The witch, Yumias la Freyr, had come back from her business, whatever that had been. Having just returned, she caught quite some attention from everyone, including from the three little girls, or so Emily told us. How that had become a whole crowd forming around her was still a mystery, however.

“It just happened!”
“It just happened?”
“It did!”

Maybe it had been my fault for expecting something… Emily had clearly been more occupied with the candy in her hands. Candy she’d gotten from Yumias, of course.

“I see…”

Emily tilted her head as she looked at me, her eyes staring in wonder. Was I scowling? Maybe I was… But this was… difficult. In front of me was a large crowd. I could hear some laughter in between the boisterous noises. Most of the people here didn’t know much about Yumias. Even if they had heard about the whole witch thing, not many would even believe it. But for me, that one was a… difficult person.

“Sis. What do we do?”

I averted my gaze from Emily, turning to Karen instead.

“That’s something you have to decide on your own, Yumi.”
“Ugh…”

Support request denied…

“But… what if she is here because of that, Sis?”
“... I think it’s very likely that’s the reason.”
“... Figured.”

If she had really come because we saw those dreams—or more like, because I saw that dream—then approaching her… While I wanted to know what I had seen there, Yumias interpreted it as peeking. That alone worried me. Not to mention, she scared me. They were conflicting emotions and I really had no idea what to do. I was at a loss. All of this, it was just… too sudden.

Even though, already know I won’t be able to pretend nothing happened…

If only I could do that…

“Yumi? Yumi? Are you okay? Does something hurt?”
“No, it doesn’t, Emily. Everything’s okay. I, err, just need some time. To prepare?”
“Huh?”

Emily was still tilting her head. Or maybe again. With a wry smile, I put my hand on her head and ruffled her hair, hoping it’d relieve her a little. And lo and behold, she broke out into a grin.

Ahh, seeing her smile is great.

It was like her smile was infectious, making everyone around her happy as well. It was, in a sense, quite magical.

“Sis, let’s wait for the crowd to disperse.”
“Okay.”

Karen nodded, a gentle smile of her own forming on her face as she watched Emily and me.

That said, this might take a while…

We had no idea what was going on within that crowd so there was also no way for us to know when they might leave.

Since we couldn’t really stand around the entire time and wait, we decided to sit down nearby. As usual, the mercenaries had placed tables and benches here and there for others to sit down.

“Emily, are you fine with staying with us? Aren’t Maya and Sele still over there?”
“I am!”
“If you say so…”

Rare enough for the three to not be together.

“Yumi, Yumi! Uncle said Big Sis Karen and Yumi took a long nap. Is that true?”
“Nn, well you could say we took a bit of a nap.”
“Ohhhh! That’s awesome!”
“It… is?”
“I can’t sleep that long!”

I would be worried if she could sleep for over a week. Very worried.

“Sleeping so long sounds nice! But Mrs Korwen will scold us if we oversleep… Oh, oh, and Miss Elder also scolded us once because we overslept…”
“The Elder did that?”
“She did! But she was really nice about it. Mrs Korwen is really scary when she scolds you! Don’t make her angry, Yumi!”
“I wasn’t planning to do that.”

Oh, but she scolded us this noon… Mostly her husband, though. Better not tell Emily that.

“That’s good!” she said, oblivious of my inner dilemma.
“Nn…”

---

We spent a good while talking with Emily, mostly answering random inquiries she had about the time we napped, when we had gone to the fort and stuff like that. Of course, it was a little hard to tell her about our dreams. Most of them were too sensual for a child like her and the remainder wasn’t something we could talk about either. Not in the presence of Yumias, at least. Even if she wasn’t exactly in earshot.

“Yumi, Emily, look. The crowd’s dispersing.”
“Nn?”

At some point, Karen, who had kept watch on the crowd, informed us about the people leaving. I could hear some tidbits about it being time for dinner and all that. Once the crowd was gone, it only left behind a handful of people. Lily and Rina as well as Maya and Sele. And a small girl, with pink-coloured hair in a witch costume. She was looking in our direction, her creepy never-fading smile directed at us. I could feel a shiver running down my spine.

“Yumi.”
“Nn…”

She was waiting for us.

“Yumi? Yumi, is something wrong?”
“No, Emily. It’s fine.”

I gave a pat on the head again, eliciting a smile from her. This bright, innocent smile calmed me.

“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”

We stood up from our spot and walked in the direction of the small group. The others had already noticed that Yumias was staring in our direction, so they obviously noticed our presence as well.

