Chapter 36: I’ll Treasure It

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When she opened her eyes, she saw her friend’s face.

After comforting the friend who had been crying so much the night before, she put her to bed and fell asleep herself, exhausted.

And when she woke up, it was morning. Glancing out the window, her gaze settled on Riley.

He always had a furrowed brow, so seeing him with his eyes closed so peacefully was strange.

“Ugh… ugh…”

‘Oh.’

The moment she thought that, his brow furrowed again. Was he dreaming? His lips trembled as he kept making pained noises.

Sugar poked Riley’s nose.

“Stop it…”

Was he awake? Curious, she poked his cheek this time. Though he was thin from not eating well, his cheeks were surprisingly soft and fun to touch.

‘Should I pull on them?’

She pinched them lightly and stretched them to the side.

“Ohh…”

They stretched. They really stretched.

Even a skinny kid from the slums had stretchy cheeks! She was amazed.

“…”

The friend who had been grimacing and groaning, suddenly opened his eyes, their eyes met.

“Good morning.”

She smiled softly and greeted him, but he just blinked, confused. He glanced at Sugar, then touched his own cheek.

“Ah… ah…”

“Tommy?”

“Ahhh—!!”

He quickly rolled away from the bed, hiding underneath it. Like some wild animal.

“Wait… why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Are you hurt?”

“Shut up! Don’t talk to me!”

Even when she tried to comfort him, he snapped. Was he hitting puberty early?

Actually, it was because all the events from last night came rushing back to him. Crying, the embarrassing thoughts. And now, waking up to the very person who caused it all, he was overwhelmed with shame.

After calming down in the darkness, Riley came out and immediately grabbed Sugar’s cheek.

“Ow! Why are you doing that all of a sudden?!”

“I don’t know! I’m just annoyed! You were pulling on my cheeks too, you know!”

“You’re a kid, so I can let you pull my cheeks a little—”

“We’re the same age, you know?!”

Sugar’s cheeks stretched much more than Riley’s.

After the boy, who held both sweetness and bitterness, finished venting his frustration.

They both sat on the bed, catching their breath.

“Phew…”

“Well… it’s okay to feel embarrassed, Tommy. After what happened yesterday, and then waking up to see adorable little me.”

She thought he was calming down, but bringing it up again made him flare up.

Riley took the wand out of the box on the bedside table.

“Why all of a sudden? Want to try it out?”

Without answering, he muttered something, then spoke the activation word.

“Blind Curse.”

He lightly swiped the wand toward Sugar, and her vision went dark.

“Oh! Ohhh!”

Even so, Sugar giggled, feeling around with her right arm.

She knew this spell. She remembered it clearly. There was a monster in the original game that kept casting this spell. When it hit, your accuracy would plummet, and you’d be stuck in a never-ending parade of “misses.” It was maddening.

‘No wonder it’s so dark!’

So this is how the characters in the game felt.

She had only seen him use magic to levitate objects or enhance his body, so seeing a proper spell like this was exciting.

“Amazing…! Can you show me something else?”

As she radiated excitement, all she heard was the sound of rustling.

“Tommy? Can you undo this spell first…”

“…”

“T-Tommy. Undo the spell…”

“…”

“Mr. Tommy…”

“…”

Oh no.

This is bad.

The continued silence was unfamiliar.

This won’t do. If he keeps responding to pranks with magic like this, it’ll be a problem.

Should she only tease him in crowded places where he can’t pull out his wand? But Sugar, who had no intention of stopping her teasing, was sweating.

Then, the soft voice of her friend, who had been rustling around, reached her ears.

“Dispel Magic.”

Her vision cleared.

Amazed, she went “Ohh,” but what immediately caught her eye was a small box wrapped in cute packaging.

“Wow. What’s this?”

“…Take it.”

Riley was holding it out to her.

Was the rustling sound him getting this out? Sugar took it in a daze.

“A gift?”

“…”

He quickly turned his head away. His ears were red.

Hmm. So that’s what it is.

Sugar didn’t say anything more and unwrapped the package. With one arm injured, she was slow. Excitedly wondering what was inside, she opened the lid.

“Wow…”

The contents were quite nice. It wasn’t exactly her style, but it was something he had picked out for her. It was the kind of gift you’d typically give to a “girl.”

“This is for me?”

“Well, who else would it be for…”

Such a sweet talker. He always had to twist his words, but she understood. She knew he was trying to hide his embarrassment.

Inside was a pink ribbon hair accessory. A headband, or hairband, as it’s called.

It felt soft to the touch. There was also a strange energy coming from it—was it infused with magic?

When she took it out of the box, Riley suddenly reached out his hand.

“Give it to me for a second.”

“Huh?”

She handed it over, and he immediately turned around and muttered a spell.

“What are you doing? What kind of magic is it?”

“Nothing.”

He brushed it off and handed it back. Sugar just stared at it blankly without taking it.

“…Take it. It’s not some weird spell.”

“Yeah, that’s not the issue.”

When Riley held it out again, Sugar grinned mischievously.

“Put it on me. With your own hands.”

“What? Can’t you do it yourself?”

“I can’t. My arm’s hurt.”

She showed him her bandaged arm, and he clicked his tongue. It wasn’t out of annoyance—he was worried about her injury.

“Fine… stay still.”

He picked up the headband and approached. Sugar closed her eyes.

Hesitantly, she felt his hands touch her head. He seemed unsure if he was doing it right, touching her as gently as possible, which only made her more impatient.

