Chapter 31: What She Does Every Night

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When a squirrel the size of a hare jumped, Sugar jumped too.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

She threw her whole body at it and caught the squirrel. It squealed, “Squeeek—Squeeeak—!” Its pitch-black eyes filled with terror and wariness, as if foreseeing its own fate.

“Become my money…”

But Sugar muttered theatrically and simply snipped off its tail.

She deliberately let it go, and the squirrel scurried away. Sugar chased after it.

The squirrel darted through the bushes, hiding here and there, while Sugar crouched low and followed swiftly, “Shashashak.”

Sometimes she crawled on all fours, other times she leaped over the bushes. She pursued it relentlessly, like a predator hunting its prey.

The tailless squirrel disappeared into a burrow. The moment Sugar noticed, she let out a silent cheer.

She grabbed the shovel strapped to her back and immediately drove it into the burrow. She pressed down on the shovel head with her foot, then lifted it forcefully, sending dirt flying and widening the entrance.

The inside of the burrow was eerily silent, but that was all. It might seem empty, but it was likely teeming with life.

To dig properly, Sugar focused on the flow of magical energy within her body.

Her legs, which needed to support her body, became firm. Her waist and shoulders, which needed to move, became lively. By channeling her magic with this imagery, digging became much easier.

At first, she would explosively release all her magical energy at once, quickly tiring herself out. A typical beginner’s mistake, but now, it was different. She had learned to use the right amount of magic in the right places.

Magic was always limited, so she had to use it carefully.

Having learned this through experience, Sugar now felt a bit smug as she dug, her lips curling into a smile.

Dawn.

Under the dim light of the early morning, with the sunrise behind her, a girl was digging in the ground.

The forms of large ground squirrels became clearly visible, and various cries could be heard, but she didn’t bat an eye. With nimble hands, she caught them, snipped their tails, caught them, snipped their tails. Her movements were precise.

Then, she released them, watching as they stood forlornly in front of their collapsed burrows.

Sugar handed out a few walnuts to the tailless ground squirrels. She had picked them up on her way here.

“Live strong.”

After all, you’ll rebuild your homes and grow back your tails soon.

She carefully placed the tails she had collected into her pouch and left them behind.

Now, it was time to go home.

.

.

.

It was a small forest on the outskirts of the city.

Beyond the bustling district was the slum.

Beyond the slum was the forest.

Every night, Sugar would sneak out of the orphanage and struggle in this forest to gather the items requested.

She had taken on a request to collect as many tails of the large ground squirrels as possible.

The more she collected, the more money she would earn, so it was hard not to be motivated.

A portion of the earnings would go to the self-proclaimed request broker, but that didn’t matter much.

After all, she didn’t need the money for food, clothing, or shelter. She only needed it to buy a gift. She had already saved up quite a bit.

Thinking about it made her happy, but staying up all night moving her body and using magic was exhausting. So, she stumbled back to the orphanage again today.

She sneaked into the building and headed straight to the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, she couldn’t expect warm water. But since she had just been moving around, her body was still warm, so a cold shower was bearable.

“Ugh… Brrr.”

She rubbed her goosebump-covered body vigorously, washing off the sweat and dirt. She lathered up with cheap soap and even washed the clothes she had been wearing.

Once she adjusted to the temperature, thoughts of today’s achievements made her chuckle.

It wasn’t just about the money—it was also about her magical progress.

In just over a week, her proficiency in manipulating magical energy had improved significantly.

While her ability to manipulate external objects was still the same as when she started, her internal manipulation had clearly improved, making her movements faster and more efficient.

Maybe I’m pretty talented?

If this keeps up, won’t it just be a matter of time before I get used to external manipulation?

Her overconfidence made her chest tingle.

‘Watch out—Steele!’

The skies tremble, the church is shocked, and Riley shivers—it’s the mage Sugar!

(Riley, who had already finished his business in the underground waterway and returned to the bedroom, sneezed.)

Whether it was from lack of sleep or the exhaustion of moving her body all night, even the cold water couldn’t fully wake her up.

After erasing all traces of her outing, she stepped out of the bathroom and changed into the clothes she had prepared.

Feeling fresh and clean was nice.

She roughly dried her wet hair with a towel and entered the girls’ bedroom.

“Mmm… Sugar…?”

