— — — — — —
By the time Kazuma reached his house, it was almost 1 AM. He stopped short when he spotted someone curled up on the ground by his doorstep.
"Juvia? Hey, wake up. Wake up."
He stepped closer and gently nudged the blue-haired girl sleeping against his door. "Why are you sleeping here? Were you looking for me?"
Juvia blinked awake, unfocused eyes lifting to Kazuma's face. It took her a few seconds before her vision…and her brain…finally snapped into place.
"S-sorry! I'm so sorry! Juvia fell asleep without meaning to!"
She jumped to her feet and kept bowing and apologising.
"Hold up—Juvia, did you…install a bomb on my house?"
The way she kept apologizing made Kazuma suddenly suspicious.
"No! Of course not!"
Juvia looked genuinely shocked. How could she even think of doing something so dangerous?
"Then what are you apologizing for?"
Kazuma frowned. It was the middle of the night. She wasn't home. She was camped outside his door. Other than planting explosives as a prank, he honestly couldn't think of a second explanation.
"Um… K-Kazuma-sama, do you remember what you told Juvia before…?"
Juvia fidgeted, fingers poking together at her chest, face slowly warming pink.
"…I've told you a lot of things. Which one are you talking about?"
Now he was even more confused. What was she here for?
"It's… it's about the d-date."
Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito. Yesterday's plan had been completely derailed by Leo, so their date had never happened.
She had gone to the guild first thing this afternoon to look for him, but he wasn't there. After asking around for his address, she came straight to his house.
"You… don't tell me you waited outside my door all day because of that?" Kazuma finally put it together.
Juvia nodded.
"When did you come here?"
"Juvia has been waiting since the afternoon. But Kazuma-sama didn't come home… so Juvia kept waiting… and waiting… and then she leaned against the door and accidentally fell asleep."
She had shown up not long after he left the house and had stayed there until now.
"…Haaah. You really just stood out here all day like that?"
He sighed. "Alright, alright—come inside. We'll talk in the house."
He unlocked the door and stepped in, but after a couple steps he noticed she still wasn't following.
"Juvia? What's wrong?"
"M-my legs… um… they're numb…"
She lowered her head in embarrassment. She had stayed in the same position for too long and her legs had completely gone dead.
"Numb legs, huh… Juvia, you're a water mage, you know. A real mage should train both body and magic. Spells for long-range… fists for punching dragons up close. That's the kind of physique you should be aiming for."
He walked back, scooped Juvia straight up into his arms, and carried her inside before setting her down on the sofa.
Juvia's head dropped, heart pounding like crazy. Her entire face turned red—bright apple red—and actual steam puffed up from her head.
Not metaphorical steam. Real steam.
Grrrrr—
The moment she sat down, her stomach growled loudly. The steam vanished instantly.
"Th-that—th-that sound—th-that was magic! Yes! A magic sound effect!"
She flailed her hands around, trying desperately to explain—until she realized the more she talked, the worse it sounded. In defeat, she covered her face and buried her head in the sofa cushions.
Today was too embarrassing. Completely mortifying.
She had wanted to leave a perfect impression on Kazuma. She had wanted to look cute and elegant. But everything she did tonight was one disaster after another. How humiliating!
"Stop acting like it's the end of the world. When someone's hungry, they eat. It's normal. And you haven't eaten all day while waiting for me. It'd be weird not to be hungry."
"But… anyway… I can't cook."
Kazuma opened his fridge. As expected, there were only leftovers from the last time he had grilled meat.
He didn't cook. He ate at the guild every day. He didn't even buy snacks.
"J-Juvia can cook! Juvia can make something! Really!"
Now that her legs had mostly recovered, she stood up quickly. Finally—finally! Something she was actually good at! She could redeem herself!
"No need. I already sent my shadow soldier to buy food. And there he is."
A shadow rippled on the floor as one of his shadow soldiers returned carrying takeout.
He couldn't cook, sure.
His fridge was empty, sure.
But he had the Shadowkhan ninja unit that could do everything—fight, assassinate, clean, run errands, cook. Reliable to an absurd degree.
"Here. Eat." Kazuma handed her a pair of chopsticks.
"Th-thank you…"
Juvia deflated a little as she stared at the shadow soldier fading out. Her eyes were full of resentment.
She had finally gotten a chance to show off… and even a shadow stole the spotlight from her.
Still, she quietly sat at the table and ate. The warm food filled her stomach, relaxing her whole body.
"About the date—let's start tomorrow morning."
"I said I'd keep that promise, so I will. I'm free tomorrow anyway, so I can spend the whole day with you."
Juvia froze mid-bite. "The… the whole day? R-really?!"
She lit up instantly. At long last—finally—her chance had come! After everything, her goal was within reach!
"Alright. When you're done eating, you can head home if you want. If not, the sofa's free to sleep on. I'm going to bed. I've been exhausted all day."
He'd spent the entire day training outdoors and eating nonstop. He really was tired.
"Good night."
He said it before entering his room and immediately collapsing into bed.
...
"J-Juvia… Juvia can stay! Th-this isn't a special invitation or anything! It's totally normal for lovers!"
"B-but what is Juvia supposed to do now? Isn't this way too fast? Juvia isn't mentally prepared yet!"
Juvia watched him walk straight to bed and freeze-framed like her brain blue-screened. She didn't even notice her chopsticks slipping from her hand to the floor.
A moment later, her mind started filling with all sorts of… imaginative… scenarios. Her cheeks heated up again.
Steam drifted toward the ceiling. Juvia had officially evolved into a steam-powered maiden.
"Juvia must be brave. Juvia must take initiative. Only by being brave can one win love!"
