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The Burning of a Wish in Winter - Episode 5
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Humans in this world hate wizards.
So even though Heathcliff was such a kind and considerate young man, not to mention sometimes cute and even dashing…
He’s still a wizard. People need no other reason to subject him and even his parents to cold eyes and judgmental gazes.
Akira: (Back then, when he told me about the time he wanted to break his promise, I didn’t know what to say.)
(But now…)
Memories of the days I’d spent with him came to mind.
Who was it that first took my hand when I’d just arrived from my world? That was Heathcliff.
Who was it that’d shed blood fighting against all odds at Granvelle Castle when it was sealed behind briars? That too was Heathcliff.
Who was it that became my guiding light forward when we were investigating the strange happenings in the Fiefdom of Cortese? Heathcliff, of course it was Heathcliff.
Heathcliff: …… Kenja sama?
Akira: Ah, my bad, didn’t mean to get all pensive on you.
… As for your parents and the good name of the Blanchett family … well, it’s really not my place to speak for them, but…
Speaking for myself… I’m glad you’re a wizard, Heathcliff.
Heathcliff: Glad?
Akira: Well, Heathcliff, you’ve helped me a lot since I’ve come to this world. Not just in terms of magic, but also for not-magic things.
And Heath… if you were a nobleman’s son and just not a wizard… I don’t think our paths would have ever crossed.
………
That was really selfish of me to say. I know that, but…
[ No BGM ]
Heathcliff: No… that’s… …….
[ Heathcliff smiles. ]
Heathcliff: I see… Yes. You’re right.
If I were a normal human……
I’d have never met the Eastern Wizards, or Shino, or Cain, or you either, Kenja sama.
[ BGM starts ]
Cain: Oh, there they are. Hey, you guys, we’re over here!
I saw Cain waving at us for our attention. Shylock and Oz were with him, waiting at our rendezvous point in the city square.
Shylock: And so, we are reunited. Did Beluga tell you anything useful?
Rutile: Yes, she did. So…
[ Rutile fills everyone in on the latest. ]
Rutile: … And that’s how we found out that Beluga… crutches on those dreamwood branches for emotional support. It’s how she copes with all she’s been through.
She clearly has a good head on her shoulders, but the moment she started talking about those branches — I’m no expert, but that’s when I noticed that something’s wrong with her.
Cain: I see… That means the thing that enthralled Beluga is also the source of the branches.
Shylock: Indeed. Malicious creatures – be they fey or magical – will gladly feast on those that are weak of heart.
Lennox: Oz sama, may I ask what information you’ve gleaned from this land?
Oz: Something foreign has entered this land.
It is a presence not unfamiliar to Shylock and I. It is likely a creature hailing from the Forest of Dreams…
Owen: That’ll be a frosty.
Akira: Owen!?
Out of the ether, a smiling Owen appeared standing in front of us.
He wore an outfit in the same style as us, from the set Chloe had prepared for the Northern Wizards.
Heathcliff: When did you… You did go to the Northern Wizards’ mission today, right?
Owen: Yup. But the other four were taking too long squabbling in front of the elevator.
I thought I’d go on ahead of them. I took the elevator alone, and I seem to have arrived at the wrong destination.
Cain: … Just out of curiosity, what were they fighting over?
Owen: ‘Mithra and Bradley of the North, keeping the skies clean of rogue sleighs, like servants obeying the twins’ every order. That’s just so lame.’ By the way, I was the one who told them that.
Shino: So you started it. Bet you planned that all along.
Oz: I will transport you back to the twins.
Owen: Be my guest. But I’d bet that right now the twins are struggling to placate an irritated Mithra.
Akira: (If we send Owen back, the Magical Manor’s definitely getting blown up the moment he shows up… and, you know what…)
Akira: … Um, Oz.
I was just thinking that, since it sounds like Owen’s familiar with what Frosty is, it might be a good idea to ask him more about it…
Oz: ……… If that is your wish, Kenja.
Akira: Thank you very much.
Akira: Um, Owen, could you please tell us more about Frosty, if you don’t mind?
Owen: Then grovel. Beg for it, like you’re begging for your life.
