That night after dinner, Kaze returned to his room to get some rest. The whole experience throughout the day of touring Aravel had drained his spirits more than training would. Part of it was due to the stress of reconciling with Lunaria, which he did, but the other half was due to dinner.
After a nice warm soak in the bathtub and dinner, Kaze was practically ready for bed. It made him baffled how the others still looked so energetic and raving on about what they had seen today. Even when forcing himself to join the conversation with the royal family, including Reginsleif and Laevia, Kaze's brain was forcefully shutting down. It wasn't until an hour later that Kaze managed to excuse himself from the rest of the group and dragged his body back to his room.
"Ahh… this is the best," Kaze muttered, loving the fabric of the bedsheets and the softness of the mattress.
Closing his eyes to enjoy the comfort of the bed provided, Kaze suddenly felt something moving at the corner of his bed. He twisted his body to the side and found himself staring face to face with a very familiar fuzzy face with white fur.
"… Um… Shiro?"
Lunaria's bunny, Shiro, had somehow gotten into his room on his bed. In respond to his words, Shiro hopped onto his stomach and snuggled on it, causing Kaze to gasp in respond. He never had the experience of carrying Shiro comfortably before, with him getting bitten by her once. For her to show up in his room and suddenly snuggling on his body made Kaze suspect Shiro of having certain mood swings.
After laying still for a few minutes in fear of what Shiro would do to him if he moved carelessly, all she did was lay silently on him. This prompted Kaze to reach over and pat her, something he never would have done when he initially met Shiro. Thankfully, as his hand grazed the top of her hairy body, Shiro shivered a little and looked up from her nap at him. The bunny didn't so much as move an inch, instead, stared at him while he stroked her gently. This made Kaze comfortable after repeating it for a few times, knowing that she was fine with him patting her.
Just like that, Kaze dozed to sleep with the comfort of an animal lying on top of him.
However, when he woke up the next morning, Kaze was surprised to find out that Lunaria and her cat, Akaru had appeared in his room as well.
What he found when he woke up to the feeling of something wet on his face was a black cat licking his cheek repeatedly. This sent him in a state of panic and immediately used magic to activate the light crystals, causing the room to brighten up. Once it did, he was able to identify Akaru on his bed next to him, looking up curiously at him since he suddenly sat up. Next to the cat was Lunaria, sitting at the edge of the bed with a smile.
"U-Uh… what… how…"
"Sorry, we just came into the room when Akaru woke you up," Lunaria apologised, gesturing to the ajar door. "Akaru woke me up in search of Shiro, only for me to track her down to your room."
Looking at where she was pointing, Kaze dropped his gaze to his lap, where Shiro was now lying on.
"Um… I was pretty sure that only I can unlock the door…"
"Yeah, but so can all the other royal members of the dragonkin palace, it's a safety feature," Lunaria giggled. "I'm truly sorry about coming in uninterrupted, Kaze, but Akaru wouldn't sit still knowing that Shiro's inside here."
"At… 5am in the morning?" Kaze mumbled, glancing at the clock on the wall.
"As I said, I do apologise for entering your room unannounced at so early in the morning," Lunaria gave him a bow, her hair falling from her shoulder. "It was crucial we find Shiro, and we did."
"So… uh, what now?"
"After collecting Shiro, we can leave the room," Lunaria firmly stated. "I don't want to interrupt you."
"… Its alright, I need to wake up soon anyway," Kaze sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I slept pretty early last night."
"I know. You never came back after going to the toilet," Lunaria nodded. "Well, that's not a problem. I can understand being tired."
"Not to mention we have the 'activity' in the morning too," Kaze grimaced. "I need to get ready for it."
"You don't have to worry, its just going to be a visit to the Aravel army place," Lunaria placed a hand on his shoulder. "You act like you're leaving for military training when you are really just a guest."
"I know that this isn't going to be as simple as a show-and-tell," Kaze didn't believe Lunaria. "Did you see the look on Reginsleif-sama's face when he told us the plan for today?"
