Instead, she said quietly.
“I think this is enough for today. Haku and Noel should both rest.”
Noel looked disappointed, but he nodded.
“Yeah. Still, I walked a lot today.”
Lady Sereniel smiled gently.
“A great deal.”
I walked back toward Elysia.
Elysia lifted me into her arms.
The moment I was held against her, the strange sensation I had felt at the pond grew even fainter.
Elysia’s aura.
It was not yet complete, but to me, it was a familiar current.
I quietly let out a breath.
‘It’s all right.’
I am Haku.
Whatever this body may be, whatever there may have been in the past.
The one being held in Elysia’s arms right now is me.
……Of course, saying it out loud would be far too serious, so I simply closed my eyes.
Elysia whispered softly.
“Tired?”
I moved one ear.
A little.
“Let’s go back and rest.”
Good.
I curled up in Elysia’s arms.
Just then, Noel’s voice came from behind.
“Haku.”
I only turned my head slightly.
Noel was sitting on the bench, looking at me.
“Next time…… will you come to the garden with me again?”
I looked at him for a moment.
Iris held her breath.
Lady Sereniel and Elysia said nothing either.
It’s all right to refuse.
Their eyes said that.
And because of that, I felt more at ease.
I lifted one front paw, just a little.
Noel’s face brightened.
“Yeah. Thank you.”
I buried my face back into Elysia’s embrace.
‘Well, once in a while should be fine.’
If it was just a walk in the garden.
And if it was just sitting beside a quiet child for a little while.
It probably would not be too much of a bother.
……Probably.
That was what I thought, but at that very moment, Iris murmured in a very low voice.
“We will have to adjust the regular walking schedule with Haku’s condition and wishes as the priority.”
My eyes snapped open.
Regular?
Schedule?
From within Elysia’s arms, I whipped my head around to look at Iris.
The instant Iris met my eyes, she amended her words.
“……It was a suggestion.”
Suggestions are not allowed either.
No, it’s not that it isn’t fine, but don’t put it in writing.
Elysia’s shoulders trembled as she held back laughter.
Noel was smiling without understanding what was going on, and Lady Sereniel said with perfect calm,
“Iris, you should begin by practicing asking Haku first.”
“……Yes, Mother.”
Iris nodded solemnly.
I closed my eyes again.
This family is no easy opponent either.
Thus began my first day at the Asteria marquis’s residence.
The gate sickness had lessened, the food had been decent, and Noel had smiled a little.
The spirits treated me with burdensome courtesy, and Iris barely restrained her urge to record everything.
And in the pond, for one brief moment.
I had seen a reflection of myself that did not seem to be me.
I told no one about that.
Not yet.
For now, I simply wanted to rest.
Elysia’s arms were warm, Asteria’s garden was quieter than I had expected, and Noel’s smile bothered me a little.
So for today, this much was enough.
I covered the tip of my nose with my tail.
And muttered inwardly.
‘Absolutely no regular schedule.’
Elysia’s steps shook ever so slightly.
At first, I thought it was simply because she had begun climbing the stairs.
But I soon realized.
She was laughing.
Elysia was holding back laughter so hard that my body, held in her arms, trembled faintly.
‘……Why are you laughing?’
When I asked through thought, Elysia’s hand lightly stroked my back.
‘Because Haku said it so seriously.’
‘Of course I have to be serious. A regular schedule? She was trying to put me into a walking program.’
‘If it’s Lady Iris, she might really make a chart.’
‘Don’t. Don’t say such terrifying things.’
When I covered my face even more deeply with my tail, Elysia’s laughter grew a little stronger.
Outwardly, she was walking quietly, but through thought, she was definitely laughing.
‘Still, Haku, you didn’t dislike Young Master Noel, did you?’
I did not answer.
‘Haku?’
‘……I didn’t dislike him.’
The moment I answered through thought, I felt embarrassed for no reason.
I curled up even tighter.
‘He’s a sick child. And he knows how to keep boundaries.’
‘Yes.’
‘He wanted to come closer, but he didn’t try to touch me by force.’
‘Yes.’
‘And since they said he became quieter…… well, I can stay with him once in a while.’
Elysia’s hand paused.
A brief silence passed.
‘Haku.’
‘What.’
‘Thank you.’
I folded my ears.
Again.
Ever since I came to this house, I kept hearing people thank me.
Noel, Lady Sereniel, and Elysia too.
I really hadn’t done anything remarkable.
I had simply been there beside them.
‘It’s not something you need to thank me for.’
‘To me, it is.’
Elysia’s thought was strangely gentle.
‘For caring about Young Master Noel. For making Lady Iris feel a little more at ease.
And…… for trusting me and coming all the way here.’
I opened my eyes for a moment.
Beyond the large window beside the staircase, I could see the garden.
The path we had just walked, the trees where the spirits had made way for me, the pond, and the bench where Noel had been sitting.
The Asteria marquis’s residence was unfamiliar.
The mana was too orderly, the spirits were courteous to a burdensome degree,
and Iris seemed ready to pull out her recording slate at any moment.
But Elysia’s arms were not unfamiliar.
That was why I had come.
More precisely, because Elysia was here, it was all right.
‘……I came because you’re here.’
The instant the thought flowed out, I regretted it.
It was too honest.
Elysia’s steps stopped.
“Elysia?”
Iris asked from behind.
Elysia immediately began walking again.
“It’s nothing. I was just looking at my footing for a moment.”
The lie was natural, but the tips of her ears seemed to have turned slightly red.
I looked up at her from within her arms.