Akira: Please! I beg of you to help us for you are mighty and wise and powerful. Please, Owen, we need your aid. We can’t do this without you.
Owen: Fufu. … Frosty are a fey species cloaked in snow, creatures of frost. When a frosty makes itself known, it takes the form of a white shadow accompanied by a vortex of blizzard winds.
I don’t know if any of you have seen a frosty before, but they’re common in the Forest of Dreams. Maybe they feel at home there.
Sometimes, they travel with the wind, going wherever cold winds blow. Sometimes, the wind takes them over the mountain range to Eastern Country. They seem fond of this place.
Rutile: Ah, so that’s how the frosty fairies of the North became a legend in this region.
Shylock: Then what we are encountering here is most likely one of those frosty fey, and this one has bound itself to Beluga’s heart…… Are they perhaps fond of giving gifts?
Owen: It’s not unheard of, especially when it comes to children they’ve taken a liking to. Frosties like humans.
It’s easy to identify children that frosties have taken a liking to. They’d have a snowflake that appears in their eyes.
Akira: I see, thank you… Huh, wait. Doesn’t that mean you already knew that a frosty was involved ever since I brought up the snowflake eye at the bar?
[ Cain sighs. ]
Cain: You could’ve told us back then, you know.
Owen: But did anyone ask me for my thoughts?
Akira & Cain: Urgh…
Heathcliff: A white shadow accompanied by a vortex of blizzard winds, fond of giving gifts…
… If what I saw back then was also a frosty, then I might have met one before. It happened a long time ago, well before even Shino came to Castle Blanchett.
Shino: What? Hey, that’s the first I’m hearing of that.
Rutile: Huh? But didn’t you say that there aren’t any legends of Frosty in the Blanchett region?
Lennox: It might have been a particularly harsh winter that year. Since frosties travel by wind, it could have been carried farther than usual, to regions where no one had ever heard of Frosty before.
Heathcliff: Yeah. If I remember correctly, the winter I had the fey encounter was beyond frigid, one of the coldest winters we’ve ever had.
Heathcliff gazed into the distance as he recounted his memories of the past. His lips parted, tugging upwards for a small but warm smile.
Heathcliff: … At that time, there had been something that was eating away at me. I asked the servants to give me some time alone in the garden.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew. It was a vortex of blizzard wind, and with it came a strange white shadow.
The shadow vanished when Heathcliff froze in fear.
But… it had left a frozen flower laying where it had been.
Heathcliff: It was scary, and it was also mysterious… I didn’t breathe a single word about it to anyone though. Not to my parents, nor to my servants; I didn’t want to make any of them worry.
Shino: ……
Heathcliff: And also, I wondered if it had come to comfort me, because I was feeling really down that day, and the frozen flower it left behind was truly beautiful.
… That was the only time I saw it face to face. But after that, I started to receive frozen flowers. They appeared on cold mornings, the type of cold where there was frost on the window.
It felt like it was looking out for me, so even if I didn’t know who or what my mysterious gift-giver was, I found myself looking forward to finding its flowers…
But when spring arrived, Heathcliff’s mysterious gift-giver stopped visiting.
It was lonely, but Heathcliff said that not long after, he was introduced to Shino, and the gift-giver’s visits were soon forgotten amidst the new days that came with Shino’s arrival.
Heathcliff: Frosty’s visits lasted barely a month… but it was kind to me, and that made me happy.
Heathcliff’s smile reached his eyes. It was obviously a nostalgic memory for him.
At the sight, Owen’s lips twisted into a sneer, and he chuckled softly.
It turned into peals of vibrant laughter — but it was full of derision, like he was painting over those fond childhood memories with his scorn.
Owen: … By the way, did I ever mention what sort of children frosties take a liking to? I haven’t, have I?
They like children who wish for the impossible.
They’re fey that love loneliness, futility, wishes and dreams that may never come true.
Heathcliff: … What?
Rutile: What on earth do you mean by…
???: … Oh? If it isn’t Heathcliff sama, with the Great Sage and her Wizards!
There was a well-dressed young boy accompanied by his attendants. He called out to us and came over.