"Hehe, father can be a little intimidating at times," Lunaria smiled sympathetically. "I do agree with you though, they must have had a surprise planned for your group's visit."
Groaning at what she said, Kaze began stroking Shiro to comfort himself by touching her super soft fur. This caused Lunaria to gasp, feeling surprised that he could touch Shiro.
"Wait, since when did Shiro allowed you to pat her?" Lunaria reached over to pat Shiro herself, as if trying to confirm if she was dreaming or not.
"Uhh, since last night," Kaze admitted, feeling just as confused. "I came into my room and there she was. She hopped on my stomach, and I sort of fell asleep while patting her."
To this, even Akaru let out a slightly confused mew and walked over to her friend. Giving the sleepy bunny a light nudge with its paw, Shiro stumbled awake upon recognising the scent of its friend. Shiro looked around the room, setting its sight on Kaze before lying back down, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Hmm… seems like what you said was true," Lunaria muttered, her hand on her chin. "I'm surprised, to be honest. Ever since you came to Aravel, Shiro has not left my room. For her to appear right in your room…"
"How does that happen?" Kaze asked, hoping for an answer from her.
A moment of silence passed between the two. With Lunaria contemplating something that Kaze wasn't aware about, she arrived at a personal decision.
"… Kaze, get dressed and meet me at the common room," Lunaria told Kaze, picking Akaru into her arms. "I've got something to show you."
Kaze definitely had his doubts when Lunaria suddenly told him to do something that didn't seem relevant with his question. Still, he knew Lunaria wasn't the type to make pointless remarks and followed her words.
10 minutes later, Kaze appeared at the common room with Shiro snuggled on top of his head.
When Lunaria showed up, she beckoned him to follow her, leading him all the way to the garden of the palace. Since it was still quite early, there wasn't much activity in the palace other than the occasional sound of armour clanking from the guards stationed around the grounds.
"Lunaria, what are we doing here?" Kaze asked her once they arrived at the garden. "Its super cold."
"This is how it's always been every morning," Lunaria giggled at his remark, pushing open a metal gate for them to enter. "Mind you, you are currently on mountain region."
As it was still quite dark, Kaze found it hard to observe his surroundings. The palace garden was a private area that no one was allowed entry unless permitted, hence why it felt alien to Kaze who was already given a tour of the palace. He just followed Lunaria's figure through the grass and bushes, passing by a few interesting glowing plants before arriving at a small secluded, open area.
When they got there, Shiro got up and hopped off Kaze's head. Akaru, similarly, was let go from Lunaria's snuggle to join Shiro.
"Kaze, how familiar are you with the gods?" Lunaria questioned Kaze, standing next to him.
"Huh? As in Goddess Tiel?" Kaze glanced at her.
"No, gods and goddesses other than Tiel-sama," Lunaria shook her head. "Like Artemis-sama, the Goddess of the Night and Moon."
"Erm, I don't know them, but I know them," Kaze sweatdropped. "Like Goddess Artemis, one of the goddesses whom we pray towards during the Moon Festival."
"Yes. Just as we know there are many gods, we don't know all their identities," Lunaria nodded. "Then have you heard about the God Gaia?"
"Gaia?"
"It is believed Gaia-sama is a god involved with life. This means that he can give life to anything, anyhow. It could be something as simple as allowing a sapling to sprout into a thousand-year-old tree in an instant."
"By giving life, could he also take life?"
"That I am not sure of. You would have to ask mother, who studies about the gods more than I do. I have also only heard about Gaia from her… until I met Shiro and Akaru."
As if on cue, Shiro and Akaru tilted their heads at the mention of them.
"What do you mean? Are the two created by Gaia-sama or something?" Kaze widened his eyes at this.
"Not exactly," Lunaria sighed and looked at the two. "Alright, you two can show yourselves."
With Lunaria's approval, Shiro and Akaru morphed in front of Kaze. The whole process happened in the blink of an eye, immediately transitioning from animals to humans. Shiro now was a beastkin with rabbit ears and Akaru became a catgirl, both appearing to be Linea's age or younger in appearance alone. Thankfully, they already had clothes on the moment they transformed, sparing Kaze from another round of shame.