“Yumi! Karen!”

Lily was the first to call out to us. Moments later, Maya and Sele rushed over to us as well, shouting our names—or Maya was, at least.

“Yumi! Big Sis Karen! You’re back, too!”
“...”
“Nn, we are.”

The two rushed into my arms for a hug, nearly toppling me over. I briefly wondered if they had taken over from Emily, but dismissed the thought.

“We were worried, Yumi. Uncle only said you were taking a really long nap. He didn’t allow us to see you, either.”
“... Mm. Napped?”
“You could say we had a really long nap, yes…”

I smiled wryly. Just like Emily had told us, they had been quite worried, huh?

“Sorry, we’ll tell you next time in advance.”
“Promise!”
“I promise.”
“Good!”

Maya’s furry ears twitched in delight when she heard me promising her.

“Then, next time we can nap together.”
“... Mm.”

Sele nodded enthusiastically at Maya’s suggestion.

“That… probably won’t be possible. Sorry.”
“Ehhhh? Why not?”
“Err…”

What could one say here?

“Maya, Sele, Lil’ Sis and Big Sis need their adult time together. Don’t bother them,” interjected Rina.
“””Adult time?”””

The three little girls stared at Karen and me, waiting for an explanation.

“Err… You’ll understand when you are a little older.”

Maya and Emily scowled, probably not happy that I was blatantly evading the issue. Sele, however, was blankly staring at me, her cheeks slowly flushing… She tugged at Maya’s and Emily’s clothes, drawing their attention to herself.

“Sele?”
“Mmm?”
“... Leave… be…”

Sele was staring at the ground, her whole face flushed now. She definitely knew what was up…

“Ehh… But if Sele says so…”
“Mm… Yumi, tell us next time!”

They hadn’t given up… But at least, Sele saved me from a quite uncomfortable situation. Right when I thought that, a chuckle came from behind the little ones. A high-pitched voice, clear like a bell.

“... It’s been a while.”
“My, it sure has. Were you lonely? Did you miss me? Come here, I’ll give you a big ol’ hug.”
“No thanks.”
“Ahhh, I was rejected. I can’t believe it. Is it puberty? It has to be. Making me sad. You shouldn’t do that, my dear. This little girl’s heart is fragile. Oh so fragile. So fragile a breeze might break it.”
“... As if.”

Yumias put a hand on her cheek, shaking her head as if she was sad. If only her smile would fade.

“But my, it is still good to see you growing up safe and healthy. It’s been a while so I was worried. So very worried.”
“...”
“And I heard from the cute ones about how you overslept. You shouldn’t do that, dear. You have to wake up on time. Do you need me to come and wake you up?”

What was she up to? Was she trying to play at being my mother?

“Giving me the silent treatment, yes? That’s not very nice.”

I opened my mouth to say something but stopped myself just in time. It had barely been a minute and I was already feeling irritated. But no matter how irritated I felt, I shouldn’t lash out at her with the girls here.

“My, that reminds me. Lily dear, I heard these cute children have work to do. Is that so?”
“Ah.”
“... Oh.”
“...”

Hearing the sudden change in topic, Maya, Emily and Sele remembered as well about it. While I didn’t know exactly what it was about, she probably meant how they were helping out with dinner.

“That… is the case, yes.”
“I see. Could you take them there for me?”
“Sure thing, mama!”

With a big smile, Lily leapt onto her feet.

“Come, you three, you don’t want to be scolded by Mrs Korwen again, do you?”
“”Nooo.””
“...”

With the little girls’ cries echoing in her ears, Lily quickly brought them away. Albeit with slight resistance. As for Rina, she kept looking back and forth between Yumias, Karen and Lily, before jumping up as well.

“I’ll join her! Miss Yumias, later!”
“Yes, yes, later, my dear.”

Rina hurried after Lily, leaving only Karen, Yumias and me behind.

“Now we can talk undisturbed, dear. My, your face is quite a sight. Your mother is hurt.”
“... I’ve told you before, you’re not my mother.”
“How could you say such things to me… Of course, I am. Look, you have my face. And my eyes. And even my hair! You’re my child through and through.”

And just as always, her smile never faded, even though she was speaking as if she was sad or had regrets.

“But I guess that’s not what you want to hear. Ahh, just when will my love be returned? Patience is a virtue but just how long do I need to wait? It’s troubling.”
“That’ll never happen.”
“I see. Even though I’ve done you such a big favour. To think I was all for nought.”
“... Favour?”

