Chapter 51 - Sleep

We finished making the coat for Gummy a few minutes before 6 am and after an hour-long rest, we decided to clean up and bring Fily back into her room.

I was the one carrying most of Fily from the front but Petunia was kind enough to lend her freshly made Gummy for help.

My body was so beaten up from all of what happened down there that was why when I woke up, it was almost night time and I had already missed three out of my four classes!

"Go back to sleep, it's okay I have asked your teachers to excuse you for today's lessons." Venedette pushed me back to my bed after forcing myself to wake up upon remembering the classes that I have to take.

"I want to attend the class later," I insisted. "I want to be strong like you as soon as possible.."

Venedette laughed when she heard this, "Being strong takes practice and patience, and if you neglect your health it will take a longer time than that."

"I can just heal myself to stay healthy," I said absentmindedly.

When I realized how wrong it sounds, I immediately acted to take it back but stopped when I saw Venedette's expression.

She looked at me as if she was very disappointed.

"Your powers may seem infinite but you shouldn't depend on it too much. Everything has its own limits. Use it wisely." she said sternly.

I pouted and thought to myself how to end this misunderstanding. It was clearly my fault so I guess I should take responsibility for it...

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way." I said and quickly hid under my blanket.

I heard Venedette chuckle almost immediately after that. We're good? She's not mad?

"You're such a reliable child for your age, I can't imagine how Von would have been if we were able to raise him properly."

There was a pint of sadness in her voice but it was quickly overwhelmed by her joyous face so I was not sure if she actually meant it or if it was only a joke. I guess it was both.

"Do you want your dinner to be brought here too or you're going downstairs?" She asked, changing the topic of our conversation.

"I'll go down," I answered instead. I pulled myself out of the blanket and sat properly to face her.

"Halma will be here later," she said. Her voice was so soft that it almost felt like a whisper.

"Halma as in… the Queen?!" I said, leaning forward to her even more. This was such unexpected news! Me is shocked!

However, unlike me, Venedette did not seem excited about the news at all.

"Is there… something wrong?" I asked silently.

I went closer to her when I noticed she was avoiding my eyes as if there was something she's hiding from me.

Subsequently, Venedette opened her mouth… but nothing came out.

"What is it?" I convinced her to spill it out but to no avail.

"It's nothing…" she said and smiled cheaply at me.

"There's something," I said, unconvinced.

I moved my head to catch her eyes but she would just glance at me and look away quickly.

"Ven!!" I insisted again.

"It's nothing!" she laughed, definitely teasing me!

I straightened my body as I kneeled on the bed in front of her and pouted.

"Ven…" I whined with a pouty face.

When Venedette finally looked at me, it was like she was having an internal struggle so I gave her time to form a decision. I sat there watching her change emotions every second. I don't know why but I have a feeling that this moment would be something that I would miss in the future.

Snap. Venedette finally came to a conclusion.

"Halma confiscated my Salamandite, remember?" she started with a sigh. "She's going to stay here for three days, inspecting you before giving it back to me."

I looked at her attentively. "And then?"

Another sigh. "That's it." she avoided my eyes again.

I lingered along with the topic for a minute, looking for the 'concerning' thing that would make Venedette act like this but there was nothing to be worried about.

"You okay?" I said when I saw her bury her face in her hands.

"Uhmm. Yes. Just promise me you'll be a good kid okay?" she smiled at me again.

I can still sense the worry in her smile and even though I do not know what it could be about, I thought of hugging her.

This might help her feel better.

"I promise."

"Thank you," she whispered while caressing my silky hair.

We stayed like that for a few more minutes before Venedette thought of getting me back to sleep.

"Aren't you tired? I heard you carried Fily all the way to her room this morning. You should go back to sleep, I'll wake you up before dinnertime."

"But I want to attend class…" I whispered reluctantly.

"No, go to sleep. Your body needs rest okay? Don't depend on your Healing slime too much."

"Okay..." I muttered under my breath, still against the idea of wasting time but since she was the one who told me to do it, I guess I have no other choice but to follow.

Lessons from superiors should be noted and never ignored, especially if I want to progress immediately.

"Goodnight." she patted my head and left me to sleep.

***

[Welcome to Solitude.]

The Stat-hut's voice suddenly rang from my head to the open space while the sudden bright light forced my eyes to wake up almost immediately.

"What?" I groaned while rubbing my eyes.

[Welcome to Solitude once again, Master.] this time it was Mr. Gemini who talked but his voice was also all over the place like the Stat-hut lady's voice!

"W-what's happening?" I said while looking around the place and feeling small because of their voice. I was so used to hearing them directly from my head but this situation is just giving me the chills!

And I'm all alone in this place. In this cold white space called Solitude.