Sugar Apple Fairytale - Volume 1 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

ATTACK!

Challe sat beside Anne on the driver’s seat, looking exhausted. Wedged into the gap between Anne and Challe, curled up into a ball as he slept, was Mithril Lid Pod.

With the rising of the sun, Anne steered the boxy wagon out of the way station.

Mithril had made a fuss throughout the night. Naturally, neither Anne nor Challe had gotten much sleep. She had still been trying to calm Mithril down as they’d departed that morning.

Mithril then had the nerve to sit up on the driver’s seat. The sleep-deprived Anne and Challe weren’t speaking, and Mithril must have been worn out from staying up all night, because the pleasant swaying of the wagon lulled him into a deep slumber.

Challe looked down at where Mithril was dozing and asked hatefully, “Shall we throw him over the side while he’s asleep?”

“That’s taking it too far; forget about it. Besides, even if you tossed him out, he’d probably come back. He said he was following me to the depths of hell, after all. He’s most likely not going to let us sleep until he does something he considers proper repayment. I don’t know what to do… Come to think of it, I don’t know what to do about Jonas, either…”

Jonas’s wagon was following behind them, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

After being tossed about on the wagon for a while, Anne looked up and checked the position of the sun.

It was almost time to take a break and have lunch. Anne had noticed a small, clear stream running through the woods that flanked the road. Once they found a clearing, she drove the wagon into it and parked.

Jonas also brought his carriage to gentle stop.

Anne grabbed a bucket and industriously began drawing water from the stream, refilling the cask attached to the side of her wagon.

Jonas watched her for a moment, then seemed to realize that he also needed to replenish his water. He picked up a bucket and walked over to the stream.

Anne had leaned over the side of the stream to scoop up water, and Jonas leaned over in the same manner beside her.

She noticed his presence and turned to face him.

Jonas wore an uncharacteristically serious expression as he stared back at Anne. He then said suddenly, “Anne. Do you understand now? I was worried about you, that’s all.”

Jonas put his hand into the stream and touched Anne’s hand.

This startled her, and she pulled her bucket out of the water. She didn’t know how to deal with Jonas when he did things like that. But as always, he was as kind as could be.

“Anne.”

When he said her name, a small sigh escaped Anne’s lips.

Jonas was a good person. Even his reckless actions were for her sake.

“Very soon, we will have traveled three hundred karons along the Bloody Highway. We’ve already come one-fourth of the way. At this point, it would be more dangerous for you to turn back and go home alone. It’ll be safer if we travel as far as Lewiston together. Let’s go together,” Anne said.

Hearing that, Jonas burst into a smile.

“So you get it?!”

“In exchange, I need you to understand that we really are in danger out here.”

“But you’ve got a warrior fairy working for you, don’t you, Anne? I don’t think there’s any need to worry.”

“Warrior fairies aren’t all-powerful. Don’t let your faith in Challe make you careless.”

“I know that.”

Anne didn’t sense a shred of nervousness in Jonas’s voice as he answered.

She didn’t think the young man had spent much time outside Knoxberry Village. At most, he had probably gone to Redington on occasion to shop or attend festivals. Evidently, a boy like that would be ignorant of the perils the road could hold.

On the other hand, Jonas had been attacked by bandits just the day before. Anne thought he should have shown more concern.

Challe had driven the bandits off much too easily. That had likely given Jonas the incorrect impression that, as long as they were accompanied by a warrior fairy, they had no reason to fret over anything bad happening.

When they finished drawing water, Anne’s party ate lunch and then set off again.

On schedule, they arrived at the way station where Anne had decided to spend the third night.

That evening, Anne invited Jonas to eat with her.

As always, she built a small fire.

She spread leather mats out beside the fire and called for Challe, Jonas, and Cathy.

Mithril had already shown up, no summons necessary. He was pacing restlessly around the group, as if observing them.

“Let me introduce you to Jonas and Cathy. This is Challe Fenn Challe. He’s a warrior fairy. I purchased him in Redington to serve as my bodyguard. I call him Challe.”

“What about a name? You haven’t given him one?”

“I just told you his name.”

Jonas looked bewildered to be introduced to a fairy. Fairies were like tools, he thought, not the kind of thing that would normally warrant an introduction. The principle of a fairy’s owner not giving them a new name was something else he didn’t quite understand.

