Vol 2 Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 1: When the Snow Falls
Ann looked up at the sky as so cold hit the tip of her nose
Gray clouds hung low in the sky Snow danced down from them as if
overflowing drip by drip
“Snow… It‟s snowing already,” Ann ly, rooted to the
ground where she stood
In contrast, a son behind her did a
little dance
“Wa-hoo! It‟s snowing, it‟s snowing! I love snow! Isn‟t it beautiful, Ann?”
The fairy‟s blue eyes sparkled The name of this fairy, who‟d been born from
a drop of lake water, was Mythrill Reed Pod
“I can‟t believe it…”
“It‟s unbelievably beautiful!”
“This is the worst…”
Mythrill was over the moon, and Ann was in despair Neither of them seemed
to realize that their conversation didn‟t match up However, luckily there was
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
another, rational person there with them
“It‟s all the saar
sculpture?”
The fairy who lay on the driver‟s seat with his long legs dangling off the side
sat up
At his reasp, and returned
her gaze to the girl standing in front of her
“Ah! I‟ out So… Eh…?”
The girl, ore a bushy fur cape, wasn‟t even looking at Ann She was
gazing in the direction of the driver‟s seat of the wagon with a captivated
expression on her face
Ann sighed quietly and turned to regard the object of the girl‟s gaze
---- Well, I guess it can‟t be helped With him around, you lose interest in
looking at anything else
The girl was looking at the fairy who sat on the driver‟s seat He had lightly
tousled black hair and black eyes The obsidian fairy‟s appearance was coldly
beautiful, just like the snow that had begun falling The inter
snowflakes landed on his eyelashes Without thinking, Ann also lost her heart
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
to that sight
---- How pretty
However, this fairy had a foul mouth
“Scarecrow Hurry up and hand over the sugar sculpture”
Being called a scarecrow instantly wiped away all traces of Ann‟s state of
near-intoxication
“Shall! I‟ve told you not to call me „Scarecrow‟!”
“Then hurry up Dimwit”
Saying only that, the obsidian fairy Shall Fen Shall laid back down
Ann reclaiirl as even now
starring at Shall in infatuation
“Excuse me!”
“Ha-- Eh? Oh”
The girl seemed to come to her senses at the sound of Ann‟s voice, and
focused her
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
gaze on Ann once more Ann smiled with relief
“Here you are The price is two cres”
Ann showed the girl the large, heavy sugar sculpture she clutched in both
hands
The design was of a bouquet of spring flowers of various colors It was a
flashy sugar sculpture However, the arrange was cleverly
devised to ensure that the various types of floouldn‟t strike a dissonant
chord with one another Ann hadthe
girl‟s order one week earlier
The girl had asked for “A beautiful sugar sculpture of more than ten different
types of spring flowers gathered into a bouquet”
Sugar sculptures ar were used in a variety of ceremonies
and events They were said to repel bad luck and suood luck Silver
sugar was a holy food that was also called “the sweet proood luck”
The reater the good
fortune that would be bestowed upon its owner
Ann was one of the sugar craftsar
sculptures
The expression on the girl‟s face when she first caught sight of the sugar
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
sculpture spoke volumes as to the quality of Ann‟s skills
“It‟s nificent”
The girl spoke the words of admiration as if she were surprised Then she
looked behind her at a fairy in the shape of a young ht
with her
The fairy had a gangly frairl Overall, he
looked rather weak
“You Take the sugar sculpture”
The obedient-looking fairy took the sugar sculpture from Ann as ordered
The fairy said in a voice heavy with adar
sculpture that you‟ve had made for your birthday in the past few years,
mistress”
“Perhaps,” the girl replied nonchalantly, thrusting out one hand towards Ann
“Well, here‟s your payment Take it”
With a cheap-sounding metallic clink ten copper coins were dropped into the
palm of Ann‟s hand Ann tilted her head
“That should be enough, right?”
