章 430: [81.7] The Shadow of Death Looming on the Horizon
Forcing myself to wake up, I rolled out of bed and pulled on clean clothes. I glanced at the bed and realized Zephyr hadn't crawled inside.
I suddenly felt grumpy.
I know he hasn't kicked the habit of never sleeping alone which could only mean that Zephyr and Alora shared the same bed.
I groaned with my face in my hands, "I'm going to have to be so alert in the future…"
I guess it's a good thing he's still young. I don't have to worry about that for now.
I went to the kitchen and grabbed a few fruits to snack on. When I turned back around, I saw Alora standing directly in my path. I jumped with a scream.
"AHHH!" I held my heart that was beating as if I was about to have a heart attack. I leaned on the frame breathing hard, "Y-You scared me."
Seeing her stare up at me with an obedient expression, I suddenly recalled something I wanted to test. I leaned down to her, "I never had the chance to introduce myself. My name is $^*&@."
Her eyes dulled and her face went heavy. She shook her head to remove herself from the trance and asked, "Sorry, what was that?"
Ah. I guess my theory was wrong.
I let out a disappointed sigh, "Never mind that. What are you doing up so early?"
She stared back at me, "I'm accustomed to waking up at daybreak and it's currently noon."
"I see…" Seeing her stare at me without saying a word, I started to talk to avoid an uncomfortable atmosphere, "What's Zephyr doing?"
"He's still asleep."
I raised an eyebrow, "Did you sleep in the same bed with him last night?"
"Yes ma'am."
I was startled by her abrupt admittance. I thought she would at least hesitate…
I looked her over quickly, taking note of her body language and expression.
She's like a robot.
It's so unlike the Hazel I know.
I cleared my throat, "You can't do that. Didn't I tell you? Boys and girls must sleep separately-"
"-Unless they are married." She showed me her 'ring' that was around her finger and added in a respectful tone, "I never forget an order."
"..."
An order?
"You can't get married until you are at least 18. If you both still feel the same way, then I will allow it." I paused, "...And make sure to get a proper ring from him."
She paused and looked at her ring before nodding back at me.
I felt something was wrong and added, "That's not an order. Just so you know, I don't give orders. I am your guardian, but I'm not in control of you. Although you should listen to me, I will never force you or use extreme punishments."
I have no idea what she faced in her childhood, but judging from her actions and emotionless expression, I have a feeling it wasn't good.
Her eyebrows furrowed then relaxed. She looked at me and asked in an even tone, "Do you have anything for me to do?"
I tilted my head, "Like what?"
"I'm efficient in everything. Tailoring, cleaning, cooking." She paused and then added, "My battle training is also extensive. I can provide protection or-"
"-Alora." I quickly interrupted, "Remember what I said when you first got here? No violence."
"..."
Of course she didn't forget.
I suddenly got an idea, "Atta. Come here."
Atta suddenly appeared, her eyes twinkling from having been called. I silently praised her fast response and pulled Alora to stand in front of me.
"Alora has too much energy. Bring her to your training grounds and have fun."
Atta jumped up and down, excited to finally have someone to beat up.
I quickly added, "And remember! No murder! It's only training in hand-to-hand combat. No removal of limbs and Alora, no use of Holy Magic or weapons."
Alora stared back at me and then gave a single nod.
Watching Atta pull Alora off, I picked my fruit up from the ground and went to my napping tree. Astra walked out of her room rubbing her eyes and cuddled up to me.
I rubbed her hair, "Still sleepy?"
"I hate sleeping…" She mumbled, "I miss so much when I'm asleep."
I peeled part of the orange and pushed it into her mouth, "Just use that time to get better at controlling dreams."
She munched on the orange, "But when I fall asleep without wanting to, I don't have any dreams."
I ruffled her soft hair, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." She turned to look at me with her jeweled eyes, "Does Mama want to dream?"
I smiled back at her, "Sure. We have time. Alora and Atta are training so they'll stay busy."
Astra looked concerned, "Is she going to be okay?"
"Yeah, Alora won't hurt her."
"...I meant will Alora be safe with Atta. You know how crazy she gets when someone consents to training with her."
I paused with a smile on my face, "Ah… Um. I hope so."
In the dreamland, Astra brought me to the gazebo by the lake. We had tea with the fake Cyrus as usual, but somehow I wasn't feeling it today. I stood up from the table and walked over to the lake. I stared out over the detailed horizon, contemplating the future.
Astra noticed something off and walked over to me, "What is it, Mama?"
