Prologue

Prologue

Akari Tokitou sat alone in a room, absently resting her chin in her hands.

She’d been brought here and told to rest for the evening, and the chamber was surprisingly opulent.

Seemingly priceless antiques were strewn about for use as ordinary furniture. A modern girl like Akari was accustomed to newfangled items produced with the latest technology, not elegant, time-worn furnishings. Even while she was led to this room, the castle walls kept her intimidated into silence.

“A parallel world, huh?”

Whispering the truth didn’t help it feel more real.

Akari was told this place was called the Grisarika Kingdom. Naturally, she’d never heard of such a place. Undoubtedly, there were plenty of locations back on Earth that Akari had never heard of, but now that she was aware of her ability to use something called “conjuring,” she had to accept this was a different universe.

Everyone she’d met in this world had been kind thus far, but Akari was in no position to assess other people’s behavior.

How were people in Japan handling her disappearance? Apparently, she’d been “summoned” here, but could she get back to her world? Her mother and father…were hardly ever home anyway and probably wouldn’t notice. However, Akari still needed to go to school. She didn’t want to fall behind in classes, never mind the unspeakable possibility that she might be held back after missing too many days.

And most of all…

The empty seat in Akari’s classroom flashed through the girl’s mind.

What if Akari wasn’t there when her friend finally returned?

“Ugh…”

Akari heaved a gloomy sigh and clenched her fists tightly. Restlessness gathered in her chest, but she lacked anything to do about it. Her feelings couldn’t keep up with the abrupt change in her reality.

A trapped feeling settled over Akari while she peered out the window.

The color of the sunlight was fading; soon, night would fall.

Normally, she’d be home from school and in her room by now. In Japan, Akari had often stayed up late into the night, chatting with her best friend via a messaging app. After that friend vanished, she’d gotten into the habit of checking for messages anyway.

Akari put her hand in her pocket, only to realize once again that there was nothing in there.

Her body froze, focused on that emptiness.

Akari was all alone in this large room, with no means of connecting with anyone.

She didn’t have a daily routine to fall back on in this world. Frustration was building, as though to drown out Akari’s escalating fear of her present solitude.

“This is so stupid…”

What was so great about a parallel world anyway?

Akari began to feel claustrophobic, even though this room was far more spacious than her bedroom in Japan. Her breaths turned shallow.

Just as she stood, opened the window, and stepped out onto the balcony to get some air…

“Huh?”

…a girl in a maid outfit landed lightly on the banister, as if she’d dropped out of the sky.

She was beautiful. Her chestnut-colored hair was nearly white from the glow of dusk, and it was tied up with a scarf ribbon. Akari’s eyes went wide at the sight of this visitor, and she leaned forward.

“H…Hakua?!”

Her beloved friend and classmate who went missing…

The beautiful girl Akari Tokitou met in this world looked exactly like her best friend.