Epilogue

“Thanks for coming to my show today, everyone!”

“MIO! MIO! MIO!”

When Mio called out to her fans filling the venue, a wave of cheers swept across the audience.

“W-Whoa, my ears! The fans are really loud.”

“Really? You can’t tell when you’re yelling along with them,” Tsumiki said.

She was completely unfazed by the explosion of noise. She was part of the screaming crowd, after all. But this was probably normal for a MIO concert. It was pretty amazing.

“Mio!”

I tried shouting, too, though it felt a little different than what the others were cheering for.

Today, I’d been invited to come with Tsumiki to the last show of MIO’s tour. Tickets had apparently been sold out for ages, but Tsumiki said she had an extra one and didn’t want to waste it, so she asked me to come along.

Back in the spirit world, I’d promised Mio I’d come see her perform sometime, so I jumped on Tsumiki’s offer and agreed immediately. Although, for some reason, Tsumiki looked disappointed when I told her that.

“Let’s get things started with our first song!” Mio shouted.

A cheerful instrumental then began to play. With a mic in one hand, Mio danced on the stage, swaying her upper body and smoothly moving through the steps as she began singing.

The venue was booming with her newest single, the one I hear in TV commercials sometimes. It had a rather fast tempo, and the lyrics were about a young girl’s love. It suited the idol MIO well, particularly in her big, blonde wig and outfit with hearts all over it. Even I knew the chorus to this one, so I swayed to the beat while singing along.

The packed crowd was already super pumped up. And this was all because of Mio... No wonder she was the top idol in Japan. I was so glad I was able to bring her back.

By the time we defeated Demon King Grausam and returned to Earth, it was July 23rd. Half of her tour was already over. While we were gone, she’d been reported as missing, and all of her concerts were canceled. Her entire tour was nearly ruined, but after apologizing to several important people, she managed to get things back on track for the second half of the tour as planned. Mio really, really wanted to sing. It was hard to believe she almost quit at one point...

“All riiight! Wow, everyone’s so excited! I want to make up for what I missed, so I’m gonna sing lots today! Here comes the second song!”

Honestly, I was thrilled to see her back on her feet. Mio’s voice had a wonderful power to it... A power that deserved so much more than being used to defeat Grausam’s dark magic.

And the concert raged on as the audience thrived on that power, filling their hearts with the magic of her songs. But eventually, it was time for the concert to end.

“This’ll be my last song, everyone. I wanted to sing so much more with you all, but we’re out of time.”

Her bedewed face was glowing as she held the mic in both hands and addressed the audience.

“I never thought I’d be singing this one for you guys today. It’s my debut song... but I never really had the chance to sing it much, so most of you won’t know it. But I really wanted to sing it for you today.”

A hush fell over the previously noisy audience.

Mio continued, “I experienced something special recently. I discovered some things I never knew before. I saw things I’d never seen before... and had some scary things happen to me, too. I was so terrified, there was a time I thought I would never sing again.”

When she said ‘never sing again,’ several cries could be heard across the venue. One fan mistook her words for a retirement announcement and yelled, “Don’t quit!”

Mio quieted them through the mic, then closed her eyes.

“There are lots of painful things in the world. Countless awful things that wait for you in the future. There may be times when you want to avoid or run away from that future....” Mio raised her head and looked around the audience. “There may be times when it gets scary and painful... but there are also wonderful things in this world and in the future! Even if things are hard right now, happiness could be waiting for you tomorrow, or even moments from now! That’s why you have to try your best right now! To reach that wonderful future! So that one day, you meet your something special...!”

She grew louder as she went on, then looked in my direction. It was almost like she was staring directly at me in this huge crowd of fans... Just as I was thinking that, the spotlights went out. Moments later, they came back on with a click, illuminating Mio’s figure on the stage. The song that started playing was another one I knew. It was a soft ballad, completely different to the cheerful, upbeat songs from earlier.

“This is ‘The Day Before the Future.’”

▽

Let’s rewind a bit. Four days before the final show of Mio’s tour, we successfully returned to Earth from the other worlds.

“For someone so confident in their side of the deal, you certainly waited until the very last moment to make your delivery.”

That was the first thing Nartessia said when she saw our battered crew.

“There were unforeseen circumstances,” I grumbled indignantly.