“Shh, shh. It’s nothing.”

Praline, sleeping next to Sugar, slightly opened her eyes at the noise. Sugar quickly closed them for her and patted her belly, lulling her back to sleep.

Phew.

It seemed like several of them slept together on a large mattress. Sugar, sleeping in the far left corner, lay down as well.

Since lying down directly would make her damp, she spread a towel under her head before lying down.

‘This is annoying…’

Long hair was such a hassle at times like this. It got in the way whenever she moved, making her consider cutting it short.

Personally, Sugar thought girls should have long hair, but since it was her own hair, she figured she could do whatever she wanted.

Oh, by the way, I need to go get my money today… or rather, later today. Since I’m out, maybe I should pick out the gift in advance. I’ve decided on the type, but I haven’t settled on the exact item yet.

With these thoughts running through her mind, she quickly fell asleep.

After less than an hour of sleep.

Sugar groggily ate her meal, groggily went out, met with the request broker, and received her payment and a new request.

She also went to the ‘Under the White Tree’ shop and discussed with the owner, an old lady, what to buy. The old man also reluctantly offered his opinion.

‘It’s a secret, okay? A secret. You understand, right? Even if that friend comes, you must keep it a secret that I’m preparing a gift.’

‘Alright, alright.’

The old lady had a strange smile, but Sugar made sure to emphasize the secrecy before leaving.

After completing her errands, it was now afternoon.

Sugar was sprawled out in the orphanage’s attic.

“Gwaaah…”

She made a strange noise and lay flat on the floor, as if trying to merge with it.

“Hey, get up.”

“Just a little… more sleep…”

“Aren’t you going to train?”

“I’ll start next week, Mom…”

Who’s your mom? An annoyed Riley poked Sugar’s arm with the back of a pencil. Each time he poked, she inched away like a slug.

Eventually, she crawled into a corner and hid herself in a blanket.

She figured she could save up enough money in a few more days. She decided to start working hard again after that.

After all, her internal magic manipulation was improving day by day through practical training.

As for external manipulation, she would start next week after saving enough money. She thought it would be easier to divide her training into different parts.

“Hey. You should be able to lift something like this pencil with your magic by now…”

 

But Riley didn’t know about those circumstances. He thought he was the only one moving—whether it was hunting monsters all night or earning money—so he kept urging her on.

‘You need to reach the third level soon. What are you even doing? You were the one who said we should go to magic school together.’

As he poked her, feeling a bit annoyed, something suddenly occurred to him.

“You… aren’t staying up at night doing something, are you?”

The girl who used to love training so much was now putting it off until next week and lying around listlessly.

So he casually asked, and Sugar just turned her head to meet his eyes without saying a word.

She gave him a vague, smiling look.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Idiot! Why would I be? It’s just that your training is being affected… Tell me straight. What are you doing at night?”

“Nothing. I’m just sleeping.”

“Then why are you so tired? You’ve been acting weird lately.”

She had been trying to act energetic, but after over a week of staying out all night, she was starting to feel the strain.

The usually bright and lively girl had been slumping around lately, so it was natural for her closest friend to find it strange.

She thought going out during the day would raise suspicions, so she went out at night. But it seemed that wasn’t a great solution either.

Still, it didn’t matter. Sugar had already decided to keep playing dumb.

“I’m just a bit tired. Maybe they’re giving us less food lately. I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry… Seriously, tell me. What are you doing every night?”

He’s persistent.

She could never tell him she was earning money to buy him a gift. But since he had already noticed she was doing something at night, she had to come up with something.

So she decided to shift the tone a bit.

“Tommy… are you really that curious?”

“Yeah, so tell me.”

“Hmm… Are you really that curious about what a girl does every night?”

“…What, what?”

Her tone was slightly drawn out. Her eyes were half-closed.

Why is she like this again? Riley sensed something was off.

“Huh? You said you were curious, right…?”

Sugar slowly sat up.

Her exhaustion added a drowsy, strange atmosphere. Her slow movements seemed to emphasize her presence, drawing his gaze to her pale hands and face.

Then, she stretched her arms toward Riley.

With a faint smile, her small lips whispered.

“Come here, and I’ll tell you… what I do every night.”

Her tone was oddly bewitching.

The young boy could only stare at her, entranced. Like a moth drawn to a flame.

