Reveal Your Identity!
I felt like I had learned a fair bit about Seol-i by now.
At first, I thought she was a witch who was much older—someone I should look up to. Maybe even older than me, with a wealth of experience under her belt. But her actions were so childish that I couldn't help doubting whether she was really a witch at all.
And that made sense, because all the magic she'd shown me was practical stuff for everyday life. I'd expected something grand and impressive, but it was all useful in a way that felt oddly unnecessary. This was... a witch?
Still, there were questions I had to ask. So I decided to go through them one by one, starting with the less heavy ones since jumping straight into the deep end felt wrong.
First up: Had living here been tough in any way?
As someone from another world, she must have struggled a ton adjusting at first. This world had things like metal vehicles, computers, and TV screens—stuff she'd never encountered before.
But the hardship she mentioned wasn't what I'd imagined at all. It was awakeners.
Why?
If it was another world—and one where she could use magic—she was probably a mage there. That meant there'd be martial artists honing their internal energy, people like her wielding magic, so awakeners shouldn't have been an issue. Especially if she said it was just unfamiliarity at first sight—that only made it more puzzling.
Unfamiliar? Did that even make sense?
Sure, there wouldn't be exact equivalents to awakeners. They were superhumans who drew on mana as their core power source. Most used it like mental energy to unleash abilities. A few had weirder powers that stretched the "superpower" label, but they were rare.
Magic, on the other hand, seemed like a systematic way to wield mana... So didn't that mean her world had magic formalized as such?
Yet here she was, saying she'd never seen people like that. Of course I had questions.
So I asked: Were there no people with special powers where she used to live?
Seol-i nodded without hesitation.
Eh? Something's off.
I wasn't big on movies, anime, or novels, but I knew the basics of isekai and fantasy. I'd skimmed famous ones, so I knew fantasy worlds had mages. Heck, even here in reality, we had goblins slinging mana-based spells.
But she was saying there were no people with special powers. How could someone use magic in a world like that?
If she could use magic, mana existed there. Yet she claimed most people had no powers at all.
Suddenly, I remembered something she'd said before.
'Her parents... she said they were gone...?'
She'd lived alone all this time. That's why I'd initially thought she was an older mage. No kid could wield such impossible magic—not by my world's standards, anyway.
But maybe... maybe that assumption was wrong.
My voice trembled a little as I asked: Did she really... really not have parents?
I couldn't quite bring myself to say "don't."
But Seol-i understood, shaking her head.
It was as good as confirmation.
Then there was one last thing I wanted to know. She'd said she'd lived alone in the mountains. All that time, by herself.
Lived there...?
Nod.
Every day...?
I pressed, and she flinched.
She couldn't answer.
That's when it hit me—why she was so withdrawn, why she'd lived alone, why she had no parents. It was all too obvious now; there was no missing it.
It might be better than being a lab experiment, but wasn't it basically survival of the fittest among nuts?
I clenched my fist tight.
Come to think of it, she'd introduced herself as a witch.
Why witch, not mage? In fantasy, mages are common—wouldn't she have said mage if that's what she was?
I recalled the etymology of "witch": a woman in myths, legends, or fairy tales skilled in magic, curses, potions, and poisons.
And she'd made potions before. She could use magic. Introduced herself as a witch. Lived alone in the mountains forever. Her world had no special-powered people. She was timid, anxious.
It all pointed to one conclusion.
How could I not see it?
"Yeah... it must've been so hard for you..."
It had to have been. Not just no parents, but lost them. An orphan at such a young age.
A small sob escaped then.
I looked down at her with trembling eyes. Seol-i had turned away, sniffling quietly. She was holding back tears, but the hiccups gave her away. She thought she was hiding it, but no way.
Maybe I'd stirred up nightmares for her. Maybe those memories were making her cry.
The thought had me reaching out before I knew it.
"..!"
I pulled her into a hug from behind, and she froze, her body shuddering as the sobs cut off.
"It must've been... so hard..."
My voice was thick with sorrow now. It was another world's tale, but heartbreaking all the same.
I couldn't let her dwell on it anymore. I tightened my arms around her.
I hoped this could evoke a parent's embrace, even a little.
"I... I even tricked you... and hid so much..."
Her voice came out squeezed, strained.
Tricked me? Nonsense. This wasn't deception—not even close.
"Is it... really... really okay...?"
More than okay. I answered by hugging her tighter.
Emotions welled up; tears started slipping out.
"Can I... be happy...?"
She was on the verge of full sobs now.
"Of course you can..!"
Questioning if she even deserved happiness? She'd been so wary of my kindness—I should've seen it sooner, instead of bulldozing ahead with what I wanted. I felt awful.
From now on, she could do what she wanted, live happily.
Because I'd make it happen.
I'd be her family.
Her family, making her happy.
She bowed her head at my words. She could've let go and cried, but she held the tears back stubbornly.
"Thank you..."
Thank you? This was natural. No—if anything, I was grateful.
This kid who'd appeared before my skeptical eyes had become my most precious person overnight.
We'd met just yesterday, but she was irreplaceable now.
Someone once said time doesn't matter for bonds. If hearts connect truly, that's family enough.
And that's why she was mine.
"Really... thank you, sis..."
Sis.
With that, she finally unleashed the sobs she'd bottled up, wailing openly.
It must've been hell. A kid surviving alone in those mountains? Unthinkable.
She'd come down because food ran out, right? Good thing, too—or we'd never have met.
Yesterday, a stranger. Today, a pitiful kid.
And now...
"Yeah... it's okay..."
My little sister.