We were in the hotel room that she had designated as our meeting spot after we returned and made contact with her. Harissa and Ellicia sat on either side of me on the couch. Nartessia sat alone on the couch across from us, with Chelsea standing behind her.

“Why don’t you let Chelsea sit, too?” I asked.

“She likes to stand. Don’t let it bother you.”

“...Don’t worry about me.”

I wasn’t entirely happy with that response, but I looked back at Nartessia anyway.

“Here’s what I promised.”

“Ooh, do let me see.”

Nartessia examined the magic tomes and tools I offered.

“We didn’t have much time because of the trouble we encountered, so I just grabbed what I could... but these should at least prove the existence of magic from another world.”

“Well, yes... This is sufficient proof, but it’s not enough for our deal.”

I knew it...

“So, you want me to get you more?”

“I’m glad you’re quick on the uptake, Rekka,” Nartessia chuckled delightedly.

“I didn’t think you’d be satisfied with this. You had your earring stolen, after all... We have to compensate you accordingly.”

“What an accommodating attitude. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll use what you’re giving me for evil, Rekka?”

“No. I know you’re not interested in anything other than magic.”

“...!”

For the first time, Nartessia looked surprised.

“Honestly, I don’t even think you care about the organization, your subordinates, or even the fate of the world. All you desire is the heirloom magic you inherited from your ancestors... right?”

“I must say I’m surprised... It seems you have me all figured out.”

“Well, a lot’s happened.”

Last time in the mine, Nartessia hadn’t hesitated to abandon her fallen comrades, and it wasn’t like they’d been beyond saving. She didn’t have much attachment for the earring itself, either, despite it being a Margaret clan treasure. The only unchanging constant in her interests was the Fire Dragon’s Breath. That’s how I’d come to my conclusion.

“My, my, you’re an interesting guy, Rekka. I’d like to have a long, lasting relationship with you.”

Personally, I wanted to keep things as short and sweet as possible...

Nartessia smiled, the look in her eyes suggesting she could see through me, and adjusted her position on the couch.

“Well, let’s leave it at this for today. Now, when shall your next deadline be...?”

“Hold it.”

“Oh?”

I stopped Nartessia from wrapping up the negotiations and snatched the magic tomes from her.

“And what, exactly, might you be doing?”

“This!”

I stood up, walked around the table, and handed the tomes to Chelsea.

“Huh?”

Chelsea hesitantly looked between me and Nartessia.

“From now on, I’ll be delivering materials on the other world to Chelsea.”

“I suppose she is part of the Margaret clan. That wouldn’t be against our contract, but... I despise being looked down upon more than anything.”

With that, the smile vanished from Nartessia’s face, and I found myself waving my hands in a panic.

“No, don’t get me wrong! It’s not like I’m going to let Chelsea monopolize the information. I just want her to act as an intermediary in delivering the materials to you.”

“How silly. Why bother with all that?”

“Are you saying you intend on coming to Japan to pick up the materials yourself every time, Nartessia? Wouldn’t you rather spend that time studying the magic from another world and improving your heirloom magic instead?”

“...”

“So, why don’t you hand this job over to Chelsea, who travels around the world for work anyway? To make myself clear, I don’t intend on handing these materials over to anyone other than her.”

Of course, I wasn’t suggesting all this just to make Chelsea a courier. Hibiki had told me before that Chelsea’s position in the Margaret family was complicated. I was hoping that if she had such an important job, they might treat her a little better. Maybe it was a simplistic way of thinking about it, but it was the least I could do to try and give her a hand.

“Hmm... You sure get fixated on the strangest things, Rekka.” Nartessia beheld me like she was observing some strange creature. “Very well. I don’t particularly care... Come now.”

“Huh?”

“Hand me the tomes already. Your role is to deliver them to me, no?”

“Oh, of course!”

Chelsea placed the tomes on Nartessia’s waiting palm.

“Perhaps it’s best to leave this task to you anyway. Rekka trusts you, and you won’t betray his trust. That makes you the least likely of the family to pocket everything and run.”

“I-I would never!”

“I figured. You never had much interest in magic to begin with, now that I think about it. All the better, I say. Just make sure you safely deliver Rekka’s items to me from now on. That’s all. We’re going home now.”

“Y-Yes!”

Nartessia handed the bag with the magic items in it to Chelsea, then grabbed her parasol and twirled it in her hands as she headed for the door.

