The Burning of a Wish in Winter - Episode 2

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[ Meow! ]

[ BGM starts ]
Akira: Wh– Wha– Wh… Whaaat… Shylock’s bar looks like a cat café…
Cain: What café? Umm, Kenja sama, does that mean…
Shino: You’re really seeing things?
Akira: Y-Yes, I am. There’s just so many cats everywhere!
They’re not just around me. There’s some over there too, by the counter. Ah, there’s a black cat yawning in Heath’s lap…
Heathcliff: A cat… yawning, in my lap…?
Rutile: I guess only the person that struck the match can see the visions.
Akira: That means that none of you can see all these adorable cats, right? Aww, but they’re sooo cute. I’m at a loss for words…

Shylock: …… Aha, so that’s what it is…
Kenja sama. With your blessing, I’d like to extend your senses to the others, so that everyone here can partake in your vision.
Akira: Huh? … Y-Yeah, sure!

Shylock: « inviebelle »

Cain: Woah! It’s just like Akira said! There’s cats crawling all over the place here!
Heathcliff: There really is a napping cat in my lap. There’s even a tabby cat on the countertop trying to steal Oz sama and Lennox’s ham…
Shino: Check out those kittens over there. If only Faust were here to see this.
Rutile: (giggles) I guess that girl really was one in a million!

Dreamily, I nodded at Rutile, whose face had lit up with a bright smile.

Akira: (How amazing… it’s like a storybook come to life…)

The matchstick between my fingers continued to burn. It felt like the little flame upon its tip had painted my heart in radiant colours that spilled forth to light up the world before me.

Oz: … The Forest of Dreams.

Oz, who had been drinking in silence at the bar, looked over his shoulder at me.
He paid no heed to the tabby cat batting at his long ponytail.

Shino: The Forest of Dreams?
Oz: Yes. Those matches…

[ No BGM ]
Owen: … are matches made from dreamwood, a species of tree that grows in the Forest of Dreams. You lot sure have found yourselves an interesting toy.
Cain: Owen!

Owen must have joined us at some point.
From behind me, he leaned over the sofa’s backrest to peer into the match’s flame.

Owen: When you set fire to dreamwood branches, it gives you visions of happiness.

[ BGM starts ]
Owen: Whatever it is that you wish for most, you’ll see it if you hold a dreamwood branch while it burns.
Shylock: In other words, anyone not holding the branch won’t see the visions. Earlier, I had strengthened the effects of the match Kenja sama struck, so that everyone near her could see what she saw.
Akira: I see… I’ve heard about dreamwood before from White.
He mentioned that there’s craftsmen that sell matches made from dreamwood. This must be one of those.
Lennox: ………

Lennox, who had also glanced our way, placed a hand on his chin. His gaze focused on the matchstick I held.

Akira: Lennox?
Lennox: Oh… No need for concern. It’s just that there’s something that doesn’t add up.
Dreamwood branches aren’t sold for cheap. They demand a high price, especially outside of Northern Country.
But that little girl… To be honest, I don’t see how she could’ve possibly had the money to purchase a material like dreamwood.
Yet she’s selling genuine dreamwood matches, is she not? It begs the question of why — and how?

Lennox posed his question in a quiet cadence.
As if to avoid his question, the flame on my match flickered and silently died out. The cats making themselves comfortable in the bar disappeared like wisps of smoke from an extinguished flame.

Rutile: You have a point… Wait, Heath, you mentioned back then that the girl gave off a mysterious aura, didn’t you?
Cain: What kind of mysterious?
Heathcliff: Mm. She was human, but she didn’t have an aura like a human. It’s hard to describe…
Shylock: …… Was there anything else you’d noticed?
Akira: Ah. … Now that you mention it, when she left, I saw a twinkling light in her eye. It looked like a snowflake. It might’ve just been a trick of the light though…
Owen: …… A snowflake in her eye……
Shylock & Oz: ………

Oz, after brooding on the topic, shook his head just once. And then he said, plainly and calmly:

Oz: That girl is most likely in close contact with something inhuman.
Rutile & Heathcliff & Akira: ……!
Oz: She has either been blessed or protected by an inhuman, and thus she’s able to obtain rare and valuable dreamwood branches…
… Or she has been cursed by an inhuman, and it now chases her towards a uniquely cruel fate. We cannot say for sure.

Oz’s words were disturbing enough to send shivers down my spine. I thought of the youthful but blistered red hands that had given me the matchbox.

Akira: (Cursed…? But that girl was already struggling so hard just to get by in the cold…)

Owen: (smiling) ………

Owen observed us with his peculiar, mismatched eyes while we remained silent. He blinked.
Theatrically, Owen shook his head and furrowed his beautifully sculpted eyebrows.