What kind of favour did she ever do for me? There wasn’t…

Okay… Calm down, Yumi. She did save your life, actually… It’s not like she only hurt or messed with you…

I took another deep breath in an attempt to calm myself. She was just messing with me, trying to rile me up. Maybe she enjoyed people being troubled or annoyed. It was in bad taste but I… couldn’t deny she had helped me out. She also troubled me a lot, though.

“What favour were you talking about?”

I asked once more, seeing that she had just silently watched me without answering. Had she actually waited for me to calm myself?

“Mh, I spent some time in your old world.”
“... Eh?”
“Huh?”

My eyes went wide and behind me, I could hear Karen gasp in surprise, too.

“Let’s see, let’s see. Right, your family, you see. The family over there, of course. I helped them out a little. Just a little.”
“What happened there?”
“Well, let’s see… Actually, never mind… It wouldn’t be good to bother you with matters you have no influence on. Yes, that’d be just in bad taste.”
“You little…”

One of these days…

“Just… tell me.”
“Oh? Is my teasing getting less effective? That’s boring.”
“I don’t care if it’s boring or not.”
“I’d assume so. But that doesn’t change that it’s boring for me. Maybe I should tease your little girlfriend instead?”

Yumias’ eyes wandered to my side, to Karen.

“Speaking of your little girlfriend, she’s changed a little, hasn't she? I see, you’re sharing with her. My, and you think me cruel, yet you do the same.”
“... I did this out of my own will.”
“Own will?”

Yumias tilted her head at those words.

“How weird. To think anyone would choose that on their own.”
So you know how messed up all of this is, after all!

I just barely managed to not voice out those thoughts. Holding back could be hard at times…

“Well, enough teasing for now. My little Lily will scold me if I overdo it. I couldn’t bear that.”

Yumias snapped her fingers and out of thin air, a table and three chairs appeared.

“Take a seat, take a seat.”

Yumias sat down, gesturing with her hands towards the two free chairs. I exchanged a glance with Karen and then we sat down as well. Not like we had much of a choice.

Yumias snapped her fingers once more, making a glass appear in front of each of us, filled with a bubbly blackish liquid.

“This is…”
“My, do you believe me now? I just mean well, dear.”
“... I don’t think people are that easily convinced?”

Nonetheless, I’d still accept with gratitude.

“Of course not, of course not. It’s just a little bit of goodwill.”
“Goodwill, huh…”

Bold words of someone who changed someone’s entire life on a whim.

“Yumi, what is this?” asked Karen, eyeing the suspicious liquid.
“Err, a sweet drink… I guess?”
“Mm...”

Karen cautiously picked up the glass and sipped just a tiny bit. Her eyes widened in surprise before she suddenly entered a coughing fit.

“Sis?!”

Karen coughed a few times before stopping, tears in her eyes.

“Went down… the wrong way.”
… Don’t scare me like that!

I slumped down on the chair, all tension leaving me. That had been a little bit too much for me…

“Hahaha! My, what an innocent display. Be careful next time,” said Yumias.
“I… I will.”

Karen averted her gaze, flushed red from embarrassment.

“My, what a cute girl. Dear, take good care of her, not many are as adorable as your girlfriend.”
“... I would even without you telling me.”
“So feisty! But that’s a relief, yes.”

Yumias chuckled once more, finding amusement in our situation.

“Even if I am not around, it seems there’s little to worry about.”

Was she even capable of worrying?

“Now then, I believe we have played around enough. We should talk about more important matters, should we not, dear?”
“... Nn.”

I could feel my body tense up at those words. The time for her messing with us had ended now, that much was clear from the way she gazed straight at me.

“Where should I begin, now? Ah, yes…”

Yumias smile widened a little as if she had thought of something amusing.

“... I played a lot with your sisters.”
“... What?”
“I played a lot. With your sisters.”
“...”

It took me several seconds to process her statement. This… wasn’t what I had expected.

“Didn’t you just ask me what I did over there, my dear?”
“... I did.”

I slumped back on the chair. I gave up. This person was too much for me.

“Those children are so cute and well-behaved. Completely different from this rebellious girl I have. Haa… Why couldn’t you inherit some of that playfulness?”

Wasn’t that mostly because they didn’t know who she even was?

“They do miss their dear brother, though.”
“... I see.”

I sighed. They missed me, huh…

“Yumias.”
“Yes, my dear?”
“... Thank you. For checking up on them.”
“Oh my! My daughter thanked me!”
“... I’m not your daughter.”

Not that she would listen to it, no matter what I said.