“Oh, that’s right. One more thing, Rekka.” The crimson girl turned back right before she reached the door and called my name. “Give me another ride on your shoulders sometime, won’t you? It was quite fun. I nearly felt like a child again..”

“Oh, sure—huh?!”

W-Wait a second! I’d only given her a ride on my shoulders in the previous time line! How did she know about that?! It was too late to ask... The door was closed, and she was already long gone.

“Whew...”

I thought I’d had the last laugh by finding something of a loophole in the contract, but I was the one breaking out into a cold sweat in the end. I never wanted to see her again, much less make an enemy of her a second time.

“Rekka...”

Ellicia spoke up from next to me, so I turned to face her.

“Hm?”

“Thank you... so much.”

“Nah, it’s all good. But I have to ask... What is the organization going to do now?”

“We’re going to keep on protecting those who are suffering because of their psychic powers. We’re planning on gradually washing our hands of our underworld dealings. Looking back now, all those dirty jobs were just an outlet for our frustration and hatred... I don’t want to the new members of the organization to ever experience that.”

“I see... That’s great.”

There would surely be more children with psychic powers in the future. If the organization could become a proper shelter for them, they would always have somewhere to go. That would be a wonderful thing.

“Oh, yeah, I briefly mentioned this before we came back to Earth, but this space scientist named Shirley knows a lot about psychic powers. Next time, we can go get the psychic-resistant jackets together.”

“It’s amazing how everything that comes out of your mouth is so absurd, yet it’s all true,” Ellicia giggled.

“Well, the amazing one here is Shirley, but yeah.”

“Rekka.”

“Yeah?”

Before I knew what was happening, something warm and soft was pressed up against my cheek.

“Aaaaaah!” Harissa screamed on other side of me.

“H-H-Huh?!”

What was that?! D-Don’t tell me... Was it that?! That thing men and women do...?!

“You have a bad habit of undervaluing your accomplishments.”

“Wh... Wha... What?”

“You should think about how the people you saved feel about you a little more.”

The people I saved... What? As I was still panicking, Ellicia stood up and stretched her arms.

“Now, I’d love to stay with you a little longer, but the mage next to you has a really scary look on her face, so I think I’ll leave it here for today. I’m anxious to get back and tell Yang everything, too.”

Ellicia then turned on her heel and headed for the door.

“See you later, Rekka. Hopefully sometime soon.”

With a small wave, Ellicia left the room.

“Sir Rekka...”

“U-Um...”

That meant I was now left alone in the room with a rather enraged Harissa. Eek!

▽

Thus, the stories of our two heroines from Earth—Mio and Ellicia—were resolved. But there were two more I’d gotten involved in when summer vacation started. And so, as July passed and a new month arrived, I made my way to Aburaamu once more. Right now, I had my hands pressed together in a prayer in front of Pastel’s grave. Harissa and Corona accompanied me.

“Last time we came here, we barely had any time to properly pay our respects.”

“I see.”

Demons apparently didn’t have customs involving visiting people’s graves to pay their respects, so Corona watched what I was doing and imitated me. Her form was a little awkward, but she was putting her heart into it. Surely that was enough.

After we carefully cleaned up the area around the grave, we all stood around gazing at the headstone.

“Are you okay for time, Rekka?” asked Corona.

“We should be fine.”

I checked my wristwatch to see how many minutes we had left until the next item on our list.

“Lady Corona, what kind of person was Lady Pastel?” Harissa asked.

As an Aburaamian, she was naturally curious about the party that had once saved her world. I stayed silent, expecting Corona to happily start talking about Pastel like she did last time, but...

“Hm? If you’d like, you can ask her for yourself.”

“...What?”

Her response wasn’t what I expected.

“Wh-What do you mean...?”

“Do you remember this?”

Corona took out the ring we’d borrowed to get from the demon world to Aburaamu.

“What about it?” I asked.

“This is a type of magical item that stores memories. It can project the memories and personality of a person. If you twist it like this...”

Corona explained as she gave the jewel on the ring a twist. There was a flash of bright light, and when it subsided, there was something like a holographic image of a girl projected into the air.

“...Oh? Wha’z all this?”

The girl was clad in what seemed like a mage’s robe and held a staff shaped somewhat like a sunflower. Her dirty blonde hair and eyes reminded me of Harissa’s.

“Um... Pastel?” I nervously asked.