Owen: Oh, the poor, helpless thing. What a tragedy, if she’s been cursed.
These starveling children barely survive as is. The slightest misfortune would rob them of their lives.
To be a starveling child and cursed… Her cruel fate is sealed.
Shino: … Sympathy? Coming from you?
Rutile: But Owen san has a point. Children fall ill easily.
Lennox: When Mitile was young, he’d often end up bedridden during the winter. Winters in Vera City are harsh, so it’d be even tougher on her…
Heathcliff: ………

Heathcliff, who had set the cogs of his mind to work, suddenly glanced up. His gaze swiftly settled upon Oz at the bar counter.

Heathcliff: … If I may ask, is there a way for us to tell if she’s blessed or cursed?
Oz: It can be discerned on sight.
Shylock: Just so. A human that is bound to an inhuman has particular identifiers in their aura. That’s what you had picked up on before.
Heathcliff: If that’s the case, then… Oz sama, Shylock, could you two please come with me to take a look at the girl? I’ll personally show you to Vera City.

Heathcliff stood primly upright, then he bowed.

Heathcliff: … I would never trouble you with this if I could do it myself, but I wasn’t able to identify it when I had the chance. For my inadequacies, I sincerely apologise.
But if that child really has been cursed, and if something happened to her, I can’t stand by doing nothing to help.
Shylock: Come now, raise your head, Heathcliff. For you, it is my absolute pleasure to assist.
Oz, you will be joining us, yes?
Oz: Yes.
Heathcliff: …! Thank you!
Shino: I’m going too. Where the master goes, the servant follows.
Lennox: I’d like to join you… No, first things first. We should defer to Oz sama and Shylock’s schedules. When are you two free to visit Vera City?
Shylock: Me? … I’d be all yours in a week, seven days from now. What about you, Oz?
Oz: I do not have plans for that day either.
Heathcliff: I have time then too, so let’s schedule this excursion for seven days from today. Thank you so much.
Rutile: That works for us too, so Leno san and I’d be happy to come along!
Cain: Count me in, guys. The more eyes the better when it comes to looking for a child in a city.
Akira: Me too, please let me help.
Owen: Me three.

Owen, who had been silent until now, sidled up to me and Heathcliff. He placed his hands on both our shoulders and smiled an unreadable smile.

Owen: The more eyes the better, was it? Surely you agree, Heathcliff.
Heathcliff: Y-Yeah, that’s right, but…
Shino: Hey, hands off Heath.
Oz: There is no room for you.
Owen: Such a harsh rejection! For once, I’m happy to assist, and this is the thanks I get.
Akira: Um, I’m really glad you offered to help, but I believe seven days from now, the Northern Wizards will be out on a mission.
Snow and White mentioned that you all were going to get rid of a flight of sleighs terrorising the skies.
Lennox: It sounds so jolly, but it’s actually quite the dangerous task, huh…
Shino: I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but tough luck. Go hunt down some rogue sleighs and don’t come back until you’re done.

For a moment, Owen seemed lost in thought.
The next thing I knew, he coolly shrugged and dropped the issue. He stepped away from the both of us.

Owen: Oh, I forgot about that. Then I guess my hands are tied.
Give it your all, and a little bit extra on my behalf too. Have fun.


[ Vera City ]

Several days after that, Oz brought us to Vera City with his magic.

Heathcliff: You really do stay warm in these clothes!
Lennox: I heard that Chloe made us these clothes specifically for this trip.
Cain: Yeah. Apparently, he wanted them to match the outfits he made for the Northern Wizards for their mission today.
Rutile: He must’ve liked the idea of us working in tandem even though we’re miles apart. Chloe’s so clever like that!
Akira: (As for me, he even prepared a special bag for Saccie… I’m really happy Chloe’s so considerate.)

Shylock & Oz: ………

Most of us were smiling, but Shylock and Oz’s expressions were lost in thought, as if they were trying to pick apart voices from afar.
Saccie’s ears poked out from its bag, and they were twitching every which way, like it was sensing something.

Akira: … Um, Shylock, Oz? What’s wr—

Mother: You troublemaker! Why won’t you stop with all these pranks!
Little Boy: Ehehe. Because it’s funny?

I was about to check on Shylock and Oz, but the mother and child talking at the nearby roadside caught my attention.

Mother: (sigh) Why can’t you behave…
If you keep being up to no good, a big scary Frosty’s going to take you away!

[ Strong wind sfx ]

Mother: … See! You felt that cold gust of wind, didn’t you! That means Frosty is nearby. It kidnaps naughty boys like you and flies them off to faraway Northern Country—
Little Boy: I… I w-won’t be naughty anymore! I’ll stop pranking others! I’m soooorrrryyy!

[ The little boy runs after his mother. ]

Rutile: Ahaha. He must be quite the mischievous boy. What an adorable parent-child pair.


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