I feel as though I’ve been sleeping for a very long time.
I sit up, as if to proclaim to myself and the world that I can sleep no longer. When I open my eyes, however, I look around to see not my dorm room, nor my old room at my parent’s house, but a space that could only exist in dreams. I blink several more times to ascertain if I’m actually awake.
I’m lying in a soft, fluffy bed that a commoner like me would never be able to sleep in. Flower print paper covers the walls, in which are set a large window and a door leading out to a balcony. Fine curtains hanging halfway over them both sway softly in a gentle breeze. There’s a dressing table embossed with gold, atop it a mirror. A large, two-person sofa accompanied by a small table to one side is also here. On the table rests a vase, holding a single couplet flower.
My eyes drift back to the bed. I’m wearing white silky pajamas. I notice that there’s this weight resting on me, somewhere around my knees. I’m so drowsy that I hadn’t even noticed at first; but lying there—with the most adorable expression on her face—is my friend, fast asleep.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
“A whole month?!”
“Yes, you were asleep for a whole month, dear; we were all—I was so worried—!”
I’m still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes when Maris, who’s just woken up and lifted her head off of my knees, embraces me with tears in her eyes. She holds me so tight it gets a little difficult to breathe. I feel her tears drip down onto my chest as she holds me close.
“Your hair even turned brown! No one could feel any magic left within you, and so we all thought your life was in terrible danger! You gave us all quite the fright!”
“My hair turned brown?”
“Well, yes, but three days ago it went back to blue.”
According to Maris, a full month has passed since the day I collapsed in the stadium. I’ve been sleeping all the while, not opening my eyes even once. The Royal Doctor herself had used her healing magic on me, but to no avail. They’d tried so many other ways to wake me up, but all their efforts had been for naught. Time passed on by while I just slept. Or so Maris explains, in between sniffles.
The room I’m in now is not inside a private home, nor is it a room in Maris’s mansion; I’ve apparently been sleeping in a guest room inside the castle itself.
“A little while after you used your magic, what appeared to be glowing splinters of crystal poured down from the sky. Then, when the splinters would brush against those who were frozen over, the crystalline ice covering them quickly began to melt away.”
So under the power of some other spell...the moment those shards fell to the ground, everyone covered in ice came back to life. Is it because he had absorbed the blood of everyone into his body? Following the downpour of light, the demons vanished as well, or so Maris tells me.
“After order was restored, the King rewarded all those who had been courageous enough to fight against the demons. He gave each fighter one million pegalos, as well as granting them each one wish, proportionate to their achievements. Of course, he could only grant wishes that were possible, obviously.”
“What did everyone wish for?”
“Satanás and Benjamine were granted a house to live in together.”
“What about Nikeh?”
“She comes from a family of merchants, does she not? Rather than something for herself, she wanted to increase the status of her family, and so they were granted a title.”
“A title?”
“A barony, in fact. A particular domain had been recently vacated by its lord. Her parents were very enthusiastic about becoming landowners.”
“That makes Nikeh a baroness, doesn’t it?”
“It does indeed, ohoho! I’ll need to teach her the ins-and-outs of high society, and I shall teach them to her well and properly!” Breathless with anticipation, she looks as though she’s just found a new toy.
Zozo, Mr. Alkes, and the other five Knights had all received their one million pegalos. The Knights had all been promoted a rank, and the two from Harré each had their wishes granted. Prince Zenon had wished for nothing in particular, and had taken no money in reward either. Instead, he had suggested replacing some of the Royal Ministers. He helped me so much in the fight against Städal, but gets nothing in return? I simply can’t stand the idea that he, who did so much for everyone, is rewarded with nothing...
“Sir Alois, of course, did exactly what I’d expect of him—”
“He’s alive? Maris, is he alive?! Tell me!”
“Y-Yes! He’s alive and well! My darling Sir Alois can’t simply go off and die! Oh, goodness, that reminds me—this is no time for us to be having a leisurely chat. I must summon the Royal Doctor to see you immediately!”
Maris hurries outside the room. I can’t help but laugh at the sight of her getting all flustered as she hustles and bustles.
A gentle breeze brushes against my skin. My eyes are drawn to the window; beyond it lies a beautiful garden, and even further out in the distance I see the entirety of the Kingdom spreading out to the horizon. Just as Maris said, it really does look like I’m inside the castle. From what I can see through the window, there’s not even a single ice shard anywhere in the Kingdom. The knowledge puts my mind at ease.
I look down at my palms. I’d thrown all my magic at him with that spell, and it resulted in some predictable side effects. I wonder, though, can I still...? I whisper the incantation. Instantly, shards of ice materialize in the air just above my palms. I let out a sigh of relief. Glad to see that hasn’t changed.
So I’ve been sleeping for a whole month. I’d been entirely drained of all my magic. Perhaps the reason I was asleep that long was because my body needed to regenerate it back. My hair turned back to blue before I woke up, after all, so that’s likely proof enough that I was regenerating magic in my sleep. I pause, realizing something. Isn’t it odd to say that my hair “turned back to blue?” My hair’s original color is brown. But I suppose now blue hair is my new normal. I like this “normal.” I like how I am now.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
An impromptu party is to be held in honor of my awakening. I told them that I didn’t want them to do something so grand and ridiculous as all that for me, but I’m told that while order has been restored throughout the Kingdom, not a single party nor banquet has been held to celebrate the victory over the demons—and that’s all been because I, one of the “heroes,” had still been asleep. Well, I can hardly turn down a party now, given that explanation. Everyone waited for me to wake up before having fun? I retract the tasteless refusal I’d made and immediately agree to attend the festivities.
Invitations are sent out to everyone in the Kingdom, regardless of noble status. The Royal Isle is full of commoners as the whole island transforms into one giant ballroom. The school is sent floating up into the sky, and the private residences of the Ministers are rearranged to ring the edge of the Isle. Preparing for the positively massive party turns out to be quite the ordeal, beyond anything I’ve ever seen before—and yet, in just a day and a half, everything is set up and ready to go. It’s almost scary just how quickly they managed to figure it all out.
Today’s the day of the party. The Doctor took a look at me yesterday, and she said that while “everything appears to be in order,” I should take it easy for a little while, since I’ve been asleep for a month. This means I’m being forced to remain sitting down most of the time, including right now. Speaking of which, Maris and I are currently waiting backstage for the party’s opening ceremonies to begin. A stage has been constructed next to the castle, from which the King is going to address the audience before the festivities formally get underway. Since I’ve been sleeping for so long, I’d very much like to get up and stretch my legs, but I refrain from doing so, mostly because I don’t want Maris to worry about me. Quietly, patiently, I sit, leaning against the castle walls as I look around. Likely because the King’s throne is on the stage, not many people are walking nearby. The throne’s not the only thing deterring curious passersby. With those Knights standing guard all over the place, no one’s going to so much as even look at me sitting here.
“Are you quite sure you’re alright without a dress, dear? It certainly is like you to dress like that, but still, perhaps the occasion calls for something else...?”
I decline Maris’s offer to loan me one of her dresses. While everyone else looks to be dressed up in formal wear, I alone am dressed otherwise; I’m wearing my Harré uniform.
I’d thought it lost forever during our fight with Städal, but Benjamine and Satanás had found it for me amid the ruins of the stadium. Maris told me they’d brought it up to my room, leaving it and a letter lying next to my pillow.