He had silver hair that reached his shoulders, and his green eyes were widened in surprise. He was none other than—
Heathcliff: Emmett, it’s you!
— Emmett, the son of the lord of Vera City.
[ Vera City Lord’s Mansion ]
[ No BGM ]
After we told him about the situation at hand, Emmett invited us back to his mansion.
Cain: That’s quite the generous gesture from Emmett. Can’t believe he’s letting us use his mansion as our base of operations while we figure out our game plan to drive away the frosty.
Rutile: Emmett’s been told lots of stories about scary Frosty since he was little. He was white as a sheet, but he’s still willing to help.
Lennox: … Owen. About what you said earlier — that frosties love dreams that can never come true…
[ BGM starts ]
Owen: It’s exactly as I’d said.
Owen picked out a cookie from the cookie platter that’d been served to us. He smiled, composed.
[ Owen CG ]
Owen: The things frosties like most are lonely hearts and futile wishes.
Wishes for the impossible, like, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be better if things were different,’ or ‘If only things had stayed the same.’
That’s why they gather in droves in the Forest of Dreams. Frosties thrive on the life essence of the people that visit, those on the verge of death, who are lost in their happy dreams that will never come true.
Then, Owen turned his attention to Heathcliff with an amused gleam in his eye.
Owen: And they give gifts to children that they’re really fond of, so that they might lead them astray. The wishes and dreams of children are pure and lonely, that’s why.
They find things that children might like, foster the child’s attachment to them, and when the time is right, they spirit the child away to their abode.
It’s no different from those humans that keep chickens and make them lay eggs. The kidnapped children are made to dream their futile dreams in a frosty’s abode. That’s why they’re taken away.
Heathcliff: So… the frozen flowers I received were…
Owen: Mhm, a lure disguised as a present. If spring came any later than it had, I bet you’d have been whisked away to its abode.
Owen bit into and chomped through a flower-shaped cookie. The soft noises he made as he ate were strangely unpleasant.
He stroked Heathcliff’s cheek, as if to pity him, or perhaps to claw open an old wound.
next episode →
Humans in this world hate wizards.
So even though Heathcliff was such a kind and considerate young man, not to mention sometimes cute and even dashing…
He’s still a wizard. People need no other reason to subject him and even his parents to cold eyes and judgmental gazes.
Akira: (Back then, when he told me about the time he wanted to break his promise, I didn’t know what to say.)
(But now…)
Memories of the days I’d spent with him came to mind.
Who was it that first took my hand when I’d just arrived from my world? That was Heathcliff.
Who was it that’d shed blood fighting against all odds at Granvelle Castle when it was sealed behind briars? That too was Heathcliff.
Who was it that became my guiding light forward when we were investigating the strange happenings in the Fiefdom of Cortese? Heathcliff, of course it was Heathcliff.
Heathcliff: …… Kenja sama?
Akira: Ah, my bad, didn’t mean to get all pensive on you.
… As for your parents and the good name of the Blanchett family … well, it’s really not my place to speak for them, but…
Speaking for myself… I’m glad you’re a wizard, Heathcliff.
Heathcliff: Glad?
Akira: Well, Heathcliff, you’ve helped me a lot since I’ve come to this world. Not just in terms of magic, but also for not-magic things.
And Heath… if you were a nobleman’s son and just not a wizard… I don’t think our paths would have ever crossed.
………
That was really selfish of me to say. I know that, but…
[ No BGM ]
Heathcliff: No… that’s… …….
[ Heathcliff smiles. ]
Heathcliff: I see… Yes. You’re right.
If I were a normal human……
I’d have never met the Eastern Wizards, or Shino, or Cain, or you either, Kenja sama.
[ BGM starts ]
Cain: Oh, there they are. Hey, you guys, we’re over here!
I saw Cain waving at us for our attention. Shylock and Oz were with him, waiting at our rendezvous point in the city square.
Shylock: And so, we are reunited. Did Beluga tell you anything useful?
Rutile: Yes, she did. So…
[ Rutile fills everyone in on the latest. ]
Rutile: … And that’s how we found out that Beluga… crutches on those dreamwood branches for emotional support. It’s how she copes with all she’s been through.
