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Vur frowned. Ahead of him, there was a lake surrounded by trees. A few animals were on the shore, drinking out of it with their ears perked up. A wind blew past the waters, causing ripples to form on the lake’s surface. Vur squatted next to the water and poked it with his finger. “You said water elementals were easy to find, Deedee.”
“Statistically, they’re the most abundant elementals around,” Diamant said as he took on the shape of a rock by Vur’s foot. He dipped his thin arm into the water and frowned. “There really isn’t anyone here. Maybe you just have bad luck?”
Stella materialized behind Diamant and pushed him into the water. “This is the sixtieth lake we’ve been to,” she said and placed her hands on her hips as droplets of water splashed onto Vur’s feet. “His luck can’t be that bad. He’s blessed by everything under the sun! There must be something wrong with your instructions instead.”
Diamant spluttered as he climbed out of the water, glaring at Stella with his diamond eyes. “I rarely make mistakes,” he said and shook himself off like a dog. “Something abnormal is going on. Perhaps, if we went to the ocean, we—”
“It’s too late now,” Sheryl said. “The week is up. Vur has to attend that party he scheduled.” The runes on Vur’s shoulder flashed twice. “But still, I agree it’s pretty weird not to see any water elementals in the lakes. There were ten of them living in the lake by the volcano. Although, they probably went through the reincarnation cycle after the eruption, huh?”
“A week already passed?” Vur asked, tilting his head. “It doesn’t feel like it did.”
“Well, that’s what happens when you sleep for four days straight,” Zilphy said from the star on Vur’s arm. “I can’t believe it—I chose the weirdest person to contract with.” A green rock materialized by Diamant. A pair of arms sprouted out before pinching Diamant’s face. “This is all your fault. I gave up my freedom to get hitched to you.”
“I never asked you to do that,” Diamant said, rolling his eyes. “You’re the one who forced yourself on me.”
“You’re the pervert who peeked on me in the bath!” ZIlphy said, pinching DIamant’s cheeks even harder. Cracks formed underneath his eyes. “And you dare say I’m the one who forced myself on you?”
“Is this what people call a domestic quarrel?” Vur asked Stella as she flew onto his head.
“Yup,” Stella said, laying on her stomach while peering over Vur’s head. She smiled at the two quarreling rocks and placed her palms on her cheeks. “I used to fight like that all the time with…”
Vur’s body hovered in the air as gusts of wind pushed him up from below. He glanced up at Stella. “With?”
Stella’s brow furrowed as she rubbed her nose. “I can’t remember,” she said and sighed. “But it was fun. I think. I’m sure it was fun.” She lowered her head and tugged on Vur’s eyebrow. “Will you quarrel with me?”
“Ah, don’t leave us behind!” Zilphy shouted from below. She grabbed onto Diamant’s arm and flew into the air before merging into Vur’s body. A green and brown light crawled up his body into his right arm. “I’m not done with you yet, Deedee.”
“Even you’re calling me that now…?”
“Well?” Stella asked, tugging on Vur’s eyebrow again.
Vur scratched his head as he soared through the sky, heading towards the center of the continent. “I’m not sure how.”
“Just pretend I’m Tafel,” Stella said with a nod. “I’m sure you two must fight a lot.”
“Huh? Why would you think that?” Vur asked. “Tafel and I love each other very much. We don’t fight.”
“At all?” Stella asked, raising her eyebrows. “Not even a little? You don’t even fight over what to have for dinner?”
“Nope.”
“Eh?” Stella sat up and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s weird. Are you sure your relationship is stable?”
“We’re married,” Vur said as he flew through a cloud. “It has to be stable.”
“Hmm.” Stella frowned. “Most stable marriages don’t have a holy dragon trying to eat one of the partners. But what would I know? I’m not even three months old.” She shrugged before shaking her head. “You really don’t fight with Tafel? It probably has something to do with your easy-going nature.” She rubbed her chin. “Maybe if I asked Tafel, her response would be different.”
Vur shook his head, almost causing Stella to fall off. “If we weren’t compatible, I wouldn’t have married her. I love her too much to fight with her.”
“How do you say such mushy things with a straight face?” Stella asked, leaning over and pinching Vur’s ear. “I’m practically blushing for you.” She leaned back and sighed, watching the clouds pass by. “Tafel’s lucky she met you. Fairies don’t believe in romance, but I always wondered what it’d feel like to be in love. How can you like someone so much that you’d give up your freedom like Zilphy did for Diamant?”
Vur shrugged and flew through a flock of geese, causing them to squawk and scatter. “Tafel makes me happy: being around her, talking to her, seeing her do things. When she’s happy, I’m happy. And I like being happy; it’s much better than being sad. When I was little, I used to be sad when everyone ran away or hid from me. But Tafel didn’t run or hide; she became my friend.” Vur scratched his nose. “If I could pick between being free without Tafel and compromising to stay with Tafel, I’d always choose to stay with her.”
Stella hummed while pouting. “Then what are you going to do when Lulu tries to chase Tafel away?”
“If Tafel and I have a baby, Lulu will stop trying,” Vur said with a nod.
“You’re not even going to consider Lulu, huh?” Stella asked. “She’s not afraid of you either, and she became your friend. If you love Tafel because of those reasons, how’s Lulu any different? If you met Lulu before Tafel, would you have become her mate instead?”
Vur’s brow furrowed. “Tafel is Tafel,” he said. “And Lulu is Lulu. They’re different. I love Tafel and that’s that.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Stella said and scratched her head. “Love is really weird.”