Vol 1 Chapter 3 (1/2)
Chapter 3 Attack
Seated next to Ann on the driver‟s seat was Shall, wearing a sleepy-looking
face Then, as if trying to wedge himself into the crack between Shall and Ann,
lay Mythrill curled up sleeping
Together with the break of day, the box-shaped wagon driven by Ann
departed the rest stop
The night before, Mythrill had continued shrieking all night long As could be
expected, both Ann and Shall had hardly slept at all
Ann had been soothing a shrieking Mythrill as they departed that
Mythrill shrewdly climbed onto the driver‟s seat Ann and Shall, both
suffering from a lack of sleep, were silent, and Mythrill, perhaps tired from
staying up all night, fell deep asleep, rocked pleasantly by the movement of
the wagon
Looking down at a seely comfortable Mythrill, Shall said hatefully,
“Should I throw hi?”
“That‟s too excessive, don‟t do it Besides, even if you throw him out, he‟ll
co he‟d follow me to the depths of hell,
remember? Until he repays the favor in a way he‟s satisfied with, we ht
never be able to get him to let us sleep~~ That is troublesome, but… Now that
you mention it, the matter with Jonas is troublesome, too…”
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
Jonas followed along behind them with a matter-of-fact look on his face
After being rocked by the carriage for a short while, Ann checked the location
of the sun
It was about time to take a break, which they‟d use to eat lunch at the same
tih the forest that ran alongside the
road caught Ann‟s eye Spotting an opening in the trees, she drove the wagon
through it, into the woods
Jonas also silently stopped his wagon
In order to store up water in the barrels lashed to the sides of her wagon, Ann
began to arduously scoop water from the river with a bucket
Jonas watched her doing this for a while, and then seemed to notice that he
also needed to stock up on water He grabbed a bucket and headed towards the
stream
Beside Ann, who leaned over the stream to scoop up water, Jonas likewise
bent over
Noticing his presence, Ann turned her face towards Jonas
Jonas gazed back at Ann with an uncharacteristically serious expression on his
face Then he said to her hesitantly, “Ann… Can‟t you understand? I was
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
worried about you That‟s all”
Jonas put his hand into the strea
the bucket
Ann was startled, and reflexively yanked the bucket out of the stream Even if
he treated her like this, she was unsure how to respond and only ended up
being troubled by it However, he was in his oay kindly doing his best
for her
“Ann”
As he called her nah leaked from Ann‟s mouth
Jonas was a good person His reckless behavior was also for her sake
“We‟ve already cohway That
means we‟ve already made it about 1/4th of the way across At this point, it‟s
erous for you to turn back alone In that case, it‟s safer for you to
travel the rest of the way to Lewiston with us Come with us”
At this, a smile flashed across Jonas‟s face
“You do understand!”
“In exchange, please understand this: travelling is dangerous”
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
“But aren‟t you using a warrior fairy, Ann? I don‟t think we‟ll be in any
danger…”
“A warrior fairy isn‟t necessarily invincible Don‟t rely on Shall too much and
get careless”
“I know that…”
Ann couldn‟t perceive any concern whatsoever in Jonas‟s expression as he
said this
Jonas had probably hardly ever left Knoxberry village At most, he‟d probably
gone to Redington occasionally to buy things and attend festivals Perhaps it
couldn‟t be helped that a person like hi
But he‟d just been attacked by bandits yesterday She wished he would act a
bit more concerned
Shall had chased away the bandits yesterday incredibly easily Perhaps that
hy such a carefree thought like „If there‟s a warrior fairy, we‟ve got
nothing to worry about!‟ had taken root in Jonas‟s mind
After they finished scooping the water, they ate lunch and then departed once
again
According to plan, they arrived safely at the rest stop that Ann had chosen as
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
the place they‟d spend the 3rd night of the journey
For dinner that evening, Ann invited Jonas to eat with them
As always, she built a small campfire
Spreading out leather mats beside the fire, Ann called out to Shall, Jonas and
Kathy
Mythrill showed up by hih she hadn‟t called for him Then,
as if observing, he walked slowly in a circle around them
“I‟ll make introductions for Jonas and Kathy This is Shall Fenn Shall He‟s a
warrior fairy I bought hiuard
I‟ve been calling him Shall”
“What about his naive him one?”
