As I was about to return to the Original World, I spoke to Kuunel about the “rift”.
However, the information I shared was scarce and vague, concerning things like names and their ecological characteristics. Both Hidaki and Tiara in the past referred to what lay beyond that “rift” as the “World.”
Their shared designation arose because it was so immense that there was no other way to describe it. A thousand years ago, in their respective worlds, the Original World and Another World, they both discovered it, met each other’s gaze, and felt a colossal will. It was precisely because I felt it too that I wanted to know its true nature more than anything else.
—I learned from Apostle Diplakla that it is “the deepest part connected to the souls of all worlds.”
I was surprised when I heard that name. I rejoiced that no made-up words or nouns had been attached to it. So, taking this opportunity, I tried to come up with a cool name. However, I was unfortunately interrupted by Diplakla, who exclaimed, “Now, it’s the ‘Deepest Part’! It’s practically the same place as the ‘Deepest Part of the Labyrinth’!”
Regarding the characteristics of this “Deepest Part,” initially, concepts like distance and space are ambiguous, and it is simply vast. It is so wide that it cannot be quantified, and so large that anyone who sees it would inevitably think of the word “infinite.” Indeed, the “other side” I saw when I first came to Another World and used the “power of dimensions” for the first time (or so I thought) gave me a feeling of infinite depth. The nearly infinite magic power I feel when performing a true “Magic’s” “Incantation” likely originates from here.
This place, which so readily permits the word “infinite,” has a “connection” with countless souls. It is not that living souls exist there. Rather, the will emanating from the souls that inhabit worlds reaches that place and accumulates. While it is faint, like a lingering scent, when considered as being “connected to the souls of all worlds,” the scale is astronomical. The wills of innumerable souls gather in one place, overlap, swell, swell, swell—and as a result, everyone perceives a magnitude that rivals that of the “World” itself.
In other words, that colossal will is, in a way, the instinct of all the souls in the world. And because of that instinctive consensus, I have become disliked by the Original World. To be precise, “the people of the Original World instinctively reject the Aikawa siblings, who tried to freeze and devour all souls.”
Incidentally, I am not disliked by Another World. I understand the reason, albeit vaguely. It is because Another World watched, listened to, and read “Hidaki’s story” until the end and developed an attachment to it. Unlike the Original World, it does not recognize us siblings as dangerous failures.
It’s quite a human story. I was perplexed when I heard this, confused by how a clear superior being could have such likes and dislikes, akin to a person. Furthermore, Apostle Diplakla replied, “They are by no means human. They are more terrifying and ugly.” Another Apostle, Sis, nodded, saying, “Like humans? Indeed, it might be easier to understand if you think of them that way!”
On top of that, Sis described the characteristics of the two types of “Deepest Part”— “Another World is like a newborn infant. It is already afflicted with a troublesome illness despite not being mature, and is very weak. The Original World is like a strong young man. He is mature in mind and body and very healthy, but recently he almost died from hypothermia.” —using anthropomorphic expressions.
Diplakla chuckled at this, and I took it with a grain of salt, finding it overly humanized. However, as I have traveled between the two worlds over the past two months, I’ve begun to feel that Sis’s descriptions are not far off the mark. Unlike me and Diplakla, who tend to be prickly, Sis always speaks directly about what she genuinely feels. That’s why she sometimes instinctively touches upon the core of matters. It was precisely because I thought this might be one of those instances that I decided to change my approach.
I decided to approach interacting with the two worlds with a bit more humanity, a little more kindness—instead of challenging the mighty existence of the “World,” I would protect it like a “child” who is by no means special.
“Fuuuh…”
I yawned, pushed myself up, and opened my eyes. Brushing aside the blanket that had been covering me, I rubbed my eyes and looked around. It was a dark, damp underground room. But thanks to my internal clock’s accuracy, I knew it was early morning. The weather outside was clear. Orange light from the rising sun peeking over the horizon illuminated the sky, which was clear with few clouds. Even without the dimensions, I could feel the vibrations as the townspeople gradually began their activities. It was a very gentle and kind alarm clock.
