Little Pink Starfish

After giving the little pebble a loving squeeze like a stress ball, Eira dragged his feet toward the bedroom. Once bathed and changed into comfortable clothes, he entered his study to catch up on paperwork—where he found Yanu waiting, sprawled lazily across the sofa munching on something crunchy.

“Welcome back. You look tired.”

“Why is it that my stamina never increases…?”

Like a weary father returning home from work, Eira sighed and crawled into Yanu’s arms. Nestled against the warmth of his handsome partner, he kneaded him as he pleased, gradually easing the fatigue.

He had intentionally left Yanu behind today—when Yanu was present, Elsis’s two foster children were too terrified to even speak to Eira. Thanks to that, Eira had achieved exactly what he aimed for.

“I wish the festival would just end already…”

Mumbling, Eira slowly sat upright, still leaning against Yanu. Only now did he realise Yanu wasn’t eating cookies, but seashells—leftovers from the seafood dish Eira had ordered for him.

“Why are you eating that?”

Feeling a little sorry, Eira rummaged through his subspace. Yanu chewed another shell without care.

“They’ve got a nice plain flavour. Must be the calcium.”

“Still, eat something proper. Don’t eat that—eat this.”

Eira finally found the pouch he was looking for and poured it onto a tray. Out tumbled a mix of colourful ores and magic stones. He wanted to feed Yanu gemstones, but even he couldn’t do that often.

As Yanu’s “magic stone mukbang” got underway, Eira sat at his desk and resumed his furious paperwork.

Why doesn’t the workload go down even after hiring more administrators…? Why…? Am I still going to be working myself to death ten years from now? No, once I recruit more talent, things should ease up… At least now I can get six hours of sleep a night.

He slammed his seal down on documents while Yanu, stacking magic stones on a shell and eating them all at once, suddenly asked:

“Hey, those two humans we saw yesterday.”

“Mmm, mhm… Huh? Who?”

Eira, focused on his work, gave a half-hearted reply before belatedly realised what Yanu meant.

“Oh, you mean Elsis’s foster children.”

“They seem to like you.”

Yanu’s words slowly filtered through Eira’s focused mind. He replied absentmindedly:

“Of course. Their affection stats for me are quite high. Peril’s already above 70.”

Then muttered a beat later:

“But, well, they’re just humans anyway…”

When he finally looked up, Yanu was grinning. Realising he’d spoken a bit too honestly, Eira cleared his throat.

“They’re not your type because they’re ‘just humans’? You’d prefer if they were magical beasts?”

“What are you on about? I wouldn’t be that interested even if they were.”

Behind Eira stood a display case full of magical beast eyes. It had grown to two levels over the years. On the top shelf were two eyes belonging to Yanu. One of them had been a gift to celebrate their first decade together, and Eira polished it daily with a microfiber cloth like a cherished treasure.

“Well, maybe if it’s a magical beast with big eyes…”

“No…”

“You know my thing is quite large and sturdy, right, Eira?”

“…Are we even talking about the same thing?”

Their silly back-and-forth continued until Eira’s paperwork was miraculously finished. With a bit of spare time left, he headed to the research tower. Even late into the night, the tower remained brightly lit.

“Eat while you work.”

“Lord Eira…”

Scholars and mages, pale as the dead, stumbled over to collect the rations. Some nearly burst into tears as they aired their grievances.

“I just… want to sleep…”

“Please… I haven’t been home in a week…”

“Let’s hang in there! A bonus awaits once the festival’s over! No one’s died from losing a bit of sleep! You’ve got this!”

The researchers half-heartedly muttered replies that couldn’t quite be called yes or no.

Over the last ten years, public perception of mages in Solar had improved, thanks to Acte’s dedicated cooperation. Once enough goodwill had been built, Eira erected a smaller tower and began recruiting mages with promises of high pay, guided research, and complete academic freedom.

Thus gathered, these mages were now thoroughly ground down under the weight of capitalism. Eira’s research success meant their own success. There was no coercion involved—they had become slaves to money and research of their own volition…

Even when tempted to rest, they’d look at the piles of magic stones and excellent lab equipment and keep going. The Labyrinth was too scary to return to, and nowhere else offered such research opportunities. They had no choice but to stay.

While Eira gently coaxed the lab’s workforce, Ginas entered carrying urgent paperwork. As he stepped inside, he nearly tripped over someone. Eira caught him.

