After a day of hard work (self-assessed), it was finally time to clock out.
After the last burst of noise from the café’s deep cleaning ended, peace returned once more.
Wei Bai tidied up his clothes, walked over to the stand by the door, and turned off the light switch.
The entire café plunged into darkness.
He grabbed Anthony, who was sleeping on the stand, and was about to stuff him into his pocket when Mida called out from behind.
“Don’t be so rough. This is the first time I’ve seen someone keep a bird by shoving it in their pocket.”
Mida pouted at Wei Bai, who was holding Anthony in one hand and his work uniform in the other.
Little girls liked small animals, and Mida was no exception.
The lively Anthony was exactly her soft spot.
“Gah!”
As if to echo Mida’s words, Anthony let out a miserable cry, his round eyes blinking furiously.
Though it was almost useless, he always ended up in Wei Bai’s cloth pocket anyway.
“Let’s go, let’s buy some wine at the tavern.”
Mida patted Anthony’s bird head and then smiled.
“But before that, let’s take a walk by the sea.”
“So tired. I don’t want to move.”
Wei Bai resisted a little.
He wasn’t as energetic as Mida; after a whole day of work, his back ached, and all he wanted was to buy wine and lie down at home.
The life of a worker was tough, but the hardest fate was to be a beast of burden.
“Aiya~ Come with me! I heard there’s a huge swarm of fireflies by the beach tonight. They’re beautiful.”
Mida clung to Wei Bai’s arm—the one holding the uniform—and whined sweetly.
“Great-aunt, I’m tired. I want to go home and sleep.”
Wei Bai protested.
He felt the same about the sea and fireflies—indifferent.
But for a certain bird, it was different.
Anthony’s lifeless eyes lit up instantly at the mention of fireflies.
He didn’t care that he was still being held, and started screaming like mad.
“Gah! Gah gah! Gah gah gah! Gah!”
The ear-piercing bird call echoed in the dim café, catching the two off guard.
Then a roar erupted from the second floor.
“Get out! Brat, one day I’ll stew that damn bird of yours!!”
Wei Bai shivered, shoved the noisy Anthony into his pocket, and, without waiting for the owner of the upstairs voice to come down, dashed out of the café with Mida.
—
The sky outside was already pitch black, but the streets were still crowded.
The street was lit by magic-powered lamps, their yellow glow keeping the city from falling into darkness.
Walking down the street, feeling the cool night breeze, Wei Bai felt his tired body gradually rejuvenated, every pore relaxing.
Anthony, unlike his usual sleepy self, poked his head out of the pocket and looked around.
“Hey, don’t you usually just sleep obediently every day? Why so lively today?”
Wei Bai looked down at Anthony’s bird head, annoyed.
“You traitor! Betrayed by beauty, huh?!”
“Gah!”
Anthony protested and turned his head toward the sea.
“Pfft, maybe he wants to walk by the sea too.”
Mida laughed at the scene.
This crow was always so expressive that it even made her want to keep one herself.
“Tch, then let’s go, just this once.”
The coastline of the Earl Arni domain wasn’t long.
Carven City was a coastal city-state.
By rights, city-states should avoid being by the sea—unless they were large ones—since there were no city walls on the sea side, making it hard to defend.
But the Earl Arni seemed unconcerned about Carven City’s defenses.
The city’s construction left a large area as an unwalled coastal zone.
The Carven Port was the hub of the earl’s maritime trade.
Besides the area occupied by Carven Port, Carven City also had a long stretch of free coastline, where tourists and locals often played on the beach.
Dragged all the way by Mida, Wei Bai stepped onto the sand.
Since it was still spring and cool, there weren’t many people by the sea—most were tourists.
Mida let go of Wei Bai’s hand, released Anthony from the pocket, and the two strolled along the shore.
Mida was delighted, looking around, hoping to spot fireflies.
Wei Bai was uninterested, trailing behind Mida and absentmindedly kicking seashells.
Anthony stood on his shoulder, head spinning like a radar.
“Do you think… living such an ordinary, warm life is good too?”
Mida murmured, not really understanding herself, as if entranced.
Wei Bai, focused on kicking shells, didn’t hear her.
He just kept walking.
