52 ᵥₒₗᵤₘₑ ₅, ₚₐᵣₜ ₃: ₛᵤbₜₑᵣfᵤgₑ - The Night After and The Evening Before.

Voices.

Voices above, around. Familiar, but far away. So, so far away...

The words----spectres, flashes of past, present.... future?

Visages---my own, Orsted, a boy.... who is it?

What's happening? More voices, below, behind me, talking about the flames in my flesh, dancing like sprites.

Swirling, eager mana, burning, burning. Too much. More and more, drawn to me, flames to the moth. Filling me. My blood, my bones.

"Incurable."

Words, more words, echoing one after another. Haunting, harrowing. Terrified.

Overlapping echoes, distant---no, near, just beside my ear. Whispering, whispering.... noisy.

Shut up.

Mine.

Mine, like the hole. Deep and endless. A frost-filled pit. Can't remember...what was there before? In the hole?

Me.

It was me.

Lifeless, ageless. In a worm filled hole.

Midgets--- midgets infesting brain.

It hurts, hurts too much.

Magic. Mana. A key. Crystal in body. Un-adapted body. Decay. Internal decay.

Pounding. Pounding in my head.

Burning. Searing in my chest.

The words again. Strange voices, and familiar ones.

Orsted. Who is that? I remember. Do not remember. Hazy. Frayed fragments of memory.

Hurts. My head hurts.

"Delirium." "Fever." "Danger." "Time." "Decay." "Overload." "Sokas won't do." "Anymore."

Time. A snapped thread, frayed, incoherent. Light, dark, light, dark...dark... Eyes open. A darkness full of colour. Colours full of murky dark. Heaviness. My shoulders, droopy.

Mountain. A titanic weight on my shoulders. Crushing. My bones, brittle and meek. Un-supporting. Magic, magic, magic. Mana overload. Mana decay.

Figures looming. Hands hovering over me, metal pressed against my skin. More words. More actions.

"Stop her time, again." "No." "Delay." "Soul." "Healing." "Otherworlder." "

Darkness again. Insecurity. Despair. False sense of security. More despair. Anguish. Envy. Hate. Rancour.

It hurts. Someone, someone. Save me. Please. Echo of a scream ringing in my ears, heart racing, bursting. Terrified. Hysteric. Crazy. Going crazy.

It hurts.

There were stars. Stars outside my windows. Windows. I was laying down.

Castle. Floating Castle. My last moments. The purple silhouette of mountains. Their names escaped me. Something was wrong. With my mind.

Who is he? Boy. Holding my hands. Dark hair. Japanese. Unknown. I don't know. I don't remember. Who is it?

It hurts.

My heart. Bursting. Pounding in my chest. My ears.

Grave. Graveyard. Not yet. Not here. Not like this. Despair.

It hurts.

Someone.

Please.....

(3rd Person Perspective)

Nanahoshi's consciousness that had drifted in a faraway realm of its own, came back to her, slowly, one pained breath at a time. Slowly, sulkily, with heavy breaths, she came to her senses---aware of her surroundings, her mind.... her body.

The harrowing sensation, or rather the thought of the sensation affiliated with the pain in her dream slowly subsided, fading into incorporeality, ebbing away----one nightmarish wisp at a time.

"Mmphh...." An involuntary moan, unrestrained, left her mouth as she tried to move around. She felt heavy, her body felt heavy... The thing pressing her down felt heavy. Anxiety, morbid anxiety guggled inside her, like a volcano, bubbling, threatening to erupt.

She opened her eyes, laggardly, scrupulously---half-scared, half-embarrassed. Scared if everything she had envisioned was the truth, her bitter reality. A reality she had to live through and gulp in the bitter fate that awaited her and everything else up to this point was a dream.

A dream where she learned something. Slowly. Via someone who knew the least how to express. A feeling. Goosebumps inducing. A feeling she thought she had felt once in her life, back on earth. How wrong she was. She wondered to herself.

That wasn't love. It never was. An imitation of the real thing. Something that didn't feel right no matter how many times she thought about it. Love or no love. The decision she ended on after years of contemplation was, "No."

It wasn't love. She knew it. She could tell. She could swear her life on it. Why was she so confident? Because she had truly felt love now. She fell for him----Julian, long ago, constantly staying in denial, holding on to the thin fabric of incomplete logic that she housed in her brain. This was how it was supposed to feel.

