"Eughh~ My stomach doesn't feel particularly good after eating this," Aiden complained, holding a charcoal-black piece that was supposed to be the serpent's meat in his hand.
A slight burn could be seen near his index finger, and a burning flicker of flame in the vicinity, on which he had "cooked" the meat.
"You told me that you knew how to cook, right? This is no different than eating coal," Zephy grumbled.
"...I knew. It's just that I haven't cooked in this world, nor on an open fire. Maybe I did something wrong... or perhaps it's the meat," Aiden mumbled under his breath in complaint, continuing to nibble on the charcoal piece.
It's useless to talk about this, Zephy thought, shaking his head, and concluded that continuing the conversation would be a waste of time.
"No use wasting breath on your cooking. We'll make better use of it elsewhere. So, let's just get started with your first lesson. Magic, Skills—"
"Hmm. Arghmm—Cough! Wai—Cough! Cough!" Choking on his food and flailing his hands, Aiden managed to stop Zephy from continuing.
He manifested water and drank it to have the burned meat slide down his throat, unchoking himself in the process.
"Cough... Wait! I haven't finished yet," Aiden said, wiping his mouth clean with his left hand and holding the piece of coal in his other hand.
"Weren't you willing to skip food entirely to have me start blabbering about magic?" Zephy frowned, his eyebrows coming closer.
"At that time, I didn't realize how hungry I was. But now, if I stopped eating, I would faint," Aiden pleaded, exuding his charm in every little action he took.
"...Just eat and listen then. No need to reply," Zephy said.
Aiden nodded in agreement, chugging the burnt meat down his mouth... without any regalness of a prince.
But somehow, that action had a charm of its own.
"Sigh~" Zephy sighed, resigning to his fate, and decided to spread his wings in the little form, manifesting an aurora of frost.
He flew onto the aurora, folded his wings, and lay down in a relaxing posture.
The whole scene was so out of the ordinary and unique that Aiden stopped chewing, his eyes widening as they fixed on Zephy.
"Heh..." Zephy smirked, seeing his reaction, and continued.
Thus, he began the first lesson of his second pupil ever.
"So, this aurora. This glacial film that I'm on right now. What do you think this is the result of?" Zephy asked, heightening the glossiness and beauty of the aurora to an almost ethereal level, as if showing off and bragging about his proudest achievement.
"Hmm..." Aiden stood up, dusting his hands on his trousers, and looked at the glacial aurora closely.
The aurora seemed like a veil made of the finest piece of cloth, so thin it had become translucent.
Yet, when he tried to touch it, his hand passed through—it was merely an illusion of his eyes.
Focusing more, Aiden could see snow crystals whirling around in the aurora in a random way.
Sometimes they revolved clockwise, yet the next second they started moving anticlockwise.
A few of the crystals appeared to be bouncing, while some stood still, like rocks that hadn't moved in years.
Some moved in a wavy motion, while others darted in a zigzag.
There was no particular pattern he could find in their movement, even after trying his hardest.
"Hahahaha... Wanna give up? You aren't gonna guess right in a million years this way," Zephy laughed mockingly, trying to break Aiden's concentration and get under his nerves, but...
Those words seemed to fall on deaf ears.
Aiden was mesmerized by the sheer masterpiece he was observing.
For him, the world around him, his inner turmoil, the thoughts racing in his mind... all of it disappeared completely. He found himself lost in the intricacies and beauty of the finest masterpiece of aurora.
It was the most mesmerizing and beautiful thing he had seen for as long as he could recall with his Perfect Memory.
It was just phenomenally amazing!
How brilliant! ...It's like all of the little crystals have a personality of their own. Their random patterns, without clashing with each other, gave them such a mystery.
How's that happening?
Is Zephy handling every crystal consciously? ...But that would be too difficult and wouldn't be relaxing at all. And besides, he's perched lazily on it, so that can't be it.
Then how?
And not to say, those beautiful rays of silverish-blue light flowing in between the veil and crystals...
What is that?
Some light's reflection from the crystals?
However, it should also be random and disorganized... but it seems to flow smoothly in a rhythm between everything.
Moreover, not to mention—when my hand completely passed through the aurora, how's Zephy lazily lying on it?
How mysterious...
...Is it a skill? Can I learn it then—
"Oww!" Aiden screamed, cupping his left cheek as a sudden pain pulled him out of his thoughts.
"What was that for?!" he yelled, seeing blood on his palm.
"It was to pull you out of your fantasy thoughts, lad. You were lost in them. It's good to see that you love magic, but don't love anything to this degree that you forget about your surroundings. We are in a forest!"
"Anything could have happened... if it weren't for me."
Zephy reprimanded Aiden calmly, vanishing the aurora and transforming back into his little form.
While Aiden was lost in his thoughts, Zephyrix had morphed into the ethereal Ice Phoenix he truly was, to scare off any monsters who might've been lurking in the shadows to sink their fangs into the oblivious prince.
"But it hurts..." Aiden grumbled under his breath like a kid who knows he's wrong but doesn't want to admit it.
"It should. I didn't throw that feather at you to not hurt. And I am also not going to heal that. You should be aware of how dangerous the outside world is, considering whatever little you've told me about your past life—not to mention the constant threat of monsters around here."
The more words left Zephy's beak, the more anger became clear.
Anger, which appeared to be coming from something deep.
Something regretful.
"...I'm sorry."
Aiden felt ashamed of himself, thinking that he might have gotten too comfortable and used to his princely life—that he'd forgotten how cruel the outside could be, even without the life-threatening monsters.
He felt guilty for forgetting, even for a moment, the tragedy that had transpired because of him.
The lives that had ended early, the dreams that had been crushed, the happiness that had vanished...
...How could I enjoy anything?
I don't have that right.
His head drooped, his fist clenched.
Tears formed in the extreme corners of his eyes.
But this time...
They didn't fall.
"It won't happen again."
He lifted his head. His eyes were burning—not with guilt, but with determination, as he remembered what he had promised.
I promise... I won't forget anything.
...I won't let my emotions control me. Never.