Chapter 42: Good MorningAfter that little incident of Leyhna appearing and leaving, I never turned back into my human form. I stuck by Fina''s side until she awoke, and I turned off my |Sound Interference|.

    "Ugh..." [Fina]

    ("She''s waking up!") [Solace]

    I returned to the... I don''t know what I should call it. The thing where I return to Fina''s hand and turn invisible? I''ll just call it the spirit realm. So, I returned to the spirit realm so I could just watch over her.

    "What...? Where...?" [Fina]

    She blinked slowly, glancing around at her surroundings. After a few moments of silence, she sat up in bed.

    "...Solace, are you there?" [Fina]

    There was my cue. I appeared out of thin air, in my ball form of course, and hovered in front of her.

    ("Good morning.") [Solace]

    I did a little twirl in the air as a greeting, which made Fina smile.

    "Hehe... I''m glad to see you too." [Fina]

    She seemed pretty happy to see me. It may be a bit weird to say, but I was also happy to see her doing fine.

    "Solace, do you know what time it is?" [Fina]

    ("...She does realize I can''t speak, right?") [Solace]

    I shook my... body? Try imagining shaking your head left and right to say no, but instead replace it with a yellow ball. That''s basically how it went. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Thought so..." [Fina]

    With a loud grunt and a sigh, Fina got out of her bed and went to her desk.

    "Where did I last put it...?" [Fina]

    Rummaging through her desk drawers, she pulled out a wooden slate. It had a strange pattern on it, like a constellation of some kind.

    ("It''s... glowing?") [Solace]

    Some parts of it shone dimly, while others didn''t shine at all.

    "Well... It doesn''t look like I overslept..." [Fina]

    She seemed relieved. Without even returning the wooden slate back into the desk drawer, Fina hopped into bed.

    "Urk...!" [Fina]

    Fina clutched at her stomach, and I began to panic.

    ("Huh?! I-Is something wrong?! Did the wound reopen?! Was that nurse lying?!") [Solace]

    I quite literally flew around in a frenzy. I wasn''t sure what to do, but I was calmed when Fina called out to me.

    "Solace, it''s fine. I''m just... a bit tired." [Fina]

    I stopped my frenzy when I saw her pained smile. It appears that I was already causing enough trouble for her to worry about me instead.

    ("Worry about yourself more dummy...") [Solace]

    Seeing as how I had calmed down, Fina closed her eyes. Within moments, she had fallen back to sleep.

    ("...There must be something I could do.") [Solace]

    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

    The next day came by, and Fina seemed to be in much better shape.

    "Good morning, Solace." [Fina]

    ("Good morning.") [Solace]

    Fina went about her daily routine, but I could still see some odd things about her. Her movements were a bit sluggish, if not forced. I felt incredibly anxious about letting her go outside until we heard a knock at the door.

    "Yes?" [Fina]

    Upon opening the door, Fina was greeted by a familiar face.

    "Morning! How do you feel?" [???]

    There Leyhna was, greeting Fina with a smile.

    "L-Leyhna? What are you doing here?" [Fina]

    "I''m here to inform you that you have the week off." [Leyhna]

    "...What?" [Fina]

    Fina was perplexed. It was like she never heard of the concept of a day off, much less a week.

    "Ms. Ross told me to inform you. Also, it gives me a good reason to skip class." [Leyhna]

    She gave Fina a thumbs up, paired with a mischievous smile.

    "Leyhna..." [Fina]

    "I was joking! Here, I got you a get-well present." [Leyhna]

    Leyhna took out a small red box with a blue ribbon tied around it. I thought it was a bit too fancy for a get-well present, but I''m not one to judge.

    "That... looks expensive..." [Fina]

    "Take it." [Leyhna]

    Fina reached out a hand and reluctantly took the box. After untying the ribbon and opening the box, her eyes widened with surprise.

    "This...! It''s too much Leyhna!" [Fina]

    ("What? Let me see!") [Solace]

    I took a glance at the present. It was a glamorous golden necklace with a red gem set that seemed to hum to me.

    "I heard that you had mana deficiency from your... field trip? That''s what Ross told me. So, I decided to get you a backup mana supply." [Leyhna]

    Fina stared at the necklace with guilt. Maybe it was a bit too much for her to handle.

    "I... don''t want this." [Fina]

    "But I do." [Leyhna]

    Leyhna locked eyes with Fina, as if she was trying to overpower Fina''s will with her own.

    "I... I don''t know..." [Fina]

    "Keep it. I know you don''t really care about yourself, but I do. I want you to be safe. Keep it for me, please." [Leyhna]

    Fina remained silent. After a few moments of silence, Fina spoke up.

    "...I''ll keep it." [Fina]

    Without a moment wasted, Fina clipped the golden necklace around her neck.

    "...Does it suit me?" [Fina]

    "Try asking Solace." [Leyhna]

    She smiled slyly, which made my heart race a bit.

    ("She''s taunting me! That little fox!") [Solace]

    "O...kay? Solace, can you come out?" [Fina]

    Answering her call, I popped into reality.

    "Solace... Does... Does this look good on me?" [Fina]

    Fina blushed profusely. It seemed that asking her own spirit embarrassed her greatly.

    ("Hm... It looks good!") [Solace]

    I nodded in agreement, which made Fina''s expression brighten up.

    "Looks like your little spirit agreed." [Leyhna]

    "Mhm...!" [Fina]

    Though she may have been a bit embarrassed at first, Fina now smiled gleefully.

    "Okay, you should get back to bed now." [Leyhna]

    "H-huh? But I just got up." [Fina]

    Leyhna made a serious face and crossed her arms.

    "Nuh-uh. Not on my watch. I know you were injured pretty badly yesterday. There''s no way one day of rest will fully heal you." [Leyhna]

    Fina flinched at her words. Perhaps they struck true.

    "I... have work today-" [Fina]

    "I''ll tell them you''re not coming. Don''t worry, I know where you work." [Leyhna]

    ("Damn, she''s got Fina in a vicelock.") [Solace]

    This was checkmate, for Fina that is. The only choice she had left was to go to bed.

    "A-Alright... I''ll go." [Fina]

    Fina was a bit reluctant at first, but she changed and snuggled into bed comfortably.

    "Good... Night?" [Fina]

    It was a bit awkward since it was still the day, but it got the message through.

    "Good night." [Leyhna]

    Fina closed her eyes, which basically knocked her out in an instant.

    ("I guess she really was tired.") [Solace]

    Just as I was about to vanish back into the spirit world, Leyhna stopped me.

    "Solace." [Leyhna]

    ("Uh...") [Solace]

    "Mind following me for a bit?" [Leyhna]

    She smiled menacingly. It wasn''t my style to get intimidated, but that was pretty damn intimidating.

    ("Yes ma''am...") [Solace]