"As you can see, these two are perfectly capable of transforming to become beastkins," Lunaria made a wry smile at Kaze's stunned expression, the two hugging Lunaria's side.
"W-W-Wait… are you saying… Gaia-sama gave them the ability to transform?" Kaze mumbled, feeling a sharp pain at the side of his head from what he had experienced. "How? Why?"
"That is something I still don't quite know," Lunaria admitted, stroking Shiro and Akaru's head. "Shiro, Akaru, why don't you introduce yourselves to Kaze? You all have already met after all."
"… Nice to meet you nya… Kaze," Akaru introduced herself, still hugging Lunaria. "I'm Akaru…"
Unlike Akaru, Shiro enthusiastically hopped in front of Kaze and gave him a big hug, albeit her size.
"I'm Shiro! Thank you for letting me sleep with you last night, Papa!" Shiro declared.
"P-Papa?!"
"Papa?!"
Both Kaze and Lunaria shouted at this, with Akaru looking unbothered and Shiro's eyes twinkling while staring up at Kaze.
"E-Erm… Shiro? This is Kaze, not your father," Lunaria sweatdropped, squatting to the floor so she could talk with Shiro face to face. "He's my friend."
"Eh? But Mama always calls out to Papa in the middle of the night?" Shiro tilted her head at this.
"E-Eh????"
"Shiro!!"
"Mother, you know it's true."
"Akaru?!"
"Eee~ even though it's obvious what Mama feels about Papa…"
Faced with all sorts of rebuttals and exposures from her 'daughters', Lunaria's face gradually turned red from what was being said. Kaze just awkwardly stood there, listening to what the two were saying about Lunaria. It was likely Shiro had associated Kaze to be her father after hearing what Lunaria, who was a mother figure to her, had said or done to show her affection to Kaze in private.
In the end, even Kaze himself couldn't escape the innocent mindset that Shiro had which caused the misunderstanding.
"I wouldn't have gone into Papa's room if Papa wasn't Papa," Shiro looked back at Kaze with a huge smile, her rabbit ears perking upwards.
"Huh?? But I never once said I am associated with Lunaria in 'that' sense?" Kaze shivered, trying to resolve the misunderstanding.
"It doesn't matter; Papa is Papa!" Shiro jumped up and down happily, snuggling him tightly again.
Eventually, Lunaria and Kaze managed to settle the issue temporarily with Shiro. As for Akaru, who seemed more matured and understanding for her age, she was the silent and straightforward type of person who took Kaze as a close friend of Lunaria, whom she also regarded as her mother. That was something Lunaria appreciated since it couldn't be helped that Shiro was innocent by nature.
"So… how did you meet them?" Kaze asked Lunaria, sitting next to her on the grass while watching Akaru chasing Shiro around in circles.
"… Sorry, I need a moment to cool off," Lunaria muttered, burying her face in her knees to avoid looking at him. "That was so embarrassing~~~~~~~~"
"Ahaha… don't worry, I heard nothing," Kaze stroked Lunaria's back to console her. "Still, I never thought that you would think so highly of me."
"Just forget it…" Lunaria took a deep breath and sighed, letting out all of her embarrassment and shame. "Now, where were we?"
"How you met them?"
"Right… honestly, I just happened to stumble upon the two in their animal form. After taking them in for a year or two, they gained the ability to transform, which mother associated with Gaia."
"Oh. So it wasn't like you found them in the wild and were already able to transform."
"Of course not. No beastkin could ever transform the way they could other than for dragonkins. Have you ever seen Shoko sporting as a fox? Plus, when they first transformed, their memories of when they were still animals only started from a few days ago. It also took them time to gain their individual personality, just like us."
The two sighed at the same time, feeling a sense of hopelessness.
