Chapter 69: Steele

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‘Public displays of affection? Whatever. I’ve already steeled myself, it’s not like Riley and I are in that kind of relationship anyway.’

That’s why Sugar had this strange logic that there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

Now that the commotion had settled, the Holy Capital had returned to order.

The choir members gathered back in the open space, resuming their chants under the conductor’s guidance, Sugar, Riley and Ian standing nearby, speaking in hushed tones.

“How is it that the moment you two meet…”

Ian narrowed her eyes as she spoke, and Riley subtly averted his gaze. Beside him, Sugar was subtly burying her nose into Riley’s arm.

Sniff, sniff. ‘What cologne is he wearing?’ She idly wondered.

“…Never mind… Anyway, welcome to the Holy Capital, Riley. You’ve grown a lot. I’m glad to see you healthy.”

“…Have you been well, Lady Ian?”

Riley was aware that Ian was a woman and that she had taken good care of Sugar in his absence. That was why his wariness had eased considerably. Sugar’s letters had mentioned Ian so often, after all.

“I’ve been fine. The real problem was Sugar. You have no idea how much she sulked because you weren’t coming.”

“Lady Ian!”

At the outburst, Riley glanced down at Sugar.

“With her lips all pouty, always gazing at the distant sky.”

“I did not do that!”

“Sometimes, out of nowhere, she’d just sigh, ‘Riley…’ in such a sorrowful tone.”

“I didn’t! Are you allowed to fabricate things like this, Your Holiness?”

Having suffered much at Sugar’s hands before, Ian seized the moment to have her revenge, chattering away gleefully.

Not wanting to suffer alone, Sugar glanced around and quickly dragged over Cedric. Meeting regularly every Advent season and talking about Riley had made them fairly close.

“What now? You young folks should have your own fun…”

“Mister, how was Riley? While he was away, did he ever say he missed me?”

…What?

Riley, who had been feeling slightly smug from Ian’s tale of ‘Sugar pining for him,’ suddenly snapped his head toward Cedric.

“Oh, of course. Do you even need to ask? Let me see… Right, I remember now. One day, I opened the door to our quarters, and there he was, with his nose buried in the letter you sent—”

Riley slipped a hand into the inner pocket of his jacket.

“Look at this guy. Trying to point his staff at his master just because he’s embarrassed. Grounds for expulsion, I’d say.”

“I wasn’t pointing it at you, Master. And in the first place, didn’t you promise to forget about that…?”

“Oops. I must’ve forgotten that I promised to forget.”

As the conversation unfolded, Sugar, who had been listening in, pursed her lips mischievously.

“Heeey… Riley, what exactly did you do…?”

This has to be crossing the line, right? Right? With narrowed eyes, she smiled slyly, her voice teasing.

“In the letter you sent.”

“In the letter I sent?”

“His nose.”

“His nose?”

Riley immediately drew his staff and pointed it at Sugar, casting the ‘Deaf Curse’ in an instant, nearly without an incantation.

As soon as the curse took effect, Sugar yelped, “Ack! I can’t hear!” and flailed about, prompting Riley to quickly cover her mouth with his hand.

In response, Sugar stuck out her tongue and licked his palm. Startled, Riley pulled his hand away and retaliated by pulling and stretching her soft cheeks.

“These two… Even after all these years…”

Cedric shook his head, while Ian, who had started the whole mess, simply scratched her head awkwardly.

“We’re ready! Please gather over here!”

Just in time, the choir leader called out.

.

.

.

“Coordinates set… Sending in the escort first.”

‘They definitely mentioned an escort, but no one’s visible.’

Only a thick fog had crept in, sending a shiver down Sugar’s spine from the sudden chill. Then, the moment the magic circle gleamed, the mist vanished in an instant.

Wait, that was the escort?

Caught off guard, Sugar gawked in amazement. Just then, the choir leader called out to them.

“Next, Sugar and Riley. His Holiness will go last.”

