"Knock knock!" I playfully shouted as I slowly opened the door to his room, "Wakey wakey, come on~!"
"Gimme five more..." He then jolted himself wide awake before he could finish the sentence, "Actually no, I am getting up immediately."
"That was a quick change of pace. Something on your mind?"
"Well, it's just that your father's..." He then stopped to gauge my expression, though I didn't understand what he was talking about so I just blankly stared on.
"My father's... what?" I tilted my head.
"Nothing. Forget what I said." He shook his head as he jumped up and out of his bed, "Is it not still a bit too early for breakfast? My internal alarm clock states it is still a ways away."
"I fear for your life if this is still considered a ways away from breakfast." I sighed, "Come on, I made your favorite."
"Pancakes?"
"Nah, I lied. I don't know what your favorite food is actually, so I just made scrambled eggs and hoped I got it right."
Giving me a completely blank stare, he chuckled before getting up and following me out of the room. Though something surprised me about his attire when he left the room. He was still wearing the same clothes he had on yesterday, which made me quite worried.
"You... didn't change?" I tried being tactful about it.
"I would say I have changed quite a bit since we last saw each other." He didn't quite seem to understand what I was alluding to.
"Not that, your clothes!" I pointed down, "You wore those yesterday! You absolutely need to change into something else before you start the day off!"
"Oh, right." He looked down, unamused, "I will go ahead and do that after breakfast..."
"No you will not!" I raised my voice as I chewed him out, "I do hope you're joking right now, or at least that this is a one time thing. Because so help me if you've made this a habit...!"
"Okay, okay!" He turned around in a hurry, "I am changing, okay?"
"Good!"
Seriously, was Meil always like this? So... unkempt? I guess it makes sense for a student who lives alone to let himself go a bit, but we're already at the point where I have to question if he even brushes his teeth anymore. Besides, he mentioned something yesterday about being tired from the day before, so maybe that has something to do with it? He does seem to be living a pretty hectic life, what with having to help all those good for nothing friends of his while at the same time having to juggle his own workload. Peculiar...
"Alright, thank you for the meal!" He clapped his hands together before he started chowing down eagerly.
"What's with the prayer? Aren't you an atheist?"
"Wrong, I am a devout believer in Ouroboras, the Sun God." He corrected me, "And besides, this is just something of a habit I picked up from that Issei I talked about while we were in prison."
"Right, but when you do that, it looks like you're thanking God for the food."
"I do not remember any God making these scrambled eggs." He then pointed at me with his fork, "Though if you really need an answer to your query, shall we say that I am thanking you, then?"
T-This guy...! He's definitely aware of the effect he has on women! There's no way a person can be this smooth whilst at the same time being completely oblivious to the reactions he gets out of us ladies! C-Crap, that made me blush... He's dense, but even someone like Meil will surely notice if he sees my face from this distance...!
"A-Ah!" I dropped my fork on the ground as an excuse to hide my face under the table, "Whoops, sorry about that. Lemme just get that! Wuh-!?"
Hitting my head on the table from the surprise of looking straight between his legs, I couldn't help but thank myself for forcing him to get properly dressed, otherwise I surely would've seen a part of him which I wasn't planning on seeing just yet. And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse...
"You alright down there?" He went to peek under the table.
"D-Don't look, perv!" I shouted, fearing he would see my flushed expression, "W-What's with you, don't you have any tact!?"
In reality, I was the one who was being tactless and rude. Dropping his utensils on the floor on purpose, shouting at him for no reason at all, almost s-seeing his... Gah, now I kinda feel bad for not getting a peek!
"Stop playing around and finish your food." He got a bit more serious, "Once you are done, we have to go see Javi and have him set you up with a mock exam. I still cannot gauge your current knowledge level."
"Ehh? School already?" I whined a bit, "Didn't you say we have plenty of time before we should worry about that?"
"We do have plenty time. That is, if we stick to the schedule I made, of course." He explained, "Well, in truth, I was told not to force you into doing anything you did not want to do."
"Huh? Told, by who?" I tilted my head as he went to fetch a letter signed by my mom and uncle.
"Your family." He explained, "Both Cecily and Ed's parts were pretty harsh, so it is not like I am forcing you to enroll if you do not want to."
Mom and uncle sent a letter to Meil without informing me? That's super suspicious, not to mention annoying as hell! Dammit, what were those two thinking? They're ruining my chances with Meil here! Damned family members... Huh?
"Says here you are absolutely forbidden from showing this letter to me or even mentioning it though?"
"It does?!" He went to take it from my hands, though I dodged him and opened it with great haste.
"Too late!" I sang a tune as I started reading, "Now, let's see what's inside this baby...!"
