Naoki's Mana, in a certain sense, could be considered limitless. As a Fairy born from the planet, even though he was a later-created Fairy and not one hundred percent pure, he was still a Fairy. He shared Mana directly with all of nature and could absorb it endlessly from the outside world.
Given his condition, it should've been impossible for him to experience Mana depletion.
Yet now, in a rare occurrence, he found himself in a state of Mana shortage—or rather, it couldn't quite be called that. For a Fairy, there was no such thing as Mana depletion, as that would imply the planet itself was collapsing. A more accurate description of Naoki's condition was that his human side had engaged in activities beyond its limits the previous night.
Living beings can grow tired. Whether human or Fairy, prolonged activity inevitably leads to fatigue. If he were a true Fairy, he could simply replace the tired parts. While he usually wouldn't, it was theoretically possible.
But Naoki couldn't.
Roughly thirty percent of him was still human, and this part limited his activity threshold. Once he exceeded it, he'd fall into a state of extreme exhaustion. To recover, he needed some time.
That was more or less his current state.
He woke up in a room filled with a strange scent around midday. After using Imaginary Manifestation to restore the room to its state before he and Rei entered, Naoki went to the dining car with her.
Just as they entered the restaurant—
"Oh, good afternoon, Mr. Natsukawa… Um, are you alright?"
In the restaurant, at a table near the window, Marie, who was eating, froze upon seeing Naoki enter.
The reason? Naoki looked utterly drained.
If yesterday's Naoki was a freshly picked lemon, today he was a dried-out lemon, squeezed until not a single drop remained.
His face and eyes practically screamed exhaustion.
In contrast, the maid named Rei trailing behind Naoki looked incredibly vibrant—more so than the previous night. Like a plant freshly watered, she radiated strong vitality, and her irrepressible smile made it clear she was in an excellent mood.
(What happened between them after they went to their room last night?)
Marie felt a bit confused but quickly recalled rumors about Naoki—despite being engaged to a Lord, he was still involved with many women on the side, engaging in unhealthy relationships.
Could it be…
(He made a move on his maid… No, it seems… the other way around?)
If Naoki had made a move, he should be the one glowing now, but it was the opposite. Regardless of the situation, something definitely happened between this master and maid last night!
In the magecraft world, a master making moves on their servant wasn't unusual. After all, in the eyes of Magi, servants and children were their property. They could do whatever they wanted with them. At the Clock Tower, many new-generation Magi were born from nobles and their lovers or servants.
Thinking this, Marie's gaze toward Naoki grew distant. Understanding was one thing, but she didn't approve of such flirtatious behavior, especially when the other party was already engaged to a Lord.
There was a limit to acting so freely.
Hearing Marie's question, Naoki, whose face was slightly pale, waved his hand. "Good afternoon, Miss Marie. I'm fine, just a bit worn out. A short rest will fix me up."
"Your endurance needs improvement, Master. Let's start with a goal of ten hours a day," Rei said with a smile.
Unlike Naoki, a living being, Rei was a one hundred percent puppet, a creation of magecraft. She had the appearance and biological structure of a human but was fundamentally not a living creature. Thus, even after staying up all night, she was now bursting with energy—ten thousand times more energetic, one could say!
After all, last night she had reclaimed all the Mana she'd saved up over the two weeks Naoki was absent, with interest. That immense amount of Mana was still stored in her body, not fully digested, leaving her feeling incredibly satisfied.
"Regarding your endurance training program, I'll make it a daily lesson from now on. If you'd like, we can start tonight."
*THUD!*
Naoki, who had just sat down, slammed his head onto the table, startling Marie across from him. "Hey! Are you really okay? Don't scare me!"
"I-It's fine… Um, Rei, how about we negotiate? Not every day… maybe once a week?"
Against Rei and Manaka, who were, in a sense, perpetual motion machines, Naoki felt genuinely overwhelmed. Atalanta was far gentler in comparison. These two wouldn't stop as long as he could still move a single finger!
Seeing Naoki like this, Rei paused with a hesitant expression before nodding reluctantly. "If Master insists, we'll arrange it that way. Once we return, I'll set a new schedule for you."
*THUD!*
Naoki slammed his head onto the table again—he could already imagine the chaos at home if Rei set such a schedule. Forget the others; Riddell definitely wouldn't agree. With time already limited for everyone, if Rei monopolized an entire day, wouldn't the competition get even fiercer?
But before Naoki could say anything else, Rei sat beside him. "Anyway, what would you like for lunch, Master? The food here is delivered right after ordering. I recommend something to boost male vitality."
(I might trouble you again tonight, Master~ After all, my other self is a bit greedy~~~)
Hearing the last sentence transmitted through their mental link, Naoki suddenly felt a pang in his lower back, and his face grew even paler.
Since there were many people at home, Rei and Manaka always acted normal, so Naoki didn't think much of it. But now, with no one to interrupt, how could these two hold back? That was something he'd overlooked.
If he'd known it would come to this, he would've brought Artoria or Okita instead!
Meanwhile, Marie, overhearing their entire conversation, was filled with confusion—what were they talking about? By the way, as a Lord's prospective son-in-law, Naoki was utterly powerless in front of a maid. How embarrassing!