Chapter 200: Molting (2)

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A sky dense with countless stars fills their vision.

It’s been a few days since the girl, saved by the Guardian and his disciple, followed them out. I want to be a holy knight too, she said. I want to follow you two—and so she tagged along without a second thought.

Tonight, they’re camping. The young Natasha, tears streaming down her face, helps prepare the campsite. It’s not just because of the monsters they encountered earlier—though that’s part of it. The reason is slightly different.

While passing through the forest, monsters suddenly appeared, and Natasha shrank behind the others, trembling. Meanwhile, the blond boy stepped forward and cut down every enemy.

No one forced the fourteen-year-old girl, still building her basic stamina, to face monsters head-on. Yet she’s venting her frustration, hating her own weakness.

Cedric and Riley, now accustomed to this, peacefully lit a campfire. Accustomed isn’t quite right—they’ve simply stopped paying attention. They’ve been like this from the start.

“You’re on cooking duty today.”

“I did it last time too.”

“Yeah, but yours tastes better.”

Without another word, the boy Riley gathered the ingredients.

Until now, they only needed to prepare two servings. But with an extra mouth to feed, there’s more work to do. Riley glanced sideways.

“Hey. You. Get over here and peel the potatoes.”

“It’s not ‘you’… It’s Natasha…”

“Don’t care. Do it.”

His tone was curt.

When they first met, he coldly rejected her plea to be friends. And even now, he still hasn’t bothered to remember her name.

“Hic…”

Tears fell as Natasha peeled the potatoes. It looked like she was chopping onions instead.

“Cry all you want. The potatoes are already soaked—won’t even need salt.”

“Heeeng…”

“Unbelievable.”

Riley sighed as he diced carrots.

Somehow, the stew was made, and dinner was served. They ate while exchanging trivial chatter, cleaned up, and then it was time for bed.

Each of them settled down—leaning against trees, lying on the ground, wrapped in blankets. The crackling campfire became their lullaby as they drifted off.

The sounds of insects, the calls of birds. Natasha listened to the quiet night before stealing a glance.

There, the boy her age was also awake, staring blankly at the starry sky.

“…Hey. Do I cry too much?”

“If you know, fix it.”

The immediate, prickly reply made her gloomier.

“How can I stop crying… and get stronger?”

This time, she asked seriously, without tears.

That day, when she went to pick flowers and encountered monsters—the day she was saved by a boy who appeared out of nowhere, the day she wished to be his friend, to be like him.

“I want to be strong like you…”

When she asked, carrying that memory, Riley answered:

“I’m not strong yet. And figuring that out is your job. Don’t look for it in others.”

“…”

She had no retort. So she said nothing.

Instead, she asked something else.

“…Then why do you train? You’re not trying to be a holy knight, right?”

She’d heard it not long after joining them—that they were a disciple and a high-ranking figure from the sacred land. But even as a disciple, he had no intention of becoming a holy knight. It was strange.

“Because I want to be strong.”

You too?

The unexpectedly simple answer surprised her. And the answer to that surprised her even more.

“But why do you want to be strong?”

For Natasha, it was to shed her weak self. To stop crying, to stop saying things she hated. She was tired of being fragile.

Was it the same for him? Was he sick of his own weakness?

When she asked, the boy silently gazed at the distant sky.

Natasha quietly sat up, studying his face. Still boyish, but with hints of maturity. Deep blue, clear eyes—the ones that had captivated her from the moment they met.

“I have a friend. A childhood friend.”

After a long pause, he spoke.

“Childhood friend?”

“They’re in the Holy City now… but they’re a handful.”

“How so?”

“Annoying, troublesome, always causing problems… Someone’s gotta clean up after them.”

Another unexpected answer. In the few days she’d known him, she’d seen no trace of warmth. How could he say something like that?

“That friend… what are they to you?”

Anxiety laced her question. He frowned, as if annoyed by the question—then his expression softened. Was he thinking of them?