“Tha’z me,” she replied right away.

“Hmm... And who might y’all be? Seein’ some unfamiliar faces here.”

“Erm, I...”

How should I explain myself? This Pastel was talking like she really was alive.

“Pastel.”

“Oh, if it ain’t the great hero. Strange, I thought I dun went and sent the great hero home... Ah, tha’z right. I gave ya mah ring. Didja use that sucker?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ma projected illusion right now, huh, ain’t I? What year is it?”

“Not sure. The only thing I do know is that it’s been a few hundred years since our journey.”

“Golly me! Then I’m as dead as doornail!”

“Yeah, your grave is right behind you.”

“Huh? Durn, yer right! Well, I’ll be... Feels weird seein’ yer own grave... Aww, shucks, they didn’t hafta make such a fancy memorial for li’l ole me, neither. Shoulda used that money to buy bread and hand it out instead.”

She seemed exactly like the person Corona described. Come to think of it, last time when we came to Aburaamu, Corona had said that Pastel hadn’t changed at all after spending some time at her grave. I guess she’d talked to Pastel’s projection just like this.

“And? Are these youngins yer friends, Miss Hero?”

“Yeah, this is Rekka and Harissa...”

After introducing us, Corona told her our story.

“My, my... The new hero, huh? To think that ole Demon King we chucked into the void’a space and time managed to revive... Durn stubborn lizard,” Pastel said with a serious nod. “Well, anyhoo, that dun matter no more.”

“It doesn’t?” Corona asked, eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, who cares? The new hero defeated him in the end, din’cha, Mister Hero?”

“U-Um, well...”

I stuttered a bit, being addressed so suddenly. What a frank person.

“Lessee, I’ve been wonderin’ this for a while now, but... Harissa, ain’t it?”

“Huh? Y-Yes, Lady Pastel!”

Harissa straightened up, frozen up with nerves at Pastel turning her attention on her. Pastel got a good laugh out of it.

“Come on, now! None a’ this ‘Lady’ hooha. It’s too formal.”

“Y-Yes...”

“Now, ya see here, I was thinkin’... ya seem kinda similar to me, Harissa.”

“Huh?”

Harissa stared blankly at Pastel, just blinking as if she hadn’t understood a word of it.

“Yeah, that was my first impression of her, too,” added Corona.

“Wh-Whaaat?!”

It seemed that only exacerbated Harissa’s confusion. I wanted to say something to help out the overwhelmed girl, but even I’d thought that Pastel kinda looked like her when she first appeared.

“Where ya from?”

“I-I come from Kadono Village...”

“Bless me, I knew it! That’s mah hometown, too!”

“Huh?! W-Weren’t you a noble, Lady Pastel?”

“Hah? How coulda country bumpkin be a noble? Ah... but they did mention somethin’ ’bout a title when I trounced the Demon King. I didn’t need it though, so I won’t really listenin’.”

Pastel was saying some amazing things in a completely nonchalant way. She then crossed her arms and tilted her head. Corona sighed.

“It was probably a matter of prestige,” she said. “The aristocracy wouldn’t want to leave behind the legend of some mere country mage saving the world, after all.”

“Pfft! Wha’z with that?”

“My legend was also rather glorified. Something about how I protected a village from a large group of demons out of the kindness of my heart.”

“Heh, the great hero did have quite a love for money and loot. Who knows how many villages ya threatened in total?”

“I fought with my life. Compensation was well-deserved.”

“Yeah, yeah... A hero seekin’ material rewards over gratitude. Sounds just like a Demon King, I tell ya.”

“I am a Demon King.”

“Oh, yeah!”

Corona and Pastel burst into laughter together.

“Well, I reckon li’l Harissa here is one’a mah descendants.”

“N-No way! Someone like me could never be...”

“What are ya sayin’, missy? Ya succeeded in the cross-world summoning, din’cha? That’s some crazy magic. It’d be durn hard for anyone not of mah genius blood to pull off a stunt like that.”

Pastel gave another hearty laugh, but then her image started blinking in and out.

“Welp, looks like time’s up.”

“Time?” I asked.

“The ring don’t last for long. It needs to recharge ’fore it can be used again.”

“How long does that take?”

“Lessee... For the great hero, maybe a year?”

“A year?!”

We’d hardly talked with Pastel for ten minutes, but it was going to take a year before we could see her again? I turned to look at Corona, but she didn’t seem as upset as I imagined. She did look a little sad, though.

