Clear Eyes
They took care of a late lunch in the restaurant district around Stille.
Afterward, Ian said she was going back to her room to rest and left. She hadn't let it show, but the strain of being outside for the first time had clearly worn her down.
"You two. Don't you dare forget what I told you."
She made sure to jab a finger at them as she laid down the law. She directed the warning more firmly at Ryly — who at least pretended to listen — than at the thoroughly untrustworthy Sugar, then whirled straight into her room.
Since they were walking her back anyway, Sugar and Ryly returned to the annex as well. Ryly had rushed over from the Holy City after wrapping up his business for the day; he deserved the rest. They could tour the school anytime.
And sure enough, unlike earlier, when they'd wandered in circles following Mel, this time they found their way just by glancing at the campus directory.
Which brought them to a chair at the dining room table.
"Ryly. Ryly."
"What."
Squeeze—
"Hey. What were you so busy with that you couldn't get in touch? What was that 'situation' of yours?"
They were alone now. Time to catch up on everything left unsaid.
Sugar asked it so sweetly.
"Just... something came up."
"Can't you tell me?"
"Mm."
"Hmm? Is it hard to talk about?"
"It's not that."
She didn't like the way he was dodging. Sugar pressed her cheek against his shoulder. It rasped softly against his dress shirt.
Then she looked up at him with round eyes.
"Don't tell me... you got a girlfriend out there?"
"...What?"
"You keep acting like it's so hard to say."
A girlfriend.
No matter how she turned it over, if there was something he didn't want to talk about, that had to be it.
Looking at his face, at that prickly-yet-kind personality of his — it had to be it.
It was one of the worries Sugar had carried the whole time she'd been in the Holy City. Not a worry! Definitely not.
If her Ryly — her Ryly, who'd grown up this well — had found a girl out there... how was she supposed to take that?
Her head insisted she ought to congratulate him with everything she had. Her heart refused to cooperate.
So this was... that. That thing. He might have run into some strange woman. He might have been taken in by one of those wicked gold-diggers people called flower snakes. The unpleasant feeling was born of concern, that was all.
And so, if he really had gotten a girlfriend, she would have to investigate thoroughly.
She was asking out of sisterly concern.
She was asking so she could find out what kind of woman had set her sights on her precious friend.
Those clear eyes of hers were sharp.
Of course, Ryly was losing his mind. The question itself he could let slide. A girlfriend? The idea that Sugar had the highest mental age of the three of them was already nonsense of the highest order, but fine, he'd let that go.
The problem was what Sugar was doing right now.
The dining room table. Of the several chairs set before it, only one was currently occupied.
That one had Ryly in it. So where, exactly, was Sugar sitting?
Soft—
"Hmm? You can tell me. Really."
Flesh that looked ready to burst from its wrapping of sheer fabric pressed down on him, warm and yielding. Every time she urged him on she shifted her weight, and the center of gravity rocked back and forth with her, making the sensation devastatingly real.
"You... just climbed up here like it was nothing and started asking questions. Why the hell are you sitting on me?"
She'd ignored a perfectly good chair and climbed onto his lap.
Ryly faced forward. Sugar sat sideways, looking off to his right, rubbing her plump, straight legs against his.
She smelled sweet. Now that she was perched on his lap, their eyes were nearly level, and that scent mixed directly into every breath he took.
"The chairs are cold, okay? I'm only wearing one layer of stockings, so if I suddenly touch something cold I jump."
"Then put more clothes on, you idiot. Or I gave you a cloak, didn't I? Sit on that."
"Why... I'm just sitting here. It's nice and warm."
"..."
"I'm not crossing a line, right? This isn't a joke. I'm serious. Anyway, never mind that. What was the situation? Did you get a girlfriend or not? Answer me."
Ryly sighed instead of answering.
"Hmm? Ryly. Your big sister wants to know."
And then she'd press him so plaintively.
Still going on about being his big sister. Ryly had far too much he wanted to say about that, and simply held it in.
"...Hey. Think about this logically. Would I have something like that? I left for training... what do you take me for?"
"But maybe you just happened to meet someone at the right moment... and sparks flew...?"
Ryly squeezed his eyes shut.
