Chapter 18
"Sheffy, even if you're trying to change the subject, don't drag some nonexistent god into this as a scapegoat..."
Sheffy let out a soft hum and burrowed back under the covers.
She lay down with her back to Xiarette, transforming into a big silver-haired dumpling, looking as if she had no interest in the world, unwilling to fight against anything.
But those ears of hers, twitching madly in an attempt to catch any sound from behind, betrayed just how nervous she actually was.
That damn Xia... What was she suddenly saying out of nowhere...
Even if Sheffy had to wander to the ends of the earth, she would never drag Xiarette down with her!
The silence behind her stretched on, making Sheffy increasingly confused.
Until a faint rustling noise rose from behind...
Soon after, she felt something soft pressing against her back.
And the arms that wrapped around her stomach—belonged to Xiarette!
She... she was being hugged from behind!
"Ah...?"
"Sheffy."
Xiarette's face was buried in Sheffy's silver hair.
So her expression couldn’t be seen.
Only the lavender fragrance on her body, and the sensation of something constantly squishing against Sheffy’s back like a slime slamming into her, could be felt.
"I want to say it again... It's been so long. Big sister really missed you..."
"...!"
"This bed's not that big, so... can I just hold you like this while we sleep...?"
"Wh-what do you mean ‘can I’?! I'm not... not afraid of the dark anymore!"
"But... I am."
"..."
Hearing this, Sheffy fell silent for a moment.
Her little legs, which had been kicking at the sheets in frantic resistance, also stopped moving.
She still faced away from Xiarette.
But the tone in her voice...
Seemed subtly different from before.
"Do what you want... I can’t do anything about you anyway. Really, stupid Xia... You just can't manage without me."
"Mm... I really can't do without Sheffy."
"That's why...! Don’t be so blunt about it!"
"Sheffy, it's kind of poking me in the chest..."
"You're even complaining now?!"
Sheffy's wail echoed through the room.
As if it summoned that streak of dawn illuminating the heavens.
A corner of sunlight had already crept onto the windowsill.
And in Xiarette’s eyes, the light that had never sparkled from sunlight alone, now shimmered more brightly than ever.
Morning had come.
But sleepiness crept in.
In a haze, her consciousness drifting, Xiarette clutched Sheffy tightly in her arms, speaking softly in broken murmurs.
"Sheffy... you know\... that time when you brought me medicine on the way to the hospital... You knew you wouldn’t make it in time... What were you thinking back then..."
"Huh? Are you half-asleep? Why are you suddenly bringing up something from so long ago?"
Though Sheffy spoke like that...
Her small palm still tightened around Xiarette's hand, which was resting on her little stomach over the sleep dress.
Her violet eyes wavered slightly—perhaps recalling what she had been thinking at that moment back then.
In just a brief instant, the answer came to her.
"Back then... I was hit by the car and died, so there wasn’t really any time to think about all that."
"I just remember... what I was thinking was..."
"‘If I could see Xiarette again someday... wouldn’t that be wonderful.’"
Xiarette held the warm Sheffy in her arms, resisting the pull of sleep, listening to these precious words.
On her face, framed by strands of gold hair, her smile shone with true brilliance...
Mm... Sheffy, thank you for thinking about me even until the very end.
Perhaps now you can understand why I would rather give up everything, just to stay by your side...?
Because, it was you who gave up everything first.
Xiarette hugged Sheffy tighter and tighter, her consciousness gradually slipping away, drifting toward sleep.
Before falling asleep, perhaps she came to understand one more thing?
Why did she always blush and feel her heart race when she saw Sheffy today?
The answer was, in fact, painfully clear.
On that distant rainy night, when Sheffy lay in a pool of blood and reached toward the medicine box—
After learning what had happened, Xiarette's once pure feelings had transformed to a whole new level.
Only, in the very moment that those feelings fully sprouted, both of their lives had come to an end.
And if such a Xiarette were to meet the Sheffy of now\...
Those emotions, repressed for twenty years, would burst forth like the beanstalk from a fairy tale—soaring skyward and growing into a colossal tree, unstoppable!
So what if Sheffy had turned into a girl?
Sheffy was still Sheffy, Sheffy remained Sheffy, irreplaceable.
In fact, this might even be better.
Ah... right.
She thought... maybe the reason they were able to meet again—
Was because of Sheffy’s prayer.
And also because, at the moment of death... Xiarette made the same wish as hers.
—"If only I could see you again, that would be wonderful."
Dawn broke, and sunlight bathed the vast skies and fields.
Meanwhile, the two girls who had spent the night talking away had only just fallen asleep\~
And since they were asleep, they didn’t notice—
The Holy Sword resting by Xiarette’s bedside faintly shimmered with golden light—glimmering, then fading.
As if it, too, had fallen into slumber—quiet and serene.
---
**18. What’s going on?**
Sheffy had a beautiful dream for the first time in ages.
She dreamed of spreading her wings and soaring through boundless skies, gliding between clouds and tree seas, flying over lakes and catching a giant fish.
In a blink, the flopping fish turned into a well-behaved grilled fish, steaming hot!
Grinning, Sheffy happily gnawed away at the giant grilled fish mid-air.
The only complaint she had was that the taste felt a little off.
—Since when did grilled fish have such a soft texture, a milky aroma, and hugging it felt like holding cotton candy? Sure, it felt pretty good... but still, that’s not how grilled fish is supposed to be.
Since it’s a sweet dream, it should stay sweet and delightful until she woke up...
But in the latter half of the dream—
Everything changed.
The giant grilled fish was gone.
What she held in her arms had turned into a rock!
Ugh, it was a big, cold rock—smooth and chilly, pressing against her face and hurting!
Now, Sheffy was never the type to tolerate being wronged.
Since the sweet dream had turned this unpleasant, she might as well stop dreaming altogether!
In the dream... Sheffy aimed her forehead at that big rock and gave it a hard headbutt.
"Uwah!!"
Did the rock just speak?!
No... it wasn’t the rock that had talked.
It was Sheffy waking up from the dream.
Sleeping at dawn and waking when the midday sun hits your rear—Sheffy considered such a person truly accomplished.
And accomplished Sheffy, frustrated by the “big rock” in her dream, woke up in a daze of residual sleepiness.
As her violet eyes, brimming with spiritual energy and magic, slowly opened...
Still groggy, Sheffy faintly sensed something was off.
Huh...? Why is it so dark?
Had the sun not risen yet?
That couldn’t be—before she went to sleep, she’d already heard birdsong... Right now it should be broad daylight!
More importantly—
She was awake.
So why did the rock pressing against her face still feel exactly the same—?!
All these strange sensations snapped Sheffy completely awake. Her eyes flew wide open.
As her vision returned in full, she realized the sky was, in fact, already bright.
From the corner of her eye at a slanted angle, she could glimpse a trace of sunlight.
She only thought it was dark because something was right in front of her face, blocking most of the light.
Hey! She just had to see who had the nerve to put a rock in front of her face early in the morning! Seriously, have some decency!
Sheffy shrank her body back slightly, pulling her head away from the uncomfortable sensation.
With that weird object no longer blocking her view—
Light flooded back into her vision.
And Sheffy was finally able to see the full form of the “rock” in front of her.
"Uh..."
A puzzled grunt involuntarily slipped from her throat.
No...
What was blocking her wasn’t a rock at all...
Sheffy blinked and slowly turned her head.