episode_0024

The carriage slowly passed through the forest road again.

After the battle ended, Sierra washed her bloody hands and sat by the window. Sunlight slanted in through the forest, scattering warm light on her white hair.

It was a calm flow of time, with only the sound of the quiet wind, the rattling of the wheels catching on stones, and the sound of breathing inside the carriage.

Leo handed her a small water bottle and said.

“You… overworked yourself a bit. Your fingertips were bleeding.”

Sierra stared at him for a moment, then showed him her palm. As if to show the bleeding had stopped, she waved it slightly and smiled faintly. And she wrote something in a note pad as thick as an old notebook.

[The bleeding is okay. Still, thank you for worrying about me.]

“…If only you could speak, you wouldn’t have to bother writing.”

“I know you can’t use thought transmission magic often because it consumes a lot of mana, but”

As Leo spoke and took her note pad to flip through it, Sierra quickly reached out and snatched it back. Her face turned red. Perhaps there was a page inside she didn’t want him to see.

“Huh? What was that reaction just now? Were you secretly writing bad things about me?”

Sierra quickly shook her head and tore off a piece of paper to hand to him.

[Absolutely not. I only wrote praises for Master.]

“……That’s even more embarrassing?”

Leo gave an awkward laugh. Sierra gave a small shrug and let out a soundless laugh. Seeing her laugh, it felt like the clouds that had been drifting far away were scattering one by one.

The scenery outside the window widened, and a plain began to unfold. A few brown bison were grazing in the distance, and beyond them, the outer city of the Academy looked like a dot.

Sierra took out a small notebook and began to sketch the scenery with a pencil. What she was drawing was not the plain—it was Leo.

“Are you drawing me right now?”

[Yes.]

“Why?”

[Because I might not be able to see you again.]

At those words, Leo’s brow furrowed for a moment. And he looked out the window without speaking. Sierra waved her hand and wrote down the next sentence.

[It’s a joke. We’ll see each other every day when we go to the Academy.]

“…Yes. And there will never be a time when I send you away first.”

Silence fell for a moment. The inside of the carriage was warm. Sierra carefully covered Leo’s knees with a blanket. She mouthed something.

[Don’t catch a cold.]

Leo nodded silently and lightly covered the back of her hand.

“You too.”

A moment later, the carriage passed the outer city and began to ascend a winding terraced hill. As the carriage wheels struggled to pull up the slope, Sierra adjusted her posture and sat closer to Leo’s side.

[When will we arrive?]

“We’ll arrive before sunset. Look over there—you see the tower?”

High on a distant mountain, a white ancient magic tower was shining with a silver light, reflecting the sunlight. Leo pointed to it with his finger, and Sierra’s eyes sparkled as she began to sketch the tower in her notebook.

Their first journey was just beginning. But this peaceful moment would one day become a scene that remained warm even amidst turbulent memories.

The carriage finally left the hilly region and reached a flat hilltop. Below the hill, a small village, rice fields, and a faintly stretching river could be seen. Sierra lightly rested her forehead against the window and gazed at the hazy scenery, then soon took out her note pad and quietly wrote.

[It’s really quiet here.]

Leo nodded quietly at those words. Contrary to the tension of the previous day, today was strangely peaceful, an afternoon where nothing seemed likely to happen. That tranquility felt as if it were quietly enveloping the two of them, like someone’s magic.

“There won’t be roads like this for a while. Once we enter the Academy…”

Leo trailed off. Sierra looked at his face and wrote again.

[I’m a little scared too.

“…Me too. Because it looks so big.”

Sierra thought for a moment, then cautiously leaned her shoulder against him. His body heat was faintly felt, but it was so quiet and gentle that Leo had no reason to refuse. Just like that, the two of them looked out the window for a long time, without looking at each other or talking.

A small market began to appear in the distance. The carriage slowly decelerated, then finally stopped. The coachman patted the horses and knocked on the door.

“We’ll stop for a moment. I’ll get some water and buy a little food.”

Leo gestured to Sierra.

“Want to get out and walk a bit?”

Sierra nodded and got out of the carriage. The small rural market was a modest place with pumpkins, dried meat, and wooden carvings on display. The lives of ordinary people were flowing by. Sierra stopped her steps, looking at a small folk doll. The doll had a small, shy expression, and she turned up the corners of her mouth as if seeing herself.

Leo noticed it and said with a laugh.

“It suits you.”

Sierra picked up the doll, thought for a bit, then took out a small coin purse from her pocket. Leo, who was watching, quietly took out his own money and placed it in her hand.

“I’ll buy this. As a souvenir for your first Academy.”

Sierra was about to say something, but without taking out her note pad, she just quietly nodded and hugged the doll. And she quietly took hold of Leo’s sleeve and started walking.

