Chapter 3

Sheffy had no evidence.

But she strongly suspected…

This airheaded girl—was flirting with her!

3. The Past

The place where Sheffy lived in her previous life was called Earth.

There was no magic there, no mana, and none of those strange and bizarre races.

Even big dogs were just a single-headed, docile breed—the kind of miraculous dog you could keep at home.

The only actively dominant race was humans.

And she clearly remembered that her gender in her previous life was the opposite of what it was now.

In her previous life, she had been a boy.

That was the most important part!

Aaah…!

Every time she thought about it, she couldn’t help but complain—reincarnation was fine and all, but why did her gender have to change?!

Wouldn’t it have been more convenient if that had stayed the same?!

Seriously, those early years right after reincarnating—especially before the age of ten—were extremely difficult to adjust to. The shift in lifestyle meant everything had to be relearned from scratch.

Of course, there was…

One benefit that she had to admit.

And that was—looking in the mirror, she could admire how extraordinarily cute she was.

Sheffy had no complaints about that!

She was truly adorable. She had that confidence, hehe.

Well, now that Sheffy had already turned twenty this year, she had fully adapted to life as a girl. (Probably.)

Thinking this, Sheffy’s gaze subtly drifted toward the opposite seat, where Xiarette sat with a clueless and slightly tilted head.

That girl, like herself, was also a reincarnator, someone from Earth in her previous life.

Only, she hadn’t undergone as many changes. Xiarette had been a girl in her past life, and she remained one in this life—just more beautiful now, with a slightly overwhelming aura.

As Xiarette casually smiled and talked about amusing moments from her past life, Sheffy rested her cheek on her hand. With the steady carriage barely rocking, she too drifted into memories that perhaps weren’t worth recalling.

Sheffy and Xiarette had known each other well in their previous life.

—They had been childhood friends in their past life.

Xiarette was a year older than her, the neighbor she had grown up with—practically the big sister next door who had always looked out for her.

Sheffy had probably been something like a latchkey kid in her previous life.

Her parents worked away from home year-round. They weren’t poor, but she was basically alone at home for most of the year.

Naturally, as her neighbor, Xiarette became an inseparable part of her life.

Their bond had always been strong—they were practically family.

No one found it odd when either of them ate at the other’s house. Whenever Xiarette’s family went out to play somewhere, they usually brought Sheffy along too.

Until high school, except for the year Xiarette graduated earlier, they had always attended the same school.

There were plenty of arguments, plenty of playful scuffles, but no matter the conflict, they always laughed it off in the end.

The girl was a little clumsy—she didn’t know how to hold a grudge or stay angry.

The boy was a bit clever, but he couldn’t be bothered to argue with his sister too much.

After all, their relationship was nothing more than that of a pair of silly, pure-hearted siblings who were like family.

In his third year of high school, the boy began preparing for entrance exams to the same university the girl aimed for.

Hmph, after all, Xiarette was kind of dumb. His sister was a bit of a goof—without him around, she’d probably run into all sorts of trouble!

But in truth, the boy understood very clearly—it wasn’t she who couldn’t be without him.

It was he who couldn’t leave behind the one who had always cared for him, who had chased away his loneliness.

That was simply the kind of person he was. He valued their laughter and peaceful days far more than ambition or future goals.

However…

Fate is unpredictable, and the world can be cruel.

In Xiarette’s previous life…

She was diagnosed with a terminal illness during her first year of college.

And when it was discovered, it was already at an advanced stage.

Sheffy remembered it vividly—she had just received her university acceptance letter and was still bouncing around excitedly by his side…

But after just a few months without seeing her, she was already confined to a cold hospital bed—her face pale, her body emaciated and barely recognizable.

Sheffy’s heart ached, but faced with fate, there was nothing to say.

Fate was never reasonable.

That year, that day—

The terminally ill girl said many comforting words to the weeping boy.

She said that the world always plays cruel jokes like this, and she was too stupid to avoid it, so she wasn’t worthy of going to college anymore.

She hoped that even if he was alone, the boy would keep moving forward with optimism—his big sister would always be there.

The boy, of course, tearfully agreed to her request, but he never gave up trying to help with her treatment.

Clinging to a shred of hope, he ran back and forth to the hospital every day, even giving up on preparing for the college entrance exams.

The girl scolded him for being a fool, but he said he was smart enough to do well without studying.

In that most despairing period, the boy still guarded the daily life they had shared, desperately trying to hold on to everything he knew he was going to lose.