So, she fluttered her eyes open, her mingled eye lashes separating from each other. A plethora of colours bombarded her eyes----white, mostly white. The reflection from outside, the shade of snow and the thin streak of orange light that permeated through the glass pane of the window in her dorm room.

However, she wasn't met with the sight of her room. All she saw was white. A nest of white and grey mix, frayed, uncombed. Individual strands, long and silky, carrying a faint smell of shea-butter. A smell she knew all too well. She blinked her eyes, once, twice, thrice..... She closed her eyes tightly, her vision of the frayed hair getting replaced by a static black that morphed into a stationary white, the harder she shut her eyes.

Then she opened her eyes suddenly and saw the same scene. She closed her eyes almost immediately, repeating the process. Each attempt that ended with the same result, made her heart quicken, the belabour of her rapidly beating heart audible in her ears. She felt the beating of her heart in her ears and even in her throat.

It was almost as if it would jump out of her mouth at any moment. A face. A serene face. Sleeping. The face was half visible from the corner of the eye. It was buried in her neck, his lips touching the bare, warm skin, right over the faint red mark---a few broken capillaries.

She peeled her face away to get a better look at it. A smile---a dusky, barely perceptible smile appeared on her face, her lips curving up as the corners of her eyes creased.

She closed her eyes and got close again. Time felt more tangible...more real. She could tell that several hours had passed. A lot of hours. More than what classifies as just "several hours".

Her sensation of contact became more tactile, warmer. She felt a hand around her waist, long and strong arm, holding her in place and refusing to let go. It wasn't just the strength of the arm. The heavy quill and her own arms wrapped around him, the warm ambience of the room and the warm breaths sapped all of her strength.

She tightened the hug, letting herself fall deeper into the snug embrace. "You sure are taking your sweet time to warm up." A voice, husky yet somewhat squeaky, spoke, ringing in her ears like jingling bells in a temple. Her body shuddered, unable to react as she kept her gaze straight, looking at the bare chest through the unbuttoned shirt---only the upper two.

She clutched at his shirt, the fabric a soft yet firm one and buried her face in his chest. Julian looked down, his pale-blue eyes floating in a red tinged white bore into her skull. Placing a hand on her shoulder he tried to push her away to get a better look at her face but her grip remained steadfast. Ardent. Unyielding.

"Don't move. You're going to make it worse." She mumbled, her voice hushed as she buried her face deeper and deeper into his chest. She cursed herself, mentally. Why was she behaving like this? It was as if she was plotting to make things awkward and bring down everything, resulting in a disappointing fiasco.

However, much to her own discomfiture, she felt a hand on the back of her head. It didn't move. It just stayed there. Even though it was just one hand, she felt the entirety of her head being held in the span of his hand. She felt her face heat up, realising her chest was touching him.

Unbeknownst to her, Julian too was undergoing such predicament as he held his masculinity between his legs, clasping it tightly between his own thighs, avoiding it from going on an indiscriminate rampage....

Moving back to Nanahoshi she was lost in her own swirl of needless thoughts.

She never had such insecurity in her life before. She was clearly above average in appearance, according to earth standards. However, in this world, she had seen so many women who were exceedingly better not only in facial features but also their body. Still, she never felt envy. However, now that this happened.... whatever this was, she felt more and more down.

"Feeling better now?" Julian craned his neck down and whispered in her ear. A shiver ran down her spine as she squirmed in his arms, a tingle that originated from her sternum and made its way down, slowly between her legs. She felt a weird feeling.... even though it was just his voice.

"Better." She spoke, still burying her face into him. She pulled the blanket over her, completely hiding herself from the outside world, as if being near to him was the only place where she could feel a semblance of the feeling of "at home." She hated this world. And everything in it. The only exception was the one who held her in the cocoon of his embrace.

'Wait, what was the tingle I felt before?' She thought to herself, a sudden wavelet of consternation submerging her other thoughts and feelings and tunnelled all of her attention at one key aspect. She immediately touched her back and then between her legs. They felt sore... and heavy. Really heavy. Almost as if lifting them was a task as hard as her using mana---impossible.

Gathering every last ounce of her strength, she took a deep breath and suddenly pushed herself away from him. She suddenly stood up from the bed and looked down at herself. Her vision doubled as she looked at her pink... nothing. She wasn't wearing a shirt.

