Chapter 64: Forward (2)

Ｒ​ｅ​ａｄ ​ｏｎ ＫａｔＲｅ​ａｄ​ｉ​ｎ​ｇＣａ​ｆｅ

The inside of the spire, as always, was eerily quiet.

But there were beings who filled it with life.

“…By the way, is it okay to go meet her without even wiping off the sweat?”

“It’s fine. My sister really doesn’t care about that stuff. Even if you fell into a muddy puddle and came to her, she’d just tilt her head curiously.”

“Ah. I can imagine that.”

“Right?”

Sugar and Ian chattered cheerfully as they climbed the stairs of the spire. After waiting in Ian’s room for a few minutes, they received Ione’s permission and were now on their way to meet her.

Shortly after, they arrived at a large door. The priestess who had been leading them bowed her head and stepped aside.

“Go on, go in.”

“What about you, Ian?”

“You go in alone. What would I do there anyway?”

She said it casually, but in truth, she was embarrassed.

Her sister had readily agreed to her request to let her train, and now, showing up drenched in sweat felt awkward. She wanted to present only a clean, proper image.

And so, only Sugar entered the room.

It was the same pentagonal room with large windows on every wall that she had visited before.

In the center of it sat the saintess, like a doll.

Sugar bowed her head.

“Your purpose.”

Without any greeting, Ione immediately spoke.

“I came because I have a question about magic.”

“…”

“I’ll get straight to the point. Do you ever hear voices? Like when you’re in a place where magic is intense or the concentration of magical energy is high… When you’re deeply focused, do you hear any sounds? Chattering voices… or strange visions…”

Ione simply tilted her head.

“Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not crazy or anything… Right before I came to this land, I had a vision. Under a faint sunlight… in a quiet forest, there was a white stone wall covered in moss blocking the path. And beyond it, I heard something, like laughter. Murmuring and giggling… I only understood one phrase: ‘Imagine that you can do it.’”

“…”

“And then I returned to reality. After that, I could freely control the magical energy in the atmosphere. I could gather it and shoot it out… But after waking up in this land, I can’t do that anymore. Was it just a one-time thing? Do you know what this phenomenon is?”

Ione listened silently to Sugar’s story, then gestured. Come here. Sugar approached as instructed, and Ione placed her hand on Sugar’s head.

What is she doing? As Sugar watched quietly, she felt the hand gently stroking her head.

-Pat pat…

“Um… Saintess.”

-Pat pat…

“Is this… related to the phenomenon I mentioned?”

Ione shook her head.

“Then what is it?!”

Ione didn’t bother to explain verbally. She wasn’t the type to put such things into words.

Ione gently removed her hand.

Then, she poked the air in front of Sugar. Though there was nothing there, she acted as if something existed.

“Focus.”

“Huh?”

“Magical energy.”

Sugar still couldn’t grasp what was happening. Was she being told to focus on her magical energy? As she concentrated for a moment,

“Ah!”

She felt it.

The flow. The faint whispers. The things that had been silent until now finally responded.

Wondering what was going on, Sugar looked up at Ione, but her face was still veiled, revealing nothing.

Ione simply said one thing.

“This land is the same as me.”

“Could you explain a bit more clearly?”

“I reduced the influence around you.”

Ah, so… this holy city is one with Ione? Magically? Anyway, she reduced the influence of the magical energy?

Sugar nodded, roughly understanding.

“Thank you. Oh, by the way, do you know anything about the vision I saw?”

Ione remained silent and motionless, looking down at Sugar.

Endlessly, endlessly. Sugar could feel her gaze from behind the veil.

“Uh… It’s okay if you don’t know. This is enough. Thank you for your kindness.”

Sugar bowed her head and hesitantly headed toward the door.

She knew Ione was a person who thought like a person, but moments like this always left her feeling bewildered and uneasy. Cold sweat dripped down her back.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

Throughout it all, Ione remained silent and motionless, watching Sugar until the very end.

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“How did it go? Did it work out?”

“Yes. There are still things I’m curious about… but at least I understand why I couldn’t do it before. And it’s been resolved.”

“Really? That’s a relief… My sister is amazing.”

It was because of her sister that she couldn’t do it in the first place and only her sister could resolve it.