“Listen, I kicked the bucket ages ago. It’d be borin’ if y’all could talk to the dead any time ya wanted. If yer alive, ya should have yer eyes on the future,” Pastel said as her figure became more and more transparent. “You take care now, Miss Hero. Don’t sleep with yer stomach uncovered.”

“Shut up. Jeez. You’re annoying even in death,” Corona said with an exasperated smile. She then turned away and mumbled, “Well... I guess I could be a little more careful.”

“Tha’z more like it.” Pastel then clapped her hands together and turned my way. “Now, as for you, Mister New Hero... Take care’a the sloppy one over there for me.”

“Huh? R-Right!”

Caught off guard, I responded without thinking. But how exactly did she want me to take care of her...?

“See y’all later then.”

With those as her last words, Pastel disappeared back into the ring.

“Hmph. She always has to throw in something at the end,” Corona muttered with a bit of a sniff after a few seconds’ pause.

Just then, the bells in the distant castle started to ring.

“It’s almost time, Harissa.”

“All right.”

“Is it time already?” asked Corona.

“Yeah. What are you going to do, Corona?”

“Hmm... I think I’ll take a look around this world for a while. I’ll come back here before we return to Earth.”

Corona had left her territory in Eskro’s care and had decided to come stay with us on Earth. She said that was what she wanted to do, so we made it happen. For now, she was borrowing an empty room at Rosalind’s mansion. I’d have to help her find a part-time job like Lea sometime.

“Sounds good. It’ll be about ten days.”

Once Harissa and I finished the next thing on our to-do list, we were planning on heading to her village. Based on how long she said it took to get there and back, I figured we’d be gone about a week and a half.

“All right. See you in ten days, then.”

With that, Corona used her flight magic to rise into the air and have a look around the world she once saved.

▽

After we parted with Corona, Harissa and I went to the castle. We had a very important appointment. And that was...

“So, the hero wishes to abolish the practice of summoning in my country?”

“Basically, yeah.”

All the ministers in the audience chamber were astir over what I said to the king. Right now, Aburaamu was in the middle of recovering from the damage they suffered during the war, but progress on infrastructural repairs was slow. They were suffering from a labor shortage. And I was asking them to stop summoning, or in other words, to stop using spirits to do things like clear rubble and manage water sources. Their opposition wasn’t surprising.

“Sir Hero, why would you ask such a thing?”

But despite what I was asking, the king hesitated to immediately dismiss a request from the famed hero.

“Actually, I visited the spirit world the other day to do something.”

“Goodness...!”

The king was surprised. The audience was buzzing once again, as well, though this time they sounded astonished rather than aghast.

I continued, “While I was there, I met real spirits, and even the king of spirits himself.”

“I see... What were the real spirits like?” asked the king.

“It’d be faster to see for yourself. Harissa!”

Right on cue, Harissa—who’d been on standby outside the audience chamber—entered with the Spirit King.

“Hero, is that...?”

“The Spirit King I just mentioned, yes.”

“What?!”

The king of Aburaamu nearly jumped out of his skin. Well, that was to be expected. Most summoners in Aburaamu could only summon the astral body of the spirits—the only one in history who’d ever summoned an entire spirit, physical body and all, was probably Pastel—which meant this was his first time seeing a spirit’s real, human-like form.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, king of humans.”

“Ah... yes...”

The Spirit King extended a polite greeting, which elicited a completely dumbfounded response from the king of Aburaamu.

“Your Majesty, this is what spirits actually look like. They have their own will and live their own lives in the spirit world like any human would. They’re not tools to be used however humans wish. This is why I want you to limit the use of summoning magic.”

The king of Aburaamu was silent. As Corona had once said, it seemed like the people of Aburaamu didn’t consider spirits to be real people themselves. That was why they used them without any consideration for their well-being. Once they realized that wasn’t the case, they’d likely feel guilty about what they’d been doing... But Aburaamu was still in a position where they needed the power of the spirits. The king couldn’t abolish the use of summoning magic so easily.

“King of humans, these two children have informed me of the state of affairs in this world.” The Spirit King spoke slowly and calmly in the otherwise silent audience chamber. “A great disaster befell the spirit world just the other day. I understand the desire for the power to restore your country. Thusly, I come bearing an offer.”