She clearly has a good head on her shoulders, but the moment she started talking about those branches — I’m no expert, but that’s when I noticed that something’s wrong with her.
Cain: I see… That means the thing that enthralled Beluga is also the source of the branches.
Shylock: Indeed. Malicious creatures – be they fey or magical – will gladly feast on those that are weak of heart.
Lennox: Oz sama, may I ask what information you’ve gleaned from this land?
Oz: Something foreign has entered this land.
It is a presence not unfamiliar to Shylock and I. It is likely a creature hailing from the Forest of Dreams…
Owen: That’ll be a frosty.
Akira: Owen!?
Out of the ether, a smiling Owen appeared standing in front of us.
He wore an outfit in the same style as us, from the set Chloe had prepared for the Northern Wizards.
Heathcliff: When did you… You did go to the Northern Wizards’ mission today, right?
Owen: Yup. But the other four were taking too long squabbling in front of the elevator.
I thought I’d go on ahead of them. I took the elevator alone, and I seem to have arrived at the wrong destination.
Cain: … Just out of curiosity, what were they fighting over?
Owen: ‘Mithra and Bradley of the North, keeping the skies clean of rogue sleighs, like servants obeying the twins’ every order. That’s just so lame.’ By the way, I was the one who told them that.
Shino: So you started it. Bet you planned that all along.
Oz: I will transport you back to the twins.
Owen: Be my guest. But I’d bet that right now the twins are struggling to placate an irritated Mithra.
Akira: (If we send Owen back, the Magical Manor’s definitely getting blown up the moment he shows up… and, you know what…)
Akira: … Um, Oz.
I was just thinking that, since it sounds like Owen’s familiar with what Frosty is, it might be a good idea to ask him more about it…
Oz: ……… If that is your wish, Kenja.
Akira: Thank you very much.
Akira: Um, Owen, could you please tell us more about Frosty, if you don’t mind?
Owen: Then grovel. Beg for it, like you’re begging for your life.
Akira: Please! I beg of you to help us for you are mighty and wise and powerful. Please, Owen, we need your aid. We can’t do this without you.
Owen: Fufu. … Frosty are a fey species cloaked in snow, creatures of frost. When a frosty makes itself known, it takes the form of a white shadow accompanied by a vortex of blizzard winds.
I don’t know if any of you have seen a frosty before, but they’re common in the Forest of Dreams. Maybe they feel at home there.
Sometimes, they travel with the wind, going wherever cold winds blow. Sometimes, the wind takes them over the mountain range to Eastern Country. They seem fond of this place.
Rutile: Ah, so that’s how the frosty fairies of the North became a legend in this region.
Shylock: Then what we are encountering here is most likely one of those frosty fey, and this one has bound itself to Beluga’s heart…… Are they perhaps fond of giving gifts?
Owen: It’s not unheard of, especially when it comes to children they’ve taken a liking to. Frosties like humans.
It’s easy to identify children that frosties have taken a liking to. They’d have a snowflake that appears in their eyes.
Akira: I see, thank you… Huh, wait. Doesn’t that mean you already knew that a frosty was involved ever since I brought up the snowflake eye at the bar?
[ Cain sighs. ]
Cain: You could’ve told us back then, you know.
Owen: But did anyone ask me for my thoughts?
Akira & Cain: Urgh…
Heathcliff: A white shadow accompanied by a vortex of blizzard winds, fond of giving gifts…
… If what I saw back then was also a frosty, then I might have met one before. It happened a long time ago, well before even Shino came to Castle Blanchett.
Shino: What? Hey, that’s the first I’m hearing of that.
Rutile: Huh? But didn’t you say that there aren’t any legends of Frosty in the Blanchett region?
Lennox: It might have been a particularly harsh winter that year. Since frosties travel by wind, it could have been carried farther than usual, to regions where no one had ever heard of Frosty before.
Heathcliff: Yeah. If I remember correctly, the winter I had the fey encounter was beyond frigid, one of the coldest winters we’ve ever had.
