God Doesn't Rest on The Seventh Day!

【POV: Tetsuya】

A faint scent of the sea drifted in on the breeze from the harbor at the bottom of the hill. Under normal circumstances, this was when a lazy weekend would begin.

But in The Lord's bedroom, the word "lazy" didn't exist.

「QADOSH!」

「QADOSH!」

「QADOSH!」

「Adonai Tzva'ot, m'lo khol ha'aretz k'vodo!」

A petite arm beside me reached out from under the blanket, swatting brusquely at the air.

Whoosh.

The rift sealed shut. The Seraph alarm clock vanished into thin air. Everything fell quiet again, but I knew my eardrums had definitely just suffered the wrath of a full-blown concert sound system.

I slowly rolled over to face the girl next to me.

「Wake up, Tetsu.」 She said deadpan.

I pulled the blanket up to my chin, burying my head a little deeper. 「It's Sunday, Mari. It's only six in the morning.」

「If not at six, then when? Are you waiting until noon for the sun to bake your ass?」 Mari flung the blanket away, revealing the capybara pajamas I'd given her for her birthday. She sat bolt upright and gave a massive stretch, her joints popping like an old lady's.

「I'm pretty sure Genesis says... the Creator worked for six days and rested on the seventh, right?」

Mari halted her stretching and snapped her head toward me. Her current expression was far from "holy".

「Tetsu, have you been reading crap online again?」 She squinted at me. 「Rest? What rest? That "resting on the seventh day" is just a fairy tale humans dreamed up so they could lounge around!」

「But...」

「No buts!」 Mari cut me off. She grabbed the hair tie from the bedside table, tying her hair into its signature ponytail. Her Shushō persona manifested immediately. 「A future Shushō has no concept of sleeping in! Now get up and make breakfast—I'm starving.」

Arguing with an entity that has existed since the Big Bang is futile, particularly when she's hungry.

After we both finished washing up, I shuffled out of the bathroom and made my way to the cramped kitchen.

「Sunny-side up or omelet?」 I scanned the fridge.

「Omelet! Put cheese and sausages in it!」

I cracked two eggs into a bowl, added some salt, and began beating them. The tapping of laptop keys echoed from the bedroom. I poked my head in to check.

Mari was already settled in front of the screen, her eyes fixed on lines of text and technical diagrams.

「I thought you took the weekends off from Student Council business?」 My hand still busy mixing the eggs.

Mari didn't look up, her fingers flying across the keys. 「Arisa-senpai just sent the canteen renovation proposal. She's looking to expand the snack bar at the expense of the self-brought lunch area. But if it's done sloppily, the peak-hour student traffic will bottleneck at the checkout counters. I'm currently re-mapping the foot traffic and optimizing the table layout.」

「Are you really going all-in on this?」 I poured the eggs into the hot pan. The fragrant smell of melting cheese and eggs began to drift.

「Naturally. Power demands responsibility.」 Mari replied curtly. 「Besides, if the canteen is a mess, there's no way I'm getting my melon bread on time. Absolutely unacceptable.」

「Yes, yes, my Great Shushō. Your Excellency's breakfast is almost served.」 I rolled the omelet over.

The scent of the cheesy omelet filled the small apartment. I served the golden dish along with some reddish sausages. The rising steam swirled into the fresh morning atmosphere.

Mari was still locked onto her screen, fingers blurred in motion. Her wide eyes reflected the blue light of the monitor, looking unusually solemn.

「Yamada says we're down 20% on the budget because of those plumbing repairs...」 Mari scowled at the data. 「Geh. I guess I'm cutting the Tea Club's power budget. Those girls do nothing but leave the kettle on to gossip.」

She blindly reached for her cup, took a sip, and immediately returned to her work. The steaming plate right beside her might as well have been invisible.

Shushō or not, you can't run a country on empty stomach.

Lifting my chopsticks, I snagged a savory piece of the omelet and blew on it lightly.

「Say ah.」 I held the egg in front of her mouth.

Despite being glued to the lunch hour movement diagrams, her mouth opened on autopilot.

Munch.

She chewed away, her cheeks swelling like a squirrel's, eyes still fixed on the monitor.

「Mmh... yummy.」 She muttered through a mouthful, then resumed her mental math. 「If we add two rows of standing tables here, capacity goes up by 15%... but it'll block the fire exit...」

Seeing those plump cheeks moving up and down was too much of a temptation.

I extended my finger and poked her cheek. Squishy. Perfectly elastic. Like touching the finest mochi.

Mari stopped chewing for a fleeting moment and threw a sharp look my way, but she immediately returned to her task as though I hadn't done a thing.

Taking advantage of the situation, I went a step further and used my whole hand to gently squeeze her other cheek, stretching it out.

「Aaaa... let go...」 Mari's protest was a mumbled mess, yet she continued to navigate the CAD software, her mouse clicking as she shifted table-icons around.

「Only if you keep eating.」 I let go and held out a piece of sausage for her.

