Langga flinched when Rea suddenly bit his finger, and without thinking, he let go.

The white squirrel leapt, almost flew, past Gara.

Gara froze in shock. He only snapped out of it when Langga jumped to his feet, chasing after the runaway squirrel.

"Rea, where are you going?!" Gara shouted, while turning his body.

At the end of the hallway, the little puffball turned the corner and vanished from sight.

"Come on, let’s go," Langga urged. "I actually knew she followed me out of the dimensional home that day—"

"And you didn’t bother telling me? That was months ago!" Gara complained, already running after Rea despite his frustration.

Langga followed, guilt creeping in. He really hadn’t expected the tiny creature to be so desperate to slip away as to bite his hand.

"When she came out with me, she bolted right away. I almost attacked her because she just popped out of my pocket. Luckily I recognized her white fur. I thought she’d head straight to you. She’s smart. I was sure she’d find you in the academy. But..."

Langga trailed off as his longer strides took him ahead of Gara. Turning the corner, he spotted Rea perched on a window ledge.

He immediately lifted several flower vases with his telekinesis Talent, trying to block her escape.

But the squirrel was far too nimble. She bounded over the vases and leaped straight out the window.

"REA!" Gara screamed, nearly suffering a heart attack.

He rushed to the near window, leaning out just in time to see Rea spreading her tiny arms, her body stretching like a parachute. Thankfully, she was a flying squirrel.

"I did promise to take her out for a walk around the academy," Gara muttered bitterly. He hadn’t expected her to sneak out on her own and refuse to come home.

He exhaled sharply. He wasn’t trying to drag her back by force, but the academy was not a place she could wander around freely.

He was terrified some staff member would mistake her for a pest and kill her. Or at best, toss her into the forest behind the academy.

And that forest wasn’t a normal forest like the mountain woods they used to live near.

He spun toward the stairs.

"Wait!" Langga called.

From his pocket, he pulled out a neatly folded cloth. When he opened it, the cloth expanded into a large sheet.

Without hesitation, he stepped onto it and gestured for Gara to join.

"Using this is faster."

Gara stared in horror.

He still remembered the time Langga flew him using a small wooden board. He’d been shaking the entire ride.

That board was at least sturdy. But this was a thin cloth. A flimsy, floppy sheet of cloth.

He would rather take the stairs.

But before he could run, his body jerked backward.

Langga grabbed Gara’s hand, pulled him close by the waist, and woosh—

The cloth lifted off the ground.

"So it really is your special cloak. No wonder I can’t use telekinesis on your clothes," Langga murmured. He actually tried several times to hold Gara by his Telekinesis Talent, but nothing happened.

Gara heard him, but he was way too busy panicking. The cloth beneath him wobbled. His free hand shot up and clamped around Langga’s neck, practically hugging him.

Langga couldn’t hide his grin. He leaned in and whispered against Gara’s ear,

"You’re not going to fall. Relax."

Gara did not relax.

He was mortified and terrified at the same time.

Wind slapped against his face. They were already floating outside the window, relying solely on what looked like an oversized handkerchief.

’This isn’t the flying carpet of some devil genie tamer—this is the flying handkerchief of the devil himself!’ Gara screamed internally.

Langga chuckled beside his ear. Gara instinctively wanted to claw him.

Slowly, Gara’s nerves began to settle. Langga’s familiar scent was oddly calming.

He could feel the devil’s heartbeat racing, just like his own.

Of course, Gara knew his heart was racing from fear.

Langga, on the other hand, definitely wasn’t scared of falling. So why...?

Gara tilted his head. He could only see Langga’s robe at first. Then he looked up, sharp jaw, pale skin, and silver hair glowing in the sunlight.

But Langga’s ears?

Bright red. A big contrast to his pale complexion.

A smirk curled on Gara’s pretty face. His hand, still resting near Langga’s neck, inched upward.

’Let me pinch those ears...’

Gara cackled inside his head. His fingers hovered right next to Langga’s ear—

Woosh~

A gust of wind hit them, and the cloth tilted.

"Hik!" Gara squeaked. If he were pregnant, he would’ve given birth several times by now.

"What are you doing?" Langga’s deep voice rumbled beside him.

Gara looked up.

His fingers were pinching Langga’s cheek.

Langga’s cheek was pulled to the side, his glare icy, his lips drooping in a pout.

It was absurdly cute.

Gara burst out laughing. "Hahaha!"

"Let go," Langga ordered, clearly irritated.

When Gara looked again, Langga’s face was burning red. Gara quickly released him.

’Why does he look like that? He’s old —well, twenty-six— but still! He shouldn’t look like some lovestruck teenager!’ Gara grumbled internally.

He didn’t realize his ears were just as red.

Langga inhaled slowly, trying to steady his breathing. If he let himself get more flustered, the two of them might actually crash.

His telekinetic control depended entirely on concentration, and Gara had nearly shattered it.

He would definitely get back at Gara later. After they found Rea, of course.

Finally, they descended to the ground.

Rea had already landed earlier. When she saw Gara coming, she scampered up a tree.

The branches were dense, chasing her with the flying cloth wouldn’t work.

But Gara didn’t rush. He walked casually toward the tree.

From above, Rea tilted her head, confused. Why wasn’t Gara being aggressive like before?

Syuut—

Gara flicked his hand upward. A jet of water shot toward Rea.

Before the agile squirrel could dodge, a massive water dome formed around her.

It was huge, completely trapping Rea as she tried to climb higher.

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!!" she protested loudly.

...