“Elir, I’m going to Master Black’s today to study forging skills again, haha—”
Sophia called out as she hurried from her room in the Resistance Base.
“Oh, right! Go back to our Witch’s Cottage first. I’ll be back tonight, don’t worry.”
‘Stupid green-eyes, why the rush? It’s not like those giant iron hammers are going to run away on their own. Honestly…’
Eliris didn’t think much of it and continued doing what she wanted to do. She hadn’t finished the novel she asked from Aunt Rachel the last time yet. She decided to return to the cottage in the Arden Forest a bit later. It was too early to head back anyway.
***
When Eliris returned home, there was no sign of Sophia or Sister Ann.
The usual lively atmosphere of the Witch’s Cottage had vanished, replaced by an unsettling silence. She felt something was wrong. Did Sophia go to practice her martial arts with the Dwarf uncle again? That had to be it. Sophia wouldn’t just run off, or so Eliris believed.
However, seeing the letter on the dining table made her heart skip a beat. Her mindset began to shift, and she started to doubt her previous assumptions. The letter was impossible to miss. Sensing something, Eliris ran over and tore the envelope open.
[I’m sorry, Elir. I kept this from you and left without saying goodbye. I received guidance from Mother in a dream and chose to head to the Second Continent. Sister Ann insisted on coming with me. After all, she knows that with Aunt Rachel, Uncle Marcus, and little Nino around, you won’t be lonely.]
***
‘So that’s what it was. Was it because of that conversation at the top of the Peak of Phantoms?! Damn… I should have tried to get more information out of her…’
[The main reason is that I feel I’m still too weak. Once I’m strong enough to protect everyone, I’ll definitely come back.]
[Also, just to be clear, I’ll allow you to get close with Nino. I only approve of Nino! If I find out you’re getting too close to other girls, I’ll make you regret it! And you better not even think about looking for a man, do you understand?]
‘Ugh! Enough already, you obsessive girl. Give it a rest.’
[Sincerely, Sophia, who loves Elir the most. If we miss each other, we can still communicate via letters! Although the delivery time is a bit slow, haha—]
***
[You know, Elir, you’re my sister. We’ve fought side by side to defeat many opponents. I’ve heard that the Elven Swordmaster Fiona is incredibly strong, so I think the three of us would have great chemistry in a party. Therefore, I’ve decided to take my talents to Ave Mujica.]
‘What the hell! This stupid green-eyes chose Mujica over GO! This is so cringe… haha…’
‘Hmph! Don’t think for a second that I’ll be sad just because you’re gone. You annoyed me every single day. Now, my ears can finally have some peace. This is paradise… haha…’
***
The next day, Eliris overslept until nearly noon. As expected, without Sophia around, her bad habit of staying in bed had returned.
‘Sophia, I’m taking good care of our potted plants. Like you said, they’re family, just like us.’
‘Sophia, I’ve been cleaning the house properly. I don’t want you to suddenly come back and find the place a mess. I don’t want to hear your lecturing.’
Eliris tried to do what Sophia often did. Sophia had even taught her step-by-step how to make an apple pie a while back. On a whim, she wanted to see if she could complete it independently without Head Chef Sophia’s supervision. Donning Sophia’s slightly oversized linen apron, Eliris began peeling apples with a paring knife. Just as she applied pressure, her damp fingers slipped, and the apple rolled onto the floor.
“It’s fine, let’s try again.”
Biting her lower lip to encourage herself, she picked up the apple. But the knife wouldn’t cooperate, constantly veering off the smooth skin.
“Ow! That hurts…” She hurriedly sucked on her fingertip where the blade had nicked the skin. Looking at the cutting board, she saw only a pile of mangled apple chunks.
“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Eliris whispered to herself.
She finally sifted the flour and prepared the crust, immediately placing the semi-finished pie into the oven.
“Wait, which setting was it? This one?” Eliris wasn’t sure of the correct setting, and she accidentally set it to the high-heat level used for roasting whole chickens.
“This should be right, right…?” Eliris felt uneasy but sat down anyway to read the novel Aunt Rachel had given her.
20 minutes later, a burnt smell wafted through the air. She rushed to the bookshelf to put the book away and ran to the oven.
“Oh no, that’s the high-heat setting! Dammit!”
Eliris panicked, turned off the heat, and opened the oven. She realized how clumsy she truly was. Even though Sophia had taught her multiple times, she still managed to burn the apple pie. She was pathetic… She used to mock Sophia for being bad at magic and spent every day joking around, only to realize how stupid she was when it came to cooking.
With no other choice, she braced herself to eat the charred pie. Otherwise, she’d be stuck eating raw fruit all day. There was no flour left in the house; she had ruined the very last of it. Then she remembered that Sophia had been the one handling all the grocery shopping lately, even while finding time for sword practice.
Eliris used a small knife to cut a tiny piece of the blackened pie and ate it slowly. It really tasted like chewing on coal… It was terrible. She was so useless. She couldn’t even make a pie she’d learned a few times. All she did was eat what was put in front of her… That was why Sophia left her.
As she reminisced about their daily lives, Eliris’s brow furrowed. Her nose began to sting, and her eyebrows slouched. Why did her chest feel so tight? It was an unbearable, lingering sensation. She lowered her head and bit her lip, trying to hold it back, but the sob in her throat felt like a ball of cotton, hurting more the more she suppressed it.
It wasn’t until she saw liquid mixing with tears dripping onto the table that she realized she was crying. Looking into the mirror, the silver-haired girl with delicate features saw herself drenched in tears, her eyes bloodshot.
‘Sophia, I’m sorry… I’ve turned into a crybaby.’
“Sophia… *sob*… why… why did you lie to me… You said… you said you’d be back last night… You’re such a jerk! *waaaah!*”
In this life, she was a girl. But Sophia acted just as she had in their previous life. Eliris had to admit that Sophia was perhaps more like a boy. She was responsible, hated injustice, stayed true to herself, and always kept her word for the things she cherished.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, staining Sophia’s linen apron with dark spots. She buried her face in the apron, breathing in the familiar but fading scent. Her shoulders finally began to shake uncontrollably. In the silence of the lonely cottage, her suppressed sobs became painfully clear.
***
Late that night in the Arden Forest, near the barrier, the white-haired girl who had looked like a tear-stained mess moments ago had finally calmed down. She wiped away her tears and activated an emergency long-distance teleportation circle that cost 500 gold coins. Her destination: Nino’s home in the Northern Snowfields.
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