If she hadn’t become friends with Ian, she might have been struggling with this until her enrollment at Steele. She couldn’t just leave the holy city at will, and her training had to be done here, so it was a real headache.

But now that it’s resolved, it doesn’t matter anymore!

“Ian. Let’s hurry to the training grounds. I’ll show you something interesting.”

Sugar giggled as she headed outside the spire.

As soon as they arrived, she took out her staff and began gathering magical energy from the atmosphere.

If before it felt completely blocked, now it responded willingly. Perhaps the magical energy that had been under Ione’s influence was now free.

A small sphere of magical energy formed.

Although Ione had reduced the influence around Sugar, the land itself was still fundamentally tied to her. The amount of magical energy responding to Sugar was inevitably small. The fact that she could even create this much was likely due to the guardians training with magic nearby.

Sugar was satisfied but Ian’s reaction was less than enthusiastic.

“Uh… you made it well. But why is this… interesting?”

Do people from outside the city find this kind of thing interesting? Should I find it interesting too? Ian was pondering this when Sugar waved her finger.

“Why? Isn’t it amazing?”

“But… I can do this too…”

Ian raised her staff and created a sphere of magical energy.

Sugar wiggled her fingers, if her Riley had been here, he would’ve understood immediately and reacted accordingly. It’s a shame.

“Sigh… Ian. This sphere isn’t a normal magical energy sphere. It’s not made from my own magical energy.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s made from the magical energy in the atmosphere! I gathered it and made it my own.”

“Ah!”

Sugar puffed out her chest proudly, and Ian finally reacted.

“That’s really impressive! Amazing! So you’ll never run out of magical energy? Is this possible because of your magical nature? That’s really fascinating…! Uh… but the sustainability…”

“Oops.”

As soon as she lost focus, the sphere quickly dissipated back into the atmosphere. While they were talking, it had already shrunk smaller than before.

Sugar had converted the atmospheric magical energy into her own pure magical energy.

Then she shaped it into a sphere.

Given the process, it was inevitable. She needed someone to stabilize its nature.

‘Back then, Riley did it for me… Wait, but can someone other than Riley do it?’

Experimental spirit surged through her, Sugar reached out her hand towards Ian.

“Ian. Give me your hand.”

“Huh?”

Before Ian could respond, Sugar grabbed her right hand with her left. With one hand holding the staff, she focused on the magical energy sphere.

“W-what! S-S-Sugar! You already have someone, this is really bad—”

“Focus. Imagine changing this sphere of magical energy. Imagine transforming it with your own magical energy. Channel that will to me. Imagine it.”

Ah, so that’s what it was… Feeling embarrassed for jumping to conclusions, Ian swallowed a cough.

“Ahem… So, imagine changing it with my magical energy? Okay. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but… I’ll try.”

They held hands for a while.

“Hmm… Ugh…”

Yet the color didn’t change at all. The magical energy dispersing was greater than what was gathering, and the sphere grew increasingly weaker.

‘I guess it only works with Riley…’

That day, she had felt the boy’s will, his heart, being transmitted to her. But now, all she felt was the flow of magical energy, nothing else.

‘Why is that?’

‘I should probably experiment with others…No.’

Let’s just stop.

‘There’s no need to find someone else who can “change” it. I already have a precious childhood friend who can do that.’

One partner is enough.

“It’s okay now, Ian.”

Sugar let go of her hand.

Ian, her face red from concentrating, looked down at Sugar.

“Phew! Did it work? How is it?”

She must have been holding her breath while focusing. Sugar felt grateful for her effort. “It doesn’t seem to work. But it’s okay,” she said, offering a gentle smile.

That smile seemed oddly mature. Ian awkwardly stepped back, muttering, “Oh, okay?”

Anyway, now that Sugar could use atmospheric magical energy, she could somehow compensate for the energy that kept leaking due to her magical nature. This meant she could train more efficiently.

Sugar felt quite proud.

At the same time, she began to ponder the combined magic they had used before.

The spell they had used during their escape was powerful, but the casting time was too long.

Considering that the place they had been in was saturated with magical energy due to the prolonged battle, it would take even more time to achieve that level of power in a normal situation.

