Aiden sent a gust of wind inside the cave to check for any more loose rocks, and sure enough, a bunch fell from the roof, but still, at least none of it was a huge chunk of stone that compromised the structure of the roof... At least he hoped so.
"Tsk. Gifted, but such inefficiency. I'll ensure that he'll use 1/100th of the mana on this meager of a spell than he is doing right now by the end of all this. Right now, it's almost all mana, not using Aether much."
Silently standing on a nearby crystallized pine tree's branch, Zephy determined.
The use of inefficient mana was gnawing his brain out more than he liked to admit.
His eyes were fixed on the little yet durable body of Aiden, for a prince, who was figuring things out in a frantic, working his brain to the utmost limit so he could have something resembling a shelter by the time the sun completely set.
Zephy doubted him when Aiden had told him that he had the memories of his previous life. He had thought that the Kid had lost his mind from the tragedy.
But the intelligence he had shown... it wasn't normal for a kid who had barely been alive for what? Ten years or so?
That's like a blink of an eye for a being like him.
And now, seeing him move and work in dirt, grass, and snow, without any kind of discomfort or disgust, basically proved his statement.
Ain't no prince who never went outside his castle even once is moving like that. Not a chance.
Still, previous life, huh...
Zephy found the idea fascinating. He even wondered what he might have been in his previous life before he became a phoenix, a creature that could revive itself as long as even a speck of it is left.
For him, the previous life was battling against the Demon King, at the exact point where this life started.
The concept of another kind of previous life was alien to him. Yet it was intriguing.
Would he have been some other kind of creature in that life?
Was that life even on Melux or in some other world?
Did he have family and friends?
How would he have died in that life?
Did he die happy or full of regrets?
Millions of such thoughts to keep his wise brain busy. Not like that any of those things mattered when he didn't know about his previous life, but it was something interesting.
Something that he felt he wanted to think more about.
And who would be a better conversation partner than a Kid who claims to remember his past life?
His gaze followed Aiden with that ominous-looking Scythe in his hand, trying to pull a stabbing piece of Rock with it out of the ground.
No regard for respect or attachment of any kind, knowing it is a possession that many of the great names from history treasured more than their own family.
He just used it as he seemed fit.
After making several ungodly types of facial expressions and exerting his strength, he pulled the rock out.
A genuine smile on his lips followed the action.
Then followed up with a frown instantly as he realised that now he had to move that huge rock.
Aiden turned towards Zephy and, using his almost ethereal level of Charm, pleaded.
"Zephy, help me. You are just sitting there while I am doing all the work. It's not fair!"
Even though Zephy was thinking of letting Aiden do all the work himself to prepare his body for the upcoming days of training.
He also realised that maybe if he let the boy do all of this by himself, he might get seriously injured, which, sure, he could heal in a second, but a little soft part of his heart wanted Aiden to rest a bit, especially after all the things he had gone through in the last three days or so.
Of course, he realised that a part of that feeling was because of the Absurdly High Charm of the Kid, that it was having an effect even on him.
Tsk. I hope he realizes how absurdly powerful that ridiculous Charm is.
It could crumble countries from within without even lifting a weapon on his own if he played his cards right.
"Zephy, help me. I'll build you a separate place inside to nap on. Please, help me!" Aiden pleaded yet again in a low screech as he feebly attempted to move the rock out of the way to show how much he was struggling.
"Alright, Alright. I'll help, Kid. It wouldn't hurt to move these bones after so long."
Zephy said, flying towards the cave to ...move the rock.
**********
"Alright, you pile up all the rocks near the entrance, and I'll go ahead to get some tree bark and logs to cover up the gate, and have fuel to light a fire," Aiden said, resting the handle of the Death Scythe on his shoulder.
A line of dirt goes across his forehead.
Patches of it smeared near his cheeks, and all over his clothes that were already not in so good condition.
"Sure, sure. However, you don't feel anything using that thing as you like, huh... You know that was the same thing that Alfred used to fight the Demon King, too, right?"
Zephy wrapped all of the rocks in the snow before lifting the snowball into the air, slowly landing it in front of the Cave's opening.
Magic's really convenient when you can control it so well, huh...
"I know. But if they wanted me to use this thing in a certain way, they should have given me an Art to follow."
Swinging the Scythe around like a stick, Aiden announced.
"I got none. Which means I got to use it however I want."
With a smirk, Aiden turned his back. The Death Scythe back to resting on his shoulder.
"Oh, and Zephy, before I finish chopping up the wood, could you arrange these stones near the opening of the Cave to cover it a little. Leave a hole in the top to let the smoke of fire out."
"Oi, Brat—!" Zephy retorted, or at least tried to, but Aiden was already off running towards the fallen trees.
"I am grateful for your help, Zephy~" Aiden's voice echoed at a distance.
"Tsk. A Brat through and through."
Zephy complained under his breath before silently going back to the work assigned to him.
He was surprisingly diligent in the work, despite what his behavior or words might have suggested.
**********
"Now, what tree would be the best..." Aiden's eyes roamed around in search of the best firewood and a bunch of logs that could cover up the gate of the cave before getting caught by the Wooden Dragon Doll sitting softly over some distance away.
He walked towards Elsie's grave and, bending down, whispered to the ground.
"It's not even been a day, and I am already missing you and everyone else, Elsie. But don't worry, I have taken the first step towards fulfilling my promise."
"Oh, you know, right now, building somewhere to spend the night. It's just in front of here. And Zephyrix, yes, that Zephyrix, is helping cover up the entrance of it."
"Make sure to prepare yourself to cover up for my antics again soon."
"Till then, rest well."
"...Rest well."
Wiping a single tear away from his eyes, Aiden got back up and walked towards a tree nearby to do the task he came for.
The Blade of the Death Scythe was sharp enough to go through the crystallized pine trunks in one swoop.
Shaving the bark was also extremely easy. It was proving to be a convenient tool.
[Host, that's a weapon, though.]
"I know, but it's more useful as a tool for now."
Finishing all of the work and gathering some moss, leaves, and other things to lie on, Aiden came to another stop.
Now, how to carry all these heavy logs that I cut back to the cave...
[Host, I think we both know what to do.]
Right, I guess we do.
[Yes, we do.]
Aiden took a deep breath and...
"Zephy!!!"
**********