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
“But the agreed-upon price o cres”
“I ordered from you because I heard you were skilled But you‟re not even a
silver sugar master, are you? On the market in this area, no one will pay more
than one cres for a sugar sculpture ar
ar craftsman
Take it and be grateful”
“But! A promise is a promise…”
The girl sly sweetly at Ann‟s attempt to protest
“Well, I suppose I don‟t need to buy it…”
After being told this, Ann found herself speechless
If the girl didn‟t purchase the sugar sculpture, the silver sugar she‟d used and
the tio to waste
“Hey, hey, hey! You, hu pretty
stingy, aren‟t you? I, Mythrill Reed Pod-saer…!”
Standing on top of the roof of the wagon, Mythrill raised his voice and crossed
his arms
“Shut up, Mythrill Reed Pod You‟ll just s worse,” Shall said,
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
interrupting Mythrill Then he sat up on the driver‟s seat once more
“What was that?! Don‟t act so haughty when all you‟re doing is laying
around!”
“You‟re not being anya fuss”
“You‟re rude to the core----!!”
Ignoring the shrieking Mythrill, Shall jule
wing on his back was like half-transparent silk It flowed gracefully to the
back of his knees He reat labor to do so, and
ca polished about
even this listless movement
“Are you going to take it back?” Shall asked Ann quietly His voice was quiet,
but it had an edge to it Together with his voice, a cold silver shi+mmer spread
across his wing
“I can made her return it and still pay the two cres What do you want to do?”
The fairy accoirl must have sensed Shall‟s true power and his
threatening aura The single wing on the other fairy‟s back began to twitch
anxiously
“I‟m not sure what your intentions are, but this isn‟t any way to treat
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
customers, is it~~?”
“We‟re onlyour behavior to yours,” Shall retorted matter-of-factly
Honestly, Ann didn‟t want to sell a sugar sculpture to this kind of person But
this sugar sculpture had been irl
in front of her‟s order Ann felt that if she didn‟t sell it to this girl and instead
tried to sell it to so off an unsatisfactory product
on that person That would be rude to the person who bought it
Furtherirl‟s as Shall had
said, they‟d be behaving as cowardly as she hich was also distasteful to
Ann Finally, she shook her head
“No… It‟s fine, Shall”
Right now, she needed every bit of et Ann turned back to
face the girl and looked her straight in the eyes
“What? So you have so to say?”
“No I understand One cres is fine Thank you for your purchase”
Under Ann‟s straight-forward gaze the girl shrunk back for a moment But
then she promptly snorted derisively, as if to cover for her momentary
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
weakness Then she turned her back and briskly walked away
Before turning to go the fairy who‟d accoirl timidly looked
away fro his head
to Ann Then he quickly hurried after the girl
Through the gliirl and the
fairy disappeared off into the distance
The direction they‟d retreated in was lined on both sides by high red brick
walls It was a narrow alleyway The alleyas gently winding and sloped
uphill At its far end the alleyway opened up into a bustling city street These
streets ide and paved with gravel, and lined on both sides with shops
with broad frontage
The girl frohter of one of these affluent
shopkeepers
Starting about ten years ago, this area had begun to flourish economically as
an interoods produced in the north By
now it had developed into a large, thriving city on the same scale as Lewiston
This was Westhall, the capital of Sharh Province
It was adjoining to Harrington Province, where the imperial city of Lewiston
was located The noble, as a
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
trusted retainer who had displayed outstanding ability and efficiency in service
to the previous king
Ann put the copper coins in her hand into the pocket of her dress Then she
shrugged her shoulders helplessly
“It‟s probably only natural that the coar
craftsar master Besides, this is the foothold of
the Silver Sugar Viscount”
“You‟re right dah----!!”
