Chapter 4

It was nearly 11 PM, and we had less than an hour until the start of the new year.

We were on our way home, having gotten off at the station before our usual stop. It was still early for the last train, so we got off by our own choice.

"Alright, alright, alright."

Maple, with a wobbly gait, was looking down at her smartphone.

I sighed for the umpteenth time, watching her from three steps behind, thinking, "What a troublesome child."

Drinking alcohol for the first time, Maple was in high spirits.

"Expand, expand, expand more!"

She raised her arms as if cheering for a favorite team, completely overjoyed, a sight I had never seen before.

She hadn't become this cheerful just because of the alcohol. The incident that occurred earlier had stirred her up to this extent.

Forty lives were lost in the house where Maple used to live. A few hours ago, it exploded right before our eyes. The fire didn't stop at one roof but spread, burning more and more intensely.

Maple checked the fire's progress in real-time, not wishing for it to be extinguished but hoping it would get worse, looking delighted. She was cheering for the final record of that house more than anyone else.

While Maple was getting drunk and acting this way, Mado and I could only frown. Normally, we would scold her for being insensitive, but today, Maple was the main character. Stopping Maple from being cheerful wouldn't calm the fire, so we just sighed and let it be.

We were walking to sober up. I had Mado go home first, getting off at the station before ours.

I thought the night breeze might calm her down a bit, but it didn't. Maple was still looking at her smartphone, cheering for the record that was still growing.

Seeing her laugh at others' misfortune, I could only sigh, thinking, "What a troublesome child."

But I had to scold her,

"Maple, stop using your phone while walking. It's dangerous."

"Okay."

Maple, with her wobbly gait, was a concern.

After obediently putting away her phone, Maple spread her arms, spun around, and looked up at the sky.

Was she thinking about the tragedy unfolding under this sky? Or was she thinking about someone far away?

Either way, there was no sadness in her profile. She looked content, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Really... You used to be a child who wouldn't laugh at such things. You've really changed."

"Of course, in a good way?"

"In a bad way."

"Too bad. I wanted to share this joy with you, sister."

"I can't laugh. Really..."

I sighed, thinking, "What a troublesome child."

What Maple was laughing at was absolutely not something to laugh at. But seeing Maple laugh like this, my heart felt warm, despite the trouble it caused.

The happiness we had lost with our mother.

I was genuinely happy to have it back.

Seeing her laugh from the bottom of her heart was endearing, even if it was built on others' misfortune and tragedy. As long as she was just watching and laughing, it was within my tolerance.

Because Maple is the last family I have left.

My father is still alive, but I can no longer call him family in any real sense.

I had severed our relationship as father and daughter over this matter.

I told him about the terrible things Maple had become and threatened to take him down with us if anything happened. I was prepared to die with Maple,

"If you don't want that, just pay the money. If you do, I'll give you the results and achievements you want. ...Let's just cut it off here."

After some hesitation, my father agreed without saying anything about my insolence, "Alright."

In a normal family, it wouldn't be enough to just be socially successful. We would need to talk about our feelings and decide how we want to be. But my father didn't consider family feelings. He only thought about how to maximize his own benefit. He made a decision as a businessman.

My father was always a CEO, and we were just employees.

Still, I couldn't truly hate or dislike him.

My father never doubted my promise to deliver results and achievements. If I could continue to be his pride, he would invest without hesitation. If I could manage Maple, she could produce the same benefits. So he agreed.

What connected us was not affection but mutual benefit. As a family, it was terrible, but from an employee's perspective, he was a good CEO.

I didn't tell Maple any of this.

I would handle everything with my father. I even said we wouldn't have to see him again.

This way, Maple wouldn't have to do anything she really didn't want to do.

She only had to do the things she wanted to do but couldn't before.

She couldn't go to school and had no connections with others.

Now, she is the most successful and admired in that school. There is a lot of envy, but she is also respected and revered.