“The most important person.”

It was an expression she’d never seen before.

The gentlest, most steady, most passionate look she’d ever seen on him.

Natasha clenched her blanket.

“What’s their name?”

“Sugar.”

“…That’s a unique name.”

He didn’t elaborate. His eyes just flickered, lost in memory.

Watching him, her heart fluttered, and she asked again:

“D-do you… know my name…?”

“It’s Natasha.”

“…You remembered?”

“I don’t forget names once I hear them.”

Names are important—

The boy, who had never received one from his parents, answered.

Hearing her own name from his lips felt strangely sweet. Her heart pounded for no reason she could grasp.

Still too young to understand, Natasha buried her face in her blanket.

***************

Walking the quiet mountain paths often brought back memories.

The experiences and recollections of childhood linger for a lifetime.

Looking back, they were good memories. The timid, fragile girl who grew into a confident, radiant holy knight.

There were hardships, of course—but now, they could all be summed up in a single word: “It was good.”

“So. Why the hell did you drag me all the way out here?”

A prickly voice interrupted her reminiscing.

Her friend’s childhood friend.

A woman with snow-white hair and a name as unique as her appearance.

“Just follow me for now.”

“That’s the eleventh time you’ve said that.”

“You’ve been counting?”

She seemed deeply dissatisfied with the situation. Dragged out on horseback to some mountain without explanation—who wouldn’t be?

‘Well, mostly, she just disliked me.’

Natasha clicked her tongue. Their relationship had been hostile from the start, a strange rivalry born through one man.

She knew exactly how this would play out—but her pride wouldn’t let her take it lying down. So the mind games continued.

Of course, she hadn’t come here just for petty squabbles. And right on cue, she sensed something.

Natasha drew her sword. A sharp shing— like the sound of wind—echoed through the forest.

“What? You got a extermination mission or something?”

“Quiet. Suppress your presence. Your energy’s too loud.”

Sugar muttered a curse as she reeled in her aura. At the same moment, Natasha lunged forward.

Dropping low, she channeled mana into her blade, kicked off the ground, and weaved through the trees before swinging in a wide arc. The visible surge of mana sharpened the edge—cleaving through flesh with ease.

A screech rang out as viscous green fluid splattered in all directions. The sound triggered howls from the surroundings—cries of threat, rallying calls, a chorus of shrieks rising like a wave.

“These things don’t belong in the mountains…”

Sugar’s murmur was justified.

Hulking, blue-shelled creatures—each the size of a person—brandished pincers menacingly. Jets of high-pressure water shot from their mouths, punching holes through trees in an instant.

Twisting her body to dodge, Sugar raised her staff and began an incantation.

“Icy Road.”

As she traced the area with her staff, a frigid mist spread beneath the monsters’ feet. In seconds, the ground glazed over with transparent ice.

“Freeze.”

A second incantation sent the ice crawling upward, encasing their legs.

Natasha didn’t wait. She charged into the fray.

Weaving between jets of water, she sliced through one monster. Using the slick ice to slide, she ducked under a pincer aimed at her head and drove her sword into another’s belly.

“Hey. If you’re gonna freeze them, why not the whole body? A certain mage I know does it cleanly…”

Ice magic wasn’t Sugar’s forte. But she had her reasons for using it.

“Pick up a staff yourself if you’re complaining.”

It was her childhood friend’s preferred element.

A pointless attempt to bond over their shared profession.

“By the way, Riley gave you this staff, right?”

“Ugh, screw you.”

Natasha swung with enough force to shatter the monster’s shell. A crisp crack— and its body split apart.

The area was clearing.

Sugar strode over, flipping her hair back. A faint, sweet scent trailed her movements.

“So. Are you gonna talk now? You didn’t bring me here just to hunt monsters.”

“Actually, I did.”

“What?”

Natasha flicked the gore off her blade with a pulse of mana.

“Places like this exist. Where sightings are reported but deemed too minor for official extermination orders. Because no one travels here often, or whatever.”