Cathy was giving Challe a curious look, but he turned away, as if he didn’t even see her or her master.

Jonas looked Challe over again closely.

“You’re really too pretty to be a warrior fairy. What a waste. I bet you could be sold as a pet fairy.”

Challe answered coolly, “If you like me, maybe you could buy me from the scarecrow? You’re about equally stupid, so I don’t care which one of you is in charge of me.”

“Challe!”

In a panic, Anne tried to stifle him, but once the words were out of his mouth, there was no way to pretend he hadn’t said them.

“S-stupid…”

Clearly, Jonas had never been called stupid by a fairy. Rather than angry, he was dumbfounded.

Anne felt responsible for the insult and began making excuses. “S-sorry, Jonas! Challe’s got a sharp tongue; apparently, he didn’t sell as a pet fairy. Even as a warrior fairy, I got him at a discount because of it. He’s always calling me stupid or moronic or something, so don’t take it personally! Challe, don’t say things like that to other people besides me. They’re not used to it!”

“Hmm. Well…it’s not your fault, Anne, so it’s fine. More importantly, who is that fairy?”

As if to collect himself, Jonas turned his gaze toward Mithril.

Thinking it was his turn on stage, the little stowaway hopped into the center of the circle.

“Oh, me? My name is Mr. Mithril Lid Pod!! Don’t forget the Mister when you speak to me!”

“Huh? M-Mister??”

Jonas blinked dramatically. He looked like he didn’t grasp Mithril’s meaning.

“Why do you both have such attitudes?!” Anne snapped. “Listen, Mithril Lid Pod, I’ve got a problem with calling you ‘Mister.’ It clearly doesn’t feel right.”

In response to Anne’s scolding, Mithril hung his head dejectedly. Then, he walked off unsteadily in the direction of Anne’s wagon.

As a matter of course, Jonas did not introduce Cathy.

Anne’s evening meal consisted of water and a sandwich made of thinly cut slices of dried meat on brown bread. She gave the same to Challe, too.

When she glanced over at Mithril, he was sitting on the roof of the cargo hold of the wagon, melodramatically holding his knees to his chest and drawing circles with his fingertip.

Mithril could be terribly disruptive. He’d made a great nuisance of himself the night before.

But thinking on it more, Anne thought it very admirable of him to be so determined to return a favor. Still, the person he had to repay was a member of the human race he so despised. Maybe that was why he was so prone to making such bizarre pronouncements.

He’s really cute when he isn’t talking. He’s got those big round eyes and everything.

Anne split her own sandwich in two and beckoned Mithril over.

“Come here, Mithril. You can have this.”

Mithril’s face burst into a bright smile, and he went bounding over and snatched the sandwich from Anne’s hand.

Then with a serious face, he commented, “I am Mithril Lid Pod. Don’t abbreviate it!”

“Of course. I’m sorry. Mithril Lid Pod.”

Anne had considered splitting her dinner with Jonas, too, but he’d insisted he had his own food and retrieved it from his wagon.

Jonas’s meal struck Anne as unbelievably luxurious.

He had grape wine. Apple juice. White-bread sandwiches filled with pear jam. A slice of meat pie. His mother had obviously spared no expense in provisioning his journey. It was a picnic fit for the young master.

Once Anne saw his spread, she was convinced Jonas had set off with his parents’ consent.

Assembling such a variety of foods was a feat only the mistress of the house could perform. Jonas’s parents had supplied the wagon and the food and had hired some bodyguards while they were at it. They had arranged everything for him. Of that, Anne had no doubt.

But why had the Anders supported their son’s reckless behavior? That part didn’t make sense.

“If you’ve got feasts like this with you, I guess you don’t need my soup or anything, huh?” Anne grumbled mindlessly.

In response, Cathy, who was pouring wine into Jonas’s cup, chuckled.

“Of course not.”

Jonas glared at Cathy.

“Be quiet, Cathy. I forbid you to speak to Anne in such a rude tone.”

Startled, the servant fairy’s demeanor shifted. She was flustered and tried to mend her error.

“Ah, forgive me, Master Jonas. I was just—”

“Disappear.”