He had thought—at the very least—they still had a year.

But he never could have imagined…

Xiarette had been right.

The world really did keep playing all kinds of cruel jokes.

On that rainy night, the boy carried urgently needed medication from abroad—scarce in the hospital—tucked close to his chest. He didn’t even bother with an umbrella as he rushed toward the hospital, just hoping to get the medicine to Xiarette as quickly as possible.

But that day, the medicine never arrived.

Two blocks from the hospital, at a street corner, accompanied by the piercing screech of a truck’s tires skidding on the rain-slicked road…

The boy fell forever beneath the fractured glow of streetlights in that gloomy evening.

Even to the end, he had tried to reach for the crushed medicine box…

.

But strength failed him, and he unwillingly closed his eyes.

When he woke again—

It was already this world, the one he now lived in~

The first thing Sheffy saw when she opened her eyes was a grand but dimly lit castle.

In front of her was a gentle, beautiful silver-haired woman, whose state appeared slightly frail.

The woman leaned close to her ear and, with a tone full of warmth and comfort, said:

‘It just so happens to be snowing outside… so, how about your name be… Sheffy…? How does that sound…? Sheffy, this is the name Mother gave you… do you like it?’

It was clearly a different language, yet somehow, Sheffy could miraculously understand it.

What shocked her even more were the six pitch-black feathered wings behind the woman, enveloping her infant self entirely, offering an overwhelming sense of safety.

And when she looked up, she could see—beyond the castle, far off in the sky—a dragon gliding through the clouds…

From that moment on, Sheffy understood.

She had come to a completely different world.

Sigh, although it had been shocking at the time, since she was here, she might as well settle in—there was no use thinking too much about it.

From that point forward, Sheffy inexplicably became the face of the Demon Clan.

Inexplicably, she bore many responsibilities.

And inexplicably, she was thrust into the war torn world.

That was more or less the story of what Sheffy had gone through so far.

Her previous life had become a distant past.

Aside from a few unforgettable fragments from her last life, most of her memories now revolved around the worries of this one.

Counting through all of those experiences, Sheffy let out another long sigh.

She twisted a strand of silver hair in front of her with her fingers, and suddenly asked the quietly seated Xiarette opposite her:

“By the way, Xiarette, when exactly did you come over?”

“I think… just a little after you?”

Xiarette touched her finger to her lips, pondering for a moment.

Then she gave Sheffy a somewhat helpless, bittersweet smile.

“I remember… I was really upset when I heard about your accident, and it wasn’t many days after that… My condition deteriorated quickly. The doctors said there was no longer any point in treatment, so not long after you left, I followed.”

“Is that so… You had it rough.”

“You’re the one who had it rough, Sheffy.”

“Well… I suppose we both did! Wait… if you came a little later than me, then technically I’m a bit older than you in this life?!”

“That should be the case… Haha, so in that sense… Sheffy, you’re my big sister in this life.”

“Sis…! Me? Ugh… never mind.”

Your stormy grandeur was never more than an inch away from me.

You say I count as your big sister… where am I supposed to hide this embarrassed face of mine?

But Sheffy didn’t plan to fuss over such details.

Xiarette, though a bit of an airheaded, had always been this optimistic.

For example, in her choice of words just now—she preferred using “left” instead of “died.”

Just like back then, when she could still smile from her hospital bed—always bringing strength to those around her, more than Sheffy ever could.

No wonder you became a Hero in this life… Maybe that’s the reason?

Fortunately, the two of them had met again in this world. That was truly a stroke of great fortune.

A brief silence fell within the carriage.

Perhaps it was just time the two gave each other to savor the memories.

Originally, the two had belonged to opposing factions in this world—sitting together like this should’ve been next to impossible.

But now, here they were, all thanks to Sheffy’s brilliant scheme!

In the cramped carriage, Sheffy tried to strike a cool crossed-leg pose, but with her short legs, it was too much effort—so she settled for crossing her ankles instead.

With a mischievous grin, she opened her left hand and laughed:

“Speaking of which, when I came to this world, and my gender changed. You still recognized me, Xiarette—I’ve got to say, I was shocked.”

“I don’t even know how to describe the feeling back then, but I just knew—Sheffy is Sheffy. You are you. And besides, with that massive ‘masterpiece’ you created, how could I not notice?”

“Hehe… So it really was because of that?”

4. The Fire Calamity’s Retribution

Speaking of “that time”—the moment the words left their mouths, the two instantly understood each other with perfect synchronicity!

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