She was so beautiful that he couldn’t help but be captivated.

Even if he didn’t know what was going on, going to her would surely bring happiness—

“—Hey! I’m not joking around!”

She always does this when she gets the chance!

Riley snapped out of it and flailed about, but Sugar stuck out her tongue. She had tried to calm him down by taking advantage of the fact that he’d behave if she hugged him, but it didn’t work this time. Too bad.

“Do you understand what I’m saying? Huh? If you use magic, you need to rest! Recovery comes first, whether it’s training or anything else! Even in good condition, accidents can happen, but you’re just taking it all too lightly…!”

“Ugh, calm down. I get it, I get it.”

“Don’t act all high and mighty just because you can use a little magic! Amateurs like you are the ones who get hurt the most!”

What on earth is she doing every night? Riley himself would go out whenever he had the time to rummage through the underground waterways, but he was much more experienced and had his grimoire, so it wasn’t a problem for him.

However, Sugar hadn’t even reached the third level, and her second level was only half-baked. She didn’t even have any magical tools. From Riley’s perspective, she had nothing going for her.

And yet, she was going out alone every night to do who knows what.

Monsters were dangerous, adults were dangerous, and those damn heretical women were dangerous too! What gave her the confidence to wander around alone like that?

As he was getting worked up, Sugar slowly approached him.

“Tommy, calm down. I appreciate your concern.”

“I’m not! Concerned! About you! I’m just worried you’ll! Cause trouble! For me! That’s all!”

“Alright. But really, it’s fine. It’s nothing serious… It’ll be over soon.”

“So what exactly are you…!”

As he clenched his fists in frustration, Sugar placed her hand on his. Her movements were as smooth as flowing water, leaving him no room to pull away.

“Can you… just trust me and wait a little?”

Her expression was serious. Riley’s mouth hung open.

Trust me and wait.

Believe in me.

She had faith that her friend would trust and wait for her. An infinite trust.

With that in mind, Sugar spoke.

She knew that his anger was born out of concern for her.

He was quick to get annoyed and prickly, but at his core, he was a good kid. Knowing this well, Sugar smiled softly and touched his heart.

Soon, I’ll be able to buy you a gift.

She held back the words she wanted to say. Surprise gifts were the best, after all.

Just imagining his reaction—pretending not to care but secretly being happy—made her look forward to it. A smile naturally spread across her face.

“…Whatever. Do what you want. I’ve said my piece.”

As usual, Sugar was the one who came out on top.

When Riley turned his head away, Sugar grinned and secretly made a “V” sign behind his back.

Feeling annoyed for some reason, Riley turned back, but Sugar quickly pretended to be distracted, looking off into the distance.

Then, as if she had just remembered something, she clapped her hands.

“Oh! This is something else.”

“What…?”

“I’ve been thinking about cutting my hair. What do you think? It’s been getting in the way whenever I move, so I’m thinking of cutting it shorter.”

A sudden change of topic.

She brought it up to shift the mood and also to mention something she had been thinking about earlier that morning.

“Absolutely not.”

He answered immediately, without even asking why.

“Why?”

“…It’ll make your already plain face even uglier.”

Hmm. Really?

When she stared at him intently, he couldn’t say anything more and just pursed his lips.

“Alright… if that’s what you think.”

His true feelings were obvious.

The reason he gave—that it would make her look uglier—wasn’t the real one. It was probably because he thought it would be a waste to cut it, or maybe he just liked long hair.

Of course, since he had agreed to trust her earlier, she could let this slide.

I’m the adult here. For you, who can’t be honest.

Because I understand you, I’ll listen to your opinion, even if it’s not entirely truthful.

“I guess I won’t cut it, for Tommy’s sake. Right?”

“What are you talking about? What does it have to do with me…?”

The flustered boy turned away, muttering to himself. His ears were bright red.

Seeing him like that made her laugh out loud.

It would be nice if he could be a little more honest.

Someday, this kid will grow up and meet all sorts of people. Among them, being honest with a lover would be good. Not holding back on compliments and saying what’s on your mind at the moment would be nice.

So it would be good if he could learn that mindset now.

‘Ah, but then I wouldn’t be able to tease him, so this is probably the right balance.’

Be honest with your girlfriend when you grow up.

For now, just have fun with me.

Today, too, Sugar pretended to be mature while being anything but.