Right after the departure with Chris, he walked home, the night has already entered it's early stage.
As he got to the mansion he saw no lights. "Did they go to sleep early?" He asked himself.
Walking in he saw quite a lot of stickers, all the furniture was gone. He walked in the living room, where he saw them four sitting.
"What happened?!" He asked, throwing his arms to the side.
"They took the furniture... Too much debt..."
Debt... Debt... Debt...
"Oh shit... I forgot to give them the half i took. Even though it's rightfully mine... I don't need it anymore."
Svetislav materialized a big pouch and threw it at Kazuma, who got hit in the chest.
"Hey! What was this all abou-" He then realized that the pouch made a clinking sound as it was moved.
"My debt to you is paid. All one hundred and fifty million." Then he realized, he had left his modern clothes in his wardrobe like a normal person. "Wait a second-" He ran to his room. It was empty, no furniture nor a wardrobe in sight... He gave a sigh. He didn't take it as bad as he thought he would... This moment held a message. "Embrace your new self."
He turned his head, closed the door and walked back to the living room, where he immediately stopped his automatic heating, feeling how chilly it has become. He decided that it would be a good idea to make a warm spot in the house, because going through the whole house would be a longer process. He drew the mana piping drew the patterns of start, logic-gate if, which checks the reality sensor - a pattern which allows the code to touch reality, in this case to sense if it gets too cold, if the room becomes colder than the average body temperature.
When that condition is met, the mana flows into a pattern that transforms mana into thermal energy.
"What are you doing?" Kazuma asked sceptically.
"A warm room within this house."
"Mhmm." Kazuma nodded a few times.
"Don't 'Mhmm' me. You will thank me later." Svetislav said, finishing the patterns, in the end it looked like a key. He placed his hand near the heating rune, before pulling it away and deciding to expand the influence, because the room was big and it would be difficult to heat up from only one point. He drew the line with his finger, which he then extended to go around the whole floor.
"Alright, rest well, guys." He laid on his back and covered his face with his hat.\
"Night."
Terrible, just terrible. Hasn't he outlived this phase? Sleeping not on a bed, but whatever surface was under him.
"Guys." He randomly said.
"What?" They all said.
"We should get lots of pillows and build a fortress."
Kazuma snickered at the idea. "What are you? A seven year old?"
"Brother, imma beat that attitude out of you. Ain't too late to be a child again. If we are always acting like adults, life would get pretty depressing."
"Alright, alright... I get it."
"That's better..." He closed his eyes and took a more comfortable position against the wall. "That's all i wanted to say. I'm off to the sleepy realm."
And so he fell asleep like in two minutes and began breathing at a slower pace.
The night passed quickly, no dreams, or at least nothing note worthy.
"Ugh. I hate sleeping like this..." - He said to himself as he stood up like a vampire.
He stood up, a hand on the wall to help him stand up. The back pain was here again, it was difficult to turn without it forcing his posture back straight. He pulled his cane from his astral storage and walked to the window.
Staring out, he saw the beauty of winter... A chilly wind, in a darker day, while the snowflakes danced as they fell down... The outside was covered in white, it brought him quite the mood...
He sat down, using Perfect Conversion to transform the kinetic energy in his fats of the bottom area, in term, sitting in the air.
A subtle feeling of depression settled in, but he welcomed it... It wasn't anything uncontrolled, he simply let the cold feeling ease his mind.
"The occasional depression isn't that bad... I'm probably just transitioning... Or maybe looking back to the past... Oh, my relationship with Chris. In this town, people probably envy me... Just how i envied, back in my old world. I only wanted to love and be loved... But i gained her... How lovely."
He let that thought linger, warm and dangerous. If he held it too tightly, it would hurt.
Eventually he deemed that he has sat long enough, and he stood up. He quietly made his way to the door, converting the sound into information, so to not wake them up, before leaving the room, and eventually, the mansion.
He thought to himself,
He went around town and bought out every pillow and also a few blankets from every store that sold them. In the end he had around five hundred of them, actually and had spent more than a million eris, he also bought a few blankets, for doors, maybe a hammock too.
His vision was big, like "the whole living room" type big.
So he moved back home, while his friends were out with the prosecutor, whom he passed on his way to town.
Once he returned to the mansion, he made a skeleton out of planks, which he enchanted with unbreakable and everlasting, making them more resilient than steel, yet strong as it.
Then he began placing the pillows, he enchanted them too, making them a strong wall, the fortress would have halls, a hammock room, which was literally four blankets stitched together, a main room, and above it a second floor with a dome, for he hasn't used all the windows...
At some point Aqua came, "Hey, have you seen Kazuma and Megumin?"
"No."
"Oh, alright." And so she left again, calling them out.
A little bit later, they all came.
They all blinked at what he has done in the living room.
"...What are you doing?" Kazuma asked flatly.
"Building the fortress of dreams."
It took him many hours, but it made him happy, he felt fulfilled, for he made it, to make them happy and in term, himself. The excess materials(pillows, blankets and such) were placed all around the place, whoever needs them.
It might not be a bed, but it was nonetheless soft... This reminded him of childhood. Haven't we all once or twice desired to rest in a bounce house?
As he added the finishing touch, being doors and a code which would maintain a livable temperature, he stepped back. "...Perfect." His voice cracked with pride. "My friends won't freeze. They'll be comfortable." He turned to the door. "Anyways, break time." He walked out casually and quickly. Out of the mansion and into the snow, jumping around, thinking, throwing snowballs, making snow angels... All in the name of joy. Tears streamed down the side of his head and off his ears. Was it joy, was it detachment - he knew not. He let the tears settle, he didn't want to go in with them still showing or his eyes red, while he holds a wide grin.