“What I said just now is his name”
At being introduced to a fairy, Jonas made a perplexed expression Fairies
were the same as tools It was normal not to be introduced to them
Furthermore, it seemed he was completely unable to comprehend the concept
of atheir fairy
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
Kathy was looking at Shall curiously, but he had his gaze averted, as if he
didn‟t even see her
Jonas gazed at Shall fixedly once again
“You‟re so pretty that it‟s a shame to make you a warrior fairy, eh? You look
like you‟d sell well as a pet fairy”
At this, Shall answered icily, “If you like me so much, why don‟t you buy me
from this Scarecrow? In terms of idiocy you‟re evenly matched, so it doesn‟t
make any difference to me which of you I‟m used by”
“Shall!”
Ann got flustered and tried to shut hi back the
words that had already flown out of his mouth
“I-idiocy…?”
There was no way he‟d ever had an experience like being called an idiot by a
fairy before Jonas was ry
Ann felt as if she herself had said soan to explain
“I‟m sorry, Jonas! Shall has a foul mouth, which seems to be why he couldn‟t
be sold as a pet fairy Even as a warrior fairy, because of his foul mouth he
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
was sold off at a low price „Block-head,‟ „Idiot,‟ and so on, I‟
called all of these things, so don‟t take it to heart! You too, Shall, don‟t say
such things to people other than me Other people don‟t have an immunity to
it!”
“Yeah Well… You didn‟t do anything wrong, Ann, so don‟t worry about it
More importantly, what about that fairy over there?”
Regaining his wits, Jonas turned his gaze to Mythrill
As his turn came up, Mythril entered the center of the circle without hesitation
“Me? My naet to put „sama‟ on the
end!”[1]
“P-put „sama‟ on the end?!”
As if saying that he didn‟t understand as being said to him, Jonas
blinked his eyes several times in confusion
“Shall and Mythrill Reed Pod, the two of you----!! Why do you have to act
like that?! Say, Mythrill Reed Pod, how do you think people are going to feel,
being told „put „sa
to be happy to hear that!”
At Ann‟s chiding words, Mythrill hung his head, disheartened Then he
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
staggered off towards Ann‟s wagon
Jonas neglected to introduce Kathy, as if it were only natural not to
For dinner, Ann had water Additionally, she layered dried meat between
thinly cut slices of black bread to ave some to Shall as
well
Glancing over at Mythrill, Ann saw hion
with his knees purposefully[2] drawn up to his chest, doodling absently with
the tip of his finger
Mythrill was extre of
him as a bother
However, if she thought carefully, his willingness to „repay the favor‟ was
ad out with a
strangeto repay a favor
to was one of those hated humans
---- When he’s not talking, he’s really cute His eyes are so big and round
Ann divided her own sandwich in half, then beckoned to Mythrill
“Come here, Mythrill This is for you”
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
With a joyful expression appearing suddenly on his face, Mythrill bounced
towards Ann and snatched the sandwich from her hand
Then, with a serious expression, he said simply, “My name is Mythrill Reed
Pod Don‟t shorten it”
“That‟s right Sorry, Mythrill Reed Pod”
Ann went to ration out a portion for Jonas as well, but he said that he had his
own food, and brought it out froon
Jonas‟s food was unthinkably extravagant by Ann‟s standards
Grape wine Apple juice Pear jam sandwiched between slices of white bread
A slice of pie stuffed with meat His mother had put her whole heart into
packing a tremendous amount of food and had him take it with him It was
like some little master‟s picnic
Seeing this, Ann didn‟t have a hard ti that Jonas‟s parents had
consented to his going on a journey
Preparing such a detailed spread of food like this was an art that probably only
the lady of the house would be capable of There was no doubt that he‟d been
given the wagon and food supplies, and even the uard, by his
parents, who‟d prepared everything for him before he left
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