She took a step back as she felt something under her feet. Creaking, she looked down only to find her undergarments.

"Take it easy. You had a lot of alcohol last night. Also, you'll catch a cold." Julian commented, sleeping on the bed, unfazed as he looked at her with droopy eyes, tired and then closed his eyes. The tiredness seemed to ring bells in her mind as he was almost never tired, however, the nonchalant behaviour told her that maybe she didn't do THAT when she was drunk.

She had no problem with it. Although she at least wanted to be conscious.

"I-I-uhhh...." She stammered, the hangover lingering on her mind as she tried to comprehend what had happened. She didn't feel anything weird with her body. Still, everything screamed that she had just slept with him. Indeed, she had slept with him, but she meant that she had done IT.

Julian groaned and stood up, tossing the blanket away as he sat down on the couch with a plop, blowing the hair away from his face.

"Oh god....." She spoke as she saw the red marks on Julian's neck and then felt the subtle rash, stinging sensation on her own.

"Hm? Well, I know that at least Orsted has nothing to do with it." Julian commented, half amused as he tried to joke when she said 'God'.

"So? Double espresso or the lustre grizzlies' fur that came with me somehow?" Julian asked, picking up the hot cup of coffee that he conjured out of thin air. Where did it come from?

That was a trivial matter and not something to take into account.

"B-But!"

"Oh... I guess you'll take both." Julian made a gesture, indicative of throwing hair into the cup and then stirred it calmly with a straight face.

"Julian!"

"Don't shout my name. We are in the girls' dorm. I don't want to be hanged alive by the gorilla demon." Julian spoke as he placed his finger on his lip. Nanahoshi placed her hands on her mouth before looking at him with a sceptical look.

"We.... uh, didn't.... right?" She asked, half expecting for it to be true and half expecting for it to not be since she didn't remember it at all due to being drunk. Her mind was in a frenzy, a vortex of complex, jumbled emotions.

"Oh? Did we ever?" He replied, his tone nonchalant but there was a glint in his eyes.

Nanahoshi stepped back as Julian stood up and made his way to her, the corner of his lips curving into a mischievous look as he looked down at her, his form towering. "I am sure we made Rosemary's baby. How to word it, hmm?" He continued talking and pushed her into the corner as she fell over the bed and hid herself under a sheet, covering her modest chest.

"Julian, I am telling you, stop talking." She spoke as she continued to crawl back from him, maintaining the covers on her chest.

"Perhaps I should go into the specifics? Or should I explain it to you." Julian followed her, walking on all four on the bed as he jumped on the ground, perusing her like a cat chasing a mouse. "Details on the heat, or the flexibility. Perhaps how feral you were acting, hm? Were you a gymnast?"

"I did a bit of gymnastics... wait, hey! I told you to stop talking!" She squealed in embarrassment, throwing a book at him.

"I mean, you have the moves that would make the devil blush." He continued as she reached a dead end, and quickly looked back only to find him standing right next to her, placing his hand on the wall behind her. He raised his brow, as if telling her she has nowhere else to go.

"You know, this is bad..." She pouted, her cheeks flushed and eyes teary. Clearly, he was teasing the poor girl to death. Although, his usual stoic face made everything so believable. It didn't look like harmless teasing but rather genuine bullying.

"Whatever happened last night, don't tell me what I did. I don't want to hear it. I was not sober. I--"

"We didn't do the nasty." Julian interrupted, looking down at her as her eyes widened.

"Wha..." A look of crashing discontentedness and melancholy flashed on her face. "We didn't?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nope. I turned you down." He replied, flatly, as seriously as he could.

"I-you, you're, ugh, why am I even naked?!" She asked in a loud voice.

"Oh? Did you forget about the part where you woke up in sleep, had another bottle of wine and then screamed "It's too hot in here!" and then made out with me while calling the room a sauna?" Julian asked as her cheeks coloured with a deep sakura shade, "and then when you proceeded to tear your clothes apart and hog the bed and sleep over me like I was your mattress?"

"I hog when I am stressed." She retaliated, looking away from him, unable to match his gaze.

"You were anything but stressed last night." Julian shrugged. "It is kind of amusing seeing you this scatty when it comes to intimacy. Surely, you didn't have any prior experience, yes?"

"Yes. Yes, Mr. know-it-all, it was my first. I am sure you hooked up with a lot of girls for you to have experienced this much, huh?" She talked back, furious this time as the thought crossed her mind that he might've slept with someone else.