But she waited patiently. This was part of the fun, after all.

He brushed her bangs down and swept her side hair back. The sound of rustling and the gentle stimulation on her scalp felt good. His touch was ticklish and kind. She held back a laugh.

“Is this how you do it…?”

Soon, something was placed on her head, and she felt him step back.

She slowly opened her eyes.

There stood the boy, his face completely red, unable to meet her eyes and just staring at the floor.

“How is it? Does it suit me?”

Look at me. She asked with that intention, and his blue eyes glanced toward her.

“…It’s okay, I guess.”

Still not honest.

Couldn’t he at least give me one compliment?

However she was grateful. She decided to let it slide because it was so endearing that he had prepared a surprise gift for her.

When had he even prepared this? She had no idea. It was surprising that she wasn’t the only one who had prepared a gift.

“…Hehe.”

Her chest felt warm. It felt so good that a smile naturally formed.

Her joyful, smiling face. Her lightly flushed cheeks were full of life, and her shyly curved lips were adorable.

The pink headband suited her shiny white hair perfectly.

Her affectionate eyes sparkled like gemstones, radiating various colors.

The boy couldn’t stop staring at the scene.

“Thank you… I’ll treasure it.”

Embarrassed by the words that gently fell on her ears, he turned away.

“Oh, oh, oh, oh…!”

Riley’s favorite pencil floated in the air.

It only floated for about 5 seconds before it got stuck in the attic ceiling, and Riley let out a loud “Ahhh!” in frustration.

But still, the fact that it floated at all made Sugar jump with excitement.

One hand was bandaged, and the other held the wand.

Although it was a gift to Riley, they decided to share it until Sugar could get her own. Having a wand made it much easier to control magic, which was essential for smoother training.

“Is this the first time I’ve lifted something with my own will?”

What happened at the factory had nothing to do with her own will. This time, she had a clear intention to lift the object.

Finally, her first success. And now, with a wand in hand, she felt like a proper mage.

She was feeling quite proud of herself when Riley suddenly snatched the wand and waved it toward the pencil. The pencil, its lead broken and now useless, floated toward them.

“Ah… sorry.”

“Idiot. Fix the roof. You made a hole in it…”

She hurried off to get the repair tools.

If the adults found out, there’d be no soup for her, so she sneaked into the storage shed and grabbed a hammer, nails, and a plank.

She climbed up the ladder to the roof and started hammering away. As she worked, she noticed a presence nearby. It was the little boy with dusty brown hair. He must have followed her out from the attic.

“It’s almost done. Just wait a bit.”

“No, that’s not the issue…”

He hesitated, choosing his words carefully.

“…It’s about what happened at the waterway.”

“Huh?”

Sugar turned her head from her hammering. What was he trying to say?

He knew she was there because of a request.

‘Come to think of it, was Tommy there that day to make money too?’

She deduced this because of the gift she received today.

They had already apologized to each other, so she wondered what else he wanted to say. She stayed quiet, watching him, when Riley finally spoke.

“That monster we saw that day… how did you end up facing it?”

“Ah. It was really strange.”

She tried to recall the memory. She had even written it down in her memo, so it wasn’t hard to remember.

“There was this wide plaza-like area filled with monster corpses… pieces… fragments everywhere. You were there that day, so you probably saw it too, right?”

Whether he saw it or not, the boy she was talking to was the one who caused it. He was also the reason for the explosion.

Riley nodded quietly.

“I thought it was worth noting, so I quickly jotted it down and started collecting some fragments. Then I heard this squelching sound. When I looked, the monster pieces were crawling like snails toward one spot, and in an instant, they merged together… and became that thing.”

“And then it chased you?”

“Yeah. Is that normal for those monsters?”

“No. It’s not.”

Monsters like that usually die when they’re torn apart. They’re insignificant creatures that prefer dark, dirty places. They’re the kind that get swept away with a single gesture.

Riley fell silent, deep in thought.

Sugar shrugged and went back to hammering.

If it wasn’t normal for the monster to behave like that, then it was an anomaly. She figured the adults would investigate further, but it was still strange.

‘Come to think of it, what happened afterward?’

Right after Sugar collapsed.

Even though this friend knew how to use magic, he didn’t have a wand or anything back then. How did they manage to escape safely from the giant monster?

She had asked after waking up, but the mood wasn’t right for an answer.

Now seemed like a good time, so she asked him directly, and he replied briefly, “There was a small passage we hadn’t noticed before. We escaped through that gap.”

“Hmm…”

If he said so, then fine. Sugar shrugged again and continued hammering.

Caw—

While she was engrossed in her work, she suddenly heard the cry of a crow and looked around. There weren’t many crows around here, mostly dark pigeons.

“Who’s hammering on the roof right now?!”

This was no time for curiosity. The roar was unmistakably the orphanage director’s. Without a second thought, the two of them jumped off the roof.

“Tommy did it!”

“Hey! You’re the one who did it! Sugar! Sugar did it!”

Not wanting to go hungry, Sugar tried to shift the blame, but Riley quickly defended himself.

“It’s you two again!!”

Well, they were caught anyway. With the director’s shouts behind them, they ran to the backyard.

As they ran, Riley pinched Sugar’s cheek. In retaliation, Sugar hugged him tightly, causing him to jump in surprise.

They were still just kids.

Even as they bickered, neither of them looked unhappy.