Once she swallowed, Mari turned and gave me a proper scowl. 「Pervert. I'm doing high-stress work here—the fate of the entire school's lunch is at stake.」

「I'm just maintaining the finest brain in the cosmos.」

「Whatever.」 Mari returning her gaze to the screen. However, I didn't miss the way her ears flushed pink.

I reached out once more, this time lightly stroking her ponytail. Her hair was soft and silky, a pleasure to touch. I gently slid the hair tie off, letting the dark strands spill over her shoulders.

「Hey!」 Mari snapped, turning back toward me. 「It'll get tangled!」

「Let it down so your mind can relax.」 I run my hand through her dark tresses. 「You'll cut off the circulation to the brain.」

「What a lame excuse.」 Mari muttered, yet she tilted her head into my palm, letting me mess with her hair. She went back to her typing, but her pace was noticeably more relaxed.

Ding Dong.

The doorbell rang, cutting short my session of hair-petting. Mari continued to clatter away at her keyboard like a machine.

「Probably the bubble tea.」 Mari commanded.

Tsking, I got up and made my way to the door. Being so high up, we rarely got visitors other than the landlady.

I pulled the door open. It wasn't a courier.

Tall shadows cast itself over the narrow hallway, A woman stood there, exceptionally tall—at least a head taller than most. Her long black hair reached her waist in natural waves. She was clad in a black-as-ink dress that swept the floor, detailed with elaborate lace and dark ribbons. A choker with a dark purple jewel sat on her neck, exuding a vibe that was both elegant and lethal.

In her hand, she carried a black suitcase plastered with stickers from luxury airlines and high-end hotels.

Lailah. The Angel of Night, Mistress of Secrets and Dreams. But in the Tensaku High enrollment files, she went by Amano Yoru—Mari's mother who was always away on business.

「Oh?」

Lailah narrowed her dark violet eyes, eyeing me up and down like a piece of curiosity. She gave a slight tilt of her head, a cryptic half-smile spreading across her blackened lips.

「Good morning, Tetsuya-kun.」 Her voice was low and husky, yet laced with a highly theatrical flair. 「And what brings you here at this hour?」

I stood tall, doing my best to look composed.

「Good morning, Ms. Yoru. I just... came over early to help Mari with some breakfast.」

「Early?」 Lailah checked her watch. 「It's just after six. Are you really such an early bird? Or...」

She stepped inside, leaning her heavily made-up face uncomfortably close to mine. The pungent scent of lavender perfume hit me full-on.

「...Did you stay the night?」

「Yoru!」 Mari barked from the room. She had finally abandoned her screen, fixing the door with a piercing stare. 「Drop the act! We aren't at school!」

Lailah let out a sharp click of her tongue, her "doting mother" facade dissolving in a heartbeat. She strode into the room, the wheels of her heavy suitcase rumbling behind.

「You're no fun, Boss. I was just getting into character.」 Lailah grumbled, but then she whipped around to face me again, her mischievous smirk returning. 「But seriously though, Tetsuya-kun, did you two really sleep together? Did anything... shady happen? Hmm?」

She gave me a sharp poke in the ribs, winking suggestively. 「Hot-blooded youth... behind closed doors... in the silence of the night...」

Why was Mari surrounded by powerful entities who all happened to have such eccentric personalities? 「Nothing happened. I slept on the sofa.」 I lied without blinking.

Was about to open my mouth to explain further and preserve what remained of my "high schooler's dignity," when a flat voice rang out from the desk.

「Yeah, we went at it last night. What about it?」 Mari said, she kept clicking away as if she were merely reporting the daily weather.

Boom.

A surge of electricity shot up my spine, and my entire blood supply decided to migrate to my face at once.

「Ma... Mari! What are you saying?!」

Lailah stood stunned for two beats. Her violet eyes went wide, and then she beamed a smile so bright it killed the room's gothic vibe instantly. She clapped her hands with a loud smack.

「Oh my Lord! That's great news!」 Lailah cheered, sounding genuinely thrilled. 「Tetsuya-kun, what's with the embarrassment? I was just curious, not judging!」

「Huh?」

「You should be proud!」 Lailah tilted her chin toward Mari. 「Doing that on the Sabbath isn't just "fun", you know. It's a sacred duty!」

Mari looked up, but only to shoot Lailah a look of pure annoyance. 「If you're finished with the nonsense, go hide that suitcase. The scent of Bahamas sunscreen is making my head spin.」

Lailah chuckled, hauling her suitcase up. 「Roger that, Boss!」

〈Mari's Note for Mortals〉

Hello, you mere mortals. Long time no see via these notes.

Alright, let’s talk about the new face—Lailah, Angel of the Night. Don’t bother looking for her in the canon scriptures; she's essentially a product of Jewish fanfic.

And for heaven's sake, don't confuse her with Lilith. Lilith is the wicked one.

In reality, Lailah is just the personification of primordial darkness. She's got nothing to do with that "conception" stuff scholars keep yapping about. Do you really think I'm that free to go around picking fates for every single baby?

"Primordial Darkness"? Sound familiar? Yep, the Greeks called her Nyx. Now you see why their myths say Zeus was scared witless of her, right? Precisely—because she's my pet!