“What is your offer, king of spirits?”

The king of Aburaamu straightened up in his throne and looked the Spirit King in the eye for the first time. They beheld each other with esteem as the rulers of their respective countries.

“We spirits live in harmony with nature’s grace... That is why we do not have any magic-enhancing tools like you humans do. However, after this latest disaster, we have realized we cannot go on like this and wait for the next one.”

The disaster the Spirit King was talking about was Grausam’s invasion. One of the biggest problems he left in his wake was the dried-up mana spring. It had started to rejuvenate little by little and was producing a small amount of mana again, but the Spirit King was trying to plan for the possibility of it drying up again in the future. That’s where the King of Aburaamu came in.

“I’ve heard you can make magic tools to store mana. I would like to request the materials and information needed to produce such tools. In exchange, we will lend our power for the restoration of Aburaamu.”

“I see. So, that’s your offer...”

“Of course, you will also need to stop summoning us without consent as you have until now. We can discuss the details of how to dispatch laborers for another day.”

The king of Aburaamu nodded in agreement.

“I understand. If the spirits are willing to lend us their power, then we both have something to benefit from this. I look forward to our future discussions.”

Until now, the spirits were forced to listen to the orders of the mages that summoned them. And because the spirits were doing things unwillingly, their abilities were less than half as powerful as they ordinarily were. But now that both sides were talking things out, the spirits could work much more efficiently under a mutually beneficial arrangement, and that would speed up the restoration process considerably. And with the spirits working voluntarily, there would be no more need to worry about collateral damage from rampaging spirits. Like the king of Aburaamu said, this would be good for everyone.

After the talk, it was decided that a banquet would be held in honor of the Spirit King’s visit to Aburaamu. In other words, me and Harissa’s job was done. We quietly left the audience chamber.

“Nammy! Harissa!”

Shortly after, Lyun—who’d come with the Spirit King to Aburaamu—came running down the hallway towards us.

“How did the talk with the king go?!”

Those were the first words out of her mouth when she just barely came to a stop in front of us.

“It went fine, just like I told you it would. Everything’s gonna work out.”

“...Of course!”

Lyun’s cheeks flushed as she grinned from ear to ear. She must have been happy that negotiations with the humans were going well. “...”

“Wh-What?” I asked.

Lyun was now suddenly staring at my face, and I had no idea why.

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking that you’re amazing, Nammy. You defeated the Demon King and saved the spirit world, then you solved a long-standing problem for us spirits... And on top of everything, you saved my sister...”

What was this? For some reason, Lyun’s eyes seemed like they were shimmering. She was fidgeting with her hands, and her cheeks turned even redder as she moved closer to me.

“If it were you, Nammy... I could...”

“U-Um, Lyun?”

The atmosphere was getting weird, so I tried talking to her to figure out what on earth was going on, but then...

“Ahem, Sir Rekka! We’ve done our duty here, so let us hurry to my village next! Auntie is expecting us!” Harissa suddenly exclaimed, squeezing herself between me and Lyun and waving her hands in a panic.

“Y-Yeah, it’d be bad to keep her waiting. But isn’t it still early for the horse and carriage?”

“That doesn’t matter! Let’s go already!”

“O-Okay...”

Overwhelmed by the unusually forceful Harissa, I nodded along obediently.

“Hey, could I come with—”

“Please don’t!”

Harissa bluntly shot down Lyun’s request, put her hands on my back, then pushed me with as she hurried away. There was no need to rush that much...

▽

Harissa and I went to visit her village along with her auntie who was from the same town. When we arrived, I was reminded that Pastel was from here, too. We should have brought Corona along. But when I mentioned it to R...

“If you said that to Harissa, even she’d reach her limit and snap on you.”

Well, it’s true that she was being a little scary when we left the castle. But things were different now. After some hubbub, I found myself being welcomed to the village elder’s house with Harissa.

“Oho, to think that little Harissa would bring the hero here!”

The village elder was an energetic old man in his eighties who offered me some sake as a warm welcome. He didn’t understand what a minor was, so I had some trouble refusing him.

“He sure does talk a lot...”