I feel these subtle tremors because I am using a hidden room beneath Fuziaze Cathedral as my own room. Considering various reasons, I brought a bed into the library filled with research materials on Curse Techniques written by the Primordial Kanami a thousand years ago, and I make sure to sleep here as much as possible.
And today, having slept a solid eight hours, I pushed myself up in bed—and directed my gaze. Floating there was the “rift” in question. We can make eye contact, and I can clearly feel the colossal will lurking within. If Sis’s words are to be believed, it is a sickly infant—
“…Good morning. Are you well?”
I greeted it with a morning salutation. Of course, no voice answered. In the silence, after taking a breath, I started to feel a little embarrassed. Anyone who didn’t know the situation would think I was quite eccentric, calling out to empty space the moment I woke up. Still, lately, due to the nature of “dimensional powers,” I’ve been seeing illusions of people important to me, so it’s probably not that different. Therefore, I’ve resolved to greet it every morning from now on. If it truly is an infant, someone needs to look after it. Someone “in this Another World.”
“Haa, I slept well… I haven’t slept this soundly since… the time Ragune killed me. Hahaha, haa…”
A slightly painful memory surfaced, eliciting a sigh. However, I immediately closed my mouth and faced forward. Motivating myself by thinking that looking down wouldn’t yield anything, I tried to envision my schedule for the coming days and search for “what I can do now”—
“From today, I’m on vacation… I have three whole days off… Hmm… Ahh… Hmm… I’ll go back to sleep.”
My work was finished yesterday. After completing the payment to Kuunel last night, there was nothing left for me to “do right now.” After two months of performing at full capacity on a tight schedule, I’ve genuinely run out of things to do. So, all that’s left is to go back to sleep.
I decided to indulge in some long overdue sleep, so I pushed my body up and sank into the soft bed.
However, as Seldra had said, my HP and MP had fully recovered overnight. It wasn’t that I couldn’t shake off my sleepiness or that I was tired. I had slept soundly, my mind and body feeling refreshed.
Even so, I focused on trying to relax my tension to the absolute limit through a second nap… but generally, when you actively try to be lazy, things don’t go as planned.
“…My body doesn’t need a second nap?”
My body’s ‘Demonic Poison’ conversion rate is nearing level 99. Furthermore, the direction of that ‘Magic Power Conversion’ ‘Spell Formation’ is a hybrid of my ‘create a strong body that overcomes illness’ and Hidaki’s ‘create a strong body that can live eternally’. Consequently, my human functions have been tremendously enhanced.
Apparently, with that enhancement direction, the grogginess of waking up has been eliminated.
Having confirmed that slightly hollow fact, I sat up again. I could probably achieve a second nap by tinkering with the ‘Level Up’ ‘Spell Formation’ or by mimicking Sis’s stat redistribution. However, if I put in that much effort, it wouldn’t feel like indulging in sloth anymore.
“It’s fine… This is within expectations, within expectations.”
I got out of bed and headed to the only desk in this study-bedroom. I sat in a chair and took an item from my ‘Inventory’. It was something I had prepared just in case something like this happened.
“Glad I bought this.”
I placed the coffee maker, which I had purchased on my way back yesterday, on the desk along with the coffee beans and cups I had bought as a set. I smiled.
The luxury of bringing in a tool of modern civilization, monopolizing it, and enjoying it all by myself strangely delighted me. While reveling in that inexplicable pleasure, I set up the coffee beans and noticed a certain drawback.
“There’s… no outlet…”
Also, since it’s a study, there’s no water either. However, it wouldn’t be a problem. I had a way to solve it.
“—Magic ‘Water’, ‘Lightning’.”
I chose magic rather than my ‘Inventory’ because I wanted to aim for the best coffee possible.
First, the basic water-attribute magic, ‘Water’. Water attribute used to be my weak point, but after the battle with Hidaki, my understanding of water and ice deepened. On top of that, I possess a magic stone from the ‘Thief of Principles of Water’ within my body. Furthermore, after a thousand years of battles, I have also fully understood the mechanism of the ‘massless cell’ which forms the basis of everything.
