Ten Cunas on Logan's Tears
"Are you sure we should just leave those two in there?"
Bayul hadn't spoken a word since Logan's confession had begun. He simply stood there, fists clenched tight, staring at Logan with a face frozen stiff.
They had all come this far together, but this wasn't a situation where the others could step in. Just watching the tremor in Bayul's eyes firsthand was hard enough on them.
For Logan, finally pouring out a truth he'd carried for two years, it was surely just as grueling — but for Bayul, who had to dredge up his brother's death all over again, the torment went far beyond anything his friends could imagine.
And Eli knew that better than anyone. Not long ago, he had been the one learning a secret of life and death for the very first time.
Whatever the truth might be — even if it was a painful one — knowing it mattered. Accepting it was merely a matter of time. Someday, Bayul would be grateful to Logan for telling him now. Just as Eli himself had come to be grateful, in his own way, to Professor Serarika.
"Shouldn't we go back in by now?"
Eli had beckoned him out here, and Aidan had followed, but the scene inside gnawed at him. He kept worrying about how the kid would bear the sting of betrayal by a friend he'd trusted so completely.
"What exactly do you think we could do in there?"
"Do we have to do something? Just sitting quietly beside him, holding his hand — that'd be worth something, wouldn't it?"
"And if you hold his hand, dead Bayul's gonna come back to life, is that it?"
"Ah, for crying out loud, Rai, what kind of thing is that to say? I'm trying to offer comfort here! What if Bayul cries so hard he passes out? You gonna take responsibility for that?"
"He won't cry. Don't worry about it."
At Eli's flat certainty, Quinn, who had been silently listening, gave a small nod of agreement.
"What? You really think Bayul won't cry? That fragile kid, of all people?"
"He might shed a few tears. But he won't cry hard enough to collapse."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because it's Logan."
"What?"
"You don't know Bayul's personality? Even in the middle of all this, that kid will be thinking about Logan. He's suffering himself, sure, but Bayul's far too kind to pretend he doesn't see a friend who's been hurting all this time."
"So he'll force himself to hold it together."
That was Quinn's prediction too. He couldn't guess what words Bayul would use to forgive Logan, but one thing was certain: this wouldn't drive a wedge between the two of them. Their bond ran far too deep for that.
"Let's not underestimate the years Bayul and Logan have shared. Coming along and waiting out here — we've done our part. The kindest thing we can do now is wait quietly."
The day Eli learned that Rayegar had staked a thousand years of his own lifespan to save him — he hadn't said a word, but he had been truly grateful to the friends who'd slipped away and given him space.
Thanks to them, he'd been able to have an open, honest talk with his adoptive father for the first time in ages — and no one had caught him sobbing his eyes out, either.
"Besides, I'll guarantee you this: the one who ends up crying will be Logan. Once he finishes talking, he'll wail like the world's ending."
"That stiff? Please. He's not gonna cry."
"Wanna bet?"
"Where'd this bet come from all of a sudden?"
"What's the matter, chicken?"
Eli gave a dry little snort, and Aidan bristled instantly.
"Who's chicken? Fine! Let's do it! It's a bet, done!"
"Excellent. Later we'll go check how red Logan's eyes are. Ten cunas sound good?"
Aidan pulled an incredulous face at the offer.
"Look at this dragon, would you! You claim there's a mountain of gold and treasure waiting in your lair, and you're shaking down your friends for pocket money? Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
"I told you — 'poor hardworking scholarship student' is my persona. And judging by how worked up you're getting, I'd say you think you're going to lose."
"…Absolutely not! That self-satisfied peacock couldn't bawl if he tried! He'll just lower his eyes all gloomy-like, mutter an apology, and ruin everyone's appetite! Ten cunas are mine!"
"Then it's a bet. Quinn, you're our witness."
"Gladly."
Being a witness cost nothing, after all. Quinn cheerfully raised his hand in acceptance.
