Elysia carefully stroked me.
“Thank you so much, Haku. I’ll sleep in this tonight.”
I gave my tail a small wag.
‘Yeah.’
Keep wearing it.
She doesn’t know yet, but those pajamas will surely be of help to her.
If, every night, her aura flow stabilizes little by little.
If her body, stiff after training, loosens, and the tangled aura within her slowly sorts itself out while she sleeps.
Then Elysia’s talent, too, will begin to bloom little by little—ever so slightly.
I don’t know when that will be.
There probably won’t be any noticeable change tomorrow.
But before long, the effects will surely appear.
Her fingertips will tremble less when she grips her sword.
Her breaths will become one beat deeper.
And even in moments when her aura wavers as if about to break, the day will come when it connects a little more naturally.
I was looking forward to that, just a little.
Elysia still doesn’t know the full extent of her own talent.
Pressed down by the name Valerion, she has spent too long looking only at the parts of herself she lacked.
But I know.
She is not weak.
Her flow had simply become tangled, her heart had grown rigid, and she had forgotten how to believe in herself.
If I could loosen that bit by bit.
If one small set of pajamas I made could become the beginning of that.
That alone was enough.
I half-closed my eyes atop Elysia’s lap.
‘Good.’
The scarf in winter.
The pajamas from tonight onward.
And next time… maybe I should try making something smaller, something she can carry around in daily life.
For example, a wrist ornament, or a small decorative cord to tie to her scabbard.
Something Elysia could wear without burden even while training.
If I made something like that, it might stabilize her aura little by little during the day as well.
Of course, it couldn’t stand out too much.
If Iris saw it, she would definitely notice right away.
“I can sense a flow similar to Haku’s from that ornament.”
I could picture Iris’s face saying that far too easily.
I shivered slightly.
No.
Let’s delay Iris finding out for as long as possible.
At least until I’m ready to explain.
Perhaps finding my reaction strange, Elysia gave a small laugh and asked,
“Haku, are you sleepy?”
I nodded.
In truth, it was less that I was sleepy and more that my thoughts had multiplied, but there was no need to correct her.
Elysia held me in her arms and lay down on the bed.
The soft texture of the pajamas I had made brushed against my fur.
It felt strange.
In a way, I was leaning against clothing made from my own fur.
‘Isn’t this some kind of weird cycle?’
That thought crossed my mind, but it was warm and comfortable, so I soon stopped caring.
Elysia’s aura was quiet today.
The proper amount of mystic power soaked into the pajamas was gently enveloping her flow.
Feeling that steady presence, I closed my eyes.
Someday, Elysia will realize this change for herself.
I wanted to see, just a little, what kind of face she would make then.
Would she be surprised?
Would she be happy?
Or would she hug me tightly again and say thank you?
Imagining it made the tips of my ears itch for no reason.
I let out a small breath.
I did something good today.
Using power to protect someone is good, but—
Using power so that someone can fall asleep in peace isn’t bad either.
= Elysia’s POV =
The next morning.
I woke a little earlier than usual.
Sunlight streaming in through the window softly illuminated the room.
Normally, Haku would have stirred first, either in my arms or beside my pillow.
He would yawn softly, or cover the tip of his nose with his tail, then twitch only his ears when I called his name.
But today, it was quiet.
“Haku?”
I called his name carefully.
Haku did not answer.
On one side of the bed, atop a small blanket, he was curled up in a ball, fast asleep.
His silver-pink fur shimmered faintly in the sunlight.
He looked to be sleeping far more deeply than usual.
Even when I lightly touched his ear, only the tip of his tail moved ever so slightly, and he showed no sign of opening his eyes.
“…You must have been really tired.”
I thought back to yesterday.
The scarf and pajamas Haku had made for me.
That soft texture.
And the strangely deep sense of comfort I had felt when I fell asleep wearing the pajamas.
At first, I had thought I felt at ease simply because they were a gift from Haku.
But when I woke up in the morning, my body felt lighter than usual.
The flow of my aura was also a little calmer.
It wasn’t that everything had completely changed.
Still, it felt as though someone had carefully untangled a bit of knotted thread overnight.
I looked at the sleeping Haku.
“Could it be… because of these clothes?”
Of course, Haku did not answer.
He was merely deep asleep.
I reached out and stroked Haku’s back very carefully. He was warm.
His breathing was even, too. He didn’t look sick.
He just seemed very exhausted.
Perhaps, in making these pajamas and scarf, he had used far more mystic power than I had imagined.
“Idiot.”
I murmured softly, but I wasn’t angry.
If anything, my chest ached a little.
He had gone this far for me, only to end up so exhausted that he was sleeping like this.
I withdrew the hand I had been about to use to wake him.
It seemed better to let him rest today.
