Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

For Sufi, her sister and her adoptive father were her entire world.

In a small, remote village where there was little to see but nature, Sufi had no one on her side but her “family.”

“Grandpa, aren’t you cold?”

Draping a cape over the shoulders of her grandfather—who had wasted away to the size of a withered branch due to illness—Sufi exhaled a puff of breath into her hands.

“…Yes, I’m fine.”

A blizzard had been raging outside for days now. In the Kingdom of Roud, located in the southern part of the continent, it rarely ever snowed.

During the few years she’d lived in the village, it had snowed only once—and even then, just a little. Even then, it stopped before it could even accumulate.

Until very recently, she’d never seen a blizzard like this.

“Grandpa, Sufi’ll make you some tea right away.”

Rubbing her upper arms against the unfamiliar cold, Sufi made a pattering sound with her footsteps as she headed toward the kitchen. She lit the fire in the hearth and boiled water in a kettle, feeling a sense of inconvenience with the equipment she should have been so familiar with.

She poured hot water into a cup, slowly lowered the tea leaves wrapped in a cloth into it, and waited for the color to change.

“The snow just won’t stop, will it?”

The snow, pelted by strong winds, rattled the wooden window. In the dim room, where no light could enter through the window, a roaring sound—like the growl of a monster—pounded in her ears.

Of the twins, it was Sufi who was close to their adoptive father. Still at an age when she longed for her parents, she spent her days hiding the pain in her heart with a smile—every time the village children teased her for not having parents, every time the adults looked down on her.

She had absolutely no attachment to her hometown; she hated everything about it—the village and its people alike.

And yet, her memories of happier times with her adoptive father were intertwined with the scenery of that very village.

“Lady Sufi… it’s all right now.”

Laying her ears flat as if frightened, Sufi served steaming tea to her adoptive father, who was seated in a chair.

“It’s not your fault—it was simply my time.”
“……But—”

If only she’d been more responsible, their adoptive father might not have taken such a reckless risk and brought Alice to Forligen.

If that hadn’t happened, his condition might not have suddenly worsened, and they might have been able to spend a little more time together.

Because she was so unreliable, she’d forced both her adoptive father and her younger sister to push themselves too hard. It was a lingering knot in Sufi’s heart, and seeing her sister still pushing herself for their sake only made that knot grow larger.

After all, her sister was so frail that it wouldn’t have been surprising if she’d spent more than half the day in bed.

Several days had passed as she immersed herself in memories of just her and her adoptive father. The snow continued to blow relentlessly in a blizzard.

Wasel, who had been silently watching over Sufi, spoke gently.

“Besides, Lady Alice would be sad.”
“…That’s not true.”

The words slipped out smoothly, as if a small bone stuck in her throat had finally been dislodged.

“Alice’s fine on her own, after all.”

Alice had changed after coming down with a high fever during their escape.

Her words and actions, as well as her personality, hadn’t changed. She remained as carefree and self-interested as ever, viewing the world through her unique sensibility.

However, she had gained a sense of calm, as if her inner self had suddenly matured. She stopped tugging at Sufi’s sleeve, calling out “Big sis, big sis,” and instead began to act as if she were an adult watching over a child.

While this made her feel more dependable, it also made Sufi feel a pang of loneliness, as if Alice were drifting away from her.

If Alice hadn’t had such a frail body that caused her to collapse at the slightest provocation, Sufi might have felt her loneliness even more acutely.

She felt a sense of revulsion toward herself for finding solace in her younger sister’s weakness, which only made her feel even more depressed.

“Is that so?”
“It is. Because…”

Alice can’t survive without someone’s help. But it doesn’t have to be Sufi, does it?

As long as there’s someone to take care of her daily needs, she can manage somehow. She realized this when Filia started helping take care of her sister, giving her more free time.

But for Sufi, it has to be Alice. It felt as though only her sister had grown up, leaving Sufi with mixed feelings.

“Because… Alice can manage even without Sufi..”
“…Being able to manage and being fine are two different things.”

Wasel spoke gently to Sufi, who was pouting with her lips pursed.

“It’s true—she can move forward no matter what happens now, even while wounded, she walks with dignity. …But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel pain or suffering.”

Wasel, who had stood up without Sufi noticing, ran his wrinkled hand through her hair as if to smooth it out.

“When Lady Alice is suffering, the only one she can honestly lean on is you, Lady Sufi.”
“……”
“Please hold her hand, Lady Sufi. Please hold her close. You must know that doing just that is enough to save Lady Alice.”

Alice’s expression—a mixture of confusion and relief when she was embraced—floated before her mind’s eye. Sufi pressed her small lips together, just as she was about to put something into words.

“Besides… How much time has passed since you parted and entered this dream? I know that, deep down, you’re dying to see your little sister.”
“Grandpa…”

Sufi looked sheepish, as if she’d been caught red-handed. Her attempts to stay by complaining were just her way of clinging to “Grandpa”—someone she was supposed to never see again.

However, even Wasel couldn’t let her stay in the dream forever.

“I failed to properly see you both safely back to your hometown. I should have mustered the strength to gather more help and set out on the journey; I should have done everything in my power to preserve as much as possible… It was my greed that cut off that possibility.”
“……”

The words spoken by the elderly alchemist were a confession of guilt to his adopted children.

“I dare say I came to think of you as my own grandchildren. At the end of my life, I longed for time to spend with family. I knew that if I involved anyone else, the situation would begin to shift dramatically, leading to the destruction of the status quo… No matter how many excuses I made, I was simply afraid of that.”

What was laid bare was the true feelings of a man who had lived his life without a family.

A man who had lived his life devoted solely to research and study, believing he was content on his own, had become greedy for the warmth of the grandchildren he had finally gained.

“It was my mistake to have you watch over me in my final moments. I’m sorry for putting you through such pain.”
“…No, Grandpa. Sufi and Alice—we caused you so much trouble even though you were sick…”

Wasel shook his head, cutting off Sufi’s words, which were on the verge of turning into tears. A gentle smile played on his face.

“I was happy. Thanks to you all, I was happy.”

The lingering thoughts of the dead and the regrets of the living. In the frozen world of the unexplored territory, these converging emotions freeze and rain down as “lingering snow.”

“So please, Lady Sufi, do move forward as well. If you all join forces, you’ll be able to overcome any hardship.”
“……I too—Sufi too, was happy being with Grandpa.”
“Those are kind words. I pray you reach your hometown safely; I’m sure plenty of happiness awaits you there.”
“Yeah…”

In that insular village, the twin sisters managed to grow up without becoming twisted precisely because they were raised by Wasel, who loved them as best he could, however clumsily.

Even if the end was a painful and bitter memory, she didn’t think of the days leading up to it as unhappy.

Once she had made up her mind to part ways, the two of them found themselves facing each other on a snowy plain under overcast skies.

“I wonder if Alice is awake yet…”
“She’s been awake for quite some time. She left, having once again spoken her farewells with dignity.”

When Sufi suddenly thought of her younger sister and mentioned it, Wasel replied with a wry smile.

It was the same expression Sufi often wore when Alice was studying alchemy.

“Haha, I’d better go after her right away… Grandpa, I’m off.”
“Yes, have a safe trip.”

A patch of blue sky peeked through the clouds, and the lingering snow began to melt.

Wasel, fading into the air, watched Sufi’s back as she walked away, and his face softened as if in relief.