I slowly opened my eyes. For the first time since I appeared in this strange world, I saw an actual ceiling above. Not a piece of cloth waving in the wind, but a solid piece of woodwork.

‘Right, I’m in the dormitory now,’ I thought, closing my eyes for one more moment. Given the situation, I could allow myself some slack, especially with how my hands continued to sting like hell.

“Mhmm…”

Hearing the voice, I realized that there was some weight over my right shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked to the side, only to be assaulted by the adorableness.

Mia slept right on my arm. Her steady breathing proved that she was still fast asleep, nowhere close to waking up.

‘Poor little thing,’ I thought, turning my eyes back to the ceiling. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t really feel anything. I was already used to this kind of situation, with how much of a scaredy-cat and clingy goofball my sister was.

The only reason why the girl that was so fervently refusing to become my slave was sleeping in the same bed with me… It was actually pretty simple.

After the entire situation back at the infirmary, we reached a certain conclusion. In name, Mia became my slave. Yet, in reality, I never dared to think of her like that.

I was still repulsed by the very idea of slavery, of a human being owning another human being. Yet, given the strict rules of the Skyladder sect, the fate of this poor girl was sealed. Only by reaching the top ten on the further tests could she rid herself of her status of a slave.

That was the sad deal of all the slaves. They only had a single hour every day during which they could train. Outside of that sacred time, they were at full disposal of their master’s will.

I didn’t bother to even listen when Terio attempted to explain this scheme. For me, it was a simple way of rewarding the promising disciples while making use of those that the sect deemed not to be of any worth. From where I stood, they could shove all their self-righteous explanation about this system to a place in their bodies where no light would ever reach.

As such, the status of the slaves in the sect… Was bad, to say the least. And with how I failed to reach the top twenty candidates who would give me the right to my own housing, I was now stuck with a single bed in the shared sleeping area of the dormitory.

I took another look at Mia’s sleeping face. The only reason why we slept together was so that I would be alerted if anyone dared to make any move on her during the night. Yet, that was limited to just sleeping on the same bed. Her latching onto my side was just Mia’s own unconscious actions.

‘Damn it.’ The more I thought about it, the more conscious I became of how soft she was. Her gentle breaths rilled the cloth of the robes I received. Her warmth…

‘No, I cannot think about that,’ I moved my head back to its natural position before taking a few breaths to calm down. For now, I could somehow handle the situation, but if I were to focus on it any further, all my morals would quickly disappear under the promise of the warmth and pleasure that Mia’s body offered.

Especially given how it laid full well within the scope of what I, as her master, could request her to sacrifice.

“Wakey, wakey,” I muttered, gently shaking my arm.

At first, Mia protested, squirming around like some kind of small animal, clearly unwilling to break from her slumber yet. Thankfully, before I could start enjoying it, her eyes finally pried open.

Only to open wide and fill with panic and fear the next moment.

“Nooohmph…” she attempted to scream out. Thankfully, I managed to cover her mouth in time, turning her voice into a streak of muffled, cute sounds.

“Calm down,” I said, moving my hand up only when the look in her eyes calmed down. “Now, if that wouldn’t be too much, I would like my arm back,” I said, putting a gentle smile on my face.

“Oh,” Mia stumbled for words, finally realizing what position she was in. “I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized, moving her upper body up and sliding off the bed. “Let me get the sheets cleaned up,” she whispered, clearly not used to be a man’s slave yet.

“Thanks.”

I got out of the bed, allowing the girl to clean it up. Not wasting any time, I pulled my day robes on before stealing a glance of my reflection in a nearby window.

‘I wonder if those robes do suit me?’ I thought, unable to judge it on my own.

“Master…” Mia muttered softly, breaking my immersion in my own image. “What should I do now?” she asked, most likely hoping to escape from my company by immersing herself in some kind of duty.

“For now, guide me to the cafeteria. We will grab some grub and go train,” I said before stretching my back.

I was never a fit person back on earth, but the morning dose of stretching was something I never forgot. Lifestyle based on sitting in front of my computer’s screen was extremely taxing on one’s body in the long term, forcing me to adopt this kind of countermeasure.

“Yes, master,” Mia’s voice turned even softer than before as she hung her head, clearly unsure how to deal with the situation.

With nothing better to do, we moved out. Our journey to the cafeteria passed in silence, as Mia clearly was too scared to voice a single word while I was too immersed in the beautiful sights outside to pay it any mind.

“She’s here…”

“Look at them go…”

“Just who does he think he is to get her?”

Various whispers ensued as soon as we entered the food distribution part of the building.

Like in the schools back on earth, there was a row of kitchen displays on one side, with desks and seats filling the rest of the vast, empty area.

“Do you like anything in particular?” I asked, hoping to slowly start breaking the ice.

“Mhmm.” Mia muttered something under her nose, shaking her head sideways.

“Let’s go with some staple, then.”

I didn’t waste time picking the food. Instead, grabbing whatever I deemed fit for easy carrying, I added some kind of plant-based container with water before pulling the girl back to the corridor.

“Master… Let me carry those,” Mia requested, averting her eyes as soon as I glanced over.

“Nah, it’s fine,” I replied as I followed the path that Terio taught me before sending me off to the dormitory. Yet, as I was about to leave the cafeteria, I noticed him.

A guy sitting in the middle of a relatively huge group. He wore the same colors of faded blue as everyone else, yet even from a distance, I could see that it was of much better quality than what I was wearing.

Yet, it wasn’t his clothes that attracted my attention. It was his hate-filled stare that he treated me with.

‘I guess I know who that young master is, now.’

That was the extend of the attention I gave to the potential troublemaker. I simply saw no benefit in sparing him any second thought. Rather than that, I opted to focus on my training instead.

“Now, could you guide me to the training garden?” I asked, turning my eyes to Mia and smiling gently.

“Un,” she nodded her head as she attempted to hide the small trembles shaking her body.

It appeared I wasn’t the only one who noticed that young master.