Special Story 8

Graum, who had been playing chess with Lonn, wore a look of utter bewilderment. Lyven had stormed in, demanding to know without preamble whether his current face was his “real” face or if the giant tortoise form was the true one.

“Tell me! Is a spirit’s animal form the real one, or is the human form the real one?”

At that, Blizzan, who had been idling by the window to kill time, approached Lyven with sparkling red eyes, looking like a predator that had finally found its prey. Teiro, standing beside Lyven, immediately recognized that predatory glint in those eyes and slunk away toward the sofa where Silri and Eva were seated.

The spirits had been spending a lot of time at the Grand Duchy lately because Enria’s health had taken a slight turn for the worse. Of course, it was just minor complications from a prolonged cold and nothing to worry about seriously, but because Caldeon made such a fuss, the spirits—who had shared their power with Enria—couldn’t help but be concerned.

“Hurry up and tell me! Is the tortoise the real you, or is this face the real you?!”

When Lyven shouted at Graum, who was simply staring back blankly without answering, Silri turned to Teiro as he sat down on the sofa.

“What’s wrong with your friend?”

“I’m not sure myself.”

“You’re becoming quite manly as you grow up.”

Eva, who was putting great effort into slicing a cookie as perfectly as possible, glanced at Teiro.

“Is that a compliment? Thank you.”

“You’re becoming more and more dignified.”

“Well, he is Rahar’s younger sister’s son, after all.”

Silri interjected into the conversation between Teiro and Eva, her eyes still fixed on Lyven. He was still standing in front of Graum, looking indignant that Graum possessed the face of a peer despite being vastly older than them.

“What on earth is Rahar’s son so obsessed with that he’s hounding Graum like that?”

Perhaps because she spent more days at the Grand Duchy than in the Spirit Village, Silri’s way of speaking had begun to resemble that of a middle-aged noblewoman.

“He used to think he was the most handsome among children our age, but Heiji said Graum is the most handsome,” Teiro explained with a shrug. He then pointed a finger at a piece of cookie Eva had sliced and asked if he could have it.

Eva kindly pushed the plate toward Teiro, mentioning they were peanut-flavored and to eat plenty if he liked them. Teiro popped a piece into his mouth, saying he liked all cookies, and then let out a short sigh as he watched Lyven.

“How can both be your real form? There has to be a form you were born with! The form at birth!”

“I had two forms at birth as well. But why are you so curious about this?”

Graum had answered because Lyven was being so bothersome, but his brow was deeply furrowed as he wondered why the boy was clinging to this issue so tenaciously.

“Of course I’m curious! I have to be the most handsome among our peers!”

Because Lyven declared it perfectly normal and natural that he should be the most handsome, the drawing room suddenly fell silent, as if doused with cold water.

“They say humans are the species most obsessed with appearance among all living things.”

Undy, who was quietly reading an ancient book at a small side table, shook her head and muttered to herself.

“I don’t know why you must be the most handsome, but if it’s because of me that you feel unfulfilled, you should already be satisfied,” Graum said calmly.

“What? Why?”

“Because I am not your peer.”

“I know that! But your face! Your face is!”

Lyven pointed an accusing finger at Graum’s face.

“If my appearance bothers you that much, you only need to endure for about two years. You, a human, will grow, but I will always remain in this form.”

Lyven stared at the composed Graum for a moment and nodded, acknowledging the point, before suddenly becoming incensed again.

“Then why do you always have that face when you’re so old? If you’re a grandfather, act like one and take the form of a grandfather, like my dad’s spirit!”

Lonn, who had been sitting quietly only to have the spark fly his way, arched an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Grandfather? What part of my appearance looks like a grandfather to you?”

“Spirits have no age, so he isn’t a grandfather,” Graum added with a nod.

Lyven huffed, saying that only made him angrier.

“Why do ageless spirits have different appearances of varying ages in human form?! Why do you have to make it so I’m not the best at this crucial time?!”

“…”

Graum was beyond bewildered; he was starting to feel stunned by the fact that Lyven was getting angry over something so utterly groundless.

“Because of you, I’m not the ‘best’ to Heiji! Take responsibility! I said take responsibility!”