"Hehe, ten cunas earned."
"That's my line."
"No credit. Cash up front."
"Says the guy who can't even manage his own wallet."
Aidan and Eli were still jabbing at each other's shoulders and bickering back and forth when, all of a sudden, a dog's bark rang out from somewhere nearby.
"Arf! Arf-arf!"
The source of the racket was Jasper. The enormous guard dog came barreling toward them, radiating an absolutely crushing presence.
"Woof! Woof-woof!"
Trailing behind him came the Jewel Quartet, four tiny legs churning furiously to keep up. The only thing different from usual was that the pups — forever cozied up to everyone in the estate — had puffed themselves up and slipped into full alert mode.
They might as well have been demanding, 'And who exactly do you think you are, trespassing on our territory without permission?!'
"Oho! So you're Jasper!"
The guard dog was a good two or three times the size of an ordinary hound. But then, this was Aidan they were talking about. The boy whose talent even Bar had acknowledged — a genuine Tamer.
Far from cowering, Aidan strode right up to Jasper with his chest out.
"Name's Aidan. I'm a friend of your master Bayul. And these little ones — they're the pups you had with Ruby, your mate, aren't they? I heard their names are Citrine, Rose, Smoky, and Crystal. Am I right?"
"…Arf?"
"How do I know? Bayul told me, of course. All three of us are his friends."
"Arf!"
"You're quite the suspicious one, aren't you?"
Aidan decided words weren't getting him anywhere and stretched out his hand.
"Here, give it a sniff. I just came from talking with Bayul. How about it? It's really him, right?"
Jasper took a long pull of Aidan's scent, then tipped his head to one side. Supposedly a friend of Bayul's — but he'd never seen the man before, and he seemed genuinely torn.
"Jasper, what are you doing over there?"
Then the rescuer arrived. Rita appeared, a rag in her hand this time instead of laundry — apparently she'd stopped by while passing through on her rounds.
"Oh? Young masters, what are you all doing out here?"
"Rita, perfect timing! Jasper doesn't seem to believe a word I say. I introduced myself as Bayul's friend and he still won't stand down."
"Ah, that's because Jasper's trained as a guard dog. This one's smarter than he looks, you know! Isn't that right, Jasper?"
Rita ruffled the dog's head with evident pride.
"Now then — these gentlemen really are the young master's friends. So there's no need to be on guard. Got it?"
"Arf-arf!"
"These are truly dear friends of Young Master Bayul, so no mistakes, you hear! Especially you, Jewel Quartet! Don't go being a nuisance!"
"Woof-woof! Woof-woof-woof!"
If Jasper's reply had been an acknowledgment, the pups were just barking for the sheer joy of barking. They were still far too young to grasp — let alone obey — any actual instruction.
"Well, I'll be off then. It should be fine now."
"Thanks, Rita."
"Not at all, young master."
Rita bowed politely and vanished off toward somewhere at a brisk clip.
"So, Jasper — do you believe us now?"
"Arf!"
"I've heard so much about you from Bayul. I'm really glad we finally get to meet!"
When Aidan worked up his nerve and stepped close again, this time Jasper didn't back away.
"Oh, looks like Rita's word actually landed."
"This kid's the real deal."
Had Aidan actually pressed a Taming on him, even Jasper would have had no choice but to obey. But this was hardly an emergency, and he had no wish to strong-arm Bayul's guard dog.
With his innate gift for communion, Aidan had the great hound and the Jewel Quartet wrapped around his finger in no time. For someone who understood animals as instinctively as he did, befriending them was the easiest thing in the world.
"Ingrid—!"
They'd been playing for a good while when a familiar voice woke the friends' eardrums.
"…Innocent?"
"Isn't that little shrimp supposed to be asleep?"
Somehow she'd known — there, in the far distance, Innocent came flying toward them, calling Ingrid's name over and over. At the sound, Aidan's hat stirred for the first time in ages, and Ingrid poked his head out into the open.
