Welcome to Stille
Regarding public affection, well. I had it all figured out.
'After all, it's not like I'm in a relationship with Ryly.'
So, she had this strange logic that it wasn't embarrassing.
Anyway, the commotion in the Holy City had settled down.
The choir members gathered in the square were chanting in unison again, following the conductor's lead.
Sugar and Ryly, who hadn't seen each other in a while, and Ian stood around them, lowering their voices and chatting.
"How did you two manage to meet so quickly..."
Ian narrowed her eyes as she spoke, and Ryly subtly turned his gaze away. Sugar stood beside him, secretly burying her nose in Ryly's arm.
Sniffing. What perfume is this? She was thinking such things calmly.
"... It's fine... Anyway, it's good that you came to the Holy City, Ryly. You've grown so much. I'm glad you look healthy."
"... I hope you've been well too, Lady Ian."
Ryly, since Ian was female and he knew that while he was away from the Holy City, Sugar had been taken care of by her, his guard was somewhat relaxed. How often Ian's stories appeared in the letters Sugar sent.
"I'm fine too. The problem is that it was Sugar. I don't know how upset she was that you didn't come."
"Lady Ian!"
Ryly glanced at Sugar at the shout.
"Your lips are sticking out like that. Always looking up at the distant sky."
"I didn't do that."
"Even when I was quietly there, muttering desperately 'Ryly...' "
"I didn't! Can I fake it as the Son of Heaven?"
Because Ian had gone through so much because of Sugar, she was happily chattering at this moment.
Sugar, who didn't want to be the only one burdened by that, looked around and pulled Cedric along. They had met every Advent, and talking about Ryly had made them somewhat close.
"What is this? Young people shouldn't be playing around..."
"Uncle. How was Ryly? When you lived outside, did you miss me?"
?
Ryly, who had been a bit proud thanks to Ian's 'Ryly was lonely without me', hurriedly looked back at Cedric.
"Ah, of course. What are you talking about? The first thing that comes to mind, let me see... Ah, right. One day, I opened the door to my room. Suddenly, she buried her nose in the letter you sent—"
Ryly put his hand in his jacket pocket.
"Look at this guy. He's trying to point his cane at his teacher because he's embarrassed. This is a scandal."
"I wasn't trying to point at my teacher. I didn't say I would forget about it, did I?"
"Sorry. I guess I forgot I said I'd forget."
As they were talking, Sugar, who had sneaked in between them, pouted.
"Hee... What did Ryly do...?"
This is crossing the line, right? Right? She narrowed her eyes, smiled faintly, and asked playfully.
"The letter you sent."
"The letter I sent?"
"Your nose."
"Your nose?"
Ryly immediately pulled out his cane and pointed it at Sugar, casting 'Deaf Curse' on her. The incantation was almost non-existent in speed.
Then, the cursed Sugar shouted 'Ah! I can't hear!' and waved around, so Ryly quickly covered her mouth.
Then, Sugar responded by licking his hand, so Ryly hurriedly removed his hand and stretched out her soft cheek.
"Even though they've grown up..."
Cedric shook his head. Ian, who had lit the spark of a fight, just scratched her head with an embarrassed smile.
"Ready! Gather over here!"
At that moment, the choir leader called, which was fortunate.
Then, the teleportation.
"Coordinate connection complete... Sending escort first. To your seats."
It seemed like he called for escort, but no one appeared.
Just, mist was hazy around. The cold air made Sugar shiver. But then, the magic circle flashed, and the mist lifted instantly.
Was that the escort? Sugar's mouth opened in surprise at the unexpected sight, and the choir leader called the two.
"Next is Sugar and Ryly. The Son of Heaven is last."
What kind of thing is this.
Since the most important thing was right in front of her, with a fluttering heart, she stepped onto the magic circle. Ryly followed behind. The curse from earlier had already been lifted.
Sugar waved to Ian, who was the slowest to depart, and to Ione and Cedric who stayed in the Holy City, and to Nova who was giving a thumbs up from far away.
Meanwhile, Cedric and Ryly exchanged glances and nodded.
"If there's anything unusual, contact me."
"I'll look into it as well."
What conversation was that? Just as Sugar turned her head slightly, the transmission started.
"..."
Whoa.
Her vision was spinning. Her head was dizzy.
The feeling of riding a roller coaster. It lasted for a few seconds, then stopped abruptly.
And when she opened her eyes, wow.
The game from her memories had come to life in reality.
"Welcome to Stille."
Unlike the Holy City, the buildings were dark-colored. They were large, so the entire visible area was buildings. The scale was the same.
Sharp towers rose here and there, and in the center stood a clock tower tall.
They could fly in the sky or walk on the ground. The ones who looked like students and the ones who looked like professors. All of them were mages.
Far in the sky above those buildings, an island was floating. The Floating Island. The city of mages.
Below it, the magic school Stille. The best magic training ground.
Sugar took a deep breath and exhaled.
The air outside the Holy City after many years.
The magic power in the air that was free to move was felt. Different from the Holy City, which felt stuffy due to Ione's influence.
The wind flowing between her fingers, the air coming into her lungs through her breath, the feeling of freedom in all the magic power mixed in the entire area.
Because there were many mages, the magic power was thick, and Sugar felt more energetic than ever.
Welcome.
She felt as if someone was addressing her.
Her heart swelled with all this, the things she was seeing, hearing, and feeling right in front of her eyes.
"Ryly..."
"Yeah."
"We... came."
"Yeah."
"To Stille."
That young day.
The day she first talked about Stille in the old orphanage, in the dusty attic room.
"If I say I'm going, will you come with me?"
"No way. I'm going, and you're following me."