After a few minutes he went inside, and the first thing he saw - Kazuma and Megumin already claiming spots. Aqua was yelling about her throne, and Darkness sat humbly where it was free.
"Hey," Kazuma pocked his head out from the corner of one of the halls in the fortress(It looked more like the entrance of an igloo, or an ant's nest.) "This thing's... actually amazing."
"Of course it is." Svetislav's grin was boyish. "Now - play."
And so they did, Svetislav grabbed a spare pillow and threw it in Kazuma's face. Pillows flew, laughter filled the mansion, and for the first time in a long while, the group was genuinely joyful.
Svetislav pulled out a pot and called them to stop their joyful war. He began to cook cabbages, after all, they are burning lots of energy. But in-between the process he heard a knock. It was the front door that was the source.
He stopped his cooking with fireless heat and crawled out of the fortress, and to the front door, there Chris stood, her cloak flowing with the wind, the amulet he made for her still hung around her neck.
"Heya. Saw you buying an absurd amount of pillows and decided to stop by. What's up?"
"Too much, care to join us in the fortress?"
"The fortress...?"
"Yeah, we were just about to have dinner. Also it's not just a fortress. It's the palace of pillows. Warmth guaranteed. Comfort is unmatched. And more laughter than the gods themselves could dream of."
She tilted her head bemused, but the invitation carried warmth she couldn't resist. He led her inside, closing the door behind her. "Don't forget to take your shoes off, i don't want dirt in the palace."
"Alright." She said, taking off her boots and placing them to the side.
After this he lead the way inside. Walls of pillows, glowing runes that hummed with warmth, the faint smell of cooked cabbage in the air.
She reached the main part, where everyone currently sat.
"Hey, Chris. Welcome to... whatever this is."
"This," Svetislav announced, spreading his arms, "is home."
No one argued, they only laughed and shifted aside, letting Chris find her own spot amont them. She sat down, fingers brushing against the soft cushion floor.
Soon enough he finished cooking, he gave everyone their own portion, which was pretty hearty, after all - it's his specialty.
It was a simple moment, but it felt like a banquet.
When the food was done and gone, the games began anew. Pillow skirmishes broke out - Aqua shrieking as Kazuma smacked her from above, Megumin building barricades, Darkness laughing so hard she nearly fell flat. Even Chris joined, striking with precision when no one expected.
And Svetislav? He watched them all for a while. The sadness was gone, this place holds no open space for depression.
At the end of the night, everyone lay sprawled inside the fortress, breathless from laughter, drowsy from food and warmth. Chris curled against a pile of pillows, eyes half-closed.
Svetislav still sat like the master of this place, smiling gently. "Lovely," he whispered to himself. "Simply lovely."
And so he closed his eyes, sinking into the soft walls of his creation, heart lighter than before.
After around thirty minutes, he opened his eyes... This was proving unfruitful. It was comfortable, but it didn't feel the same as it is, when a blanket gets involved.
He crawled quietly, grabbing five blankets. He slowly went around everyone, tucking them in - Kazuma muttered in his sleep, Aqua rolled over and hugged hers, Megumin vanished under the fabric with a muffled snore, Darkness smiled faintly, even in this restful state.
When he climbed on the second floor. He saw Chris, leaning against the pillow wall, her eyes open and thoughtful. She looked up as he arrived.
"...You are still awake," he whispered.
"Couldn't sleep," she admitted softly, pulling her knees closed. "Too much on my mind, i guess... You?"
"I was fixing what was missing - blankets. A little warmth isn't enough - you need softness too."
Her lips curved into a teasing smile. "Always the perfectionist."
He sat down beside her, not too close, but not far either, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders. "You don't look troubled because of today, do you?"
She hesitated for a short moment, then shook her head. "Not troubled. Just... surprised. You throw yourself into everything. One day, fire in court. The next, a child building forts." She game a small laugh. "It's hard to know which part of you is real."
"Both..." he said simply. "I'm serious when the world forces me to be. But when i can... I let myself be a fool. If i don't, the depression wins."
Chris was quiet for a moment, watching him. Then, softly: "That's... kind of admirable, you know."
He turned, raising a brow. She looked away quickly, embarrassed by her own words. "I mean - you keep moving forward. Even when it's heavy. That's not something most people manage."
He smiled faintly. "It's easier when you have people worth moving forward for..."
Her eyes flickered towards him at that, caught off guard, but she said nothing. Just wrapped her blanket tighter, hiding a small smile.
The fortress grew quiet again. The only sound were the gentle taps outside and the steady breath of their friends below.
"Goodnight, Chris." He said gently.
"...Goodnight, Svetislav."
And with that he found himself a spot to lay down. So did she.
His mind was mostly calm, but that weren't long lived as thoughts began to flood his mind.
His eyes, half-closed, drifted towards Chris. She had already curled herself smaller, her breathing slow, her face calm in the dim light.
A quiet yearning welled up inside him - simple, foolish "But is it really?...", human "But is it really?".
He wanted to reach out. To pull her close, hold her the way lovers do. to feel that fragile reassurance that he wasn't alone.
"Is it too early?"
His thoughts burned in his mind, tempting. He clenched his jaw. "No, not yet... Don't force what should come naturally."
Instead he turned over, clutching one of the fortress's many pillows. The softness molded against him, and in its silence, he pretended. Pretended the warmth was hers, the closeness real.
The longing didn't ease... But he forced himself to sleep nonetheless.