That appearance was clear even without words. That this moment might be the most ordinary, yet the most precious day for her.

Shortly after getting back in the carriage, clouds gathered in the sky. Raindrops began to patter sparsely on the canopy, and Sierra carefully took out a blanket and placed it over Leo’s shoulders.

[When it rains, I sleep well.]

She said that, and cautiously leaned her head on Leo’s shoulder to sleep. The weight of her leaning was light, but the trust contained within it was heavy.

Leo quietly stroked her hair and murmured.

“…Days like this can’t continue forever, but it’s okay sometimes, right.”

Outside the window, the forest was slowly being colored by the rain. And the carriage, at a slow pace, headed towards the Academy. It was a long journey, and a difficult fate awaited, but for this moment, it felt as if a simple and quiet day was continuing.

The carriage ran silently through the rain. Wheel tracks holding water were clearly etched on the mud, and the horses somehow trod heavily on the slushy road, wet up to their legs.

Outside the window, small willow trees were shaking their heads and getting wet in the rain, and misty air flowed thinly like water fog.

The inside of the carriage was quiet. Only the sound of rain, the sound of horseshoes splashing in the mud, and Sierra’s slow breathing filled the air. Leaning her head quietly on Leo’s shoulder, she was holding the doll slightly with a half-asleep face. Like a young bird, she was small and quiet.

Leo glanced down at the doll she was holding. A faint smile spread across his lips.

“It seems you like that doll more. More than me.”

Then Sierra slowly opened her eyes, took her hand out from under the blanket, and gently put the doll down.

And then she quietly lifted her head again and looked at Leo. After a brief hesitation, she took out her note pad.

[No.]

That was all she said.

Leo saw the words and closed his mouth for a moment. Then, looking out the window, he slowly said.

“…It’s okay. It was just a joke.”

Sierra stopped reaching for her note pad again and gently shook her head. This time, instead of words, she acted, cautiously holding Leo’s hand with both of her hands. Very cautiously, very slowly.

For a while, the two remained in that quiet moment.

As evening approached, the carriage stopped at a barn near a ruin. There was no proper inn, but it seemed the coachman had gotten information beforehand. The old barn with a remaining roof was enough to let the horses and people rest for a while.

Leo got out of the carriage and made a bonfire, and Sierra carefully tidied up the straw bales in the corner of the barn, subtly circling around him. Her gaze followed him quietly but constantly, and every time Leo moved, Sierra flinched slightly and turned her body with him.

As the flames rose, the two sat on the ground facing each other. A quiet dinner—it was hard bread and dried jerky, but at that moment, they couldn’t ask for more.

After the meal, Sierra tidied her clothes and took out her note pad.

[Are we sleeping here for the night?]

“It seems so. It’s dangerous on the road at night.”

[I often have scary dreams]

“Dreams?”

As Leo raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, Sierra soon turned her note pad face down, hesitated for a long time, and finally wrote one line.

[Things from the past keep appearing.]

“That… you’ll be able to escape from it. When you go to the Academy…”

At those words, Sierra gently shook her head. And then she approached the bonfire and quietly sat down next to Leo. The distance was less than a span. She took out a blanket, wrapped it around Leo’s shoulders, and clearly wrote down the words.

[Here, I think I can sleep well.]

“…Why?”

[Because Master is next to me.]

On a quiet night, in an old barn, and in the small, steady light of the bonfire, Sierra slowly leaned her forehead against his shoulder. It was a small, firm trust, different from the excitement or anxiety of the previous day.

Leo could not answer those words. He simply breathed quietly, looking at the bonfire. Outside the window, the rain was still falling.

The next morning, the two got into the carriage again. The sky was now clearing little by little, and on the road, bird tracks and horse hoof prints were alternately left.

Sierra reached out with her eyes half-closed and placed her hand on the back of Leo’s hand. There were no words, and no letters.

But something clearer than words was being conveyed at her fingertips.

—

That afternoon, the carriage carrying the two arrived at a small rural village. Even before arriving, Leo had noticed that the sound of the horseshoes was gradually changing. The muddy vibration of the mire was gradually changing to the even sound of a gravel road.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the village. The coachman gave a dry cough and stuck his head out.

“There is only one inn in this village. It would be best for you to stay the night, Young Master.”

Leo glanced at his watch. The sun was setting, and fog was drifting through the early evening. The fatigue from several days of travel remained in his body. He turned his head towards Sierra.

“Let’s rest a bit. Is that okay?”

Sierra slowly nodded her head. As if she had been about to speak but held back, her fingertips trembled slightly.

The inn was ordinary. The walls were made of wood, and there were signs of rain leaks here and there. But it was clean, and most importantly, it was quiet. The villagers treated guests with respect.