Cathy hung her head. Colors began fading from her body, starting from the tips of her toes, and she quickly became transparent. In the end, her whole body disappeared. Only the wine bottle she was holding remained visible, floating lightly in the air.

Fairies have unique abilities. Cathy’s ability seemed to be invisibility.

“Sorry about that, Anne,” Jonas said apologetically. “My servant fairy sometimes shows poor manners. Your soup was delicious, truly. I was happy to receive it.”

Jonas’s behavior was probably what was expected of a young gentleman, but Anne still felt bad for Cathy. Just before disappearing, she’d looked absolutely miserable.

The following morning, the two wagons set out again.

Mithril sat happily between Challe and Anne. He was in a good mood, chattering on and on.

“Anne. If there’s something I can do to repay my debt to you, don’t hold back—tell me. But don’t ask me to do odd jobs. Let me do something more impressive as repayment.”

“An impressive repayment, huh? I’ve been thinking it might be best to come up with something that uses your special ability, if possible. What kind of powers do you have, Mithril Lid Pod?”

Hearing this inquiry, Mithril threw out his chest as if he’d been waiting for his cue.

“Oh, my powers? You’ll be surprised to hear! Listen carefully. I come from the waters of Loess Lake, a huge lake in the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Highland! …A drop of lake water stuck to a leaf, and I was born from that droplet.”

“You were born from a drop of water? Are all fairies born that way?”

Anne cocked her head, and Mithril wagged his index finger chidingly.

“You don’t know a thing, do you, Anne? Fairies are born from all sorts of things. Berries and nuts, water droplets and morning dew, stones and gems. When the energy of an object condenses enough, a fairy is born. But in order for that to happen, the gaze of a living creature is required. It can be another fairy, a human, a beast, or a bird. Even a fish or a bug will do. The energy takes on a form as the object is being observed, and that form becomes a fairy. A fairy’s life span is approximately the same as the object from which it originated.”

“So Mithril Lid Pod was born from a water droplet. What were you born from, Challe?”

Challe just glanced over at Anne and didn’t answer.

Mithril replied instead.

“Judging from his appearance, I’d say that guy came from a piece of obsidian. Stone fairies have the power to make sharp objects. Since I was born from a water droplet, I can control water. That’s my power.”

“Control water?! That’s incredible! Show me!”

“Sure!”

Mithril cupped both hands in front of his chest.

He stared hard into his little palms, and water bubbled up to fill the hollow.

Mithril formed the water into a ball just like he was working a piece of clay, and he tossed it gently up into the air. It burst when it hit the back of Anne’s hand. It was only a small splash, but she could feel the coolness of the lake water.

“Amazing! If you can control water, then if we’re ever caught in a flash flood, you can change the course of the water, right?!”

“Don’t talk about such dreadful things. Who could possibly do that?”

“So what can you do?”

“I just showed you!”

“Huh…… That’s all?”

“Yes, but…what? Got something to say?”

Anne’s shoulders drooped in disappointment. It seemed like Mithril’s powers didn’t amount to much.

“You’ll be useful if we ever need to give water to a baby bird,” Challe remarked, his voice thick with sarcasm.

“Grr, shut up, you!! What does that even mean? Are you making fun of me? I won’t let you talk to me like that! And while I’m at it, Challe Fenn Challe, you ought to treat Anne better, too! You’re so rude!”

“You’re ruder than I am,” Challe retorted coolly.

“What’s rude about me?”

“Everything.”

“What did you say?!”

Giving the two quarreling fairies a sidelong look, Anne declared, “It’s all right, there’s no need to fight about it. You’re both equally rude.”

Anne steadily scooched away from them.

If they managed to make it to the way station where Anne had decided they would spend the fourth night of their journey that evening, they would have traveled four hundred karons down the Bloody Highway. They would be one-third of the way to their destination.

The sun gradually sank in the sky, painting the edges of the distant mountains a bright orange.

Anne was wondering whether they might reach the next way station without issue when the rays of sunlight, which had been shining on the back of the wagon as if pushing it onward, suddenly grew dim.

Challe looked up at the sky and frowned. Mithril looked up as well, following Challe’s lead, and his whole expression changed.