As a result, ‘clean and delicious water with perfect temperature, hardness, oxygen content, and organic matter content’ was generated in the air by magic, filling the pot.
Next, I generated ‘perfectly balanced voltage and current for home appliances’ from my fingertips and touched the plug. Then, I used ‘Dimension’ and ‘Flame’ to instantly roast the brought coffee beans to an ideal degree and cooled them with ‘Freeze’.
Thus, the ideal coffee generation, a fusion of science and magic, began, and a few minutes later—
“—Heh heh heh. Perfect.”
A frivolous thought briefly crossed my mind: “Wouldn’t it be better to just make ‘delicious coffee’ directly with magic?” But I banished it from my mind for the sake of the romantic term ‘fusion of science and magic’, and was moved by the finished product.
“This is the world’s first coffee that combines science and magic… Heh, heh heh—”
The fusion itself holds meaning. This is because this is ‘Another World’, a world where all things have meaning, a world of ‘Price’. Surely, the act of combining science and magic will become ‘The Deal with the World’ and grant me power. To this first homemade coffee, I will imbue it with infinite richness and sharpness—surely.
“…Mmm, it’s delicious.”
I felt a somewhat frivolous gaze from a nearby ‘rift’ that seemed to say, “I’m not sending any power!”, but I ignored it and savored my morning coffee. As expected of coffee born from the fusion of science and magic… the flavor is clearly deeper than usual…
Nodding, I shifted my vision with dimensional magic as a bonus. Ignoring my retina, I made the landscape reaching my brain solely the beautiful garden of the cathedral, painted by the morning glow. Blinding myself with the sunlight, I gave thanks for being able to greet a refreshing morning.
“It’s dazzling… A good morning, and good coffee…”
I said to myself as I elegantly took a sip from my coffee cup. However, since I am in a study, if someone were to see me in my current state, I would appear quite dangerous. The frivolous gaze I felt earlier seemed to turn into a look of utter disbelief, but my future holidays will continue this way, so I ask for your patience and understanding.
Next, I took a small book (my own work) from a nearby bookshelf and, while expertly turning the pages with one hand, I sipped my coffee with the other. It felt rather high-class.
“Heh, heh heh—”
My plan to indulge in sloth had failed, but the refreshment from my coffee time was a complete success. For about an hour, I re-read a curse technique book I had completely memorized for no reason, while continuously perceiving the beautiful garden in my mind even though I was in the damp basement, and drank three cups of coffee.
Thus, having finished my perfect morning coffee time, I put the coffee set back into my ‘Inventory’, stood up, and began to stretch.
“Still, there’s still time left until my appointment with Dia… Hmm.”
While loosening my body, I conversed with the ‘rift’ (it wasn’t a monologue, mind you) and reviewed my schedule, which was riddled with holes for the first time in a thousand years, and found myself in trouble. In my reclusive past life, I would have filled the time with games, but that’s not possible in this ‘Another World’.
“Should I go a bit early…? I told Kuuneru to be five minutes early, but always arriving exactly five minutes early feels unhealthy. I should be more casual, more loose…”
After finishing my preparations, I decided not to use ‘Connection’ or ‘Default’, and left the study-bedroom. Passing through a narrow hidden passage, I emerged into the cathedral on the ground, and the scene I had magically projected into my mind overlapped with my actual vision.
“Whoa…”
The light was blinding.
I could feel the warmth and sunlight on my skin.
The fresh scent that filled the air felt pleasant.
So, instead of the corridor, I walked through a garden rich with nature.
As a morning stroll, I tread on soil and grass, listening to the natural sounds as I wove between the trees.
Along the way, I passed by priests working at the Cathedral. However, thanks to the power of Teeda’s mask, I wouldn’t be recognized.
That being said, my stealth wasn’t perfect. Knights and Magic Stone Humans with high Aptitude or Level could see through it with ease.
And so, while walking past the Knight Order during their training, I was spotted by their captain, a middle-aged knight with streaks of white in his hair.