“Careful.”

“Eh? There’s nothing on the floor…”

“Ah, it’s me, Chancellor. Ricard here. I’m right here.”

A voice echoed from seemingly empty space, startling Ginas. A shimmer of light flickered politely for him, and elsewhere, another invisible person greeted him, “Hello, Chancellor!”

Ginas turned to Eira. It was clear the mages had taken the same potion Eira once drank. Hesitant, Ginas finally asked,

“So… it’s not okay to experiment on citizens, but it is on mages?”

“Uh…”

Eira looked around, thoughtful, then said:

“But… they’re mages? And they volunteered. Right?”

A few answered cheerfully, “Yes, my Lord!” Ginas fell silent.

“What’s the difference between a volunteering citizen and a volunteering mage?”

Eira, who had been heavily recruiting talent lately, realised that mages with access to the lab were technically citizens too. He struggled to answer such a fundamentally awkward question.

“Well, Ginas… They’re, um… different?”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, I always test on myself first, and mages have more resistance, right? They’re kind of… prepared for this?”

He gestured vaguely at the busy researchers.

“They’re weak enough to flee the Labyrinth, sure, but… still mages?”

“…Excuse me?”

Ginas couldn’t make sense of it. Someone sniffled. Another whimpered softly.

So becoming a mage meant no longer being considered a citizen? Volunteering for experiments not even criminals endured…?

“Come on now, let’s all hang in there! Once the festival’s over, you’ll get your vacation at a luxurious resort and a fat bonus. Just a bit more grinding, okay?”

Eira, pouring all he had into the festival, cheerfully cracked the whip on his overworked lab staff. Ginas’s eyes wavered slightly, but he decided not to say anything more. Today, the mages in the lab felt especially… pitiful.

❄

On the eve of proper winter, the morning of the first day of the Winter Festival dawned. The gates of the lord’s castle swung open, welcoming all visitors. As every year, the castle—decorated with snow, ice, and safflowers—overflowed with people. Priests and officials handed out gifts with smiling faces.

The most crowded area was, naturally, the soon-to-be-completed temple. Guards stationed around it kept the crowds in orderly lines and swiftly quelled any disorder.

The plaza before the temple had been purposefully kept wide and directly connected to the city’s grand avenue, yet people still spilled over in all directions. Many had lodged nearby for days, securing spots in advance.

Only the massive temple stood serenely, veiled in a billowing illusion of white fabric like an aurora, separate from the world’s noise.

As anticipation reached its peak and the sun rose to noon, the completion ceremony finally began. A traditional band in ceremonial garb entered first, and the sound of Solar’s native instruments—painstakingly researched and supported by Gretel—filled the air.

Invited lords sat in the highest seats, watching the ceremony unfold. Among them was Elsis, dressed in the skit silk garments gifted by Eira, seated beside his foster children. Though his domain was slightly larger than Solar’s, it wasn’t prestigious—and the sheer scale of the crowd and celebration intimidated him.

But only briefly. Elsis soon puffed out his chest with pride. In talking with the other lords, he discovered none of them had received personal gifts from Solar’s lord.

And besides, hadn’t Eira shown notable interest in his foster children over the past few days? Raga and Peril were often summoned for long conversations, returning with arms full of gifts. When Elsis pried for details, they’d blush and say they had a wonderful time.

His beauty trap had clearly worked. Even if just one child succeeded, he would’ve been happy—but to have both, at once? That was excellent news for him.

To have two at the same time… well, that’s ideal. But…

He looked toward Solar’s lord, conversing with the High Priest. Even to someone like him, who had grown more discerning lately, Solar’s lord was undeniably beautiful. With the look of a ruler of a snowy domain, he wore long flowing robes that trailed behind, trimmed in soft fur of some unknown beast. In one hand, he held a bouquet of safflowers—the sacred flower of the Morunka faith. His long silver hair looked like part of the outfit.

He wore a glittering veil over his eyes, woven with jewels clear as dew. The robe and veil’s edges were densely embroidered in floral gold thread. Even the laces on his tall boots sparkled with gem-like ornaments.

Elsis tried calculating how much it all cost and gave up, tongue clicking.

Then he glanced at his foster children—who were looking at Solar’s lord with expressions like lovestruck fools. Though he believed his children were beautiful, the one who stood out the most here was undoubtedly Solar’s lord.