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Gloria hummed to herself as she pinched a grape with two of her claws. “Here you go,” she said and raised her paw. With a flick of her ankle, the grape soared through the air and into a blue bear’s waiting mouth. The bear’s head was jutting out of a black vortex, floating in the air beside Gloria. The Star Ursula swallowed without chewing before smiling at the cursed dragon.
“My sealed evil is better than yours,” Ramon said and picked up a grape. He tossed it at Kozabokget, and the white goat had to jump to catch it lest it hit the ground.
“Daniel is cuter and easier to hug,” Gloria said without looking at her brother. She picked up another grape and flicked it at the Star Ursula. “Kozabokget is so small. If you try to hold her, you’ll break something.”
“That’s not true,” Ramon said and leaned over. He grabbed Kozabokget and hugged the goat to his chest. A loud cracking sound echoed through the palace room along with a miserable whimpering sound. Ramon furrowed his brow, and his eyes shone. A white light enveloped Kozabokget, healing the poor goat. “See? She’s easy to hold.”
Gloria rolled her eyes before picking up the bowl of grapes. She raised her paw and dumped all the grapes into the Star Ursula’s mouth. “It’s time for class,” Gloria said and lowered the bowl. She patted and rubbed the Star Ursula’s head before scratching behind its ears. “I’ll see you later, Daniel. Be good!”
The Star Ursula let out a low roar, and its head retracted into the black vortex. Gloria grunted and pressed her paw against the ground. Runes appeared on the edge of the black vortex, and with a sucking sound, the vortex collapsed in on itself, taking the runes along with it as it disappeared.
Ramon let out an exaggerated sigh and collapsed to the ground, stretching out his limbs while letting his chin rest on the floor. He rolled his eyes down to look at Kozabokget. “Can you ask the light to make an image of me going to class? I don’t want to go.”
“I can,” Kozabokget said. “But your mom will see through it, and both of us will get in trouble.” She nudged Ramon’s face with her front legs. “Let’s go. You might not be afraid of getting hit by your mom’s punishment stick, but I am! That thing is thrice my size.”
“I don’t want to get hit by it either,” Ramon said and grumbled as he climbed off the ground. He followed Gloria out of the room, and after walking through a few halls, he ended up in the palace’s classroom. It was already occupied.
Tafel raised her head. “Good morning, Gloria. Good morning, Ramon.” She lowered her head again and scribbled on a tablet with her finger, using mana to leave marks on the smooth surface. Beside her, there were dozens upon dozens of stone tablets, and in front of her, there was the Trickster’s Book. In order to translate the book, she had to use four different dictionaries, each translating from one language to another, and to use those dictionaries, she had to become literate in the four languages first. Although she couldn’t understand the words in the book just yet, she kept it in front of her as a reminder of why she was working so hard.
“Good morning, Tafel,” Gloria said and looked around. “Vur’s not here?”
“He left,” Tafel said. “He took the Recordkeeper and said he was going to continue his tour of the world.”
“Doesn’t Vur learn faster than you?” Ramon asked. “Why didn’t you ask him to learn those languages and translate the book for you before leaving?”
Tafel’s expression darkened. “He only learns a little faster than me, okay? I told him he didn’t have to help me because I wanted to do it myself.”
Ramon tilted his head. “Why?”
“I’ll treasure it more if I work for it,” Tafel said.
“That’s dumb,” Ramon said and snorted. “Why do you want to work hard for something when you can get it for no effort?” He glanced at his sister. “Right?”
Gloria shrugged. “Maybe it makes her happy,” she said. “I like feeding Daniel even if I don’t have to.”
“Oh,” Ramon said, dragging out the word. His brow furrowed, and he stared at Tafel as if she were a freak. “Studying is your hobby?” He shivered. “Can’t you get a normal one like biting rabbits’ tails off? It’s because of you that Grandma is always pushing us so hard.” Ramon stood on his hindlegs and pinched his snout. “Look at Tafel; see how diligent she is? Why can’t you be more like her, Ramon?”
Kozabokget nudged Ramon’s leg. “Your grandma’s almost here,” she whispered.
Ramon flinched and dropped to the ground. He quickly took his seat by Tafel’s side and folded his paws in front of himself on the table, looking much like a model student. Moments later, Gren walked into the room and stared directly at Ramon. “If you’re going to impersonate me, your voice should be lower, not higher.”
“Yes, Grandma Gren,” Ramon said and lowered his head. He stared at the table, not daring to make another sound.
Gren stared at Ramon for a little while longer before turning to look at Kozabokget. She grinned at the goat, baring her teeth. “You’re not going to try to run away now that Vur isn’t here?”
Kozabokget shook her head back and forth. “I like it here,” she said. “Why would I run away? Ramon treats me very well.” Other than accidentally crushing her with his strength, Ramon wasn’t a bad owner. He didn’t force her to do anything, and he even fed her grapes on occasion. Although there was less freedom, she preferred to be a little less free than have to worry about the threat of being eaten by Vur constantly hanging over her head.
Gren snorted and glanced at Ramon. “Let’s hope that stays this way.”
Ramon blinked. Why was he the one being lectured again? It was Kozabokget that replied!