“—Hm? Ge… A boy… No, it’s Shiso-sama. Hey, bow! All hands, bow low and humble yourselves!”
Then, he issued an unnecessary command to about thirty knights in training.
“““Wha… Eh… Hah—!!”””
The knights, a moment late, realized that it was me passing by and offered a beautiful knight’s salute.
“Hopes-san, you did that on purpose, didn’t you… Just let it slide.”
As usual, that man, Hopes Jokul, from the Seven Knights of Heaven, did exactly what I disliked. Yet, there was something endearing about him that made him hard to hate.
“Hello, Kanami-dono. Another fine day. More importantly, this is unusual. A leisurely stroll today?”
“Yes, it’s a stroll today. I’ve finished most of what I needed to do in the past two months… I plan to tour the town with Dia from now on.”
“Huh? No, that’s not what I call a stroll. You’re truly terrifying. If an old man like me wastes time here, I can only imagine a horrifying future. Please, hurry to Dia-sama’s place.”
With a casual laugh, he threw out words that reminded me of a past battle.
I smiled and nodded, grateful for his concern.
“Yes, I will. Well then, see you again.”
“Ah, see you. Next time, when I’m really free, let’s go for a drink together.”
After seeing me off, Hopes immediately returned to the knights’ training.
His quick transition and lighthearted demeanor were likely why he was one of the Seven Knights of Heaven and why his subordinates admired him as their captain.
I passed through the Cathedral grounds, glancing at his retreating figure.
Then, halfway across the drawbridge spanning the river surrounding the Cathedral, I also ran into the Vice Commander of the Seven Knights of Heaven, Mone Vinci. (He was the magic-specializing knight who fought after Hopes when the Cathedral was attacked. I couldn’t remember his name until these past two months, when I finally learned it.) He noticed me, but he understood my feelings well and genuinely let me pass without a second glance.
As Vice Commander, his role is to oversee the knights, so he is strict about etiquette, and his demeanor is somewhat somber.
—With such nostalgic encounters, I left the Cathedral and entered the town of Fuziaze.
Even in the early morning, the streets were bustling, and the town throbbed with energy.
Just two months ago, it had looked like a scene from an ice age in a movie due to Hidaki’s Winter Otherworld, but now it had fully regained its former vibrancy. —No, I can confidently say it’s even more so, thanks to the efforts I’ve put in over the past two months.
I had repaved the roads while redrawing the Magic Stone Line, making them easy to walk on, and I felt as if the flow of people moving through them was faster.
The wheel technology that Aid had spread not too long ago should also be easier to use on these new streets.
This rapid flow of people and goods should be connected to this heat and vitality.
Most importantly, there were the Magic Stone Humans and former slaves mixing into that flow. Originally, the Allied Nations was a multi-ethnic country with many beastmen, and this tendency was even more pronounced.
Along with the morning buzz, the cheerful laughter of children from various races could be heard.
I walked through the townscape at a leisurely pace, observing and listening, and recalled Fedelt’s words at the Senate: “Please enjoy the reward of peace to your heart’s content.”
Indeed, I thought, this was a reward.
More than anything, it suited me.
I was truly suited for this.
Of course, suited doesn’t mean suited for politics.
I had known that since I discussed my future “profession” with Titty in the past.
Ultimately, I wasn’t a “Hero.” I didn’t have the capacity for it. Nor was I the kind of person who could become a “Doctor.” Kuuneru told me I was suited to be an “Artisan,” but that wasn’t right either. Even if that were true in the past, for me now, all craftsmanship is based on magic. The coffee from earlier is the prime example.
—Therefore, my only remaining “Dream” for the future is just one.
Now that it was just one, the path was clear, wide and long like this street, and very easy to walk.
I reconfirmed my path, crossed the border from the town of Fuziaze into the neighboring country of Valt. As before, it was only lightly marked by the Magic Stone Line, so crossing the border was effortless.
Upon entering Valt, the atmosphere intensified further.
Compared to Fuziaze, it was less affluent, but instead, it was a town bursting with vital life force.
And now, the destination was not far.
