True Thoughts

"Pooof!"

With a soft noise, the room was suddenly engulfed in blinding light for a short moment. Huvel had to close and open his eyes several times to be able to see again. Since the light came from the Flying Leaf Nymph, he could guess there was something wrong with him.

However, when he could see again, the bulky chest in front him was gone! He turned his head and looked for the nymph but there was no sight of him.

"Now you have done it, you bastard!"

Huvel jumped back when he suddenly heard a sharp small voice coming from floor. He looked down and saw something on the floor.

"Oh, my… nymph! Is it you?"

The small figure lying on the floor looked like a baby deer except for the head, which was the head of a human baby and had two short antlers on top. He looked very unusual at first look so Huvel could not help but be alarmed.

However, when he looked at the face carefully, it looked similar to Flying Leaf Nymph's face. Although the face did not have handsome and mature looks anymore, it still bore the same facial features of the nymph, and it was cute! Moreover, his body was so small that his head was only at the height of Huvel's knees when he stood up on his four limbs.

"Who else can I be?! Hmph!"

"Pttf…"

Although the nymph was genuinely angry at Huvel, his pouting face looked nothing but adorable. Huvel got an urge to pinch the nymph's small round cheeks.

"Did you just laugh?!"

The small nymph stared daggers at Huvel. Although he looked even more funnier, Huvel restrained himself from laughing as he knew his life could be in danger if he made the nymph angrier.

"No, no. I was just shocked," Huvel replied as he casually picked up the nymph and held him in his arms. "How did you become like this?"

Although a white deer with a human head would look creepy to any human, Huvel decided to not ponder about it since everything relating to the nymphs and such were beyond norms. He patted the nymph's deer body as if it was a natural thing to do. The deer body did not have fur on it and the white skin was soft and glowing faintly.

"Don't touch me!" said the nymph. He kicked Huvel and jumped out of his arms.

The nymph did not fell onto the ground but levitated in the air, as if he was standing of a flat ground. He even jumped up and stood in the air at a place higher than Huvel's head.

"It's because of you making me uncomfortable and breaking my magic!" The nymph continued as he poked Huvel's head with his hoof. "It's because of you that my magnificent form disappeared!"

"Wait, wait," interjected Huvel while withstanding the continuous poking of the hoof. "Give me some times to think. So, your former appearance was a disguise and this is your real appearance?"

"N… NO! I… I don't really look puny like this. My tall and magnificent form is my real appearance!"

"Why do you want to deny your current looks while you looked so cute?!"

"Oh, does he hate to be called cute?" Huvel pondered inwardly. "Nooo! He will get angrier now! What should I say to calm him down?"

In reality, the nymph became quite unlike Huvel expected. His eyes looked down and his body was trembling as he slowly fall from where he stood. If he had red blood like humans, his face would have flushed red as well.

"…I… I am… cute? You… you are lying… right?"

"I'm telling you the truth."

Huvel held the slowly descending nymph in his arms and kissed his puffy cheeks.

"Don't you know that you are small and adorable like a baby? OOAF!"

"Who says I am small?!"

Huvel was kicked in the chest. He learnt that 'small' was a taboo word while 'cute' was accepted.

"But what about your former appearance? Are you not going to change back?"

"…"

"It seems you can't change back to it immediately, can you?"

"I knew it! You like that appearance. You were just lying to me when you say my current appearance is cute! Liar! Liar! Liar!"

"What? It is the truth that you are cute. Ah! Don't hit me with your hoofs! I might die if you hit me like that! HEY!!"

That day, Huvel was beaten black and blue by the nymph! It costed him a lot of mana to heal himself afterward. He reminded himself not to talk about appearances with the Flying Leaf Nymph in the future.

-----

Pechie was unhappy whenever he thought about the recent days. When he nodded to be adopted, he thought he would get all the attention of his 'daddy'. However, after he was adopted, he had to learn many things so he could not follow his daddy around like he wanted. He was told to mind the manners so he could not play near his daddy or sleep in his room.

Moreover, two new servants came to the castle shortly after he was adopted. Pechie did not like the scent on them but his daddy seemed to like them very much. Those two got to follow his daddy everywhere. Pechie was envious of them. He regretted becoming an adoptive son to his daddy. He thought becoming a servant like those two hufelids was better than being an adoptive son.

Pechie was disappointed when his daddy went on a trip without taking him. And the fact that he took one of the two new hufelid servants with him was bothering Pechie more. He decided to stick to his daddy like glue when he came back. Still, his daddy brought a stranger with him when he came back and he also had an 'invisible friend' whom he talked to from time to time.

Pechie was in distress when he thought of how he had to share his daddy's attention with that many people.