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Chapter 25
Sunlight slipped in through the cracks of her eyelids, waking her from sleep. Mireia hugged the blanket close and turned over drowsily, then sat up in surprise when she recognized the familiar curtains. Looking around, she realized she was in a place she knew well. It was the same morning scenery as before.
“Uh….”
She rubbed her eyes and stared blankly for a long while, until she felt something unfamiliar around her wrist. She fumbled with her left hand and found a bracelet woven from flower stems. It was frayed, but had somehow survived on her wrist until morning. Mireia tugged at the joint and snapped it apart, raising it to eye level—only to notice the alarm clock on the bedside table. She flinched. The hands pointed to five minutes before 9 a.m.
No, no. It’s been so long since I came here, the clock must be wrong.
But the height of the sun seemed awfully suspicious. Mireia gasped, then flung open the door and bolted out.
“We’re late!”
Thankfully, it must have been good-quality whiskey, because she didn’t have a hangover. She rushed into the bathroom, toothbrush still in her mouth as she stumbled back out—just in time to see Shio yawning as he stepped from the room Sephiros once used.
“Senpai, what are you doing here?!”
“Did I… sleep here last night?”
“Looks like it. But we’re late for work!”
The commotion below woke Aris, who sluggishly shuffled down the stairs after oversleeping.
“Oh, you’re awake? Laila’s in the other room. Wake her if you need to.”
“She’s here too?”
Mireia banged on Laila’s door. When no answer came, she pushed it open.
“Laila, get up!”
“…Where is this?”
“My house!”
Even when Mireia shook her, Laila didn’t open her eyes.
“Uhh…”
“‘Uhh’ isn’t an answer! Get up! Don’t you have work? What’s your schedule today?”
“Today… yeah, I work today.”
“Then get up. It’s 8:58—we’re late!”
Laila rolled over, muttering sleepily.
“If we’re already late, being a little later won’t hurt.”
“Hey, Paulo said to tell you that if you’re late, he’ll make you run laps around the drill ground!”
Aris’s voice drifted from outside. Mireia panicked and dragged Laila upright.
“That bastard! You knew about that but didn’t wake us?!”
“I was asleep too, wasn’t I?”
Mireia barely rinsed her mouth before dashing out. Still wearing yesterday’s clothes, she threw on her work uniform over them. Watching the frantic group run out, Aris just waved lazily.
“Good luck at work.”
Then Mireia remembered Aris had nothing to do but stay home all day.
“There should be bread left from yesterday for breakfast. For lunch, go out and buy something—put it on Sephiros’s tab. If you want to do anything, do it. Just don’t run away. Put all the expenses on Sephiros’s account!”
At the door, she hesitated before adding:
“So… I’ll be back!”
“Mm.”
Before Aris could even nod, the three of them were already running far down the street.
Mireia collapsed on her back at the edge of the training field, half out of her senses. Shio lay sprawled beside her in the same way. The spring breeze was warm, but they were too exhausted to care.
“I hope Paulo gets hit by a bicycle on the street…”
“Or eats soup without knowing a dead fly fell in it.”
They cursed Paulo until Raked, Sephiros’s aide, happened by. His straw-colored hair was loosely tied, the tips swaying when he turned his head. He narrowed his eyes.
“Isn’t that Mireia Janester?”
“I believe so,” replied Kundulen, walking with him. Kundulen was an “Obin,” with a magnificent beard of mixed reddish-brown and white, and a pair of large horns. Though a combat-division mage, he mostly handled clerical and research work, carrying an armful of papers today when he ran into Raked.
Raked hardly needed Kundulen’s confirmation—there was only one person with such vivid red hair. Striding quickly toward her, he barked:
“Mireia Janester, what are you doing here?”
Mireia shot up straight, standing at attention. Of all people in the association, she feared Raked the most.
Dragons usually stopped aging outwardly in their twenties or thirties, only to suddenly grow old in their later years. Though Raked was a full adult, he looked unusually young. But his fussy, irritable personality made even Sephiros uneasy around him.
