Little Pink Starfish

Veloan was breathtakingly beautiful—so much so that no words could truly capture it. The ceremonial garments embroidered with white and pale blue thread suited him perfectly.

But all Ishar could focus on was not Veloan’s beauty, but the imperial empress’s regalia he wore and the seat he was sitting in.

“Veloan… why… why are you sitting in the empress’s seat?”

Veloan gave him an enchanting smile.

“As of today, I am your empress. You may call me your wife, Your Majesty.”

“This is a misunderstanding. It’s a misunderstanding, Veloan…”

“But you swore to take me as your empress, did you not?”

“—What I promised was the emperor’s throne.”

*“No need to be shy. I *am* your empress.”*

“It really is a misunderstanding!”

“My husband is so bashful. Then allow me to give you the first kiss.”

“Why are we talking about kisses?! And why are you touching me again? Get your mouth away from me!”

Ishar tried desperately to evade Veloan’s approaching lips, but the distance only kept shrinking.

He kept dodging and retreating—until his back hit a wall. With nowhere left to run and Veloan’s face closing in, Ishar squeezed his eyes shut.

“Gah…!”

The moment he became aware his eyes were closed, he opened them again.

His heart pounded furiously. Gasping for breath from the lingering horror of that dream, Ishar stared wide-eyed at the ceiling.

Only after his breathing settled did his violet eyes regain clarity from the haze of confusion and fear.

“It was a dream!”

He had dreamt many nightmares in his life, but none quite as absurd or bizarre as this. It took him a long time to pull himself together.

“Thank the gods. Truly. I hope I never dream that again.”

Veloan—wearing the tiara and circlet reserved for the empress. Though his stunning looks made even that suit him naturally, it was the emperor’s crown that fit him best.

“Veloan!”

Still rattled by the dream, Ishar recalled what had happened before he passed out and sat bolt upright, scanning the room.

He muttered blankly to himself:

“Where… am I?”

Everything around him was unfamiliar. Though it resembled the luxurious room of a noble’s mansion, the furnishings weren’t of the Empire’s style.

The tapestry spanning one wall and the horizon visible beyond the window weren’t anything one would see in the Empire.

But none of that mattered.

“Veloan? Veloan?!”

He was gone. The disciple who had promised to stay by his side when he awoke was nowhere to be seen.

In a panic, Ishar leapt from the bed, pacing the room like a child abandoned at home, not even thinking to use magic as he searched.

*“Was it a dream? No, it wasn’t… it *wasn’t* a dream.”*

He had seen Veloan again—his living, breathing disciple. Not a ghost. Not a memory.

The warmth, the weight, the vivid presence—none of it could have been a dream.

And yet now, he was nowhere to be found.

Just like the nightmares that had tormented Ishar for three years.

His heart pounded with panic, his breath caught in his throat.

“Where… where are you? You promised… ah! Magic.”

Just as he remembered magic and reached to cast a locating spell—

“Ah, Master. You’re awake.”

“Veloan!”

Veloan entered the room calmly, carrying a bowl of water and smiling.

He set it on the table, and Ishar immediately pulled him into a hug.

The warmth and firmness of Veloan’s body were real—undeniably, vividly real.

“It wasn’t a dream. It’s not a dream…”

“Didn’t I promise I’d be by your side?”

“You said you’d be here when I woke up. But you weren’t—I thought it was all a dream.”

“…Ah.”

A soft sigh, almost like a moan, escaped Veloan’s lips.

Ishar flinched, worried he had hurt or startled him, and lifted his head from Veloan’s chest—

Only for Veloan to kiss him. Lightly. Naturally. As if breathing.

Ishar froze in place, stunned.

Was that a hallucination?

“Master, I’ve healed your internal injuries and detoxified you, but you should still stay in bed. Your body’s not in good shape.”

“…Just now…”

“It looked like you hadn’t slept at all while I was gone. Am I right?”

“Well, yes, but… just now, what… what did you do?”

