Chapter 93

Within a spacious white room with barely any decor, a sigh of exhaustion could be heard from a young man. The murmurs and faint festive noises from afar had begun to fill his head, ultimately preventing him from sleeping.

To his right was a large window, rays of the approaching noon shone on his simple loose white shirt.

His hair had become messy from the hour he spent sleeping and arguing. Yet to anyone, he would still be deemed as presentable and akin to a sleeping prince, with the fair light enamoring his pale skin and hair.

Snuggly he rested while fully awake in that corner of the room, yet his eyes were still closed and wanting to drift into his dreams. Finally, after a moment, he successfully drowned out the noise from outside and gave a satisfied hum.

Beside the young man who laid in peace, a sturdy oaken bookshelf stood. Its top shelf had been emptied and blanketed with white wool, a perfect nest for the boy’s feathery friend that HOOTed and rested within it.

However, without warning the prince-like boy’s tranquility was interrupted, as his friend who he thought had finally drifted to sleep, suddenly opened his beak and eyes, raring to speak up,

"Wait, that can’t be right, HOOT."

“I thought we were doneee.”

Far from the cheers and crowds that could be heard from that very room, the pale young man and the fat bird had actually been occupied with their daily gibberish-filled debate.

"Owly, if Batmule didn’t have the contingency plan for the rest of the magistrate federation, Superma— Supermonkey would have taken the world when he was hypnotized."

"I mean, it is a comic about friendship, it would have worked out anyway, HOOT!"

“…Mhm, yes.” Naell replied, losing all will to continue explaining any further.

Yet the presence of a visitor alerted them both and strayed their discussion.

• Oh no, HOOT. •

"Oh no indeed…."

Ever since the terrorist attack, Owly's identity was revealed to several people including Casper and Wendy.

Naell could still recall how Utua Taglagas, winked at him when he was explaining to the two nagging couple why on Mundo he hid Owly's identity.

Luckily, since they were indeed "lovey-dovey" not just as a couple but also for cute things, all was forgiven.

Still, that left Naell and Owly quite traumatized to the point where they even vowed to each other to be more responsible with the owl's identity.

Yet who would have thought that perhaps their promise had already been compromised by their banters.

"Owly?…Young Mast… Naell?"

When they heard the voice coming from the other side of their door, Naell felt it was familiar to him, only softer.

Owly on the other hand gave a HOOT of relief, he knew who it was and with a happy chirp then said,

"Come in, HOOT!"

The door then slowly squeaked open. When she entered the room, her and Naell's eyes met.

Immediately, both of them were frozen in place. One had a flustered face, while the other was staring with confusion.

Yet there she was, Rinca Arigare minus her cold demeanor that was far gentler than usual.

She was admirably elegant under the hue of the setting sun, which could now be glimpsed upon from the window of the room.

She was wearing a white baggy shirt that just amplified her pinkish skin and rosy eyes.

It was also noticeable how she was still recovering from the battle, with a light graze mark faintly present on her cheek.

"---Lady Rinca-"

"Just, Rinca is… preferable."

Naell nodded excessively, still somewhat tense from her sudden appearance.

For a while he observed Rinca who meekly stood whilst turned away.

Her hair was loosely tied into a bun unlike its usual prim and proper style, yet still grace followed her however she moved.

An air of hesitation was around her yet her intentions appeared calm upon detection.

Finally, Naell said after awakening from an unusually long pause,

"Ah, please have a seat… and just call me Naell as well."

'That was dangerous.' He thought not realizing he had stared at her for far too long.

"Y-yes. Thank you, Youn— Naell."

Her flustered face was completely new to him and so he struggled to feel at ease. Unlike Viola who had a "protect-at-all-costs" demeanor, she retained her noble-like posture.

"..."

Silence took hold of the place which made Owly quite irritated. It was apparent that both Naell and Rinca were awkward potatoes.

Considering how he knew the two, the bird wasn't surprised given their history together. Yet still, Owly was Owly and this silence only made him hungry.

"Say, d'you have anything to eat Rinca, HOOT?" He said, breaking the silence.

"I'm sorry I did not bring anything but we could call the attenda—"

"No need, HOOT!"

Before she could even finish and utter another word, Owly wooshed away far from their sight.

"..."

