Candy and Forgotten Dreams
Nothing for me to do.
The fact that I could even think that meant the magic department tour was going smoothly. Most of the cadets were top students to begin with, and Seong Sua's skill was so outstanding that there was nothing left for me to assist with. Even Ye-riel, standing off to the side, had been reduced to little more than scenery.
And so the two of us just… stood there.
"…"
"…"
A new-hire interview wouldn't have been this nerve-wracking. Ye-riel wasn't exactly glaring at me, but the way she kept staring blankly in my direction was more than a little oppressive.
If she were an actual kid, I could just bribe her with chocolate…
Special note: She is recorded as having a fondness for fruit candy.
How the hell did you dig up a special note like that? Whatever — not important. Just make me some candy for now.
I had my doubts about the information Zodiac had provided, but I still pulled the freshly generated candy from my pocket and held it out so Ye-riel could see it.
"Lady Ye-riel. Do you… happen to like candy?"
"…Yes."
Oh. A reaction.
Her wary gaze flicked from me to the candy, then back to me, then back to the candy — an infinite loop of suspicion and temptation.
Oh… that's adorable.
I would have liked to watch a little longer, but needling a superior until she got annoyed would only hurt me. I edged my open palm closer until the candy was within easy reach of her fingers.
"Would you like one, if you don't mind?"
"…"
Ye-riel stared blankly for a moment, then carefully lifted the candy with her tiny fingers, taking care not to touch my skin.
"…Thank you."
"I'm glad."
I really was. A single piece of candy wasn't going to dissolve her wariness, but learning what she liked was a solid gain.
She chewed the candy slowly, savoring it, then looked up at me again.
"…Do you have more?"
"…"
"Do you have more?"
"…Yes."
I pulled another candy — about the size of a fingertip — from my pocket and handed it over. At this rate she was going to start thinking I was some kind of cat-robot with an infinite candy pouch.
Ye-riel worked the candy around in her mouth, tasting it thoroughly, swallowed, and asked again.
"Do you have more?"
"That was the last one."
This was the right place to stop. It wasn't that I was worried about the Enel cost — if candy kept materializing out of nowhere, she'd start getting the wrong kind of suspicious.
Ye-riel mixed about one percent of disappointment into her expression and opened her mouth.
"…I see. Still, bringing candy into a dungeon — aren't you taking this a little lightly?"
…She'd taken every piece I offered and still had the nerve to say that.
"When I got caught in a dungeon gimmick once and was separated from my teammates, I decided it was smart to keep small things like this on hand as spares."
"…Candy?"
"What I pack depends on the situation."
I went on to explain why I'd brought candy today in particular.
"Today I packed candy to help maintain focus, since Instructor Seong Sua and Lady Ye-riel would both be present."
"Hmm… the type who prioritizes preparation…"
Ye-riel closed her eyes and began evaluating me.
I spent most of the remaining time with her, and before I knew it, it was time to head back to the Ivory Tower.
The cadets and security personnel stumbled out of the dungeon gasping for air. Seong Sua, Ye-riel, and I, on the other hand, looked completely unbothered. Two extremes of the same experience.
"Everyone's worn out from the first day, right? Come on — let's head back and rest."
"Yes…"
The cadets were reeling from the miasma, but they still grinned like office workers clocking out and made for the vehicles.
"Lady Ye-riel, thank you for your hard work."
"Hm? I didn't do anything."
"Just having you nearby was reassuring."
Ye-riel snorted at Seong Sua's words, then answered demurely.
"Then let's go back."
"Yes. In that case, Instructor Sung Suho and I will ride with the cadets…"
The moment Seong Sua gestured for me to come along, Ye-riel headed for the cadets' vehicle and spoke over her shoulder.
"I'll handle the cadets. You two take a separate car."
"Uh… Lady Ye-riel, you don't have to trouble yourself with something so—"
"Trouble? This is exactly when you bond with the kids a little. That way I can at least claim I didn't just sit around doing nothing."
Ye-riel climbed into the cadets' vehicle alone, shut the door, and the car pulled away.
Which left Seong Sua and me…
"Well then… shall we go too?"
"Yes."
We had a quiet ride to ourselves.
A little girl clung tightly to the hand of a woman in a nun's habit and asked,
"Sister. What kind of people were my mom and dad?"
"…They were extraordinary people. The reason we can live such safe lives is because of them."
The child smiled at the nun's words — then her face crumpled almost at once.
"I just… wish Mom and Dad hadn't sacrificed themselves. I wish they'd stayed with me."
"…"
The nun gently took both of the girl's hands, knelt to meet her eyes, and spoke.
"That feeling isn't wrong. Anyone is happiest when the people they love are right beside them…"
"…"
"But those two didn't sacrifice themselves simply to save one world."
"…?"
The girl looked up at the nun, tears welling, head tilted in confusion. The nun smiled and squeezed her small hands.
"They sacrificed themselves to save the world you live in."
"Ah…"
"More than any heroic desire to save the world, they wanted to protect the world their beloved child would grow up in."
The tears finally spilled over. The girl spoke as if making a vow.
"I…"
"…?"
"I want to become a hero who can protect my family — and the world that family lives in!"
