Chapter 37: Because I’m Your Older Sister

R̃ẽâd̂ ̂òń ́K̈àẗR̃​ë​âd̈​ìǹg̃Ĉäf̂ẽ

The cool autumn breeze had, before anyone noticed, turned icy and biting.
The trees, as if competing with one another, shed the clothes they had been wearing. Now, their bare bodies were lightly dusted with white powder, making them look quite dashing in their new attire.
Of course, among them, the snow-covered conifer stood out the most.

‘It looks just like a Christmas tree…’

Sugar, who had been sweeping the snow in the backyard, lost herself in thought. Her arm had fully healed by now, and the bandages were removed.

Before anyone realized, time had passed, and it was already January. In this world, there was no Christmas, so December had come and gone as just an ordinary year-end. It was a bit disappointing, considering how in her past life, even though she wasn’t a Christian, she had enjoyed the festive atmosphere and the chaos people created.

Instead, January was the grand festival. The day the Saint descended from the heavens and first set foot on this land. That day was in January.

If you went to the bustling streets now, you’d see them adorned with dazzling lights of gold, silver, and purple, along with glass orbs, ribbons, and fabrics. Gold symbolized nobility, silver represented sacredness, and purple was chosen because the Saint’s eyes were purple.

This was a common sight in January in this world, where the faith in the Saint was deeply rooted.

Even the orphanage made an effort to decorate during this time. After all, this was when the number of sponsors increased, so it was best to make the most of it. A decorated place felt more lively and fitting for children to live in than a dreary one.

Of course, the reality wasn’t as rosy, but at least they had enough to eat three meals a day. That was something to be grateful for.

‘I should always be thankful.’

I mean, I’m not on a battlefield right now, am I? I’m not a shield bearer or a slave, right? Sure, if I make one wrong move, I could be dragged off by the religious order and turned into a cursed doll for some evil deity, but hey, that’s not happening right now, is it?

The thought of such a terrifying reality made me shiver, but I had a wand in my possession. It felt as reassuring as holding a gun. The courage it gave me made my insides burn with determination.

But then, looking ahead, I saw that the snow was still piled high.

“…”

Feeling my heart freeze over, I muttered to myself about whether there was a cleaning spell or something… and just continued sweeping.

Today was the day the sponsors would visit.

The children of the orphanage had prepared a play to commemorate the Saint’s descent.

While they were in the middle of rehearsals, Sugar was outside sweeping snow.

The reason? ‘If I go in, it’ll just become my solo performance. I’ll steal the entire scene—’ Such an arrogant opinion had been accepted, so here she was.

From the orphanage director’s perspective, Sugar was already slated for adoption—originally, it was just Riley, but later Louveci had secretly come by and hinted at it—so it was better to let the other children shine. That’s why the director had given the OK.

And so, with nothing else to do, Sugar was stuck with cleaning.

“Maybe I should’ve just joined the play…”

It was too cold outside, and the backyard was vast.

.
.
.

After finishing sweeping the snow, she rubbed her freezing hands together and headed to the attic. The drafty wind made it just as cold inside, but it was still much better than being outdoors.

Plus, there was a mage up here.

“Cold, cold, cold.”

She quickly ran over to her friend, who was scribbling something, and clung to their side. The friend jumped in surprise.

“Ah!”

“I’m so cold. Warm me up…”

To think that at this age, she had to be out doing snow removal. Sugar spoke with a hint of sadness, and Riley glared at her before extending a hand. This friend had a minor role in the play but was currently skipping rehearsal.

When Sugar placed the wand on Riley’s hand, they began chanting a spell, soon muttering the activation word.

“Warm Breeze.”

A warm wind blew in from somewhere, wrapping around her body. It was toasty, like turning on a heater.

“Ohh…”

As she shivered and melted into the warmth, the wind suddenly stopped.

It was frustrating.

So, she looked at Riley with pleading eyes, but he waved his hand dismissively.

“I’m busy.”

“You’re so heartless, Master.”

“You know how to do it too. Do it yourself.”

“It’s warmer when you do it…”

Sugar picked up the wand and chanted the spell.

“Warm Breeze.”

She muttered the activation word, and a warm breeze blew in.

But it was lukewarm at best, and the wind died down quickly.

“See? The efficiency is terrible… and I get hungry so fast.”

After two or three months of grueling effort, she had reached level 3.

Originally, Sugar had struggled due to her unusual magical properties.

Her magic would leak into the atmosphere, and to compensate, she tried releasing more magic, but that only caused the phenomenon to go out of control.

