Chapter 19
ON THE DAY of Mira’s return to Alcait, she exhausted every possible conversation topic with Solomon and then stayed a night in the castle. The next morning, Lily walked into her room as if it were perfectly normal, changed the sleepy summoner into her day clothes, and led her to the dining hall.
Tabitha and the others joined the group along the way. After breakfast, the maids prepared Mira for the day in their usual fashion before finally allowing her to head to Solomon’s office.
“You’re gonna stop by your tower on your way out, right?” he asked.
“Of course. It will be quite some time before I can return again, after all.”
Last night, Mira had told Solomon that she would go back to her tower to check on things there. She did not share that she really just wanted to see Mariana.
“Oh, tell your wife I’m sorry for sending you out on business trips so often,” Solomon joked.
“Excuse you. We’re not in that sort of relationship…”
“Is that so? I wonder who you think I was referring to…” he said with a teasing smile as he watched Mira blush.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Yep. Be careful out there.”
The pouty Mira and smug Solomon exchanged quick goodbyes. In the end, they grinned at each other like always. Then, Mira left the office, and Solomon sighed at the pile of documents on his desk.
***
Silverhorn, City of Mages. At its center, the Linked Silver Towers reached high above the metropolis below. The great wall encircling them was imbued with special magic to prevent infiltration into the holy land of mages even from above.
This magic did not activate when one left from within, which allowed things like Cleos’s wagon to leave by flying directly upward. When he returned, however, he would be blocked by the barrier.
“Oh! That’s the place Solomon mentioned.”
The plaza around the Linked Silver Towers was a tourist destination; and the front gate especially was full of people at all times of day. It wasn’t a good place for Garuda to land. Instead, Solomon had directed Mira to use a different, less busy gate.
Mira looked around until she saw an empty spot where Garuda could set down. It was blocked off by a small, curved pond that kept anyone from approaching. She ordered Garuda to park the wagon there, jumped onto solid land, and opened the gate with her Tower Master Key. Then, she dismissed Garuda and prepared to summon Guardian Ash so the bear could pull her wagon to her tower.
Mira suddenly found herself being watched by the sightseers who’d gathered around the pond. Among the boisterous crowd were a few who looked like mages and gazed at Mira with envious eyes.
The Linked Silver Towers were the most magnificent landmark in all of the Kingdom of Alcait and drew huge crowds. This remote gate may have been comparatively quiet, but it was the place where Cleos, Amarette, and the representatives of the Tower of Divination often arrived out of seemingly nowhere. It had become a popular spot for those who hoped to witness the moment one of them appeared.
It may be easier to land, but there are just as many people here!
Exposed to countless eyes, Mira retreated to the wagon, summoned Guardian Ash, and had it dash into the tower grounds.
***
The back gate went wild in the aftermath of Mira’s appearance.
Garuda had flown in, so they’d expected it to be Cleos. Who was that, then?
“I feel like that one was even bigger than Master Cleos’s!”
“Same. And the color…”
While the sightseers conversed, the mages among them realized that the summon that came after Garuda’s landing was so fast they couldn’t follow the spell’s construction with their eyes.
“Could that girl be the pupil I’ve been hearing so much about?”
Suddenly, the back gate overflowed with more speculation and fantasy.
A real, genuine pupil of Danblf. Danblf’s secret child. Cleos’s secret child. Danblf reincarnated, no, Danblf himself. People with powerful imaginations—some of them even striking dangerously close to the truth—continued to liven up the gates outside the Towers with talk of Mira’s sudden, comet-like appearance.
***
Upon returning to the Tower of Evocation, Mira proceeded through the too-quiet tower, grumbling to herself and wondering why the researchers weren’t at least around. She finally arrived at the top floor.
In front of her room, she felt nostalgic for a moment due to her long absence. The knowledge that someone was waiting for her return filled her with confused feelings.
G-goodness, why am I so nervous? At a time like this, you’d normally just greet them, right?
This was her place; a place to return to. Mira resolved herself and opened the door.
“I’m home!” She entered her room like a husband who’d just returned from a long job away from home.
No response.
Mira looked around the room curiously and even peeked into the bedroom, but saw no signs of Mariana.
“Could it be…?!” Mira whipped around to face the changing room door that led to the bathroom. An image of Mariana half-dressed passed through her mind. She tiptoed close to the door and put her ear up next to it. Even in her current form, there’s no way this wouldn’t make her look like a pervert to any onlooker. After confirming that Mariana wasn’t there, she finally put her hand on the doorknob and listened in again.
“Not a sound…” Mira triple-checked, but she didn’t hear anything from inside the changing room. She was sure it was clear, but she opened the door expectantly—unsurprisingly, nobody was behind it. “Hmm… Well, well.”
The changing room was neat and clean, as one might expect of Mariana. Mira looked in the corner and spotted a shelf meant for her clothes. Many cute pairs of underwear, sorted by color, were neatly arranged there.
Grimacing, she averted her eyes and proceeded as if she’d seen nothing at all. She opened the door of the quiet bathroom and sighed.
“Figures.”
Even if it was wrong, Mira had secretly hoped for a sort of romantic comedy twist. She managed to brush these dark desires from her heart, then looked around the empty bathroom. At the same time, she writhed with the knowledge that Mariana was in here every day—suddenly, she realized something.
It would’ve been much easier to just use her Biometric Scan. She grinned sardonically at herself, so poisoned by rom-com fantasies that she’d forgotten something quite simple.
Just then, Mira sensed someone right behind her. Before she could process it, Mariana’s kind and comforting voice reached her ears.
“Welcome home, Miss Mira.”
The object of her fantasies had appeared as if on cue. With a guilty conscience, Mira whipped around and yelped, “I’m home?!”
