Etude of the Mischievous Mask | Chapter 3

[healingbonds]

Chapter 2 << | index | >> Chapter 4


(Rustle)

Rutile: Ta-da.

Chloe: (.....!? I just finished lunch and was dozing off in the dining hall — and out of nowhere, this ball of fluff appeared in front of my eyes....!?)

Rutile: Here's a question. What's this~? Is it a cloud~? Is it a mop~?
The answer is, it's Mister Leno's sheep's butt~!

(Baaaaa)

Chloe: (....He's an interesting one....)

Rutile: You're the Western wizard Chloe, right? I'm the Southern wizard Rutile.
Mister Shylock told me we were the same age, so I wanted to be friends.

Chloe: Friends? With me? I wanted to be friends, too! I'm so happy.... Let's get along, Rutile!

Rutile: Yay! I’d be glad to, Chloe. Your clothes are so fashionable! The Western wizards are all so metropolitan and lovely.

Chloe: R-really? I made these clothes myself. It's my dream to become a tailor....

Rutile: I know! You said your dream was to become the greatest tailor in the country. That's amazing!

Chloe: Ehehe.... I'm still in training, though. Rutile, you're a teacher, right?

Rutile: Yup! But my dream is to create a picture book. It's going to be a story about wizards.

Chloe: Huh! Will you show me when it's done?

Rutile: Of course! Tell me what you think!

Lennox: Rutile. Please don't kidnap my child.

Rutile: Ah, Mister Leno. Chloe, this is the shepherd, Mister Lennox. He's the owner of this ball of fluff. He's a kind person.

Chloe: Hello, Mister Lennox. I'm the Western wizard, Chloe.

Lennox: No need to be so formal. I'm Lennox; let's get along. How's training going?

Chloe: Training...? What do you mean?

Lennox: Each country is doing magic training in preparation for the battle against the < Great Catastrophe >, right? I thought that’s why we were all living together in the magic headquarters.

Chloe: I remember hearing something like that... But Western Country hasn’t done anything like that at all....

Rutile: Wait, so what have you been doing?

Chloe: Um... We were just doing whatever we wanted.....

Rutile: Ahaha, that sounds so like Western Country! We're also pretty relaxed during practice, aren't we, Mister Leno?

Lennox: You're right. Dr. Figaro is a laid-back person, after all.

Chloe: I... I just wanted friends, so I've been speaking to everyone... I forgot about our jobs as sage’s wizards.

Rutile: It’s good to make friends. Being close to the wizards in your country will always help with teamwork, after all!

Lennox: Yeah. Don't worry about it. Western Country is full of long-living, experienced wizards, too.

Chloe: (They cheered me up. They really are kind.... They said they wanted to be friends.)

Rutile: Chloe, what's wrong?

Chloe: Ah... Um. You see, I always wanted to be friends with the Southern wizards....

Rutile & Lennox: ...........

Chloe: Y-you guys seemed so nice.... I'm just so moved because you turned out to be exactly the way I imagined. Ehehe.... I should've said hi earlier.

Rutile: Me too! Hearing that makes me so happy. Let's really get along!!

Lennox: If you'd like, you could drop by later today to watch Southern Country's training lessons. I’m sure Mitile and Dr. Figaro would love to say hi.

Chloe: Really?

Rutile: Yes! Please come!

Chloe: Wow, yay! Then I will drop by!

✦✧☾✧✦

Chloe: Rutile, do you get along with Shylock?

Rutile: I went to his bar the other day for a drink. We chatted then—.

Murr: It's Chloe~!

(Footsteps)

Chloe: Woah, Murr....!

Rutile: Wow, he leapt on you like a cat!

Murr: Where are you going? Where did you come from? Will you play with me? Will you not?

Chloe: Ahaha, don't tickle me! I can't play now. I'm going to watch Southern Country's practice.

Murr: I wanna go too!

Chloe: Um, can I bring him?

Rutile: Of course! Let's go, Mister Murr.

Murr: Yay~!

✦✧☾✧✦

Figaro: Looks like we have a lot of guests today.

Chloe: P-please take care of me.

Rutile: Fufu. I asked him to come. Chloe said he wanted to be friends with the Southern wizards.

Mitile: I see! So you're a good person, Mister Chloe!

Lennox: Ahaha, that makes him a good person....?

Mitile: People who make fun of us are mean people! So people who like us are good!
Mister Chloe, I'm Rutile's little brother, Mitile. Let's get along.

Chloe: (He looks more assertive than Rutile. He's full of energy; how cute.)
Yeah! Let's get along!

Mitile: You too, Mister Murr!

Murr: I’m looking forward to practice!

Figaro: Murr from the West? Isn’t he a great scholar? I don’t think there’s much I can teach him. Oh, but has his knowledge all gone flying away?

Murr: It's gone flying! I'm gonna go flying!

Mitile: Wow, he suddenly floated mid-air....

Chloe: Murr, stop! You need to take practice seriously....!

Figaro: Ahaha, it's fine. He's like a butterfly that wandered into the room. Let's pick up from yesterday's lesson.
Chloe, if you're confused, feel free to ask any questions.

Chloe: Yes!

Chapter 2 << | index | >> Chapter 4