Chapter 29: Two People Crossing Paths

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“What’s this, you kids!”

A single sentence was enough to feel the aura of stubbornness.

An old man who wouldn’t be praised for his good temper anywhere came out from inside the store. His wrinkled face seemed permanently fixed in an angry expression, as if he was always irritated.

“Get out right now!”

Even though he shouted, Sugar wasn’t the type to back down easily.

She had managed to get along with a hysterical middle-aged woman and a century-old heretic granny, at least on the surface. She was that kind of girl.

She calmly smiled and spoke.

“It’s too crowded outside. My friend isn’t feeling well, so we’d like to rest here for a bit.”

“Nonsense! That’s your problem, get out now!”
“Then we’ll say we’re here to look around. Your store is really nice.”
“I just cleaned and organized everything, and you’re going to dirty it with your grubby hands! You’re not even going to buy anything… Why aren’t you leaving yet?”
“You’re being harsh. How do you know we won’t buy anything, old man?”
“I can tell just by looking. You clearly don’t have any money!”

He shouted so loudly that spit flew.

Listening to the conversation, Riley felt a strange sense of déjà vu. He watched the two with an uncomfortable expression.

“Old man, you’re being prejudiced.”
“Prejudiced? I’m just stating the facts!”
“What you see isn’t always the whole truth. We might have a lot of money in our pockets, or we might be apprentices of some mage. You shouldn’t judge so carelessly.”
“Dressed in those shabby clothes? You clearly live like beggars somewhere…”
“Then if I said, ‘Old man, you’re losing your hair. Definitely balding,’ how would you feel? I’m just stating the facts as I see them.”
“Ah—!”

Ah, he exploded. Riley had been waiting for this moment. The conversation pattern was exactly like the ones he had with Sugar.

It was annoying when it happened to him, but watching from the side, it was actually kind of fun. His previously uncomfortable expression brightened a bit.

“You stay right there! I’ll throw you out myself!”
“Ah! Calm down…! Don’t make me attack an old man!”
“What nonsense!”

As the old man grabbed his wand and Sugar prepared the flow of magic in her body, Riley, not wanting to get involved, squeezed himself into a corner.

Then, the store door swung open.

“What… I could hear the shouting from far away… What’s going on? Why are you yelling in the middle of the day?”
“Oh. Grandma!”
“Ah… the kids from earlier?”

The owner of the white plum blossom embroidered wallet that Sugar had found.

The grandmother, who seemed like she’d bake cookies for her grandchildren at home, had arrived.

.
.
.

Sitting at a small table inside the store, a plate of cookies and two cups of milk were placed in front of them.

“Wow. Thank you for the food.”
“…Thank you for the food.”

One child accepted it happily, while the other was still in a daze.

“There, there. Did you enjoy your snack earlier?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, we had a great time! Thank you.”

They had made the most of the 10 tils. They had felt the thrill of spinning the roulette wheel, eaten ice cream, and teased their friend.

Remembering that, Riley bowed his head deeply, while Sugar grinned and thanked the grandmother.

“I’m the one who should be thankful… The money in that wallet wasn’t much…”

She spoke kindly but then glared at her husband standing beside her.

“…And yet, you treated these kind kids like that.”
“I didn’t know! I just saw some brats who didn’t look like they’d buy anything…!”

As the old man tried to defend himself, Sugar secretly stuck out her tongue.

The old man, who had caught her in the act, glared at her, but…

“Huh? Are you going to keep frowning like that?”
“No! That kid!”

When he pointed at Sugar, the grandmother scolded him again.

“Tommy, these cookies are really delicious. Right?”
“…Yeah.”

Sugar just stuffed her cheeks with cookies and savored them. Munch, munch.

The old man retreated further into the store.

“Sigh. Such a stubborn old man… Kids, feel free to look around the store after you eat. If there’s anything you want to buy, let me know. I’ll give you a discount.”
“No! That’s too much.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like people come here to buy much anyway…”

Perhaps the shopkeeper’s greatest fortune in life was marrying this kind woman.

Overwhelmed by her warmth, Sugar nodded slightly.

“Hmm… Thank you. Can we just look around today and come back later?”
“Of course.”

They didn’t have money to buy anything right now, but just looking around, there were plenty of interesting items.

Thanks to the kind grandmother, they had gotten a snack and discovered a nice store.

“…Huh? Tommy, aren’t you going to eat more?”
“I’m full.”
“Can I have the rest?”
“Sure.”

Wiping his mouth, Riley got up from the table and began looking around the store.

It seemed something had caught his interest. He wandered around and soon headed toward the wand section.

“Hmm.”

Sugar also downed the remaining milk in one go and got up.

“I’ll take a look over here…”

She muttered loud enough to be heard and headed in a different direction from the wand section. Pretending to look at the items in front of her, she glanced at Riley from the corner of her eye.

‘…He must really want one.’

She remembered that day.

The wand Louveci had offered and the friend who had thrown it away.

