned legs brushing up against his as her thighs rub together excitedly. Her hand slips past his pants and she giggles at the prize waiting for her, already hardening but not quite at full mast.

"I'm flattered. Thank you." she tells him between kisses. "Saint's breath, this is gonna be so good–"

A knock on the door makes both Leon and Clarice freeze. They turn to it, fearful of having been caught and dreading every possible outcome.

"Leon? Are you awake yet?" comes Olivia's voice. "Miss Nielsen has breakfast ready if you're up for it…?'

"...yeah. Yeah, I'm up. I'll be right there." the young man sighs, half frustrated and half relieved at the interruption. "Gimme a second to get changed."

"Alright then. I'll walk with you, if that's okay?"

"That sounds wonderful, Olivia. Thank you." Leon smiles, pulling away from Clarice. "Looks like you're going to have to make do."

"Pooh." the strawberry blonde pouts. "And I can't even be mad at her; she's such a sweetheart."

"Heh. You know it." Leon chuckles, crawling off the bed and finding some pants to wear. "Will you be joining, or…?"

"Yeah, in a bit." the Atlee heiress snuggles into his sheets. "Your bed is so comfy Leon, and your blankets make it so hard to get up. I'm actually jealous."

"I can get you a set if you want, just talk to Lana about it." Leon grunts, ruffling his hair to make his bedhead a little more presentable as he moves to the door. "Now shush, don't want to scare Olivia do you?"

"Yes dear~" the blonde on his bed giggles, before tucking herself under it to avoid being seen.

Leon rolls his eyes and undoes the locks to open the door. On the other side is Olivia, wearing an adorable sundress. She blinks up at him, reddening a little at his lack of shirt but not quite put-off by it.

"L-Leon, you're not wearing a shirt." she points out.

"It's my house, I'll dress how I please." he rolls his eyes, stepping out and closing the door. He takes a deep breath, catching the scent of good griddle cake and hash browns in the air. "Hmm. Wonder why she didn't have the maids cook– it's literally their jobs."

"She said she wants to welcome us properly as the household knight of your house. She was adamant about it too." Olivia giggles. "Angelica was really interested in the cooking process though, so she's in the kitchen helping Miss Nielsen right now. They sent me to fetch you when it looked like you weren't going to wake up on your own." she pauses and pouts at him. "It's a bad habit to be waking up so late, Leon."

"What are you, my mom?" he laughs, ruffling her hair as he leads her down the hall and back to the kitchen. "She's the only one who can tell me what to do right now– you can suggest it."

"But would you follow it?" Olivia asks, still pouting as she fixes her hair.

"Depends on if it's a good suggestion or not." he shrugs. "Given how it's summer break and that we're in my house, I say I'm allowed to sleep in a little more for the time being."

Olivia huffs at the impeccability of his logic, following him dutifully to the main foyer and then to the dining room. From there they cut through a door and walk to the kitchen, the place where all the food is cooked. There they find unoccupied counters, lesser tables, and shelves lined with uncooked food.

They find Angelica experimentally flipping flapjacks with her cadre of personal maids keeping a close eye while Lana hauls plates laden with flapjacks to the table. The ducal daughter is dressed in a more elaborate dress, but no less casual in make and decoration;

"Good morning, you two." the gynoid greets, smiling. "Slept well, I hope?"

"You helped Clarice into my room." Leon accuses.

//"I figured you would like it."// the A.I smugs. //"Didn't you?"//

"...I did, yes. Olivia interrupted things before they could get interesting." Leon grumbles, and suffers through the A.I's laughter. "Laugh it up you bucket of bolts– I'll get you back for this."

"Well enough, I guess." Leon shrugs. "Could've let me sleep in, though. It's summer break!"

"It is a bad habit, Leon. You shouldn't allow it to fester lest you suffer a drop in performance." Angelica tuts, sliding a fresh flapjack atop another pile. "Even if you are not in the Academy for the time being, you still should– eep!"