‘Pretend you didn’t hear that.’
‘No.’
‘No?’
‘Yes. I absolutely won’t pretend I didn’t hear it.’
There was laughter mixed into Elysia’s thought.
‘It’s the first time Haku has said something like that to me first.’
I was at a loss for words.
More precisely, my thought-words failed me.
‘……Forget it.’
‘No.’
‘Elysia.’
‘No.’
Stubborn.
Just like a Valerion.
In the end, I gave up and covered my face with my tail.
But from the outside, that must have looked like a sulking fox.
Noel, who was following behind, asked softly,
“Haku, are you tired?”
Elysia looked down at me.
I said through thought,
‘No. I’m embarrassed.’
Elysia’s shoulders shook slightly again.
And outwardly, she answered very seriously.
“I think he’s a little tired. I’m going to let him rest once we return to the room.”
‘Hey.’
‘It’s true, isn’t it? You are a little tired.’
‘I can’t deny that.’
Noel nodded with a worried expression.
“Yeah. Resting would be good.”
Seeing such an innocent reaction made my conscience sting for no reason.
I glanced at Noel through the gap in my tail.
Noel was holding Lady Sereniel’s hand and walking slowly.
His face was still pale, but his eyes were a little brighter than they had been in the morning.
Iris continued to watch that Noel.
She was quiet.
But that quietness was filled to the brim with something.
The desire to research.
The hope that her younger brother might get better.
The self-restraint that said she must not turn that hope into a burden for Haku.
All those complicated emotions were pressed down beneath her expressionless face.
Watching that, I let out a small breath.
‘Elysia.’
‘Yes?’
‘Iris looks like she’s having a hard time.’
Elysia’s hand slowly stroked my back.
‘I think so too.’
‘She’s clearly dying to research this, but she’s holding herself back.’
‘That’s right.’
‘And because it’s about her younger brother, it must be even harder to hold back.’
Elysia did not answer for a moment.
‘Haku really sees things well.’
‘I just see what’s there.’
‘That isn’t an easy thing.’
Instead of answering, I closed my eyes.
When we reached the end of the corridor, Marquis Theodore was waiting for us.
He had said earlier that he had business to attend to and left first, but it seemed he had not gone far.
He was holding several documents in his hand, but his gaze went to Noel before the papers.
“Noel.”
“Father.”
“How is your body?”
“I’m all right. Even though I walked a little, my head hurts less.”
Marquis Theodore’s eyes wavered for a moment.
It was an extremely brief instant.
But I saw it.
He was happy.
Not the joy of a scholar seeing a new phenomenon, but the joy of a father seeing his son’s face look a little better.
“I see.”
He answered briefly.
A great many things were pressed into that short reply.
Lady Sereniel said gently,
“This is enough for today. Noel needs to rest, and Haku needs to rest as well.”
“Of course.”
Marquis Theodore nodded at once.
Then he looked at me in Elysia’s arms.
“Haku.”
I moved only my ears slightly.
“Thank you for allowing the morning walk.”
Thank you again.
I truly felt as though I would be buried under all these words of thanks.
‘Elysia, answer for me.’
‘Haku should do it himself.’
‘I can’t speak.’
‘Tell me through thought, and I’ll convey it for you.’
I thought for a moment.
What should I say?
It’s fine?
It was nothing?
No regular schedules?
The last one was the most important.
‘Tell him there can’t be a regular schedule.’
Elysia swallowed a breath.
‘You want me to say that exactly?’
‘It’s important.’
Elysia lowered her head for a moment to hold back her laughter.
Then she said to Marquis Theodore,
“Haku says…… there’s no need for thanks. However, he says it would feel burdensome if it were decided like a regular schedule.”
Iris flinched.
Marquis Theodore’s eyes widened slightly, but soon he nodded solemnly.
“I see. That is an important point.”
It was not quite important enough to be called an important point.
“It would be inappropriate to set a schedule before prioritizing Haku’s wishes.
From now on, whenever Noel is to walk with him or sit with him, we will be sure to ask for his permission each time.”
Too serious.
I ended up feeling awkward instead.
Iris also quietly bowed her head.
“I will keep that in mind as well.”
Noel looked at me with a slightly flustered expression.
“Then…… I’ll ask every time. Like today.”
I looked at Noel, then moved one ear.
That much was fine.
Elysia spoke on my behalf.
“Haku says that’s fine.”
Noel’s face brightened.
“Yeah!”
Seeing that smile, I could not say anything more.
‘……Only once in a while, really.’
When I muttered through thought, Elysia answered gently.
‘Yes. Only once in a while.’
Of course, I did not know whether the “once in a while” the Asteria people spoke of would be the same as the “once in a while” I had in mind.
In particular, there was a possibility that Iris would interpret the phrase “once in a while” as about three times a week.
I must be careful.
As soon as we returned to the room, I was placed back on the cushion.
As expected, it was comfortable.
Suspiciously comfortable.
I pressed the cushion a few times with my front paws.
‘This isn’t just an ordinary cushion, is it?’
Elysia answered as she closed the door.
‘Probably not.’
‘I knew it.’
‘Do you dislike it?’
I thought for a moment.
I did not dislike it.
Rather, I liked it too much.
That was the problem.
‘……It’s fine.’
Elysia smiled.
‘Then rest.’
I curled up on the cushion.
But I did not fall asleep right away.
A lot had happened since morning.
I had greeted the Asteria family, eaten, gone to the garden, and Noel had smiled.
The spirits had treated me strangely, and the young light spirit had touched the tip of my tail.