Chapter 239: We’re So Close~

Ŕe​ad ​on K‌αt̀Rｅadi​ɴｇCa‌fe

Riley racked his brain.

First, there were two people they needed to find:

• The man who gave Sugar a gift.
• The woman who gave Riley a gift.

Both had sent their items anonymously. Despite the warning note taped inside the cabinet—”If you put something in here, you’ll have a serious talk with Holy City”—the culprit kept doing it anyway.

“The letters all say the same thing: ‘I like you,’ ‘Please accept this,’ ‘I’m always watching you’…”

“Same here.”

Riley scowled as they exchanged the letters they’d received.

“The handwriting looks identical, like it was written with an auto-pen.”

Self-writing pens existed, and their uniform script made it impossible to distinguish between users.

“Haha… How adorable.”

Sugar laughed, but her eyes were ice-cold.

At this point, jealousy wasn’t the issue—it was getting scary. It felt like they each had a stalker.

They needed to find the culprits and make it clear: Stop this. We don’t want your “kindness.” It’s just troubling.

Sugar suddenly stood up, told them to “Wait here,” and returned shortly with an armful of materials.

“What’re you making?”

“Watch and see.”

Earlier, the four of them had visited the security office to check the surveillance footage of the first-year cabinet hallway.

The answer was disappointing:

“The cameras? The Student Council took them about a week ago for ‘review.’”

That meant no footage. They’d have to catch the culprit another way—and Sugar was about to put her plan into action.

Soon, her small hands were busily crafting something.

…

…

…

“We’ll tie a thread inside the cabinet door and connect it to this box’s lid. When the door opens, the lid pops open too, releasing a unique scent that clings to whoever’s nearby. We just find the person who smells like it.”

“…”

Sugar held up two palm-sized boxes, grinning.

Of course she’d be clever in a situation like this.

While Riley stared blankly, Ianne and Leon eagerly urged them to set it up. Must be fun when it’s someone else’s problem.

“Prop the box lid upright, fix it to the bottom, tie the thread… Done. Now we wait. Once the culprit takes the bait—bam!”

“Sugar, murder is not the solution.”

“I’ll just tell them to stop giving gifts!”

After setting the traps in Sugar and Riley’s cabinets, they headed to the cafeteria for lunch, sharpening their metaphorical knives in anticipation.

…

…

…

After lunch.

Back at the cabinets.

“…”
“…”

The threads were cut.

“I’ll kill them—”

“They must’ve opened the door just a crack and snipped the thread with scissors.”

“How did they even know?!”

As Sugar raged, Ianne tested the cabinet door.

“Ah, even a small gap lets you see inside. They probably peeked first. Traps won’t work if they’re this careful.”

“You’ve got to be kidding—”

The meticulousness was infuriating.

With the thread cut, the box lids never opened, rendering the traps useless. As if mocking them, a bag of candy sat beside the box, rubbing salt in the wound.

“Riley’s side is the same. Are the two culprits working together?”

As Ian muttered, Sugar clutched her forehead.

“Working together… Right… Together…”

Then she let out a low, eerie chuckle.

You think you’re the only ones who can collaborate? Watch me.

Gifts usually appeared during morning arrivals, lunch, or outdoor classes.

Tomorrow, there was an outdoor class.

And so, a new plan began to take shape.

…

…

…

“Beep.”

Under the early autumn sun, on the school grounds—

Sugar, dressed in gym clothes and her hair tied up, let out a small noise.

She stretched like her body ached, then flopped onto the dirt.

“Sugar… the ground’s dirty…”

Ianne tried to lift her up with a strained smile, but she wriggled free and curled up again.

“Beep.”

Then she closed her eyes, feigning sleep.

A perfect imitation of a beast—but in appearance, she was undeniably Sugar.

“Is this really okay…?”

“Well, that guy’s practically a beast anyway, so it should be fine.”

Ianne and Leon muttered as they watched the scene unfold.

Meanwhile, during Mirror Rabbit Salt’s diligent work—

‘Hehehe…’

The real Sugar was hiding in the ventilation duct of the hallway, her presence completely concealed. Specifically, the duct above the first-year cabinets.

‘Come on out…’

Eyes wide and unblinking, she stared down at the hallway below, determined not to let the culprit slip away. Whoever dared pull such a cute stunt would be caught.

Her heart raced oddly. While all her friends were in class, here she was, alone, surveilling the hallway from a vent. It almost felt like being a secret agent.

She chewed on a red bean bun and sipped milk as she waited.

…

…

…

“…”

Sugar eventually climbed down, her face twisted in displeasure as she glared at her friends. Salt, now back in rabbit form, was being absentmindedly petted by them.

“…What are you eating?”

“Pudding.”

“Since when was there pudding?”

“Some Student Council members came by during the outdoor class and handed them out. Apparently, there was an issue with the cafeteria order, so they ended up with way too many.”

Leon answered nonchalantly when Sugar questioned why everyone smelled sweet.

“Anyway, no luck catching the culprit, huh?”

“Yeah… Nothing… Wait, the Student Council does that kind of thing too?”

“They looked way happier doing this than paperwork. Rumor has it they settled who’d distribute them after an intense round of rock-paper-scissors…”

Who cares.

Sugar rubbed her temples.

“Ugh… No culprit, no pudding…”

Not a single soul had passed through the hallway during class.

