Her pronunciation was off again, and he corrected her again. After her recent collapse, he forced her to recover; however, the act of teaching was not in his agenda. Over these past few weeks, Ezarel sat in the library instead of the alchemy lab. Her writing impressed him, but actual speaking felt more of an abysmal attempt. The elf adjusted the rimless glasses on his face—where she got them from he did not ask, and why he wore them came from the losing a bet with her— as he wrote his mission report.

"So, would you read this as..."

He burst out into a laugh before the woman finished. Tears were almost upon him.

"Hah...That was cute of you to spout such vulgar words. But no. It's actually..."

While she repeated the correct way, he finished his report. The elf stood up to find Kero. Once he returned, the woman had stopped her studies and gawked at him.

"What is it?"

She blinked and took a deep breath. "Nothing. Nothing at all..."

"If you say so. I've been wondering" —he toyed with the glasses— "how my vision isn't affected by these."

The woman reorganized her papers. "Back home, glasses are also nonprescription. Fashionable accessories in my opinion."

He nodded. "I see. Ah, so that's what you were doing."

"I was what?"

The elf then started to lean closer, and her posture stiffened. Neither looked away. He noticed how she held her breath; Ezarel tilted his head while the glasses slightly moved down. He had that sort of entrancing, playful smile; however, when their noses almost touched, the elf blew a puff of air in her face. A flustered reaction followed while chuckling filled the air. There was distance between the two again.

"You...! That...That's...! You did that because you're still upset over the fact you lost!"

"And what if I'm not?"

She picked up the fallen papers. "Not fair. Not fair at all..."

They bantered for a few minutes. Once she finished her work, the woman started to clean up the scattered books and other such material. Except one book was saved for practice.

"So anyone can wear these?"

"More or less. Here, hand them over."

Once she put on the accessory, the woman flashed that pretty smile and posed. She expected an insult, but instead the elf blinked.

"You're not gonna mock me like usual?"

His hand covered his mouth as he let out a fevered sigh. When the woman started to approach him, Ezarel shook his head and looked at a nearby bookshelf.

"I'm suddenly not in the mood..So how long am I expected to wear those?"

"Only when you mentor me. I'll spare you from possible questioning," she said. "Quite generous, don't you think?"

"You're unusually late, Ez."

The elf rolled his eyes and took his cup from the tray. Not this again...

"Don't be such a grump. Spending time with that girl again?" Nevra grinned from ear to ear.

"Shouldn't you be the one taking care of her? She's under your responsibility."

"Yes, but I'm awfully busy with other ladies. They were cute together, Papi Valky. She was like a kid listening to a bedtime story as he read aloud this book..."

"...So we were both right in thinking someone was spying on us," Ezarel said.

"Or someone didn't close the door properly."

"That's enough, both of you. What's her condition?"

At first, there was not a response as he stirred his drink, and the other two sent a glance to each other. The vampire then snapped his fingers in front of the elf's face; Ezarel flinched.

"What?"

"Her health?" Nevra leaned in closer.

"Better than before. She's eating well and getting sleep. Honestly, why did this babysitting get put onto me?"

It was then he heard snickering, but the three soon engaged in a different conversation...

There, the sound of a door unlocking awoke him. Soft shuffling and a click of the door. The bed shifted, and before he could do anything, a body rested against him. Crisp scents from outside wafted into his nose, and Ezarel moved his hand to rub her back.

"Mm, went to go visit Mery and Looker."

He felt her snuggling. "Shouldn't he be asleep?"

"The familiar woke him up. At least she's doing well since I left."

Ah, that word. He avoided thinking about it, but one week would be over tomorrow. Time was suddenly too fast.