Fíliya gazed at the moonlight outside the window, lost in thought.
"Isn't this moonlight a bit too bright? Could it be some strange celestial phenomenon."
she mumbled to herself, her drowsiness gradually fading.
Of course, if she really had to sleep, Fíliya could force her eyes shut; after all, she possessed the "Magic of Peaceful Slumber." But a sudden interest had piqued her curiosity, making her want to see what kind of scene was unfolding outside.
So she got out of bed and, barefoot, walked slowly to the window.
"This is truly magnificent."
What met Fíliya's eyes was a colossal full moon... at least half again as large as any moon in her memory. The presence of such a massive light source made the usually gentle moonlight seem piercing.
"So the moon can get this big."
Fíliya watched the sky with great interest. After all, for someone like her who preferred to be hunched over a desk, opportunities to gaze up at the sky were few and far between.
"I've heard that humans in ancient times had a habit of gazing at the starry sky, and could even draw inspiration from the stars and moonlight to sublimate their magic... I wonder if I could have such a fortuitous encounter."
Miss Fíliya continued to mutter to herself.
She watched silently for a good while. It was clear she was truly trying to glean some revelation from those brilliant sources of light.
But reality rarely went as she wished. She had remained in this state for an hour, and aside from still marveling at how beautiful the giant light source above her was, she had gained nothing else.
Thus, Miss Fíliya had no choice but to retract her gaze and turn her eyes toward the familiar ground.
Hmm?
As she looked down, she discovered a curious connection.
For in the glow of the moonlight, a long shadow belonging to the massive building stretched out across the ground below her window.
And at the furthest end of that shadow, the faint outline of what looked like a human figure was visible.
What did this mean?
Without even needing to think, Fíliya understood at once: someone was standing on the roof, and the moonlight was casting their solitary shadow.
Solitär.
An answer formed in Fíliya's mind. Although she didn't know why Solitär would have the leisurely mood to go to the roof to admire the moon, the fact was right before her eyes, and she had to believe it.
Could it be Aura? From the very beginning, that possibility didn't exist. She couldn't believe that Aura would engage in such an elegant, human-like activity.
But just in case, I should verify it, Fíliya thought.
She then closed her eyes and immersed herself in her mana perception. She had rarely used this skill since coming to Solitär's side; after all, there was little point. Being in Solitär's hands meant that any danger other than Solitär herself was eliminated for her by Solitär, so she was more than happy to conserve her mana.
Although Miss Fíliya was no longer who she used to be—in the short span of just over two months, her mana was no longer in its previous, barren state—she still maintained her consistent principle of saving whenever possible.
To use an analogy, she had gone from being a pitiful anemic patient, having just recovered from a serious illness, to reaching the level of a normal person.
If that analogy was still a bit too abstract, Miss Fíliya could put it more bluntly: her current total mana was now about the same as Miss Ehre's.
After releasing her mana to perceive her surroundings, a helpless, wry smile immediately appeared on the corner of Miss Fíliya's mouth.
Right. Of course, she knew that Mana Detection had a very inconvenient aspect. Namely... the moment you perceived someone else, it often meant they could also detect your perception.
And that was precisely the situation now.
When Fíliya confirmed that Solitär was indeed standing on the roof, she also met Solitär's mana. That slightly aggressive mana seemed to be questioning her, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Why aren't I asleep? I was about to ask you the same thing.
Miss Fíliya shook her head and began to put on her outer clothes.
As the saying goes, "paths cross in narrow places." Since she and Solitär were so tacitly appreciating the same moonlight, wouldn't it be too impolite not to go over and say hello?
With this thought in mind, Fíliya slowly walked out the door.
This time, however, she didn't jump out the window and use Flight Magic to fly directly to the roof. Instead, she obediently took the stairs, climbing onto the roof through the top-floor skylight.
It seemed she was well aware that in a situation like this, observing certain romantic protocols was quite necessary.
Once she was standing on the roof, that very familiar figure once again entered Miss Fíliya's sight.
The Solitär in her eyes was currently hugging her legs with both arms, her whole body curled up as cute as a ball of yarn.
When Fíliya drew near to Solitär, Solitär didn't turn her head, continuing to gaze at the starry sky above.
"Mmm, the moon certainly is big today."
The first words out of Miss Fíliya's mouth were somewhat atmosphere-ruining.
At this, Solitär turned her head, slightly displeased.
"Your choice of words... Shouldn't a human say 'the moonlight is beautiful' at a time like this?"
"Is that so? Does the word 'big' really ruin the mood!?"
Miss Fíliya covered her mouth with a look of astonishment. As for whether her performance was genuine, only the ghosts knew.
And Solitär, looking at Fíliya's seemingly slow-witted posture, felt even more helpless. She couldn't be bothered to say more and simply looked back at the sky.
"Hey, Solitär? Why did you turn away again? Look at me."
Fíliya pouted, her tone slightly insistent.
This girl was just that self-centered and hypocritical. She felt nothing when she looked down on others, but the moment she initiated an interaction only to be slighted in return, she would feel a little frustrated.
"Why should I look at you? You're not as pretty as the stars."
Solitär still didn't turn back.
Uh... Fíliya's expression looked as if she had taken a blow. But she quickly began to console herself, and who knows if she'd learned a trick or two about changing one's mood from Aura.
Hmm, Solitär said I'm not as pretty as the stars, not that I'm not pretty. So I'm still pretty.
she thought to herself, and was immediately relieved.
That's right. How could human beauty possibly compare to the beauty of nature?
"Fíliya, do you know anything about astrology?"
Just as Fíliya's mood was returning from its low point, Solitär's words reached her ears.
Well now, isn't this nice? Solitär is starting a conversation. It seems she's really forgiven me.
A smile returned to Fíliya's face.
But her reply seemed to lack much emotional intelligence. She was heard to say:
"Astrology? What's that? Can you eat it?"
_____
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