“Hmm… Ah, did I fall asleep?”
I don’t know when I fell asleep.
I guess the sofa was just too comfortable, and I dozed off.
When I rubbed my eyes and opened them, I saw a mobile hanging from the ceiling.
It was the one Luke had put up to control instincts back when.
Seeing it reminds me of the time not too long after we started living together here.
Back then, I had no idea that so many events would unfold for me and Yerna, but now I’ve gotten used to it, and it’s not that hard to suppress my instincts even without something like that.
Well, I still often go into the box, but that’s not because I’m being led by instinct—it’s more about using the sense of stability it gives me in a positive way.
Just sitting in a small space helps me think better, and I can calm the Circle much more easily, so there’s no reason not to do it.
Luke noticed that the blanket Yerna had covered him with had been shifted.
Raising his upper body, he saw a small fish-shaped mobile in front of him.
Seeing the fish, he couldn’t help but recall Tigalodon.
Shirud had said it was no big deal, so Luke kept it a secret from Yerna, but he still felt uneasy about hiding the truth.
He really didn’t want to create secrets from Yerna, but knowing how much she worries about him made it difficult to bring up the incident.
Shirud and Soirin might not know, but back then, his Circle was far from complete, and he had only subdued Tigalodon using pure physical and sword techniques.
Because of that and the fact that he was also researching black flames, it was equally secretive.
Since Yerna had directly experienced black flames herself, she would surely worry a lot if she found out he was researching such dangerous magic.
However, Luke wasn’t fully confident that it was truly safe magic, so if he got caught, he wouldn’t even be able to falsely reassure her.
In that case, he couldn’t help but think about the possibility of his research being banned.
After all, he was now saying he didn’t really care about burns anymore.
‘That can’t be right.’
Now that his magic sight had recovered, he was at the final stages of his research.
It’s almost over—why should he let it go now?
‘Alright, I’ve rested, so it’s time to get back to my research…’
As Luke was thinking while removing the blanket, he suddenly heard a presence nearby.
“Lu, are you awake?”
“Yes, sister. But what is that you’re holding in your hand…?”
It was the surface of a very familiar notebook.
Realizing what it was, Luke exclaimed in shock.
“Isn’t that my notebook! Why do you have that?”
“Oh, it was just sitting on the table, so I thought I’d take a look…”
“Give it back right now!”
With a quick motion, Luke snatched the notebook from Yerna’s hands.
“Did you see all the contents inside?”
Luke asked sharply.
If she had seen everything and discovered what kind of “study” he was doing, he would have to weave quite a complicated lie.
But how could he disguise his research on “black flames” as “safe study”?
As he pondered this, Yerna answered hesitantly.
“No, it was… written in strange characters, so I couldn’t understand at all… Could it be like a code?”
Was she so surprised to find the notebook that her way of speaking even turned back to normal?
Seeing her like that made Yerna feel as if she had made a big mistake.
“Glad to hear that.”
But after Yerna’s response, Luke let out a sigh of relief.
It was fortunate that he had simplified the characters to something only he could understand in his formulas.
He wasn’t sure how much magical knowledge Yerna possessed, but as a Forest Keeper, she had encountered plenty of information about destructive magic, and given that she had seen and experienced black flames directly, he couldn’t say for sure how she’d react.
Luke, slightly concerned about Yerna’s surprised expression, muttered softly.
“I’m sorry for yelling all of a sudden, sister. But please, don’t look at my notebook…”
This time, his tone was completely that of a child.
It contained a bit of the embarrassment he had learned during swimming lessons.
In fact, this was quite a calculated move.
By doing this, he emphasized that what was written in his notebook was merely a “child’s issue.”
Yerna would likely think that she had written something embarrassing if she ever found out.
“Uh, okay…”
Did his intention hit the mark precisely?
Yerna thought that she must never look at Luke’s notebook again.
And seeing Yerna’s reaction, Luke lifted himself off the sofa.
After waking up, he figured he should take a shower.
As Luke gathered his towel and headed to the shower, Yerna suddenly stood up and followed him.