"Well, it was my first time sleeping with a girl in both lives, so I can't really say I know all about it. Although, I can say it was sloppy." He added the last part purely out of the intention to drive her crazy.

"You...." She bared her claws on him... although, there were no claws since her nails do not grow. However, the sheets she was holding slipped down, making her heart almost lurch out of her chest. However, he caught it and placed it back on her shoulder.

"Go get a bath. I think you've had enough too." Julian spoke as he removed his hand from the wall.

Her heart was still beating. But it was for a different reason right now.

Nanahoshi's thoughts swirled in her mind as she pondered the intimate moment they had shared. The memory of their lips meeting was exotic, something she would never be able to forget, even if she tried to, but it also stirred up a whirlwind of insecurities. She couldn't help but wonder if the boy she shared that magical moment with had any prior experience.

It seemed like a trivial thing to worry about in this world, given how most people lost their virginity before reaching the age of 15, however, she wasn't reborn in this world, merely teleported. On top of that, she hated this world, mostly because of its ethics and messed up morals. The thought of someone she decided to trust her body with at night, messing around somewhere else was a harrowing feeling for her.

Her mind raced with questions. Had he kissed someone before her? And if he had, would her first kiss measure up to those previous encounters? Nanahoshi's heart fluttered with a mix of trepidation and vulnerability as she grappled with her own self-doubt.

Insecurity about her physical appearance crept into her thoughts as well. Nanahoshi couldn't help but compare herself to the girls he MAY have kissed before. Did she meet his expectations? Did he find her attractive? Did he really enjoy it, or did he do it out of some kind of "plan" that he had for her.

These nagging doubts threatened to overshadow the joy she had felt in that moment of connection.

But deep down, Nanahoshi knew she couldn't let her insecurities consume her. She mustered up the courage to confront her fears and seek the truth. She decided to ask him directly, revealing her innermost fears and desires.

This was what it meant by being totally vulnerable to your partner after all. But then again, did he even consider her as his partner? It made her hesitate.

With a pounding heart and shaky voice, Nanahoshi took a deep breath and approached him. She looked into his eyes, searching for any sign of judgement or disappointment. And then, with a trembling voice, she asked, "Have you kissed someone before me?"

In that moment, Nanahoshi bared her soul, exposing her vulnerability and laying her fears on the line. She longed for his reassurance, for him to tell her that her first kiss was special, that it meant something to him. Even if it wasn't his first kiss, then at least, it was sincere.

As she awaited his response, time seemed to slow down. The air around them grew thick with anticipation. Nanahoshi's heart raced, her palms grew sweaty, and her mind filled with a torrent of thoughts. Would he understand her insecurities? Would he be gentle with her fragile heart?

A heart already tormented enough with her prospective mortifying future.

"I did kiss my girlfriend on earth." Nanahoshi's heart skipped a beat as she heard Julian's response. Relief washed over her, soothing her anxieties, as she believed that he had only kissed someone in his previous world.

But as she observed the words that had left his mouth in her mind, reverberating in her ears, a wave of suspicion washed over her like an icy chill. His eyes avoided her gaze.

With narrowed eyes, Nanahoshi mustered the courage to delve deeper into her inquiry. Her voice trembled slightly as she asked him if he had kissed someone in THIS world. In that instant, the air crackled with tension, and time seemed to stand still. Julian's body froze for a fraction of a second, his usual stoicism momentarily shattered.

"So? Did you?" Her voice was shaky.

"It doesn't matter." Avoiding her gaze, Julian muttered, his voice laced with a hint of resignation. Without another word, he turned to leave, his footsteps echoing in the silence. But before he disappeared from her sight, he whispered, almost too softly to be heard, that the kiss with Nanahoshi was unlike anything he had ever felt before.... Or something along those lines.

Was it some kind of confession? Probably. But guess we will never know. After all, no one knows what his eyes see and what his mind thinks and what lies buried in the graveyard of his heart.

But Nanahoshi, lost in her own thoughts and consumed by her heavy heart, failed to hear his whisper. It was as if nature itself conspired against them, thwarting any chance of understanding or connection. The weight of disappointment settled upon her shoulders, dragging her down like an anchor.

"Wait, are you going outside... like that?" Despite feeling a bit down, she asked Julian, looking at his battered neck with a shy look and lowered her gaze, "...at least heal it." Her words stopped him while he was already outside the boundary of the door.

