Little Pink Starfish

“Hmm? Really?”

Eira, sucking down persimmon juice he hadn’t tasted in ages, was slightly surprised by those words. Though this place provided everything—food, shelter, and clothing—he was human, after all, and preferred places full of people. But perhaps it was different for a dragon. Unlike humans, who are social creatures, dragons could live hundreds or even thousands of years alone, like hamsters. Imagining a cute red-furred dwarf hamster, Eira asked:

“You like it here?”

“I like it a lot.”

Unusually, Yanu expressed his agreement firmly. He’d already finished chewing up all the ice and pushed aside the drink, now just coffee.

“No annoying, whiny humans making a fuss all the time.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be a bit boring living with just the two of us?”

“One strand of your hair is more entertaining than thousands of humans.”

Yanu answered decisively. The way he looked at his mate was strangely different today. And Eira, too, found himself liking Yanu’s gaze more than usual. Lost in thought, Eira gazed out at the silent city devoid of human presence and soon smiled gently.

“Still, we need to get out eventually. This place can’t exist forever, and more importantly, it’s still in the testing phase. There could be a critical error anytime.”

After finishing off both the persimmon juice and cake, Eira handed Yanu a new ice-filled drink. Then he called for the pebble.

“Little pebble, tell us what the condition to leave the room is.”

Though time flowed differently in here, the difference wasn’t massive. They’d spent several days in this space already—Ginas or Gretel might have collapsed from overwork by now. Bloom, in particular, might not be getting any proper rest. Lady Hera was probably travelling to and from the castle daily, and even Acte was likely more sensitive than usual, quietly worrying.

Only after several calls did the pebble finally appear from wherever it had been hiding. Perhaps because artificial spirits grew stronger in the labyrinth of memories, it now had fairy-like wings on its back, scattering shimmering light as it emerged. Waving the staff it held, the sentence that had been floating above the city finally filled in.

[The answer is]
[A room you can’t leave unless you rest]
[:(]

“Huh? A room you can’t leave unless you rest?”

Eira asked in confusion. If what they’d been doing all this time with Yanu wasn’t resting, then what was it? They hadn’t worked at all, just eaten, lounged, and slept.

But when he looked at his stat log window, provided by the pebble, he saw that his HP had indeed been steadily declining since entering the labyrinth. His HP had slightly increased over the past decade, normally hovering just above 800, but now it was barely over 400.

“I… wasn’t resting?”

Eira muttered in newfound realisation. Had it actually been physical labour of sorts? Come to think of it, his HP always dropped the day after being with Yanu. Yanu, always so rough, left him bruised and bitten, and Eira often fell asleep as if passing out.

“But you were resting the whole time.”

Yanu, ever in peak condition unlike humans, casually pulled at Eira’s clothes as he spoke. But after the pebble’s message, Eira took a closer look and realised his body wasn’t in great shape. He ached all over, couldn’t sit upright, and his legs stung. He slapped Yanu’s hand away from under his shirt.

“Don’t you have any shame?”

“Never owned any, so I wouldn’t know.”

Perhaps because he was extremely satisfied with the past few days, Yanu, unusually relaxed, licked his lips with a drowsy gaze. The tongue that flicked his cheek still felt cool, probably from just crunching ice. Eira leaned back slightly and thought.

“Then should I just rest properly for two more days and leave?”

He had been growing tired of the familiar scenery of his past life. As the red dog—no, dragon—loomed close again, Eira pushed him back and asked:

“Yanu, want to go explore the labyrinth?”

❄

It wasn’t like Eira had just lazed around with Yanu all the time. Whenever he had a spare moment, he made sure the labyrinth was functioning properly and fully adjusted it to respond to his own will. Over time, the labyrinth had grown so attuned to Eira that it opened a door to the maze district—Labyrinthus—at his command.

The first thing to appear beyond the door was the laboratory where Eira had practically lived. It was the clearest memory within the maze, so a wave of fondness swept over him.

“It’s exactly as I remember.”

One side of the wide, familiar lab was filled with tightly packed bookshelves. At the very top were books Eira had written himself—research texts on magical beasts. On the other side were meticulously polished and neatly arranged tools for experiments. Of course, in the real world, those magical tools were likely now gathering dust, waiting for their master to return.

“Where is this?”

“My lab in the Mage Tower.”

