Moping

The covered wagon rattled along, more than half its cargo space crammed with wooden crates.

Leaning against one of those crates and shivering in the cold, Melissa Roseberg cursed.

"You idiot little brother! Why did you have to pick a covered wagon without even a door?!"

"Well, finding one at all was lucky, wasn't it?"

The wagon Raul had found to pursue Veronica, who had abducted Cyril, belonged to a merchant who happened to be headed for the Vilraya Autonomous Region.

Raul had negotiated with the merchant, asking him to transport them along with his cargo.

The cargo apparently consisted of dried fish. Melissa grimaced at the fishy smell wafting from it and pulled a shabby cushion close to her.

Since her dress was cut very low across the chest, the area around her neck was unbearably cold.

"Ah, it's cold. I'm going to freeze to death like this."

"You're so dramatic, Sis."

"Don't lump someone with pointless muscles like you together with a delicate maiden."

"I read in a book once that people with more fat are better at resisting the cold."

A blue vein bulged at Melissa's temple, and she cracked her knuckles.

"Want me to kick you out of the wagon, you idiot little brother?"

"That's why I thought Monica was probably the coldest one here."

Raul looked at Monica as he gnawed on a carrot. Melissa followed his gaze.

Ever since boarding the wagon, Monica had been sitting in a corner with her knees drawn up, utterly still. Her face was deathly pale, and her bloodless lips had turned purple.

"Little One."

"..."

Even when Melissa called to her, Monica did not so much as twitch. She simply stared fixedly at the floor.

Melissa grabbed Monica by the nape and pulled her into the cushions gathered around herself.

Monica's frozen, blank expression cracked as her eyes went wide and she let out a strange squeak. "Mmph!"

Melissa pulled Monica into the crook of one arm and ordered Raul,

"Idiot brother, use that ridiculously muscular body of yours as a windbreak. Moni-Moni's too small to block the wind, so she can be my hand warmer."

"H-huh... w-wait... S-Sis..."

As Monica mouthed incoherently, Melissa mercilessly kneaded her cheeks.

The white cheeks, cold as ice, regained just a little color. Even so, the small body she held remained cold.

"Oh, come on! I was expecting a child's body heat, but you're not warm at all!"

"Um, I'm nineteen..."

"Are you malnourished or something?!"

"S-sorry... Um, should I put up a windbreak barrier?"

Melissa considered Monica's suggestion for a moment, then shook her head.

A windbreak was tempting, but barrier magic consumed more mana the longer it was maintained.

"Save your mana for now. You haven't recovered what you used up so extravagantly at Sloth's shop, and we'll definitely end up fighting that spirit called Veronica."

If they did end up fighting Veronica, Monica would unquestionably be their main force.

Melissa's specialty was making potions that induced paralysis or sleep, rather than manipulating thorns. But paralysis and sleep had no effect on spirits.

Raul's thorns were powerful, but their weakness was that they were vulnerable to the cold. Their strength diminished somewhat in frigid regions.

For Veronica, an ice spirit, a cold region was where she could unleash her greatest power.

If they fought her head-on, they would likely be overwhelmed.

(Going head-on against that spirit would be a bad idea. The best plan is to catch her off guard, beat her senseless, and take Cyril-sama back.)

The option of avoiding a fight did not exist in Melissa's mind.

How could she possibly be satisfied without punching the nasty spirit who had abducted her future husband-to-be?

The problem was how to catch that spirit off guard.

An ambush seemed the obvious choice, but Melissa had no familiarity with the Vilraya Autonomous Region.

If this had been anywhere else, she would have thrown around the prestige of being one of the Seven Sages and the Roseberg family's influence. But in the Vilraya Autonomous Region, that would not be possible.

"You two understand this, right? In the Vilraya Autonomous Region, absolutely no one is to know that we're Seven Sages. Especially Moni-Moni."

"Why Monica?"

Raul tilted his head as he noisily crunched on a carrot.

Wondering how someone like him had ever become one of the Seven Sages, Melissa glared sharply at her carefree little brother.

"Idiot brother, tell me how the Vilraya Autonomous Region came to be."

"Uh, the 〈Haila people〉, who worshiped white dragons, were persecuted by the Church, and various things happened, but in the end they won the right to govern themselves, right?"

His explanation was rough, but broadly speaking, it was not wrong.