Suddenly, he felt something soft grip his left arm.
He turned to see Mida hugging his arm, gazing at the sea with a blissful face.
A blush crept up the boy’s cheeks.
He was about to pull his arm away when the girl cried out in surprise.
“Look! Fireflies!”
Following her gaze, a large, hazy glow shimmered across the distant beach, stretching endlessly.
The two hurried forward, wanting to witness this breathtaking sight.
Anthony shrieked, flapping his wings as he left Wei Bai’s arm.
“Why is there a crow this late at night?”
“Hey! Dumb bird, what are you doing?!”
“……”
The tourists admiring the fireflies fell silent, watching Anthony feast above their heads.
The frightened fireflies no longer drifted lazily but scattered in chaos.
Watching the cluster of stars scatter with Anthony’s movements, the two couldn’t help but laugh.
“Don’t let Anthony eat them! They’re so pretty—I want to see more!”
Mida pouted.
“It’s fine, he can’t eat much anyway.”
Wei Bai smiled helplessly.
Anthony was nominally his pet, but only he knew he had no control over the crow.
This crow had shown up half a year ago.
At the time, Wei Bai was releasing a pendant’s power in the woods.
This crow, just like him, was rootless.
After meeting him, it stuck to him and wouldn’t leave.
Over time, a bond formed between them.
Through Spirit Form, he also came to understand Anthony’s story.
—
Anthony’s parents were shot by hunters.
His mate was caught by playful children and lost her freedom.
His nest was emptied by farmers.
After witnessing his mate’s death, Anthony was heartbroken and flew toward the sea, intending to end his crow’s life.
By chance, upon reaching the shore, he encountered Wei Bai, who was releasing the power of a pendant.
He felt that this spirit was just like him, abandoned by his kind.
So he decided to stay and accompany this spirit.
The name Anthony was given to him by Wei Bai.
It held no special meaning—Wei Bai just happened to think of it.
Only Anthony knew that Wei Bai’s Spirit Form had another name.
He could sense Wei Bai was different.
Mobaiwei Lilweiya.
That was the spirit’s name before him.
She was once an exile of the kingdom continent, a daring adventurer, and long ago, the Princess of the Elven Kingdom.
—
“Look! So beautiful! Just like stars.”
Mida rushed excitedly into the swarm of fireflies, causing another commotion as expected.
Wei Bai paused outside, watching Mida laugh joyfully among the glowing lights.
This swarm of fireflies was a unique Firefly Spectacle of the Earl Arni domain.
Every late spring, they would appear on the beaches, vast and shining like the stars brought to earth—crystal clear and mesmerizing.
As the fireflies danced, Wei Bai felt a wave of relaxation.
He found a rock not far away and sat down.
After years of hardship and living in fear, that life was finally gone, and now he could enjoy peace.
Soon, a cluster of fireflies gathered around him.
Surrounded, Wei Bai felt as if he were swimming in a sea of stars, a sense of freedom making him reluctant to leave.
Gradually, drowsiness crept in.
Exhausted from the day’s labor, Wei Bai slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep on the rock, surrounded by fireflies.
Mida, still enjoying the Firefly Spectacle, noticed Wei Bai sleeping on the rock and hurried over.
“Honestly, you’re the first person I’ve seen sleep by the sea.”
She brushed away the fireflies around Wei Bai and draped her work uniform over him.
“If you catch a cold from the sea breeze and get to take a day off tomorrow, I won’t let you get away with it.”
Suddenly, she noticed a faint green glow shining from Wei Bai’s clothes, and she couldn’t help but feel curious.
Could a firefly have crawled into his clothes?
With that thought, she lifted Wei Bai’s shirt and her eyes widened.
A simply shaped, water-drop gemstone hung from a thin cord around Wei Bai’s neck.
Though its design was plain, something about it gave an instant impression that the Pendant was no ordinary trinket.
At this moment, the gem glowed softly green, like a luminous stone.
Does this guy really have such luxurious accessories?
Maybe it’s a trophy from years of adventuring.
Though she thought so, Mida couldn’t suppress her curiosity.
She wanted to take the Pendant off and examine it.
Slowly, under Mida’s fiddling, the Pendant slipped bit by bit from Wei Bai’s neck…