"The reason I wanted to show you that these two were special was in hopes of answering your suspicion that someone could have broken into your room, as well as to show you something special. I never expected it would turn out to be so humiliating instead…"
"W-Well, this certainly wasn't what I expected, so you did surprise me."
Nothing came out of Lunaria after Kaze's last sentence. The two basked in the silence of the dawn before the sun broke through the night sky, watching Shiro and Akaru playing around. It was quite the spectacle to watch the sun rising from peaks of mountains miles and miles away. The cold of the night faded off along with the darkness, welcoming the start of a new day.
As the sunlight hit Kaze's body, Lunaria slumped her head to his side. The way she leaned against him caused Kaze to stifle a gasp, for he could feel her body right next to him. With her head resting against the crook of his neck, the constant wind blew strands of her greyish white hair onto him. Kaze's nostrils picked up on her body scent, being a mix of the palace bathroom's soap fragrance and her own odour. It was pleasant, something that soothed Kaze from the stress gathered a moment ago.
"… Mm… I hope you don't mind me doing this…" Lunaria moaned softly, letting out a yawn. "This is super comfortable…"
"Do I not smell?"
"Not really. Conversely, I like your scent. As dragonkins, we have very sharp sense of smell, so I can tell right away if there is something unpleasant about you."
"O-Oh… am I supposed to take that as a compliment?"
"Hehe, I suppose you should."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"… We should go. The others would be looking for us if we don't show up in time for breakfast."
Getting to her feet first, Lunaria offered her hand to help him stand up.
Kaze accepted it, only for her to suddenly trip him and making him fall backwards onto the soft grass. With his hand still holding onto hers, Lunaria let her body gracefully collapse right on top of his. He made a soft gasp at this and quickly held Lunaria's arms to prevent her from falling onto his body.
Locks of hair now fell onto the side of his face, gently grazing his cheek. The sunlight now shone even more brazenly than before, cutting through the gaps between Lunaria's hair. This provided Kaze with a first-class view of her face, staring down at him.
It suddenly made Kaze aware of the awkward position they were in, causing him to blush. Why Lunaria even did this was unknown to him, but it was clear that she purposely wanted them to fall into this weird posture.
Leaning her face down to his side, she planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Sorry, think of this as my apology for barging into your room earlier."
Her soft whispers filled his ear. Getting back on her feet for real this time, Lunaria dragged Kaze up with her. Kaze realized that Lunaria looked equally as embarrassed as he was, evident by her quickly looking away from him to hide her face. Even so, he still managed to catch a glimpse of Lunaria's face. Despite her embarrassed look, the curves on the side of her mouth still expressed the satisfaction she had with her execution.
This left Kaze with mixed emotions on the walk back to the palace.
What Lunaria had done clearly demonstrated her feelings to him in an indirect manner, so much so that her tail even coiled around his hand for a short moment while she snuggled against him. While Kaze was happy that Lunaria indirectly conveyed her emotions, it also placed him with a burden on reciprocating it.
If Kaze himself had not sorted out his sentiments yet, how should he respond to Lunaria?
All this could only be delayed due to the upcoming activity after breakfast.
"Good morning everyone," Reginsleif greeted the group as usual, his voice containing a hint of excitement. "Did everyone sleep well?"
"Dear, you're making it too obvious," Laevia sighed at this.
"Sorry, I'm getting ecstatic from thinking about the chance to watch everyone later," Reginsleif chuckled. "Lunaria, please brief them on what to do."
"Everyone, once breakfast is over, please change into your training outfits and bring your weapon along," Lunaria stood up to address the group. "Your full armour and weapon, to be precise. We shall meet at the main entrance of the palace to depart."
The group's activity for the third day was something simpler and less packed than the day before, yet it contained just as much adrenaline as the last. What they would be doing for the morning was to have a tour of the Aravel's military grounds and experience what it would be like to become a soldier serving the nation. After that, it was a few hours' worth of break for them before the second and last activity of the day: a welcome party for them involving a lot of dragonkin officials.
With such an agenda in mind, the group quickly got ready after breakfast and departed.