On the other hand, if she used too little, nothing would happen.

In the midst of this, the wand somehow managed to balance the amount of magic needed to create a phenomenon and the amount that leaked into the atmosphere, making it possible for her to cast spells.

Thanks to that, she now ‘knew how’ to cast proper spells.

However her magic still leaked like a sieve. She had managed to balance it, but more magic still leaked out compared to others. Naturally, she ended up using more magic than others when casting spells.

So, with sparkling eyes, she looked at Riley, who snatched the wand back.

“This brat.”

They didn’t forget to grumble.

They immediately began chanting again.

This time, the incantation was longer, as if they were trying to make the spell last.

Sugar watched the scene, listening to her friend’s low voice.

With their eyes closed, holding the wand, and smoothly reciting the spell without stumbling, they looked every bit the mage.

Hehe. I’m the one who bought that for them.

She watched with a proud smile.

“—Ugh!”

The spell was cut off, and suddenly, they started coughing violently.

Startled, Sugar patted their back, but they jerked away.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“It’s… just a cough…”

Covering their mouth with their sleeve, they kept coughing before straightening up.

“Is it a cold?”

When Sugar reached out to check their forehead, Riley jerked away again.

“Stay still!”

Worried, Sugar raised her voice, and they froze. Placing her hand on their forehead, she felt the heat.

“Hmm… you have a bit of a fever.”

“…It’s fine. I’ll be better after a night’s sleep.”

“You’ve been writing all day in a cold, dusty place, no wonder you’re sick… Let’s go. I’ll say we’re using the private room for a while. Let’s go rest. You can skip the play.”

“I said it’s fine.”

Sugar’s expression darkened unexpectedly.

It was almost the first time Sugar, who always smiled in front of Riley, had made such an angry face.

Riley flinched and stepped back.

“Listen to me.”

“…No.”

“What if it gets worse and you end up with lung disease?”

“That won’t happen.”

They were being stubborn, so Sugar stepped closer, right in front of them.

“If you keep this up, I’ll do this.”

And in an instant, she hugged them.

With a fluid motion, she even grabbed their hands, snatching the wand they were holding. This prevented them from using magic to escape.

Now unable to do anything, Riley just squirmed.

“Let go! Let me go!”

“If you keep this up, I’ll catch your cold. What then?”

“I don’t care if you catch it!”

“Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t. But you’re the one who can’t do anything and has to just stay hugged, right?”

“Ugh…!”

Even though Riley had grown taller than Sugar, if she struggled hard enough, she could break free.

But how could she do that? Riley let out a breath and shouted.

“Fine… I’ll go, okay?!”

“Good.”

Holding hands, they headed to the private room.

Sugar walked ahead, and Riley followed behind.

Even as they walked, the sound of coughing continued from behind. See, you should’ve listened to me earlier.

In this world, catching a cold could be deadly. Poor nutrition, the cold, and terrible hygiene made it a dangerous place.

After laying Riley down on the private room’s bed, Sugar quickly brought a bottle of water, a cup, a wet towel, and an old storybook. She carried them all in her small arms.

She placed the wet towel on her friend’s forehead, chanted a spell to warm the water in the bottle, poured the warm water into the cup and placed it on the bedside table.

Then, she pulled up a chair, sat down, and opened the storybook.

“What are you doing…”

“I’m going to read you a story.”

“Am I a child?”

“Yeah, you are. I’m your older sister, after all. I should do this much for you.”

“…”

Because she had promised to become family. This much was nothing.

Riley turned his gaze away silently. Heh, Sugar smiled and began reading the first page of the storybook.

“Then, let’s begin. Once upon a time…”

Stretching and closing the book, Sugar noticed Riley had closed his eyes.

They had been coughing continuously, but occasionally his eyes would flutter open, so it didn’t seem like they were fully asleep, though they were clearly drowsy.

“Just a moment…”

While changing the wet towel, Sugar felt around Riley’s ears and neck. Each time, Riley flinched but remained quiet.

‘Their fever seems to have gotten worse…’

The wet towel on his forehead was fine, but the rest of his body felt hot. The coughing seemed to be getting worse too, and his breathing sounded labored, almost wheezing. It didn’t look good.

They probably needed medicine.

“Just rest for now.”

Sugar tucked the wand into her robe and left the private room. She didn’t forget to gently pat her sick friend’s head before leaving.

Outside, everyone was bustling about. Some were moving props or luggage, while others were busy getting dressed up. The adults were instructing the children, and the kids were following along as best they could.

“Hey! Sugar! Get out of the way!”

