“I can’t believe it,” Addai muttered, looking at his cellphone.

Addai had just been excused from his classes at the beginning of the afternoon.

His students were assigned to attend a lecture about Defense against Magical Creatures at the university theater, which meant he could head home earlier than expected after an exhausting workday.

As he tucked his cellphone into his bag, a yellow post-it note fluttered out. It was yellow with neat and familiar handwriting.

He picked it up and flipped it over. It was Mine’s protection charm—the same one from their adventures with Tieran, who was now safely returned to his proper dimension. He missed Tieran’s presence, but Mine was agile in returning the baby demon back to his place right after he rescued Addai.

Addai chuckled softly and tucked the note back into his bag.

Well, now he had the rest of the day fully available.

Plans? He always had one or two.

But today, he decided to finally finish a drama he’d started ages ago.

The thing was… he was procrastinating to finish that drama. It wasn’t bad –it was the best of the season – but it was just too much. It was a slow-burn romance, but the ones that squeeze your heart in every scene possible. He’d seen a lot of those, but this one was…

Wait. Pause. Let’s put you in Addai’s shoes for a second.

You know when a random scene from a show hits your brain out of nowhere and your mind spins a full-blown torturing cinematic edit of it—music, emotion, and all—and suddenly your eyes twitch and start watering?

That's what Addai was dealing with.

And sure, he could’ve sworn the drama had “romance” tagged as the main genre, but tucked right next to it was the real warning: drama and tragedy.

Tears. Snot. A heart shattered into pieces.

Even knowing that, Addai decided to continue it. However, there was a little complication: Lydia.

She caught him watching the trailer for the next season of that same drama, and, to make things worse, she also watched and enjoyed it a bit too much. After she knew Addai also watched it, she invited herself to watch the rest of the season with Addai whenever he wanted.

Well, he always disentangled himself from her in every way possible – he knew how to be slippery when he wanted – but it seemed that Lydia had a radar that tracked Addai’s mood for watching a drama.

So, when he least expected it… she was by his side.

Like now.

“Addai!!!” Lydia called, beaming all joyfully at the terribly startled Addai. She ran towards him and grabbed his arm. His poor arm felt the fierceness of that grip, and his muscles screamed in agony, but he kept his composure.

With a wide smile spreading on her face, Lydia shook Addai, “Let’s watch something!! You promised you’d finish that drama with me!”

Addai felt a headache kick in, and he was ready to turn into his hermit mode.

He needed to get away from that situation quickly!

Frowning, Addai looked at Lydia. “I didn’t promise shi-”

He chewed his words when he saw Lydia’s beaming and bright eyes. Maybe Mine was right about his softness for smiles.

He grumbled and sighed, “Okay… let’s watch it.”

Lydia’s eyes brightened even more, and she squealed, shaking Addai’s arms. “Aha! Let’s watch it at my office then!! I have a projector, and let’s call Mine and… do you know Fani? And how about Woltz? Aarush too! Ah! They’re adorable! Let’s watch with them and-”

Jesus Christ.

While she flooded Addai with her talking, the desire to turn into a ninja grew in Addai’s soul. But it seemed that Lydia suddenly turned quiet and looked at him in a different way.

Addai’s senses sharpened.

Lydia grinned; her smile was very suspicious. “Only the three of us are enough,” she chuckled mischievously.

Addai, confused, frowned. “The three of us?”

“Yup! You, me… and your sweet tutor,” Lydia grinned.

Addai felt his cheeks slowly turn redder and hotter. “No, just us,” he rubbed his neck, trying to brush off his blush.

Lydia nodded and turned, all joyfully. “Sure, buddy! I’ll wait for you and… Mine will be there too,” she gave him a wink.

“Fine- wait. WHAT?!” Addai gasped and blushed hard.

Lydia laughed out loud, casting a vine spell to make her walk faster. She was already far, and Addai needed to intervene!

So, the chase started.