When I brought it up at breakfast, my family’s reactions were each different.
Father fell briefly into thought, then spoke quietly.
“It may be the backlash from using a great deal of mystic power. Let him rest today.”
Mother looked at Mina with a worried expression.
“It would be best to prepare warm water and some light snacks so Haku can eat as soon as he wakes.”
“Yes, Madam. I have already prepared water and a blanket in the room. I will check on his condition from time to time as well.”
Mina said so and bowed her head.
My brother looked at my pajamas for a moment.
“There’s a high chance that mystic power remained in the clothes Haku made yesterday as well.
Whether Haku intended it or not, if they are affecting your aura, then there must have been a corresponding burden on him.”
Without thinking, I touched the end of my sleeve.
The pajamas Haku had made for me yesterday were still soft. I had folded them before changing, but the sensation still lingered at my fingertips.
“Then if I wear them, will it continue to burden Haku?”
“That’s likely not the case.”
My brother spoke calmly.
“If it’s power already permeating the object, Haku probably isn’t maintaining it in real time. However, he must have put quite a lot of effort into making them.”
At those words, I felt a little relieved.
Camilla leaned toward me with a worried face.
“Sister, Haku is all right, isn’t he?”
“Yes. I don’t think he’s sick. He just seems very tired.”
“Then we should let him sleep well today.”
Camilla nodded seriously.
“When Haku wakes up, can I bring him snacks?”
Mina smiled gently and said,
“Once Lord Haku awakens, I will check on him first and then let you know.”
Grandfather had been quietly drinking tea, and then he spoke in a low voice.
“Resting after using one’s strength is also training. It is best not to force him awake.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
And so, for the first time, I went to school without Haku.
From the moment I stepped out of the entrance hall, it felt strange.
My arms were empty.
Normally, I would have felt Haku’s warmth within them.
Or his tail would have swayed lightly on my shoulder or atop my head.
Sometimes he would tap my sleeve with his front paw to demand something, and if he grew sleepy during class, he would curl up and fall asleep on the cushion on my desk.
But today, he wasn’t there.
Only my bag, my sword, and the Double Crown badge pinned to the chest of my uniform were with me as usual.
When I arrived at the academy, that empty space felt even larger.
“Lady Valerion?”
The first to notice was a student from my class.
The student looked once at my arms, then at my shoulder, and finally even checked the top of my head before blinking.
“Did Haku not come with you today?”
At those words, the gazes of the nearby students all gathered at once.
“Haku isn’t here?”
“Is he sick?”
“Today isn’t petting day, is it?”
“No, that’s not the issue. Haku is absent….”
I was a little flustered by the reaction, which grew larger than I had expected.
I knew what kind of existence Haku had become at this academy.
But when I actually came to school without him, that fact became even clearer.
“Haku is all right.”
I spoke as calmly as I could.
“He overdid it a little yesterday, so he’s resting at the mansion today. He isn’t sick.”
Only then did sighs of relief flow among the students.
“That’s a relief….”
“Haku needs days off too.”
“Come to think of it, I heard he’s been acting as a model nonstop at the accessory-making club lately.”
“He should rest well.”
Seeing their reaction made my heart feel a little warmer.
At first, they had gathered around because they found him fascinating.
But now, rather than feeling disappointed that Haku wasn’t there, they were worried about him first.
What kind of expression would Haku make if he knew?
He would probably fold his ears and pretend he knew nothing.
At the thought of that, the corners of my mouth softened on their own.
But once I entered the classroom and sat down, the empty space felt large again.
Haku’s small cushion was placed on the desk.
Normally, a silver-pink baby fox would have been curled up in a ball on top of it.
Today, only the cushion sat there forlornly.
Without thinking, I reached out and touched the edge of the cushion.
“…It’s quiet.”
It really was quiet.
It wasn’t as though Haku spoke much.
He still couldn’t even speak properly.
But when Haku was by my side, the air felt strangely different.
During class, when our eyes met from time to time, my heart would settle; when I grew tense, if he placed his front paw on my fingertips, I could steady my breath.
That small presence was absent today.
Morning classes proceeded as usual.
But several times, I unconsciously looked to the side.
Even when the professor of the Department of Magic Knights explained the balance of aura flow,
I found myself wondering whether Haku would have perked up his ears and listened, or simply dozed off.
It was the same during swordsmanship practice.
When I gripped my sword and took my stance, the sensation in my fingertips felt clearer than usual today.
Perhaps thanks to the pajamas last night, my aura was a little calmer than usual.
But that calmness made Haku’s absence feel even stronger.
Haku was probably sleeping at the mansion right now.
Curled up in a ball with an expression as if nothing were wrong.
Mina was probably tucking the blanket over him properly every now and then.
Imagining that made me smile a little.