“Why are you standing in the middle of the path?!”

Ugh. I’ve been working hard shoveling snow in the backyard too…

Being scolded made her feel like she was being treated like a nuisance. But what could she do? On a busy day like today, she had to stay quiet and obedient.

She quietly made her way to the window and sat down like a sack of barley.

If she bothered the adults now, she’d just get scolded again. She decided to wait until she saw the director’s younger sibling and ask if they had any medicine.

She stood there for a while.

Then, she heard a tapping sound on the window. Turning around, she saw a woman in black clothes smiling brightly.

“Oh. It’s Louveci.”

She turned back around.

“…”

Wait.

Louveci?

She turned around again and saw the woman waving her hand vigorously.

‘A stealth heretic!’

She hadn’t even sensed any magic!

Sugar quickly ran over.

She was the last person Sugar wanted to see since the start of the year. After being quiet for a while, she must have decided to visit today as a sponsor.

“Excuse me… I’m looking for a child named Sugar. Please don’t mind me and continue with your work.”

Even though she said that, the people around couldn’t help but freeze at the unexpected visit from an early sponsor.

“The director… someone call the director…”

“Where is she right now?”

“I don’t know…”

This isn’t going well.

Sugar, who had been heading up to the second floor, peeked her head out from between the railings.

“Ahem, haha. Louveci. You’re here. Let’s go outside and talk.”

She forced a smile and spoke as if reading from a textbook. She couldn’t be rude to a sponsor in front of everyone.

“Ah, Sugar! Long time no see! But isn’t it cold? Shouldn’t we talk inside…”

“No, read the room. Can’t you see how crowded it is? It’s better to go outside.”

“If Sugar thinks so, then let’s do that.”

They headed to the backyard where Sugar had been shoveling snow earlier.

As soon as they stepped outside, Sugar dropped her smile.

“The staff are busy preparing for the event, and here you are showing up like some boss.”

They’re swamped, and you just had to come and interrupt.

“Oh, please. I’m just a humble worker supporting the organization from below.”

Did she really believe that? Sugar clicked her tongue.

Sometimes, this woman seemed genuinely naive or maybe she was just pretending.

“So. Why are you here? You even hid your magic today. Very suspicious.”

“Hiding magic is my specialty. You didn’t notice at all, did you?”

Sugar gave her a blank look, and Louveci continued.

“And, as always, I came to bring good news. I wanted it to be a surprise visit. I’ve been avoiding coming because I thought I wasn’t well-liked last time, so please go easy on me today.”

When the other sponsors gather later, there might be mages among them. Maybe she hid her magic to avoid being exposed?

It wasn’t worth arguing about, so Sugar didn’t press further.

“So, what have you been up to all this time?”

“Are you interested in me?”

“I’m just curious how many people you’ve dragged into your mess.”

“How could you say such a thing… I’ve been quietly carrying out my duties. I’ve been working hard to earn money to buy you delicious things… and building altars…”

“What? Altars? Where are they?”

“That’s a secret.”

If she told her, Sugar would immediately call the guards. Having evidence of heresy out in the open would be a disaster.

“If I said I’d join you, would you tell me?”

“If you close your eyes and receive the sacrament, I can tell you. Want to?”

Then Sugar would be irreversibly branded a heretic.

How could she even suggest that?

When Sugar firmly refused, Louveci laughed out loud.

“Since it’s you, I’ll tell you this much. Remember when I said I saw you during a mission last time? That mission was to build an altar. There’s a good spot near this city… It’s almost finished now.”

“Ah, I see…”

That needs to be torn down immediately.

But if heretics consider it a good spot, it’s probably a bad spot for regular people.

As Sugar pondered this trivial matter, something else came to mind.

“Hey, do you happen to have any medicine?”

“Huh? Medicine…?”

Since she’s a mage and has lived a long time, she probably knows about medicine, right? Since she can’t go to the church-run clinics, she might carry herbs or something instead.

But her reaction was strange.

“Sugar… no matter how much we’re treated like outcasts… giving ‘medicine’… especially to a child…”

“Huh?”

“W-well, I have some matches that make you feel good…”

She must have misunderstood.

“No, not that kind…! Medicine for when you’re sick!”

“Ah, ah… medicine. For when you’re sick… real medicine…”

She covered her mouth with both hands and nodded. Sometimes, she seemed a bit slow.

“Why on earth do you carry those matches around?”

“They’re legal, you know…”

If you’re going to talk about the law, why not just convert?

At least she had a proper sense of morality. Sugar let out a dry laugh.