Depending on the materials and the craftsman, the price of such tools varied greatly, but they were generally expensive.

Considering Riley’s overflowing passion for magic, he must have really wanted one, but he had no money.

‘But how hurt must he have been to have it offered so casually?’

His self-esteem was low, but his pride was high. That made him easily hurt and vulnerable.

Sugar had a surprisingly accurate understanding of Riley. Even though she seemed to only care about teasing him, she paid close attention to every word and action of her friend.

‘Ah… he still has regrets… What should I do? He must really want it.’

Every time she glanced at her friend, she saw the same scene. Riley stood so close to the wand display that it looked like his nose was pressed against it, staring intently. The sight of him gazing so intently, so blankly, was pitiful.

She clicked her tongue inwardly.

If only she had money, she could’ve bought it for him in an instant. How could she not buy something so small for her precious friend?

Sugar lamented her own shortcomings and continued to sneak glances at Riley.

Meanwhile, Riley was…

‘…Does she want that?’

While pretending to focus on the wand section, he was also sneaking glances at Sugar.

Originally, he had been examining the wands, thinking, ‘Hmm… this one’s not great… Hmm… this one’s pretty good…?’

It had always been a sore point for him that no one would give him a wand, but deep down, he had resolved to accept whatever help he could get and eventually buy one for himself.

In the midst of this, he heard Sugar mutter, “I’ll take a look over here…”

He knew she was usually interested in food, but he didn’t know what else she liked.

Aside from teasing him or practicing magic manipulation, it didn’t seem like she did much else.

So, he peeked at her. What could she possibly be interested in?

She was in the jewelry section. There were no descriptions, but since he could sense magic from the items, they were likely accessories and tools favored by mages.

The shopkeeper earlier had handled the wands so naturally. Considering his experience, there were probably some decent items here.

‘But it’s unexpected…’

That was his impression of Sugar. He didn’t think she was particularly interested in accessories.

Maybe it was because these weren’t ordinary accessories? That must have piqued her interest.

When he glanced at her again, she was standing so close to the jewelry display that it looked like her nose was pressed against it, staring intently.

Well, she’s still a girl. She must want something like that.

‘…But what does that have to do with me?’

Whether she wanted it or not, it had nothing to do with him. He didn’t have money, and he had no obligation to buy it for her.

-You’re the best!

-I have no choice but to trust you.

“…”

If she really wanted it, he wasn’t completely against the idea of buying it for her.

If it wasn’t too expensive, he could figure out a way to get the money.

He didn’t have any grand intentions—just to make her owe him. She’d be incredibly grateful if he bought it for her, and maybe she’d tease him less.

What did she want the most? What would suit her best?

Suppressing an inexplicable excitement, Riley continued to sneak glances at Sugar.

‘Let’s earn money.’

After enjoying the festival, this became Sugar’s top priority.

Of course, earning money was just a means to an end. Her real goal was something else.

She wanted to give a gift to the friend who had done so much for her.

And not just any gift—she wanted to secretly save up money and surprise him.

She wanted to give something to the friend who had taught her such precious magic for free. Even though she had set the condition, “Pay me back when you grow up,” she could still give small gifts now.

If someone asked why she was thinking about this when she should be focusing on learning magic manipulation, she had come up with a good way to balance work and training.

‘The request office!’

This was a fantasy world. Magic existed, as did magical beasts, saints, and evil gods.

As a result, there were all kinds of requests—slaying magical beasts, escorting people, gathering materials—making it a paradise for earning pocket money.

Every city had its own request office, where clients and performers were matched, and contracts were made.

The rewards varied depending on the request, but you could still earn money. Some people made a living just by completing requests.

Since most requests involved physical activity or using magic, it was perfect for Sugar. She could earn money and train at the same time—a win-win situation.

So why hadn’t she done this before?

Simply because she lacked the ability and was too young.

A small girl who didn’t even know how to handle a weapon wouldn’t be able to do much against a magical beast. It would be a miracle if she didn’t get hurt.

But now, even if she was still lacking, she had reached the second stage, so the first issue was cleared.

As for the second issue…

“I’m 15 years old.”
“Go away.”
“I really am 15.”

Unfortunately, there was a rule that you had to be at least 15 years old to take on requests. The rule was in place to reduce the likelihood of failed requests. Kids were physically and skillfully lacking in many ways.

Sugar was 11 years old.

She was even shorter than most kids her age.

Regardless of her mental age, she looked like a child. She had pulled up her hood to hide her face, but her tiny height gave her away.

“Ahem. I have a condition that makes me look shorter than I am. Listen to my voice. Doesn’t it sound mature?”
“…”

The voice of a child trying to sound mature wasn’t unpleasant, but it was still the voice of a child.

“So, is it still a no?”
“Do you think it’s possible?”
“I knew it wouldn’t work. But still! If you could just turn a blind eye this once…”

Sigh. The request office employee let out a tired sigh.