Mythrill cast a glare in the direction of the bustling city street
With a troubled look on her face, Ann muttered, “Um… But, it‟s not as if
Hugh‟s done anything wrong, exactly…”
Hugh was the naar
Viscount was a silver sugar master who exclusively worked for the royal
faar Viscount stood above all sugar
craftsar masters included
Due to a strange turn of events, Ann had become acquainted with the Silver
Sugar Viscount, Hugh Mercury, two months earlier He‟d helped her in her
ar master
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
However, in the end, Ann hadn‟t succeeded in becoar master
this year
The spires of Westhall Castle could be seen rising above the tops of the houses
lining the city streets Those were probably lookout towers If you turned your
eyes to the west of those black stone spires, another nearly identical structure
caht However, these spires were made of white stone
On the opposite shore of a small lake from Westhall Castle, where the
provincial lord resided, stood an almost identical white castle The name of
this castle was Silver Westhall It was the residence of the Silver Sugar
Viscount
“We won‟t be able to ca”
This year would be over in only a month and a half
Snoas falling incessantly from the narrow slice of sky visible above the
walls of the alleyway The ground below Ann‟s feet felt hard; it was beginning
to freeze The sun set early in the winter Even now, their surroundings were
beginning to grow dark
Snoould likely pile up on the ground overnight
Ann clenched the sides of the cape that she wore over her dress closer together
The lining of the cape had feather down carefully sewn into it The outer layer
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
was tanned leather decorated with a pattern of gilded plants It was a highclass
product, with exceptional heat-preservation abilities The cape was a
luxurious item that didn‟t match up with Ann‟s station in life
“This cape has been a real life-saver I‟ll have to remember to thank Cat”
Ann had obtained this cape in Lewiston, just before co to Westhall She‟d
assisted a silver sugar master with the nickname of „Cat,‟ whom she‟d met by
coincidence, with his work and received the cape in lieu of payment
Thanks to this cape, Ann‟s travels had become much more pleasant
The cold winter weather had no effect whatsoever on the fairies, who couldn‟t
feel the cold They would probably be fine even if they camped out in the
middle of a blizzard
However, it was impossible for the human Ann to camp out while it was
snowing, even if she did have this remarkable cape
“Let‟s go, Shall, Mythrill We‟ll have to stay in an inn tonight Hopefully we
can find somewhere cheap”
While speaking, Ann turned towards the old, worn out wagon
This box-shaped wagon was the sa
However she‟d later discovered it abandoned on the outskirts of Lewiston
This box-shaped wagon was the very embodiment of her memories of the 15
years she‟d spent travelling with her mother Even if it was old and shabby,
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
the wagon co else could have
Without cli onto the driver‟s seat, Ann took the horse‟s bridle in her
hand
The far end of the alleyas a gentle doards slope that widened bit by
bit as it went Ann lead the horse in that direction
“Alright! We get to stay at an inn! I love watching from theas snow
falls outside,” Mythrill said cheerfully froon Ann smiled
as well
“Me too If you‟re watching the snow from inside a warm room, you can
concentrate on enjoying its beauty”
Ann led the horses, slowly ht up with
Ann, who‟d already started walking, and asked, “What about the money? Do
you have enough?”
His countenance was nonchalant But Ann knew that Shall ell aware of
how little money she had left and orried about her
Ann‟s inco to
buy sugar sculptures froar
master There were customers who knew her skill and would place orders with
her froled down like they‟d
been by the girl just now
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
“„Don‟t worry about it‟ Is what I want to say, but I don‟t have quite that
much money So we‟ll have to stay somewhere cheap”
It wasn‟t that Ann particularly wanted to indulge in luxury As long as she
could get out of the cold, she didn‟t care where they stayed
---- But Soul Ascension Day is just over a ht after that it
will be the end of the year…
From here on out, the temperature would drop by the day It was necessary to
secure a room in an inn where they could stay out of the cold for the winter
Furtherar sculpture
hich she‟d send her mother off to heaven on Soul Ascension Day If
possible, she wanted to find a place to stay and then relax and take her time
ar sculpture
Afterwards she wanted to spend the new year‟s holidays at the inn
It was for the sake of Shall and Mythrill, who travelled with her She wanted
to give them even a little bit of a treat, and let them spend the holiday
comfortably Ann wanted the three of theether
pleasantly
---- Well, before you can get anything else, you first need to have money
Re how much money she currently had in her possession, Ann
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
suddenly felt ashamed of herself
“Why don‟t I earn some money?” Shall said suddenly
Ann widened her eyes at this unexpected statement
“Earn money? How?”