Imagine the scene: the most esteemed Herbology teacher running away from the new Dark Mana teacher. Lydia laughed out loud and launched some bomb plants to distract Addai from her. But one thing he didn’t imagine was that she had a little help from her vines spell, which helped her to climb the building and stick her tongue out at the baffled Addai.

“Catch me if you can! I'll fetch your sweet tutor to watch the drama with us!!” Lydia laughed out loud, and the vines held her higher, far from Addai.

“LYDIA! WAIT!!” Addai shouted, his voice cracking. His legs were tired of running, but no shadows were faster than Lydia’s vines.

The problem wasn’t Mine’s presence. The problem was the drama itself!

There were tons of romantic scenes, and they were close to the sweetest episodes. He was sure Mine bewitched him, so the last thing he wanted was to watch those scenes with Mine sitting beside him.

What if Mine bewitched him even more?!! Just the thought made his face flush deep red.

Oh God, he was in trouble.

When Lydia caught a glimpse of his expression, she threw another bomb plant full of red roses. The roses exploded mid-air, petals flying like confetti, landing in Addai’s hair; they kind of matched the blush across his face.

“Mine will love it!! Hahahaha!” Lydia laughed out loud, letting the vines hold and toss her in the air.

She plucked a leaf from the vine and smashed it in her hands, crafting a smaller flower bomb and tossing it on Addai’s head. It turned into a single red rose, and Addai took, looked at it, and blushed a bit more.

“Give them to him!! See ya!!!” Lydia shouted, way too far for Addai to catch her.

Seeing he had no other option, Addai had to plead for Umbra’s help. “Umbra! Help me!” he called the cat, whose shadows condensed in front of him.

Despite her owner’s pleas, Umbra wasn’t moved.

She lazily looked at him and meowed indifferently.

“Umbra… save me, pleeeease…” Addai crouched and pleaded to the unmoved cat, whose whiskers twitched. She licked her owner’s nose and rubbed her face against him. “Ah… I’m doomed…” he sighed, defeated.

Resigned, Addai picked up Umbra from the floor, cradling the fuzzy, purring cat in his arms. When he cuddled her head, she shamelessly rubbed against his chest as she purred louder.

He then grabbed his bag and started scheming to avoid watching that drama. Maybe he could start a new one instead.

…

…

Yeah, that was a good idea! This way, he could dodge the embarrassing scenes, and Mine would have a chance to watch it from the beginning.

Addai needed to hurry then!

“Umbra, hold tight,” Addai said, and tensed his knees. The cat looked at him and meowed, confused.

Umbra’s confusion disappeared when Addai bolted down the corridor with her in his arms. She sank her claws in Addai’s arms and hissed loudly when he jumped the stairs, safely landing.

His eyes were thin, and somehow the irises were reddish and sharp. He looked around and stepped on a tile that darkened beneath his foot. It oozed the same shadowy matter from Umbra when she materialized.

When he was about to sink his feet on it again, he heard his name being called from afar: “Addai! Hohoho! What good fortune, seeing you here~”

Startled, Addai quickly dispelled the magic building beneath the tile and turned toward the approaching person.

Blond locks of hair mixed with shades of white and a thin strand of brown made the person's serene blue eyes the protagonist of his appearance. It was no other than Mr. Shire taking a stroll after his afternoon classes.

“Oh, hi, Mr. Shire,” Addai nodded and placed Umbra on the floor.

Shire smiled widely. His smile, gentle and serene, contrasted with Addai’s pants and Umbra’s electric fur. Mr. Shire approached the young teacher and patted his shoulder.

“Hectic afternoon, isn’t it?” Shire brushed Addai’s shoulders, taking off a few leaves from Lydia’s bomb plants.

“Hm,” Addai nodded, looking at his feet. His ears gradually turned red when he saw Mr. Shire taking the loose petals from his hair.

“I see you made new friends,” Shire softly chuckled and caressed Umbra’s ear. The cat purred, and her fur turned softer. “It’s nice having friends, especially for youngsters,” he smiled, and Addai slightly pouted.