"Hm? Oh these?" He spoke as he realised what she was talking about, "...I think I'll let them be." He replied and left.

Before she could talk, the door shut on her face, leaving her words hanging in the air. She ran after the door and locked it from the inside and leaned against it, placing her head on the door. She was a mess. She couldn't stop smiling despite how awkward everything was getting or how embarrassing everything he said was.

She receded and tapped her head slightly on the door a few times. "Haaah.... What am I even doing! Getting embarrassed so easily." She talked down to herself, seemingly upset and how much Julian was teasing her. "I'll show him hell." She made a promise to herself.

The previous worries seemed to dissipate as quickly as they had come, leaving her with a light heart. The worries of not having his first or him still thinking about the girl from earth, somehow everything just faded away.

She had her answer. She wasn't exactly mad at him even when he revealed it. Or more exactly, she couldn't be mad at him.

With someone as beautiful and strong as him, it was bound to happen one day or the other. While she was hesitating, someone else had scored with him. Basically she let the opportunities slip from her fingers. She was the one to blame.

But there was only one thing that kept her from breaking down. A single thing. "It doesn't matter." The words of short reassurance, like a lighthouse guiding a long lost sailor to the shore.

Although.... he was a liar. Lying and deceiving people was his second nature. Or rather, his only nature. She knew that much until now. He was even taking advantage of his own family, like his grandmother for his own motives.

However, despite seeming like a false hope, she decided to cling on to it. So, what if he had kissed someone else? She had already decided to stay in this world until her life crumbles and she turns to dust. And if his arms were her only home here, why was she sulking over it.

Wiping the unshed tears and squaring her shoulders, she took a quick bath with the warm water already present.

After that she left the bathroom, ready to face whatever awaited her.

(***)

Julian descended the spiralling stairs, his mind consumed by thoughts of someone. The dimly lit staircase added an air of mystery, its walls adorned with intricate carvings that seemed to come alive in the flickering light.

The sound of his footsteps echoed through the narrow space, a rhythmic cadence that mirrored the beating of a restless heart, quite similar to what he heard of Nanahoshi.

Suddenly, a girl collided with Julian, her slender frame crashing into him with unexpected force. The impact sent her books flying, the pages fluttering through the air like birds taking flight. For a fleeting moment, time seemed to freeze as the girl teetered dangerously close to the edge of the stairs, her delicate balance hanging by a thread.

In a split second, Julian's instincts kicked in, his mind attuned to the danger that loomed before them. With a swift movement, he conjured a gust of wind beneath the girl, a protective barrier that broke her fall and ensured her safety. The invisible force cradled her, guiding her gently back to the solid ground, away from the precipice of danger.

As the girl regained her composure, her eyes widened with surprise and gratitude. Her delicate features were framed by a cascade of silver hair that shimmered in the soft glow of the staircase lights.

Julian's [Mana Eyes] activated in response to the unexpected encounter. Through his enhanced vision, he saw past the girl's clever disguise, peeling away the layers of illusionary magic to reveal her true nature.

Her eyes, a mesmerising shade of crimson, sparkled with a mix of emotions - surprise and gratitude. Long elf ears, elegant and pointed, emerged from beneath her carefully styled hair, a testament to her hidden identity.

Julian's voice came out of his mouth, more burdened and heavier than usual. It even caught himself off guard. "You've put on some height, I see, Sylph." The use of her nickname caused a flicker of recognition to dance across Sylphy's face, her eyes widening in astonishment. The memories of their shared lessons and the bond they had forged came rushing back, mingling with the present moment.

"Julian!" Sylphy's bewilderment slowly transformed into a mixture of relief and joy. "I couldn't believe it when Princess Ariel said you were alive. She said she met you yesterday but said you had something far more important to do so you couldn't come."

"Hm, yeah. I was meeting a..." his voice trailed off, not sure how to introduce Nanahoshi, "... friend."

"Oh? When did you come back here?" She asked, looking over his shoulder and then at his un-ironed clothes.

"I slept in her room." He said it. With a straight face. No remorse. No hesitation.

"Eeeeeh? Her? Ehehe, did you finally settle on a girl?" She asked, playfully nudging her elbow into his arm.

"Kind of. It is complicated."

"Well, I am free and all ears."