Long ago, there were people in the Kingdom of Ridill who worshiped dragons. They were the 〈Kuyura people〉, who worshiped black dragons, and the 〈Haila people〉, who worshiped white dragons.

But the Great Church, which upheld worship of the Spirit God, would not tolerate these two peoples and persecuted them.

As a result, the 〈Kuyura people〉, who worshiped black dragons, were exterminated by mages of the Lete faction under the Church's command.

The land where the white-dragon-worshiping 〈Haila people〉 lived, meanwhile, was a frigid wasteland covered in snow and ice. Since it was difficult for the Church to invade, they were able to survive there in dwindling numbers.

Several countries surrounding the Kingdom of Ridill have deeply rooted dragon-worshiping traditions.

After those countries condemned the persecution of dragon-worshiping peoples, the Kingdom of Ridill designated the region where the 〈Haila people〉 lived as the Vilraya Autonomous Region and granted it self-governance, thereby avoiding criticism from the international community.

"The 〈Haila people〉 worship dragons. And you're a dragon-slaying hero who defeated the Two Great Evil Dragons, Little One."

Monica had not defeated a white dragon, but it was still a dragon.

To the white-dragon-worshiping 〈Haila people〉, the thought of the dragon they worshiped being killed must be a constant source of anxiety.

"So that's why you absolutely must keep it secret that you're one of the Seven Sages. Understood? ...Moni-Moni, are you listening?"

There was no answer.

Held in Melissa's one arm, Monica wore a distant expression, as though her mind were somewhere else.

Melissa smiled sweetly and pinched Monica's cheek.

"Mooonica-chaaaan? A-n-s-w-e-r, please?"

"S-s-sorry... I-I... eee..."

After Monica finally began to sniffle and cry from having her cheek pinched, Melissa let go of it.

It was not because she felt sorry for Monica. She simply did not want tears and snot getting on her clothes.

"Honestly, what's with all this moping? The damp is making my hair frizz, so cut it out. One mopey Sage is enough—Ray."

"You and Ray don't get along, do you, Sis?"

Melissa snorted at Raul's words.

〈Abyssal Cursecaster〉 Ray Albright had become one of the Seven Sages six years ago, around the same time as Melissa, but he was an incredibly gloomy man, and the two of them had never gotten along.

"If that guy's moping level is a hundred, Moni-Moni's at eighty. When she reaches a hundred, I'll declare her a slug and sprinkle her with salt."

At Melissa's words, Monica's moping level rose even higher.

Eighty-five mopes—one step away from becoming a slug.

When Melissa poked Monica's cheek idly, Monica twisted her fingers together and opened her mouth.

"...It's just that... he..."

Monica's feeble voice was drowned out by the sound of the wagon wheels, and Melissa could barely hear her.

When the exasperated Melissa shouted, "I can't hear you!" Monica squeezed her eyes shut and raised her voice.

"If something terrible's happened to Cyril-sama... if he's hurt, what should I do...? He wasn't wearing winter clothes, either, so... what if he's cold...?"

The latter half barely formed words. Monica sobbed shamelessly, making meaningless noises like "Higuu" and "Ugyuu."

Melissa disliked how readily Monica burst into tears, but caring about the health of her future husband-to-be was quite admirable for such a young girl.

When Monica seemed to have cried herself out, Melissa popped a piece of hard candy into her mouth.

"Suck on that and go to sleep. We'll arrive sometime after noon."

"But..."

"Food and sleep restore you from exhaustion better than any potion. Get some sleep, even if it's only a little. Once you're awake, I'll put you to work good and hard."

"...Okaaay."

Perhaps the light sleep effect Melissa had imbued in the candy was taking hold, because Monica leaned against her and began making soft little snores.

Come to think of it, Monica had been running around without sleeping at all the previous night. Both Monica and Melissa were naturally exhausted.

"I'm going to sleep too. Wake me when we arrive, Raul."

There was no reply.

Raul was peacefully asleep, still clutching the half-eaten carrot.

"...Falling asleep before your big sister, are you? Must be nice, you idiot little brother."

Melissa pulled the cushion out from beneath Raul's backside and draped it over Monica, then sat beside her and closed her eyes.

The little girl leaning against her was a little too lukewarm to make a good hand warmer.

Even so, as long as they stayed pressed together, the warmth of human skin made her a reasonably decent body pillow.