Lappland said nothing.
Su An tilted his head to look at her. "Is it hard to understand?"
"...A little."
"Then let me give you an example."
Su An pointed out the window toward the vineyard. "Look at those grapes. Your father prunes them carefully, fertilizes them, has people guard them so the featherbeasts won't peck at them."
"Does he do all that because he loves those grapes?"
Lappland shook her head.
"Right. Not because he loves them. Because those grapes can be made into wine, sold for money, and make the Saluzzo family stronger."
"But if one day someone came to destroy that business, he'd be the first one rushing out to protect it."
Lappland fell silent.
Su An went on, "In his eyes, you're that best vine. He's spent so much care on you because one day you'll bear the best fruit, make the best wine, and make the Saluzzo family stronger."
"But if one day someone tried to touch you, he'd protect you with everything he had."
"Not because he loves you. Because you belong to him."
After hearing that, Lappland was quiet for a long time.
Then, in a very soft voice, she said, "So I'm his property?"
Su An didn't continue.
All of a sudden, he wondered if saying things like this to a sixteen-year-old girl was a little too cruel.
And what about him...?
Did he see Lappland as property too—property that gave him wish-power—or as something else...?
Su An shook those thoughts out of his head. The moment he cut them off, wish-power flowed in. Judging by that, Lappland seemed satisfied with his answer...
"Lappland."
"Do you want to hear what I think?"
Lappland turned to look at him.
For once, Su An was serious. "I think... what your father thinks isn't actually that important. What matters is what you think."
"Do you want to be a daughter, or do you want to be a tool?"
Lappland: "..."
Su An continued, "If you want to be a daughter, then be his daughter. If you want to be a tool, then be his tool. If you want to be something else, then be something else."
"You are you. Not something defined by him."
"What he thinks you are—that's his business. What you think you are—that's yours."
Lappland looked at him, and it seemed as if something in her eyes was about to overflow.
Then Su An abruptly went back to his usual carefree self, reclining in midair with one leg crossed over the other.
"Of course, if you want revenge, I'm always open for business. Fair rates, honest dealing, no charge if you're not satisfied—"
Before he could finish, Lappland cut him off.
"When have you ever charged me?"
Su An choked.
"Uh..."
"From when I was ten until now—six years. How many things have you done for me? Which time did you ever ask for payment?"
Su An opened his mouth. If he had to be honest... apparently none.
Every time Lappland made a wish, he basically fulfilled it whenever he could. And once it was done, he never brought up the matter of wish-power, because it arrived automatically on its own.
And collecting wish-power didn't leave the other person feeling anything, nor did it cause any side effects.
Watching Su An fall into thought, Lappland's lips curved slightly. Then she looked away, stood up, walked to the bedside with her back to him, and reached up to untie her outer clothes.
Instinctively, Su An turned around—
Then stopped.
Wait. Why had he turned? Lappland hadn't made a wish yet. Su An was just about to turn back—
"Turn around," Lappland's voice came from behind him.
Su An, halfway through the motion, stopped again.
Alright then. Now she'd actually made the request.
Behind him came the faint rustle of cloth, the soft sound of outer garments falling to the floor, then the whisper of fabric shifting.
Staring at the wall in front of him, Su An's thoughts began to wander.
This girl's sixteen now. She's not that little beanpole from back then anymore. Her figure... stop, stop! What the hell am I thinking? And am I being a little too obedient... ?
"Alright."
Su An turned back.
Lappland was already lying in bed, the blanket pulled up to her chin, with only her head and her spilled silver hair visible.
Su An floated over and, out of habit, found his usual place by her bedside and sat cross-legged there. He was floating, of course, but he'd been using that posture for six years now. He couldn't change it.
"What are we telling tonight?"
Lappland looked at him and said nothing.
Su An cleared his throat, preparing to begin his daily standing program.
"Ahem... Last time, our story left off with Sun Wukong battling seven White Bone Demons—"
"Shut up."
Su An froze. "I haven't even started telling it yet!"
"I don't want to hear one tonight."
