Sisilnyang and Edppi's Adventure (2)
“Sisilia, come on out already!”
“Coming right now!”
“I've heard that ten times already!”
Edward clicked his tongue, arms crossed as he leaned against the front gate. He let out a deep sigh.
“Sir Chiron, how long must I put up with this child-rearing nonsense?”
Edward had turned down Sisilia's date invitation. Yet here he was, waiting for her all the same. It couldn't be helped—Sisilia had started sniffling right there on the spot after his refusal. He knew it was fake, but her tears carried more power than that. In the end, he'd sacrificed his rare day off.
“S-sorry. Did I keep you waiting long?”
“What the hell were you doing that you made me wait two hours...”
Edward started to scold her but trailed off. Sisilia wasn't in her usual uniform. She wore a baggy knit sweater and a pleated checkered skirt that came down to mid-thigh. She'd added a muffler from Chiron for extra charm. And today, of all days—she'd gone with black stockings.
'Heh, I sank 500 gold into perfecting those.' Crafted from the blood and sweat of artisans and mages alike.
Sisilia struck a proud gal pose. “Cute, right?”
“...”
Edward's gaze drifted downward. After a moment's silence, he scooped her up under his arm and headed back inside.
“Put me down!” Sisilia squirmed belatedly.
“That skirt's too short. Your uniform is the absolute limit of my patience.”
Only after getting Edward's approval on her outfit could Sisilia finally step outside.
**
“Much better.”
Sisilia had been bundled into a thick fur coat. The oversized muffler made her look like a fluffy bunny, and her expression was one of utter dejection.
'My cute-sexy concept is ruined.'
Resigned, she pinned a white bunny hairpin into her hair from her pocket and set off with wide, sparkling eyes.
“Watch your step! The bridges can be slippery.”
Schwarzfeder Territory's main export was wheat, turning the whole world into golden fields. The swaying crops were a sight to behold in themselves. The kids darting around them were adorable too.
“Some damage after all.”
“They said all the wheat in the demon's path withered. Demons carry a harmful aura, after all.”
“It'll be a bad harvest.”
“Won't Serephina fix it somehow?”
“Restoring ruined soil is the best she can do. Wheat won't grow overnight. But most people need it right now.”
Edward glanced at Sisilia, suddenly curious about her take. But she was beaming at the healthy, swaying fields—ignoring the blackened, dead swathes entirely. Objectively, the dead wheat outnumbered the living by far.
He chuckled softly to himself.
'Stay like that. Focus on the good, ignore the bad. It suits you.'
But the world wasn't so forgiving. At the edge of the fields stood a large warehouse, where locals were arguing heatedly.
“Why not, damn it?!”
“The demon ruined this harvest out of nowhere!”
“Cut our taxes at least!”
“We're starving here!”
The warehouse brimmed with wheat—reserves for famine. Landless farmers and tenants were pleading for shares to tide them over.
“I said no! If we give to you lot, how do we prepare for the bad year?”
“Sharing a bit of that mountain of grain isn't too much to ask, is it? You gonna tell the lord?!”
“Our lord's a soft-hearted fool—he'd say give it all away! But then the territory crumbles. Go home! We'll release reserves if famine hits—you won't starve.”
“You think we haven't seen famine? Those reserves are way too thin!”
“P-please, sir. This hit right at harvest—we've got nothing to eat.”
As Sisilia stepped forward, Edward held her back. “Don't.”
“But they look really hungry. No food at all.”
“Handing out reserves risks the territory. A few weaklings starving is a necessary sacrifice.”
Edward was ice-cold. “They've seen famine before but didn't stockpile? That's on their foolishness. Taxes here are low—they had plenty of chances.”
Had the prepared ones scrimped just to be fools? No—for their sake, he couldn't justify sharing. The diligent deserved rewards: surviving famine intact. That was right.
“But some might be truly wronged. Do you know every story, Ed? Plenty can't save even if they want to.”
“Favor them, and others breed resentment. Bad for Schwarzfeder. A tiny territory like this crumbles from infighting.”
“So share it all. I'm rich.”
“Sisilia.”
But she marched to the warehouse anyway, distributing grain to the protesters and paying the keeper enough to soothe him.
“...With that much gold, we could share with the whole territory and still be fine. You sure?”
“Yup.”
Edward glared coldly at the returning Sisilia. “Unnecessary meddling.”
“It wasn't.”
“If they can't handle this crisis, they deserve to fail. And...”
He nodded toward a plump woman grinning greedily. “Look at her neck. Necklace too fine for this backwater. She's not starving.”
His tone chilled. “Either way, they're dead weight. Better they starve now—for the territory's future.”
“But some cried happy tears. They must've been hit hard.”
“Maybe a few. To me, it's mostly greedy pigs and lazy opportunists.”
“Still, saving even a few innocents makes it worth it, right?”
Frustrated, Edward prepped a hundred lectures. “Listen. The weak must fall. Only then do they strive to grow strong.”
He turned to her for the sermon—
“...”
—but Sisilia was already gone. There she was, chatting with a kindly old grandma.
“Hello?”
“Eh? What's a cute young miss want?”
“Any good dessert spots around?”
Edward approached slowly, ready to say no such thing existed in this countryside. But—
“There's a killer dessert place, yeah.”
The grandma's eyes sharpened; she crossed her legs like a pro. Sisilia's lit up.
“Tell me!”
“One shilling, and sure.”
Sisilia slapped down a gold coin. “That's ten times over—better be ten times tastier.”
“Heh, deal.”
Edward's eyes narrowed to dots. Her logic defied reason: buying dessert tips from a random grandma mid-wheat-field chat.
**
The grandma's directions led to a forest. Sisilia plunged right in; Edward followed, pitying the kitten.
“Map says two hours ahead: the world's best desserts.”
“You got scammed, Sisilia. No bakery in the woods.”
“Gotta see to know.”
“...”
Edward got it now—why she fell for cons. Even absurd pitches got a “maybe” pass.
“Nothing at the end? Then what?”
“Then—” Sisilia turned, hands behind back, beaming innocently. “I'll plop down and cry.”
“...Yeah, she always cries after scams.”
Time to wise up, he thought. But he didn't stop her forest trek. No way such a shop existed, but...
“Heehee.”
Watching her delight in every new leaf and twig wasn't bad. Made the walk worthwhile.
'If she dates another guy? Kill him, whatever it takes.'
She was too naive, too gullible. Fine as a sister to him—but risky for others.
“Hand.”
“Hand!”
Edward smiled faintly, strolling the woods hand-in-hand. Two hours passed. Time to head back—
“Something up ahead. The wind feels different.”
It was real. A jaw-dropping dessert shop? No—a city. Fancier than Schwarzfeder, ancient by centuries. A ruined site, long fallen.
“...Unbelievable. This real?”
The boring hike ended in wonder. Edward blurred his eyes with aura.
“Fine, Sisilia. You just recouped every scam a hundredfold.”
Ruins like this? Priceless. Uncharted, unknown to Windsor Knights. Treasures? Relics? Likely.
“Let's check it. Sisilia, dangerous—stay clo—”
—Ed, help!
“...”
—It's dark and scary! Sob, boo-hoo.
Sisilia was “eaten” by a golem. Or rather, head stuck in a rock crevice that looked like one.
“...Use your blessing.”
—B-but that'll mess my hair!
'What now?' Edward seriously considered ditching her.