With the most important thing right in front of her, Sugar felt excitement bubble up as she hopped onto the magic circle, Riley following right behind.

Sugar turned to wave at Ian—who would depart last—along with Ione and Cedric, who were staying behind, and Nova, who was giving a thumbs-up from afar.

Meanwhile, Cedric and Riley exchanged glances and nodded to each other.

“If anything comes up, we’ll stay in touch.”

“I’ll look into things on my end as well.”

What are they talking about? Just as Sugar tilted her head, the teleportation began.

“…Ugh.”

Her vision spun, dizziness setting in.

It felt like riding a roller coaster, but after a few seconds, the sensation suddenly stopped.

When she finally opened her eyes—‘wow’.

The world of her memories had come to life.

“Welcome to Steele.”

Unlike the Holy Capital’s grand cathedral, the buildings here were dark-hued. Enormous structures filled the entire view, invoking the idea of a fortress.

Tall, pointed towers stood scattered throughout, and at the center, a grand clock tower loomed over them all.

People flew through the air, while others walked below. Students, professors—everyone here was a mage.

Beyond those towering buildings, floating islands drifted in the sky. The Sky Islands and beneath them—Steele Academy, the greatest school in the world for mages.

Sugar took a deep breath in. And exhaled.

For the first time in years, she was breathing the air outside the Holy Capital.

She could feel the unrestrained flow of magic in the atmosphere. Unlike the Holy Capital, where Ione’s presence made everything feel stifled, this place felt free.

The wind brushing through her hair, the air filling her lungs, the magic saturating every inch of this land—everything screamed freedom.

As if welcoming her back.

All of this, everything she could see, hear, and feel, made her heart swell.

“…Riley.”

“Yeah.”

“We… made it.”

“Yeah.”

That day, long ago.

In a dusty attic of an old orphanage, they had first spoken about Steele.

“If I decide to go, would you come with me?”

“No way. If I’m going, you’re the one following me.”

“Then, it’s settled?”

It felt like yesterday, but in reality, it was a distant memory.

Now, as adults, they stood there quietly, gazing up at the school, reminiscing.

So much had happened.

Meeting each other. Learning magic. Building bonds. Escaping the Order. Arriving at the Holy Capital.

Walking separate paths. Reuniting.

“…”

‘In some worlds, you were filled with hatred and jealousy toward the world but in this one, what are you thinking as you stand at the beginning of this story?’

‘Are you feeling the same as me?’

Sugar glanced at Riley’s hand.

It was big. Much bigger than hers.

Realizing this all of a sudden felt strange. It reminded her of earlier, making her hesitate.

‘I want to hold his hand. But… can I? We used to just grab each other’s hands all the time as kids.’

As she kept sneaking glances, Riley caught on and took her hand first.

Startled, Sugar stiffened, then slowly responded, wiggling her fingers until she could interlock them with his.

‘Ah. His hand is really big.’

Even with their fingers entwined, it felt like his hand completely enveloped hers giver her a warm and comforting feeling.

‘Later, we’ll have a proper talk. I didn’t get the chance earlier, we’ll catch up on everything. Hug again and say we did well.’

Hehehe.

“What are your names?”

Ack!

Lost in thought, Sugar was startled by a sudden voice.

A woman with a short, sharp bob and round metal-framed glasses stood before them. Her neatly tailored suit and calm demeanor stood out.

Oh. Now that she thought about it, she had heard the welcome earlier—this must be the one who spoke.

“Hello! I’m Sugar.”

“I’m Riley.”

“We’re from the Holy Capital.”

As they answered, the woman skimmed a document in her hands.

“Yes, confirmed. I am Mel, secretary to the Headmaster of Steele. It seems His Holiness will be arriving next.”

“That’s right. He should be here soon…”

Since it had been a while since they arrived, Ian should be coming next. Sugar stared intently at the magic circle.

Whoosh—

The moment it shone, she beamed, watching as Ian stumbled out of the circle; the moment she stepped outside, those purple eyes looked like they were about to pop out.