Everyone wants to be like Maple.

Everyone wants to be by Maple's side.

She has gained what she couldn't before.

"Hey, Maple."

Having achieved such a brilliant success, she must be having a great time.

"Is school fun?"

I wanted to hear it from her.

Maple, walking three steps ahead, turned back with her hands behind her back,

"No, not at all."

She smiled brightly, but her words and expression were at odds.

I stopped, my thoughts and steps halting.

"To be adored by people who don't matter, to cater to their moods... I have to suppress my true self. Society is really messed up, isn't it?"

She said this with a negative tone, but her face was cheerful.

"Everyone admires, envies, and praises me. They only see my beautiful side and the beautiful things I create. They swarm around me like moths to a flame."

Maple raised her index finger above her head, spinning it slowly and bringing it closer to her face.

"They pretend to be my friend, thinking they understand me. They offer their love, thinking they are the only one who understands me. They claim to love me, as if that's the real thing society shows."

Suddenly, she clapped her hands.

"In the end, they just want to feel good using my beauty. They are drunk on the idea that they understand me."

It was as if she was swatting a mosquito that had come too close.

Her back didn't show acceptance of trouble, sadness, or disappointment. It seemed to laugh at the absurdity and accept it as it was, as if there was no need to lower her shoulders at something she didn't believe in.

I understood Maple's point. But I thought she was a bit too perfectionistic, even though she had a good personality.

"I understand what you're saying, but... isn't your thinking a bit too cynical?"

"No, I'm being restrained. Remember the Christmas incident. How did everyone look at me?"

The Christmas incident.

It was when Tanaka apologized to her while drunk, and Maple refused to forgive him.

She believed that if she was so beautiful, she must be pure inside. But when something ugly came out, it was a shock.

"So, when I started acting like a girl desperately fighting her trauma, everyone turned their backs on me... They were trying to kill me with laughter."

Maple pressed her hands to her face, but what leaked out was not sobs but laughter.

"Did you... just mimic crying?"

"Tears are a woman's weapon. I can use them, of course."

"I... I feel like I lost something by being so moved."

"My worthlessness is something I know all too well... Sister, you still have a lot to learn."

With a chuckle, Maple walked on. I followed, my shoulders drooping and my steps heavy.

"Just because of that, everyone's perception of me changed."

She handled the heavy matter lightly, as if it were a trivial thing.

"What do you think would happen if they found out I lived with an adult man I met online for over a year and a half?"

"Everything would crumble."

"Yes. They would hurriedly hide the genuine feelings they had shown me. They would treat me as a dirty, damaged junk item. Even if I claimed I was still new, no one would believe me."

No one would believe her.

Maple's escape was too extreme. To those who only knew the surface, the inside was incomprehensible and beyond understanding. They would only finish their imagination based on what they knew.

"But society is ultimately built on such people. It's a reality I can't change."

She sighed and shrugged.

"Compared to me, they can only build up dust. But when enough dust piles up, it becomes a mountain. If that mountain of malice flows in, even a prodigy like me can't handle it. I have to put on a good face for the dust. It's really unreasonable..."

She kicked a small stone on the ground, like a child sulking because things didn't go her way.

She wasn't saying anything good, and no matter how cute a sister she was, I had no intention of appeasing her.

"But they are also envious of someone like me."

So, she quickly recovered her mood.

"Everyone wants to be like me, or at least be by my side. They want to reflect in me, to share in my beauty and be happy."

"You... seem like a completely different person."

"This is still restrained. Do you want to see the real me, sister?"

She showed a mischievous side profile.

I didn't really want to know, but I nodded silently.

She walked four steps ahead and turned around,

"I am Renafalt, the Blade of Ten Realms! The sword that cuts through the light!"

She raised one hand above her head.

The next chapter will be around 11 PM.

*Addendum

I mistakenly posted it at 10 PM. To avoid any lingering doubts, I added this note.