Chapter 29 - Rhema’s Interesting House

“But you’re too skinny. Your fur is rough, too… Who put you through so much trouble? But, yeah, how can you be so pretty? Is it because I took care of you when you were a human cub? Maybe you’ll become prettier if I take care of you well. Can I hug you?”

Not waiting for a response, Blanchet hugged Azriel tightly. Azriel was startled. “Yikes!” She was awfully strong. She rubbed her cheek against Azriel’s hair and smelled it.

“Oh, this familiar scent. But it’s just too rough. Let’s eat a lot of good foods from now on and be soft, yeah?” Blanchet was about to lick Azriel’s hair like licking fur but met Maylie’s eyes which were looking at her like a crazy person.

“Ehem, hmmm, hmmm.” As Azriel cleared her throat, she let Azriel go awkwardly. “Sorry. It’s just been too long. Hey, I’m not a human, so don’t look at me like a crazy person like that.”

“If you’re not a human, what are you exactly…?” Maylie asked, shaking. Blanchet tilted her head. “I said I’m Rhema’s familiar spirit.”

“What’s Rhema and what’s a familiar spirit?”

“You don’t know what a familiar spirit is? Well, most of the wizards these days can’t make familiar spirits anymore. Familiar spirits are servants that wizards manage. They’re a creature that takes mana in exchange for a master-servant agreement. Yeah, those who don’t have enough mana to manage it can’t raise it.” Blanchet had a slightly mocking smile on her face. Azriel interrupted. “Rhema is that person, Maylie. The wizard who gave me dress shoes.”

“That strange wizard…? What about that wizard?”

“He helped us. Don’t you remember what happened last…” At the sudden recollection of last night, Azriel stopped in the middle of talking. Over the night, the Colte Castle turned into dust and the whole family of the lord disappeared. There must be a huge uproar by now. She worried about Maylie’s family. “Excuste, Miss Blanchet…”

“Just Blanchet. Don’t be nervous around me. It feels so distant. I know that you forgot about our friendship but it saddens me a little.”

“Uh, yes, no, okay. Well, can I go outside? I’m worried about Maylie’s family…”

“Oh, she has a family?” Blanchet opened her eyes round and approached Maylie. She scanned Maylie’s body from top to bottom and nodded. “I heard you were hurt, but you look fine now, yeah. Then I’ll go with her. So, we can just go and check if they’re safe, right?”

“I’m coming with…” As Azriel was about to come with them, Blanchet cut her off. “You stay here. I’ll have a hard time if you’re not here when Rhema comes back.”

“…Pardon?”

Instead of answering Azriel, Blanchet put on a mysterious smile and lifted up Maylie in her arms. Although Maylie was much taller than Azriel, Blanchet, with her big body, held her up like a child to Maylie’s surprise. “Oh, gee! Excuse me!”

“Hey, don’t struggle. This is faster than your walk. By the way, you, what was your name?”

“May, Maylie…”

“Yeah, let’s go, Maylie. Hey, spirit! Watch over Azriel. Call me if there’s a problem.” The floating lump of light sparkled, moving up and down. Blanchet went to the window, opened it, and asked Maylie. “Which direction?”

“A, about there?”

“Hold on tight. Azriel, we’ll be back!” Without giving time to stop her, Blanchet jumped out of the window. The room was on the fifth floor. Almost no other buildings were seen out the window. Flabbergasted, Azriel rushed to the window.

“Ahhhhhhh!” Maylie’s scream gradually grew farther. Blanchet landed on a roof below as if nothing and disappeared, skipping between roofs in a twinkling.

“My word…” Azriel was watching the sight, dumbfounded, and she felt someone tugging her train. When she looked back, it was the spirit. The spirit flew away quickly and hovered above the table. A steaming dish was placed on the table. “You want me to… eat?” The spirit moved as if it was nodding. Azriel sat down and ate with a dazed feeling. The spirit served her diligently, pouring a drink in her cup and cutting bread and meat for her. “…This is so surreal…”

She was served by the spirit in her bath yesterday, but it seemed that it would take her some time to get used to the flying lump of light, or more memories would have to be restored. She was certain that she had no appetite, but since it had been so long since she ate such decent dishes, she found herself emptying her plate when she came to her senses. Then she was sleepy. She felt better than yesterday, but her body was still heavy and lacked strength. As if it knew her condition, the spirit pushed Azriel to the bed.

“Are you saying I should go to bed? It’s still bright outside.”

Until yesterday, she had to wake up early in the morning, get an earful from the mean chief maid, and be whipped instead of Deborah, but she was now asked to sleep on a soft bed in the middle of the day. The spirit laid her and covered her up to her chin. As if her question was meaningless, she fell asleep right away. Then her forgotten memory began to unfold again.

***

Rhema cleaned up the room on the second floor where junk had piled up and created Azriel’s room. He did not know how to decorate a child’s room. So, he went to a craftsman in a nearby city and asked for everything required for a girl’s room. When the craftsman asked about his budget, he ordered to bring the very best items regardless of their price. Because of that, fancy and huge furniture pieces, which did not really match the small room, were delivered. Rhema, who saw the huge bed that filled more than half of the room, simply resolved the problem. He cast a spell in the room and increased its size several times. Thus, the room turned spacious and luxurious enough for a princess of a nation to have.

“This is your room,” said Rhema.

“This… is?” Azriel, with her jaw dropped, looked inside the room.

From a shiny chandelier to a bed with a canopy drawn over it, she did not know where to put her eyes. On the floor, a soft and pretty-colored carpet was laid. It made her afraid to step in.