Chapter 129

Sheffy had no mind to think about magic.

Because her gaze followed the flow of shimmering light.

That year’s fireflies… seemed to fly past her again.

【Pfft… Royal Sister is so childish, what’s there to see about fireflies? Royal Sister’s eyes are brighter than any firefly, I’d much rather look at your eyes… Royal Sister says Belith’s eyes are just as bright? Yay! Then Royal Sister has to look into my eyes more! Don’t look at the fireflies anymore!】

Sss…

【Royal Sister, do you want a bit more freedom…? Belith doesn’t really understand, but if you want to go somewhere, can you take me with you…? Uu… I won’t cause trouble. I’m just afraid Royal Sister will leave me alone at home… Lately, those magic teachers in the castle have been scolding me a lot… saying I’m slow at learning magic… Mm… when Royal Sister comes back, you’ll teach me personally? Really?! Yay, yay! Then it’s a promise… Royal Sister must come back soon!】

Crackle…

【I’m sorry, I can’t face you… maybe never again.】

【You ask why?】

【Because you’re strong. So much stronger than me, and the sad thing is… I’ll never be able to catch up to you.】

【I can only see your back, chasing from behind… further and further away. Like this, how could we ever face each other?】

But I… I said I’d come back and teach you magic…

That night’s firefly, by some twist of fate, never lit up.

It couldn’t light up the face I longed to wait for.

Nor could it find the fingertips you reached toward my back.

Later, I walked farther away.

Later, you let your hand fall.

Later still, you began to chase.

And now… I still have not turned back.

I…

“Royal Sister!!”

“!”

Bang!!

Belith had no magic power left.

She could only use her fists, striking against the magic circle with all her strength despite the pain, producing a sharp, clear sound.

—The indestructible defensive magic shattered completely into countless sparks like fireflies!

Inside Zero’s space.

Those shattered points of light were like fireflies fluttering their wings in the dark night.

They could not illuminate the night sky.

But they could brighten the human heart.

42. Relief

Eh…?

The defensive magic… was broken through?

The moment that thought surfaced, Sheffy realized the defensive magic wasn’t broken by Belith.

—It was Sheffy herself who had actively, or perhaps unconsciously, dispelled the magical barrier.

Without the magic to keep them apart, Sheffy instantly felt that body, warm as smooth jade, rush into her embrace.

And then… her vision spun as the world turned upside down.

By the time Sheffy’s attention returned—she was already lying on her back on the ground.

When Belith launched her final attack, she had no magic left. All she could do was use the full weight of her body to throw herself forward.

Sheffy made no move to resist, letting Belith tackle her to the ground.

Perhaps Belith hadn’t expected Royal Sister to stay still.

Or perhaps Sheffy hadn’t expected Belith to rush at her so directly.

And the result of these two “didn’t expect”…

Was Belith, silver hair trailing like a shooting star, throwing herself into the arms of the one she cherished, letting her vision spin and topple without caring about the pain of the fall.

After all, nothing hurt more than knowing they might never laugh together again…

“Royal Sister… Royal Sister! Just once… will you listen to me, just once…!”

“Ah ah… it’s not like I’m covering your mouth, huh… oof… speaking of which, my head really hurts.”

Sheffy lay on her back, gazing up at Zero’s pure white dome.

Belith pressed against her petite body without care, letting tears drip onto Sheffy’s cheek, falling like the first autumn rain.

Come to think of it, how long had it been since she’d last properly seen the autumn rain in the Demon Domain?

So… Belith could cry too, huh…?

On second thought, of course she could.

She’d always been able to cry—when she was little, she was a crybaby. But after growing up, it was like her mind just flipped, and she stopped crying.

But… had she really never shed tears where Sheffy’s eyes couldn’t reach?

Sheffy clearly possessed Visual Magic that could see through all things—yet she never dared use it to observe her family’s feelings.

Because she was afraid…

Afraid that if she looked, she’d find Belith truly despised her from the bottom of her heart. Afraid her distance was absolute, without hesitation.

If that were true… wouldn’t Sheffy have lost her family all over again?

But clearly… perhaps Sheffy’s judgment had been wrong.

Sheffy dazedly lifted her left hand, holding it in the air beside Belith’s silver hair.

Belith lay on her, sobbing, her head trembling with each breath. The sight felt oddly familiar.

She had grown up.

But she had also never grown up.

This time, Sheffy’s palm moved forward.

Her fingers seemed to pass through the years, through the shackles of time.

Zero’s space no longer felt like Zero, but a vast meadow of blooming flowers.

