Side Story 6
Translator: RaidenTL
Side Story 6
“Dragon God, please grant So-ya’s wish. You must, must, must grant it.”
So-ya crouched by the stream, praying in a desperate voice.
“Aren’t you going to tell your brother what you wrote?”
“Hehe, it’s a secret!”
So-ya giggled as she answered San-yu’s question.
“How cruel. Your brother is so, so curious about what our So-ya wrote.”
Despite his disappointed tone, San-yu actually knew exactly what his younger sister had written.
She had tried to hide it with her tiny, fern-like hands, claiming it was a secret, but the contents had been perfectly visible.
<Please let Brother San-yu come back quickly.>
So-ya had been deeply upset for the past few days ever since hearing the news that he would soon be departing for the front lines. She had even cried, asking if he really had to go.
Even San-yu, who considered going to the battlefield a natural duty as the successor of the Vermilion Bird Clan, found his heart wavering at his young sister’s tears.
“It can’t be helped. A secret is a secret.”
So-ya giggled and was just about to set the leaf afloat.
She paused.
“Ummm…”
Instead of letting the leaf go, So-ya took on a mock-serious expression. After staring at the leaf in her hand for a long time, she eventually flipped it over so the writing was hidden.
“What’s wrong, So-ya?”
“I’ve been thinking, and I want to change my wish to something else.”
“Oh?”
San-yu blinked at So-ya’s sudden whim. However, he soon gave a gentle smile.
“Then wait just a moment, So-ya.”
San-yu called over a subordinate following them and gave an instruction. The subordinate transformed into a black crow and flew off toward the Vermilion Bird Mansion.
“Shall we go pick some leaves together while we wait for the new brush and ink?”
“Yes! I’d love to, Brother!”
So-ya picked out new leaves with her brother and splashed her hands in the stream, playing in the water while waiting for the writing supplies to arrive.
As they waited, a single leaf floating down from far upstream caught So-ya’s eye.
“Oh?”
It was a massive leaf, the likes of which she had never seen before. The drifting leaf eventually snagged against So-ya’s fingertips.
What is this?
So-ya tilted her head and carefully picked it up.
“…!”
As she examined it closely, her eyes grew wide and round.
“Look at this, Brother! It’s a leaf letter!”
So-ya hopped over to San-yu to show him.
“Careful, So-ya. You’ll fall if you—”
“Someone must have made a wish to the Dragon God! It’s a huge leaf letter!”
San-yu tried to warn her out of fear she might trip, but his words didn’t reach the excited So-ya’s ears.
She had never seen such a large leaf before. It was only natural; that type of leaf did not grow in the Southern Land. It was a variety found only on Mt. Horim, at the far edge of the Western Land.
“Maybe So-ya should have prepared a bigger leaf too. Then I could have written even more wishes…”
So-ya murmured regretfully, looking back and forth between the giant leaf in her hand and the small leaf she had just picked with her brother.
“Hmm, is that so? Let’s see.”
Noticing her mood, San-yu took on a serious expression as he examined the two leaves.
“In my eyes, the leaf So-ya picked is much prettier.”
“You’re right! Because Brother San-yu and So-ya found the prettiest leaf in this whole forest!”
So-ya quickly shook off her regret and shouted with a bright smile. Seeing his ever-cheerful and positive sister, San-yu smiled along with her.
His young sister, who had lost her mother the moment she was born, was a child of a naturally pure and kind disposition.
I hope she can grow up as bright as she is now, even when I’m not by her side.
As the clan’s successor, he didn’t fear going to war under the Imperial Decree. However, the fact that he wouldn’t be able to watch So-ya grow up made his heart ache slightly.
I’m worrying over nothing. Even if I’m not here, Father and Hwa-yu will be by her side.
San-yu looked at the large leaf in her hand, hoping So-ya would always stay this bright.
“Anyway, seeing how this hard-to-find leaf is packed with writing in such clumsy script, it must be a very desperate wish.”
“Maybe they’re just a chatterbox with a lot to say.”
So-ya giggled, imagining the person who had searched for such a large leaf and carefully written down their wish. Then, her expression turned serious as she looked down at the leaf again.
“But the handwriting is so crooked that I can’t tell what it says at all. If it’s like this, I don’t think the Dragon God will be able to read it either…”
No matter how much she looked, the writing was such a mess that she feared the Dragon God would be stumped.
“What should we do, Brother? I don’t think the Dragon God will be able to grant this person’s wish.”
Kind-hearted So-ya stomped her feet in worry for the wish of someone whose face and name she didn’t even know.
“Don’t worry too much, So-ya. The Dragon God will be able to read it.”
“Even this gibberish?”
“Yes. He is the Dragon God, after all.”
With a skeptical look, So-ya stared at the illegible, crooked scrawl. Below the writing, there was a drawing that looked like a doodle.
She couldn’t read the words, but she could recognize the drawing. It was a very small, cute baby bird.
I wonder what this person wished for?
Though she couldn’t understand the content…
I hope the Dragon God grants this wish too. Since it’s such a desperate one.
It was a moment where So-ya sincerely hoped for a stranger’s wish to come true.
Just then, San-yu’s subordinate returned with a brush, an inkstone, and a special ink from the Eastern Land used for writing on leaves.
San-yu ground the ink for So-ya and gently placed a fine brush in her hand.
“Now, our So-ya should write her wish to the Dragon God too.”
“You can’t look, Brother. Turn your head that way.”
So-ya spoke in a mock-wary voice, glancing at San-yu. At his young sister’s request, San-yu chuckled and turned around.
“Alright, alright, So-ya. I just have to sit facing this way, right?”
“You must never, ever look back! Do you understand?”
Still not entirely at ease, So-ya reminded him several more times. Soon, the soft, scratching sound of the brush tip grazing the leaf could be heard.
I wonder what she’s planning to wish for?
San-yu grew curious. He felt a bit slighted that she had a wish more important than his quick return from the battlefield, but still…
“All done!”
So-ya shouted with a bright laugh.
“You can look now, Brother.”
When San-yu reflexively turned his head, he let out a chuckle at the sight of the ink smudged on So-ya’s chubby cheeks.
“So-ya. Come here. You’ve got ink on your face.”
“Right here?”
As So-ya tilted her head and rubbed her face, the ink smudged even further.
“Ahaha, now it’s smudged even more. Come here, Brother will wipe it off for you.”
San-yu laughed out loud as he cleaned So-ya’s face.
“Oh, honestly. It happens.”
So-ya acted coy, perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed.
“But So-ya. Are you really not going to tell your brother what you wished for?”
“Never! I’m never telling!”
So-ya shook her head vigorously, hiding her leaf letter behind her back. Her stance was firm, but San-yu knew exactly how to handle her in times like this.
“Wouldn’t it be better if your brother prayed with you for the Dragon God to grant your wish?”
So-ya looked tempted by his casual suggestion. It felt like the Dragon God would prioritize a wish from two people over a wish from just one.