[69.2] Our New Normal

When I awoke, I felt a heavy pressure on my chest. I groaned, "Zephyr… Get off…"

I opened my eyes, but instead of seeing a fox, I saw a small girl with silver hair and a bandaged face and head. She was snuggled up to me, sleeping peacefully.

I let out a squeal, "Cute!"

Asmonious greeted me from the campfire he was preparing, "Master… Good morning."

I carefully moved Lene off of me and wrapped her up with the blanket. I yawned as I sat beside him, "What are you doing?"

"I'm cooking breakfast."

"Eh?! Breakfast???"

Sure enough, he had a metal pan with eggs mixed with vegetables and herbs.

I blinked in surprise, "H-How… How did you learn how to do that?"

He blushed, "I… Um… I've been watching humans to learn…"

"Eh?" I thought back, "But we've never seen humans cook before… We've only stored food from the villagers."

His burnt orange eyes slowly lifted to look at me, "I… I can see them through the shadows…"

"Eh?"

He didn't elaborate and motioned to Lene, "I will make some for her when she wakes up."

"Lene was up all night, so I'm not surprised she's still asleep."

Asmonious smiled as he passed a portion of food to me, "Well, she is a nocturnal demon."

"Eh?" I looked at him in confusion, "Nocturnal demon?"

"Master, you didn't know?" He explained, still wearing a smile on his face, "Demons usually take on the behavior of the animal they can transform into. Lene is a Moonspider which only comes out at night."

"Eh? EH?!"

A spider?!

A spider demon!?

Isn't that exactly like the Lene I know?!

My memories started rushing back.

Lene…

Moni…

This has to be a coincidence, right?!

RIGHT?!

I gulped, "Asmonious… How do you know she's a spider demon?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He pointed to the ceiling of the cave, "She keeps making webs."

As I raised my head, I could no longer deny the truth…

She really is a spider demon.

But! But maybe that name is just common for spider demons?!

That's right!

There's no way Moni or Lene is the Moni and Lene I knew in my time. After all, this Moni is such a sweetheart!

It's not possible that he is the Moni from my time.

With Lene, their personalities are exactly the same… But the Lene in the future was an adult. This Lene is a child so the childlike personality makes sense.

It has to be a coincidence.

I cleared my throat, "Asmonious… Do demons inherit names from their parents?"

He blinked at me as he pondered the question and shrugged, "I don't know about all demons, but I've never heard of it."

"I… I see." I cleared my throat, "And what about you? What form do you take?"

In the notes, he said Asmonious was his "pup", but I've never seen Asmonious take the form of a dog.

Asmonious's eyes widened in shock as he raised his head, "M-Master… You… You don't know?"

I tilted my head, "You've never shown me yours."

He bit his lip and looked into the flames of the fire, "I… I don't remember."

"Hm? You don't?"

"No. I've always been like this." His expression grew darker, "...Always."

"O-Oh…" Judging by his gloomy expression, I felt like I stepped on a landmine. I took a bite of the food and felt a rush of flavor. My eyes widened, "Mmmn! This is amazing!"

His eyes lit up, "R-Really?!"

I nodded with a grin, "Yes! You really have great skill when it comes to cooking!!"

He flushed, "T-Then I will cook all of Master's meals!"

"Are you sure?" I tried to hide my excitement, "It won't be too much trouble?"

"If it makes Master happy, I would love to do it!"

"Geonbae!" I wrapped him up in a hug, "What good karma did I incur to receive a perfect child like you?! I'm so lucky!"

He giggled as he hugged me back with a bright smile, "I think I'm the lucky one."

I released him from the hug and continued to eat while praising him, "You are an amazing artist, a perfect brother, and a perfect disciple."

His eyes lit up, "Don't worry Master, I will continue to work hard to become even more perfect!"

I laughed, "I don't think you need to work hard to do that. You are a natural."