“Ah, Luke, are you taking a shower now?”
“Yes, why?”
“Let’s do it together for the first time in a while. Okay?”
“What?!”
Luke exclaimed in shock.
Together in the shower?
Of course, if it were any other time, it would have been nothing, but now, absolutely not.
The marks on his eyes from the blindfold were still visible.
Showing that to anyone would be truly terrible!
“Absolutely not!”
“Why? Is it because I looked at your notebook without permission? Are you still angry?”
“It’s not that… but anyway, no!”
Saying that, Luke swiftly entered the shower.
Seeing him retreat like that, Yerna was very flustered.
‘Luke has never done this before…’
As she thought about how she must have made a big mistake, she suddenly remembered that the shampoo was nearly gone.
Even though her hair was short now, she wouldn’t need as much shampoo as before, but Luke still used quite a bit because of the fur on his tail.
Thinking that it might run out, Yerna opened the shower room door with a new bottle of shampoo.
-Bang.
“Hey, Lu, the shampoo is running out…”
“Eek!”
As soon as the door opened, Luke screamed bizarrely and quickly turned around, covering his face from Yerna.
It was a move to hide the marks on his eyes.
“D-Don’t come in all of a sudden!”
“I’m sorry! But I just wanted to help…”
“It’s okay! I can do it alone, so get out now!”
“Uh, okay!”
Yerna hurriedly closed the door and sat down on the floor.
Why was Luke suddenly reacting like that?
Before going to the sea, bathing together had been a delightful event…
‘Does Luke dislike me now?’
——
Today was the long-awaited movie date with Dayton.
Watching a movie was something that had been impossible for Yerna due to her trauma, but now she had overcome it, and it became part of her daily life.
Thinking about that made her heart race again.
Finally, while watching a movie together, they could hold hands, and eventually, there would be a kiss… Yes, let’s progress naturally, step by step.
With that thought, she purchased popcorn and drinks to enjoy during the movie, but upon returning, Yerna’s expression didn’t seem very bright.
Dayton handed her the popcorn and asked, “Yerna, do you not like the movie? Should we watch another? Do you prefer action movies over romance?”
Hearing this, Yerna sprang to attention and waved her hands, saying, “No, it’s not that, it’s just… because of Luke.”
“Because of Luke? Did he make another accident or something?”
“No, not like that. It’s just…”
Yerna hesitated before responding, “So… I feel like he has changed too much.”
At first, Yerna thought Luke’s change was positive.
She believed that becoming more like kids his age would be good for him.
Hearing the word “sister” was also very pleasant.
She thought it was a sign that they had become close.
But…
Sigh… “Lately, it seems like Luke doesn’t really like me anymore. I wonder if I did something to make him dislike me.”
Yerna sighed.
Dayton looked at her with an expression of disbelief. “Suddenly? Luke has followed you so well until now, hasn’t he?”
Luke dislikes Yerna?
That was truly startling news.
Dayton could see how much Luke liked Yerna just by being nearby.
Luke always thought of Yerna first in whatever he did, and whenever he was next to her, he always showed a bright side.
Many people said that when he smiled at Yerna, it felt different from when he smiled at others.
In fact, lately, when they were together, he even began saying “sister, sister,” and changed his way of speaking.
It was hard to imagine the scene where Luke, who usually spoke in an adult-like manner, acted like a child saying, “Sister, sister, look at this!” But that just indicated how much he liked Yerna.
The person Luke liked that much was Yerna, and yet he suddenly started to dislike her?
To Dayton, that made no sense at all.
“What in the world happened?”
“Um, it’s just…”
Yerna contemplated whether to share this but finally opened her mouth. “The last time I wore that dress you picked out for me, I felt like he didn’t like it. Right after seeing the dress, he went into his room, saying he had to study, and didn’t even show his face. I wonder if he dislikes me wearing clothes similar to his…”
Yerna distinctly remembered Luke’s expression hardening the moment he saw her outfit.
It was the first time she had seen that kind of expression from him.