There was a girl sitting on his lap right now, rubbing her cheek against his chest. Why on earth would he go looking for anything else?
Did she have no self-awareness? Had living in the Holy City left her that clueless about the world? Had she hit her head?
No. She'd been like this since they were kids.
Hugging people like it was nothing. Sharing half-eaten candy. Splitting ice cream. Interlocking fingers, forehead kisses, even blowing into his ear.
Thinking about it now, she'd been completely unhinged. Just born that way.
Young Ryly, who'd endured all of that, deserved a medal.
Future Ryly, who would have to keep enduring it, deserved nothing but pity.
"Fine, never mind..."
Since Ryly kept denying it, Sugar decided to believe him and lowered herself to bury her face in his chest. Her soft thighs rubbed warmly against him as she moved. His gaze kept drifting to the skin whose color deepened or lightened depending on the angle.
He pulled himself together and looked down at the crown of her head.
"...Sugar. I'll tell you about the situation after the exam. Once we pass, get enrolled, and things settle down a bit... I was going to bring it up then anyway, even if you hadn't asked."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
It was an important story that involved Sugar too. For now, he hadn't wanted to give her something extra to worry about, so he'd been keeping it to himself.
Sugar lifted her head just a little and beamed. She'd caught the concern for her tucked inside his words — that feeling of his.
Then something seemed to occur to her. She let out a little ah and opened her mouth.
"Hey. Come to think of it. Do you remember that?"
"Remember what."
"Before you left the Holy City. You gave me that wand as a gift. And I gave you something in return."
"...The Wish Coupon?"
"So you do remember."
Remember? He'd put a permanence enchantment on it and kept it tucked away with the utmost care. The words For Ryly's use only had tugged at something in his chest. There'd been nights he couldn't sleep just from thinking about it.
"That. Obviously, it's still good."
"..."
"Is there anything you've been wanting lately? I saved up some money in the Holy City, you know. Ian even gave me allowance, and I got a stipend from being in the choir. So don't be shy. Just say it."
"I've got money too..."
He'd often carried out missions in Cedric's stead. The pay for that had piled up into a decent sum. If anything, Ryly wanted to buy something for Sugar.
"Then not that. Is there anything you want from me?"
"How far are we talking?"
"As far as I can manage?"
"For example?"
"Hmm... Cleaning? I could do that without a Wish Coupon, though... Cooking? I could do that too. A massage? If you wanted one. Studying? You're way better at that than I am..."
While Sugar's little head tilted this way and that, Ryly gently wrapped his arms around her waist and asked,
"...Even something you wouldn't like?"
"Something I wouldn't like?"
Sugar blinked.
"Well, it is a Wish Coupon... so I'll try my hardest. There's so much I want to do for you."
"..."
"But Ryly. What exactly are you planning to make me do?"
"..."
"Hmm? Hmmmm? Something I wouldn't like? What is it?"
She looked left, then right across his face, the corners of her mouth lifting, thoroughly pleased with herself.
She rubbed her thighs, her hips, against him with sly little shifts, bringing her face right up to his.
She'd already crossed the line and still hadn't learned a thing.
Ryly said exactly one word to her.
"A kiss."
"...Ah?"
Blink. Blink.
Sugar squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, doubting what she'd just heard.
"Th-huh? Uh... what did you say?"
"A kiss."
"..."
That low, resonant voice delivered the single word clearly and without a shred of hesitation.
She had not misheard.
Color began to bloom across Sugar's cheeks. The smug look vanished. She wanted to say something and had no idea how, so she just pressed her lips together and mumbled, ducking her head, her eyes darting this way and that.
"Um. So."
She spoke as if she'd made up her mind.
"Ryly. Speaking as your big sister, as your friend... that's... so-something that people who... l-love each other... um... do... so..."
As she stammered, Ryly let out a small sigh.
"...On the cheek."
"Oh, if that's all, I can do that right now."
The moment he added it to salvage the situation, Sugar went peck and pressed her lips to his cheek.
Then, apparently embarrassed, she giggled hehe... and clutched a fistful of her own long hair, fidgeting with her fingers.
"..."
Ryly gathered her into his arms without a word.