Lyven was now stomping his feet like a true child.

The sight was so childish that both Graum and Lonn let out hollow laughs.

“I have no idea what you want me to take responsibility for.”

“Heiji said you’re the most handsome among our age group! So go to her right now and argue that you aren’t our peer!”

“…”

“Go tell Heiji that since you aren’t our peer, Lyven is actually the most handsome…! Hey, why are you blushing?!”

Lyven pointed in disbelief at Graum’s ears, which had turned bright red.

“No way. Are you blushing because Heiji said you’re the most handsome? Don’t tell me you have feelings for Heiji…!”

“What are you talking about, human? First of all, shut that mouth of yours; it’s distracting.”

Graum frowned and waved his hand dismissively. He tried to maintain a calm facade to pretend he wasn’t flustered, but his ears were so noticeably red that there was no hiding it.

“Why are your ears turning red?! How can a spirit be shy just because Heiji said you’re handsome?!”

As Lyven asked with a face bordering on horror, Graum shook his head, deciding the conversation wasn’t worth continuing. When Graum stood up to leave, Lyven blocked his path, growling for him to speak properly.

Graum was exasperated.

“Swear right here, right now. Swear you don’t harbor any ‘other’ intentions toward Heiji.”

“I’m telling you, I—”

“Since I harbor them, it would be troublesome if Graum did too.”

At that moment, Blizzan spoke up with a shrug. Every eye in the drawing room—not just Lyven’s and Teiro’s, but those of every spirit present—snapped toward him.

“Isn’t it so? Nothing looks more foolish than comrades fighting over one woman.”

Blizzan answered calmly, shrugging at the staring crowd.

“Are you saying you like Heiji?”

Teiro asked, his eyes instantly filling with wariness. Blizzan tilted his head slightly toward him.

“Well. The emotion of ‘liking’ is a bit foreign to a spirit like me.”

“Then what is it?”

“The feeling that Heiji is too precious?”

“Precious?”

“Yeah. It feels like a waste to give Heiji to some other male. Right now, it’s just that kind of feeling.”

At Blizzan’s words, the eyes of everyone—Teiro, Lyven, and all the spirits—widened in shock.

***

Heiji looked bewildered when Lyven, who had come to see her with Teiro, told her out of nowhere to stay away from Blizzan.

“That playboy spirit is aiming for you. So, as much as possible, with him…”

“Wait, wait a minute, Lyven.”

Heiji raised a hand to cut him off and closed her book. She didn’t know what kind of conversation they’d had with Blizzan, but it wasn’t that she didn’t understand why Lyven was excited, so a sigh escaped her naturally. At her sigh, Teiro spoke to her.

“I agree. I think that fire spirit is a bit dangerous for you.”

“What are you talking about? Blizzan is my guardian spirit. There’s no way a guardian spirit could be dangerous to me…”

“He just happened to be the first to give you power; he isn’t your only guardian spirit.”

The corners of Teiro’s eyes flicked upward. It was an expression that came out whenever he found something difficult to tolerate or when he was being stubborn. At times like this, his personality was such that he would cling to the matter until his dissatisfaction was resolved or he got what he wanted, so Heiji found it less bothersome to simply stop the debate.

She stood up and slid her book back onto the shelf, cleverly changing the subject.

“But why do you guys like me so much anyway? No, are you sure you actually like me? Enough that it won’t change as time passes?”

She threw out a highly sensitive topic for the two of them, one that instantly buried the previous discussion. Heiji handled Teiro and Lyven very well.

“Of course! I’ll never change!”

“I’m certain I like you, and I’m confident I won’t change either.”

“How can you be so sure? We’re only eleven years old.”

Heiji shrugged, implying that discussing love at eleven was nonsensical. Forgetful of the Blizzan issue, Teiro and Lyven scrambled to prove that their feelings were sincere. Heiji gave them a vague nod and told them to explain in a way she could understand why they thought they would never change.

Knowing this conversation was much less exhausting than one about Blizzan, she let them continue. Unaware of Heiji’s true intentions, the two boys spoke passionately about why they liked her and why their hearts would remain steadfast, acting as if they were experiencing the greatest romance of the century—all at the age of eleven.