"I'm just wondering if it's possible to change the future…"
"Why wouldn't it be? It hasn't happened yet."
I looked back at her innocent expression and let out a sigh, "It has for me."
She tilted her head and looked at me in confusion.
Seeing such a cute look on her face, I reached my hand out to rub the top of her head. "Astra. One day if something happens to me, I want you to remember that you will find me again. Trust in your instincts even if I don't know who you are. No matter how much everyone fights in my absence, it's up to you to watch over your siblings and make sure they get along."
Her eyebrows pinched together in concern, "I don't like Mama talking about this."
"I don't like talking about this either."
Especially since it means I would be dead.
"Although I have lived out my natural years as a human, I'm not ready to die." I turned away from her and smiled at the sunset over the lake, "I have to get back to your father first."
As I closed my eyes, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that it was a wish that would never come true.
"Don't worry, Mama. I will keep working hard so that we can meet Papa again."
I opened my eyes somberly, "Astra… You are such a good girl."
Astra nodded enthusiastically, "That's right! And Astra would do anything for Mama."
I chuckled, "I will have to count on you in the future. There will come a time when I will need a really good dream from you."
Astra took my hand with a beaming grin, "I will always give Mama a good dream."
I smiled back at her, "I need you to show me a dream of a child who got to grow up and live a happy life."
Her smile fell as she stared back in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"You'll understand when the time comes." I rubbed her head, "Now come on, it's almost time for class to start."
After we returned, I saw Zephyr walking into the courtyard yawning and mumbling to himself. I clapped my hands like an order beckoning a dog, "Come on! Time to start the day."
Asmonious walked out of the kitchen and handed Zephyr his late breakfast. Seeing that Rose had no intention of leaving Koale's room, I grabbed a plate and went to her door. I knocked on it, "Can I come in?"
I waited for a response but heard nothing. I let out a sigh and was about to put down the food in front of the door when it suddenly opened up by a crack. Taking it as a sign of admittance, I walked in slowly. "Rose?"
I could see her pink snake eyes from a dark corner as she stayed in her snake form, curled into a ball. My nose suddenly curled up from the smell, "Rose… I know it's hard right now, but you need to at least bathe. It's not healthy to keep living like this."
She stared back at me without response.
I went to work cleaning up the room, taking care of the piles of dirty dishes, most of which still had food on the plates. I gave her a concerned look, but she coiled tighter into herself showing that she didn't want to talk. In the end, I had to leave her to bring the dirty dishes to the kitchen.
As soon as I walked out, I saw Alora and Astra walking into the courtyard. I dropped the plates to the ground, "WHAT HAPPENED!?"
Alora and Atta were both black and blue, covered in welts and bruises. Their swollen eyes and broken noses were so frightful I felt the pain on my own face.
How are they still standing!?
Alora started healing abruptly and Atta was not far behind. In no time at all, they were both back to normal.
I stared at them slack-jawed, "I knew Atta had demonic healing, but I didn't think Alora would too…"
Alora and Atta immediately ran over to me and started cleaning up the mess I just caused. I quickly stopped them, "Don't touch those with your bare hands! You'll cut yourselves!"
They both straightened up and stared at me.
"..."
Why do I feel like I am amassing a small army?
I pinched my eyebrows together and motioned for them to sit down, "Grab some food to eat and sit down already."
They both scurried off to follow my instructions, almost too diligently. I shrugged in exasperation and went to clean up the shattered plates.
Asmonious was cleaning up Zephyr's messy face so accustomed to doing so that he didn't even realize what he was doing. Alora came out to see this and her expression changed. She suddenly stomped over and slammed her food down between the two. They both jumped, surprised by her sudden appearance. She moved a chair to sit in between them, but instead of eating she only glared at Asmonious.
"Mama…" Zephyr leaned over to me and whispered, "Why doesn't Big Brother Moni and Alora not get along?"
I looked at the culprit in question, "I wonder…"
クリエイターの想い 
Nekoru
Nekoru To sum up Reika's feelings:
She's from the future where it is known that the Great Fairy was killed by Alora. This was confirmed by all of the demon children.
After losing Lovi/Koale, Reika starts to think there is no chance of changing the future and is trying to accept her upcoming death.
She puts her trust in Astra, who recognizes her in the future. And as you remember, Astra took this job very seriously.
So if you think it's a plot hole that Astra and Hazel knew Reika in the future, it's not... And that's all I have to say~
See you next week!
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