โPii.โ
โGood girl, good girl.โ
โHun, hun.โ
โDarw is cute. Hehe, hehehe.โ
I woke up to the sound of Darw , who was being pampered by Sara.
Darw had climbed onto the bed and was lying on his back next to Sara, getting his belly rubbed.
It seemed like Darw had returned from his walk while we were taking a nap.
โGood girl, good girl.โ
โPii!โ
It was good to see Sara and Darw getting along so well.
I felt happy and pretended to be asleep, watching Sara like that, with my eyes half-open, casually.
Carro, as usual, was standing upright on the headboard, keeping watch.
Just earlier, Kuro, who had said that spirits donโt need naps, was curled up near Darw , sleeping.
It turns out even spirits sleep.
The spirit king Loa from my previous life used to sleep with me as well.
As I was remembering one of the few warm memories from my past life, Sara gently petted Carro, who was on the headboard.
โCarro is cute too.โ
โKyu~โ
Carro let out a pleased sound with a smug expression.
Then, with a natural motion, Sara petted Kuro.
โYouโre very beautiful. Good girl, good girl.โ
โ!?โ
Why was Sara able to pet Kuro? Ordinary people shouldnโt be able to pet spirits.
I confirmed this with my eyes half-open.
โGood girl, good girl.โ
Looking closely, it seemed like Sara was stroking the surface of Kuroโs body, but that wasnโt actually the case.
Saraโs hand was slightly away from Kuroโs body, most likely because she was seeing a blurry form.
โSara!โ
โโฆโฆโฆโ
Sara, startled, froze.
โIโm sorry, Sara. I didnโt mean to surprise youโฆ Are you okay?โ
โโฆY-yeah, Iโm fine. Heheโฆ Hehehe.โ
Sara laughed, trying to cover up.
โWhat do you see, Sara?โ
โโฆI see nothing.โ
โReally?โ
โIโฆ I canโt see anything. Iโm sorry.โ
Sara looked like she had been scolded.
Her tail moved restlessly and got caught between her legs.
Kuro, now awake, silently watched Sara with concern.
I had intended to let her know that I could see too, but Sara, frightened, didnโt understand my true meaning.
She kept apologizing.
I just wanted to calm her down and reassure her.
โSara, Iโm not mad.โ
โโฆSorry, sorry.โ
Her ears drooped, and she trembled slightly.
Seeing that, Darw licked her face as if to encourage her.
I gently petted Saraโs head.
โReally, Luria isnโt mad.โ
โโฆโ
โSara, this is just between us, okay? โฆI can see too.โ
I whispered this secret to Saraโs ear.
Saraโs eyes widened in surprise, and she stared at my face.
I looked back at her, staring into her eyes.
โThatโs why you donโt have to hide it from me.โ
โReally?โ
โReally.โ
Once I said that, it seemed like Sara finally relaxed.
Her tail, which had been stuck between her legs, slowly began to move again.
โActually, I havenโt told Mom either. Itโs a secret, okay?โ
โI understand. Secret.โ
Sara nodded seriously.
For some reason, Darw also nodded with a serious expression.
Sara must have been scolded before for saying she could see spirits.
This is something Kuro always tells me.
People are afraid of children who see strange things, thinking theyโre creepy.
Children who seem scary and strange get scolded.
If it were a baron and his mistress, they might have used violence when scolding.
I couldnโt help but hug Sara tightly.
โLuria-sama?โ
โYeah. I just wanted to hold you, Sara. Youโre like a little sister, right?โ
โLittle sisters get held?โ
โYeah, they do. Older sisters and brothers hold little sisters.โ
Sisters and brothers hold their younger sisters.
As I held her tight, Saraโs tail swished.
โHeheโฆ Hehehe.โ
And she laughed.
โWhat do you see, Sara?โ
I asked the same question again.
โWellโฆ I see a blurry ball of light.โ
โI see. And what about this one?โ
I pointed at Kuro.
Kuro, without saying anything, just swished his tail.
โThis one, the light is very strong. Itโs really beautiful. What about Luria-sama?โ
โTo me, it looks like a black cat.โ
โA cat!โ
Saraโs tail swished excitedly.
It seemed that Sara liked cats. I could understand that feeling since cats are cute.
โIt has two tails.โ
โTwo tails! Amazing!โ
โIt has wings too.โ
โWings? Like a bird?โ
Saraโs eyes sparkled.
โYes, like a bird.โ
โWow! Even though itโs a cat?โ
โYes, even though itโs a cat.โ
โWow, wow!โ
Sara was so excited that Kuro looked a bit embarrassed.
โKuro, stop being shy and talk.โ
โI-Iโm not shy. I can talk, but I donโt think you can hear me.โ
โSara, can you hear Kuroโs voice?โ
โMm-mm. I canโt hear anything.โ
It seems that Sara canโt hear the voices of spirits, and only sees their vague forms.