"What?" he blinks, looking himself over as Angelica covers her eyes while the maids, one of them anyway, shoots him a glare. "Something on my face?"

"P-Put some clothes on you brute!" one of the maids demands, while the other practically eats him up with her eyes. "You are being indecent towards our lady!"

"Oh, grow up– it's my house so I can do as I damn well please." Leon scoffs. "You don't mind, right Angelica?"

"...n-no?" the ducal daughter hazards, cautiously peeking past her fingers. "B-But you do not mind just– baring it all out? Y-You are practically showing everything off!"

"A man is allowed to go shirtless– the kingdom's founders couldn't have had a good support network when they were starting out. I'm sure they must've gone shirtless every now and then." Leon shrugs. "Besides, it's not like my current state of dress is unwelcome. Your maid there certainly likes it."

"Michelle! How could you be so improper?!" the uptight maid barks. "Go stand in the corner, you immature maiden! Go!"

Olivia laughs at the byplay, and even Angelica joins in. Leon and Hustler just shake their heads at the show and start distributing flapjacks.

"So, what will we be doing today?" the commoner girl asks.

"I have to go to Murrayfield and check up on the people, see what lordly duties need to be done. You," Leon turns to her. "Have an appointment on the Little Buzzard for your tooth."

"I managed to find a skilled oral surgeon. He will be able to extract the leftover roots in your gums and implant another tooth where your old tooth was." the A.I says. "Between her skill and your healing, we should be able to get a new tooth implanted in you within a week."

"So quickly? How…?" Angelica pauses. "Oh. Wait, Olivia, can you use your healing magic on yourself?"

"I can." the commoner girl nods. "But… I can't heal a broken tooth, though. When I tried in private, it just stopped the bleeding and fixed my gums." her shoulders slump. "I guess it can't regrow any lost parts."

Leon and Hustler trade a quick glance.

//"More testing?"//

"Non-invasive and keep it as secret as possible."

//"understood."//

"Well, that's what conventional medicine is for." Hustler One nods. "Sometimes, reason and logic are more effective than any spell. Just ask the precursors."

"Indeed– they were even able to make the likes of these 'holograms' without the aid of magic. Truly, they were far ahead of us in their knowledge and technology. Who knows how much we have lost?" Angelica sighs. "It's such a shame as well. We could have been so much more…"

Just then the door opens and Leon carefully does not turn around.

"Mornin'." Clarice yawns. "I smelled flapjacks?"

"C-Clarice!" Angelica chokes, as do her maids. "W-W-What are you wearing?! No– why aren't you wearing anything?!"

"Oh grow up– it's not like this is some formal gathering or something Angie. Learn to loosen up a little." the Atlee heiress snorts. "Morning Leon~"

"Leon! Under no circumstances are you to turn around!" Angelica orders. "In fact, as the daughter of a ducal house, I order you not to turn around! Cordelia, fetch Clarice something– anything!"

"...she's not naked, is she?" he asks Olivia, who is blushing and sending surreptitious glances behind him. "Damn, that good huh?"

"N-No!" the commoner girl stammers.

=X=X=X=X=X=

"Here we go– the latest working model of Arquebus Arms' line of auto-loading rifle." Hustler One says, leading Leon and Angelica to a table. "We call it the Kalashnikov line. Robust, durable, and exceedingly adaptive; able to fire larger caliber rounds than what the current service rifle of the Holfortan Royal Army."

Angelica walks over and beholds the newly developed guns. As Captain Nielsen had said, they appear very durable and robust– with at least ten varieties laid out before her.

Some are short, stout guns meant for use in close quarters. Some have decently long barrels, meant for general use. One has a long barrel with a tubular sight attached to its top railing, meant for long range precision fire. Two have circular magazines, and Angelica picks them up– marveling at the size and weight.

"How many bullets does this house?" she asks.

"One hundred. There are large magazine sizes in development, but we felt that a hundred rounds would be suitable for a weapon with high rate-of-fire." she nods, reaching over and handing her another one of the rifles. "More specifically, that magazine is for the Squad Suppression Weapon or SSW variant of the Kalashnikov line; meant for medium-range engagements to help cut down any massed infantry charges as well as suppress movement of infantry units during high-intensity engagements."

