“Eh. So Mr. Eli and Miss Edlyn are that kind of thing.” Hiri burrowed into the quilt like a cotton cocoon, eyes glued to the pair tangled on the bed.

Angela covered her eyes, peeking through finger-slit light like a child spying fireworks. “Ay, they flaunt their love all the time. This time’s just… special. You’ll get used to it.”

Edlyn’s eyes snapped open, cold as a blade pulled from snow. She slashed a glare at the spectators, then flicked the blanket, a wave that drowned Hiri’s view. Calm as still water, she slipped off the bed. She smoothed her pajamas, the fabric rippling like a pond, and crossed to the coat stand to dress.

She shot the man on the bed a look of disdain, sharp as frost on glass. At the door she pressed the service bell; the chime dropped like a bead into silence. When the operator picked up, Edlyn lifted the receiver, voice clean as winter air. “Hello, room service? Please send to room 403 one bottle of milk, two sandwiches, no vegetables. Thanks.”

She turned toward the trio, gaze like a lantern swept through fog. “What do you want?”

“I want milk, then eggs, then… then a slice of toast.” Angela bit her knuckle like a nervous rabbit, raised her other hand, and called to her sister with bright eyes.

Hiri raised his hand too, shy as a sprout under morning frost. “Same as Miss Angela.”

Both of them, except Edlyn, looked toward Eli, the way swallows track a sunlit window.

Eli sat up without a hint of sleep, calm as a lake at dawn. He blinked, a quick flash of starlight. “Edlyn-chan, you know what I like.”

The Demonic Lord cut him another look, cool as a mountain shadow. A barely-there smile curved her mouth like a thin crescent. She picked up the phone again.

“Bacon sandwich with a fried egg inside, and a serving of black tea. Mm, that’s all.” Her words fell neat as stacked tiles.

Eli smiled and nodded, contentment warm as embers. “Settled. Happy.”

The Demonic Lord tossed the receiver at him, a lazy arc like a falling leaf, then strolled into the bathroom with the calm of a drifting cloud.

Hiri leaned close to Angela’s ear, his breath a small breeze. “They’ve got a great relationship.”

“Yes.” Angela cupped her face like a blooming peony, eyes starry with a fangirl’s swoon. Hiri stared at her profile, a candle-lit curve, and drifted for a moment.

He pinched himself, the sting like a gnat bite, and a low ache pooled in his eyes. “Tsk. Not yet. At least… not yet.”

Eli squinted at him, lazy as a cat blinking in sun, then chuckled and let his eyes fall shut like shutters at dusk. A pair of white-silk feet planted on his face, firm as a stamp on paper.

“Get up! How long do you plan to lie there?” Edlyn’s voice snapped like a twig, and she stomped again, annoyed.

Eli gazed at the ceiling, bliss painting him like sunrise on snow. “White stockings are amazing.” Nosebleed blooming like a crimson plum, he tilted his head aside.

He caught sight of Angela’s small foot, delicate as a sparrow’s. He jolted upright, excitement fizzing like boiling water. “Hey, Edlyn-chan, how about black stockings next time?”

“You—filthy pervert!” Edlyn folded her arms, guarding herself like a closed gate, and glared at him with disgust thick as storm-clouds.

She lifted her foot again and kicked the half of Eli’s face not smeared with blood, a strike clean as falling hail.

“Ah—life fulfilled.” Eli leaned back, bliss-drunk as a monk with wine.

“Well then.” Eli cleared his throat, voice steady as a bell at noon. “Given the situation, we need to prep for work. Split up, or go together?”

He sat in the dining hall, watching the traffic flow like a river through stone, swirling his black tea, amber ripples turning like wind.

Angela pointed out the window at Vivian sweeping snow, her broom carving trails like reeds swept by a current. “I think that’s a good one.”

The two glanced over, then nodded in unison, crisp as twin drops. “Alright.”

“Meh, I’ll go get this city’s mage license.” Eli shrugged, easy as falling snow. “Money comes faster that way.”

“And I’ll prep Edlyn-chan for her Level Five Mage promotion.” He spoke like staking a marker in fog. “Come to think of it, the third memory isn’t far.”

Edlyn shot him a scornful look, sharp as black ice. She pared an apple, the peel curling like a red ribbon. “You just want to slack off, don’t you? I’ve never seen someone lounging while owing a mountain of debt.”

“Sigh, Edlyn-chan, why do you always roast me?” Eli’s smile wobbled like thin ice. “I thought that night—”

“Shut up, you maniac.” Edlyn drove a headbutt into his left cheek, a blunt thud like a ram against a gate, cutting him off clean.

“Cough, cough.” Eli pushed himself up from the floor, dazed as a traveler in snowdrift. “Maybe that bear rattled me. I’m a little out of it.”

He rubbed his face, palm warm as linen, and saw everyone still staring like owls in dusk. He waved it off, airy as smoke. “Relax. I’ll bring back at least as much money as you.”

“Speaking of, the Snowlands look gorgeous.” His eyes slid toward the window, where light glazed the frost like sugar. “When we have time, let’s go out and play.”

“Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that?” His grin was a fox under moonlight.

“Relax, I’m not going to settle accounts with that bear.” He sighed, breath fogging like a dragon’s puff. “Why don’t you ever believe me? Seriously.”