“Are you sure you will not stay here, young master?” Asked Butler Lebrut as he held the manor door open.

Days had already passed since Naell's family had left for Beryldot. He had managed to priorly accompany them until the Village of Noeiadia where they then stayed for one whole night.

Much to his expectations, both Lily and Lilia enjoyed the village just as much as they enjoyed Taglagas. It had, what they called, local delicacies that the capital and their estate were lacking.

And the very next morning, they bid farewell to one another. Now only Lebrut and some employees originating from Beryldot remained.

Together with the employees given by the nobles of Taglagas, they all persistently pleaded for Naell and Owly to remain at the mansion instead of returning to the dormitory.

All their hopes had even risen, especially when Naell showed a face of reluctance as he said,

“Yes, I wish to but…”

Some servants began urging him to stay even more. They all misunderstood that his hesitation stemmed from either his past of infamy or now heroic fame.

[ But? ]

‘Please do stay here young master, we know you now!‘ Some thought.

[ Don’t worry about us being here! ] Others uttered.

Yet all their hopes were then shattered when Naell immediately spoke,

“No…I meant… the dormitory is way closer to my school so… BYE.”

“...”

How wrong they all were that most of them were left speechless upon the duo's exit.

"Do visit us often then, Young master Naell and Young master Owly." Said Butler Lebrut with his usual bow.

He was bewildered as well but he was the only one who was quite used to the young master’s antics.

• Are you sure you wanna leave this mansion, HOOT? •

• Yes, do you wanna stay? •

• No, it’s too far, HOOT. •

By that exchange alone, it seemed that Naell’s laziness latched onto Owly. The mansion and the school were frankly not that far away with both located in the center circle afterall.

After walking for a few minutes, they finally arrived at EDSD. Even with his untimely break, nothing had changed much with Naell's daily routine; with ease he went back into the habit of going to the library, eating, and then “library time” once again.

Likewise, Owly was doing the same; eating, library, loitering, hanging out with the protagonist party, eating, and eating yet again with the addition of Utua's entourage.

By then, since all of them knew Owly could talk, the young bird broke all barriers and became close buds with the others, especially Septh and Casper.

As for Naell, sometimes they would disturb him in the library yet upon seeing how serious he would be whilst reading, they often refrained from doing so.

Furthermore, their group was also quite busy managing their own "Naell" (Lesjon). That was Naell and Owly's everyday life with which both of them were truly content with.

Hence when a meeting was suddenly held by the protagonist's party, Naell and Owly had conflicting feelings.

By then, they were all at the lady's dormitory. To be precise, at Namiku's room. Yet for Naell to call it a room would be a great-great understatement.

'So this is the caliber of the upper floor.' He thought in complete awe.

Smooth tiles glistened from the lights of the hanging candelabras, reflecting their hue upon every surface. Even the walls had no stray pigment nor dirt upon their cream coating other than their own.

Dividing the room into two was a large bookshelf the size of a massive divider, designed as per Namiku's tastes with a collection of artifacts and intricate figurines line up.

From the side where Naell just entered, the area could be considered the lounge and office space. That part of the room was carpeted with wool imported from the East. Its pattern was elegant and gorgeous yet it by no means stood out sorely.

On the right, atop the warm wool, and beside the bookshelf was the large couch where Andrew and the others sat. They all leisurely rested as Naell continued to scan the room.

To his left, mirroring the sofa was a sizeable dark desk of agarwood, a kind of material native to the forests of the East. It had engravings that felt almost too alien from the rest of the school’s aesthetic, yet in that room it was perfect.

Finally, on the other side partly covered by the towering bookshelf, was Namiku's sleeping area. A grandiose bed with several pillows and warm layers of blankets peeked through, her dressers stood at the far end, noticeably tall and made of a different kind of exotic wood.

Even without seeing it all too well, Naell deep in his heart knew- that, was an S-tier sleeping area. Among the intricacies, decorative plants were present throughout the whole room, all of them once again, from the East where Namiku hailed.

"Is something wrong Naell?" Note asked, seeing him look around silently perhaps a tad bit too long.

