Finding Stardust

For a moment, Emma was worried that Marlowe was also a telemancer who could read her mind.

This Marlowe wasn't a telemancer, was he? she thought anxiously.

"I'm not lying," said Emma.

"Hmm ... I know," said Marlowe indifferently.

"Eh ..?" Emma was puzzled to hear that. "How did you know how I didn't lie? Are you a telemancer?"

Marlowe frowned at Emma's question. "Why do you think I'm a telemancer? You think, if I really was a telemancer I would admit it?"

Emma was stunned by Marlowe's grisly words. Apparently, it was true what Therius said, she thought. Marlowe disliked humans. He's too cold. Even the cold and quiet Therius wasn't that rude to other people.

Marlowe's attitude toward animals was much more amiable than his attitude toward people. No wonder he preferred animals to humans.

"It's nothing like that, Sir. I was just asking," said Emma.

Marlowe massaged his forehead when he heard Emma call him 'Sir'.

"You are Therius's girlfriend, right? He's the same age as me. If you call me 'Sir, I'll feel very old. You just call my name."

Emma immediately shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sir. I don't want to be rude by calling you by the first name."

Actually, Emma could have guessed then that Marlowe didn't care about formalities. Animal didn't have manners and formalities, did they?

"You don't need to stand on ceremony with me. In the class, you can call me 'Sir', but outside of class, you can just call me Marlowe," said the man, waving his hand impatiently.

"Uhm ... all right, Sir ... uh, Marlowe," said Emma finally.

'Weird man,' she thought.

"Did you see a suspicious person in the forest?" asked Marlowe to her.

Emma shook her head. "I just got here and didn't make it into the forest. Who are you looking for?"

Marlowe took a deep breath. "Are you in a rush to go back to the dorm, or can you help me for a bit?"

"I'm not in a rush," said Emma. She was not yet sleepy, and she was also interested in knowing what Marlowe needed from her.

"Good. Can you wait here and stay with Lyra? She was injured by a mysterious person, and I'm looking for the culprit."

Emma finally saw that the scruff of the large animal in Marlowe's arms was bleeding. Gosh ... Who on earth did that to this cute animal?

The animal which Marlowe called Lyra looked like a huge dog, but with long ears like a bunny. Of course, the one who injured her must not be an ordinary person, because, with her size, Lyra was able to defend herself well from ordinary human attacks.

Was there a mage who intentionally injured her? Was that person a student at this school?

Emma almost fell to the ground holding Lyra's weight. To her surprise, Marlowe had carried Lyra like a very light bunny.

"This animal weighs twice as much as you," said Marlowe scathingly. "Why do you think you can carry her?"

Ish ... I just wanted to help, Emma thought irritably. 

However, she said nothing. She lowered Lyra to the ground slowly with Marlowe's help. 

Crazy! This guy must be physically very strong, Emma thought, looking at Marlowe, who was standing straight after putting Lyra on the ground.

Marlowe made the hundred-kilogram Lyra look like a cute fluffy bunny. He was carrying her with only his left hand, as if he didn't feel any weight.

"You wait here, I'll find the culprit," said Marlowe. Without waiting for an answer, the man immediately jumped and ran into the forest.

Emma could only sit with Lyra while Marlowe disappeared among the trees. Not long after, she heard animal voices from inside the forest. Did the man call all animals in the woods and ask them for clues?

She then focused her attention on Lyra. Ahh .. she would call this animal bunny-dog since it looked like a dog but had long ears like a bunny. It was also huge.

"Hey ... what's wrong with you?" Emma asked Lyra, stroking her neck. She could not read animals, so she also did not understand why she was talking to her. But it seemed better to talk to Lyra than to talk to herself.

She examined the wounds on this animal's nape and tried to find out if it was caused by a claw, bite, or puncture of a sharp object.

Her hand carefully touched the wound and examined its depth. Luckily the wound didn't bleed much anymore. It looked like Marlowe took care of her earlier.

"Ahh .. this is either a bite wound from a fang or a stab wound," muttered Emma.

She tried to remember plants that had healing properties and could heal wounds quickly. Years ago, When she was bored in high school, she decided to read an encyclopedia about plants.

A moment later, she opened her palm and took out calendula. Emma swiftly crushed the leaves and rubbed them on Lyra's nape. 

'Ah, I hope this animal isn't in too much pain,' Emma thought.

She then stroked Lyra's back, who was still lying on all four on the ground. While doing so, Emma tilted her head towards the forest, trying to see Marlowe.

The man was gone a long time too. He did not return until almost an hour later. There was a small, golden bird with a long tail like a peacock perched on his shoulder. The view reminded Emma of the pirates and their parrots from books.

"I can't find a clue," said Marlowe huffily. "Sorry, I took a long time. I was mobilizing all the animals in the forest to help me find the culprit."

"It's all right," said Emma. She got up and walked over to Marlowe. It was then that she saw clearly the bird perched on the man's shoulder. She had thought it was the same bird Marlowe had been feeding in the banquet hall, but it turned out to have a different tail. 

This was the bird that landed on Emma's balcony this afternoon and was enjoying her bread.

"Hey .. Alex Chu. You're here?" said Emma, ​​touching the bird's head. With an adorable attitude, Alex Chu rubbed his head against Emma's hand. 

"Alex Chu? Who is it?" asked Marlowe in surprise. He then turned to Emma who was rubbing his pet bird, and sighed in amazement. "He lets you touch him??"

Emma looked up and stared at Marlowe in confusion. "Why wouldn't he? Alex Chu is so tame."

"You gave him a name?" asked Marlowe, this time his voice sounded very pleased. "Why Alex Chu?"

Emma just remembered Therius said that in Akkadia, people were not used to giving names to animals.

Ahh ... was Marlowe one of the weirdos in Akkadia who gave names to his pets? As proof earlier, he called this big bunny-dog by the name Lyra.

Emma quickly realized that Marlowe's attitude had turned friendly to her when he learned that Emma had given a name to the golden bird on his shoulder.

The girl nodded shyly. "I named him after my kind and talkative best friend. I didn't know he already had a name. I won't call him Alex Chu anymore ..."

Marlowe waved his hand casually. His face now looked friendly. "It's okay. He prefers the name Alex Chu over his old name. Starting today, he asks me to call him by his new name."

"Eh ..?" Emma rolled her eyes in amazement at Marlowe's words. She brought her face closer to Alex Chu and stared at the bird's round eyes with an astonished expression. "Is it true that you prefer my given name? Wahh ..."

Alex Chu rubbed his head against Emma's cheek, like a friendly puppy. Emma felt amused at the touch of the bird's feathers on her face and burst out laughing.

"Ahh .. you're so cute ... Alex Chu is so adorable." She was so amused and happy to know this bird liked her so much that he wanted to use the name given by Emma.

Marlowe looked at Emma, who was playing with his pet bird, and the man looked awestruck. Even though this girl couldn't talk to animals, it seemed like his pets got along well with her quickly.