Savoring a slightly nostalgic air, I walked through a map that, in a game, could be called the “Starting Town,” and arrived at the place where I first met Dia.
A tavern in front of a labyrinth. For me, this was the restaurant of this “Another World,” and my former workplace.
I looked around the entrance of the tavern but Dia wasn’t there.
We had agreed to meet around lunchtime, so I seemed to have arrived a little early.
Thinking I would wait inside, I tried to enter—but before that, my skin felt a mass of magic approaching.
“Ah, this…”
My tension completely eased, I wasn’t using any Dimensional Magic like Dimension, and all my Skills were slack, yet I sensed its approach.
From a distance, I could hear the footsteps of a girl I knew, with a familiar weight, running towards me.
With one leg being a mass of magic, her gait and footsteps were truly distinctive.
“—Ka, Kanami!!”
There was no mistaking it. From down the street, Dia, dressed not in her Shiso attire from yesterday, but in explorer-like clothing, was running towards me, calling my name.
I replied to her, as she shook her hair tied back like a tail.
“Good morning, Dia.”
“Pant, pant…! Good morning, Kanami…! Sorry, did you wait long?”
“No, I just arrived, so don’t worry about it. Actually, I’m a little early,” I said.
After a few awkward, customary phrases for a meeting, Dia breathed a sigh of relief. “I see,” she said, patting her chest.
“So, what’s wrong? You’re out of breath.”
“I’m being chased… Let’s talk while we walk! This way!”
Dia grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the tavern.
I thought we were going to have lunch at this nostalgic tavern today, but it seemed there was a reason we couldn’t. Dia kept looking around cautiously, retracing the path I had just walked.
Seeing Dia like that brought back some memories.
When we first met, she was being chased by priests of Revannism and was always restless. She always seemed cornered, lost, fighting, injured, andattered, continuously searching for a guiding light for her life… that was my strong impression of her.
However, seeing Dia now, I no longer had that impression.
Even while being chased, her expression was calm. Her hesitation was gone, her combative spirit was starting to settle, and she was illuminating her path with her own light.
Furthermore, her appearance had changed.
Dia was casually leading me by the hand, but she was walking with a magical prosthetic arm and leg. The level of proficiency was so high that they seemed incredibly fluid and natural, almost indistinguishable from real limbs.
Even though I understood the mechanism, no one else could replicate it. Apart from her being a “Thief of Principles,” which was an unfair advantage, Dia undoubtedly had the top magical talent.
In the past, Dia’s immense magical power and her immaturity prevented her from performing fine manipulations. However, by honing her skills alongside other mages and surviving numerous fierce battles, she had reached a level that allowed no one to follow.
Dia now had no tactical weaknesses.
It’s not like me, who caused the incident that took her limbs, to say this, but because she constantly compensates for her right arm and left leg with magic in her daily life, her skills have continued to be honed, expanding her range in close-quarters combat.
Her ever-changing magical limbs were stronger, heavier, faster, and sharper than any weapon or armor.
She probably didn’t need me, standing at the front, like she did a year ago. Acknowledging this fact with a slight sense of loneliness, I asked Dia, who was still holding my hand.
“Who are you being chased by? The church again?”
“No, there’s no one from the church who would say anything to me anymore. Diplakla and Fedelt are keeping an eye on things for me.”
Dia answered while walking, without interrupting their movement.
“Then, perhaps…?”
“Yeah. That idiot Fran got wind of it and insisted on coming along.”
Idiot Fran.
She was referring to Franryure Helvirshine, an aristocrat girl who had become Dia’s best friend. She was Rainer’s sister-in-law, a sheltered girl from the Seven Knights of Heaven with an overwhelmingly high family status, and a girl with a very pleasant way of speaking.
“She was supposed to be busy with various things today, but she suddenly canceled everything… When it comes to Kanami, she becomes reckless. That’s why I didn’t want her to know. Sigh.”
“Heh.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, imagining the scene.
It wasn’t Franryure making reckless statements, but rather a scene of two very close friends.