“Hey, Challe Fenn Challe. That’s…”

Anne tilted her head quizzically when she heard Mithril’s serious tone.

“What? What’s wrong?”

That same moment, Jonas pulled his wagon up alongside Anne’s so that his driver’s seat was even with hers.

“Hey, Anne. Anne! Look up.”

When she saw Jonas’s frightened expression, Anne finally realized that something strange was going on.

Following Jonas’s finger, she looked high up into the sky.

Anne was startled. The heavens were black.

She had assumed it had gotten cloudy, that the light from the sun had just been obstructed.

But it wasn’t clouds that had blocked the light.

It was a flock of wasteland crows, several hundred strong. The huge, black birds had gathered and been flying behind them, following them without uttering a single cry.

“This is…an attack…”

Anne had heard rumors about the wasteland crows.

The crows are scavengers that usually feed on carrion. But whenever there isn’t enough to feed them, they swarm and descend on living things, killing them for food.

It is said that when they strike, their target is beyond hope.

Using their sharp beaks, they first aim for the eyes of their prey. The crows pin their victims down, then tear off pieces of flesh. Hiding inside a wagon is pointless. The crows are intelligent. They patiently cling to the boards of the roof of the cargo hold and peck holes in them until they break through.

Anne trembled in fear at the sight of the flock of pitch-black birds filling the sky.

She knew that if they were attacked, they were as good as dead. Anne and her group couldn’t repel them.

Anne looked over at Challe. This time, it was absolutely necessary to order him to act. Her life and everyone else’s were in danger. She had to do it. If you don’t want your wing destroyed, protect us from the wasteland crows. But—

“Challe, please.”

Anne said it without thinking. Challe’s eyes flashed when he heard the word please. Without him saying a thing, Anne felt as if he had scolded her: Are you still trying to pretend we’re friends?

She weathered the rebuke and steadied herself.

“Challe. I command you. Protect us from the wasteland crows. I’ve got your wing in my hand. You know what that means, right?”

She issued the order, but it didn’t feel right.

Truthfully, Anne did not want to do anything cruel like crush Challe’s wing. But if the warrior fairy saw through her act, he might not follow her orders.

Sure enough, Challe narrowed his eyes in a look of amusement.

Anne didn’t know what she would do if he refused. There would likely be nothing for it except to remove the wing from where she kept it concealed near her chest and act like she was going to tear it up.

But Challe nodded. He then ordered, “Park the wagons.”

With those few words, he jumped down from the driver’s seat. In a panic, Anne pulled her wagon to a stop and looked back at him. As the sword made from condensed light appeared in his hand, he said bluntly over his shoulder, “Hide yourselves in the cargo hold.”

He obeyed me? Why?

The crows began their descent toward the now-stationary group.

“Anne!”

Jonas stopped his carriage as well and looked up at the sky with a pale face.

“Jonas, get in your cargo hold! Hurry!”

Hearing that, Jonas quickly took refuge.

“This is it! My chance to repay you! I will also help drive away the birds!”

Mithril rubbed his hands together and stood, rolling up his sleeves with surprising determination.

Anne went pale, too.

“No way, nuh-uh! Not on your life! Come here!”

“Whaddaya mean, ‘no way’?! Don’t complain about me paying back a favor… Ahhh!”

Anne grabbed the grumbling Mithril by the collar, jumped down from the driver’s seat, and leaped into the back of her wagon.

“Don’t go out there. If you die trying to repay me, then there was no point in saving you.”

Anne sat on the floor of the cargo hold, embracing Mithril tightly.

“But I… My debt… Repay…”

Mithril’s voice trailed off as Anne hugged him, and his cheeks gradually reddened. At last, he was quiet.

Anne listened to the noises happening outside.

The crows were silent before, but now they were cawing in unison, like a battle cry.

Anne instinctively covered her ears with both hands as she was assailed by a storm of sound crashing down on her from above.

With great terrible thumps, the crows hurled themselves at the wagon, which rattled and shook.

It was all Anne could do to stifle her screams.

Protect us…Challe!

The wagon swayed violently. The horse was panicking and struggling.

The cries of the wasteland crows seemed to envelop the whole vehicle.

Anne couldn’t keep her body from quaking. She curled up into a ball, paralyzed.