Haaaaah — the sigh was long. Languid. Wistful. Frustrated.
"Ryly?"
"The Wish Coupon... I'll think about it and use it later..."
Sugar simply loved being held like this. This moment, tasting their reunion, was so happy she closed her eyes in contentment.
They took the practical exam.
From basic physical assessments like long-distance and sprint running, to measuring a mage's aptitude — sustaining a mana output, hitting targets, using magic appropriate to situations the examiners presented — and even one-on-one mock battles between candidates.
Scores were tallied comprehensively, and candidates who placed in the top percentile received their letters of acceptance.
Sugar had always been confident when it came to using her body. The results weren't out yet, but she'd posted a score that was as good as a pass, and she was riding high.
The running went without saying. Thanks to a constitution that could draw ambient mana, sustaining her output was an easy win. For the target practice, she just fired one enormous blast and smashed them all at once.
Next came using magic appropriate to the situation. On one side of the exam hall sat a human dummy on the verge of burning. On the other, a dummy that had fallen into a water tank. The task was to save both with a single spell.
There was no single correct answer. Cast levitation on both dummies at once and lift them into the air, or use all the water in the tank to put out the fire. The exam was designed to measure creativity, decisiveness, time to resolution, and a mage's technical proficiency.
The instant Sugar heard the prompt, she incanted a flight spell and rescued both dummies herself. When the body does the work, the mind gets to rest. Unfortunately, they marked her down on creativity if nothing else, so she didn't score particularly high on that one.
Last was the mock battle.
Inside a barrier that prevented injury, victory went to whoever incapacitated their opponent.
Sugar's opponent was a girl her own age.
The moment they faced each other, the girl asked, "You — who's your master? Where are you from?" with the air of someone whose pride as a mage sat very high. The instant the match started, Sugar leapt forward and struck the wrist holding the wand.
Mages generally subscribed to the belief that a mage should demonstrate everything with magic, and do so with elegance, and so they rarely bothered to move their bodies. Of course, energetic types like Sugar popped up now and then, but the girl in front of her didn't seem to be that sort — so Sugar did what she did.
An easy victory.
She was recounting all of this to Ian, who had just gotten back from her own exam.
Unlike Sugar and Ryly, who'd tested in the morning, Ian had gone in the afternoon.
"...Sugar."
"What about you, Ian? How did your mock battle go?"
"I won, but. The thing is..."
"Waaah! I knew it! That's our Ian!"
Sugar clapped and cheered, but Ian's expression did not match.
Well. It was a bright, sunny afternoon. A cafe in a busy shopping district, people passing everywhere.
And in a place like that, Sugar was sitting companionably on Ryly's lap, rubbing her plump thighs against the boy's legs. That wasn't even the outfit Ian had picked out for her.
A vaguely enlightened Ryly was combing Sugar's hair with his fingers.
People glanced at the two of them as they walked by.
"How... looking like that... how are you supposed to pass as friends..."
Ian clutched her head as a headache set in, and Sugar opened her eyes in concern.
"What's the matter, Ian? Are you not feeling well? Did you get hurt in the mock battle?"
"...Lewd Sugar."
Huh? Where did that come from?
Even Ryly gave a small nod from behind her, and Sugar could only look bewildered.
"Forget it... After a few days with you two, I think I'm starting to get used to it."
"That's healthy of you."
"It is not a good thing..."
Ian sighed.
And then she felt someone's gaze.
She turned her head in that direction and met the eyes of a black-haired man.
"...Ah. I'm sorry."
The man looked startled for a moment, then bowed his head in apology.
Someone surprised by her eye color, probably. Ian gave a wry smile.
"It's all right."
Once she accepted it, the man turned and left.
Sugar, who had witnessed the whole exchange, opened her mouth.
She'd expected to see that face at the entrance ceremony, not run into him this soon.
She watched his retreating back with curiosity, then turned her head — and found Ian staring fixedly at the same departing figure.
"Ian?"
"..."
"Ian."
"Ah. Yeah."
"Are you okay? Did that bother you a lot?"
"Mm. I'm fine. Of everyone who's stared at my face, he's the first one who actually apologized. If anything, he's the best of them."
She watched with a kind of mild wonder, then turned her head away.