Flowers blossomed and withered through countless cycles, and now, at last, she willingly placed her palm on Belith’s small head, gently stroking it.

In that moment, the sobbing stopped.

Belith stared blankly, forcing her body—already at its limit—to hold itself up.

Those wide, tear-filled eyes blinked rapidly, brimming with disbelief, yet within them bloomed a beautiful, lotus-like radiance.

“Royal Sister…? Your hand… I…”

“Aren’t you going to talk?” Sheffy didn’t stop the movement of her hand; instead, her touch grew gentler.

Whether in action or in tone, it was the same.

“If you’re going to speak, then speak. While I still feel like listening, hurry and say it—before I change my mind again.”

“I just want to say…! Royal Sister, do you really, truly hate Belith now…?! Is there really no room left for us to make things right?!”

“……”

You silly little fool.

When I said “hurry and say it, before I change my mind,” it was just an exaggeration…

Yet Belith, so flustered, didn’t even give herself a moment’s pause. The instant she asked this question, tears welled up again, making it painful to watch.

Sheffy didn’t respond with words.

Because sometimes… when you see her tears, you just can’t bring yourself to speak at all.

A choked sob sounded again.

Tears fell once more.

Only this time, the one crying wasn’t Belith.

It was Sheffy—who suddenly withdrew her hands to cover her own quickly reddening eyes.

Tears slid down her fingers and cheeks, and the sight made Belith’s heart ache.

Then Sheffy’s choked words struck like a thunderclap in Belith’s mind.

“What are you… what are you even talking about… saying there’s no room to fix things… I’m scared… scared you’ll hate me… I’ve had enough… I used to think we’d always be fine… after all the trouble to have such a thoughtful younger sister… and then suddenly you stopped talking to me… Now you want me to make up with you… and then what? What if… what if you suddenly relapse again… and hurt me all over…! I’m not falling for it… So you… you’d better just stay away from me!”

“!”

Belith panicked, seizing Sheffy’s hand—as if truly afraid that Royal Sister might follow through on her words and vanish from her sight in the very next second.

Belith’s voice was quiet yet firm as she made her promise.

If saying this over and over could ease Royal Sister’s heart, she was willing to say it forever.

“I won’t… how could I possibly hate Royal Sister… I’ve never thought that way!”

“Then why did you ignore me for so long?!”

“It’s because Royal Sister is just too perfect, you’ve left me so far behind…! I don’t want to become your burden!”

“That’s your reason for treating people coldly?! Do you know that, in the eyes of someone who values family more than life itself, your behavior is utterly unforgivable? Worthy of the death penalty!”

“If dying once could prove that I never hated you, then I’d rather die right now! But if I die, I won’t be able to see Royal Sister again! So it’s not worth it!”

“You…!”

One moment they were speaking logically, and the next they had slipped into a sibling quarrel.

It didn’t seem very harmonious on the surface.

But family was family—because they were the ones who could quarrel with you, cry with you, and laugh with you.

Eventually, they got tired of arguing.

Belith had long since run out of strength.

She lay against Sheffy’s flat chest, quietly listening to the heartbeat she had almost missed.

Seeing Belith’s utterly exhausted state, Sheffy found her own forcefulness fading away as well.

“Ah…! I’m not arguing with you anymore! Even though you’re very annoying, but…”

Sheffy wrapped both hands around the top of Belith’s head, giving her some warmth.

“But children all go through a rebellious phase, right…? Can I treat that time of yours as just a rebellious phase?”

“It wasn’t rebellion…”

“Tch.”

I give you a step down and you still won’t take it—talking back to me like that, I’d say you’re still in your rebellious phase!

But Belith slowly lifted her head.

Because Sheffy’s chest didn’t have much of a “mountainous” obstruction, she could clearly see Belith’s hopeful smile.

“I wasn’t being rebellious… I just had a nightmare, that’s all… Royal Sister, the truth is, I’ve really been preparing for this match for a long, long time. Do you think… compared to before, I’ve improved? Even just a little…?”

“Hah? Improved?”

Sheffy’s counter-question made Belith’s heart skip—worried that Royal Sister might say she was still just as useless as ever.

But Sheffy’s response didn’t mean that at all.

It was the complete opposite.

“Improved…? Is that even a question worth asking? Haven’t you always been improving? I don’t know what made you think of using that forbidden curse… that kind of ‘progress’ isn’t the right kind, but you know that now, don’t you? Just as an example—like just now, your attack was pretty sharp. Compared to last time we met, you’ve gotten much stronger. You couldn’t have done this before. I’m guessing… you’ve been training on your own for a long time, right?”

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