“You’re Kunpei… right?”
The pure white girl looked straight at me and lowered her hands that were crossed over her chest.
She slowly stood up and squeezed the hem of her white dress.
“U-um. Yes, I’m Kazamachi Kunpei…”
I wondered how she knew my name.
Did I ever meet her before?
No, how could I forget such a pure white, extremely beautiful, and cute girl?
… I haven’t, right?
No matter how much of an idiot I am, I’m not that dumb.
The girl approached one step at a time with sluggish steps and stopped at the edge of the stone stage as if remembering.
“Ah…”
She followed the edge of the stage with her eyes and bit her lip tightly.
You can’t get off?
No, that’s ridiculous. Those steps aren’t even ten centimeters wide, okay?
“A…ah…”
She looked at me and the stage floor with a troubled expression and folded her hands in front of her chest again.
“Oh, um… can’t you get down? Do you need help?”
After asking her, I took one step closer to the stage.
Just as I raised my left foot, about to take my second step.
“No! Don’t come any closer!”
The girl shouted, stopping me.
“Please… stop right there. It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay…”
Her voice began to tremble, and I wondered if she was trying to hold back tears.
“O-okay.”
I took my second step backwards and backed up even further just to be sure.
“Oh, why are you here… Alba, what are you doing?”
The girl covered her face with her hands and looked down.
Hmm? Alba?
“Alba? You mean Alba, Alba Germain? That tiny rat?”
If you looked closely at the girl, you could see that she has a tail.
There were two small white horns on her forehead. I didn’t notice them because they were the same color as her hair, but they were definitely horns.
Could she be a dragon?
“Hilda Tama! Hildegarde Tama! What’s going on?”
“Hilda-sama! What’s going on?”
Suddenly, from behind me, towards the forest, I heard the voices of children.
A girl and a boy. It was very young voices.
When I turned around at the sound of the voice, I saw two balls of light about the size of my palm. Two balls of light about the size of the palm of my hand flew at a great speed, whizzing by.
“Hilda Tama! Ammira’s here!”
“Rockhilt’s here too! Woah! Where the hell did you come from!”
The ball of light braked when it saw me.
It flew around me warily and then stopped to stand between the girl and me.
“R-r-r-rock! There’s a creature I don’t know! I’ve never seen anything like it!”
“It’s okay, An! I’ll protect you, I promise! I mean, what the hell are you doing here? How did you get into this sanctuary!”
“Ah, what? How…? That’s what I’d like to know. Sanctuary?”
The ball of light on one side bobs up and down energetically.
I just noticed that it’s a little red light.
As I stared at the light, I saw what looked like the silhouette of a person in it.
“Anmira! Rockhilt! It’s okay!”
The girl called out to the two balls of light.
“But, HildaTama! I don’t know this creature! It’s a talking creature I’ve never seen before!”
The other ball of light flew towards the girl with great force and dived into her chest.
It’s a… bluish light.
Is the red one a boy and the blue one a girl…?
No, I don’t know if the balls of light have genders or not.
“This sanctuary is a closed land! How did you get in here when even Lady Hilda, the administrator, can’t get in or out! Did you come here to get her? I won’t let that happen! I’m not going to let that happen! Rockhilt, the Torch Fairy, won’t stand for it!”
“A-Ann too! The Calm Fairy’s protective magic is amazing!”
“No, no! I’m just really lost! I don’t even know where I am! I didn’t even know this was a sanctuary!”
I just found myself here!
“Calm down, Rockhilt! Ammira! Calm down.”
“Y-yes!”
“Got it!”
The two balls of light stopped as the girl known as Hilda shouted.
Gradually, the amount of light diminished and the figures of a small boy and girl with four butterfly-like wings appeared on their backs.
“F-fairies?”
They really are fairies… What a fantasy, I’m sure Mikuma would be delighted.
The red ball of light that was called Rockhilt was a short red-haired boy with a cheeky face.
The blue ball of light known as Anmira was a quiet-looking blue-haired girl who looked at me with trepidation and did not hide her fear. Her hair was lighter in color than Aoi’s, who also had blue hair, but it was almost twice as long as the girl’s height.
Both of them were wearing small clothes. The clothes were small, but they are very finely made and look like something you would find on a high-class doll.
“Good. I know you were surprised, but don’t be too quick to judge, okay? Now, why don’t you apologize to Kunpei?”
Hilda lifted Anmira up in both palms and held out her small body towards me.
This kind of scolding feels nostalgic.
My mother used to scold me in the same way.