“Seriously…”

But they were doing well, huh… That was good.

“Nn? Wait. Did you seriously leave for several weeks… to play around?”
“My, what is the issue there?”
“...”

Somehow, I felt sorry for Lily.

“But, of course, that’s not all I did. I am a busy person, believe it or not. But, yes, most of what I did was for your sake.”
“Huh?”
“Or, no, that’s wrong… It wasn’t quite for your sake. You see, I was thinking. Your sisters, your family on that side. They miss you oh so much.”
“...”
“They wish they could see you again. And I have to say, they begged me so much, I am quite liable to help them out.”
“You… I told you not to involve them in this!”

This place, this world wasn’t a place where they should be.

“That you did. But is that your decision to make?”
“That’s…”

I stopped. Was it… Was it my right to make that decision for them? If they knew what to expect and they still decided to do it...

“My, seeing your troubled face is adorable. Worry not, I did not bring them here.”
“... I see.”

So they weren’t… I breathed in deeply, once more calming myself. I knew it’d be like this but… Talking with her was exhausting. Really exhausting. This little gremlin really enjoyed riling me up and I hated it with all my heart.

“For now, those children live a worry-free life. Well, except for their worry about their missing sibling’s well-being. But enough teasing. They’re doing well, dear, and they will find their way in life. Hehehe, I am expecting much from them.”

The hell could she expect? There was no magic or anything over there, was there? Somehow, those words worried me.

“But I believe this is enough about that side of life. I was busy on that side. I simply returned a favour to someone there, that is all there is to it.”
“A favour?”
“Yes, a favour. But you need to know no more.”

Yumias lifted her glass and sipped on the drink, indicating she had no intention of continuing. Or that’s how I interpreted it.

“There is a more important topic we should discuss, though, do we not, my dear dear child?”
“... You mean… that dream.”
“A dream, you say… Yes, it would be akin to one, for you.”

So it really was about that…

“But, unfortunately, that is not what I wanted to talk about. Make no mistake, we will talk about it. But first…”

Yumias eyes wandered away from me and to Karen.

“My dear Yumi probably thought nothing of it, but your little game of staying together at all times… It’s showing.”
“Eh?”
“Huh? Wait, you mean…”

I turned towards Karen as well. She didn’t want to talk about the dream… but about Karen?

“Miss Yumias, I already said that I did it out of my own will.”
“That you did. But you don’t even know what will happen to you nor to Yumi.”
“We don’t. But we wouldn’t know what difference there is either way.”
“Hehe, yes, you wouldn’t. Yumi did not follow my advice, after all.”

Her advice?

“I have told you to go to the Prayerhouse.”

Ahhh… The thing we talked about before she left… I could only vaguely recall what we talked about, though. The matter of the Prayerhouse did come up later again, though. Only while we talked, though.

“At the Prayerhouse was someone close to me. She waited and waited and waited to no avail. She’s quite angry now.”
“Ugh…”

I didn’t know they were actually waiting, though.

“She was supposed to tell you something, but, alas, you all were busy with other things. Mh, but I forgive you. I am in a good mood today.”
“I... see…”

Was that a good thing, though? That she was in a good mood.

“Yes, let’s see… Where to begin…”

Yumias leaned back on her chair. I could see her kicking her legs under the table. She didn’t even reach the ground with her feet, did she?

“I guess a demonstration would be more effective?”
“... A demonstration?”
“Yes. Dear, could you stand here?”

She pointed at a spot next to the table, pretty much right next to her. Hearing she wanted to demonstrate… I had a bit of a bad feeling. It reminded me of the last time she… messed around with me. Sure, it helped me in the end but… I wasn’t a fan of her way of doing things. But… if this would help me… Maybe I should trust her, just this once? She was the one most knowledgeable about my situation. And while I wasn’t sure whether I could trust her statements all that much, a demonstration would be… Well, hard to fake?

“Dear, stop dilly-dallying. You’re making your mother wait.”
“... You’re not… Ahh, whatever, I’m doing it.”
“Oh, whatever she says! So you finally accepted me?”
“...”

Patience was a virtue, patience was a virtue…

“Is here okay?”

I stood on the spot she directed me to, right next to her.

“Yes, yes. Wonderful, dear. Now keep still, yes?”
“Haa… What are you going to do?”
“Oh, something fun. But don’t be too surprised, yes? Especially your little girlfriend. She might get a bit of a shock, forgive me in advance.”
“A shock?”

Why did that sound even more ominous now? What the hell was she going to do?