But after hearing Yerna’s concerns, Dayton leaned a little closer to her, as if to reassure her not to worry, and spoke.
“Is it really only because of that? He probably just thinks it doesn’t suit you well, and it’s just a bit much to think he dislikes you over that…”
“But it’s not just that.”
Maybe it was the anxiety about the fact that Luke might dislike her?
Yerna interjected Dayton’s words. “Last time, when I suggested we take a bath together, he refused. Quite harshly… Now, he’s even reluctant to undress in front of me. I tried to sneak in a little, but he yelled then. He used to really love bathing with me.”
“Uh, okay?”
Dayton’s face turned red as the topic suddenly became quite embarrassing.
Refusal to bathe?
This guy is really kicking away a great opportunity…
How envious… but it’s not that shocking.
“But he’s turning ten, so it shouldn’t be that weird, should it?”
“Eh?”
Dayton scratched his neck for a moment, a bit flustered.
Well, it seemed that time had come for Luke as well.
“Does he get really angry when you peek at his diary? Does he yell or fight often with Pyris if there’s something he doesn’t like?”
Yerna immediately recalled Luke’s behavior at that remark.
Though the content of his notebook was a code and unreadable, thinking back, it might have been his diary after all.
Getting upset over things he didn’t like had been a recent occurrence, and he had also been fighting with Pyris quite a lot.
“Oh? Right. How did you know?”
Yerna looked at Dayton as if she were gazing at a prophet, and Dayton nodded his head as if saying it made perfect sense.
“It seems like he’s going through puberty.”
“Puberty?”
“Yeah. Puberty.”
Thinking that, Yerna was starting to understand Luke’s recent behavior more easily.
The sudden emotional tone and actions, along with Luke’s somewhat rebellious reactions—all of it made sense if it was merely a temporary phase of puberty.
“Ah, puberty…”
Yerna mumbled, looking a bit blank as if she had just realized something.
Then it seemed that it wasn’t that he suddenly disliked her after all.
She had thought that Luke was already mature enough and wouldn’t go through puberty, but it seems he was no different from other kids his age.
That was surely a positive change.
Yerna had always wished for Luke to live a life no different from ordinary children, considering he likely hadn’t experienced a proper life because of the Chimera experiments.
“So what do we do? Dayton, how should we handle a child going through puberty?”
“It’s nothing much. Just let them handle themselves, and it usually sorts itself out.”
“But still, is there anything special we should be aware of?”
“Hmm…”
Dayton thought back to his own puberty.
But he couldn’t bring any specific scenes to mind.
Perhaps it was because he had been too busy living for his only remaining family member, Diana, and didn’t have to deal with puberty at all.
Besides, Luke wasn’t a girl like him, was he?
‘But how are girls different?’
Dayton stroked his chin while thinking of Diana.
Diana was still too young to have hit puberty, remaining his endlessly obedient and cute (especially when sleeping) little sister, but he had prepared himself with a few “combat rules” for when the day came.
“Is it important not to get angry with a child when they get angry?” was it?
However, since Yerna had never forced Luke to do anything even until now and would likely never do so in the future, he didn’t think that would be particularly helpful advice.
So, what now…
“Apparently, having their own space is helpful during puberty, so does Luke have a room he can call his own?”
Yerna shook her head.
“No, our house only has one main room…”
Her apartment wasn’t a place with many rooms; it only had a living room that doubled as a kitchen and a main bedroom.
It was originally purchased with the premise of living alone.
So even if she wanted to, she couldn’t make a room for Luke.
Yerna pondered for a moment before speaking.
“It does seem that having one’s own space is important during puberty.”
“Well, having one would be nice.”
But now there were two children living together.
Luke and Pyris.
Certainly, a multi-floor apartment isn’t the best environment for kids to run around in.
Moreover, Luke loved playing the cello, but he couldn’t practice at home for fear of disturbing the downstairs neighbors.
With that in mind, she had long been considering if it would be better to find a house with a few more rooms.
“So… Dayton, should we move?”
“…What?”
Dayton dropped the drink he was holding.
