One would think that when someone was getting a free ride on another person's back, they'd have the decency to sit still, maybe act grateful, or at least try not to make things harder for the one doing the carrying.
But Lulu, of course, didn't believe in any of that.
The moment they started walking, she was bouncing happily up and down on Luca's back, giggling like a child at a festival.
"Oh wow!" She exclaimed, leaning forward and pointing. "I'm so tall right now! The view up here is amazing! Look, look, I can see things I've never seen before!"
"Like that flower over there—it's got golden petals! And that tree—its bark looks like it's glowing! Ooh, ooh! And—haha!—that's where Luna tripped last week!"
"Lulu, please…" Luna groaned audibly.
But Lulu ignored her completely, before looking down on her with a mischievous gaze.
"Ha! Now who's the taller one, Luna?" She said proudly, puffing her chest. "Even though we're twins, you've always been taller! It's not fair at all! I used to be jealous of you for that—but look at me now!"
She spread her arms dramatically.
"I'm taller than you and maybe even taller than Mother! Finally, justice!"
She laughed heartily, her voice echoing through the trees, and her twin tails bounced along with her movements. Luna could only sigh in resignation.
But then Lulu's attention shifted once more as she began running her fingers through Luca's hair.
"Hey, why is your hair so soft, human?" She asked curiously, rubbing a few strands between her fingers. "I thought human hair was supposed to be rough and greasy and disgusting!"
"But yours is...soft. Fluffy, even."
"Lulu—" Luna started warningly.
But her sister kept going, leaning forward with curiosity as she sniffed lightly.
"It even smells good! Not like flowers, but...something natural. Calm. Huh. Strange, but nice."
Then she giggled and flipped her own twin tails dramatically.
"Of course, it's not as good as mine! Mine's the softest and best-smelling hair in the entire world!"
Luca chuckled quietly. "Confident, aren't you?"
"Obviously!" Lulu said proudly.
Luna finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Lulu, will you please calm down? He's already carrying you, and here you are bouncing around, sniffing him, tugging his hair like a little child! Have some restraint!"
But Luca only smiled over his shoulder.
"It's fine." He said lightly. "Honestly, it's more entertaining this way. A quiet journey's no fun. And it's good to have someone talking—it makes the road feel shorter."
Internally, he was also thinking something very different.
'Especially since every time she moves, I can feel her soft chest pressing against me.'
But he didn't dare let that thought slip out loud.
Lulu, however, brightened immediately at his words, puffing up with pride.
"See, Luna? Even he says it's fine! You're just jealous because I get to ride on his back and you don't!"
"Jealous?" Luna's eye twitched. "As if. I'm perfectly fine walking on my own."
Still, as she watched them ahead of her—Lulu laughing joyously, Luca walking steadily with barely a sign of effort—she couldn't help but think that he was impressively strong to carry someone like her sister so easily.
There was even a flicker of curiosity in her heart, wondering what it might feel like to be carried like that.
But she quickly shook her head to banish the thought.
'Immature.' She scolded herself. 'Completely immature.'
Before she could get lost in her own thoughts again, Luca suddenly spoke.
"Since we're already headed to your village..." He said, turning his head slightly toward her. "...it would help if I knew a bit more about it. About your people, your daily life. Especially after the loss of mana years ago."
"...Things must've changed a lot since then, right?"
Luna narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "
Is this your way of trying to make me spill my village's secrets? Because if it is, it's not going to work."
"Yeah!" Lulu chimed in, though she was still absentmindedly rubbing her cheek against his hair. "Don't think you can trick us into saying anything dangerous, human!"
"Relax. I'm not asking for any secrets." He laughed softly. "I don't care about your weapons or strategies or anything related to the war. I'm just asking about everyday life—what's changed, how your people are living now. Common knowledge, that's all."
Luna studied him carefully for a moment. His tone was calm, genuine and somehow, she could tell he wasn't lying.
"Alright…" She said finally, her expression softening. "If that's all, then I suppose there's no harm in talking about it. After all, you've shared plenty of knowledge with me. It's only fair I do the same."
She walked beside him, thoughtful for a few moments before continuing.
"Ever since that day—the great change ten years ago—everything has been different."
"Mana, which once flowed freely through the land and air, suddenly began to vanish. Or...not vanish exactly."
She said, glancing up at the forest canopy as she waved her hand through the air.