As she huddled there, Mithril’s tiny hand gently touched her face.

“Don’t be scared, Anne. We’ll be all right. Challe Fenn Challe comes from obsidian. He’s not like me. He can’t get hurt, and he can’t be broken. He’s exceptionally strong, even compared with other fairies.”

After quite a long time, the crow’s attacks on the wagon finally abated. The rasping caws diminished. Bit by bit, it grew quiet outside.

Perfect stillness returned. Anne and Mithril looked at each other.

“Is it over?”

“Um…I don’t know.”

Anne lifted her head, placed Mithril on the floor, and rose. She cautiously opened the door.

As soon as she did, something black dropped down right in front of her with a thud.

“Ah!!”

She fell on her backside and scooted away.

The carcass of a wasteland crow had slipped off the roof and landed on the wagon steps. Once she realized what it was, Anne looked up.

Through the open door, she could see a pitch-black highway.

The road was buried in crow corpses, blanketed in black feathers.

Standing atop the carpet of black feathers was Challe, his white cheeks covered in splashes of blood.

“…Challe.”

When she called his name, the warrior fairy turned to look at Anne.

His eyes were sharp, as they always were, yet somehow vacant. He truly looked like a blade honed from obsidian.

Challe swung the sword in his hand and made it vanish, then casually wiped the blood off his cheeks. He slowly walked over the black carpet of feathers toward Anne.

When he saw her sitting on the floor, he chuckled dismissively.

“Weak in the knees?”

“N-no, I’m not!”

Anne stubbornly denied it, trying to rise, but there was no strength in her legs, and she stumbled.

She nearly tumbled off the wagon, and Challe caught her in his arms.

The moment he did, a breeze fluttered Challe’s wing, which gently brushed against Anne’s cheek. The sensation of the wing, softer than silk, sent a sweet shiver up her spine.

Anne looked up and saw black eyes looking back at her. Without meaning to, she gazed into them deeply.

The darkness she found there seemed like it could swallow her. How beautiful he is, she thought again. The color and luster of those eyes were enough to make her melt under their gaze.

“What is it, scarecrow? Hoping for something more?”

Challe whispered the mean-spirited question in a sensual voice, and Anne immediately lost her cool.

“Get real!!”

In a panic, she pushed herself away from him and turned her back.

“Anyway, th-thank you for saving us.”

Challe thought it best if she didn’t realize that she was blushing.

“There are so many. If they had attacked us, we definitely would have been dead meat.”

Picking up the hem of her dress to step over the corpses of the wasteland crows, Anne made her way to her driver’s seat. Jonas also got down from his wagon’s cargo hold and walked next to Anne.

“He really saved us, huh? Anne, thank goodness you have Challe under your control.”

Anne looked back at Challe with a troubled expression on her face.

“Uh…yeah, I guess so.”

Anne started walking again, and Challe smiled wryly as he watched her go.

Anne had tried her very best to act tough so she could make Challe follow her orders.

However, her commands carried none of the cruelty of a true master. It was clear to Challe that, although she might threaten to crush his wing, she was incapable of carrying out that threat.

Even so, Challe had protected Anne and the others. He didn’t do it because he was following orders. If Anne had been pecked to death by the crows, his wing, which was in her possession, would also have been in danger.

That was the only reason he had defended Anne.

The girl had to know how tenuous her control over him was and that he saw right through her bravado. She also suspected that it was not her command that had driven Challe to action.

It seemed like her intuition in that regard was good.

You’re holding my wing. Pull yourself together, scarecrow.

Anne was less of a master, and more like a burden. She was holding on to his wing and wouldn’t let it go, so he couldn’t treat her roughly. Neither could he leave her side.

From Challe’s perspective, it was like he was walking around with a living treasure box that had lost its key and couldn’t be opened.

Why is such a hopeless girl traveling all by herself?

He found it quite curious indeed.

Anne comforted the frightened horse and kept her hand on the bit to guide it slowly through the carcasses of the wasteland crows. The number of bodies was immense. Although she knew that if Challe hadn’t killed them, she and her party would have been in mortal danger, actually feeling how many lives had been extinguished underfoot put Anne in a somber mood.

