Chapter 38: Parallel Lines

Ｒҽａɗ оｎ ḰαтȒ​еаⅾίɴǵ​Ϲαƒｅ

“Cold medicine? Hmm… I do have something that’s good for restoring energy.”

After the misunderstanding was cleared up.

Following Sugar’s explanation, Louveci pulled out a bottle of medicine, but it looked suspicious beyond belief.

A mint-colored liquid with sediment floating around. It was bubbling on its own, even though it hadn’t been heated. It looked completely inedible, and Sugar’s expression turned doubtful.

“Sugar? Why are you so quiet?”

“Do you even know what that medicine looks like?”

“Huh? I thought it was a pretty jade-colored liquid.”

“It’s similar, but… never mind. I’m not drinking it.”

Sugar turned away coldly, and Louveci called out anxiously, “W-wait! It’s safe! I’ll take a sip first to show you–”

“Stay there for a moment.”

Leaving the woman behind, Sugar went back inside the building. She happened to see the director and her younger sibling walking around together, so she hurried over.

“Director. There’s a sponsor in the backyard.”

“What! Why are they here so early!”

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

Without waiting for a response, the director rushed to the backyard.

At least now Sugar wouldn’t have to deal with that person immediately.

“By the way, ma’am. Do you have any cold medicine?”

“Hmm… cold medicine? I don’t think we have any here. Is someone sick?”

The director’s younger sibling, who resembled the director but had a much gentler expression, answered in a weak voice. They looked alike, but their volume and personality were completely different.

“Yes, Tommy is a bit… I figured there wouldn’t be any. Got it.”

They only served thin soup for meals, so it was no surprise there was no medicine. Sugar hadn’t expected much.

‘I’ll have to go buy some myself.’

She had a little money left from what she’d saved up to buy gifts before. She’d been saving it for emergencies, but this seemed like the right time to use it.

Sugar went up to the attic to get the money and then came back down. With the wand and the money pouch in her pocket, she felt secure.

But then she stopped in her tracks.

There was another friend at the orphanage who was also a target of the religious order. The problem was that this friend was currently sick. And with Sugar holding the wand, leaving the heretic woman behind while she went out felt uneasy.

Who knows what she might do while I’m gone.

“Ugh…”

What a useless woman. Grumbling, Sugar headed to the backyard.

There, the director was trying to bring Louveci inside, but Louveci was stubbornly refusing, causing a commotion.

“No! It’s cold out here! Let me get you a cup of tea!”

“It’s fine. I like it here. I need to stay here.”

What’s going on…

Louveci was refusing adamantly because Sugar had told her to stay here for a while, but to Sugar, she just seemed like a clueless boss.

Sugar hid herself and pulled out her wand.

She aimed at a small stone, infused it with magic, and lightly tossed it to hit Louveci’s foot.

“…Ah, now that I think about it, I have something urgent to attend to. I’ll be going now.”

“What! Where are you going all of a sudden!”

Whether the director was frustrated or not, Louveci quickly followed the trail of Sugar’s magic. Confirming that she was following, Sugar walked past the main gate and out of the orphanage. The sound of Louveci’s walking stick echoed at regular intervals.

Waiting ahead, Sugar saw Louveci approaching with a flushed face, shyly opening her mouth.

“Sugar… I was actually a bit excited… You gave me such a gentle secret signal…”

“That’s disgusting. You’re being ridiculous, grandma.”

“Oh, my heart is still in my 20s.”

Typical talk from older people. The moment she said that, she confirmed herself as an old lady.

Suppressing the urge to dump her in the mountains, Sugar kept walking.

“But why are we going out all of a sudden?”

“Just follow quietly. Don’t do anything unnecessary.”

“Hmm… Are we going to the pharmacy?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

There was no point in hiding it. When Sugar answered casually, Louveci let out an “Ah…!” and raised her head.

“You don’t look sick, so I wondered who was. It’s that friend of yours, Tommy, right?”

“…”

Sugar stopped walking.

She immediately reached into her pocket and narrowed her eyes.

“Ah, ah, it’s just that my personal curiosity was satisfied. Y-you’re not thinking anything strange, are you? Like, while the kid who can use magic isn’t around, I’d kidnap you or force you to come with me or something…”

“No, you’re just spilling everything. Were you really thinking that?”

“No! Really! If I were going to do that, I would’ve done it already…!”

As Louveci rambled on with excuses, Sugar quietly pulled her hand out of her pocket, and Louveci let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the sound.

“It’s just… that friend of yours wouldn’t let just the two of us go out alone. Since he’s not here now, I was curious.”

“How much have you seen us to talk like you know everything?”

“I may not look like it, but I’m quite perceptive.”

Really? You’re not perceptive at all. Not even a little bit?

If she really thought that, it was almost pitiful. Sugar looked at her with that thought in mind, and Louveci just smiled curiously.

