Loa was having a nightmare.
She was captured by a villain, restrained, cursed, and tainted.
It hurt, it was painful, and it was unbearable.
โWhy would you do something so horrible?โ
Even though she had done nothing wrong, she repeatedly apologized, crying and begging for forgiveness, but they never forgave her.
That was something Loa had actually experienced.
โRyaโฆโ
Loa woke up groaning. It was the middle of the night, so the room was pitch dark.
โKyuu?โ
Carro, who had somehow woken up, gently patted Loaโs head.
Then, Carro guided Loaโs head back to rest beside Luria โs.
Apparently, Loa had moved away from Luria while she was tossing and turning.
โRyuuโฆโ
Loa buried her head in Luria โs hair. It was warm and smelled nice.
It brought her a deep sense of comfort.
โโฆRyaaโฆโ
Loa, now at ease, began to drift off again.
At that moment, she felt the presence of someone else suffering in the same way she had.
It was the same presence sheโd felt nearby while she was cursed.
โMay that person also find salvation,โ Loa prayed as she fell back to sleep.
Sara was dreaming.
It was a dream of being embraced by her beloved mother, Marion.
Her mother spoke kind words, stroked her head, and hugged her tightly.
Overjoyed, Sara spoke endlessly, and her mother listened gently, nodding along.
When Sara woke up, filled with happiness, what she saw wasโ
โHehโฆ heheโฆโ
Luria clinging to her, mumbling in her sleep.
โโฆLuria -chan.โ
Luria was so warm.
It had been so long since Sara had been able to sleep so soundly and peacefully.
Surely, it was thanks to Luria .
Sara couldnโt help but feel that being embraced by Luria was what allowed her to dream of her mother.
Filled with gratitude, Sara stroked Luria โs head.
โHuh?โ
For some reason, Luria was in just her underwear.
Last night, they had bathed and changed into their sleepwear before going to bed.
Sara couldnโt understand why Luria was now in her underwear.
โDid she take her clothes off while half-asleep?โ
Trying not to think too much about it, Sara continued stroking Luria โs head.
โGood morning, Carro.โ
โKyuu.โ
She greeted Carro, who stood on the headboard.
โGood morning, Koruko.โ
โKor.โ
She greeted Koruko, who was patrolling the room.
โGood morning, Kuro.โ
She stroked the radiant, glowing spirit Kuro.
โGood morning, everyone.โ
She greeted the other spirits floating nearby.
In response, the spirits traced figure eights in the air.
Although she couldnโt hear their voices, Sara felt certain they were saying, โGood morning.โ
โโฆAnd Daru?โ
โโฆSuuโฆ suuโฆ ahhโฆโ
Daru was sleeping soundly beside Luria .
He was half out of the blanket and lying upside down, with his head near Luria โs feet and his bottom close to her face.
โโฆDid Daru thrash around in his sleep?โ
As Sara whispered this, Daru murmured โAhhโ and began moving his four legs quickly, as if running in a dream.
This movement was likely why the blanket had fallen off him.
โYouโll catch a cold.โ
Sara covered Daruโs belly with the blanket.
โโฆHuh?โ
It was then that Sara noticed something red near Luria โs face, just under Daruโs tail.
โThis is bad! Luria -chan, Luria -chan!โ
Panicking, Sara shook Luria to wake her up.
โMmmโฆ nyuuโฆโ
Still half-asleep, Luria grabbed the red objectโa tailโand popped it into her mouth.
โDonโt eat that! Youโll get a stomachache!โ
Though Sara panicked, Luria , still fast asleep, sucked on the tail contentedly.
Luria was having a happy dream.
In front of her was a feast.
Cookies, delicious bread, cakes, steaks, and stews were spread before her.
โCan I eat all of this?โ
โYes, you may.
A voice spoke from somewhere.
Luria didnโt care whose voice it was.
After all, it was a dream.
โThis is delicious, Loa! Isnโt it delicious?โ
โItโs delicious! Itโs so delicious!โ
For some reason, beside Luria was Loa, the Spirit King from a past eraโa small red dragon.
Luria found this completely normal, as it was just a dream.
โDaru, you should eat too.โ
โWoof!โ
Everyone was there before she realized it.
Since it was a dream, Luria didnโt question when they had appeared.
โCarro and Koruko, you should eat too.โ
โKyuu!โ โKoo~!โ
โSara-chan, thereโs meat here! You love meat, donโt you?โ
โYeah! Itโs delicious!โ
In the dream, Luria continued to devour the feast.
Everyone else ate heartily too, their joy apparent.
Seeing everyone so happy made Luria feel incredibly content.
Luria was hungrier than usual. Thatโs why she dreamed of a feast.
The reason for her hunger was that she had used magic before sleeping.
Neither Luria nor Kuro, the current Spirit King, knew this, but using magic made one hungry.
Especially Luria , who wasnโt just humanโshe was a special Spirit King with a physical body, akin to a guardian beast.
On top of eating to sustain her human body, Luria also needed food to fuel her spiritโs magical circuits.
Even without using magic, she was always hungry. Using magic made her even hungrier.
Thatโs why Luria , unlike an ordinary five-year-old, always ate several times more food.