Some of those crows probably left chicks behind in their nests…

But assuming that such violence was necessary for Anne to survive her journey, she would have to find some way to reconcile her feelings toward similar incidents moving forward.

Emma had always shielded Anne’s eyes and protected her from bad and scary things, but she wasn’t around anymore.

It wasn’t long before the horse regained its composure, and the wagon was able to resume its normal pace.

Anne was finally able to settle back in the driver’s seat.

However, she looked up and frowned.

“This is bad.”

The sun had sunk halfway behind the mountains. The eastern sky was already beginning to turn a dark indigo.

They had lost a lot of time fending off the wasteland crows.

As things stood, it would be difficult for them to make it to a way station before the sun set completely.

“It’s just one thing after another.”

“What will you do? Spend the night in the wagons?” Challe asked.

Sitting next to Anne, Challe seemed to have realized the dilemma already.

“If it comes to that, I’ll have to ask you to stay up and keep watch, and I can’t put that burden on you after you just drove away the wasteland crows for us…”

“Leave it to me! I’ll take the night watch! This time, it’s my chance to shine!” Mithril chimed in from between Anne and Challe, raising his hands enthusiastically in the air.

She smiled wryly.

“If there’s nothing more we can do, I’ll take you up on that, but let’s hold off for the moment.”

Anne extracted a map from the bottom of the cargo hold and traced her finger along the highway drawn on it.

The way station where she had planned to spend the fourth night was still quite a trek away. Much closer than the way station, though, just a little farther ahead from where Anne and her party were at the moment, something else was marked on the map.

It was labeled Doctor’s Inn.

Jonas pulled his wagon up alongside Anne’s and peered at the horizon uneasily.

“Anne, it’s going to be dark soon. I don’t suppose there’s anything we can do but run for the way station?”

“The wild beasts will come out as soon as the sun goes down. It’s dangerous to travel after dark. We’ve got to take refuge somewhere safe before that happens. If we go a little farther, there’s a Doctor’s Inn. Let’s try to stay there. If we make it and find that it’s closed, well, at least we tried. It’s that, accept the risks and try to make a run for the way station, or park the wagons by the side of the road and spend the night in the cargo holds. Which would you prefer?”

Anne quickly folded the map as she informed him of their options.

Jonas cocked his head. “What’s a Doctor’s Inn?”

“As the name suggests, it’s a house belonging to a doctor. Doctors who practice in remote areas offer lodgings for travelers. Even bandits need medical assistance sometimes, right? So they almost never attack these inns, and as a result, doctors’ houses are safe havens. But sometimes, a doctor might die or move away, and the house goes with them. It’s best not to really rely on them during a journey, but…we’ll have to hope it’s still there. Anyway, let’s hurry!”

Anne whipped the horse. To be expected, Jonas looked apprehensive and set his wagon in motion.

The pitiless sun was sinking before their eyes.

The dark sky emerging in the east filled Anne with fear.

Anne whipped the horse again, urging it to go faster. But Anne’s horse was old. She didn’t want to handle it too roughly.

Emma would have been able to get a precise read on the horse’s fatigue by listening to its breathing and make it run just at its limit. Anne wasn’t that skilled yet.

Her impatience grew stronger in the face of the approaching darkness.

“We need to go faster…but I guess there’s no way? What should we do? If Mama were here, she would do everything right,” she mumbled absently, staring straight ahead.

Challe glanced over at her.

“That mother of yours, where is she now?”

The question sent a shock of pain through Anne’s heart. She forced a smile in an attempt to hold the pain at bay.

Then she said, as cheerfully as possible, “I guess I never told you that Mama died.”

A small glimpse of surprise appeared on Challe’s otherwise emotionless face.

“My mother was a Silver Sugar Master. She died a few weeks ago. Mama and I traveled constantly, all around the country, so I don’t really have a place to call home. And I don’t have any relatives, aside from Mama. After she died, I thought about what I should do with my life and decided to become a Silver Sugar Master, too. To achieve that, I need to enter the Royal Candy Fair in Lewiston and win. I want to become a Silver Sugar Master this year no matter what. Do you know why?”

Challe shrugged. Of course he didn’t.

Anne continued. To keep herself from thinking about unnecessary things, she kept her gaze locked on the approaching darkness, thinking only about hurrying forward as she spoke.

