‘I can’t sleep…’
The full moon hung high in the night sky. A gentle night breeze stirred the windows, making them thud softly. Occasionally, the buzzing of night sprites drifted in from outside.
Their presence meant that most people in the town had already drifted off into dreams—they had come to collect those very dreams.
Aside from those sounds, Aurora also heard Beatrice’s soft breathing—and her muttering in her sleep.
“Mmm… Aur’rora… make mine… stonemill’s nice…”
Held tightly from the side, Beatrice clung to Aurora like an octopus, her limbs wrapped around her. And she wasn’t wearing anything. Aurora could clearly feel two things she really shouldn’t be feeling being pressed against her.
‘There’s no way I can sleep like this.’
Aurora wasn’t the only one hoping she could fall asleep—outside the window, a few adorable little sprites were quietly peeking in, waiting patiently.
They had tiny bodies clad in black pajamas decorated with stars, and wore crescent-shaped black nightcaps. They looked like shrunken children.
Now, these sprites gently pulled the curtains aside with their little blue hands, revealing half of their round heads, blinking eyes like chocolate drops as they watched Aurora.
They seemed to like Beatrice’s dream a lot, but since Aurora was still awake, they didn’t dare go in to collect it. They were waiting for her to fall asleep.
As if falling asleep wasn’t hard enough already—and now she was being stared at by these tiny creatures—it was simply impossible.
‘I’ll go downstairs and ask that girl for a glass of milk.’
With that thought, Aurora decided to get out of bed.
But Beatrice’s arms were wrapped so tightly around her that it was impossible to break free.
‘I need to come up with a way out… Got it.’
Focusing her mind, Aurora began to silently chant the shrinking spell Beatrice had taught her. She wasn’t very proficient at it yet, but it should be enough.
Whoosh.
Her body gradually shrank and stopped once she was the same height as Beatrice.
She seized the moment and wriggled downward.
‘I’m out!’
The spell seemed to consume quite a bit of mana. Not long after escaping, her body slowly returned to its original size.
She crept down from the bed, carefully put on her dress and shoes, and quietly opened the door.
Before leaving, she glanced back at Beatrice. At the moment, Beatrice was tightly hugging the blanket. The part where Aurora had been lying was almost completely misshapen from the embrace.
‘I’ve got to hurry back. If she finds out I’m gone, I’ll definitely get scolded.’
She opened the door just a crack, trying her best not to let the light from outside fall onto Beatrice’s face, then quietly slipped out through the narrow opening.
“Finally out.”
She glanced around—the candlelight at their door was still lit, but the candles outside the other rooms had all been extinguished. Could it be that only the two of them were staying at this inn tonight?
After going downstairs, she saw the green-haired girl sitting at the front door.
Rather than “sitting,” it was more like she had completely fallen asleep. It seemed she had dozed off while waiting for someone.
Seeing how soundly she was sleeping, Aurora didn’t have the heart to wake her.
She thought about looking for the innkeeper instead, but after searching the first floor, she began to notice something odd about this place.
Although the entire inn was impeccably clean, there were no signs of daily life. In fact, it felt more like a place that hadn’t been used for a very long time.
After checking everywhere and failing to find any milk—or even anything edible—Aurora felt an increasing sense of unease. The whole inn felt strangely unreal, but she couldn’t pinpoint why.
With no milk and no answers, Aurora decided she’d just go back to the room and ask the girl about it in the morning.
Creak.
As she stepped onto the staircase, an old wooden board beneath her foot let out a sharp, unpleasant squeak.
“Mama!”
The girl sitting at the entrance suddenly woke up, looking around in confusion, clearly not seeing the person she had been waiting for.
“Uh… that was me, actually.”
Aurora awkwardly raised her hand. When she saw the disappointment flash across the girl’s face, she gave a small, apologetic smile.
The girl’s bright, cheerful expression soon returned after that moment of disappointment.
“Out so late—what brings you downstairs, miss?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to find a glass of milk. But after searching around, I couldn’t find any.”
“Milk, huh…”
The girl scratched her head sheepishly and said, “Sorry, I don’t think we actually have any here.”
“I see… Can I ask you a question?”
Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, and had already disturbed the girl, Aurora figured she might as well bring up the questions that had been on her mind.
“What is it? Ask away.”
Aurora came down the last few steps, stopping about a meter in front of the girl.
“This morning, you said you were the innkeeper’s daughter… So, where is your mother now?”
“You mean Mama… She…”
At that, the girl’s eyes noticeably dimmed. After a moment, she said, “She went out… she just hasn’t come back yet.”
“I see… But it’s already this late and she still hasn’t returned. No wonder you’re waiting here for her. You’re such a good girl.”
“Mm…”
Although she didn’t get the answer she wanted, Aurora saw the girl’s sadness and decided not to press further.
“Well then, I’ll head back up and try to sleep.”
Aurora turned to go upstairs, but just as she did, the girl suddenly spoke again.
“Actually… Mama and I had a fight.”
“Hm?”
Her footsteps halted again. Aurora turned back to look at the girl, who now had her head lowered. A few tears seemed to be silently trailing down her cheeks.
“Is that so?”
“Mm.”
Aurora understood why the girl was telling her the truth now. She was only about seventeen years old—going through something so upsetting, of course she would need someone to confide in.
And the most important thing for a listener was not to give advice, but simply to listen.
Aurora stepped forward again. This time, she didn’t keep her distance. Instead, she gently embraced the girl.
“If you’re troubled, you can always talk to me.”
“Mm.”
“My father was addicted to gambling. After racking up a huge debt, he ran away, leaving just me and my mother behind. My mom raised me all on her own and ran this inn by herself. It wasn’t easy.”
“Mhm, she sounds like a truly amazing mother.”
“But… I always argued with her over little things and kept running away from home.”
“Though I say ‘running away,’ I never actually left town—I’d just hide somewhere in the city, waiting for my mom to come find me.”
“But this time was different. Mom… she didn’t come…”
Aurora felt a warm dampness against her chest—she knew it had to be the girl’s tears.
“When I came home… Mom was gone. Everything was gone. There was nothing left but an empty house.”
Choking with sobs, the girl looked up. Her turquoise eyes brimmed with tears as she cried, “Miss… do you think my mom doesn’t want me anymore? Did she abandon me like my father did?”
Aurora reached out to wipe away her tears. Stroking the girl’s hair gently, she said in a soft voice, “No, she wouldn’t.
Your mother must have gone out looking for you and just hasn’t returned yet. She loves you so much—how could she possibly abandon you?”
“B-but it’s already been three months since I last saw her.”
Three months? That changed everything. Aurora didn’t believe that a woman strong enough to carry her whole family would simply leave her daughter behind.
Something must have happened to her.
Suddenly, Aurora recalled what the captain of the town guard had said earlier that morning—residents had been disappearing without a trace.
It had to be the work of those so-called cultists. And perhaps… this girl’s mother was one of their victims.
“Kind big sister, can you help me find my mom? I—I really know I was wrong now. I won’t run away from home again. I’ve even learned how to clean up the place on my own. I can help run the inn now! I…”
Looking at the girl’s pitiful, tearful face, Aurora made her decision without hesitation.
She pulled the sobbing girl tightly into her arms and said with firm resolve, “Alright. I promise—I’ll help you find her.”