"I am not telling you. Go do your homework." Julian pulled her by her long ear.

"Ow, ow, I have done it already. I was just returning the books, ow, leave my ear!"

"Hmm. Okay." He mumbled as he looked around.

"Oh, Julian?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened between you and Princess Ariel? She's been acting up since yesterday."

A memory that was recent, flashed in his mind as if it was a very distant one, "Don't pry into others matters." He landed a chop on her head, softly and walked across her.

"Hey, wait, let's get something to eat then!"

"No."

"Do you want to see our classrooms?"

"No."

"Ugh.... you are boring." She pouted, fuming from her ears.

"Why don't you ask the question you're here for and take your leave. I am not in the mood to hold small talks." Julian stopped suddenly, causing Sylphy to crash into his back.

"Ow.... uh, well....." Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, "....um, do you know about Rudy? Where is he?"

"Hmm. He is in the Northern Regions. He might join the academy in the coming years." Giving that vague information, Julian started to walk away.

"Hey, at least tell me some more."

"No."

"Uh, Princess Ariel was goi--"

"I know. I am going right there."

"But how do you kn--"

"I know where to find her."

(***)

The afternoon air was crisp and still, as if frozen in time. The snow had ceased its relentless descent from the heavens, leaving behind a pristine blanket that covered the earth in a shimmering white embrace. The sun, hidden behind a veil of clouds for what felt like an eternity, finally fought its way through the grey expanse, casting a few timid rays upon the wintry landscape.

In the midst of this surreal scene, a girl stood, her presence an exuding warmth against the icy backdrop. Her long, flowing locks of golden blonde hair cascaded down her back, framing a face that seemed to possess an otherworldly radiance. Her eyes, as blue as the clearest summer sky, sparkled with a mix of wonder and tranquillity as she gazed upward, directly into the embrace of the sun.

Dressed in the standard white school shirt, neatly tucked into a vibrant red skirt, she exuded an air of elegance and composure. A blazer, carefully donned to ward off the chill, embraced her hour-glass frame, it's dark hue contrasting beautifully against the white expanse that surrounded her. Despite the layers of clothing, she seemed untouched by the cold, as if her spirit emanated an inner warmth that defied the wintry grip.

As the rays of sunlight caressed her face, a soft smile graced her lips, as though she had found solace in this fleeting moment of respite from the harshness of winter. The golden light danced upon her features, illuminating her porcelain skin with a gentle glow.

The silence of the winter afternoon was broken only by the distant sound of crunching snow beneath her feet, as she shifted her weight ever so slightly. A soft sigh escaped her lips, carried away by the wind, as if she were releasing the weight of the world from her shoulders.

She smiled again and spoke, without looking back, a cloud of fog escaping her lips. "You came."

"Hm." The boy with long white hair replied, standing beside her on the balcony.

"About last afternoon..." She talked in a frenzy, a stark contrast to her usual demeanour. She wasn't the composed princess, but rather seemed like a desperate girl.

"Hm? Forget about that." He said out loud, flatly as he gazed into the setting sky, the events of what had transpired flashing in his mind.

"I don't think that is possible." She replied with a sly grin and closed in to him, leaning against the bannister.

>Wee Flashback<

Julian was surveying the school, silently watching the students as they strolled between classes, enjoyed each other's company and ate food at lunch times. His mind wandered blankly towards his time in ANHS.

Seeing a boy sitting with a girl with a pale face he remembered the time when Horikita fooled him by luring him in using free lunch. Although, he still doesn't regret it. It was free food after all. Never say no to free food, no matter how many compasses stab your body.

He wanted to say something like that but felt a shiver creep up his spine.

With his hands tucked in his pocket, he made his way to the nearest library. Reading the signs hanging from above, he arrived at the general section of the splendiferous library. It was lined with topics from almost all parts of life---from botany to study of monsters and fiends. Books on human and non-human physiology.

He went towards that section, hoping to get something that would help him finish his research. It has already been too long. He wanted to treat Zenith as soon as he could. With that thought in mind, he moved his hand towards the first book on the shelf.

"Excuse me, are you a visitor?" A woman who was wearing a pair of glasses spoke, walking towards her.

"Yes. I am."

"Well sorry to break it to you but visitors are not allowed to touch the faculties. If you are an enrolled student, you'll have free access. Other than that, I am sorry." She explained as succinctly as possible.