So then, if she could adjust the time, gather the right amount of magical energy and figure out the appropriate power-to-time ratio, wouldn’t it become practical enough to use in everyday situations?

‘Oh!’

If Riley were here, they could discuss it and adjust the timing together. It’s such a shame.

‘But… we’ll meet again.’

When that time comes, we’ll be together. We’ll talk as much as we want… and do all the things we want to do…

With a mix of longing and excitement, Sugar lifted her head.

“Kahaha!”

“Ah! It’s the old lady!”

“I’m not an old lady! Call me Sir Nova!”

Where did she come from?!

Sugar, who had been lost in her thoughts, clutched her chest in surprise at the sudden appearance of the guardian. Ian, too, slowly stepped back and spoke up.

“S-Sir Nova. What brings you here?”

“The young Prince! And the little one! I welcome you to join the ranks!”

“Huh?”

The two children’s eyes widened. Sugar immediately asked, “Join the ranks? What do you mean?”

“I am a guardian! A paladin! So I used the term ‘joining the ranks’! Of course, you’re not actually joining the paladin order! There’s no place for brats like you!”

“What are you…”

“This is an order from the Saintess! I’ve prepared a special training menu for the little one and the Prince! Follow me!”

And with that, she dragged the children away.

It wasn’t entirely clear, but it seemed like she was going to train them.

This was a good thing. Learning under a guardian was incomparably better than self-study.

But something about it felt off. Sugar made a strange expression, somewhere between a smile and a grimace, while Ian covered her face and let out a sigh, muttering, “Aaaah…”

Ah, whatever.

Good things are good.

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‘—This is what happened.

Sir Nova is crazy. She laughs at the most random times. Once, I ran out of magical energy (even using atmospheric energy wasn’t enough) and passed out. When I woke up, her grinning face was right in front of me. I think she’s going to haunt my dreams.

What about Sir Cedric? I hope he’s not too harsh.

Of course, I’m steadily getting stronger. It’s not the time to complain. Still, there’s no doubt about the abilities of someone who’s risen to the position of guardian.

How are you doing? I’m curious. You’re not hurt, are you? Are you eating well? I’ll always be cheering for you here. Write back.

I hope we can see each other again, healthy and well.

With love, Sugar.

P.S.: What should we name our ultimate move?’

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“…Ultimate move?”

What’s an ultimate move?

Riley frowned as he read the letter. He wasn’t angry, it was just a habitual expression.

In fact, touching the paper that carried the scent of the girl was comforting.

It was his only solace in this blood-soaked forest.

‘Damn that old man…’

He had handed the letter Sugar had sent him, saying, “Open it when things get really tough,”. Who exactly did he think “Riley’s Sugar” was?

Of course, it made his heart flutter and brought him comfort. But the situation hadn’t improved at all. The blood on his hands had stained the letter, only increasing his irritation toward Cedric.

He had been left in a forest teeming with monsters.

After leaving the holy city, he had been forced to walk for over a month, getting only short naps. He used his magical energy to compensate for his lack of stamina. Cedric seemed to know his limits all too well. Whenever Riley was on the verge of collapsing from magical energy depletion, he would miraculously stop and rest for a full day before starting again.

And now they were in this forest. It wasn’t an ordinary forest. The wind blowing through it was thick with magical energy, and it was clear that this was a place where monsters lived. Riley was left here alone by Cedric.

‘Find your way out. You can do it.’

Leaving him with only minimal food and water, Cedric had disappeared.

There were only two conditions.

Don’t take out the magic book and no cheating with flight magic.

Just thinking about it made the back of his neck ache.

It had already been four days of wandering, and his mental strength was at its limit. There was no proper path, monsters kept popping up, and he had to find food. It was a horrifying place.

-It’s not the time to complain.

-I’ll always be cheering for you here.

“…”

Suddenly, the words from Sugar’s letter came to mind. It felt as if the girl herself was speaking to him.

“Sigh…”

Riley let out a deep breath.

‘That’s right. Even that little girl is doing her best with what she can. It’s not the time to complain.’

He quickly tucked the letter into his pocket. First, he needed to find food. In the distance, he could see those red eyes again. Monster meat usually didn’t taste good, but he couldn’t just eat dirt. He had to survive.

Gripping his staff tightly, Riley steadied his stance.