“Wait… So you used your precious day off—voluntarily—to clean these things up? Without even a mission?”

“You catch on fast.”

Sugar tilted her head.

“Why? There’s no reward. No one’s even watching.”

No mockery. Just genuine curiosity.

Who would spend their hard-earned free time on something like this?

“Because no one else will.”

“…”

“The world keeps turning because of people who bother. I’m alive because of them, too.”

The simplicity of the answer silenced Sugar.

A flicker of unsettling discomfort.

“…I heard Riley saved you back then. That story?”

“Yeah.”

“What was he like… in those days?”

“Prickly. Curt. The type who never bothered with pleasantries.”

Sugar exhaled softly upon hearing the answer—relieved, as if grateful the boy she knew hadn’t changed.

“He’s always had a bit of that in him.”

“A bit? A tiny bit? The same guy who told a crying girl, ‘Keep bawling—we won’t need to salt the potatoes’?”

“Ahaha—!”

The image sprang to mind, and Sugar burst out laughing.

Natasha stared, fascinated. This was the first time she’d seen Sugar laugh without malice, without calculation—just pure, unfiltered amusement.

“Tell me more. Go on.”

Sugar sat on a tree stump, cheeks faintly flushed as she cupped her face in her hands. The warmth in her gaze was palpable—but it wasn’t directed at Natasha.

It was for the boy in Natasha’s memories.

For a Riley she couldn’t touch.

A Riley she’d never meet again.

The longing was suffocating. The frustration of missing his growth, of being unable to shape it—

‘…Heavy.’

Natasha swallowed. ‘This woman is insane.’

She knew love, but this? This was a losing battle. No one could compete.

‘No wonder she has no friends.’

If every woman was a potential rival, what else could you expect? Tch.

“…Later. We have monsters to deal with first.”

“How stingy.”

Sugar’s eyes sharpened when Natasha brushed her off, but she still rose and gripped her staff. No words were needed—the offer to help was clear. Natasha smirked.

“Anyway… I wanted to warn you about the atmosphere in the Holy City. And to learn more about you.”

“About me?”

“The reason I brought you here. Shared hardship reveals character.”

“Why do you care?”

“Do people need grand reasons to want to know others? It’s simple. I just wanted to.”

No lies.

She wanted to understand the childhood friend her treasured comrade loved so deeply. Beyond their petty clashes, she wanted to see her.

Natasha was sociable, often called easygoing. But this pint-sized witch refused to meet her halfway—infuriating, yet intriguing. Their odd dynamic made her want to dig deeper.

Sugar’s lips twisted at the honesty—but before she could retort—

—Shhk.

Natasha stiffened, turning her back to Sugar. Her grip on her sword tightened, stance shifting to combat readiness.

“Prep a large-scale spell. Now.”

While they’d been talking, the monsters had gathered. Aquatic-shelled horrors, far more numerous than before.

As Natasha braced herself, Sugar stepped forward.

“Hey! What are you—start chanting!”

“Fall back.”

“You can’t take them alone! Stop with the pride—!”

What kind of mage was she? Pride had its place, but this wasn’t it.

Natasha’s protests died in her throat.

A grotesque pressure crushed down. The air turned viscous, breathable only in ragged gasps. Her skin prickled—was it sweat or terror?

Through the collapsing monsters, Sugar flipped her hair back.

“I told you—it wasn’t about pride.”

The smirk on her face, amid that abyssal aura, was downright surreal.

Translator Note

Wow wow wow, 200 chapters huh!?! It’s been a wild, (and lewd), ride huh, but thank you all for reading and continuing to do so, please absolutely show the original author some appreciation!! The art in some of the chapters is from them, and it’s great!! For those who love R19 chapters… well you don’t have to wait long for those… (203 and 204…) Anyways, thank you again all for reading Sugar and Riley’s story and I hope you enjoy what is to come!

– LegoMyEggo