Heathcliff gazed into the distance as he recounted his memories of the past. His lips parted, tugging upwards for a small but warm smile.
Heathcliff: … At that time, there had been something that was eating away at me. I asked the servants to give me some time alone in the garden.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew. It was a vortex of blizzard wind, and with it came a strange white shadow.
The shadow vanished when Heathcliff froze in fear.
But… it had left a frozen flower laying where it had been.
Heathcliff: It was scary, and it was also mysterious… I didn’t breathe a single word about it to anyone though. Not to my parents, nor to my servants; I didn’t want to make any of them worry.
Shino: ……
Heathcliff: And also, I wondered if it had come to comfort me, because I was feeling really down that day, and the frozen flower it left behind was truly beautiful.
… That was the only time I saw it face to face. But after that, I started to receive frozen flowers. They appeared on cold mornings, the type of cold where there was frost on the window.
It felt like it was looking out for me, so even if I didn’t know who or what my mysterious gift-giver was, I found myself looking forward to finding its flowers…
But when spring arrived, Heathcliff’s mysterious gift-giver stopped visiting.
It was lonely, but Heathcliff said that not long after, he was introduced to Shino, and the gift-giver’s visits were soon forgotten amidst the new days that came with Shino’s arrival.
Heathcliff: Frosty’s visits lasted barely a month… but it was kind to me, and that made me happy.
Heathcliff’s smile reached his eyes. It was obviously a nostalgic memory for him.
At the sight, Owen’s lips twisted into a sneer, and he chuckled softly.
It turned into peals of vibrant laughter — but it was full of derision, like he was painting over those fond childhood memories with his scorn.
Owen: … By the way, did I ever mention what sort of children frosties take a liking to? I haven’t, have I?
They like children who wish for the impossible.
They’re fey that love loneliness, futility, wishes and dreams that may never come true.
Heathcliff: … What?
Rutile: What on earth do you mean by…
???: … Oh? If it isn’t Heathcliff sama, with the Great Sage and her Wizards!
There was a well-dressed young boy accompanied by his attendants. He called out to us and came over.
He had silver hair that reached his shoulders, and his green eyes were widened in surprise. He was none other than—
Heathcliff: Emmett, it’s you!
— Emmett, the son of the lord of Vera City.
[ Vera City Lord’s Mansion ]
[ No BGM ]
After we told him about the situation at hand, Emmett invited us back to his mansion.
Cain: That’s quite the generous gesture from Emmett. Can’t believe he’s letting us use his mansion as our base of operations while we figure out our game plan to drive away the frosty.
Rutile: Emmett’s been told lots of stories about scary Frosty since he was little. He was white as a sheet, but he’s still willing to help.
Lennox: … Owen. About what you said earlier — that frosties love dreams that can never come true…
[ BGM starts ]
Owen: It’s exactly as I’d said.
Owen picked out a cookie from the cookie platter that’d been served to us. He smiled, composed.
[ Owen CG ]
Owen: The things frosties like most are lonely hearts and futile wishes.
Wishes for the impossible, like, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be better if things were different,’ or ‘If only things had stayed the same.’
That’s why they gather in droves in the Forest of Dreams. Frosties thrive on the life essence of the people that visit, those on the verge of death, who are lost in their happy dreams that will never come true.
Then, Owen turned his attention to Heathcliff with an amused gleam in his eye.
Owen: And they give gifts to children that they’re really fond of, so that they might lead them astray. The wishes and dreams of children are pure and lonely, that’s why.
They find things that children might like, foster the child’s attachment to them, and when the time is right, they spirit the child away to their abode.
It’s no different from those humans that keep chickens and make them lay eggs. The kidnapped children are made to dream their futile dreams in a frosty’s abode. That’s why they’re taken away.
Heathcliff: So… the frozen flowers I received were…
Owen: Mhm, a lure disguised as a present. If spring came any later than it had, I bet you’d have been whisked away to its abode.
Owen bit into and chomped through a flower-shaped cookie. The soft noises he made as he ate were strangely unpleasant.
He stroked Heathcliff’s cheek, as if to pity him, or perhaps to claw open an old wound.
next episode →