n

n

nThere was a custard pudding rabbit on each of them.

nOne was a rabbit with one ear dropping - it had serious eyes but it was smiling smugly, sneering at something.

nThe second one was a rugged rabbit with two ears perked up - it had half of its face all jagged up.

nThe third and last one was a rabbit that had both of its ears dropping, and was adorably fuzzy.

nZoemi offered the smug bunny to Teo, happy bunny to Patishi, and he left the rugged bunny for himself.

n

"A-a...!! Ah! B-big brother...! Thank you, big brother, Zoemi! You didn't have to!

"

nPatishi jumped with joy and took the plate offered to them.

nBut Teo held back and only starred at the smug rabbit on her plate in hesitation.

n

"Did you make one for my sister and the prince...?

"

nShe asked the black-haired boy, without looking up at him.

n

"No. Those three and the one for my master are the only ones I made.

"

nZoemi did only a limited amount of the custard pudding and the three rabbits were the experiments he did before attempting to finish up the cat.

nHe honestly didn't have the time or patience to do even one more.

n...on a side note, his rabbit wasn't all rugged up because he originally intended for it to resemble himself - it was just that he made it with all the pieces leftover from shaping the other desserts, giving it a jagged right side of his face.

n

"...I see...

"

n

"...?

"

nTeo muttered and slowly took the offered plate but she immediately put it on the counter behind her.

n

"Are you feeling bad about it? Don't worry - you are the one who always cooks for the others so you deserve to spoil yourself from time to time.

"

nZoemi also put back his plate and with a gentle smile on his face reached his hand towards Teo's head.

n*pomf*

n

"...?!

"

nBut suddenly Teo jumped at the black-haired boy and hugged him with such force that his bones creaked dangerously under her iron embrace.

n

"...thank you...

"

nThe short brown-haired girl hugged Zoemi even harder and started nuzzling her face against his chest.

n

"...ghhhh...!

nZoemi instantly became blue from the lack of oxygen – it wasn't as if he was embarrassed -he actually could not breathe because of the power of the brown-haired girl WHO DIDN'T REALIZE SHE HAD ACTIVATED HER EARTH ENCHANTMENTS AND WAS LITERALLY SQUEEZING THE LIFE OUT OF HIM!

n|Master... I'm so sorry... Your servant won't be able to protect you anymore...|

nZoemi's vision started going dark...

nEverything was fading...

nAh, what a tragic fate...! To die not from the attack but from the show of the affection!

n|...?|

nBut the darkness that started enveloping the scarred boy revealed the entire world full of shadows – everything had its own unique shadows, humans, animals, even spells – the murky dark kaleidoscope was swirling around as they all were moving around in a ceaseless dance.

nBarely conscious Zoemi reached out his thought to the one shadow that seemed the most appropriate - even though it belonged to a spell that was currently was trying to wring out his bones out of his flesh...

n

"Mis Teo, stop! Your hurting big bro...! E-eh?!

"

nPatishi grabbed onto Teo's and tried to pull her away but before their action had any effect, the black-haired boy's body turned dark as if he suddenly walked under a shadow of a grand old tree...

n

"Teo... do you know you are using... physical augmentation enchantments?

"

nZoemi pried the girl's arms away from his body just enough so that he could freely breathe, and asked.

n

"...! Ah! S-sir Zoemi...! I am so sorry!

"

nThe short brown-haired girl in a butler's uniform flinched and gasped in realization.

n

"I-I am so sorry, sir Zoemi...! A-are you alright...?!

"

nTeo released him and stepped aside with an extremely guilty expression and face bright red from shame.

n

"...

"

nThe black-haired girl didn't answer right away, looking at his own hands just as the layer of shadow disappeared from his body.

n

"S-sir Zoemi...?

"

nTeo asked in a pitiful voice, clenching her hands together, afraid to look up and see whether the scarred boy is furious at her or not – of which she was sure that he was.

n

"You have to be more careful, you know? The earth magicians are the strongest in close combat – being clumsy is cute, but you don't need to go that far.

"

nZoemi approached the girl, smiling softly, and started patting her head.

n

"B-big brother...?

"

n

"...shhh...

"

nPatishi spoke up voicing their concern, clearly wanting to ask about the shadow, but the black-haired boy only put his finger to his mouth and winked at them.

n---

nSometime later, Zoemi arrived at his master's room and politely knocked on the door.

nHis body was still aching all over.

n|That shadow thing... I... is that what teacher Kros was talking about...? I most certainly reached out and used the shadow of Teo's spell... I need to look into it... how does that even work exactly...|

nHe thought to himself with concern, looking to the side.

nBut, in the end, he was about to see his master - he had to keep up the proper cheerful appearance!

n

"...whew...

"

nSo, the black-haired boy took a few deep breaths to compose himself and entered the room after knocking.

n

"...hmmmm...

"

nMiriette wasn't waiting sitting by the desk as usual – instead, she was standing up in the middle of the room and carefully inspecting the school uniform that she was wearing in the mirror.

n

"My lady...?

"

nZoemi asked curiously.

n

"Is something wrong with your clothes?

"

nThere, of course, shouldn't be anything wrong with it since each day Zoemi was carefully preparing his master's clothes - but still - something seemed to be bothering Miriette.

n

"Zoemi. Be honest with me. Do you think it's fine for me to go to that night walk with Horeo just like that?

"

nShe asked with hesitation, lifting her skirt just a little bit.

n

"My lady...? Haven't you decided to go in the green one-piece with lace around the shoulders...?

"

nZoemi tilted his head, not quite sure what was this about.

nHe was sure that everything was already decided on the day before when the two of them had a talk about Miriette's date and everything!

n

"But I won't be able to wear stockings with that dress! It will look weird!

"

n|Really? No, it will not! Or... is my taste just bad...? Would it seriously look bad? Or maybe it's a cultural thing...?|

nThe black-haired attendant froze in place, furrowing his brows while looking at the girl's shapely legs.

n