The blue of the bear’s eyes was immensely strong and kind—as beautiful as the distant sky. That color was entirely unlike the hateful blue that Sophie knew—the blue that scowled and sneered down at others from far up on high. And yet, it was also different from the terrifying hue of blue, as unreadable as the still surface of water.
The color now greeting her was the blue from which all shades of blue in this world had been born...or something like that. The bear’s beautiful blue eyes narrowed in a relaxed droop.
“I wish to know thy name, master.”
“Sophie. Just Sophie.”
“Just Sophie, hmm?” The bear gave another gentle laugh. The next moment, the bear—Azuello—gave a burst of light as Sophie’s chest lit up with a warm, white glow, as if a small star had taken shelter within her. The gentle force that seemed to envelop her body grew smaller and smaller before vanishing entirely.
Even then, Sophie could feel the strong light residing within her chest—within her soul. She couldn’t quite explain it, but she felt invincible, as if she were brimming with power.
“Well then, ‘Just Sophie,’” Azuello began, now speaking aloud, “from this moment onward, thou shalt take pride in thyself as the master of the blue one.”
“Ah!”
Azuello laughed as Lunetta and Livio clutched their chests. Sophie turned around to see Vyce was making an unpleasant expression as well.
“’Tis a favor from me,” Azuello added.
“It feels warm somehow,” Sophie said.
“It would be far too heavy a burden to be unable to converse with your companions. I have granted my divine protection unto them.”
Azuello stood up on two legs with his chest puffed up in pride. “I am a thoughtful god, am I not?”
He was huge. Seeing a massive bear standing up at full height was a powerful sight indeed. But at the same time, there was something perplexingly charming about it as well. All that fur and fluff sure is cute!
“This will elevate the level of any protective spell,” Lunetta said, then turned to Vyce. “Your Majesty, would you mind punching me with all you’ve got?”
“Hell no,” Vyce bit back.
“In that case... Livio, would you mind punching His Majesty with all you’ve got?”
“No way!” Livio replied.
“Even though I’d cast a defensive spell on you?” Lunetta said, looking wholly and completely befuddled. It seemed she was itching to try out the magic so badly she could hardly stand it.
While Sophie could understand the feeling, telling Vyce to punch a small girl or telling Livio to clock a king while he was on the job protecting him was, well...absurd. The fact that she had spoken so calmly with that unchanging expression of hers only made the dissonance that much worse.
“Uhh, if you come with so many amazing benefits, then I think Lunetta might be able to make better use of your power than me...” Sophie started. “Besides, she was the one who taught me the magic so I could heal your wound in the first place...”
While it was a little bit late to be saying such now, Sophie looked up at the wall of fluff standing tall before her, only for Azuello to quietly drop down to all fours. He’d moved carefully enough for his size, so the ground didn’t shake beneath him. Instead, the impact summoned a soft, gentle breeze, making a charming, billowy sound. What? No way—where’d that sound come from?
“It was thy magic that pleased me, master,” Azuello replied. “And moreover, I hold no fondness for witches. They think nothing of our godhood, the whole lot of them.”
“That’s quite all right with me,” Lunetta replied. “I was never fond of gods myself.”
Watching the two of them exchange biting remarks, Sophie could already see a deep chasm between them.
Uh-oh, this could blow up any second! Sophie thought, unnerved.
“Still, thy absurdly honest speech is not without its merits,” Azuello said.
“Nor is your fluffiness either,” Lunetta replied.
The two of them nodded at each other, handling the situation like adults.
Wait, are they adults? Yeah, guess they are. They were trying to find common ground even though they both realized they didn’t mesh with the other, so that made them adults. So even if, for example, they kicked a little too much sand at each other’s feet when they went in to shake hands, if they made it a point to show they’d be ready for a brawl when no one was looking, that probably qualified them as adults. Probably.
“Since things seem to have settled down a bit, what about a bite to eat, Lady Sophie?” Livio suggested.
Still, as far as Sophie was considered, the real adults in situations like this were the people who’d cheerfully smooth things over in a more pleasant direction. Seeing Livio beam from ear to ear at her, Sophie couldn’t help but smile back.
“That sounds great!” Sophie said. “I was getting hungry.”
“Right in the nick of time too,” Vyce added. “Any longer, and my hand woulda turned into butter.” Vyce gave a cynical laugh as Livio and Sophie thanked him and laughed. Lunetta, however, just tilted her head in confusion.
“People turn into butter?” she asked.
“Like hell they do!”
“But you were the one who said that, Your Majesty.”
“It was a metaphor!”
Lunetta looked less than convinced. If Sophie’s memory served her correctly, Lunetta had gotten engaged to Vyce last year when she was sixteen—which meant that she was seventeen now. That would make her two years older than Sophie. When Sophelia had met Lunetta at the evening party that night, she’d come across as a reserved but proper lady. But now, seeing her at ease, Lunetta’s mannerisms seemed somewhat childish.