I stepped outside the cave and went to work creating a barrier to protect the cave and area around it. Once I finished, Asmonious and I started drawing as we sat staring over the horizon.

Asmonious leaned over, "What is Master making?"

"Oh. I was just drawing a house I've seen before… It's been on my mind lately."

He looked at it, "I've never seen a house like that."

"That's because it's traditional Korean architecture."

"What's Koureen?"

I laughed and rubbed his head, "Just another world and culture."

"Does Master want that house?"

"Never mind that." I folded the paper and tossed it, "What about you, Asmonious? Don't you think we should have a house?"

He merely gave me a cheeky grin, "I'm happy living wherever as long as I'm with Master."

"Awww! Such a cutie!" I leaned over and kissed his forehead several times while he giggled, "Such a perfect boy!"

-And so began our new normal. I would entertain Lene at night while soothing Asmonious whenever he had nightmares. Then when dawn came, I would fall asleep with Lene and sleep until the smell of food awoke me.

As for what Asmonious did while I slept, I wasn't too sure.

Eventually, time passed by faster than I thought it would.

One summer…

Two summers…

The weather on the mountain was so ideal, that I never noticed the changing of seasons. I was so busy that I barely had time to think about the people I left behind. However… Occasionally…

I would meet Cyrus in my dreams and I would feel the agonizing pain of being separated from him.

"Master. Who are you drawing?"

I jumped, surprised by the voice beside me. I was so preoccupied with my own thoughts, that I didn't even know I was drawing absentmindedly. 

I glanced down at the paper and let out a lonely sigh, "He… He is someone very close to me."

Asmonious peered at the image, "Master must love him very much."

My face flushed bright red and I quickly hid the portrait from Asmonious, "W-What makes you say that?!"

"Master keeps drawing him and sighing. Master must really love him."

"E-Eh?! Love?!"

He blinked innocently at me, "Don't you? Why else would you draw him so much?"

"I don't draw him that much-"

Asmonious pointed to the stacks of papers and canvases featuring the man with golden hair, "Then what's that?"

"Urg…" 

"Is he your lover? Soulmate? Husband?"

I stood up, embarrassed to have a child asking me about it, "That's adult talk! It's not for children's ears!!"

"But-"

"But nothing!" I went to the bag to get more paper but found we were empty. My face fell, "Oh no… We've run out of supplies."

He checked as well, "We need to go to the human towns, don't we?"

"We do… But-" I looked over at Lene who was sleeping soundly, "What should we do about her? We can't leave her behind, it's not safe for a child that young to be alone… But if we bring her, she will stick out too much. She's too young to understand how to avoid attracting attention."

"I can stay here with her."

I shook my head instantly, "Absolutely not. You're just a child yourself."

He laughed, "Most demons my age are already on their own."

"Well, that's bad parenting."

"Master… Do you not trust me?"

I stared back into his eyes which were glistening with confidence. I let out a sigh, "Of course I trust you…"

"We will be fine. As long as we don't leave your barrier, there won't be any trouble."

I bit down on my lip anxiously and stared at him closely.

Well…

Asmonious is really trustworthy…

And he's very capable…

Plus, she will only be sleeping so he won't have to do much.

I tugged on my ear, anxiously wishing I had another earring that I could use to keep an eye on him. I let out a defeated sigh, "Fine."

His expression lit up, "I won't let you down!"

I ruffled his hair, "I know you won't… Just don't open the barrier for any strangers. Even if they are dying."

"Yes, Master."

"And don't leave it for any reason."

"Yes, Master."

"And if someone breaks the barrier, run and hide with Lene."

"Yes, Master."

I pursed my lips, carefully studying his face.

Ugh… I don't feel comfortable leaving him behind… But…

There are a lot of supplies I need that I can't get from those noisy villagers.

I let out a heavy sigh, "Okay… Be safe."

He straightened his back with a grin, "I won't disappoint you, Master!"

"I know you won't." I glanced back at him and smiled, "I will be back before nightfall."