Artist's commentary
Feeling the sunlight on my eyelids, I open my eyes to see Youmu and Futo-chan in front of me
As our eyes met in that instant, Youmu took on a surprised expression, and Futo-chan greeted me with the usual, "Good morning my lord!" After returning the greeting, I asked what they were doing right in my face. "I was watching your sleeping face with Lady Youmu. Because you always rise before me, I had never seen it," Futo-chan answered with a grin. It seems I had overslept a bit; I wasn't able to get much sleep last night. Futo-chan had said, "We look like the character for 'river' [川]" while clinging on to me as usual. Upon seeing this, Youmu was a bit reserved, but after complaining about the cold she gave in and also latched on. She looked just like a spoiled kid. Of course, I don't really have a problem spoiling her. In any case, it looked like they had forgotten about the issue of them being girls. After that, they led me to the dining table. It seems Youmu had made the breakfast that was waiting there. I thanked her for cooking up food that managed to rouse my appetite so early in the day, to which she said, "This is just what I always do," blushing. "I pushed the switch on the rice cooker!" Futo-chan boasted with a puff of air. What a clever one she is.
Finally, we began eating. "Yes... although the cup ramen is good, Lady Youmu's cooking is delicious on an entirely different level," Futo-chan praised Youmu happily. I expressed the same, probably with a stupidly happy look on my face. "No, I'm simply used to cooking... do you two always just have cup ramen?" Youmu asked. "Yes, shamefully," I answered. "You'll get sick if you keep eating that way!" she said, shocked. "Um... if it's alright with you, may I come cook for you from now on? I can't come every day, as I have to take care of Yuyuko-sama, but I'm worried about you. Futo-chan too..." she continued. I didn't want to be a burden on her, but I remembered what Futo-chan said the other night about Youmu's anger stemming from a feeling of alienation. I figured that rejecting her offer would hurt her, so I told her, "Thank you. Just don't go too far out of your way to take care of me, okay?" The moment I finished, she replied, "Okay!" with a great big smile on her face... to be continued