Chapter 19:  New Sugar

Ｒｅａｄ ｏ​ｎ ​ＫａｔＲ​ｅａｄｉｎｇＣａｆ​ｅ

Recalling the events from the other day, Sugar focused on her legs and infused them with magical energy.

With a light hop, she jumped high enough to nearly touch the ceiling, surpassing her own height.

This was already her tenth successful attempt in a row.

The corners of Sugar’s mouth twitched.

“Hehehe…”

Compared to what she had shown at the factory, it still felt a bit lacking, but she was satisfied enough. Back then, she hadn’t been able to control anything, so it didn’t count. As Tommy had said, it wasn’t a success but rather a byproduct of failure.

Of course, it was true that the experience from that day had made it possible for her to manipulate magical energy. She had learned the knack of how to move the energy flowing through her body.

Now, she could confidently say, “I’ve reached the second stage!”

‘Call me New Sugar!’

The first and second stages were completely different.

Simply understanding the flow of magical energy within one’s body didn’t mean much, but being able to manipulate it changed everything.

Superior physical abilities, techniques that bordered on “magic”—just like how a swordsman who could reach the second stage was leagues ahead of one who couldn’t.

Of course, as someone aiming to become a mage, Sugar needed to reach the third stage, but that was a story for later.

The immediate thought that followed was, Why couldn’t I do something so simple before? Even if her control and ability to sustain it were still at a beginner’s level, the difference between “not being able to do it” and “being able to do it” was stark.

“I kept going to the second path instead of the first. That’s why my focus kept breaking. It wasn’t the right path.”

“…”

“It felt like I was supposed to go left but kept going right? Then I’d hit a wall. But now I’ve found the right way.”

After getting a feel for it in a place with minimal external magical influence, she found she could manipulate energy even in ordinary locations.

As she chattered about this to her friend, who was lost in thought, there was no response.

Ever since they had safely escaped the factory, Tommy had been like this. He seemed to be pondering the strange phenomenon that had occurred there—how he had been able to manipulate magic by holding Sugar’s hand.

Sugar waved her hand in front of Tommy’s face.

No reaction.

“Tommy.”

Still no reaction.

Huu.

She blew a puff of air near Tommy’s ear.

“—Ah! Stop bothering me and get out!”

Startled, Tommy finally snapped out of it, and Sugar, feeling satisfied, gracefully left the attic.

She was a pro at getting under people’s skin.

.

.

.

Sugar immediately headed to the usual spot under the tree in the backyard.

Glancing at Praline, who was sitting in a corner reading the newspaper, Sugar settled down a short distance away. She didn’t forget to pick up a stray twig lying on the ground.

Holding it, she imagined wrapping it in magical energy. It worked, sort of.

But the energy was so weak that it couldn’t even cut a single leaf.

What Sugar was thinking about was a high-level technique where magical energy was rapidly vibrated to increase cutting power. It was natural that she couldn’t do it yet, but thinking back to what had happened at the factory, she felt a bit disappointed.

‘Back then, the magical energy was so vivid it was almost visible.’

That was because she had been in a state of magical outburst, releasing energy uncontrollably. Now, she was unconsciously controlling it, so it felt different.

So this time, she tried to channel more power. Recalling that day, she imagined the energy exploding within her.

Crack.

Just as she imagined, the twig snapped.

“…”

Glancing back, Praline was still engrossed in the newspaper.

Acting as if nothing had happened, Sugar turned her attention to a small rock in front of her.

This time, she tried to manipulate it without touching it. Magical manipulation was all about imagination. She pictured opening a magical pathway to the rock, lifting it into the air, and focused on that image.

The result? Absolutely nothing. Well, it might have moved a little.

“Ugh…”

Determined, she sent more energy. Gradually, gradually, gradually, as she increased the intensity, the rock began to tremble.

Was it working?

Seeing the possibility, she decided to go all out and cranked up the output.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, it disappeared.

“…?”

Startled, she looked up and saw a small dot flying skyward, far beyond what she had expected. The propulsion had far exceeded her intentions.

She was dumbfounded.

‘It’s not like adjusting a faucet…’

Either it was incredibly weak or incredibly strong. Controlling the power seemed… really difficult.

It felt like trying to adjust a faucet to get the perfect temperature—not too hot, not too cold.

Finding that perfect balance was really hard. She’d need a lot more practice.

‘Manipulating energy inside my body is manageable.’

Was this also due to the nature of pure magical energy? Once it left her body, it immediately tried to assimilate with other energies.

If she sent out too little energy, it would dissipate into the air and have no effect.

If she wanted to see a reaction, she had to send out a lot of energy, which inevitably led to something resembling an outburst.

The path of a mage was truly tough.

She wished her magical energy had been a bit more ordinary.

With an expression that was hard to read—somewhere between crying and laughing—Sugar wandered off to find another twig.

As she did, she noticed Praline, who had been passionately engrossed in the newspaper since earlier. Even with all the bizarre things happening behind her, she hadn’t noticed. Curious about what could be so captivating, Sugar approached.