R had been acting grumpy for a while now. She couldn’t even eat, much less drink sake. But rather than being miffed about the food and drink, I think she was really in a bad mood because the portable DVD player we’d brought along wasn’t working. I’d gotten my allowance for August, so I’d bought it to keep her occupied. I bought a foot-powered battery charger along with it so we wouldn’t need an electrical outlet, but it took hours of stepping to charge... which I didn’t realize until after I’d already bought it. And R couldn’t touch things, so it was my job to charge it. But all that aside, I was getting a little tired of the elder’s long-winded story, too...

“Hmm, hm, hmm-hmm!”

Harissa, on the other hand, had been in high spirits since we’d arrived in the village. She was humming between bites of fruit even now, despite the fact that we were several hours into this feast... How long was it gonna go on, anyway? Surely there was no way they could afford to waste so much precious food, yet there was no sign the dishes were going to stop coming anytime soon. Huh... I hadn’t thought about it before, but was the hero visiting really this big of a deal to them? But even then, my back was starting to hurt from sitting for so long... I politely interrupted the elder’s story and stood up.

“Sir Rekka? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to get some fresh air. You keep eating, Harissa.”

“Okay.”

Harissa nodded and continued to hum happily. I left the elder’s house and went for a walk around the village.

“That was quite the feast...”

“You can say that again,” R responded.

“Ellicia said something similar, but am I really oblivious about the people around me? I’m technically a hero in this world...”

R sighed and said, “I don’t think this is what Ellicia was talking about when she said you should think about the people you save.”

“Huh? Then what did she mean?”

“Who knows?”

R feigned ignorance as usual... Well, whatever. The cool night breeze was so pleasant, it blew away all my little concerns. After walking around the village for a while, I returned to the elder’s house. I bumped into Harissa’s auntie right outside.

“Huh? Why are ya doin’ out here, hero?”

“I was just getting some fresh air.”

I explained myself for the umpteenth time that night, then looked at the plates she was holding in each hand. Both were huge and piled high with food.

“That’s an amazing amount of food,” I said.

“I put in extra effort ’specially for today since it’s such an important celebration and all,” she said with a hearty laugh.

I figured she was talking about the hero visiting, so I gave a strained smiled and said, “You guys didn’t have to go this far for me, though. Just because I’m visiting doesn’t mean anything special will happen.”

“What are ya sayin’? Harissa brought the hero to meet the village elder! We hafta celebrate that!”

What? For some reason, something seemed strange about the way she phrased all that. Why was everyone saying that Harissa brought me here? I mean, they weren’t wrong, but... why did it sound like everyone’s attention was on her, not me?

“Um, ma’am?”

“What is it? Ya should hurry inside, hero. The grub’ll get cold.”

“Oh, yeah, I will. I just wanted to ask something first... Is it really that important that Harissa brought me here?”

“’Course it is!” she exclaimed with another hearty laugh. “The hero and Harissa are finally gettin’ hitched!”

“...Excuse me?”

I felt like someone had just dropped an incredible bomb on me.

“Wh-Wh-What do you mean?!”

“What else? When a youngin takes someone to see the elder, they’re basically announcin’ their engagement!”

WHAT?! Was that how it worked in other worlds?! I... I was utterly speechless.

“Though I can’t say I’m not a li’l bit sad. Once she’s a married lady, Harissa’ll hafta live with her husband, so I guess she’ll be livin’ in the hero’s world forever.”

“Um, no, listen...!”

“I know I’m not Harissa’s real family or nuthin’, but... it’d be nice if ya visited every now and then, y’know? ’Specially since Harissa’s got that magic that lets ya travel between worlds,” she said as she patted me on the shoulder twice. “Now get on in there!”

“Um... I think I might need a little more air...”

“Really? All right, but don’t you keep Harissa waitin’ too long, mister.”

Harissa’s auntie picked up the plates of food again and went inside. I was left alone... standing there completely dumbfounded and with my mind absolutely blank.

“Um... is that what Harissa meant when she brought me here?” I asked R.

“I thought Harissa was acting strange before you left for Aburaamu, but I get it now. Considering the customs of this world, it makes sense that she’d be excited.”

“No, but like... was that what Harissa intended?”

“Who knows? I can hazard a guess, but I’d risk influencing the state of your heart if I shared it with you,” R answered nonchalantly.

Did Harissa bring me here just to visit her village, or did she bring me back with the meaning her auntie implied? What were her true intentions?

“...Achoo!”

The night breeze was starting to feel chilly, but I couldn’t bring myself to go inside and sit next to Harissa quite yet.

—Fin—