Eris then leans in and places a gentle kiss right in the center of my forehead. Her lips are soft, a little warm, and my heart does a small flip.

"But Erissss!" I whine, puffing out my cheeks. "You didn't wake me up again! I missed training!"

She raises an eyebrow, totally unbothered. "Hey, I did try to wake you. Multiple times, actually. But someone kept mumbling 'five more minutes' while drooling all over the pillow."

"Wuaaaaah!! Then next time, just fling me off the bed or something!"

She tilts her head, amused. "Oh yeah? You really want me to do that?"

"Yup!" I nod dramatically. "Or better yet, toss me into the pool! That'll wake me up for sure!"

"Haha, now that's tempting. You'd be wide awake real fast."

"Nn!"

Anyway—sniff sniff—my nose twitches, catching something in the air. I turn toward the door, my ears perking up.

"Eris, what's for breakfast? It smells sooo good!"

"You mean lunch?" Eris gives me a look.

"Aaaah! Right! Lunch!" I gasp.

She chuckles. "It's just the usual. Filoan bacon and sausage, no?"

I pause.

Sniff sniff again.

"...Nope. There's something else. Something different!"

Eris tilts her head, grinning. "Wow, that nose of yours is impressive. Are you sure you're not secretly a Wolf or Mouse Furren?"

"Heck yeah!" I say proudly. "I knew it! There's something new in the kitchen, isn't there?!"

"Haha, you got me!" she says with a smug little smirk.

"So what is it?" I lean closer, eyes sparkling.

Eris just shrugs innocently. "Mmm… you'll have to go downstairs and find out."

"Eeeeh?! Not even a hint?!"

"Nope. Go change, then go see."

And thus, with a huff and a grin, I rush over to the wardrobe and pull out my newest daily wear: a white simple tunic, paired with comfy shorts and my favorite pairs of gothic style shoes.

Casual, but cute!

With this, I'm now ready for breakfast!

No, actually, lunch!

Now that I think about it, Eris has been a little smug and mysterious acting today.

Very suspicious

I wonder if she will pull any prank.

_____________________

A few minutes later…

"Good morning, Master Felicia, Master Eris!" the orange-haired catgirl maid greets us with a graceful bow as we step into the dining room.

"Good morning," Eris nods back, calm and elegant as always.

"Morning, Tangerinya!" I chime in brightly, giving her a big smile and a little wave.

Tangerinya walks over and pulls out chairs for both of us.

She gives a small nod, then stands at attention beside the table.

"But Tangerinya, where are the others?" I ask, glancing around the room. I don't see any other catgirl here.

"Oh, they're currently busy with their daily chores, Master Felicia," Tangerinya replies politely. "Meowrelia is washing the dishes, Purrlina is cleaning the main hall, Nyabelle is tending to the garden, and as for Mintchii… she's probably doing the laundry."

"Ooooh! You guys are so hardworking!"

"Thank you, Master Felicia," Tangerinya bows again, her eyes sparkling. "Your praise is the greatest reward we could ask for."

"Heh heh…" I chuckle sheepishly, scratching my cheek as a twinge of guilt creeps in.

Yeah… Eris and all the maids woke up early, already busy keeping the house in order…

Meanwhile, me?

Only me lazy and slept until noon! Unacceptable!

With this level of laziness in my blood… do I even deserve to call myself their master at this point?

I sigh dramatically, sinking a little deeper into my chair.

But then a random thought pops into my head.

"Oh wait, now that I think about it, do homunculi even sleep? Or do you guys work through the night too?" I ask curiously, tilting my head. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on N0veI.Fiɾe.net

Tangerinya gives a small shake of her head. "No, Master Felicia. We simply stand by and guard the premises at night. We avoid making any noise that could disturb the Masters' rest. But… if you do have tasks for us during nighttime hours—"

"Ah! No, no!!!" I wave my hands frantically. "I was just asking, haha… No working in the evening!"

"Understood. Then we won't work at night," Tangerinya nods.

Whew!

Honestly, if I ever made them work through the night, I'd feel more like some evil overlord than their kind master!

There's no way I'd let that happen. These catgirls are all precious to me!

"Anyway, your brunch is ready, Master Felicia. Please enjoy your meal," Tangerinya says, gesturing toward the table.

Oh right! Food!

My ears perk up immediately, and my attention whips back to the dining table.

As expected, there it is, the glorious spread!

Big, beautiful plates piled with crispy bacon and sizzling Filoan sausage, still steaming hot, their smell rich and mouthwatering, all waiting to go into my belly.

They look absolutely divine.

But then…

Something catches my eyes.

Something… new.

Right there in the middle of the table… is a big plate of fried egg!

"WOAAAAHHHH! What is this?!" I gasp.

Because… there's only one fried egg.

But it's huge!

Like, absurdly HUGE!

So huge that, even if I spread both arms as far as they'd go, I still wouldn't be able to measure its full diameter!

But aside from the sheer size, it looks just like any normal egg. Fluffy whites perfectly cooked to a golden edge, with a giant, glistening yolk in the center that sparkles like polished amber under the morning light.

However…

Now that I'm up close, the smell hits me even stronger.

Rich. Buttery. A little sweet. So… intense.

It smells just like egg, but somehow… better! It tickles my senses in some weird ways. And somehow, this egg's presence alone completely overpowers all the bacon and sausage all around it!

"Hehe, this one's all yours!" Eris says from her seat, propping her chin on her hand and smiling at me with a soft, mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Eh? All for me?" I blink, pointing at myself in disbelief. "Wait… Eris, you don't want to eat this too?"

"Nuh-uh," she shakes her head firmly, her smile growing. "Only you should eat this one!"

"But why? What is this?" I ask, still staring at the egg like it might hatch and fly away.

This one is too big, definitely not coming from a Filoan bird!

"Nothing really, just a wyvern's egg!" Eris says casually, like it's no big deal.

Oh!

I see, so this is a wyvern eg—

"WHAT?!" I shriek. "W-W-WYVERN?! Like… the smaller kind of dragon… those wyverns?! Like the one Inky turned into?!"

"Yep!" Eris nods, still calm as ever. "I picked it up during my shopping trip this morning."

My jaw drops, and I'm sweating now.

"B-but why?!"

Why is she suddenly serving a wyvern egg on a random morning like it's no big deal?

But Eris just leans back, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Why not?"

"Ehhhh???" I narrow my eyes...

Eris is too suspicious right now. I don't think she suddenly brought wyvern egg just because she can!

"Haha, alright!" Eris laughs, then drops her cool act. "Remember what you asked me yesterday? About why you eat so much and still can't build muscle?"

"Yeah…?" I tilt my head.

"Felicia," Eris leans it, then says with a small smile, "I think I've found the reason why."