"It's still here, but so faint you can barely feel it anymore. The energy we used to breathe, to live, to grow...it's weak now. Thin."
Luca nodded silently, his expression turning contemplative. He had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed still stirred something inside him.
Luna went on.
"Before that, mana was everywhere—rich and vibrant. You could touch a tree and feel it hum with energy. Our spells flourished, our crafts were powerful, our crops grew like magic. But now…"
She sighed softly.
"The mana that remains feels degraded—diluted. Even the strongest mages struggle to hold enough power for a single spell."
Luca nodded again, murmuring, "So it's not gone completely. Just...crippled."
"Exactly." Luna said. "It's like the world itself is starving. Even the healers can only perform minor enchantments now. Most of the grand rituals our ancestors used are impossible. Life has slowed down...become harder, duller."
Luca listened quietly, every word making his thoughts race.
The Goddess of Space had told him there was no mana left at all—that magic was extinct.
But that wasn't true. It was still here, barely breathing, fading like dying embers.
"So the world isn't dead yet...just gasping for air." He muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Luna asked, looking at him curiously.
"Nothing." He just smiled faintly. "Please, continue."
Luna nodded, her tone softening as she looked ahead at the faint sunlight filtering through the leaves.
"We've adapted as best we can. But every year, it feels like the light of the world grows dimmer. The elders say the forest itself is sleeping, waiting for someone or something to awaken it again."
Lulu, still perched on his back, piped up between licks of her lollipop.
"Maybe you're that someone, human! You've already healed my butt and taught Luna new tricks."
"Next, maybe you'll fix the whole world!"
"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Luca laughed.
Luca couldn't help but chuckle softly at Lulu's words. As simple-minded as she sounded, her innocent statement had struck closer to the truth than she could ever realize.
"Fix the whole world, huh?' He thought, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. 'If only you knew, little elf...if only you knew.'
But he didn't say it aloud. Not yet.
Instead, he smiled faintly and turned his gaze forward toward Luna.
"Can you tell me about the exact problems that have been happening since mana started fading? The big changes, the things that truly made life difficult?"
Luna nodded slowly, her eyes dimming with the weight of years.
"There are many problems." She said softly. "So many that it's hard to know where to begin."
She took a deep breath, then exhaled.
"But if I had to start somewhere, it's with the simple things. The everyday chores that used to be effortless. In the past, even the smallest of tasks were powered by mana. We took it for granted. But now it's all different and more...tedious."
She sighed.
"For example, when we needed fire, we simply whispered a small spell and a warm flame would appear...Now?" She gestured helplessly. "Now we rub stones together like primitive creatures."
"We keep embers from the night before and pray they don't go out. It's humiliating. Elves who once danced with fire spirits reduced to this…"
"Oh, it's awful!" Lulu leaned over his shoulder dramatically, nodding vigorously. "I tried to make a fire last week, and I almost set my dress on fire! By the end, my hands were red, and all I got was a spark!"
"You also tried doing it in the rain, Lulu." Luna gave her a flat look.
Lulu blinked. "…That's not the point!"
Luca chuckled quietly, listening as Luna continued.
"And in the past..." Luna went on. "...we could call water to us—streams would bend their paths at our command, fountains would rise from the earth, and the river would bring what we needed."
"Now, we fetch it with buckets like peasants. We trudge to the stream every morning and carry it back on our shoulders. It's...tiring."
"For a race that once relied on magic for everything, it's like learning to walk after forgetting how to use your legs."
"Yeah, yeah!" Lulu chimed in, raising her hand. "Every morning, it's 'Lulu, fetch the water!' And by the time I get back, my arms feel like noodles! Life's been so hard!"
She flopped dramatically against Luca's back, letting out an exaggerated sigh, while Luna shook her head in mild exasperation and went on listing more examples.
"Before, we could summon wind to dry our clothes. We could weave garments with magic threads that never tore. We could light our homes without fire or oil."
"But now everything takes so much time. Hours, sometimes days and our people are growing tired, frustrated. It's...like the world itself has slowed down."
Luca nodded slowly, his mind piecing it together.
'So it's like losing all electricity in a modern city.' He thought. 'No light, no technology, no comfort. Just silence and struggle. They've gone from a magical civilization to a medieval one overnight.'
Luna's expression grew darker as she continued,
"And those are just the small things. The greater losses...are far more severe."