Angelica sets down the heavy bullet magazine and takes the offered gun. She grunts under the weight, but is surprised that she's still able to keep holding it up.

The design is intuitive thanks to her prior experience in handling rifles. It even has the same bolts as a rifle, though obviously heavily modified. She even takes it up and aims down the sights, finding it little different than a rifle. The Royal Army would very much want these, she thinks. The same with some noble houses too.

"Do you have any upscaled for Armor use?" Leon asks.

"We do. We have already notified the crown and are waiting for an answer. Hopefully, it will be soon." Nielsen nods at her lord, and Angelica is struck by how… casual they are in their conversation. "I assume you would like a model made ready for your Armor?"

"Yes please. The assault rifle it has right now is good, I'd like some variety." Leon nods back.

"Very well. I will notify the workers about it, in that case." Nielsen nods. "Would you like to try one out?"

"Boy, would I?" the young man laughs, almost cackling, as he takes one of the rifles and several bullet magazines before scurrying to the range. "Woohoo!"

"Men." the woman in red shakes her head, but her expression is fond. "No better than large boys with how simple their minds are."

"I agree. I can get vexing at times." Angelica smiles, watching Leon shoot the gun with gusto. "I am wondering, though…"

"Yes, Lady Redgrave?" Nielsen turns to her.

"Are you and Leon… close?" she asks, suddenly nervous.

"I am his household knight and he is my liege. I run his lands in his absence with his permission." the woman blinks. "I would say we are close, yes."

"Not like that, though you are indeed close in the professional sense." Angelica shakes her head. "I meant in a way that is… intimate."

"...if you are asking me if I've bedded him–" the woman puts her hands on her hips. Angelica finds herself blushing.

"N-No! No! Saint above, no!" she denies, hands held up. Her maids giggle at her. "I meant– given how f-familiar you two looked t-to be while you were i-interacting together earlier– I-I thought you two were involved to some extent! Romantically, I mean!"

"Oh. Really?" Nielsen tilts her head. "What gave off that impression?"

"There is…" Angelica pauses, looking for the right words. "I suppose the way you and Leon interacted showed a sort of casualness with each other that I assumed meant something deeper. I have seen such casualness in how my elder brother interacts with his fiancee during their work." she rubs her arm, a little embarrassed. "I apologize if I overstepped."

"No, no, it's fine." the other woman says with an odd quality to her voice. "I suppose it would seem that way. My lord had left quite the impression on me when we first met so long ago– you could say he changed my life in some ways." she smiles, a small and honest thing that makes her look older than she actually was. "I… suppose the best way to describe it is that we understand each other in some intangible way. Like how siblings would look at each other without saying a word and immediately understand what they were trying to communicate."

"...I see?" Angelica blinks. Nielsen laughs.

"Don't worry about it too much, Lady Redgrave." the woman shakes her head, turning to the young man as he shoots his rifle. "The boy and I have nothing between us."

But Angelica looks at the woman across from her, listening to that odd tilt to her voice and seeing the distant, almost misty look in her gaze as she looks at the young man whooping some distance away. It doesn't look like anything significant, but…

"I suppose you would be alright if he found a woman or women to open his heart to, then?" Angelica asks.

She sees it, for a split second; the flash of shock and pain followed by anger that quickly smoothed out into sadness and acceptance. Sympathy wells up in her, but she doesn't say.

"Not at all." Lana Nielsen shakes her head as she lies to herself. "It's his life to live, his heart to open up. Far be it for me to make that choice for him."

Notes: Poor, poor Lana, it's kind of hard to get over the fact you basically murdered your love interest's family in the past. That's almost as horrible as being your college's barracks bunny.

That aside; we missed a lemon today, in wait for a lemon another day! Keep pumping those power stones and let's get to 3,000! Hopefully this week we get our lemon!