They politely guided Leo and also showed interest in Sierra, who cautiously followed behind him.

That was the problem.

The landlady handing over the room key in the lobby asked, smiling quietly.

“This young lady… your lover?”

“Ah, no.”

As Leo denied it with a smile, the woman blinked slightly.

“Then… Ah, I’m sorry. I thought she was your lover. Because you were holding hands tightly…”

At those words, Sierra seemed to freeze for a moment and hung her head deeply. Her hand let go of Leo’s sleeve, which she had been gripping tightly without realizing it. Her expression wasn’t visible. Only a quiet trembling was running down her shoulders.

“You can give us one room together.”

As Leo replied briefly, the landlady handed over the key and chuckled.

As soon as they went up to the room and closed the door, Sierra sat on the bed and took out her note pad.

[Why didn’t you answer that kind of talk?]

“What kind of talk?”

[Lover… You said no, but you smiled.]

Leo averted his gaze for a moment. To Sierra, it certainly wouldn’t have sounded like a light joke.

“It’s just the kind of thing adults often say.”

Sierra didn’t answer. She just put down the note pad and hugged her knees on the bed. She slowly inhaled, in a posture as if enduring someone’s gaze.

And then, she quietly wrote down the words again.

[I didn’t want to hear that kind of talk.]

“…Why?”

[Because I felt like I was nothing.]

Leo saw those words and lowered his head. And he quietly approached and sat down beside her. As his hand gently covered Sierra’s hand, she closed her eyes and bit her lip slightly.

That night, the inn room was filled with silence.

Although not a single word was spoken, under the lamplight, Sierra covered herself with a blanket and fell asleep with her head resting on Leo’s arm. Her fingertips were still holding onto his sleeve. Firmly, very lightly.

In front of the inn, morning sunlight stretched long across the village’s gravel road.

Leo and Sierra were loading their luggage onto the carriage. The journey was about to begin again, but the peaceful air of the small village flowed slowly even the wind, as if regretting their departure.

That’s when it happened.

“It’s Big Sister!”

“It’s the pretty Big Sister!”

With a short cry, about three children came running from the corner of the alley. The little ones who were playing in front of the inn yesterday.

The boy holding a toy wooden sword in his hand had dirt on his knees, and the girl with a small ribbon in her hair was holding a bouquet of flowers in both hands.

Sierra froze for a moment at being suddenly called.

“Pretty Big Sister.” That word, like an unfamiliar language

lingered in her ears. As the children approached with smiles, she instinctively hid behind Leo.

But the children didn’t stop. They approached her without hesitation, and the child with the ribbon cautiously held out the bouquet.

“I picked these yesterday to give to Big Sister. You’re pretty, so I thought of Big Sister.”

What was in the child’s small hand were a few wild flowers. It was a rough but thoughtful gift, tied with thread without a basket.

Sierra stared at it blankly. Hesitating whether to raise her hand or not, she very slowly accepted the flowers. When she lifted her head, pure smiles spread across the children’s faces.

“Our mom said so. She said it’s okay if you can’t talk. That smiling is prettier.”

Sierra looked at the children without speaking.

Her eyes trembled slightly, and her fingertips shook. She dropped her gaze at the unfamiliar warmth. And subtly, she turned up the corners of her mouth.

It was the first time. For someone to approach her first, to give her flowers with a smile for no reason, and even to say she was “pretty.”

The children shouted excitedly when she smiled.

“She really smiled! Big Sister smiled!”

“I saw her more!”

“Come visit again later! The pretty Big Sister and the brother who speaks well!”

At those words, Leo chuckled and looked towards Sierra. She quietly, but very slightly, waved towards the children. At first it was awkward, but the gesture gradually became natural.

The girl with the ribbon saw her gesture and excitedly waved her arms even bigger.

As the carriage was about to depart, Sierra held the flowers tightly in her hand.

A moment later, after getting into the carriage, she cautiously took out her note pad and wrote.

[I was called ‘Pretty Big Sister’.]

Even after writing the words, she traced the words with her fingertips for a while. Again, and again. As if afraid the word would crumble.

Leo looked at it and said.

“Did that make you feel bad?”

Sierra slowly shook her head. And then she wrote the next sentence.

[It was nice. It was so nice… it felt unfamiliar.]

And finally, one very small line.

[Will I be able to see those children again.]

Leo smiled faintly.

“When our journey ends, let’s definitely come back.”

Instead of answering, Sierra nodded and hugged the bouquet to her chest. The carriage wheels rattled and moved, and the children were still waving their hands.

While the small village gradually grew distant, Sierra watched the scene through the window for a long, long time.

That day, for the first time, she felt that the world was not entirely unfamiliar.