Chapter 8

Ryuu understood one thing immedetialy, if he dared to lie now he'd be in for a world of pain. Cautiously he began to explain, "I had some issues with my mindpalace. The library was a mess because of an information overload." Serafall just gave him a pointed look screaming 'go on'.

"I can't go into detail about the origin of the information, but I can tell you that in order to avoid a similar event I figured automating my memory processing system would be a good idea," which was followed by a nervous chuckle from him.

"I decided on "creating" a permanent librarian in hopes it would keep my mind from ever getting cluttered again." Ryuu decided to stop for a moment and allow her to digest what he just said.

Unlike what most people think, given her personality, Serafall Leviathan was a smart young woman. After all a stupid bimbo would've never been given command over armies in a civil war.

It took her only a few seconds to realise just what kind of absurdity her beloved servant did. "You created a shadow clone inside your own mind," the moment she finished speaking she was going pale.

Serafall has long since understood the underlying principals behind the shadow clones: materialising your shadow in a previously chosen form and imbuing it with part of your own concsiousness.

The imbued consciousness stays connected to the main body, while it can act and gather information independetly. Thinking that far her eyes went wide and she went pale with cold sweat running down her forehead.

She started shaking Ryuu, "Ryuu-tan how bad is it? Are you going to be alright? Let's go and visit Ajuka-chan! I need to buy phoenix tears, " she went on and on without a moments pause.

Seeing Serafall so distressed for his health made Ryuu feel a bit guilty, but also very warm knowing her concern and care for him was genuine. A bond like this is something he never could've imagined before coming into this world.

Ryuu put on a warm smile and placed his hands on her shoulders telling her, "I'm alright Sera, thanks for worrying about me."

What followed afterwards was a truly amazing shift of expressions: from worried and anxious to confused. From confused to amazed and dumbfounded, Then to happy followed by shyness and a daze.

She felt overwhelmed to the point she couldn't even look him into the eyes anymore. Burying her head in his chest she mummured, "unfair" and hugged him for dear life.

After the two shared a warm moment together Serafall went back into business mode, "what about the damage, any permanent changes?"

She knew that injuries of the mind are never as simple as they appear to be and their consequences are most certainly dire.

Ryuu procceded with his explanation. Telling her about his rituals and the sealed mind energy of the sphinx brain. To say Serafall was suprised would be an understatement.

The first thing she did was stiffen up followed by a scream, "rituals can actually do that?!"

Which earned her a wry nod. The blank amazement and confusion he saw on her face did give him no small amount of amusement.

Serafall saw the glint in his eyes and started tearing at her twin tails in annoyance. Her frustration with his rather nonchalant behavior was getting on levels only comparable to the war.

She did calm down eventually and asked, "so how are you feeling exactly and don't you even dare to lie, or I'm going to tell your mother what happened."

Faced with such a cold-hearted threat Ryuu swiped the cold sweat from his face and continiued with his explanation. Telling her that aside from the cracks and dryness of his mindscape, coupled with the murder headache, everything was fine.

All of this made Serafall slump back into her chair. The exhaustion and relief she felt was now was infnitely more than the one from the paperwork.

Taking a deep breath she went back into her business mode and chime on her desk to call upon a servant. Not even thirty seconds later someone came in.

Serafall just threw the list into the servant's hands and told them to buy those things immedetialy. Without any delay the servant bowed and left the room post haste.

"You are really highmaintence Ryuu-tan," Serafall suddenly said in an attempt to lighten the mood. Incredibly enough it worked. Ryuu had a tick mark on his forhead and instinctively screamed back, "you dare call me highmaintence?!"

Serafall's laugther was ringing througout the enitre manor making all the workers and servants smile. They have as much respect for their mistress as they adore her.

Seeing how she always overworks herself so that they can have a good life made them swear allegiance and fealty towards her with even greater fervor and enthusiasm than her former soldiers.

Not knowing that she had once again ignited a fire in her people, Serafall invited Ryuu to some tea. She had someone call for Melissa and the trio enjoyed a pleasant afternoon.

For dinner Ryuu invited everyone to grill outside. He had introduced barbecue quite some time ago and everyone loved it. It wasn't just a good meal to eat, it was also something that help reaffirm the bonds of everyone.

After all they all have their on duties so it's not everyday that they can come together and enjoy themselves. Someone even ignited a bonfire.

Sitting around in a circle Ryuu took out his trusty acoustic guitar he perfected over the years and started to sing for everyone.

Everyone knew that he had a particular gift when it comes to music so they waited in anticipation. As if to troll everyone he started singing SpongeBob's "Campfire Song".

At the end of his perfomance he was me with incredulous looks from all sides. This made Ryuu scratch the back of his head in emberassment and apolgize.

Taking a deep breath he then began playing an acoustic version of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky". Halfway through the song everyone was swinging along the song.

At the end of his perfomance he was met with applause and encouragements to continue. This time he chose Earth, Wind and Fire's "September". The servant's seemed to be enjoying disco a lot though, making Ryuu smile wryly.

He was once again met with applause and encore calls. Deciding to play one last song, Ryuu chose "Clarity" by Zedd featuring Foxes, but not the original one. It was Tanner Patrick's cover.

He went from funk, disco and r&b soul, to edm. Which made everyone marvel at his versatility, not knowing that while a good singer, Ryuu was a plagiarist at heart. It gave him a weird sense of satisfaction to be praised for other peoples' work.

At this point Serafall had practically little hearts in her eyes, something that wasn't lost on Melissa who snorted in amusement. To think her best friend and benefactor would fall for her little baby.

Not that she could fault her, after all he was hardworking, smart, handsome and very charming. She could see where Serafall was coming from, especially since Ryuu was one of the few males to treat her like a regular person, not some kind untouchable deity. At least in private settings.

Melissa gave Serafall a nudge with her elbow signaling to scoot over to her son's side. Serafall's eyes went wide, but she beamed her friend a smile and went ahead to squeeze the dear life out of Ryuu.

Ryuu at this point long since understood that Serafall had a crush on him, but he decided not to mention it. It wasn't that he didn't like her, quite the opposite actually.

With all the work he has ahead of him there was really no point forcing a relationship between the two. If Serafall were to confess to him, he would most definitely give her a chance. After all he found her to be quite the lovely woman. But until then things would be continue the way they always have.

A few hours after his perfomance the first people started to retire. Suprisingly Serafall and Ryuu were among them. Both had their fatigue catch up with them forcing them to seek some sleep.

After saying good night Ryuu escorted Serafall back before he was going to retire in his little hut. Neither spoke during the walk and opted to enjoying the serenity and peace their presence brought each other.

When they reached the manor Ryuu said one finally good night and turned to leave. He was caught off guard when he felt something smooth on his left cheek which was accompanied by smooch. He stiffened and stood there dumbly.

When he finally came to himself he quickly turned around just to see Serafall long gone. He couldn't help but curse softly, "little vixen". But the smile on his face was telling a different story.