Norn's Point of View
Three days have passed since that incident...
Arthur is still submerged in a deep sleep, though now it seems the worst has passed. However, something about him has changed: his hair has turned a brilliant silver color. According to my older brother, something very similar happened to Sylphie on the day of the Displacement Incident; she says her hair used to be green. Aisha says the same, though I don't have clear memories of that.
Aisha and I have taken turns watching over him constantly. But we aren't alone; there is someone else, a woman who doesn't look much older than the two of us: Roxy, Rudeus's former magic tutor. According to what I've read, she comes from the Migurd demon race.
I haven't had much of a chance to interact with her. The day they arrived, all my attention was focused on my mother, but it's obvious that she worries about Arthur immensely.
As for my mother, she is finally healed, though the after-effects are evident. For some reason, she can no longer perform her spells correctly. According to Roxy's explanation, it seems the time she spent trapped inside that crystal caused a permanent alteration in her mana.
Even if it's a shame she can't use spells well, it doesn't matter; she is now the same person I remembered.
I sat in the chair next to his bed, watching him for any sign that he might wake up... but it remained the same as the previous days.
His hair, now that silver color, made him look a bit different. I wondered if, upon waking, his personality would have changed too.
At that moment, the door opened softly and Aisha entered the room. She brought a bucket of warm water and a clean rag hanging from her arm.
I blinked a few times, confused.
"What... what are you going to do with that?" I asked, pointing at the bucket.
Aisha let out a tired sigh and set the container on the floor next to the bed.
"Well, three days have passed, Norn. The poor guy is starting to smell from the fever sweat," she replied while starting to roll up her sleeves. "We have to clean him up a bit."
"B-b-but...!" I felt my cheeks flush instantly. "Aisha! He's a boy! You can't just... you know, undress him and start cleaning him just like that!"
Aisha paused and looked at me out of the corner of her eye with that mocking smile that drove me so crazy, though this time her eyes didn't have their usual spark; there was worry.
"Oh, Norn, always so puritanical," she said, dipping the rag into the water. "It's a matter of hygiene and health. Besides, he's unconscious. If you're so embarrassed, you can turn around or go see how Mom Zenith is doing in the garden. I'll take care of it."
I looked at Arthur and then at Aisha. I knew she was right, but my heart was pounding with nerves. I stood there, undecided between running out of the room or staying to make sure my sister didn't pull any of her usual tricks, even with Arthur in that state.
"I... I'll stay," I whispered, clenching my fists over my skirt. "But keep the sheet on! Only clean what is necessary!"
Aisha stopped with the rag halfway to the water and looked at me as if I had grown a second head. Then, she let out a little laugh that made me feel even more embarrassed.
"Oh, Norn... really, you're incredible sometimes," she said, shaking her head. "You know I'm only cleaning his upper body, right? I don't know why you're getting so nervous now, we've seen him without a shirt a thousand times when he was training."
"That's different!" I protested, feeling the heat rise up my neck to my ears. "In the yard it's... it's training. Here he is in a bed, sleeping! It's not the same context!"
Aisha simply ignored my complaints and proceeded to wet the rag, wringing it out efficiently.
"Context or not, the sweat is the same," she replied practically. "Besides, if it really bothers you that much, you could help me instead of just standing there like a statue. We'd finish faster that way."
I was speechless. Help her? Me? The thought of touching Arthur's skin while he was so defenseless made me feel a strange pressure in my chest that I didn't know how to explain. I looked at his face again. With that silver hair and the paleness of his skin, he looked like an ice prince out of a fairy tale.
"And why don't you ask Mom Lilia to do it?" I asked, trying to find a logical way out that didn't involve the two of us doing this.
Aisha turned slowly and wagged her finger, wearing a smile that this time wasn't mocking, but strangely solemn.
"Norn, Norn, Norn... you really wouldn't understand," she sighed, turning her gaze back to Arthur. "It's normal for me to do this. A long time ago I swore I would follow him everywhere, that I would serve him as a faithful maid... but he never treated me that way. He never looked at me as an inferior."
I remained silent, surprised by the gravity in her voice.
"That's why he decided something in secret," she continued, wringing the rag once more. "That day, when I gave him that 'good luck' kiss... he decided I would marry him. Well, although I think he had it clear long before that."
My jaw dropped, feeling a sudden hollow sensation in my stomach. I knew Aisha was direct and determined, but hearing her say that out loud, with such certainty, made me feel a sting of... something I couldn't describe. A knot formed in my throat.
"Before you say anything," she interrupted my thoughts while passing the rag over Arthur's chest with a delicacy that was almost devout, "I know you like him too. And you can't say I'm wrong, because I've seen you. I've seen how you behave around him; you get nervous and act completely different."