"Pwheet……?"
The black pupils of the little owl widened and widened as Innocent drew nearer. It was definitely her voice — but her appearance had changed so completely that he seemed utterly taken aback.
"Kyaaa! Ingrid! I missed you so much!"
Whether Ingrid liked it or not, Innocent was beside herself with joy. She swooped in circles around him, letting out shriek after shriek of delight.
Was it her enthusiasm that finally got through to him?
At first the little owl floundered in confusion — but seeing that Innocent was behaving exactly as she always had, he seemed to relax, gave a flutter of his small wings, and lifted into the air. Then he greeted his friend with a chorus of excited, near-tearful cries.
"That's right! It's me, Ingrid! I became an Intermediate Spirit! Didn't you hear?"
"Pwheet! Pwheet!"
"And your master never told you anything? What has she been doing? Tch, so unfair!"
"Pwheet! Pwheet!"
"What's an Intermediate Spirit? Hmm… how do I put it — my powers got way stronger than before? I mean, look, I even changed shape! Hehe, haven't I grown up so much?"
Innocent was clearly delighted with her new look. When she puffed out her shoulders and twirled in place, Ingrid abruptly stopped flapping. Then, without any warning at all, his body ballooned to monstrous size in an instant.
"Whoa — Ingrid, what are you doing?!"
Eli yelped in alarm, while Aidan just heaved a deep sigh.
"He's been doing that a lot lately. When he gets excited, he can't control it."
"You mean he just blows up without even realizing it?"
"Yep. Hence the cold sweats."
Perhaps spurred on by Innocent's growth, Ingrid went bouncing around in his enormous new body, thump, thump, thump.
"Arf-arf-arf!"
"Woof! Woof-woof-woof-woof!"
Thanks to which, the previously settled Jasper and Jewel Quartet went berserk, circling Ingrid and barking themselves hoarse. A bird of impossible size had materialized out of nowhere — they could hardly be blamed.
The ground shook under Ingrid's weight as if an earthquake had struck, while Innocent, true to her usual temperament, ignored all the racket entirely — she was far too busy squealing with her dearest friend, whom she hadn't seen in so long.
"Ugh, so loud."
"It's a complete madhouse. A total madhouse."
That was when the trouble started.
"Jasper! Why are you barking like that? What on earth is going on?"
Rita — the same Rita who had passed them only moments ago — came hurrying back at the sudden commotion. And in both her hands, she was carrying buckets filled to the brim with water.
"Oh no! Wh-what do we do?!"
Of course she'd be startled if she saw Ingrid now. It was a mercy — if it could be called one — that the heavy buckets kept her eyes fixed on the ground.
"Ugh, no choice, then."
Startled badly enough, she could faint from the shock. Bayul was already going through enough as it was; they couldn't just stand there and watch Rita — the one person who needed to keep caring for him — collapse. Eli grumbled under his breath and began weaving a spell.
"Illus—"
"Rita, let me take that!"
But someone was a beat faster than him: Death. Appearing out of who knew where, he snatched the buckets clean out of Rita's hands and played the black knight to perfection.
Behind him, a curtain of black cloth unfurled, and in an instant both sight and sound were cut off from the scene.
"Huh? Where'd Jasper go?"
"He tore off that way with the pups. Where am I supposed to take these?"
"To the front entrance, please. The young master's shoes got far too much mud on them. I'll have to scrub the whole lot today."
"Want me to help?"
"No! Mr. Death will kindly stick to his own duties. No one but me touches the young master's shoes!"
That was a privilege Rita reserved for herself alone. She lifted her chin with imperious dignity and swept past Death in a flurry of motion.
"Got it. Coming along!"
Death trailed after her, shuffling along with the buckets in hand. The black curtain he'd raised didn't come down until they were a good distance away. The graveyard-quiet scene burst back to life in a single beat, rowdy and chaotic as ever.