Mariana was there, looking the same as ever. The last time they’d met was almost a month and a half ago, but Mira felt a tinge of nostalgia and smiled at their reunion.
“Is something wrong?” Mariana cocked her head at the summoner’s suspicious actions.
“Er… No, I’m fine.” Mira managed to gather herself and tried to change the subject. “Were there any issues in my absence?”
“Nothing in particular. If I were to name one thing, it would be that Luna hasn’t been sleeping well lately. At night, she gazes at the stars and cries pitifully,” Mariana said. She looked at Mira and said with a smile, “But I’m sure that won’t be a problem anymore.”
“Hrmm. Is that so?” Mira was worried that the bunny was sick, or that her living environment had changed for the worse somehow.
“Yes. Because you’ve returned.” Mariana’s sweet smile dispelled her doubts.
One week ago, Mariana had asked a pet shop for advice about Luna. But pure rabbits were unfortunately so rare that the staff had no point of reference to answer her question. Animals with outstanding intelligence, such as pure rabbits, often couldn’t be diagnosed through their behavior alone. However, the staff did note that there were other intelligent animals like pure rabbits, so they advised her to try asking a specialist.
On the way back, she’d happened to run into Luminaria. The sorcerer could tell at a glance that Mariana was unhappy. When Mariana confessed about the problem with Luna, Luminaria provided an answer: apparently, there was someone at the new patrol office who knew about such things.
“The other day, Miss Luminaria inquired on my behalf. As it turns out, they think Luna misses her mother.” Mariana added with a soft smile, “I’m sure she’s lonely because you’ve been away so long.” It seemed Mariana knew how she felt. The fairy had been watching over Luna all this time, surrounded by reminders of Mira—the couch where she sat, the bed where she slept, her clothes. So when someone brought up the possibility, Mariana realized they were on to something.
Now faced with the returned Mira, Mariana could say with certainty that everything would be okay. Her surety on this matter was born of empathy.
***
“Squeak squeak!”
Upon learning that Luna was currently in her aide’s room, Mira opened the door and immediately caught the blue ball that launched itself at her. It seemed Luna had sensed her mother’s presence and been waiting by the door.
“Such a spoiled little baby…” Mira caught and hugged the bunny, gently stroking her soft, blue fur. Luna cried happily in response and nuzzled her face into Mira’s chest. “Hey now, Luna, that tickles. Goodness, you’re too cute!”
Given how long they’d been away from each other, both Luna and Mira lost all self-control. They played together for a while as Mariana watched happily, a little envious of Luna.
The difference between humans and animals was especially noticeable in how easy it was to be physically affectionate. Silently praying that she might get attention like Luna someday, Mariana brought over a set of toys she’d bought for the bunny. Then, she joined in playing with her as well.
Mira watched as Mariana and Luna played with something like a cat toy. Mariana chased the bunny around with it, and Luna deftly evaded.
Their play gradually intensified until it had turned into a sort of one-on-one duel between Mariana and Luna. According to Mariana, this was normal for them. They had even come up with their own rules for this game: Mariana would win if she managed to touch Luna with the toy called a “rabbit hand.” If Luna dodged ten attacks, she would win.
“This is intense! It’s hard to believe you can do this indoors…”
Unsurprisingly for a pure rabbit, Luna’s agility was extraordinary. She sprinted and jumped in every direction around the aide’s room. Mira followed with her eyes, but she began to feel something was off. Specifically, the interior of the room. She looked around curiously at her aide’s chamber. It was a very feminine room, but Mira realized she’d cleaned up many of her feng shui decorations. On top of that, she’d installed multiple places that Luna could use to run and jump.
She’d noticed that Luna was having an easy time running around, but that was thanks to Mariana giving her footholds. The fairy had even moved her feng shui items, something she normally cared much about, just to give Luna a place to play.
They might have been overdoing it a little, but Mira watched woman and animal play and murmured happily, “You two must be getting along well. That’s wonderful.”
Mira was at peace, but the duel began to heat up. Luna stopped in place to lure Mariana into attacking. But Mariana did not, instead patiently closing the distance between them. After using her seventh attack as bait, Mariana finally struck with her eighth.
“Squeak!”
Luna spun around and fell onto her back in surrender. Mariana mercilessly rubbed her belly and proudly declared, “I win!”
“You really managed to capture Luna…”
Later, Mira lost spectacularly in her first attempt. Mariana and Luna had to console her together. However, she was prepared to use her sage abilities to the fullest the next time, as she accepted the toy from Mariana and faced Luna head-on. Five minutes after she switched to combat mode, Mira managed to get Luna on her fifth attack.
“Whew… This is…my true power…”
Solomon might’ve laughed if he saw this, but Mariana praised Mira, “Incredible!”
For most, it was difficult to even follow pure rabbits with the naked eye. They were the most agile beings in the world, and it was quite a feat to corner one not by repetition or memorization but pure ability.
However, Mira knew nothing of this. She breathed heavily from exertion as she doted on the surrendering rabbit.
Mira’s stomach growled. “Mm… Goodness, it’s already this late?” They’d been playing with Luna for a few hours. The sun had already set outside, and the sky was blanketed in darkness.
“I’ll make dinner right away. Any requests?” Mariana promptly answered, apparently having heard Mira’s stomach.
“I wonder…” Looking back, she’d only had a light breakfast in the royal castle, then totally forgotten about lunch. Mira was starving. “I would like a big dinner tonight.”
“I’ll see to it right away.” Mariana bowed politely, deftly donned her apron, and ran out of the room. She was probably heading to Mira’s room.
“Now, I think I’ll take a nice bath as I wait.”
That exchange just now…sounded like a married couple’s, didn’t it? Mira thought to herself, grinning as she cradled Luna in her arms and left for her room like a husband excited to be home.
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