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Molly had a dream.

In the dream, she was working in a grand mansion. She made frequent mistakes. The number of plates she had broken was countless. But Molly tried her best. For her master.

Molly’s master was a terrifying person. Sharp eyes and a cold gaze. Along with an icy voice. She vowed over and over not to make mistakes in front of him… but her body had a mind of its own.

Yet, the master didn’t scold Molly. With a stoic face, he encouraged her. Emotionlessly, he gently patted her head. He took her, the youngest, as his personal servant and gave her an enormous salary. He enrolled her, of humble status, into a good school. He even brought her family from the countryside to live in the mansion. And then… he took her as his wife.

It was a sweet, dream-like life. A dream she never wanted to wake from… but dreams are called dreams for a reason.

Molly slowly opened her eyes.

“It’s hot…”

The scorching sunlight burned on young Molly’s back. The blinding rays turned the sugarcane farm red.

“Stop dawdling and move faster!”

The aggressive shout was directed at Molly and the other slaves. Among the slaves moving in unison at the supervisor’s command, Molly swung a machete too heavy for her small frame.

She didn’t know when her family had become slaves. All she knew was that her father’s father had also been a slave on this farm. Molly had been born a slave, so she thought this was just how life was.

Yet, this “normal” life was too harsh for young Molly. The murderous work intensity, day and night, had killed many slaves. The absurd reality of being treated worse than animals and working every day. Some slaves had mustered the courage to ask the farm owner to improve their treatment. But it was futile. Instead, the owner burned one of them alive as an example for daring to defy him.

That was Molly’s father’s end.

Molly had to watch her father burn alive. She despaired at the death of her courageous father. In the face of such a miserable reality, no screams or tears came.

“Ugh…”

Molly, who had been working nonstop, finally tripped over the grass.

Her arms hurt. Her feet hurt from stepping on sugarcane stalks. She was hungry. But what exhausted her most was the sun. The summer sun was cruelly hot. In the heat that made her feel like fainting, Molly muttered.

“Dad…”

Though he was no longer by her side, she couldn’t think of anyone else. He was the only person she could lean on in this pain.

Molly, collapsed in the middle of the sugarcane field, couldn’t get up. She didn’t want to work anymore. She just wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to give up everything and fall asleep in this terrible heat.

Then, a shadow fell over Molly.

Was it the supervisor? Molly braced herself for the thunderous scolding that would rain down on her. Go ahead and yell all you want. She didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.

If she died like this, would she meet her dad…? Such thoughts crossed her mind. But no matter how long Molly waited, no scolding or whipping came.

“Are you okay?”

Just a voice. When Molly barely lifted her head, a young man she had never seen before stood there.

Molly held her breath. His ragged clothes suggested he was a slave like her, but the aura he exuded was nothing like a slave. She couldn’t explain it. If she had to compare, he was similar to the nobles who had visited the farm before. But even they were on a different level. Yes, level. The young man before her exuded a sense of grace and nobility.

Molly shook her head. She must be hallucinating from the heat.

When Molly didn’t respond, the young man took a leather pouch from his waist and brought it to her lips. Something inside the pouch poured into her mouth.

“?!”

Molly’s eyes shot open. It was water. Cold water. Unbelievably, it was ice-cold water. Not only did it quench her terrible thirst, but it also instantly cleared her heat-addled mind.

“Are you awake?”

“Y-yes?”

“I asked if you’re awake.”

“Ah… yes…”

Molly instinctively covered her mouth as her tongue-tied voice slipped out. She felt like she shouldn’t make any mistakes.

But it was strange. Where would a slave get such cold water? Before Molly could voice her question, the young man patted her head. His fingers were cool, and the touch on her forehead felt pleasant.

“You’ll be fine now.”

“Huh…?”

“I’ll be by your side.”

It was a sudden statement, but Molly accepted it. It felt like magic. Just hearing him say that made her feel like everything would be okay. Like she could survive in this despair. No matter how hard it got, she felt like she could get up.

Molly asked in a trembling voice.

“W-who are you…?”

“I am…”

The young man thought for a moment before speaking.

“Your fortune.”

***

“Ah, so that person was your grandmother’s savior.”

“Yes! That’s right.”

Sylvia smiled and nodded.

“Grandma said that if it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have escaped the farm alive…”

Long ago, Sylvia’s grandmother, then a slave, escaped the sugarcane farm. With only the thought of getting as far away from the farm as possible, she walked and walked. And she arrived at a vast desert.

Sylvia’s grandmother married into a desert tribe and had children. She, who had wandered her whole life in search of freedom, passed away a few years ago. Her remains were scattered in the desert.

Sylvia loved the stories her grandmother told, especially the ones about that man.

“That man is my savior too. Thanks to him, even a wanderer like me can quench my thirst in the middle of this desert.”

“Hehe…”

Sitting next to Sylvia was a man in a robe. A rare visitor in this vast desert. Normally, strangers weren’t welcomed, but Sylvia remembered her grandmother’s last words.

-If a thirsty person asks for water, give them water.

The man looked terribly thirsty, and Sylvia offered him a bowl of water.

“He must have been a magician.”

“A magician?”

“Yes. Look at this.”

The man brought his finger to a droplet of water at the bottom of the bowl. The droplet trembled and began to split. One droplet became two, two became four… The bowl, which had only a little water left, was soon filled. And that wasn’t all.

“Want to touch it?”

“Huh? Sure… Ah, it’s cold!”

“Hoho… How is it? Refreshing, right? That man probably used magic like this to cool the water.”

When the man removed his robe, the face hidden beneath was revealed. A young man with ash-gray hair smiled kindly at Sylvia.