Yanu looked around with interest. Eira, curious, led him downstairs. As expected, the beast pens where he kept magical creatures were empty. He had anticipated it, but the emptiness still brought slight disappointment.

“Ah, of course. No slaves or beasts.”

“Slaves and beasts?”

“In the maze, you can use criminals as slaves. I had them manage the magical beasts.”

Eira narrowed his eyes as Yanu carefully inspected the pens, then led him away. He wanted to show him more, but his Mage Tower wasn’t that large. He’d only lived in the maze for about fifty years before being summoned to Solar. He hadn’t even officially owned the tower for very long.

“Come. I’ll show you my bedroom.”

The bedroom was the second most carefully designed space after the lab when he first built the tower. Yet ironically, he’d ended up sleeping more on the lab’s sofa.

The highlight of the bedroom was the terrace, with thin curtains fluttering gently. Beyond it spread an open view: a blue river flowing into the sea, a dense jungle, and at its edge, a massive red mountain range loomed. Yanu stuck his head out to take it all in and said:

“That’s my mountain range.”

“You’re calling it your mountain range?”

Eira found Yanu’s phrasing amusing. Come to think of it, he had spent many days watching over the mountain range where Yanu had been born.

“But the labyrinth’s underground, right? And it shouldn’t even be in this region.”

Having spent over ten years as the lover of a labyrinth mage, the dragon answered his own question.

“This is illusion magic, isn’t it?”

“As you know, that’s my specialty. Back when I was short on research funds, I used to enchant buildings with illusion magic and earn a decent sum with manastones.”

Even within the maze, illusion mages were rare, and Eira was considered top-tier. And in an underground city, there was always demand from mages who wanted to see beautiful scenery—even if only indoors.

“The best part is the bath.”

Eira opened the door connected to the bedroom. Inside was a hot spring. When his body felt stiff from research, a soak here melted the fatigue away. He had wanted to install one in Solar too, but it had remained a dream—no hot spring had been discovered there yet.

Under a glass dome, the air in the bath area was cool, and beyond it, an illusory snow-covered mountain sparkled. Rocks and flowers were harmoniously arranged around the pool. Eira folded his clothes neatly into a basket and dipped his feet in. The hot water instantly relaxed his whole body.

As Eira slowly adjusted to the water, dipping in bit by bit, Yanu had already tossed his clothes aside and walked in without hesitation. Eira lowered himself in and asked:

“You still prefer ice water, don’t you?”

“I do.”

Being the type to roll around in snowdrifts when it got too warm in Solar, hot water wasn’t Yanu’s favourite. But because Eira liked it, he came along without complaint. Feeling a sudden rush of affection, Eira smiled.

He soaked in the hot spring all morning, easing his body. In the afternoon, he made delicious food, and at night, they lay in bed watching the starry sky, falling into a long, lazy sleep. The next morning, waking to birdsong, Eira rested his head on Yanu’s chest and gazed past the terrace.

A sudden desire arose—to move the red Rezhedet Mountains closer to Solar.

If that’s Yanu’s mountain range, then it’s mine too, right? Like a shared title of ownership.

Everything about this moment was beautiful. It was perfect. Utterly satisfying. Feeling content, Eira turned and asked Yanu:

“Yanu, how do you feel about living in Solar? Are you satisfied?”

Since Yanu liked cold places, maybe he was content. Or maybe he found the bustling human city annoying. The dragon, who didn’t even care to look at the mountain he was born on and lazily stroked Eira’s hair while occasionally nibbling on fallen strands, replied:

“I’m satisfied with you.”

Eira smiled warmly, knowing exactly what Yanu meant by that vague answer.

A dragon who found all his joy in one person—such a thing was near impossible for any human. Yet here he was, receiving that intense affection and attention all for himself. Every time he confirmed Yanu’s absolute devotion, Eira’s own deep affection and possessiveness swelled. Confirming that his stamina had recovered quite a bit, he made a quiet suggestion to Yanu:

“Shall we do it just one more time before we leave?”

Outside the labyrinth, overworked retainers and a mountain of unfinished tasks awaited due to his absence—but right now, in this moment, Eira was the happiest mage in the world, together with his dragon.

---

Pinkster says: That’s the whole kit and caboodle fellas. Also just found out it’s not ‘kitten kaboodle’, I’m thoroughly disappointed.

Anyways. Stick around, I’m gonna translate some more from this author because they clearly know what they’re doing, perhaps I’ll do some tasters and we can decide together?