She remembered the last visit. The boy’s magical energy had been so intense, as if he was about to attack, but it calmed down the moment Sugar appeared.

This girl was the boy’s emotional anchor. There was no way he’d let her go out alone with a suspicious heretic.

And Sugar was desperately looking for medicine. It must be for that kid who’s always by her side.

“You two seem really close…”

“If you’re jealous, just convert. I’ll be a little nicer to you.”

“I’m jealous, but more than that… I miss it.”

At the cryptic words, Sugar tilted her head, but Louveci didn’t elaborate.

“—Actually, aren’t we pretty close too?”

“What?”

And then, a sudden change in tone.

But there couldn’t be a more nonsensical statement than that.

“Did you go crazy after taking that medicine earlier…”

Sugar muttered dryly under her breath.

It’s true that Sugar’s wariness toward Louveci had lessened compared to when they first met.

What kind of person is Sugar? She’s the type to quickly become close with anyone. As long as the other person doesn’t cross a line, Sugar is willing to respond in kind.

The problem is that Louveci did cross a line.

A person from the religious order, whose very existence is unsettling.

A bad person who hurt her friend.

Sugar hasn’t forgotten that day. The day Louveci twisted her precious friend’s heart and then brushed it off without a proper apology.

She hadn’t brought it up because there was no point in provoking anything, but when Louveci casually brought it up like this, it was hard not to feel exasperated.

She’s utterly shameless. Completely oblivious. Or maybe she knows full well and is deliberately poking at it.

“I’m perfectly fine. I haven’t even taken any medicine. Sugar, when are you going to open up to me?”

“When you leave the religious order and apologize to Tommy. You didn’t even properly apologize that day. Don’t you remember?”

“The former is something I’d rather die than do, and the latter… yes. I’ll admit it. I did provoke him a bit on purpose that day. I’ll apologize to your friend as soon as we get back.”

It wasn’t a satisfying answer.

The latter—well, even if the way she said it sounded insincere, it was a matter between the parties involved.

‘If Tommy accepts the apology, then it’s fine.’

Of course, if he doesn’t, that’s another story. Sugar will always stand by her childhood friend.

She’ll think about that later.

For now, the former. That’s the biggest issue.

The root of all the negative feelings Sugar harbors toward Louveci. The greatest source of danger.

It’s true that Sugar’s wariness toward Louveci has lessened compared to before, but that’s all. At her core, she knows Louveci is a heretic.

Outwardly, her moral compass seems similar to that of a normal person, but who knows what’s really inside her?

The Shadow Order.

They are the ones who claim that the so-called Saint, praised by many, is actually the calamity that brought sorrow to the world, and that only they can liberate humanity.

What kind of world do they see, with their doctrine that completely denies the faith in the Saint?

“…I don’t think I’ll ever get along with you.”

“That’s not true. You still have the option to join us.”

“I’d rather die.”

Louveci clicked her tongue as if disappointed.

An endless parallel line. They see the world differently from the start. Even if they’re walking in the same direction, they’re looking at different places.

Unless that perspective changes, they can never become close.

Sugar sighed, feeling a pang of sadness.

This kind girl, who loses a part of herself just by hating someone, finds these conversations utterly exhausting.

Whether it was because of the cold or because this conversation was draining her energy, she hugged herself as she walked.

“…Are you cold?”

Louveci, who had been walking quietly, chanted a spell while holding her wand, and a warm current enveloped Sugar’s body.

“Thanks so much.”

Sugar’s sarcastic remark made Louveci mutter, “What’s with the attitude…” before grinning slyly. The way she twisted her body was unsettling.

Ugh.

Sugar missed her friend, who was probably lying sick in bed. If he were here, he’d be shooting sharp glances at Louveci.

Whether she knew that or not, Louveci gently stepped in front of Sugar.

“Sugar… I’ll say this again, but I have no intention of forcing you. I just want to see your face like this from time to time. Take you out to eat something delicious, talk about how things are going. So, you don’t need to be afraid of me at all.”

As if she understood the fear Sugar held inside. Those peculiar eyes, which saw a world different from others, turned toward Sugar.

“And maybe I’ll ask if you want to join us. If you don’t want to, of course, you can say no. I’ll be a little disappointed, but… I’ll still look forward to the next time we meet and work hard to earn money.”

“…I get that now. That you won’t force me. I’ve heard it a few times.”

“I’m glad it got through to you.”

“But why are you so devoted? It’s not like you’re really trying to adopt and raise a child. Listening to you, it’s like you’re some kind of mother.”

It’s so different from the image Sugar has of the religious order. Since when did you all care so much about children’s rights?

When Sugar asked out of genuine curiosity, Louveci hesitated.

“Ah… well… it’s just…”

Then she closed her eyes and stayed silent.

As if reminiscing.

As if reflecting on a century of memories.

“It’s just… it reminds me of the past.”

Her faint smile carried a hint of sadness.