Past – Cafe, after bazaar’s day one.

Cirrus was sleeping on a sofa, a black cat in his hug and a smile on his face. Seeing this made Scarlet smile. He must’ve had a good day, she thought. When was the last time he’s this peaceful, I wonder?

Sometimes—she felt like a failure of an older sister, for not being able to bring out his smile as often as it should…

At another table, Latla was reading a paper: her own financial calculations.

Knowing that she was the reason for his smile today, she felt… envious.

Isn’t she a better older sister than I am?

… Scarlet stood up, then approached Latla.

‘Is it alright if I join you?’

Latla looked up. She set the paper aside. ‘Go ahead.’

Scarlet sat opposite Latla. She put aside her envy. ‘Thank you for taking care of Syr today, Latla.’

‘You’re welcome.’

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‘Before he was asleep, he kept sharing with me about his day with you in the bazaar. It sounded like he had a lot of fun.’

‘That’s good to know.’ Latla glanced at Cirrus, confirmed that he was peacefully asleep. ‘You can use one of the empty rooms upstairs and stay the night if you want.’

She was slightly surprised by her offer. Staying the night would mean that she didn’t need to go back home—that she didn’t need to disturb his sleep and wake him up. ‘Is it alright?’

‘It’s alright. You clean the room, then I’ll carry him to bed for you.’

Not only was Latla considerate of Cirrus, she was also considerate of Scarlet. With her weak body, it would be a challenge for her to move him to bed.

Maybe…

‘What is it?’ Latla asked, noticing Scarlet’s staring.

‘... Seeing how you act, I was wondering if maybe you have experience in being an older sister. Do you have a younger sibling?’

She blinked. ‘That’s a difficult question to answer.’

Difficult? ‘Why?’

‘... You’re making me angry,’ Latla declared. ‘Do you want to stay the night or not?’

‘Yes, please.’

‘Then clean the room.’

‘I will, right now.’

Scarlet left the table.

As she was going for the cleaning equipment, she couldn’t help but think that her response was baffling. Why would she be angry from her question? So much so that she immediately got rid of her?

Scarlet wanted to further pursue the matter. However, knowing that Latla disliked it, she decided against it.

Let’s leave it at that for now.