Chapter 15 - A Walk and the Court Mage (Louis's Perspective)
The room, brightly illuminated by the moonlight, was blue and dark.
Unlike the quiet night, I was at a loss as to what to do with the passion smoldering in my chest.
I tangled my fingers with her slender ones and pressed them against the bed. If I did not hold her captive, it seemed she would fly away, shy as she was.
She looked uncomfortable, her tear-filled eyes darting about as she clung to me, peering up at me.
Her nightgown was unbuttoned down to the third button, but it was I who had done so.
'If you leave too many marks... it's not good, okay?'
Even if she said such things, this was merely insect repellent, so there was no harm in applying plenty of it.
'Louis, ah... a, stop.'
Ignoring her protests, I placed another kiss on the nape of her neck, and she let out a sensual breath.
It was there that I woke up. I felt both relieved and disappointed.
It was still deep in the night, far from sunrise. Only the moonlight was reliable. —Just like the dream before.
Looking to my right, there was the female fairy who had appeared in my dream until just moments ago. She was at her original fairy size. She had spread a book open by my pillow and was sleeping soundly, curled up on top of it like a cat.
It was a healthy, peaceful sleeping face, completely unaware of anything indecent.
The silver cage that had held her captive had, at some point, been left in my bedroom. Dragging along the habit from the beginning, when she spent the night at fairy size, she usually returned to the cage.
If she fell asleep while reading, we would sometimes share the bed in a proper sense.
Sleeping with her nearby caused me to have strange dreams, which was troubling. The fact that the content of those dreams was by no means unwelcome was also troubling.
Unable to sleep despite trying, I spent some time observing the fairy's sleeping face.
"...Louis?"
"Did I wake you?"
"What's wrong? Can't you sleep?"
"Yes, well."
When I gave an ambiguous smile, she stood up lightly and looked up at me. No matter how much she stretched herself now, she was not even as tall as my elbow, which was resting on the bed. She was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.
With a serious expression, perhaps unaware that she was worrying about me, she turned her clear eyes toward me.
"Shall I sing?"
"No, I am fine."
Fairy lullabies did help one sleep well, but I was not in the mood for that now. She muttered, "I see," in a voice that did not sound particularly disappointed. She leisurely flew over and landed by the window.
"Since I'm awake anyway, I'm going outside. If I don't fly for a long time, I'll forget how to move my wings."
"May I join you?"
"You can, but will you be okay without sleeping?"
"I feel like I'll be able to sleep better if I breathe some outside air."
I put on a coat over my nightclothes and stood by the window where Elenoa was.
Levitation was an advanced application of wind magic; if one failed, it meant the danger of falling, so chanting silently felt too unreliable.
"[Skill: 'Spell Expansion']"
A staff appeared in my hand. It was a specialized staff created by wrapping the hair of the female fairy 《Elenoa》 around a famous divine tree and fusing them, along with various other enhancements. It was as long as the distance from the floor to my shoulder. This length was just right for deploying a magic circle on the ground.
"[Skill: 'Wind']"
As I spoke, I wove elements such as 'Levitation,' 'Maintenance,' and 'Protection' into the magic circle deployed at my feet. Each time I added an element, curves and letters were inscribed into the circle.
"Well then, ready?"
"Yes."
I quietly followed her back as she flew out of the window.
A walk in the sky. I imagined it was a concept with little sense of reality for the average person.
The air above was indeed chilly, so it had been correct to wear a jacket. She, unaffected by the cold, flew at a leisurely pace toward the crescent moon. Occasionally, as if remembering, she would flit around me, teasing me with a smile.
The night I had captured Elenoa had been like this, too.
—If I were to grab her without hesitation now, would she smile at me defenselessly?—.
Just as I reached out my hand toward her in front of me, she turned to look back at me.
"I was having a dream."
"A dream?"
"Yeah. A dream where I was flying with all my might, feeling great, in a really beautiful sky. It was fast. I can't fly very fast, usually."
The wind lifted my bangs and the hem of my coat.
Elenoa was gazing at the faintly shining river of stars, today as always.
Her silver hair, tinged with moonlight, shone with a pale blue glow. It was gently scooped up by the wind. Her profile, smiling as she held it down with one hand, looked more mature than usual.
—'Louis, more, ...mmph, ah, u'—.
For an instant, the image of silver threads flowing over white sheets crossed my mind.
I felt nauseous at myself.
"Right now, it feels a lot like that dream from earlier."
She called the clear night sky a dream. And I had seen such seductive behavior from her in my own dream. It was pitifully contrasting.
But in this case, which of us was to be pitied? She lived naturally, as if by instinct, striving to be beautiful. Yet deep in my heart, I wanted to destroy that.
Elenoa.
Just because I knew of that other world, you assumed I was one of your kind. You let your guard down. Moreover, you became attached to me and settled into this house.
We were companions who shared the same race, lived in the same era, and grew up in similar environments. That was not a lie, but even so, we were fundamentally different.
My soul had originally belonged to this world.
Your world was the other world to me.
What kind of face would you make if I told you that?
"Louis-boy, the moon suits you."
"Is that part of the setting?"
"It is, but you know. Did you know that the capture targets in this game are divided into the Moon Group and the Sun Group?"
"Ah, I have heard whispers of such a thing. But it is not official, is it?"
"But it was originally information from the officials. They say we were made to suit either the moonlit night or the blue sky. There are many still images with the sky in them, too."
"In that case, is 'Elenoa' part of the Moon Group?"
"Oh, you figured it out well. I shall praise you."
"...I can understand that much. Even I can."
I believe the housekeeper who claims to be my mother is an undeniable fool.