I could perfectly picture Franryure, with her keen senses, realizing what was happening from a casual conversation and exclaiming, “—That’s unfair!” while Dia would dismissively try to shoo her away.
I had witnessed such unreserved interactions between these best friends once before, in the Winter Otherworld of Hidaki.
My sister never lost her kindness, not even until the very end.
And so, all the dreams from that world of gentle winter were “real.”
The bonds forged during that time continue into the current real world, and they are properly connected—
“But I managed to shake her off on my way here… Shis helped me out. And Rainer, too, incidentally.”
Connected, and having overcome their final battle, they now possessed a wonderful present—a time even better than a dream.
It wasn’t just Franryure who was by Dia’s side now.
A name that hadn’t even appeared in a gentle dream was spoken by Dia.
“I can kind of understand Rainer… but Shis too?”
“Shis was also off work, so she’d been with me since yesterday. She volunteered to hold Fran back for me… I’ll have to buy her a souvenir later.”
“Oh, Shis…”
“I can’t say it in front of her, but she’s been helping me in many ways. She might not mean to, but the more Shis stands out as an Apostle, the less burden there is on me.”
For a long time, Diablo Sis was expected by various countries to fulfill her duties as an Apostle. However, with the clear separation of the “Shis” part, the situation had changed dramatically.
“That’s right. Lately, I’ve been saved a lot thanks to Shis.”
Unlike in the past, when she only thought about the world, Shis could now pay attention to the people around her.
It seemed that the current Shis was capable of putting herself on the line for her friends, like Dia.
“Ah… Thanks to Shis today, I can be alone with Kanami! Today, just the two of us, around town…! Just the two of us…?”
As she spoke, Dia turned around and looked at my face.
Then, her gaze slowly drifted downwards, and the moment she reconfirmed that we were holding hands—her words stopped.
“…! ”
Dia was flustered by the situation of holding hands and the word “alone,” despite being the one who initiated it.
Her small mouth changed from a crescent to a circle and began to tremble, “wavering.”
In sync, her magical hand also trembled. The outline of her arm, which had been perfectly formed with impressive skill, wavered and moved like a jelly, swelling.
The arm of magic, having lost its solidity, enveloped my arm like an amoeba and swallowed it.
Her magical power was immense, befitting Level 59, and its quality was top-notch. If Dia had exerted even a little more force, my arm would have been crushed as if by a millstone. However, Dia reacted before I could move.
“—*Huu*… *fuu*…”
Dia took a breath, and the magic that had spread like mist re-converged.
In the blink of an eye, it returned to its original form as a magical arm.
In the end, the collapse of its shape lasted only for a moment.
While not perfect, it was sufficient control of her magic to determine that she wasn’t being overwhelmed by her magic and skills.
I no longer feel the chilling fear from Dia, nor am I being crushed by a giant magical hand like before. I am certain it will never happen again.
“–You two, it’s been a while, Kanami! Could it be, since the first time we teamed up!?”
Dia continued the conversation in a loud voice, as if to hide her shyness.
It seemed she had wanted to be alone with me for a long time, but now that it was happening, she was probably embarrassed.
“That’s right. I think it’s been since we were single digits in Level.”
“Yeah. Back then, we met at a tavern at night… teamed up and went into a dungeon… We had all sorts of ‘Adventures’ in this town… Haha, how nostalgic!”
Dia’s face turned red, and while genuinely embarrassed, she continued to pull my hand.
I realized she had lost the timing to let go of my hand, which made me feel very at ease.
Unlike Kuuneru yesterday, I felt no pretense from Dia. There were no plans or calculations, just like any ordinary girl, she was flustered by the situation as we went shopping.
Honestly, while shopping with Kuuneru was cheerful, there was a sense of competition as if it were part of a job.
But Dia was different.
I’ve thought this since we first met, but compared to everyone else, Dia has no ulterior motives and is very reassuring. I think that sense of security has always helped me.
“I thought we were going to eat lunch at that nostalgic tavern…”
“I was thinking the same. But if we go back now, Fran will—”
“She’ll probably show up while we’re eating. Or rather, it seems like that’s happened before.”