But why did the Anders family support their son‟s reckless behavior? Ann
didn‟t understand it at all
“If you had such a feast prepared for you, I guess you really didn‟t need my
soup after all,” Ann
At this Kathy, as pouring wine into Jonas‟s cup said with a
laugh, “Of course not”
Jonas glared at Kathy
“Shut up, Kathy I won‟t allow you to speak to Ann so disrespectfully”
Kathy‟s face suddenly went pale As if trying to ss over, she said
hesitantly, “Ah, I‟m sorry, Jonas-sama I was just…”
“Disappear”
Kathy hung her head in sha
upwards, her body lost color and then turned transparent Before long, her
entire body had disappeared
It appeared as if the wine bottle that she was holding braced against her body
was si in mid-air
Fairies each had their own special abilities It seemed Kathy‟s special ability
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
was the ability to disappear
Jonas said apologetically, “Sorry, Ann, it appears that my labor fairy hasn‟t
been taught to mind her manners properly Your soup was delicious, really It
made me very happy”
Perhaps Jonas‟s behavior was only natural as a master However, Ann felt bad
for Kathy Just before disappearing, Kathy‟s expression had been very sad
The next ain
Mythrill sat happily in between Shall and Ann He was in a good mood, and
chattering non-stop
“Ann, if there‟s so
back But don‟tLet me repay the favor
in away”
“An outstanding favor… I‟ll try to think of so, but while we‟re at it,
perhaps a favor that utilizes your special abilities is best, Mythrill Reed Pod
What kind of abilities do you have?”
At her question, Mythrill puffed out his chest as if he‟d been waiting for her to
ask
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
“My abilities, eh? Don‟t be shocked! Listen carefully---- You see, I am the
great lake in the northernhland, Lake Loess!
…That is, a drop of its water, clinging to a leaf I was born from that drop of
water”
“You were born from a drop of water? Are all fairies born from drops of
water?”
Ann tilted her head to the side At this, Mythrill waved his pointer finger at
her chiddingly
“Ann, you really don‟t know anything, do you? Fairies are born from all kinds
of things Blades of grass, pinecones, drops of water anddew, rocks
and gey condenses and forms a fairy However, for
the energy to condense, a living creature‟s gaze is required A human or a
fairy or an aniy will take
forazed at and beco
as that of the item that became the source of their birth”
“So, if Mythrill Reed Pod was born from a drop of water, ere you born
from, Shall?”
At this question, Shall lanced towards her and didn‟t respond
Instead, Mythrill answered
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
“You can tell just by looking, this guy‟s an obsidian noble gem fairies [3]
have the ability to create sharp items Because I was born from a drop of water,
I have the ability to control water That‟s my ability”
“Control water?! That‟s a! Let me see”
“Okay!”
Mythrill held out both hands in front of his chest
He stared fixedly at his tiny palan to well up in the hollow
between them
Mythrill rolled that water into a ball, just as if he were kneading dough, then
tossed it lightly into the air It connected with the back of Ann‟s hand with a
splash, and burst open It was just a bit, but Ann felt the coldness of the water
“Incredible! Since you can control water, if there‟s a flash flood you can alter
the course of the water, right?!”
“Don‟t say such scary things! As if I could do so like that”
“Then what can you do?”
“I just showed you, didn‟t I?”
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
“Eh… That‟s it?”
“That‟s right… What, do you have a problem with that?”
Depressed, Ann‟s shoulders slumped It seemed that Mythrill‟s ability was no
big deal after all
At this, Shall said with heavy sarcasm, “That will come in handy if you want
to give water to a little birdy”
“Sh-sh-sh-shut up!! What do youto
ive your attitude! I‟ll say this in advance, but
Shall Fenn Shall, you should improve your attitude towards Ann, too It‟s too
rude!”
“You‟re the rude one,” Shall responded coldly
“What part of me is rude?!”
“The whole thing”
“What did you say?!”