***
-Letter with mom's scribbly handwriting-
"Hey Meil, how are things with you? As you know, Nelly should be enrolling in a couple of months, so I'm writing this letter to you in advance just to set up some boundaries. This may come as a surprise to you, but I assure you it'll all make sense. Nelly, she's a bit in over her head, y'know? Don't take this the wrong way, she's brilliant, but just be prepared to console her if she fails after a couple of ranks. It's nothing too bad, and we've made preparations for everything, so all I ask of you is to not pressure her into continuing if she feels like giving up. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and Prylos knows the last thing I'd want in life is for my daughter to start feeling stressed out over University being too much of a hassle for her. That's all, thank you, and be sure to visit soon!"
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
What the!? She's already assuming I'm gonna fail!? That stupid mother of mine, what kind of a demoness says that about her own daughter?! Dammit, is this why I have to go through this whole extra mock exam step? Just because mom sowed doubt into Meil's mind, making him uncertain of my academic prowess? Hmph, well you'll be happy to hear, mother dearest, that I won't be giving up anytime soon! Oh, and that last part about visiting, you can absolutely forget about that, cause I don't even wanna see you anymore after this!
-Letter with uncle's fine cursive handwriting-
"Meil, I'm seriously considering calling off the whole thing about sending Nelly to Uni. It's for multiple reasons, but none of them have anything to do with academics. She's a genius, second only to you as far as I'm concerned, but there's something else bugging me that's just too scary to even imagine. Look, I'll be vulgar with you because I have faith you've read the warning on the back of the envelopes - DON'T LET NELLY CONTROL YOU! She may still look like a child to you, but she's grown up into something I can only describe as a succubus. Not to everyone, of course, cause then she'd just be a slut, but I'm just saying you two are gonna be living alone together, so don't let her "prank" you in any way, such as by jumping into bed with you, suggesting a kiss or otherwise any other intimate acts, and of course the obvious - coitus. I know you have your own "tastes" in women, but please, for the love of Prylos, refrain with her, at least. That's all, peace."
I fucking hate these two. First I got called dumb and inadequate by my mom, and now I got called a slut and a succubus by my uncle! Well, mystery fucking solved, I guess! Looks like I now finally know why Meil's been acting so odd all this time! Actually, no, he still pulled me into bed with him yesterday, though he claims that was only because of his drowsy state. Still, what the hell does uncle mean when he mentioned Meil's "tastes"? Why did he put that part in parentheses, as if it's some kind of taboo.
"Meil, what's uncle talking about?" I turned to him, demanding answer with a stern tone.
"Sigh, you were not supposed to read those, you know?" He acted like he wasn't the one who showed me those letters in the first place, "Look, I get you are pretty eager to search for the answer to that question, so I will explain. So basically, a succubus is a mythical creature often found within folklore that preys on..."
"Not that part, asshole!" I shouted back, "The part about your tastes in women! What does uncle Ed know that I don't?!"
"Hm? Why is that important?" He tilted his head at me before sighing, "But okay, I guess I have nothing to hide. Though, to tell you the truth, even I do not know what he is talking about there. I have never talked about my preferences regarding a romantic partner."
"Never talked, not never had." I immediately noticed a key word in his speech, "As a sign of apology for leaking these letters to me, you'll have to tell me a secret of yours as well - What's your type?"
Well, isn't this a turn of events? I was genuinely angry at my family for saying all those rude things about me, but before long I somehow managed to turn things around to apply the pressure on Meil and go on the offensive. Meil seems quite shaken as well, it seems, as he's desperately trying to claw his way out of answering this one simple question. Hehe, how cute...!
"I have none." He said as a matter of fact, "I do not yet understand the complexities of the human heart. I tend to think in logical terms, which can most easily be seen in my love for the sciences..."
"Quit stalling and tell me your type!" I got a bit antsy, "Or could it be? It never even crossed the mind of a kissless virgin like yourself, is that it~?"
You could see him start to yell something, however he stopped himself just before any sound came out. Most probably he wanted to chew me out, but he suddenly looked away, his cheeks burning a light red.
"T-That is...! No, I will not speak of this matter any further."
"What's that~? The kissless virgin admits defeat~?"
"Grr...! I may not have engaged in any sexual acts, but calling me kissless is slanderous!" He then shouted, his sentence echoing throughout his large, empty mansion.
"E-Eh?" I could feel the strength in my body leaving me as my tear sac broke, "Y-You... what?"
"Now, let us go get ready." He tried to weasel his way out, but I didn't allow it.
"A-A person like you kissed someone!?" I grabbed him by the wrist, "W-What's up with that! Who!?"
"Will you just drop it already?" He desperately tried tugging his hand free of my grasp, "Ugh, if you really must know, I did not kiss anyone. I got kissed, and it was against my will. She is long dead anyways, which is good. End of story."
"Got kissed against your will, she died a while ago... Holy crap, was it Silvia!?" I made an educated guess, which was more akin to a shot in the dark.
"... Come now, Javi does not appreciate tardiness." He continued walking to the front door, dragging me along with him as I fruitlessly tried tugging him back.
"O-Oi! I'm right aren't I!?" I continued to get dragged all the way to the dormitory, "A-Answer me, dammit!"