"Juvia can do this. She even changed into her prettiest outfit for the date today. She put on her most delicate makeup, sprayed perfume… yes, everything is perfect. Juvia's got this!"
After wrestling with herself, Juvia finally gathered her courage. By then, it was already around 3 AM.
She had spent two whole hours working herself up.
She took a deep breath and tiptoed toward Kazuma's door, terrified she might wake him. She slowly pushed the door open.
She stepped into the room… then immediately backed out.
"W-wait! A mirror! Juvia needs to check her makeup!"
She darted to the bathroom, checked herself in the mirror, gave herself a pep talk, then returned to the door again.
"Juvia can do this. Absolutely can do this."
She cracked the door open… stepped inside… and backed out again.
This time because she decided her hat had to come off. Nobody sleeps with a Russian Cossack hat on.
"Alright… this time for sure…"
"Alright… this time—…"
"Alright... this—…"
"Alright—..."
"Al—..."
Juvia went in and out so many times that the still-trying-to-sleep Kazuma finally snapped.
"That's enough!" His voice exploded from inside the room.
"Either come in or stay out! Stop hopping back and forth! I'm trying to sleep here!"
For the first time in his life, Kazuma hated how sharp his senses were. The slightest movement woke him instantly.
Once or twice he could tolerate. But over and over again? Absolutely not.
Imagine being woken up repeatedly only for someone to ask: "Are you still awake? If so, go back to bed."
That was the level of irritation he was dealing with.
If the person outside had been an enemy instead of Juvia, Kazuma was certain he would have punched them to death already.
Seething, he stormed out of bed and marched straight toward her.
"S-sorry…"
Juvia flinched like a little mouse caught stealing cheese, eyes wide and pitiful.
"You. Get over here. Lie down. And sleep."
He grabbed her, tossed her onto the bed, and wrapped her tightly in the blanket like a burrito. Only after securing her did he lie down again.
"Juvia will be very quiet… Juvia will sleep properly…"
She whispered it, blushing to her ears, staring at Kazuma who was now so close she could feel his breath.
But then her whisper was cut off. Something soft pressed against her lips.
Kazuma had leaned in and kissed her.
Her mind exploded on the spot. Fantasies flooded her brain in a tidal wave. She even picked out the names of their future children before completely overloading and fainting from excitement.
"…Done. If I'd known it was this easy, I wouldn't have wasted so much time."
Kazuma glanced at the unconscious girl and thought only one thing: he could finally sleep in peace.
He lay down and was out in seconds.
Converting magic power into natural energy sounded simple, but it drained mental strength every moment. He was exhausted and desperately needed rest.
The night passed quietly.
---
Around 7 AM, Juvia woke up. Her eyes were still a little hazy, but as soon as she saw Kazuma asleep right beside her, she remembered everything from last night.
"Kiss… sleeping together… th-this is basically being lovers!"
"W-wait, but we haven't even had our date yet… Ah! Today's the date! So… It's technically already begun!"
"As lovers, Juvia has to make breakfast for her darling!"
Her body liquefied, slipping out of the blanket, and she happily rushed outside to buy ingredients for a romantic breakfast.
...
She'd only taken a few steps out before running into Cana.
"Good morning, Cana!" Juvia greeted her cheerfully.
"Morning, Juvia. You look really happy. Something good happen?"
"Hehehe… nothing much. Just a very normal day."
Juvia was too shy to say more. After chatting a bit, she hurried off with her groceries.
Cana watched her go and raised an eyebrow. "So happy… what on earth happened?"
She pulled out her remaining cards for a quick fortune telling. The moment she placed them on the ground, they shattered.
"…Yeah. Definitely something to do with Kazuma. He'd better compensate me for all the cards he's caused me to break."
Cana sighed, distressed. These were limited-edition cards. She spent all her quest rewards on them instead of alcohol.
"Well, at least there's a new set dropping today… hehehe. Perfect timing. I can buy replacements. This batch is a masterpiece collection. Only five hundred packs nationwide!"
"I'll just put it in Kazuma's name."
Just thinking about it put her in a great mood. She was awake this early just to line up for them.
---
Meanwhile, Juvia happily headed home. On the way, she ran into Mira and Virgo, who were also out shopping.
"Good morning, Mira! Good morning, Virgo!"
Juvia greeted them with a bright smile.
"Good morning, little Juju," Mira replied gently.
Virgo stepped closer, sniffed her, then said, "You smell like Master all over. Did you two spend the whole night doing shameful stuff? Why didn't you invite me?"
"I thought we were friends!"
As expected of Virgo the masochist—her opener was a nuclear bomb. Juvia, being baby-tier in comparison, was instantly blown away.
"N-no! Nothing shameful happened! We just slept together normally! Nothing weird!"
The moment she said it, she regretted it.
"Oh? Already living together? Congratulations, little Juju," Mira teased behind her hand.
"Next time invite me. I can bring whips, candles, restraints, all the essentials. I am a maid after all. Certain duties are just part of the job." Virgo sighed helplessly.
Juvia lasted two seconds under their combined firepower before escaping at full speed.
...
By the time she returned home, Kazuma was still asleep. She started making breakfast with all the enthusiasm of a girl in love.
"I wonder if darling will be happy when he sees my cooking."
"Maybe he'll kiss Juvia again."
"Last night I was too nervous to enjoy it. This time I'll savor it properly."
She hummed as she cooked, joy overflowing.
The smell of food gradually woke Kazuma. He sat up, yawned, and opened the bedroom door.
Juvia rushed over immediately. "Darling, you're awake! I made breakfast."
"Would you like to have a bath first? Or have breakfast first?
"Or… perhaps... y-you... want... to have me first..."
.
.
.