As she sulked, Riley handed her a pudding he’d tucked away in his pocket. She tore it open, took a big bite, and chewed grumpily.

“Fanks, Waiwee… munch munch…”

After eating, she regained some energy.

No, she couldn’t give up yet. She had to push forward.

“Alright! Next plan, let’s go!”

Sugar charged ahead with renewed vigor.

About a day later, on a lazy Friday afternoon—

Sugar and Riley stood with their arms crossed, silently staring at the table. When Leon returned with four drinks and saw them, he nearly fainted.

“What the—! Did you see that?!”

“See what?”

“Your shadow just swallowed the chair!”

“That happens sometimes.”

“Since when?!”

“Sure, sure. I’ll pay the café back later, so keep it down. Ah, thanks for the drinks.”

Leon set the tray down with a disturbed expression, and everyone grabbed their drinks.

“So… still no luck?”

Ianne sipped her drink as she asked Sugar and Riley about the culprit.

Sugar exhaled deeply.

“…Riley set up a barrier, right? Well, now they just leave the gifts outside the cabinet. And other idiots saw it and started adding their own gifts too. I’m this close to snapping. So I took the barrier down and kinda… gave up halfway.”

“You two are popular, huh?”

“…Probably trying to butter up to the Holy City too. He got some as well.”

Sugar jerked her thumb at Ianne, and Leon narrowed his eyes.

“Well… I wouldn’t call them confessions, but I do get a fair number of gifts.”

“From girls?”

“From everyone. Though yeah, more from girls.”

“Wow…”

Of course—disguised as a guy, she’d naturally attract girls. The delicate, pretty-boy type (not really) that girls loved, combined with her status, meant gifts came her way often.

“Hmm… Anyway. For you two, I’ve got an idea.”

Ianne raised a finger, as if struck by inspiration.

“What is it?”

“Simple.”

She grinned.

“Go back to acting disgustingly clingy like you did first semester.”

“Huh…?”

“Flirtatiously. Shamelessly. All over each other. ‘We’re so close~’—really sell it. That’ll creep out the stalkers and make them back off.”

“Ian!!”

Sugar looked horrified.

“Look at this person…! Weren’t you the one yelling at us for public indecency?! And—and I’m a model student now! Studying hard, no demerits…”

She’d vowed to become a woman worthy of standing beside Riley. Someone who wouldn’t embarrass him. Only then could she confess properly.

When she voiced this determination, Ianne just shrugged and went back to her magazine.

Sugar sighed, then glanced at the magazine too.

[Dahlia Weekly Special]

[TOP 10 Date Spots]

“…What are you looking at? Let me see too.”

Ianne turned the magazine toward her.

“Wow… I didn’t know places like this existed… Oh! Horizon Gardens… Huh? Sky Park is finally complete!?”

“You know this place?”

“Vaguely… It’s pretty famous.”

Rumors about its construction had circulated when Sugar was still growing up—a massive amusement park project funded by Sky Island scholars, engineers, and Altair Kingdom capitalists.

And now, it was finally finished.

“I’ve been wanting to go, but tickets are insanely competitive. They release the following week’s tickets every Monday, and weekend slots are so sought after there’s even a black market for them.”

“Oh…”

Sugar studied the magazine photos intently. Expansive skies, towering rides, gleaming brass gears—mechanical marvels blended with magic, a testament to the era’s technology.

An amusement park. In her past life, she’d gone to places like this with friends. Even a group of rough-edged guys had fun there.

But how much better would it be to go with someone you loved? Those parks had been iconic date spots in her previous world, too.

Her eyes flicked toward Riley, then back to the photos.

“…Wait, tickets for the following week drop every Monday? Today’s the second Friday of September, so…”

Two days from now would be the third Monday—meaning tickets for the fourth week would go on sale.

Tickets for Dahlia Week.

“…”

Sugar inhaled sharply, fingers tracing the magazine pages as if handling something precious.

“Why bother with that? You could just fly with magic.”

Her childhood friend shattered the mood.

“It’s not the same! There’s a huge difference between flying on your own and surrendering to a ride!”

“Have you even tried one?”

“I’ve ridden similar things… And—Riley, you dummy! Who goes to places like this alone? Sure, some people might, but… ugh! The rides are fun, but what really matters is sharing the experience with someone special!”

“…”

Sugar puffed out her cheeks, sulking. Riley hummed, eyes scanning the photos as if deep in thought—then suddenly turned his head.

His gaze locked onto a bob-haired girl standing nearby.

The abrupt movement made the others follow his line of sight.

The girl startled and vanished in a flash.

“Huh? Why’d you—?”

“…Felt eyes on me.”

As Sugar and Riley exchanged confused words, Leon murmured, “That’s someone from the Student Council.”

“Leon, you know her?”

“Not personally. She was one of the people handing out pudding during the outdoor class yesterday.”

“You remember that?”

“Well, everyone else was laughing and having fun, but that senior looked… tense. It stuck in my mind.”

“…Really?”

Sugar stared at where the girl had been, her expression sharpening.

Translator Note

You may have noticed, I would be shocked if you didn’t honestly, that I have used almost exclusively Ianne in this chapter and recent ones. Going forward I am going to be using Ianne for her name unless spoken aloud among people who don’t know her true identity, as after the whole… debacle Ianne has taken a more I guess? feminine role going forward? So I feel that using Ianne will fit better from now on!!

As always thank you all for reading… ehehehehehe…