"Oh? I was unaware. Sorry about that." Julian apologised, despite knowing he shouldn't have done it. Although, he still does it, hoping no one would notice him.

After that Julian continued to walk around and the woman followed him. She was already incredulous towards him and was now carrying a negativistic attitude by following him everywhere. Julian lost all hope of sneaking a book into his pocket and gave up, moving away from the general section.

As he quickly tip-toed and escaped away from the librarian's watch, he arrived in the [Melded Magic] section. Looking behind, he sighed, glad that he got the old woman off his tail. Losing all hope, he walked towards one of the tables and sat down. He still couldn't talk to anyone who knew where exactly Nanahoshi was.

He was wearing long black robes over his white sweater.

"Excuse me, may I sit here?" A voice interrupted his thoughts as he looked to the side.

"Hm? Yeah, sure." He replied, keeping his eye on the source of the voice. The voice made his ears stand up. The appearance was different, despite having the same golden blonde hair and blue eyes, the smile that she carried was still the same.

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and looked up at him, finally taking his visage into account. Her eyes widened as she stood up and instead of sitting in front of him, she sat beside him.

He didn't move but kept his eyes on her. She brought her face closer to his body and sniffed it. "Oh! I was right. Julian! You are alive!" Her voice hollered as she threw her hands outwards towards him.

Julian placed a hand on her face, pushing her away from him, "Have some restraint, Ariel." He muttered under his breath, only loud enough for only her to hear.

Settling down, she giggled, "I do not go by that name. If you say that again, I might be in quite a predicament." She explained.

"I know." Julian replied, correcting his robes.

"Was it you who sent the letter using magic?" She asked.

"Yes."

"But how did you send that? More importantly, how are you even alive?"

"I never died. As for how I sent it, when you gave me this...." Julian took out the handkerchief Ariel had given him all those years ago and placed it in front of her, ".... it had your mana signature over it. All I had to do was track it back to its source and use your own mana to conjure up a magical message."

"As impressive as ever...." Her voice trailed off as she excitedly praised him, "....but I am happy you're alive. I don't want my first love to die so tragically now, will I?"

"You're quite straight forward."

"I get that a lot. Opportunities don't present themselves more than once. Luck shouldn't be a factor in calculation. Right?" Ariel spoke with a smile and placed her chin on her fingers.

Julian was looking down, towards the appearance changing ring on his finger in particular. Using the thumb of the same hand, he twirled it.

"You have a good approach." Julian admitted. "Although differentiating people by their smell. I was unaware humans possess such ability too."

"Oh, your scent is just too sweet to miss. I've been dreaming every night about it. Just thinking about it is making me feel like I'd we–umpphhh~" Ariel spoke with a lustful grin, suppressing a moan as she looked up and down at him, her heart beating violently at the stature of the man that was once a boy.

Julian looked at her and almost imagined her with a dog's tail and her tongue jutting out. Feeling a shiver, he jerked his head and shaked off the thought.

Coughing, Ariel cleared her throat, realising she had let her innermost thoughts in the public, she leaned closer, "So? Why are you here?"

"I have a friend to meet." Julian replied.

"Is it a girl?"

"Yes."

Ariel narrowed her eyes, "Are you close with her?"

"Yep."

"Okay final question." She said, holding Julian's arm who was standing up. "Did you fold her under you?" She asked the final question, making Julian blink a few times.

"Pardon?"

"Did you have sex with her?"

"Uh... no?"

She nodded and motioned for Julian to come to the attached balcony.

Before Julian could say anything else, Ariel stood on her toes but couldn't reach him. So she jumped and wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him down and gently pecked him on his lips. It was subtle and light, almost as if a feather had touched him. She pulled him down by his sleeve.

"Hm?" 

He pulled himself away. 

"Well, now I've got your first. You are free to do whatever."

"What do you mean?" For a moment, Julian was flabbergasted over the events.

"Is it that hard to comprehend? I am marking you as mine. I know, as a princess I will not always be available, but you are allowed to take in mistresses." She proclaimed with a confident glee and without waiting for a reply, ran off.

Julian stood there in a trance, his fingers over his lips. He felt like in the middle of day-light robbery.

'Was I just sexually assaulted?' He thought to himself. Even for a lad like Julian, this was too much to process.

'Hm... It did feel a bit different than before though.'

He admitted as he rubbed his lips with his fingertips.