“In winter, we have Pure Soul Day, right? The holiday when we say good-bye to all the people who passed that year. When that holiday comes around, I want to make an amazing sugar candy with my own hands as a Silver Sugar Master and send Mama’s soul off to heaven. The best candy in the country, made by my own two hands! If I do that, Mama will be able to rest in peace, don’t you think? It’s a great idea, right?”

Anne rattled on, babbling in a cheerful voice without stopping. She kept talking because she felt that, if she stopped, something in her chest would burst.

The reason she wanted to make it in time for the Royal Candy Fair.

The reason she was so intent on becoming a Silver Sugar Master that year.

It was all to send her mother off to heaven with the best sugar candy, made with her own skills that had been recognized as the very best.

That was her sole motivation.

Even Anne knew it was sentimental.

But she was desperate to do it. It was the only thing she desired.

Anne felt like there was something within reach, something she could do for Emma. She feared that if she stopped moving toward that goal, the ground beneath her feet might crumble, bit by bit, sending her plummeting into bottomless darkness.

Challe stared intently at Anne, as if searching for something. Apparently born from obsidian, he had eyes that were certainly beautiful and strong like volcanic glass.

Anne refused to meet Challe’s gaze, afraid that those eyes of his would see straight through to her heart.

“If fairies are born from objects, that must mean you all come into this world alone, right? That might be for the best.”

Just for a moment, Anne’s urgency to hurry forward receded into the background. She almost thought she could hear the sound of a dry, rustling wind blowing through her chest.

“If you have a mother or a family, it’s so hard when they pass away. It feels like losing a piece of your heart. If you never have anyone to begin with, you never have to know how it feels to lose them,” Anne murmured.

Challe responded quietly, “Even though we’re born alone, that doesn’t mean we don’t know the pain of separation. Neither does it mean fairies can’t understand how it feels when someone important to you leaves.”

That was all Challe said before sinking back into silence.

Challe had feelings inside that were quite similar to Anne’s. His silence convinced her of that.

But that stillness of his was unbearable.

Anne feared that if she said any more, the emotions she had bottled up would overflow.

She was desperate to keep back that great, interminable loneliness. She was sure it dwelled within Challe as well. If she touched on it, her loneliness would immediately overflow and crush her.

Anne kept her eyes fixed forward, only forward.

So that means she’s got no mother?

Challe scrutinized Anne’s face as she stubbornly stared straight ahead. He thought he understood now. It was clear the girl had been unconsciously seeking a friend to ease the pain of her loneliness.

She’s lonesome. This skinny little fifteen-year-old girl is all alone. She’s basically helpless. How deep her isolation must be.

An overwhelming loneliness that permeated the body like an abyss. Challe was familiar with the feeling.

He knew Anne probably expected it to vanish once she entered the Royal Candy Fair and became a Silver Sugar Master.

Of course, if she failed to achieve the goal she’d set for herself, she might have a total breakdown.

Challe figured it would probably be the latter.

If those are the options, I hope she can do it.

He recalled the pain from when his wing had been torn off and everything that happened afterward.

He remembered the separation that was even more agonizing than the loss of his wing.

Liz…

Back then, Challe had done the same thing, running toward some barely attainable goal just to keep himself moving.

As long as he kept his eyes on the prize, he didn’t have to think or feel.

During that time, he hadn’t been particularly happy, but he hadn’t been unhappy, either.

If the alternative was a breakdown, he would rather let Anne chase her dream. Even if she was a human, he felt he understood what she was going through.

Mithril was also staring at Anne quietly, looking worried.

Just then, Anne’s tense face suddenly brightened.

“Ah! Look—lights!”

The whole sky was steeped in indigo. Off to the right side of the dark highway ahead, tucked into the foothills of the mountains, a compact house appeared on the horizon, surrounded by a high stone wall. It was the Doctor’s Inn.

The wall, built of stones of uneven shapes and sizes, had only a single gate with a pair of thick wooden double doors.

Beyond the gate, inside the safety of the stone barrier, they could see a building with a wooden roof. Warm light shone out through the windows.

The heavy doors of the gate were just starting to close.

“Wait!” Anne shouted.