Experiencing the outside world for the first time, Ian let out a loud “Waaah!” and even exclaimed, “Even here, things are so indecent!” upon seeing Sugar and Riley naturally holding hands.

It was at that moment—

“Descendant of the Saint, welcome to Steele. I am Mel, the secretary to the Headmaster of Steele.”

Ian froze as Mel suddenly appeared. Actually, Mel had been standing behind them for a while, but Ian had been too excited to notice.

A person from outside the Holy Land, a  person from Steele. And yet, Ian had been shouting and making a scene in front of such a person.

Feeling embarrassed, Ian’s cheeks turned red as she shut her mouth.

“I will guide you right away. As the Headmaster has difficulty moving, I ask for your understanding in my presence here instead.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that… I came as a written exam pass candidate, so you can treat me accordingly.”

Even in this situation, Ian’s composed response was commendable. She hadn’t even passed the practical exam yet, but she was already showing the demeanor of a student rather than being treated as a revered figure.

Originally, the faculty of Steele had planned to formally welcome her as a descendant of the Saint, however Ian had strongly refused. She insisted on being treated strictly as a student and pleaded with them not to make a fuss.

Watching this, Sugar was moved and muttered,

“To think that someone who was so young has grown so mature…”

“She’s two years older than you. Get a grip.”

“Riley. My mental age is the highest among the three of us.”

Riley scoffed at the absurd claim.

And yet, their hands remained firmly clasped.

For Sugar, it felt so familiar. But when she looked to the side, what she saw was Riley’s arm—not his face. To see his face, she had to tilt her head upward.

Tall frame, large hands. So different from when they were kids.

Hmph. Sugar puffed her cheeks and made a strange sound before quickly whipping her head forward.

“Secretary Mel, where are we headed now?”

“I will take you to your lodgings. After that, you are free to spend your time as you wish. The practical exam will take place over three days, starting in two days.”

“When will the final results be announced?”

“The results will be posted within two weeks.”

“Oh, that’s much faster than the written exam results.”

“Indeed. By the way, the two of you following behind—are you familiar with Steele’s demerit system?”

“Huh?”

Out of nowhere? They had just been discussing the exam schedule, and suddenly the topic shifted to demerits.

Of course, they knew about it. It was an existing system in the original setting.

Apparently, if you completed all related side quests and earned enough merit points, you could unlock an achievement.

Since the game wasn’t particularly open-world, there weren’t any gimmicks for accumulating demerits. It was a turn-based RPG where you just followed the story, completed quests, and defeated monsters.

Besides, Sugar wasn’t the type to delve deeply into games. She had only learned about achievements while browsing community forums so she had no idea why was Mel bringing this up all of a sudden?

“Public indecency results in 15 demerit points.”

…Huh?

“If you exceed a certain number of demerits, you will be referred to the Disciplinary Committee as per the regulations. I mention this out of a sincere wish for your final acceptance.”

In other words,

‘You’re not students yet so it’s fine for now, but if you do get accepted, watch your behavior.’

Sugar started to say something but then shut her mouth.

Hearing the words “public indecency,” memories of what had happened with Riley earlier, of what she had done, popped into her mind.

Looking back on it now, it was absolutely insane.

What… what kind of pervert even says, “Wanna touch it?” What the hell was that?

She wanted to crawl under a blanket and kick her legs in mortification. She felt both sorry toward Riley for letting it slide and desperate to erase it from her memory.

Of course, Mel had no idea what had happened between them. She had merely assumed something from the fact that they were holding hands. But to Sugar, interlocked fingers didn’t feel like anything inappropriate.

As Sugar writhed in secondhand embarrassment, Riley let out a deep sigh.

Hearing about the demerit system, he could already see the rough road ahead.

Meanwhile, Ian, standing in front of them, nodded in satisfaction, as if to say, “Yes, this is Steele.”

Even though she had smuggled some steamy romance novels in her luggage…