I felt the blood rush to my face. I tried to protest, but the words got stuck.
"Why don't we do this? I have no prejudice against sharing him with you, if you want," she blurted out with a naturalness that left me in shock.
"B-but...!" I managed to articulate, taking a step back.
"We have our parents' example," Aisha continued, unfazed. "Dad and our mothers are married and you can see they don't have problems. They're happy, aren't they?"
"And...! Why are you suddenly bringing this up!?" I exclaimed, clenching my fists. "It's way too early to talk about marriage!
"Well, it's just to prepare," she replied with a sly half-smile. "Of course, he has the final word on what he will do."
I stared at Arthur. "The idea of sharing him with Aisha is strange, but the thought of not being with him makes me feel... uncomfortable."
...
Arthur's Point of View
Despite the heaviness of my eyelids, the voices of Norn and Aisha brought me back to reality. They were deep in a rather intense discussion regarding "sharing feelings," although my mind was still too foggy to process the details.
Slowly, I managed to open my eyes.
Aisha, who still held the damp rag near my chest, and Norn, who was about to respond to her sister's provocation, froze upon seeing me. The silence lasted only a second before their faces lit up completely.
"I told you I'd only sleep for a little while..." I managed to say with a somewhat raspy voice, forcing a small smile to reassure them.
Hearing me, both let out a sigh of relief that seemed to have been held in for days. Their smiles were the best welcome I could receive
"Arthur! You almost scared us to death!" Aisha exclaimed, though she didn't let go of the rag, as if she were still processing that I was awake.
I made an effort and sat up in bed, feeling a strange lightness in my body. I noticed they were looking at me with a mixture of joy and an amazement I didn't quite understand.
"By the way..." I asked, trying to shake off the mental fog, "has anything important happened during my absence?"
The two looked at each other, as if deciding where to start.
"Well, nothing grave," Norn replied, her cheeks still slightly flushed. "Only that Roxy has decided to work at the University."
"It seems some things never change..." I thought with a pang of relief. Roxy was still seeking her path as a teacher, just like in the memories I had of her.
However, catching my reflection by chance in the window pane, I was stunned.
"Why has my hair changed like that?" I wondered, alarmed. I knew that total mana exhaustion could cause physical changes, like what happened to Sylphie, but the silver tone had no explanation.
"Great Sage, do you know why this is happening?" I inquired internally.
"My, you're still alive..."The voice of the Great Sage resonated with unusual clarity. "I can only tell you that a strange energy is flowing through your body right now. I cannot identify where it originates, but it is altering your genetic and magical structure."
"Strange energy?" I thought, clenching my fist. Feeling my strength, "Is that why I feel so different?'"
At that moment, the door swung wide open and Roxy entered the room. She stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing me sitting up, and the book she was carrying nearly slipped from her hands. Her gaze locked onto my eyes, reflecting a mix of shock and an emotion I couldn't decipher.
"Arthur..." she whispered, her voice trembling.
.....
After that encounter, the news of my awakening spread like wildfire through the mansion. Paul, with a solemnity he rarely showed, gave a deep bow alongside Rudeus, mentioning that they owed me Zenith's life and much more. It made me a bit uncomfortable, but I was glad that joy had finally returned to this house.
The Next Day
The first thing I did was resume my morning training; I needed to move and understand what was happening to my body. Paul, now free from the worry and sadness that had been consuming him, recovered his usual energy and offered to help me practice.
It was in that moment that I realized the magnitude of the change.
My Touki was now much easier to use; it flowed through my muscles as naturally as breathing. During an exchange, I launched an attack with a force I couldn't quite measure. The impact sent Paul flying back several meters. Fortunately, he managed to protect himself with his practice sword, but the look of shock on his face said it all.
My mana, on the other hand, had become unstable. I tried to perform a basic spell, but before it could complete, it exploded. It was like trying to pour a waterfall into a simple glass; the power overload was too much for what the spell required.
I was having a hard time getting used to these changes. Not just the brute strength and the haywire mana, but the image looking back at me from the mirror. Seeing myself with that silver hair was truly strange...
...
Three months later....
Everything has proceeded without problems. "Quiet," I would call it. Too quiet for my liking.
I don't know what that damn Hitogami is plotting. According to Rudeus, he hasn't appeared in his dreams anymore, which is about as comforting as hearing absolute silence in the middle of a battlefield. It is the calm before the storm. Of course, I haven't stayed idle. I have practically surrounded the mansion with a massive amount of anti-disaster magic circles, detection traps, and reinforced barriers.
"Arthur... was it really necessary to put a thermal detection circle in the chicken coop?" Rudeus asked one morning, cradling little Lucy in his arms, who had been born just a few days ago. The baby looked at me with curious eyes while Rudy pointed at a runic engraving glowing under a distracted hen.
