Chapter 07
“…Being a royal mage is amazing?”
“Yeah, it’s amazing! Just being a mage is amazing, but being a royal mage is even more amazing!”
Little Lelsis nodded enthusiastically, muttering the words ‘royal mage’ over and over again. She seemed very pleased with the job she would have in the future.
Watching her made me feel very strange.
Actually, I had never really been proud of the fact that I was a royal mage.
Being ‘affiliated with the royal family’ ultimately meant serving the king. The mages of the Royal Magic Division were nothing more than chess pieces moved by the king.
‘Of course, the treatment is good for that much…’
In my case, it wasn’t entirely favorable either. Because I was a commoner from an orphanage.
But the Dawn Tower Master is different. That position alone stands above all mages—a great existence that even the king cannot touch.
‘The greatest honor in a mage’s life is becoming the Dawn Tower Master.’
That thought still hasn’t changed. I decided to tell the innocent child the reality.
“You don’t know much yet. Truly great mages don’t work for the royal family. They work at the top floor of the Dawn Tower.”
“Uhm, what’s the Dawn Tower?”
“A place where only the most outstanding mages from the entire continent can enter. And among those gathered mages, the strongest one takes the highest floor of the tower.”
“Hmm…?”
Even after my explanation, little Lelsis tilted her head with a puzzled look.
I started to explain the history of the Dawn Tower and its greatness, but then gave up. It was too long and boring of a story for a little kid to understand.
Just then, without warning, a *growl* was heard.
Little Lelsis, who had been restlessly shaking her head, stopped abruptly.
“…I’m hungry.”
“Let’s get something to eat first.”
I couldn’t starve myself—I mean, the child.
—
Fortunately, there were ingredients left in the kitchen, so I was able to prepare food right away.
I took little Lelsis to the small dining room on the first floor of the mansion, sat her down, and set a simple meal of scrambled eggs, bacon, and bread in front of her.
“Big sister, what’s this?”
“It’s food.”
“This?”
On the plate lay forms that could hardly be called ‘cooking.’ I hastily made up an excuse.
“Well, even if it looks like this, the taste is probably fine. What matters isn’t the appearance but the heart! It’s the heart of the person who prepared it!”
“Really…?”
Little Lelsis picked up her spoon with a dubious look. And after one bite, she was so shocked that she spit it out.
“Ew, what is this!”
Hmm. I expected a bad reaction. I know well enough that food from my hands generally ends up a disaster…
“Even so, spitting it out is too much!”
“There are salt crystals all over the eggs! The bacon is a lump of sugar! And the bread makes my tongue tingle!”
“That’s, because you’re, eating them separately. If you eat all three together, they’ll harmonize nicely. Yeah, probably…?”
“You’re really bad at cooking! Worst food ever! Worst heart ever!”
“Then what do you want me to do! I’ve only ever studied my whole life…”
At my pathetic excuse, little Lelsis looked at me with a horrified expression.
“Waah, it’s unbelievable that I become such a failure of a cook…”
“F-Failure of a cook?! Where did you learn such bad words!”
“Worst food ever! Worst heart ever! Failure cook!”
Little Lelsis grumbled for a while longer, then, perhaps feeling hungry, she grumpily picked up pieces of the scrambled egg and ate them.
“If it’s bad, you can leave it…”
While the child cleaned her plate, I quietly shriveled up. I’d have to buy her next meal from outside.
A huge, unexpected disaster had struck my once peaceful life, but as always, the day passed.
“Looks like we’ll have to sleep together tonight.”
I didn’t have any spare bedding, and more than that, I was deeply uneasy about leaving this cheeky little one to sleep alone.
In the end, Sis and I ended up lying in the same bed together.
“Wow, so soft and fluffy! The pillow and blanket are so plush too!”
Sis, all excited, buried her face in the blanket and beamed.
“Hmph, this room is really nice. Our orphanage gets so cold at night.”
“Cold?”
“Yeah! Really, really cold. The wind blows *whoosh* through the windows. If you don’t wrap the blanket tightly, you’ll catch a cold.”
At Sis’s words, memories of my orphanage days suddenly became vivid.
The Austin Orphanage where I stayed had good teachers and kind children, but it wasn’t financially well-off.
“…Yeah, that’s right. Especially in the middle of winter, we had to huddle together with the other kids to sleep, but the beds were so narrow that there was always at least one kid who rolled off in their sleep.”
“Whoa, big sister, you remember?”
“Of course. That’s why we always tried to secure the middle spot.”
“Ohh, that’s right!”
Sis and I recalled the same memories and giggled together. It was the first time that the past Lelsis, who had only felt unfamiliar, seemed close and familiar.
“So you really are me?”
“Wait, you haven’t believed what I said all this time?”
“The director told me not to trust strangers’ words too easily.”
She acted like a complete immature kid, but she was sharp in this regard.
Sis was quiet for a while after saying that, then suddenly turned her head to look at me.
“…Hey, future Lelsis big sister.”
“Hmm.”
“Just, just in case, I’m asking…”
Her ever-confident voice shrunk a little.
Sis hesitated for a moment, then, with a determined look, parted her lips.
“…Did those people come looking for me?”
“Huh? Who?”
“Well, never mind. Yawn, I’m sleepy.”
Sis awkwardly yawned and closed her eyes.
I didn’t bother to point out her clumsy act. I knew exactly what she had been trying to say.
‘She’s wondering if her biological parents ever came looking for her.’
Unfortunately, as I grew up to this age, my biological parents had never come to find me.
When I was at the orphanage, there were days I dreamed that someday my parents, who had given birth to me, would come to pick me up.
As time passed and I became an adult, those expectations had long since faded, but it seemed that hope still remained in little Sis.
For a moment, I felt an odd sensation.
Nice clothes, a big and warm house of my own, a cozy bed. These were things that six-year-old Sis had never had, things that the past me had desperately wanted.
Perhaps the pillow was too high, as Sis tossed and turned. After a moment’s hesitation, I asked.
“Ahem, Sis, do you want me to give you a pillow for your head?”
Sis, not expecting that, rolled her round eyes here and there.
“Uh, but I might drool…”
This little one, she’s not honest.
She pretended not to care, but I could clearly see that she was happy about it on the inside.
‘It’s obvious. When I was little, my wish was to fall asleep on my parents’ arm as a pillow.’
It never came true, but as an adult, I could at least half-fulfill that six-year-old’s wish.
I pretended to change my mind and turned over.
“Hmm, then I can’t do it.”
“Ah, I’ll try not to drool!”
At that, Sis pursed her lips and quickly snuggled into my arms. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hey, why are you laughing?”
“Nothing, just because it’s funny.”
Looking at Sis, who glanced at me slyly, I suddenly had a thought.
Sis—the past me—must have been much lonelier than I remembered.
“Come here.”
So I couldn’t help but hold Sis tight. Sis didn’t refuse. Her small, round head felt a little endearing.
‘Even if it’s just an illusion.’
Hugging my past self doesn’t erase the loneliness of that time. It means that lying together like this has no real meaning.
But still, even so.
“Good night, Sis.”
I hope you and I can enjoy this sweet dream.
So that the long loneliness can be soothed, even just a little.
—
Sweet dream, my foot.
There’s a living, breathing nightmare in my house.
“Y-You, what are you doing there?”
Early in the morning, barely awake, I met eyes with Sis, who had somehow climbed on top of the wardrobe.
“Big sister, good morning!”
Sis, covered in dust from head to toe, grinned.
