A Degenerate’s Tale

"Have some tea, Master." Aria gently placed a cup of tea in front of Earl.

The calming scent of tea filled the room. Earl lifted himself and took a sip of the tea.

"This tastes different. Is it new?"

"How does it taste?"

"It tastes good. Refreshing."

"Aria is glad to hear that. Aria made it herself."

"It suddenly tastes a lot better now. Can I get another cup?"

Aria covered her lips and laughed lightly. "Master is being extra for no reason."

"It really does taste very good."

"Would Master like to see?"

Aria then brought Earl to the back garden of the castle. There was a rustic wooden table and a single tree.

"This area isn't used very often."

"That's right. Madam said Aria and Lily could do whatever here."

At the table, the tea leaves were being dried. Earl took a closer step and lightly smelled the leaves.

They were naturally fragrant with a slight bitterness. In the tea-making process, drying was often the last step.

"Does Master know about tea processing?"

"Just a little."

Aria smiled and briefly explained the different sections of her work.

"To think there was a side to you I didn't know about..."

"This was only recently so it's only natural that Master didn't know."

"If I were to word it differently, it would be that I'm happy to discover the new sides of Aria."

Aria blushed lightly at his words and replied, "Then it is the same for Aria. Aria enjoys discovering new sides of Master as well."

"It is mutual then."

"Yes."

Her bright yellow eyes sneakily looked at him to which he held her shoulder and brought her closer.

"Come to think of it, where is Lily?"

"I think she's right at the door, Master."

And sure enough, a little head with two horns was peeking through the door.

"Lily?"

"..."

There was a brief silence until the door slowly opened.

"Did Master call? Lily just came... Tehe!"

"..."

The three ended up leaving for the prairie. The sun was no longer as glaring as it was in the morning. Away from Venroris and away from the Elven Forest. In this prairie, there was only the sound of the wind and their quiet conversations. The steady position of the sky island served as a reminder of what happened earlier in the day.

Aria shook on her master's sleeve and asked, "Uh, Master. How do we get up there?"

Earl chuckled and replied, "I suppose we are jumping?"

"Master can jump that high?"

"Sis is rather bold to be doubting Master." Lily shook her head and brought a finger up.

"We'll find out now," Earl told them and grabbed them by their waists. "Wind!"

"What? Ah!"

Whoosh!

They were launched into the sky and for a brief moment, the three were able to experience what true flight felt like.

"Help us down," Earl commanded the nearby wind spirits.

A group of wind spirits then assisted them on their way down, gliding them onto the sky island.

They landed gently on the sky island.

Earl grinned. "That was exhilarating, wasn't it?"

Aria held her chest to calm her rapidly beating heart. "Please warn us before doing something like that next time! Right, Lily?"

"That was fun!"

"See? Lily is with me."

"Lily, you traitor!"

"Umu, wrong, Sis. Lily is always on Master's side."

"Sigh."

The top of the sky island looked just like the prairie they were on earlier until they turned around.

"Whoa! This place has a totally different vibe from up here!"

"It's so pretty..."

From the top of the island, they could see everything below them and beyond. The sheer size of the prairie, the Elven Forest stretching to the horizon, the capital city of Venroris hidden in the forest.

They were all entranced by this sight.

After a long time, the voice of Ari came from behind. "Hm? What are you all doing up here?"

"We got tired of waiting at home."

"It's this late already? I must've gotten carried away with planning things up here."

"Come enjoy this view with us."

"I bet it will look really pretty when the sun starts setting."

"We can stay here until the sun sets then."

"Sure."

They sat at the edge of the sky island. Aria moved out of the way to make room for Ari.

"You are so considerate." Ari smiled at her.

"It's nothing, Madam."

"Come here." Ari wrapped her arm around Aria's shoulder and pulled her closer.

Aria was stiff at first but quickly relaxed in the comforting hold of Ari. She fully relaxed her head and rested it on Ari's collarbone.

Earl, who was observing from the side found the scene incredibly picturesque.

"What are you looking at?" His mother teased.

"You two look good together."

"I know, right?"

Earl felt left out so he took Lily onto his lap. Her body was incredibly light and soft so it was very comfortable to have her on his lap. She was like a cuddly doll.

"Lily might be scared of height, Master." The crimson-haired girl remarked when she looked down the edge.

"I will hold onto you tighter then."

"A little tighter."

"This much?"

"That's good."

It felt like time accelerated when they were relaxed. In no time, the sun was setting. The horizon was painted red and they were able to see the different gradient transitions from the sky to the horizon as it slowly set.

From blue to red, to purple to red, to orange to red, and eventually, darkness.

"Sorry for getting you all involved in something dangerous today."

"Mom?"

"It was an unknown factor that I didn't know about. I felt bad."

"There's no need to apologize. We would be safe under your protection anyway."

"If something happened to any of you... I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

On this day, Earl found his mother's eyes... terrifying.