Looking at the child, the nun smiled.
"Yes. If it's you, I'm certain you can. Sua."
And so Seong Sua's childhood passed.
She left the orphanage with quiet diligence and received special admission privileges to the Hero Academy. At first, it was true that her parents' sacrifice had opened the door — but after that, her relentless effort earned her recognition on her own merits.
And then she met Cho Kang-hyun.
The Hero Academy strictly forbade romantic relationships among cadets, but no rule could stop Seong Sua's admiration. That admiration finally reached him, and the two of them gradually built a bond of affection.
In the middle of that bond, the man graduated — and the moment he did, he confessed to her. It wasn't a casual invitation to date. It was a proposal to become partners who would carry everything together.
She had been so happy.
If it's this man… he won't leave me behind the way they did.
Her fierce admiration for him included his strength as a hero. Strength meant the power to protect a family. Seong Sua believed that completely.
But that belief began to erode, crumbling like a weathered stone wall into dust that scattered on the wind.
Am I… that worthless?
At some point, the expressions, the tone, the gestures that had once been filled with affection turned into indifference. No emotion remained in his face or his voice. He made no effort to do anything with her at all.
Seong Sua blamed herself for everything. That was the kind of person she was. She treated it as a trial laid upon her.
If I just endure… if I hold on until the wedding, he'll come back to the way he was.
Happiness, she believed, rewards those who have already lost it with something even greater.
But the one who gave her that greater happiness was, ironically, not Cho Kang-hyun.
At some point Seong Sua found herself lying in bed, holding a child in her arms. It had started as a half-accidental attempt to get closer through VR — but before she knew it, that presence had come to occupy a vast place in her heart.
Whether the child was real didn't matter. The feeling of having a family, even a false one, began to addict her. She tried to stop. Control no longer worked.
Looking at the young Sung Suho sleeping in her arms, she whispered,
"I want to stay like this forever…"
"…"
"…Hm?"
Seong Sua opened her eyes and looked around. Even through the haze, she immediately understood her situation.
Th-this is…
She was lying with the car seat fully reclined. Right beside her, Sung Suho was reclined the same way. If they had simply been lying side by side, it wouldn't have been a problem. The problem was that they were embracing.
More precisely, Sung Suho was holding her, and she was nestled in his arms. On the seats tilted nearly horizontal like a bed, Seong Sua was using his arm as a pillow, one of her own arms draped across him.
…Did I fall asleep the moment I got in the car?
Her memory held nothing after climbing into the vehicle. Judging by the state of things, she must have dozed off immediately, and Sung Suho had reclined the seats and let her sleep.
She finished assembling the puzzle and gave a bitter little smile.
…What am I doing, leaving my fiancé behind like this?
It wasn't as if she felt no guilt over this kind of behavior. Every time she played with the young Sung Suho inside VR, a whisper of guilt rose from somewhere inside her, trying to hold her back.
But the happiness that surged up without warning was stronger than the guilt, and it began to swallow her whole.
A man who tried to fill every empty place she had. In VR he came to her like a child; in reality he had even saved her in a moment of danger. Even if they weren't lovers, the greedy wish to stay by this man's side kept quietly blooming.
Will this man stay by my side… for good?
Seong Sua hid that anxious thought away and let her eyes drift shut again.
I entered the room I'd been assigned and sat on the edge of the bed.
Not bad so far.
The moment we got in the car, I'd put Seong Sua to sleep, reclined her seat, and cast Dream Intrusion. I couldn't dig up every detail of her past, but I got a solid outline of the life she'd lived.
If she'd been alone from the start, she might have endured. But Cho Kang-hyun had stepped in midway and thrown her into confusion — and, ironically, that was exactly what had let me slip into the gap between them.
Once we arrived at the Ivory Tower, Seong Sua kept apologizing over and over. I was the one who ended up embarrassed.
Would be nice if we could ride alone together again tomorrow…
Lowering Ye-riel's guard again tomorrow, the same way as today, will likely be important.
What if I lower it too far and get side effects?
What if she starts trailing after me, clinging and cooing?
…The subject is not an actual child.
But she acts like one.
Even the way she ate the candy was pure kid. There are people who don't want children of their own, but almost nobody hates looking at them — and watching Ye-riel, even someone like me who doesn't particularly like kids kept thinking, I wouldn't mind a daughter like that. Of course, the second my sister's kid came to mind, that thought vanished on the spot…
Well… I saw a convenience store in the Ivory Tower. I should stop by.
…? Do you need something?
Yeah. Gonna stock up on candy.
Handing over something I'd actually bought would draw less suspicion than conjuring it out of thin air.
I headed for the convenience store — and ran into someone inside.
Seo Jieun was standing quietly by a shelf, staring fixedly at the display.
"Oh? Cadet Seo Jieun?"
"…Hello."
She flinched at the sight of me, gave a perfunctory bow, and walked straight out of the store.
She really must hate me…
I approached the shelf she'd been staring at, picked up a few items, and muttered,
…A lot of people like candy, huh.
You don't care much for candy yourself?
Nah. I'm a chocolate guy.
I bought roughly as many candies as I'd given Ye-riel that day, then headed back to my room.