“Wow! Were you a magician all along?”

“Hoho… Calling me ‘mister’? I’m much older than you think.”

“Huh? Then should I call you grandpa…?”

“I’m probably much older than your grandfather.”

“Eh… Then…”

“Just call me grandpa. Anyway, I was trying to use water magic, but I didn’t have a medium. I couldn’t even produce saliva or tears, so I was in trouble. Then I saw this house. Thanks to you, I survived.”

“But, grandpa, why did you come to the desert…?”

“Ah… I didn’t mention that, did I? Little one, this is a secret, but since I owe you, I’ll tell you.”

Sylvia gulped. She had heard stories from her family.

Magic power is a blessing everyone has. But using magic requires specialized knowledge and skill. That’s why those who call themselves magicians are special beings with great knowledge and skill.

She wondered why a magician would come to a desert of sand and wind. Was it the king’s order? Or perhaps a crucial mission from the head of the magicians?

But the words that came from the man’s mouth weren’t as grand as Sylvia had imagined.

“I’m looking for my child.”

“Your child…?”

“I’m searching for a child I lost long ago.”

It was a chaotic time with wars breaking out everywhere. Parents and children being separated was all too common. But as Sylvia thought about it, something felt off.

“Uh…? But you said you’re much older than my grandmother. So…”

“Yes. They probably aren’t of this world anymore. But who knows, maybe their seed still exists somewhere.”

The man smiled bitterly. Though he looked no older than his thirties, his smile was that of an old man who had lived for centuries.

“I want to find my bloodline, wherever they may be in this world.”

“But even if you find them, how would you recognize them…?”

“Hoho… As you saw earlier, I’m a magician. There are ways to recognize my bloodline.”

The man pulled out a crystal orb.

“This crystal orb helps identify the attributes of magic power. If they’re of my bloodline, this orb will recognize them.”

“Wow…”

“Oh, right. Since we’re on the topic, why don’t you try touching it?”

“Huh?”

“Hoho. Just for fun. Who knows, you might be my distant descendant.”

“Then… do I just place my hand on it?”

“Yes.”

Sylvia reached her hand toward the crystal orb. Of course, she didn’t think anything would happen. She was just curious about how the orb would react.

Gulp.

But why was she so nervous? Just as Sylvia’s hand was about to touch the orb…

The man suddenly stood up.

“Wait. It seems we have an uninvited guest.”

“Huh?”

Leaving a bewildered Sylvia behind, the man silently stepped outside the tent. He looked out at the desert, where the sun was scorching.

“Grandpa…?”

“Shh.”

The man stared intently at the endless desert.

“To come all the way here…”

He began drawing something in the air with his finger. Sylvia realized it was magic. Golden letters shimmered like flames in the air before disappearing.

Then, something happened.

-Thunk!

Arrows of light flew toward the heart of the desert. The arrows, raining down indiscriminately, pierced the sand with tremendous force. No, it wasn’t sand.

-Groooar!

What Sylvia had thought was sand writhed in agony as it was pierced by the arrows before falling silent. It was a monstrous creature, shaped like a giant worm.

“A sandworm. A monster that inhabits the desert.”

“Eek!? A m-monster…!”

“It must have awakened in response to my magic. Troublesome.”

The man clicked his tongue and began packing.

“Tsk tsk… I’ve stayed too long. I must leave immediately.”

“A-already?”

“Yes. It’s sudden, but that’s how it is. It wouldn’t do for you to be attacked by monsters because of me.”

“Okay…”

“It was nice meeting you, little one.”

Though the farewell was abrupt, Sylvia accepted it. As part of a nomadic tribe that wandered the desert, meetings and partings were familiar to her.

“Then I’ll be on my way…”

As the man left with the same light demeanor as when he arrived, Sylvia called out.

“W-wait…!”

“Hm?”

“My name is Sylvia! Please tell me your name!”

She didn’t know why, but she felt she had to ask. If she didn’t ask now, she might never know his name… Sylvia desperately shouted.

The answer came quickly.

“I am Wingfield.”

The man turned and added briefly.

“Sage Wingfield.”

***

“Mom… Dad…”

On the night Sage Wingfield left, Sylvia sat huddled in front of the tent, gazing at the desert shrouded in darkness.

It was strange. That morning, Sylvia’s parents had gone to a nearby village for supplies. But even though the sun had set long ago, they still hadn’t returned.

Normally, she wouldn’t have thought much of it, but after seeing the monster earlier, Sylvia felt uneasy.

“W-what if they ran into a monster…?”

Sylvia shook her head. Her parents were warriors born and raised in the desert. While a sandworm might be too much, they could handle lesser monsters. Even if they encountered something as strong as a sandworm, they had the experience and skill to escape.

So there was nothing to worry about… or so she thought, but she couldn’t help pacing outside the tent.

“…Huh?”

As Sylvia anxiously fidgeted, something caught her eye. A faint, human-shaped shadow was approaching. Though hard to see, it looked like two people. And they were heading straight for her.

At this hour, the only people who would come here were them.

“Mom and Dad…!”

Overjoyed, Sylvia tried to light a fire. She wanted to light their path with a bonfire.

But Sylvia couldn’t do it. A cold voice from the darkness stopped her.

“Run.”

“Eek!?”

A chill ran down her spine. When she turned around, a shadow loomed over her.

“W-who…!?”

“Didn’t you hear me?”

A cold hand covered Sylvia’s mouth. At the same time, she could see the face of the man who had silenced her.

Jet-black hair, a sharp jawline, and obsidian eyes that seemed to absorb the darkness stared coldly at her.

“Run while you still have luck.”

 

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