“There are various ways”
“You‟re not thinking of doing soerous, are you?!”
“Do you really think I‟o around
robbing people?”
Ann was fixed with an unpleasant glare
He looked perfectly capable of going around robbing people without a second
thought However, instead of saying this, Ann responded with a stiff face, “I
wasn‟t thinking anything of the sort It‟s just, your special ability is your
physical strength, so…”
“If you looked for some humans with too much time and money on their
hands and offered to lend ht, you‟d be able to earn a lot of
money”
Shall spoke the outrageous suggestion as if it were no big deal Ann grew even
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
paler
“W-hat are you saying?! Do you even understand theof what
you just said?! That‟s the sa your body!!”
“Indeed”
“No, not „indeed‟!! I‟d die before asking you to do so like that, so you
must never do it either!!”
“Why not?”
Asked directly, Ann felt herself start to blush It wasn‟t a question one should
ask a purehearted 15 year old girl
What kind of state est such a
thing? After living for more than a hundred years, he must have tossed those
notions aside long ago Just trying to iain She
didn‟t want to think of such things
At this Mythril, ore a triuer at Shall
reproachfully
“„Why‟?! Shall Fen Shall, there‟s no way a guy like you who doesn‟t know
the first thing about women‟s hearts could do it with a human partner”
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
“Whether you understand them or not, what you do with them is the same
either way”
“No way---- It‟s totally different”
“It‟s all the same”
“In any case! That‟s not the point at issue here, you two----!!!” Ann shouted
with all her strength
“This is a , I orry about the money
You don‟t have to worry about such things, Shall Rather, don‟t worry about
them! Please!”
At Ann‟s forceful words, Shall htly stunned face
“You sure are stubborn”
This was a bit different froth
leaving her body
If Shall had offered to make and sell bread, or repair shoes to earn some
ht have asked for his help However she had the feeling that
all of his ideas formoney would be equally ridiculous She
was too afraid to ask
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
They reached the bottos stood here and
there
The spaces between the buildings ide In these open spaces everything
froiant trash heaps
As Ann looked around, her eyes ca in particular
That building was horizontally long It o stories tall, and off to the side
stood a stable with a sin with a picture
of a hat and boots carved into it was hung from the brick wall That was the
symbol for an inn
There was no doubt that this was an inn, but there was an air of extreme
dilapidation surrounding it Half of the tiles had slipped off of the slanted roof,
and those that re down in an
avalanche at any moment But, Ann was in no position to be fussy
Ann pulled the wagon to a stop next to the stables Then, accompanied by
Shall and Mythrill, she entered the inn The air in the combination bar and
dining room on the first floor was heavy with dust and the stench of old
cooking oil
On the other side of the counter stood a boney, balding innkeeper When Ann
asked him the price to stay, he responded that it was 30 vine per person per
night Then he stared at Shall bizarrely
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
It would cost 90 vine for the three of theht The cres that Ann
had just received would all but disappear
After that, she‟d only have two cres and soe left
Even so, there was no way they could camp out in the snow With the money
she had now, they could spend three days at the inn Deciding that it would all
work out if she could earn so that time, Ann took the
room
The room that they were lead to was dark The wood-shuttered as
nailed shut and wouldn‟t open
Furthermore, the room contained only one bed, which filled it completely The
roo down at the bed,
Ann and Shall couldn‟t even have changed places without touching
“You can‟t see anything fro
depressed
“Sorry, Mythrill If I earn some money, we can stay in a nice inn next time,”
Ann said, looking around the rooiant spider lay under
the bed Ann shuddered slightly in disgust
Just then, a hesitant knock sounded on the door
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
“Yes?”
Following Ann‟s response, the door slowly opened An old woman timidly