"Rudy, if an assassin decides to disguise themselves as a chicken, you'll thank me," I replied without looking away from my latest schematic. "Call me crazy, but I'd rather the house look like a fortress than wait for them to attack us by surprise. Besides, now that Lucy is here, security triples."
I even managed to get Rudeus to hand over his "treasure"—that sacred relic of Roxy's that he guarded so zealously. It was unbearable to me that he had something so intimate of hers, so now it is safely tucked away, far from his perverted hands. Roxy, for her part, is shining in her new position as a professor at the University. I'm very happy for her.
Zenith, now recovered, filled the house with a contagious joy. She spent hours helping Sylphie with the baby, with a smile that lit up the entire room.
"How time flies..." Zenith would say while cradling her granddaughter. "My little Rudeus is already a father. They grow so fast it scares me to blink."
Paul, for his part, finally got a job as a high-ranking guard in the city. Seeing him leave every morning with his polished armor and an expression of pride, instead of the sadness that consumed him in Begaritt, was truly heartening. However, for me, it wasn't all laughter.
For a week now, I have felt like I'm being watched. It isn't the malicious presence of a God, but something more... physical. At first, I thought it was Aisha trying to scare me as usual.
"Got you!" I exclaimed one afternoon, spinning toward a garden bush with a lightning-fast movement and releasing a small pulse of air.
From the vegetation, only a frightened cat emerged and fled in a hurry, disappearing over the fence. Aisha, who was hanging laundry a few meters away, looked at me as if I had finally lost my mind.
"Arthur? If you wanted to play with the cat, you only had to ask. There's no need to use attack magic on the poor animal," she said with a mocking little smile.
A twitch appeared in my right eye. I ran a hand through my silver hair, frustrated. I looked around; the presence had vanished again. It was frustrating. Every time I detected I was being watched and tried to locate the source, the energy signature disappeared instantly. It was someone extremely fast.
In fact, the two months in which, according to Nanahoshi's calculations, Orsted might have appeared have already passed, but there is still no sign of him. I don't know how much longer he will take or if something has happened to him.
As for the visit to Perugius, it has been postponed for several reasons. I am being extremely cautious; I don't know for sure if he might be an apostle of the Man-God, and I don't know what would happen if I presented myself before him unprepared. The books say he has eleven spirits that protect him. If they attacked me, I'm confident I could handle some, but facing eleven at the same time would be practically walking into the wolf's den.
I wanted to mention the subject to Rudeus so he could accompany me, but he has been too busy organizing a triple celebration. He wants to celebrate Zenith's return, the birth of his daughter Lucy, and a delayed celebration for Aisha and Norn's tenth birthdays. Although they are almost fourteen now, Rudy insists it's better to celebrate late than never.
Even for me, there is a celebration, as I have already turned fifteen. Interestingly, Lucy was born on the same day my grandfather found me and established as my birth date, so we will all share the banquet.
Three days later, the celebration finally took place. The Greyrat mansion was transformed into a scene of warmth and joy that contrasted with the tension of the previous months. Zenith and Lilia moved between the kitchen and the main hall to put the finishing touches on the tables, which were laden with delicacies prepared especially for the occasion. Meanwhile, Rudeus settled at the entrance, welcoming each of the guests crossing the threshold with a smile and a welcoming gesture.
The hall quickly filled with familiar faces. Zanoba arrived carrying a box of considerable proportions, his eyes lit with excitement, accompanied by Nanahoshi who, despite her usual reserve, seemed relaxed at the prospect of a home-cooked meal. At the edges of the garden, Rinia and Pursenawasted no time and began devouring the appetizers with their characteristic wild energy.
The atmosphere became even more distinguished with the arrival of Princess **Ariel Anemoi Asura** and **Luke**. The princess radiated a natural elegance that seemed to light up the room, while Luke, at her side, maintained an impeccable posture and an expression of camaraderie toward those present. Their arrival marked the height of etiquette in a party that was otherwise purely familial.
Paul, free from the shadows that tormented him in the past, became the soul of the party, sharing laughs and toasts with Cliff and Elinalise, who enjoyed the banquet in their own way. Sylphie stayed near the light of the fireplace, cradling little Lucy.
Norn and Aisha, wearing dresses that highlighted how much they had grown, took care to ensure no guest felt unattended. Aisha, always observant, cast knowing glances in my direction, while Norn shared moments of tranquility with Roxy, who looked at me whenever she could.
From my position, I watched the Greyrat family reunited, my friends celebrating, and Zenith smiling alongside Lilia; it gave me the certainty that the effort had been worth it.
The night passed amidst music, laughter, and the constant sound of toasts.
End of Chapter