That left the two wondering what to do. In truth, Rinca actually went there to thank Naell and Owly for saving them, yet she had impulsively entered the room before even forming the sentences in her head.

“I’m pleasantly surprised by the sudden visit.” Naell suddenly said to her.

“My apologies, did I come at a bad time?” She replied.

“Oh no, don’t worry! It’s a perfectly fine time. Now. Is. Ahem.”

For a moment Rinca looked at Naell and stifled a laugh, before finally letting her intentions wash over her.

"Actually I…" Rinca managed to start yet she cut herself off and turned away once more as if to reconsider what she was to say.

Recently she learned what had happened after she lost her consciousness during the terrorist attack, as throughout the Kingdom it was told,

[ When Naell saw the Duchess of Ice faint, a surging rage of mana befell the place.

The dragon-like magic overcame the three aggressors who made Andrew's party suffer defeat.

Had it not been for the interference of the one they called the Queen of Lucile, surely the young master of Beryldot would have killed the three. ]

Of course, all of this had made Rinca more flustered as this was being sung with embellishments of romance by even the bards of nobility.

It was almost as if the previous drama that involved Naell being a bad guy had been erased from its very core.

Some even began calling for the two's engagement to be renewed. Yet somehow Rinca was glad that she and Naell both agreed it should not come to pass.

At that moment Rinca began to silently nod at her sentiment. Regardless, her relief was met with her own embarrassment. How could she forget that the subject of her thoughts was now directly next to her, with his concerned ruby eyes gazing at her beet-red face?

Immediately the flustered girl then placed a hand to her mouth in an attempt to pacify herself and push her thoughts aside.

Naell on the other hand saw Rinca's reddened cheeks, and with a concerned look leaned closer to ask,

"Rinca, are you okay?"

"Ah… Yes I'm fine! M-more importantly, I'm here to thank you and Owly for saving our lives."

Holding in a sigh of relief, she smiled genuinely knowing her words finally left her lips. At least in some way with a straight face as well. She then continued,

“Truly, I— we, uh actually… I spoke to everyone before going here—” She stuttered, before pausing once more to breathe and giving another gentle smile.

“You know, my cousin fought all three of the pieces when none of us could move anymore.”

“...”

“Then that fourth one joined, Note was bombarded with light magic and couldn’t fight back.”

“I see. That must’ve been terrible.” Naell's soft gaze remained on her as she recalled the events of their fight.

“He almost…Well that’s until you arrived.”

“...”

“We’re beyond grateful, Naell. I especially.” She paused, rubbing her palm in a soothing manner upon her confession.

For a moment Naell only looked at her in silence, almost as if not at all expecting her words.

Yet she began blushing once more when she saw Naell's mellow smile as he said,

"I'm glad."

Rinca's thoughts overtook her again. She knew she wasn't being swayed romantically but seeing Naell act like the old Naell she once knew, her emotions couldn't help but be stirred.

'Why are you glad in the first place and what's with that smile…'

Unbeknownst to her, Naell was holding in a sigh of relief.

Deep inside he had been harboring mixed feelings of regret; first for arriving late when Andrew and the rest were already beaten by the pawns of Lucille, second for how he made the mistake of letting them get away. Lastly, for how unprepared he was for an event he should have known would occur.

He had taken things too easily and lost all foresight with his choices that already affected the story; and this he had no intention of forgetting ever again.

In that moment, he felt some burden on his chest had been lifted. Seeing Rinca in person, the one who he feared was pushed to her limits the most, alongside her cousin.

This assured him that they were in fact okay and that he had done what he could to prevent a larger scale of devastation.

Still both of their unsociable personalities weren't helping the situation. It took some time before a conversation even started once again.

“Great weather isn’t it?”

Said Naell as awkwardly as possible. Back on Earth, he thought that was a normal conversation starter which unbeknownst to him was actually a meme.

Because of that, Rinca was startled and realized that Naell was like her. She began laughing making the young master of Beryldot confused as he thought,

‘Is this a side effect of her injury? Brain Damage? Split Personality?’

As he was trying to calm her down by standing up and approaching her, their eyes met yet again, only this time, the misunderstanding between the two (Mostly Naell) had been cleared up.

They then laughed, unknowingly with their voices echoing through the halls, yet only the smiling Owly could hear them. He was glad as he munched away his food.