“She’s not a friend,” Addai grumbled.

“I see, I see…” Shire chuckled and looked at the bright, clear sky. “May you follow me to watch this beautiful sky?”

“Hm,” Addai nodded, taking Umbra in his arms.

A few steps to the side, Mr. Shire and Addai stopped at the gazebo. It was neat, and the flowers around it were blooming that day. Addai looked up at the clear sky with a few cotton clouds and inhaled.

The warm breeze blew them, followed by a few yellow butterflies from the garden.

Shire calmly looked at Addai and grinned before speaking. “You seem happier.”

The question caught Addai off guard, and his response came out as a flustered mess. Well, it didn’t come out at all. He opened his mouth, closed it again, and then scratched the back of his reddish neck.

“Oh my, it seems I was way too abrupt,” Shire laughed. “I just felt you’re happier, and that’s something very nice, isn’t it?”

Addai looked down and nodded, silent. His reddish ears and cheeks spoke a million words instead.

“When I saw you bickering with Mine the other day, I couldn't believe it was you," Shire said, and Addai's shoulders slightly tensed. “But soon… it seems you finally came out of your shell. I knew you’d fit in soon,” he chuckled when Addai’s fingers started translating his embarrassment.

Addai then faintly chuckled, and the tension on his shoulders eased, leaving only a silly grin on his embarrassed face. His dimples lightly showed in his reddish face, and that was enough for Mr. Shire to chuckle at that.

A single butterfly approached and landed on Addai’s hand. It was beautiful and pinkish.

Its wing patterns were difficult to discern, but he was sure they were exquisite by how elegantly it fluttered its wings. It flew a little and came back to him, now landing on his shoulder and staying there even though Umbra got slightly interested in biting it.

Then, one more butterfly approached and landed on his hand. This time, it was a yellow one and very delicate. He lifted it up high, and it flew alongside the pink one. They danced in the air, fluttering and making the wind be their guide through that waltz.

"I wanted to talk to you about a thing," Shire stated, breaking the feeble moment Addai was witnessing.

“Sure thing, Mr. Shire,” Addai looked at him.

As Shire approached, he looked to the sides, scanning the area to ensure no one was around. His cautiousness made Addai's senses turn sharper... until his senior's eyebrows softened, then he spoke in a carefree way despite his serious eyes.

“You’re bewitched,” Shire whispered, serious and very attentive.

Addai frowned slightly, confused. "Come again?"

Shire chuckled before speaking. “You're bewitched by our little and charming Light Mana teacher.”

Addai didn’t know where to bury his flushed face. He felt his skin steaming and itching because of how red he was.

Still, Mr. Shire continued talking. “Mine Karawaga… yes, yes… he is a good person… he is smart… intelligent… good looking… careful…” he started counting Mine’s qualities. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at Addai. His junior’s face was so, but so red it could be purple. "Oh my, I didn't know you could reach such a blush color," he chuckled and fanned Addai's face while Umbra looked at him with her silly grin.

“… I need to go, Mr. Shire,” Addai sloppily bowed.

“Sure, Sure…” Shire chuckled. “Ah! Don’t forget your bag!” he took Addai’s bag and placed it on his shoulder. “There, there! Now, you shall go and… bewitch him back!” he finished with a beaming smile.

Addai’s eyes couldn’t focus anymore, and he nodded. Oh gosh! Why did he nod?! Addai then tried to “un-nod” and got all embarrassed again. In the end, he went away sloppily.

“Yup, he’s in trouble,” Shire chuckled, and his cell phone rang in his pockets right in time. "Ah... and so am I,” he sighed and took the phone to answer the call.

“/Mr. Shire! Don’t forget our meeting! I changed my number because I lost my human cell phone/” the voice grumbled. “/Ah, it’s Agarath/”

Shire’s lips turned into a faint smile. “I know that."