Dylan made Sherry fairy drop snow cone to help replenish her mana and inadvertently woke up Fir because of the smell.
"Fairy drop? Are you eating fairy drop without me?" The bird sluggishly muttered.
"Fir, you're awake." Dylan rubbed Fir's head and stated. "Do you want some too?"
Due to the spirt beast's unusual state, Dylan softened his attitude towards him and also pampered him a lot more while he was awake.
"Mm." Fir chirped in reply. He was annoyingly sleepy but the only thing he loved more than food was food itself. Smiling, Dylan quickly made another snow cone and offered it to the bird.
As Sherry and Fir dug in, Matthias observed Fir curiously. "Has he always been so sluggish and tired?"
Dylan shook his head. "No."
"This has only been recently I assume. And his appetite is increasing?"
Dylan nodded. "Yeah, why?"
"He might be becoming an adult. I read in a book that when sylphices mature, they enter into this state of sleepiness and take in more mana than they usually do. When the amount of mana is sufficient, they'll form an egg and be reborn as adults. It's their coming of age ritual." Matthias explained. "He should be undergoing that process very soon. Especially after eating a whole fairy drop by himself."
Dylan listened carefully and took note of what was to come. He didn't doubt what Matthias was saying at all because Matthias was a nerd and read every book there was to read in the royal library. He read things ranging from the most informative, 'classification of various monsters and how to subjugate them', to the most useless like 'How to make a height enhancing potion', or 'How to remove acne'. They would have been useful if they actually worked. Falling for the false words, Matthias learnt how to do alchemy to the point of almost mastering it but never did he succeed in making the height enhancing or acne removal potions. They were just to magical to be true. To make matters worse, James from the alchemy division would never let him forget about it and often gifted him books of a similar nature to him on his birthday.
"So should I consistently give him my mana to hasten the process or should I just let nature take its course?"
"Mm, I think you should supply him mana only when he's awake. When he's sleeping, its best to let him actually digest all that mana. The most crucial part would be the incubation period. I believe that a constant supply of mana is needed especially since the mana in this world is so scarce and polluted." Matthias advised.
"Got it. Will do."
"So, you're turning into an adult now, Fir?" Sherry pat Fir's soft feathers and asked.
"I don't know? But he said I am so maybe I am." Fir straightforwardly replied. "But when I do become an adult, I'll be able to become a human. Then I can play with everyone else!"
"By everyone, do you mean the kids?" Sherry asked.
Fir nodded. "They pat me and let me sleep on them but they don't let me join in on their games. And George is scared of birds so he never touches me! If I become human, I'll be able to play too."
Dylan chuckled lightly. "You're already 15 years old this year. Wouldn't your human form be a teenager? You'll be much older than them."
"No, I believe he should be the same age, if not younger." Matthias interjected. "For a sylphice, Fir is still a child so even if he does mature into an adult, his mental state hadn't quite caught up yet so he possesses the mental age of a child still."
"That's great. He can probably go to school with them too then." Sherry said. "Do you want to go to school, Fir?"
Fir looked up from his bowl of shaved ice. "No." He very bluntly refused.
"Even if he did, it would probably not be a good idea. I think he'll be able to maintain human form for a few hours at best. As he matures, this time will lengthen, but for now, only a few hours." Matthias informed.
Sherry grew up in an environment that believed that everyone deserved an education and that education was the road to an easier life. But it was also true that it was not absolutely crucial. As long as one knew the basics, they were able to survive in society. Also, Fir was a bird, he didn't need to go to school. Thinking so, Sherry dropped the idea and didn't mention it again.
"Oh yeah, I just remembered." Dylan suddenly muttered. He took his phone out of his pocket and called Janine. Not long after, Janine picked up.
"Hello?" Hearing a voice come out of the phone, Matthias' eyes lit up with interest. Not only did they have big screens that displayed all sorts of entertainment, they also had tiny interactive and portable communication devices. Matthias was looking forward to exploring the technology of Earth. The nerd in him screamed at him to dismantle everything to understand just how they worked.
"Hey, Janine." Dylan greeted, ignoring Matthias' fervent gaze directed at his phone. "I, uh, my friend happened to also arrive on Earth and he doesn't have a place to stay either."
"…Another one of you magic freaks came here?" Janine replied after a brief pause. "Is this some kind of common occurrence or something? Why does this keep happening?"
"Well, we believe that our arrival on Earth is thanks to our Goddess Sennia and Sherry's transaction a few years ago. So, we are probably going to be the lasts to come from Diva."
"Goddess…You know what? I'm not even going to ask." Janine sighed before continuing. "I don't have any more bedrooms anymore. Either you share or he crashes on the couch."
"I was actually planning on having him stay at Sherry's for a while." Dylan turned to Sherry. "You're fine with that right?"
Sherry very coolly nodded. "Sure." She agreed.
"Anyways, this is not good in the long run and I already feel that I'm intruding too much so can I, uh, do a few more jobs so I can rent an apartment or something?" Dylan hesitantly asked.
"You want to move out?" Janine asked back. "But what am I supposed to do without you cleaning up after me?"
"I don't know? Maybe can start cleaning yourself for a change."
"You guys can just keep staying at our places, we don't mind." Sherry said.
Dylan shook his head. "We can't keep intruding like this. You said the same thing to me in Frin, 'The first step to living in a new place is to buy your own house'. I'm going to do the same."
"But you don't have much money." Sherry worriedly revealed. She just had to go and throw that truth bomb at him.
Dylan coughed awkwardly. "That's why I'm asking to do more jobs."
Janine was listening in on their conversation and spoke up. "I have a few jobs for you. Multiple companies have expressed their interest in hiring you to model for them. As per our contract, we will get the money and give a portion of that back but it'll probably not be enough for a good apartment."
Dylan frowned. He had a couple hundred dollars in his bank but that was nowhere near enough to get a decent apartment around here.
"My dad gifted me an apartment for Christmas, you can just stay there. We can discuss the rent later." Janine generously suggested. She could have gifted the apartment to Dylan but she knew that Dylan wouldn't accept it if she did. It was best to just keep it professional so it wouldn't hurt his conscious.
"Really?" Dylan's eyes lit up.
"Yeah. But you have to come back to cook and clean for us once a week. That's a part of the deal."
"Okay, whatever you say." Dylan agreed. "When can we move in?"
"Whenever you're ready. Everything is already prepared in there. At most you have to clean a bit."
"Then we'll move in tonight."
With that, issues regarding Dylan and Matthias' home were all settled and they no longer had to worry about hiding their magic and all that. It was very stressful for Dylan to hide his magic all the time in Janine's place. He never realised how much he relied on magic until he was forbidden from using it. Many times, Charlotte almost walked into Dylan preparing ingredients with magic or just playing around and making things float. He was glad he didn't have to hide it anymore.
Author: The readers are saying you got demoted, Matthias.
Matthias: I did?
Author: They're saying you have a lower status than Fir so I've been trying to upgrade you from former antagonist to smart nerdy know-it-all friend but its just not working. No one respects you.
Matthias: Maybe if you stopped making Dylan abuse me, it'll work.
Dylan: In your dreams, mate. You deserved this.
Matthias: D-Dylan! Ow, ah, stop~!