"Then, it's decided?"
Though it was like yesterday, when counted, it was an incredibly distant day.
The two adults who had grown up vaguely recalled that day and quietly looked up at the school.
So many things had happened until now.
Meeting you. Learning magic. Building bonds. Escaping from the church. Going to the Holy City.
Walking their own paths, reuniting.
"..."
In some world, you who hated and envied the world, what thoughts would you have and where would you be looking at the starting point of the story.
Would you be having similar thoughts?
Sugar rolled her eyes and looked at Ryly's hand.
Big. Much bigger than Sugar's hand.
Recognizing it anew, the feeling was strange. Remembering the earlier incident made her hesitate unnecessarily.
She wanted to hold hands. Hmm. Can I hold it? When she was little, she just held it freely.
While glancing like that, Ryly, who noticed the gaze, first held Sugar's hand.
Startled. Sugar stiffened her body, then responded to it. When she wiggled her fingers, Ryly loosened his grip a bit, and then she locked her fingers between them.
Ah, really big.
Even though they locked fingers, it felt like almost being covered by Ryly. But since it was tightly held, it was warm and good.
From now on, I have to talk slowly. Because I couldn't do it properly earlier due to lack of time.
Share the things that happened in between. Hug again saying thanks.
Whoa.
"What is your name?"
Surprise!
While she was immersed in emotion, someone suddenly popped out. A woman with short hair and glasses with round metal frames. Her calm voice in a suit was impressive.
Ah. Now that I think about it, right after arriving, I received a welcome greeting, and it was probably this person.
"Hello. I'm Sugar."
"I'm Ryly."
"We came from the Holy City."
Both answered, and the woman swept the paper in her hand.
"Yes, confirmed. I'm Mel, the secretary of the Stille president. It seems the Son of Heaven will be coming later."
"Yes. Now, he's probably coming soon..."
Since the two had entered quite a while ago. Now it was Ian's turn. Sugar stared fixedly at the magic circle.
Then, at that moment, Ian popped out from the magic circle.
"Waaaaaaaah...!"
As soon as she came out, her purple eyes seemed to pop out.
She shouted 'Waaaaah-' at the first time tasting the outside world, and seeing Sugar and Ryly holding hands as if it's natural, she shouted 'As expected, it's still indecent here!'
At that time.
"The descendant of the great one. Welcome to Stille. I'm Mel, the secretary of the Stille president."
Ian froze due to the suddenly appearing Mel. Actually, she had been standing behind, but Ian was so excited that she couldn't notice.
A person from outside the Holy City. A person from Stille. In front of such a person, she was shouting and acting wildly.
Embarrassed Ian's cheeks flushed as she closed her mouth.
"I'll guide you right away. Please understand that the president is unable to move, so I came instead."
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that... Since I came as a passing student, please treat me as such."
Even in the midst of that, calmly replying was excellent. Not even passing the practical exam yet, but already the attitude of a learner rather than 'Son of Heaven'.
Originally, the Stille side had gathered professors to greet the Son of Heaven, but Ian had strongly refused, they said. Treat her thoroughly as a student. Please don't do that kind of thing.
Sugar, watching that, murmured with emotion.
"She was so young, yet she's so mature..."
"You're two years older than me. Snap out of it."
"Ryly. My mental age is the highest among the three of us."
At the dumbfounded answer, Ryly laughed. It was appropriate to say nonsense too.
But his hand was tightly holding.
To Sugar, it felt really familiar, but when she looked sideways, there was Ryly's arm. Not the face, the arm. To look at the face, she had to look up.
She's tall, her hands are big. Different from when she was little.
Hmm. Sugar put air in her cheek and made a strange sound.
Then, she turned her head to face forward.
"Secretary Mel. Where are we going now?"
"I'll guide you to the dormitory. After that, please spend your time freely. The practical exam will be held for three days in two days."
"When is the final passing announcement?"
"It will be announced within a week."
"Ah. Much faster than the written exam."
"Yes. However, the two of you following behind. Do you know about the attendance and demerit system of Stille?"
"Yes?"
Suddenly? After giving exam schedule, suddenly the attendance and demerit system.
Of course she knew. It was a system set in the original work.
She had heard that by clearing all subquests and filling the shop with achievements, one achievement could be achieved.
It wasn't a game with guaranteed freedom, so there was no gimmick to get demerits. It was a turn-based RPG where you clear quests following the story and defeat monsters.
Moreover, Sugar didn't dig deep into the game when playing, so she learned the achievement content by roaming the community.
But why is this story suddenly being told?
"Public indecency is 15 demerits."
Eh.
"If demerits exceed a certain amount, they will be referred to the Discipline Committee according to regulations. Please guide with the heart of praying for final passing."
'You're not students now, so it's okay, but when you pass finally, behave well.'
That must be it.
Sugar tried to reply but closed her mouth. Because of public indecency, the thing that happened earlier with Ryly, what she did, popped into her mind.
Thinking about it now, it wasn't something to do with a clear mind.
Wha, wha, what pervert. What is 'Can I touch it?' What is 'Can I touch it?'
I want to hide under the blanket. I want to kick wildly. And sorry to Ryly who covered her eyes, and want to erase the memory in my head.
Of course, Mel didn't know what happened between the two. She just guessed the relationship by seeing them holding hands nicely and said it. For Sugar, locking fingers didn't seem like public indecency.
While Sugar was suffering from her black history, Ryly sighed. After hearing about the attendance and demerit system, the future hardships were clearly visible in his breath.
Ian, in front of her, nodded with a proud expression saying 'This is Stille.'
She had stuffed a lewd romance novel in her bag herself. Really.