I don’t know how to do it exactly, but I’m a painting wizard, so somehow it should work.
I flopped down on the bed with a super ultra positivity. This is the best position for meditation, after all.
After a while.
I don’t know if it was due to too much human interaction and attention or the heat, but I drifted off to sleep.
And when I opened my eyes again, in front of me was the door I had drawn.
“… … ?”
Can I go in? It was a bit perplexing, but I did it as Angelica told me to.
Starting from where I was standing, the surroundings of the door were filled with white or gray clouds. It was very soft and fluffy, making it difficult to walk, but my sense of balance wasn’t bad, so I was able to reach the door safely.
“Hmm…”
It doesn’t seem to be someone else’s house, but as a well-mannered young lady, I knocked first.
“Excuse me, is anyone there?”
Of course, there was no answer. I grabbed the round ring hanging on the black tiger-shaped door handle. Creak. The door opened with the sound of metal rubbing.
As soon as I swallowed a dry saliva and took a step forward, Bang! bang! bang! The lights flashed with a sound. It was so dazzling that I squinted my eyes for a while, but very slowly I got used to my surroundings. And opened my mouth wide…
“Oh my god… … .”
What is all this? My remaining lifespan.
“One, two, three, four. Multiply by….”
Gasp. Counting the number of compartments that seemed to be for storing hourglasses, I was left dumbfounded, my jaw hanging open. I couldn’t believe it at all, so I counted backwards, but the number of squares didn’t change. There was no filling of the vacant space as if the hourglass had disappeared, nor did the existing hourglasses vanish.
I took deep breaths, firmly gripping my trembling chest.
“A total of thirty compartments … .”
Multiply by 10 is three hundred years old.
“Am I a great sage?”
If that was my remaining lifespan, I wouldn’t die even after becoming a great great grandma. However, since I have used magic a lot in the meantime, of course there were many empty compartments where hourglasses had disappeared. I checked how many compartments still have hourglasses.
“So… Thirteen full ones. One that is about 80 percent full.”
138.
I couldn’t believe I still had that many hourglasses after making so many things. It was as if I possessed the destiny of a lifespan tank, it was quite absurd.
‘Then can I use a little more power?’
The average human lifespan is 80 years. Even if it increased to 100 years, I didn’t know what it was like in this world. If I didn’t enjoy eternal youth and became a grandmother, there would be no reason to stay here. All my friends would be gone, even Lacius would leave, so there would be no reason to stay. I’ll find a way back to the real world somehow. Or die here.
In other words, 38 years out of 138 were useless for me. If I used them to stay safe and live comfortably for 100 years, it wouldn’t matter if I used them all up.
‘But I still need to experiment to see how much it decreases.’
I rolled my head very calmly and collectively. When I return to reality, I should materialize the canary that was drawn earlier. Then, I will come back and check how much disappears.
Still, I’ve made some progress after kidnapping people of Edmund kingdom. It’s been a day full of threats, but it’s also been a very rewarding day of information.
‘Can I just leave through the door to go back to reality?’
The sight of numerous hourglasses filled with sparkling red powder was quite magnificent. Thinking that this is all my life span makes me feel even more solemn. However, as I kept looking at it, I felt a bit creeped out, so I finally put down the hourglass I was holding and turned around.
And the moment I open the door. My mind was cut off like a fuse was switched.
* * *
In the room colored by the setting sun.
Lacius gently put his hand on Shay’s forehead. Unsettled, he couldn’t tell if she’d fallen asleep, or if she’d drifted off to a world he’d never see. It would be nice if he was also a painting wizard. He was curious and worried about her world that he couldn’t see.
Maybe Shay would come back and lie about her remaining lifespan.
‘I hope you don’t leave me early.’
He’d rather die with her than live without her.
Lacius truly thought that now. How could he ever meet another woman like Shay in his life? Someone so bright, so cheerful, like the sun on a sunny spring day. Bringing nothing but positivity to those around her, and making them laugh with her sometimes outrageous behavior.
She’s bold, she’s fiery, she doesn’t suffer from unnecessary anxiety, and she lives in the moment. There’s so much to learn from her. Lacius had never known anyone who’s such a good influence on others in his life. And probably there will be no more.
There was no end to the reasons why Shay was good, and now Lacius began to thirst for her.
‘I wish you could fall in love with me a little more.’
He knows it’s not easy with the threat of the Fata-Morgana still lingering around, and if he only knew where they were and who they were, he’d take Apollineus right away and wipe them out single-handedly.
He wanted Shay to focus all of her attention only on him.
For the first time in his life, Lacius found himself craving someone’s attention.
He never thought such a day would come.
Lacius gently stroked Shay’s head with a very affectionate and gentle touch. He hoped she would open her eyes soon and look at him with a gaze as bright and dazzling as the moon. Every time he saw himself reflected in her clear silver eyes, he tasted what true happiness was.
Shay doesn’t want to lean on him, but if a life crisis that might happen someday comes, he vows to stand more firmly for her.
So, to put it simply, he wants to live—for Shay.
He wants to live this life Shay created for him. That feeling deepened.
‘So I hope you wake up soon.’
Lacius put his hand on her cheek and waited. That was then.
Flap. With his sensitive hearing, he caught the sound of a bird flapping its wings. However, it wasn’t just one or two birds that could be simply dismissed.
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