Ishar had never stammered like this before.

Yet Veloan simply guided him back to bed, calm as ever, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“What do you mean?”

“You kissed me…”

When Ishar hesitated mid-sentence, Veloan chuckled knowingly and asked,

“Oh, you mean this?”

He leaned in and again pressed a soft kiss to Ishar’s lips with a loud smooch, as if sealing a letter.

“Why… are you kissing me?”

“Because I’ll soon be your empress. Isn’t that natural? Anyway, Master, you must’ve been really shaken. Your shoes are over there—please remember to wear them next time.”

“My shoes? Why—”

Ishar instinctively looked down where Veloan was glancing.

He was barefoot.

“You always told me to wear shoes even in the bedroom. There could be something sharp on the floor, after all.”

With that lighthearted scolding, Ishar finally regained a bit of clarity.

“When did you change my clothes? And… where are we?”

“After healing you, I brought you here and dressed you myself. Oh—and don’t worry, I washed you thoroughly too. We’re at a villa in Tebar, the southernmost region of Antare.”

“Antare? …So you’ve been here the whole time these three years, without returning to me?”

“Not just here. I’ll explain, so please don’t be angry.”

“Then speak.”

“Just a moment.”

Veloan helped Ishar sit, fetched a damp towel, and knelt at his feet.

Ishar flinched when Veloan gently took his foot.

“I’ll clean them.”

“I can do it myself. Let go.”

“You wandered around barefoot looking for me, didn’t you?”

“No. I was just… too rattled to think.”

“I know you better than anyone, Master. I know how much you’ve suffered these three years because of me.”

“…If you knew, and were alive, why didn’t you reach out? Just once. Just once…”

The soft, bitter murmur escaped before he could stop it.

Veloan simply smiled, and, just like Ishar had once done for him, gently wiped his feet with the towel.

Silence settled. And it weighed heavily on Ishar—because Veloan’s silence seemed to confirm all the worst of Ishar’s suspicions.

“Will you tell me… what you’ve been doing?”

“Didn’t you already guess?”

“The dragon corpses.”

“Yes. I hunted dragons.”

“To grow stronger?”

“As you can see.”

“Then all the more—why didn’t you come back to me?”

Veloan looked up, his gaze locking with Ishar’s. Pushed by that look, Ishar’s lips parted.

“…Did you wait for me? After you fell into the Abyss—did you wait to be rescued, only to climb out on your own and think I had abandoned you? Is that why you never reached out?”

It felt like a confession of guilt. Even before hearing the answer, fear had already gripped him.

He tried to stay composed—as an emperor should—but his love for Veloan wasn’t from his throne. It was personal. Human.

His trembling voice revealed the fear in his heart.

“How could I ever think that?”

“You can be honest.”

“I’ve always been honest with you, Master. If you want the truth, I acted out of necessity.”

“Necessity? I don’t understand.”

“Joining the Cvyule extermination force was part of my plan.”

“What?”

“Even if the monsters hadn’t changed, I would’ve found a way to end up in the Abyss. I needed to.”

“Explain.”

“To freely move around and hunt dragons, I had no choice. I was still inexperienced then—if I’d gone alone, Zischka would’ve devoured me.”

“Then you should’ve told me!”

Ishar’s voice rose.

But Veloan, unlike before, didn’t panic. He simply smiled—calm, composed—and it made Ishar’s heart ache.

“And this reaction, Master, is exactly why I had to fall.”

“You care deeply for me. If I had said I wanted to hunt dragons, you would’ve locked me in the palace and hunted them yourself.”

“Of course I would! I wouldn’t let you endanger yourself—”

“Do you remember what I told you three years ago?”

“…How could I forget?”

“I am not a dog you raised.”

“I am not a being who can live only under your protection.”

While Veloan had been gone, Ishar had relived every moment from their first meeting to the day they last saw each other—over and over again.

And so, he understood exactly what Veloan meant.