That night, Sirius came to visit me in my room after dinner. When I told him about Galle Village’s decision and Mirach, he solemnly nodded.
“I understand how Mirach feels,” he murmured, causing me to open my eyes in surprise.
“Oh? You do?”
“I used to think the same way. I always felt most secure sticking to what I knew, referencing my own experiences, and believing that doing things my way was the most reliable. But…you turned everything around in a way I never expected. You developed new magic and enhanced my abilities with spells I didn’t even know existed. After going through that, all I could do was surrender in shock and awe. Like Mirach, I’ve also been changed by you.”
“I changed you, Sirius?”
Uh-oh. I didn’t know exactly how Sirius had changed, but he was known as a perfect “national hero” up until this point. Changes probably weren’t a good thing.
I was starting to get really anxious just thinking about it, but Sirius quickly added, “For the better.”
Oh? Maybe being with me had made him smarter, more respectable, and more capable? Well, that wouldn’t be so bad…
Just the thought of it made me grin, but that’s when Sirus said, “I never realized how much more fun things could be just by having you around.”
“…Fun?” That was not the praise I’d been hoping to receive…
I’d been thinking something more along the lines of Serafina, you’re so talented that everything you get involved in turns out perfectly, but it seemed that I’d placed my expectations too high.
“Serafina, that’s the highest compliment I can give. Up until now, I’ve never been moved by sentiment, nor did I find anything truly enjoyable. It was only after meeting you that I understood how emotions can ignite a new sense of purpose.”
“Hmm. That doesn’t sound like the type of compliments I usually get.”
But despite my pouting, it really did feel like he was genuinely praising me, so I couldn’t help but smile and give him a tight hug.
“Sirius, I’ll do my best to make things even more fun for you! To start, I’m going to switch your right and left boots three times before you notice.”
“That’s…not what I meant,” He sounded exasperated, but I caught the slightest of smiles flicker across his face. Right then and there, I decided to start switching his boots first thing tomorrow.
The next day, after swapping Sirius’s left and right boots just as I’d promised, the meaning of some of what he said finally dawned on me. I turned to Mirach, who was watering the Galle herbs with me, and announced, “Hey, Mirach! Half of the Galle Gold Leaf may be created by imbuing it with a saint’s magic, but the other half is made by infusing it with kindness!”
Mirach’s face grew serious as he nodded.
“You’re exactly right, Princess.”
Whoa, now that was unexpected! And here I thought Mirach, who valued correctness above all else, would say something like “A plant can’t be made of kindness.”
This new Mirach is wonderful too, I thought with a smile, happy to have no need for further argument.