“Praline?”

“—Eek!”

Startled, Praline let go of the newspaper.

The newspaper, now without a hand to hold it, fluttered up into the air, rustling in the autumn breeze.

“Ah…”

Sugar wasn’t the type to just stand by and watch. Even though the date on the newspaper had passed, it was still a valuable source of information. It was a precious piece of paper her friend had been reading.

Starting from her thigh muscles, Sugar infused her entire leg with magical energy and leaped into the air with force. She could feel the affected muscles contracting and expanding as if they were about to tear, creating a strange sensation.

Just barely catching the newspaper with her fingertips, she bent her upper body and landed gracefully.

“Here. Sorry for startling you.”

“Oh, no. Thank you.”

Praline took the newspaper, still dazed. It wasn’t the kind of jump an 11-year-old should be capable of, and her eyes widened in surprise, but soon that surprise turned into admiration.

“You’re amazing… Sugar…”

“…You’re reading the newspaper again today?”

Feeling awkward, Sugar sat down beside her. Peeking at the page Praline was reading, she saw it was the magic section. She seemed to have been reading it before too.

At Sugar’s words, Praline nodded shyly, fidgeting with her fingers and glancing at Sugar.

“Um… Sugar. Remember what I told you before…”

“Ah. That thing you were looking for?”

“Yeah… Can I… talk about it now?”

Had she finally decided to share? She was a thoughtful friend, so her decisions were always careful.

There was no harm in it. Sugar nodded immediately, and Praline, after glancing at Sugar a few more times, clenched her fists and began to speak.

“A while ago… I went out again… to a faraway city…”

“I remember.”

Sugar had been annoyed about having to accompany the orphanage director to meet with sponsors, and this time it was even farther away. Luckily, she had a good excuse to feign illness.

Lately, the director seemed to prefer well-behaved children over the increasingly cheeky Sugar, so she had readily taken Praline instead.

Praline enjoyed going out too. Everyone was happy.

“Back then… I almost got into an accident…”

“What? What kind of accident?”

“Yeah… I almost got hit by a car.”

Sugar’s mouth dropped open.

“Are you… okay? Were you hurt?”

“Oh, no, I almost got hit, but I wasn’t actually hurt. I’m fine…”

“That’s… good to hear.”

“But… I was almost in big trouble, and then someone saved me with magic…”

As she spoke, Praline’s cheeks turned bright red.

Oh. Sugar was starting to get it.

Was this what they called girl talk? Feeling intrigued, Sugar quickly asked, “So? What did they say?”

“Well, we didn’t talk much… They just asked if I was hurt…”

So that’s why she had been so intently reading the magic section. She wanted to find out more about that person.

Ah, how innocent. This was what it meant to be innocent. The tingling sensation that wrapped around her chest was strangely delightful.

“What did they look like?”

“Blonde… with a cloak embroidered with the Sky Island emblem…”

Sugar nodded along, then suddenly paused.

“Blonde? Blonde?”

“Yeah, blonde…”

“Hmm… blonde…”

“Huh… huh…?”

While Praline stammered at her odd reaction, Sugar quickly spoke up.

“How old were they? An adult? A teenager?”

“Uh… not that old… mid-teens, maybe? But, why…?”

A mid-teen, blonde, male mage from the Sky Island faction during this time period.

This sounded like someone she knew. A character from the original story. Probably the student council president from Steele or something.

“It’s nothing. I just personally don’t like that color.”

It wasn’t that she disliked the character.

Blondes were a common trope in subculture, as reliable as a bowl of hearty soup. Among the many blonde mages in the original game, she just happened to be wary of Riley.

In fact, there were many blonde characters she liked, but somehow those words slipped out.

“…Really?”

“That’s just me. You can like them. Blondes are nice. Shiny. Just like your eye color.”

“Th-that’s not the point…”

Embarrassed, Praline shrunk back.

“So, you’re interested in that person? That’s why you’ve been reading the newspaper?”

Praline nodded silently, her cheeks red, and Sugar clenched and unclenched her fists, her face scrunching up.

If only she were a bit more prickly. If only she were even half as sharp as Tommy. She’d have a field day teasing her.

Seeing her turn bright red and either throw a fit or stay silent, unable to speak, would have been exhilarating.

But Praline was as gentle as a lamb. Unable to draw out the reaction she wanted, Sugar suppressed her urges and took a deep breath.

Just then, she noticed a presence and turned her head.

A prickly boy was standing there.

Tommy, her usual target, was standing there with an even more annoyed expression than usual, glaring down at Sugar.

“Tommy. Done thinking?”

He had been holed up in the attic, only coming out for meals.

Happy to see him, Sugar tried to act familiar, but Tommy opened his mouth with a look of clear displeasure. Was it because she blew in his ear and ran away earlier?

“Why…”

“Huh?”

“…Why don’t you like blondes?”

“Huh?”

Wait, no. It was the brown-haired friend who had unexpectedly snapped.