“Now then, Yumi dear, are you ready?”
“... I guess.”
“Great. Oh, by the way. I’m going to cut off your head.”
“... What?”

Before I could even process those words, I saw her move her hand. At that moment, my body moved faster than my mind, jumping to the ground. Something passed above me and I could hear something tear. The next moment, my face landed in the dirt.

“Ahhh, dear! Don’t dodge!”
“... Who the hell wouldn’t?!”

I sat upon the ground, glaring at Yumias, who, for once, looked actually disappointed.

“Don’t just try to behead people! Are you trying to kill me?!”
“Of course, I’m not, Yumi dear. Losing your head wouldn’t kill you.”
“... Huh?”

Losing my head… wouldn’t kill me?

“What did you say?”
“I just said: Losing your head wouldn’t kill you.”
“... Are you for real?”
“Yes. So, please don’t dodge this time.”
“I will dodge! Don’t try to cut my head off!”

It didn’t matter whether it would kill me or not. It was just hella scary. It’d traumatise me for sure. Just the thought sent shivers down my spine.

“Mi— Miss Yumias! Please don’t hurt Yumi!”
“Ehh… Well, if both of you insist, there’s nothing I can do.”

Yumias shrugged with her shoulders, her hands on the table again. Danger passed.

“... Don’t fucking scare me like that.”

Never before was I this glad that Taddick and Merim had taught me a little about combat. There was no doubt I wouldn’t have been able to save myself without that. Needless to say, it probably wouldn’t work a second time.

I’ll have to thank those two… And probably take that training just a little more seriously.

I climbed back on my feet and sat down, keeping Yumias in my field of view. Just in case she tried again. Once I sat down, I saw something on the desk...

“Nn? Is that...”
… my hair?

Yeah, that was a very, very close safe… She cut my hair…

“Uhm… Miss Yumias.”
“Yes?”
“Why did you… Well…”
“Try to cut her head?”
“...”

Karen nodded. I only now got a chance to look at her, but her complexion was unusually pale. She was probably just as shocked...

“Because seeing is believing or something like that? It’d be hard to believe just hearing it, right?”
“... That doesn’t mean you can just cut off someone’s head,” I grumbled.
“I didn’t.”
“You tried to… Whatever, just… Didn’t you want to talk about Sis? And don’t try to cut her instead!”

I’d never forgive that.

“I won’t. The Silver Guide might be resilient, but even she will die without her head. Well, at least, for now, anyway.”
“... For now?”
“Yes. For now. After all, she will slowly become the same kind of being you are. But I believe that you two knew at least that much already.”

We did suspect it… But hearing it from her only confirmed that suspicion.

“With that said, the process to that point will take a long long time. Not just months or years, but decades and maybe even centuries.”
“It might take centuries?” asked Karen.
“Yes. Granted you and my daughter aren’t up to more mischief.”

Centuries… That was… a time frame I could barely even imagine. Especially, when I didn’t even know for sure how life would be in a month from now.

“The problem is more… Intricate. Yumi, dear, you can already see them, can’t you?”
“See what?”
“Souls.”
“... Nn.”

The floating light balls in everyone’s chests. It wasn’t something I was actively looking at but I could see them. Although, I didn’t really know what point there was to it… That said…

“Is this… about that, err, thread?”
“It is.”
“Thread?”

Karen tilted her head, not knowing what we meant.

“The souls of you, Silver Guide, and Yumi are connected. Irrevocably. The thread, as Yumi calls it, is going to strengthen in time. Until your souls are so strongly connected, that, well…”
“... Well?”
“You wouldn’t even be able to separate for longer distances.”
“...”

That was all?!

“And you would share life and death. Which, technically, would make your girlfriend about as near-immortal as you, I guess.”
“Isn’t that actually good?”
“I guess so? But if you ever get into a fight and start hating each other, life’s going to become really miserable for the both of you.”
“That’s not going to happen.”

It’d be miserable either way if Karen started hating me.

“That’s right, it won’t happen, Miss Yumias.”
“My, such trust in each other. How precious youth is.”

I could feel my cheeks getting warmer upon hearing Karen. It was a little embarrassing but it also made me happy to know we shared the sentiment.

“I pray for your love to be everlasting.”

The ever-smiling Yumias put her hands together and closed her eyes, praying. I could feel myself blushing even stronger from embarrassment. And next to me, Karen was furiously blushing as well.

“Hehe, really, so precious. Just seeing this made it worth it all.”

I really wished she would stop embarrassing us… Really...