Glancing sideways at the the two quarreling fairies, Ann declared, “There‟s no
need to fight You‟re both equally rude”
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
Ann earned a favorable amount of distance
If they were able to arrive that night at the rest stop than Ann had chosen as
they place they‟d sleep on the 4th day of the trip, they‟d have progressed a
total of 400 caron along the bloody highway That was 1/3rd of the bloody
highway‟s total length of 1200 caron
The sun was slowly and steadily beginning to descend, dyeing the tips of the
ht
They‟d probably be able to reach the rest stop without any probleht as
well Just as Ann was thinking this…
Harsh, slanting rays of light were slashi+ng towards the wagon, as if pushi+ng it
forward, but suddenly they were blotted out
Shall looked up at the sky, and knit his brows Mythrill, too, looked up at the
sky, as if drawn by an invisible thread, and then he went pale
“Hey, Shall Fenn Shall, those are…”
Because Mythrill was suddenly speaking in a gravely serious voice, Ann tilted
her head
“What? What is it?”
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
At the sa behind Ann‟s,
picked up speed and his driver‟s seat drew up even with hers
“Hey, Ann Ann! Look up!”
Frohtened expression, Ann finally realized that so was
wrong
She looked up at the sky where Jonas pointed
Ann was startled The sky was pitch black
Since the light of the sun had been blocked out since earlier, she‟d figured that
clouds had come out
However, the things blocking out the light of the sun were not clouds
It was a flock of wild crows, as iant, black
birds had for as if
chasing after them
“This is… An attack…”
Ann had heard ru like this Wild croere the clean-up
crew of the wilderness, foraging for carrion However, it was said that in the
event that they couldn‟t find any dead animals to feed on, wild croould
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
for creatures
It was said that if you were attacked by one of these flocks, there was no hope
for you
The croould begin by targeting their prey‟s eyeballs with their sharp
beaks They‟d inhibit their prey‟s in to feast on their
flesh Even if they hid inside the wagon, it was no use The croere
intelligent They would patiently peck at the roof shi+ngles until they‟d opened
a hole and then go rushi+ng in
Ann shuddered, looking up at the flock of black birds covering the sky
If they were attacked by a flock of this size, there was no hope for them They
couldn‟t handle such numbers
Ann looked at Shall This time for sure, she would have to order him Her life
was also on the line „If you don‟t want your wing to be destroyed, save us
from the wild crows‟ Noas the time for her to order him like that
However…
“Shall, please…”
Against her better judgean to speak But, at the word „please,‟
Shall‟s eyes lit up fleetingly Ann felt hi her, „Are you
trying to play at being friends again?‟
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
Understanding his unspoken e, Ann resolved herself
“Shall, this is an order Protect us fro
You knohat that ht?” Ann ordered But she couldn‟t wipe away
a feeling of uneasiness
She was thinking that she didn‟t want to do so
she would destroy Shall‟s wing But if those thoughts were seen through by
Shall, he probably wouldn‟t obey her order
Just as she thought, Shall‟s eyes narrowed as if he found so
If he told her „No,‟ Ann didn‟t knohat she would do She ht have no
choice but to take his wing out from where it was concealed at her breast and
act as if she intended to tear it
But Shall nodded Then…
“Stop the wagon”
Leaving her with only this instruction, he jumped down from the driver‟s seat
Ann frantically stopped the horses and looked back to where Shall had gotten
off Making the sword ht appear in his hand, he called
nonchalantly back over his shoulder, “Hide in the wagon”
---- He’s going to obey me? Why?
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 1 - Ginzatoushi+ to Kuro no Yousei
The wild crows, seeing that they‟d stopped, began to descend towards at them
“Ann!”
Jonas had also stopped his wagon, and was looking up at the sky with a face
white with fear
“Jonas, you get inside the wagon too! Hurry!”
At this, Jonas nearly tripped over hion
“That‟s it! This is how I‟ll repay the favor! I‟ll also chase off those birds”
Mythrill abruptly snapped his fingers and stood up, rolling up his sleeves with
sudden enthusiasm
Ann paled
“No, no, no! It‟s impossible, you‟ll die Come on!”
“What do you racious towards my
repayment of the favor… Whoa!!”