Heroes of Dreamland Rewritten, Book 2: Stars in Far Places

Chapter 6

Blossom | ブラサーム

"There you go, Mrs. Evergreen. Remember, they're due back in a week." Putting the rubber date stamp I was gifted by the River Village Chamber of Commerce back when I opened the library aside, I hand the stack of cookbooks to the shy, timid, pale yellow Star Warrior woman who just got married a couple of weeks ago. "I've tried a bunch of the recipes in here myself; I definitely recommend them. The breads are especially good."

"Thank you, Blossom," she smiles awkwardly back at me, putting the cookbooks into the tote bag she brought with her. "My mother-in-law keeps nagging at me that I'm not cooking well enough for her son; hopefully these'll help me become a good enough chef that she'll stop scolding me so much."

"I hope so," I agree with a reassuring smile. Still acting shy, Mrs. Evergreen hurries out the door, leaving the library silent again aside from a few high schoolers sitting in the reference section doing research for a history project, a young mother reading picture books to her toddler daughter, and, of course, Blue, who is sitting at a desk in a corner and reading a science textbook to himself.

Heading over to him, I lean against the back of his desk chair and read over his shoulder for a moment. I've been teaching him for about two years now; he's already eight years old. It feels like every day, fewer 'ooyo's come out of his mouth, and more catchphrases and lines from a comic book series he discovered this past summer, called "Sir Gallant's Adventures in Galactic Knighthood." His favorite thing to do, now, when his homework and training is over for the day, is to read (and reread, and re-reread) those comic books.

Now, he glances up at me while thoughtfully gumming on the tip of a pencil he's using to occasionally take notes. "I'm almost done, Blossom. Sorry if I'm taking too long, oo—" His words cut off in midair, just like they usually do when he's stopping himself from saying 'ooyo.'

I smile at him fondly before turning away. "You're fine. That's your last subject today, right?" He and I usually do his sword training first thing in the morning, before I open the library for the day. That way we don't have to worry about any bystanders getting in the way or fretting over our use of weapons, however fake they may be.

"Yup," he agrees absentmindedly, already lost again in the world of light waves and colors.

It took quite a bit of persuasion to convince his parents to let me teach him here. The only one I ever actually conversed with was Honesty, and she seemed fairly positive about the idea of Blue having a private tutor who'd work with him at his own pace (mostly because she thought I'd never push him too hard). His father, on the other hand, apparently didn't like the idea at all. I still have never spoken to him again, aside from the day we were introduced a few years ago.

What's more, I've still never been into town. I have everything I need out here, and everyone still seems averse to the idea of me going into the village—everyone except Blue, of course, who says that one of these days he wants me to go to the bakery or the ice cream parlor with him. I always mention the idea to his mom, but her reaction is usually to bring a selection of treats from the bakery or a couple pints from the ice cream parlor out to the library for me. She never lets me pay her back for them; says they're more than a fair trade, considering I don't charge for Blue's tutoring (why would I; I don't have anywhere to spend the money I do have, anyway).

At this point, I understand that nobody wants me going to town, even if I still don't understand why. For now, I've decided not to belabor the point, and just stay out here at the library, where I'm perfectly content anyway.

But back to the original subject... Dr. Truecure evidently was absolutely against the idea of my teaching Blue. I'm still not sure what finally convinced him to agree, but almost a month after I first floated the idea, Blue was put under my full-time tutelage. Once a year, right before summer vacation, he has to take a test at the village school to prove that he's actually learning and growing as a student under my care, and both years he's been tested so far, he's placed two or three grades ahead of the other kids his age. This, apparently, is good enough for Dr. Truecure, who has allowed me to keep training and teaching Blue for now.