Even if she canโt speak to them, introductions should still be made.
โHmmโฆ Sara, let me introduce you. This glowing one is Kuro.โ
โKuroโฆ Kuro-chan?โ
โYes, Kuro-chan. Can you touch Kuro?โ
โI canโt. But it feels warm.โ
Sara moved her hand near Kuro, as if trying to pet.
โHmm? Kuro, whatโs going on?โ
โI donโt know. But, sometimes there are children who can see spirits.โ
โI see.โ
โAs they grow older, they might stop being able to see them.โ
โI see?โ
โChildren who can see spirits are very compatible with them, and they have the potential to become great magicians.โ
โI see, I see?โ
As I was talking to Kuro, Sara tugged at my sleeve.
โCan you talk to Kuro, Luria-sama?โ
โActuallyโฆ I can.โ
โWow. Thatโs amazing.โ
Sara looked at me with admiration, making me feel proud as an older sister.
โHehe.โ
โThatโs amazing.โ
โAh, letโs keep this a secret from everyone, okay?โ
โGot it. Secret. Hehehe, hehe.โ
โWow-wow.โ
Sara was happy, and Daru nodded seriously, though he probably didnโt quite understand, just copying Sara.
โLuria-sama, woo-woo, play with us.โ
At that moment, three young spirits appeared at once from beneath the bed.
โWhoa!โ
Sara was surprised and reached her hands out toward the spirits. But, as expected, she couldnโt grab them.
I gently stroked the young spirits. Even though they were small, compared to Kuro, they were still strong spirits, as being able to talk meant they were quite powerful.
โYay!โ
โYou came?โ
โHere we are! Woo-woo! Play!โ
โHonestly, theyโre just children.โ
As I was saying that, Saraโs eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
โLuria-sama, can you talk to these kids too?โ
โI can.โ
โThatโs amazing!โ
โUhโฆ hehe.โ
It made me feel shy when she looked at me with such respect.
โLuria-sama, what do they look like?โ
โSara, what do these children look like to you?โ
โThey look like small, dimmer balls of light, more so than Kuro.โ
โI see.โ
โWhat about you, Luria-sama?โ
โThey look the same as you see them.โ
It seems that the way I see the small spirits isnโt much different from how Sara sees them.
After that, we went out of the bed and played a game of โspirit tossing.โ
โIโm going.โ
โOkay.โ โWoof.โ โKyu-ru.โ
Sara, Daru, and Carro lined up in a row.
โHere we go!โ
โAs I caught a small spirit and threw it, Sara, Daru, and Carro chased after it.โ
โWoof woof woof!โ โKya-kya.โ
Using his size, Daru quickly caught the spirit in his mouth and showed off, proudly.
This made it the fifth time in a row Daru caught one.
โDaru, youโre fast.โ โKyaru.โ
Sara and Carro seemed a little dejected.
โDaru, come here.โ
โWoof?โ
I took Daru to the corner of the room.
โYou need to hold back a little!โ
โWoof woof!โ
When Daru barked, the spirit he had caught seemed to be having fun from the vibrations.
โYouโre making it unfair to Sara and Carro if they canโt catch one too!โ
โWoof?โ
Daru didnโt seem to understand very well.
โWoof woof~โ
He proudly showed me the spirit he had caught, as if asking for praise.
โDaru, youโre fast and amazing, arenโt you?โ
โWoof~โ
I praised Daru and petted his head.
Then, I declared to Sara and the others that the rules were changing.
โWeโll change the rules!โ
โChange them?โ
โYes. Carro will pass the spirit Sara touched to Daru.โ
โOkay.โ โWoof.โ โKyu-ru.โ
Initially, Sara couldnโt hold the spirits. I needed to reflect on that.
โDaru will carry the spirit to me without using his mouth.โ
โWoof?โ
Daru tilted his head, seemingly confused by my explanation.
โHereโs how it works.โ
I pointed to a spirit, placed it on my forehead, and ran around the room.
โLike this! Carry it without using your mouth!โ
โWoof~โ
โDaru, try doing it like this.โ
I placed a spirit on Daruโs head, then stepped away a few steps.
โDaru, bring it over to Luria.โ
โWoofโฆ woof!โ
As Daru walked, the spirit nearly fell off, but Daru used his nose to nudge it back up and prevent it from falling.
โKya-kya.โ
The spirit seemed to be enjoying itself, being bounced by Daruโs nose.
โItโs hard, isnโt it?โ
โWoof~โ
After some struggle, Daru managed to bring the spirit over to me.
โDaru, thatโs amazing!โ
โWoof~โ
Daru was proud.
The โSpirit Catching Gameโ was too easy for Daru, but the game where he had to carry the spirit without using his mouth was just the right level of difficulty for him.
โOkay, letโs go again.โ
โOkay!โ โKyu.โ โWoof woof!โ
We continued playing the โSpirit Carrying Gameโ with Sara and the others for a while longer.