Yet he did not reply to Note's words and could only think to himself,

'This- this is an entire real estate showroom!!'

Namiku, slightly embarrassed upon seeing Naell's expression of disbelief, then said as she waved both hands,

"Uhmm this is all my father's doing…! My apologies if it's a bit tacky ehe…"

Realizing his mistake, Naell quickly said to dissipate her worries.

"Oh don’t worry, it's not at all. In fact, it’s…incredible."

He, like many others already knew that Namiku didn't even wish to be referred to as a princess, and just that made it clear to him that the room's royal decor was not at all her decision.

Still, a thought lingered in Naell's mind as he truly felt the essence of a doting father. It occurred upon taking one step into what felt like a sudden trip to the Easterside Empire.

"...King Asuna must have wanted you to feel at home even on different land."

Namiku's eyes widened at his sentiment. Looking around her own room for a bit, her eyes twinkled before she smiled with a warm gaze.

"...Perhaps he did.”

Her friends in that room saw her sentimental gaze. At that moment all of them had the urge to hug Namiku’s small stature.

Yet as a flush came upon her, she waved her hands frantically and let her words rush out,

“B-but!! Nevermind that… Come join us Naell so we can start!"

Pushing the lighthearted scene at the back of their heads, Naell and Owly obliged and sat with the protagonist's party. For a while, they then discussed among themselves.

"Against the pieces of Lucile or whoever they are, we need to be one step ahead!" Said Andrew with immense enthusiasm.

Upon explaining they needed a plan to strike before their next move, each of his friends nodded in agreement and shared thoughts of their own. If Naell could describe that moment, it was like the most colorful radiance of youth.

As he sat alongside them it seemed impossible to ignore how Andrew and the rest had become more powerful. Not only did they ooze confidence, but their enlightenment in mana and aura was also evident within them.

Of course, for Naell who just read the book, it was quite impossible for him to already reach that stage. In the first place, he had no inkling as to what this so-called second awakening was.

'Is that like reaching nirvana or yoga? Meditating doesn’t sound too bad.’

If their heroism could blind him, surely their blaring lawful good energy would do the trick.

"What’s wrong noob, HOOT?" Asked Owly, seeing Naell close his eyes.

That distracted the protagonist as all their gazes were now on Naell. He could only sigh and upon opening his eyes respond to their silence,

"Haha uh… sorry."

When they heard him, Andrew and the rest smiled yet with hints of disappointment on their faces.

"Somehow, we knew you'd say that." Said Rizaul while smiling and shaking his head.

Naell was surprised, he never thought they would all read his mind with such ease. Andrew then patted his back before adding on,

"As lonesome as it’d be, we trust your choice and know it’ll all work out."

"..."

With no time to respond, Namiku then grinned, leaned closer, and patted Naell as well, but this time lightly on the head.

"No worries Naell, I will always update you."

Naell wanted to ask why but chose not to. Especially when Rinca also approached him and said,

"We’ll do the attack knowing the Kingdom is safe in your hands."

“...”

That was the first time in his life, Naell grasped the brewing misunderstanding that he dared not to correct.

.

.

.

"I mean it's not a bad thing."

"What's not a bad thing, HOOT?" Asked Owly as they walked back towards the gentlemen's dormitory. Dawn loomed over their shoulders and back as the silhouette of mage and owl stretched before them.

Naell excused himself before anyone else as he had something to do early in the morning. The rest of them laughed knowing what it was and predicted he didn’t look forward to that said activity.

"I mean, if they invaded, I would really have to handle defenses again… but knowing them, they’d probably just destroy the pieces anyway." Naell said as he acted out a twig being broken in half.

In truth, he was dead certain that Andrew and the rest would eventually annihilate the enemy. It was just a matter of time- or volume in terms of Arts and Magic.

And for the lazy him, reinforcing the kingdom (especially around Beryldot) with an innovative defense system using ideas from Earth, was his much preferable job.

"What a random thought, HOOT."

"Sorry, I was talking to myself."

"...You monologue like a villain, HOOT."

“...”