“That’s Fran for you. She’s the type to somehow manage things with her unpredictable momentum. And I think Sis and Rainer are weak against that unpredictable momentum. I wouldn’t be surprised if they suddenly appeared from that street corner right now.”
Dia and I stopped at the same time and looked ahead.
The scene flashed through my mind: Franryure victorious over Sis and Rainer who were holding her back, and then appearing with a laugh, saying, “I’ve found you!”
“You’re right… that seems likely.”
Normally, Franryure would have no chance against an Apostle and her younger brother.
However, that girl sometimes exhibits an unreasonable power that we don’t possess.
“Right?”
Dia looked happy.
She proudly boasted about Franryure’s unpredictability.
“Well then, since that’s the case, let’s eat somewhere else. Where do you want to go?”
“Yeah, let’s choose a place carefully. No, today, it might be better not to stick to one location…”
However, precisely because she was proud of Franryure, Dia was maximally wary of her.
As if to shake off any pursuers, she repeatedly pulled my hand and turned corners.
And at the end of it, we arrived at a plaza off the main road.
It wasn’t very large, but it was filled with many stalls.
Come to think of it, I heard at a tavern when I was a novice Explorer that there was a place near the Labyrinth selling prototypes made by aspiring artisans. They said things picked up in the Labyrinth were sometimes sold cheap, making it a bargain—but looking closely, most of the stalls were food-related. It appeared the temporary partial lockdown of the Labyrinth was having this much of an impact.
“Stalls… That’s nice. Let’s eat a little here, Kanami.”
“Huh? Here? We’re here, so I was looking for a more expensive place.”
“I, I want to try eating at a stall… Is that not okay?”
Dia asked, peering up at me, and this time it was I who was flustered.
To repeat, even with the same gesture as Kuuneru, the impact was different. Refusing her request was impossible for me.
Besides, maybe…
The reason Dia was fixated on street food might be due to a past Christmas festival.
At that time, although we had promised to go together, Dia ultimately couldn’t enjoy the festival. However, I, Rustiara, Maria, and Arti enjoyed the eve festival, playing games and eating street food… and Dia, perhaps hearing about it from Rustiara, might have made a promise that “Someday, Dia, you and I will eat street food together.”
“In that case, let’s eat while walking, shall we?”
Once decided, Dia joyfully responded with an honest smile, “Yeah!”
Then, pulling my hand, she chose a stall and placed an order.
We bought a bag of fried nuts that smelled spicy.
Holding the bag of assorted nuts, we walked while eating, wary of any potential followers.
“This is a specialty product from my hometown. It’s nostalgic.”
“Yeah. It’s delicious, isn’t it?”
“Eh…? You’ve eaten it before? Kanami, you have?”
“It was there during the last Christmas festival.”
“Oh. In that case, I should have chosen something else. I chose this because I thought it would be new to you, Kanami.”
“No, it’s okay. It might not be new, but… it’s nostalgic for me too. Truly nostalgic and delicious.”
The single bag was finished quickly as we shared it.
Dia soon began looking for the next stall while also searching for topics to discuss with me.
“Speaking of which, you went back to that other world again, right? Everyone seems to be going back home lately. Did you finally get to go home this time, Kanami?”
“No, different people were living in my house now… I didn’t talk to my parents, who had started a new life elsewhere. I saw from a distance that they were doing well and returned here immediately. I thought it would be better not to convey anything…”
“I see…”
I told Dia everything without holding back.
She listened with a solemn expression and then began to speak.
“Hey, Kanami. Won’t you listen to my story about returning home? You seemed curious about it a while ago, didn’t you?”
Dia said nothing about my decision not to meet my parents.
Instead, she tried to talk about her own trip home. It was likely that her story contained what she wanted to tell me.
“Yeah, I’m a little curious. You understood well.”
“It’s obvious. If I were in your position and heard you went back home with Sis! I’d be incredibly curious. Now is a good opportunity, so please listen. About what I did in my hometown.”
Dia began to speak casually.
About her hometown, in a gentle voice.
