Chapter 1: When the Snow Falls
Ann looked up at the sky as something 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 muttered despairingly, rooted to the
ground where she stood.
In contrast, a small fairy on the roof of the box-shaped wagon 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 same to me, but aren‟t you going to give the customer her sugar
sculpture?”
The fairy who lay on the driver‟s seat with his long legs dangling off the side
sat up.
At his reminder, Ann seemed to come to her senses with a gasp, and returned
her gaze to the girl standing in front of her.
“Ah! I‟m sorry. I was spacing out. So… Eh…?”
The girl, who wore 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 intermittently falling
snowflakes landed on his eyelashes. Without thinking, Ann also lost her heart
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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 reclaimed her wits and called out loudly to the girl who was 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 arrangement and shading was cleverly
devised to ensure that the various types of flowers wouldn‟t strike a dissonant
chord with one another. Ann had made the sugar sculpture after receiving the
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 made from silver sugar were used in a variety of ceremonies
and events. They were said to repel bad luck and summon good luck. Silver
sugar was a holy food that was also called “the sweet promise of good luck.”
The more beautiful the form of the sugar sculpture, the greater the good
fortune that would be bestowed upon its owner.
Ann was one of the sugar craftsmen and women who created these sugar
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 magnificent.”
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 man whom she‟d brought
with her.
The fairy had a gangly frame and was only a bit taller than the girl. 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 admiration, “This is the best sugar
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 was two 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 made by anyone other than a silver sugar
master. One cres is the most anyone would pay a regular sugar craftsman.
Take it and be grateful.”
“But! A promise is a promise…”
The girl smiled sickeningly 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 time she put into making it would completely go to waste.
“Hey, hey, hey! You, human girl! I‟ve been listening and you‟re being pretty
stingy, aren‟t you? I, Mythrill Reed Pod-sama, won‟t stay silent any longer…!”
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 make things 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 any more helpful by raising a fuss.”
“You‟re rude to the core----!!”
Ignoring the shrieking Mythrill, Shall jumped down to the ground. The single
wing on his back was like half-transparent silk. It flowed gracefully to the
back of his knees. He moved slowly, as if it were a great labor to do so, and
came to stand beside Ann. Somehow, there was something 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 shimmer spread
across his wing.
“I can made her return it and still pay the two cres. What do you want to do?”
The fairy accompanying the girl 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 only matching our 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 made according to the specifications of the girl
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 someone else, she‟d be pushing off an unsatisfactory product
on that person. That would be rude to the person who bought it.
Furthermore, if they indeed matched their behavior to the girl‟s as Shall had
said, they‟d be behaving as cowardly as she was, which was also distasteful to
Ann. Finally, she shook her head.
“No… It‟s fine, Shall.”
Right now, she needed every bit of money she could get. Ann turned back to
face the girl and looked her straight in the eyes.
“What? So you have something 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 accompanied the girl timidly looked
away from Shall. “I‟m sorry,” he apologized in a small voice, bowing his head
to Ann. Then he quickly hurried after the girl.
Through the glimmering curtain of falling snow, the figures of the girl 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 alleyway was gently winding and sloped
uphill. At its far end the alleyway opened up into a bustling city street. These
streets were wide and paved with gravel, and lined on both sides with shops
with broad frontage.
The girl from before seemed to have been the daughter of one of these affluent
shopkeepers.
Starting about ten years ago, this area had begun to flourish economically as
an intermediary in the distribution of woolen goods 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 Sharmeigh Province.
It was adjoining to Harrington Province, where the imperial city of Lewiston
was located. The nobleman who ruled this province, Earl Downing, was was 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 competition would be severe for a sugar
craftsman who‟s not even a silver sugar master. Besides, this is the foothold of
the Silver Sugar Viscount.”
“You‟re right. Damn it! That bastard Hugh----!!”
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 name of the current Silver Sugar Viscount. The Silver Sugar
Viscount was a silver sugar master who exclusively worked for the royal
family. You could say that the Silver Sugar Viscount stood above all sugar
craftsmen, silver sugar 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
mission to become a silver sugar master.
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However, in the end, Ann hadn‟t succeeded in becoming a silver sugar 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
came into sight. 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 camp out tonight like we‟ve been doing.”
This year would be over in only a month and a half.
Snow was 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.
Snow would 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 coming 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 same one that she‟d lost once to hijacking.
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 coming back to her made her happier than anything else could have.
Without climbing onto the driver‟s seat, Ann took the horse‟s bridle in her
hand.
The far end of the alleyway was a gentle downwards 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 the window as snow
falls outside,” Mythrill said cheerfully from the roof of the wagon. 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 moving the wagon forward. Shall caught 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 was well aware of
how little money she had left and was worried about her.
Ann‟s income was meager at best. There weren‟t many customers willing to
buy sugar sculptures from a 15 year old girl who wasn‟t even a silver sugar
master. There were customers who knew her skill and would place orders with
her from time to time. Even so, her fees were often haggled 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 month away. And right 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.
Furthermore, Ann would soon need to start working on the sugar sculpture
with which 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
making a splendid sugar 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 them to celebrate the new year together
pleasantly.
---- Well, before you can get anything else, you first need to have money.
Remembering 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 something dangerous, are you?!”
“Do you really think I‟m that violent? Do I look as if I would go 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 me to them for a night, 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-w-what are you saying?! Do you even understand the meaning of what
you just said?! That‟s the same as selling your body!!”
“Indeed.”
“No, not „indeed‟!! I‟d die before asking you to do something 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 must Shall‟s sense of virtue[1] be in to suggest such a
thing? After living for more than a hundred years, he must have tossed those
notions aside long ago. Just trying to imagine it, Ann paled once again. She
didn‟t want to think of such things.
At this Mythril, who wore a triumphant expression, waved a finger 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 matter of dignity! For the time being, I will worry 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 made a slightly stunned face.
“You sure are stubborn.”
This was a bit different from simple stubbornness. Ann felt the strength
leaving her body.
If Shall had offered to make and sell bread, or repair shoes to earn some
money, Ann might have asked for his help. However she had the feeling that
all of his ideas for methods of making money would be equally ridiculous. She
was too afraid to ask.
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol. 2 - Ginzatoushi to Ao no Koushaku
They reached the bottom of the hill. A few brick buildings stood here and
there.
The spaces between the buildings were wide. In these open spaces everything
from broken wagons to old farm tools were piled together in giant trash heaps.
As Ann looked around, her eyes came to rest on one building in particular.
That building was horizontally long. It was two stories tall, and off to the side
stood a stable with a simple roof. Furthermore, a wooden sign 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 remained seemed as if they would come falling 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 them to stay one night. The cres that Ann
had just received would all but disappear.
After that, she‟d only have two cres and some odd change 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 some more money during that time, Ann took the
room.
The room that they were lead to was dark. The wood-shuttered window was
nailed shut and wouldn‟t open.
Furthermore, the room contained only one bed, which filled it completely. The
room was so tiny that, standing shoulder-to-shoulder looking down at the bed,
Ann and Shall couldn‟t even have changed places without touching.
“You can‟t see anything from the window…” Mythrill muttered, sounding
depressed.
“Sorry, Mythrill. If I earn some money, we can stay in a nice inn next time,”
Ann said, looking around the room. The dead body of a giant 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
peaked her head in. The old woman wore a plain woolen shawl draped over
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