Two months had passed since Raid took some of their companions back to the Second World. Meanwhile, in the First World, not much had changed. People went about their days in peace despite the looming threat of ruin. In fact, one could even say that things were too peaceful these days.
“Alma. You may be my descendant, but there are things I cannot overlook.”
“Uh... Okay.”
“Do you understand what I’m saying? Hmm, Alma?” Tiana was wearing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes as she spoke in a hushed tone.
Suddenly, a groggy groan cut into their conversation—it came from none other than Eluria, who was currently clinging onto Alma.
Tiana bristled at the sight. “Step away from Lady Eluria right this instant! That’s my spot...!”
“Huh? Is this my fault? I only came here to wake her up, but then she suddenly latched onto me and went right back to sleep... Which part of this is my fault?”
“Hush! You’re speaking too loud! Lady Eluria’s sleeping face is the cutest when she’s floaty, and this is a precious chance to gaze upon it all we want—we must treasure it!” Despite rebuking Alma, Tiana wore a wide and blissful smile. “Ahhh, her childlike face and her slightly slackened lips... Her cheeks are softer than usual because she’s so relaxed... Not to mention the way she curls into herself and latches onto anyone nearby like a tiny animal! I praise and thank the world for creating such a lovable existence!”
Alma shot her a dry look. “Lady Tiana, you say this almost every day. Don’t you ever get tired?”
Tiana looked at Alma like she’d grown a second head. “Get tired? How could I? When blessed with Lady Eluria’s cuteness, it is our duty to offer our sincerest gratitude to every force in the world that led to her birth, no?” The Sage’s number one fangirl was at full force again today.
Alma sighed and turned her attention back to the floaty girl. “Eluria, it’s morning. Time to get up,” she called, shaking her shoulders.
“Nuuu...” Still clinging to Alma, Eluria nuzzled her head against the woman’s stomach like a cat hiding from the light. After a while, she stopped moving entirely and began quietly snoring once more.
“I see, I see... This is Floaty Pattern E,” Tiana observed.
“Oh, right... His Excellency had a bunch of different behavioral patterns jotted down on his notes.”
“Indeed. Lady Eluria follows Pattern E whenever she does not want to get up. If handled wrongly, she falls back asleep and extends her floaty period, at worst falling into a cycle from which she doesn’t break free until noon.”
“I’m impressed she managed to attend her classes every day...”
“We have Raid Freeden’s research to thank for that. His notes are impeccable. As Lady Eluria’s disciple and as one who’s also taken care of her in the past, I must admit that I acknowledge his prowess.”
“His Excellency’s been through so much, huh...?” Sighing, Alma gently caressed Eluria’s head.
“Nu.” With an odd squeak, Eluria’s eyes suddenly opened halfway. She swiftly released Alma’s arm, crawled out of bed, and made her way to the set of clothes that had been set aside for her.
Tiana gasped. “Alma, this is an undiscovered pattern!”
“Ah, so getting out of bed to get dressed is a groundbreaking discovery...”
“You’ve tried to wake Lady Eluria a few times, haven’t you? Then you should know that whenever she’s floaty she never moves of her own volition!”
“Wow. When you put it that way, she sounds like an utterly hopeless human being.”
Unfazed by Alma’s deadpan remarks, Tiana kept her eyes glued on Eluria’s valiant effort to change clothes. Alma had to admit that she was right, though—it wasn’t every day Eluria took such independent action while floaty. Although her eyes remained half open at best, she brilliantly fixed all her buttons—in the right order, no less—and finished changing her clothes.
“Raid...” she muttered out of the blue.
“Huh? What about His Excellency?”
“Raid is...coming home...” Eluria let out a small yawn, stretched once, then nodded. “Okay. I’m awake.”
“L-Lady Eluria...conquered floatiness on her own?!” Tiana exclaimed in shock.
“Welcome to a morning in the life of an average human,” Alma mumbled.
“Ms. Alma, Raid is coming home. Let’s head to the arrival site.”
Eluria walked over to Alma with steady steps and grabbed her hand. Instantly, Alma’s vision blurred, and a floating sensation enveloped her body. The next thing she knew, she was staring at the plains on the outskirts of the imperial capital.
Alma squinted in exasperation. “Okay, sure. Just step out of bed and cast a complex teleportation spell, why don’t you?”
“My future husband is coming home. This isn’t the time to be sleeping,” Eluria replied with a decisive nod. It seemed that not only was she fully awake, she was also rather excited for Raid’s homecoming.
“Oh, but how do you know His Excellency is coming back?”
“While applying adjustments to the dimensional gap, I set up an automatic response to his mana that would trigger once he initiates the teleportation: Regardless of my consciousness, my body will get up, change clothes, and gradually warm up to spur on my awakening. It’s a type of biological magic.”
“I’m...pretty sure that’s a lot harder than you just made it sound.”
“Mm-hmm. I made it by combining the First World’s magic and biomedicine, then added a formula that would activate and stabilize magic while the caster is unconscious. It’s too complex for anyone else.”
“Couldn’t you just use that every morning to free yourself of your floatiness?”
Eluria pouted and grumbled, “Don’t like to interrupt my natural sleep cycle.”
In the end, floatiness was always going to be a part of Eluria.
As their idle chatter filled the air, a blue light suddenly appeared in front of them, gradually expanding into a circle and creating an opening in the air. Soon, one man stepped out, casually waving his hand.
“Yo. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Eluria eagerly jogged over to Raid’s side. “Welcome back, Raid.”
“Thanks. It’s good to be back,” he replied while giving her a pat on the head. “Was everything good while we were gone?”
“Mm-hmm. Tiana and Ms. Alma helped me a lot.”
The couple exchanged their greetings like they would any other day. At first glance, Eluria looked the same as ever, but Alma could see that her expression had gotten much lighter after seeing Raid. If she had a tail, it would no doubt have been swaying joyously.
As Alma was about to move on with a nod, however, Raid suddenly said, “Oh, that’s right. A promise is a promise.” He slowly leaned over—and placed a kiss on Eluria’s forehead.
They all fell silent.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, an utterly stunned “What?” tumbled out of Alma’s lips, drawing Raid’s attention.
“Oh. Hey, Alma. Thanks for coming.”
“Okay, hang on. I think greeting me is the last thing you should be doing in this situation.”
“I just came back from my trip. Why would a greeting be out of place?”
“Because there’s something else that needs to be addressed!” Alma snapped. “What the heck? You two have been apart for two months—why are you even more lovey-dovey now?”
Raid shrugged. “Well, Eluria told me that she wanted a kiss from me once I came back from the Second World.”
“You really just said that with such a straight face!” Alma exclaimed in disbelief.
“I mean, what’s so embarrassing about a couple greeting each other with a kiss? Right, Eluria?”
“Y-Y-Yesh! I-Is very normal...!” Eluria squeaked out, her eyes spinning and her face flushed to the tips of her ears.
“Uh, is it just me, or does Eluria look like she’s about to erupt?” Alma asked dryly as she watched the girl sink to her knees.