Mireia knew Sephiros’s protection meant nothing to him—he was one of the few people she couldn’t defy. Usually she avoided him altogether, but today she had run straight into his path.
“Raked, sir! Good morning!”
“What about Ludekias?”
Mireia racked her brain, wondering what she had done wrong, then answered cautiously:
“At home.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
The dragon roared.
“How could you leave him alone?!”
“I’m sorry!”
She apologized before she could think—she had learned the hard way that excuses only made him angrier.
“What do you think I assigned you to him for? So you could leave him unsupervised while you go to work? You’re his guard dog! What if something happens to him while you’re gone? Do you think it’ll just be your fault? No! If it comes down on anyone, it’s Sephiros himself! And when something lands on him, who does he dump it on? Me! ME, damn it!”
Cold sweat trickled down her back. Mireia darted her eyes around, looking for help—but Shio had already run away. Kundulen, stroking his beard, looked more likely to agree with Raked than defend her.
His eyes gleamed with fury as he snarled:
“Mireia Janester, do you even think? Your brain’s gone, hasn’t it? You left it back at that dormitory you got kicked out of, didn’t you?”
“I’ll correct myself, sir!”
“If you understand, don’t make me explain it twice. Get lost!”
“Yes, sir!”
She had wanted to run away anyway, and now that she was ordered to, she gratefully fled. She sprinted off, slowing only once Raked was out of sight. Twirling her hair nervously, she groaned.
Aris… I shouldn’t have left him alone.
His words sank deep. It was obvious, really—but neither Sephiros nor Paulo had said anything, so she’d left him by himself. Why, then, had Paulo punished her with laps for being late? If anyone was at fault, wasn’t it the higher-ups for not telling her?
Still, maybe Paulo hadn’t been told either. How was she supposed to know? All she had from Sephiros was: “Keep Aris with you until he decides for himself where he belongs.” That was it.
The more she thought, the more bitter she felt. No one had told her anything…
But—what now? He told me to get lost, but should I just go home? It’s only been six hours… he’s not a child. Surely nothing happened in that time?
Mireia buried her face in her hands.
…What if something did? Damn it, why didn’t I bring my bike today? Should I just put on my speed-boosting work boots and run home? They’d probably scold me for using association gear for personal reasons… but would that really be worse than this?
At last, she boarded a tram, smacking her forehead the whole way. The moment she got off, she sprinted full speed to the house, bursting through the gate.
“Aris! I’m back! Nothing happened while I was gone, right?!”
Then she froze.
She forgot why she had come. Her jaw dropped. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but the sight hadn’t changed.
The garden.
Beneath the almond tree, heavy with fragrance, roses trailed along the wall. Near the sea-facing wall, her favorite hydrangea had budding blossoms. A lemon tree spread fresh green leaves, with young olive trees swaying nearby. All around, colorful spring flowers bloomed in harmony.
This was the same garden that had looked like a jungle that very morning.
“You’re back sooner than I thought.”
Mireia finally noticed Aris, sitting by the porch in a rocking chair, reading a book.
“Wh—what is this?!”
“Don’t step on the grass—it hasn’t taken root yet. Come around this way.”
“The garden… what happened to it?”
“This?”
Aris grinned.
“Surprised?”
“Of course I’m surprised! How did you do this?!”
“Well, listen. After you all left this morning, I had nothing to do. I wandered around the house and saw the garden… and yeah, it was awful. If I left it that way, I knew I’d have bad dreams forever. Sure, I might only stay here a few days, but still—people get attached. Even if it’s not mine, seeing something like that just bothers me. I’m not as heartless and terrifying as people say, you know.
So I made myself a sandwich first—I was hungry—and while I ate, I pulled out the weeds. I did that part myself. Pretty good, huh? Since I couldn’t tell what was what, I just kept anything that looked important or like a tree, and blasted all the annual weeds away with magic. That part went quick. I’m really good at blasting things away, you see.
The debris? I just tossed it far off with magic, so don’t bother looking—you won’t find it.”
Aris rubbed under his nose proudly.