Su An looked at her, a little aggrieved. He hadn't even gotten to the rest of his wildly improvised story yet—he'd worked hard on that.
Six years.
Every night at this time, he told her stories. Ancient legends, strange tales from foreign lands, adventure stories, ridiculous jokes—she had never once said she didn't want to hear them.
So what was this today?
Was it because of what he'd said earlier about her father?
Or because Texas's arrival had stirred up her emotions?
Su An wanted to ask, but looking at Lappland's unreadable face, he had no idea how to begin.
"Alright then. Go to sleep."
Anyway, as long as he fulfilled what she asked, wish-power would trickle in one way or another.
He floated up, preparing to drift over to the window. That was usually where he stayed at night, staring at the moon and keeping watch while she fell asleep.
"Good night."
"Mm."
Su An hovered by the window, watching the silver-haired shape on the bed, and waited for a while.
"Lappland?"
No response.
"Asleep yet?"
Her breathing was even, and she didn't move at all.
Su An floated a little closer, leaned in by her ear, and lowered his voice.
"Texas is leaving tomorrow..."
"Your father is actually your long-lost older brother..."
Still no response.
Satisfied, Su An nodded. Looks like she really was asleep.
He turned and drifted straight for the door. As his transparent body passed through the wood, he even glanced back once to make sure there was no movement. Then he sped off, vanishing into the night.
Three seconds later, the ears on the bed twitched.
Then Lappland opened her eyes.
The room was dark, with moonlight spilling through the window and falling across the place where he usually stayed.
It was empty.
There was nothing there.
She stared at that spot for a long time, then turned over, facing the window instead. Sometimes Su An stayed there just to look at the moon.
...
What did that have to do with her?
He could go wherever he wanted.
Lappland shut her eyes.
Three seconds later, she opened them again.
Recently, Su An had been staying out longer and longer at night. Before, it had only ever been one or two hours at most. Now sometimes he didn't come back until nearly dawn. Being alone at night was boring, so Lappland could understand that.
But it wasn't only nighttime anymore.
Sometimes even during the day, all it took was for her to turn her head, and he'd be gone. When he reappeared and she asked where he'd gone, he always said he'd seen something interesting.
And when she asked what it was, he'd just make up some ridiculous story to distract her...
And today, after disappearing, he'd come back and said he'd gone to catch up with someone.
With who?
Catch up about what?
He was a ghost. Who could he even go to?
Who else could see him?
Lappland didn't know.
She only knew that every time Su An disappeared for a while, it always felt as if something was missing.
No—not something.
Someone.
No, that wasn't right either.
A ghost was missing.
No, not that either...
-------
April Special Days *Sale 20%*
patreon.com/RuneA
-------
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (261 Chapter) (Ending)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (130 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (130 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (78 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty...then Who Am I? (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (65 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Ch'en Hui-chieh, I'm Done Being the Good Guy! (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Family Simulator? Why Am I the Family Heirloom? (40 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail : The Trailblazer Only Wants a Peaceful Life (45 Chapter)
Arknights: The Unlucky Dad? But I've Got the Chronicle of Time! (55 Chapter)
The Wheelchair War God Is Speedrunning Hogwarts (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Elemental Blaster of Orario (45 Chapter)
Playing Honkai in Star Rail (30 Chapter)
As an Alien, I'm Solo Leveling in Warhammer 40K (30 Chapter)
Arknights: A Symbiote's Survival Guide (70 Chapter)
My Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Is Built Entirely from Stuff I Picked Up (30 Chapter)
I Can Hear the Thoughts of Uma Mutsume (30 Chapter)
Dead-Men Chat Group: Winning the Resurrection Bracket (40 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: Saving the World While Falling in Love! (40 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: My Breathing Techniques Can Be Leveled Up (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon Age of Gods: Starting with a Simulation as Heracles (10 Chapter)
Terra Love Trap: They All Want Me to Themselves (30 Chapter)
Dimensional Ranking: Top Ten Saviors (30 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen: Naoya Zen'in Wants to Stay Alive! (30 Chapter)
Bleach: This Everyday Multiverse Is Seriously Falling Apart! (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it