She didn’t just get angry, she taught me what was wrong, and at the end, she would always ask me to apologize. It was her way of making me apologize for being stubborn and easily annoyed.
“But, Hilda-sama…”
“I don’t know this creature. Is it called a Kunpei?”
The fairies still didn’t back down.
“Well, I told you before, didn’t I? It’s a race called humans. There are many of them outside the sanctuary, you know?”
“Oh! I’ve heard of them! Demons, beastmen, and humans! Hilda told me about them before! There are also… there are also giants, cryptids, and dragons just like you, Hilda!”
The blue-haired elf, Anmira, proudly proclaimed.
What’s a giant?
“Hey human! Hilda-sama wants me to apologize, so I will! I’m sorry, you bastard!”
I’ll give you credit for your energy and vigor.
But is that how you apologize to people? Why are you looking at me from above?
But, well, I’m not angry. He didn’t do anything terrible to me. There’s no reason for him to apologize.
“Oh, yeah. I’m also sorry for suddenly showing up.”
I should apologize too, right?
It seems that Rock was just trying to protect that girl Hilda.
“Good, Rock and Kunpei are both good kids who can apologize properly. Good, good.”
Hilda smiled proudly.
I feel like I’ve been treated like a child for a while now.
It’s weird.
I have a great sense of déjà vu.
Every move Hilda makes stimulates a memory in me.
The way she praised us just now, the way she scolded just now, why is it that they are so similar?
It’s just like my mother. I could see the image of my mother when she was in good health before she died in Hilda.
They don’t look like each other at all.
Mom had chestnut-colored hair like Shouhei’s, and it was shoulder-length. Hilda’s hair was pure white from tip to root, and was longer than she was tall.
She was about the same height as my father’s chest, which was on the small side for a woman, but not much taller than Hilda in front of me.
Her face was also different.
My mother was a beautiful woman, even without the favoritism of her son, but she had a very Japanese face.
Hilda, on the other hand, was a beautiful woman who was far from Japanese. She has a face like a Russian or Eastern European girl.
Even though they looked nothing alike, their gestures, the way they stood, and the way they spoke were just like each other.
It was just like her.
… No, no.
That’s ridiculous.
My mom is dead.
Seven years ago, right in front of my dad and me. It’s as if she died in her sleep.
I touched her cold body at the wake, and watched her body being burned in the crematorium.
Shouhei and I cried ourselves to sleep for three days and three nights. I know my father was crying when we weren’t looking.
There’s no way Mom is still alive.
I wish I could see her.
How happy I would be if I could see her face one more time.
But it’s a wish that will never come true.
Dead people don’t come back. That’s why we have to live well.
That’s what my father said to me with a serious face after my mother’s funeral. My siblings and I feel it more than anything.
No matter how much Hilda gestures like Mom, she’s not Mom.
“Hey, can you tell me where we are? I’ve been sent here out of nowhere. I have to go back to Jaja, Nana, my daughters…”
“Daughters?”
Hilda, who was stroking Ann on the palm of her hand, looked up in surprise at my words.
“O-oh?”
What a surprise. I was startled.
“Kunpei! What do you mean daughters? Are they your children? You just said daughters, didn’t you! So that means you’re not alone! You’re only 17 years old, where the hell did you get your hands on a girl! Does your father know about this?”
“Eh? No! Um! I’m sorry!”
I’m scared! I don’t get it, but I’m scared!
I couldn’t help but apologize. Why do I have to apologize? I mean, how do you know how old I am? I’ve been told that my face makes me look older than I am, and that people can’t tell how old I am!
“Jaja-chan and Nana-chan… are they foreign kids? Are they half? Who did you have kids with? You go to school, right? What is Shouhei saying?”
“Wait! Wait, calm down!”
You’re really coming on strong!
She still wouldn’t come down from the stone stage, but her momentum was so strong that I was pressured from about five meters away!
“… Shouhei?”
“Don’t change the subject!”
It’s strange.
How does she even know Shouhei’s name?
No, it’s strange that she knows my name and age, but it’s too strange that she knows about Shouhei, who isn’t even here.
… You’re lying, right?
“You! What did you do to the other party’s parents? What did you say to them? Is it a girl close to your age! It’s not… an older woman is it! Did she seduce you? Or did you seduce her! Look me in the eye and answer me, Kunpei!”
“No, you have to listen to me! It couldn’t be helped! I didn’t do anything wrong and Aoi’s not a bad person!”
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to have a child at your age? Do you know how expensive it is! Your father doesn’t make that much money, and you still have to pay for your schooling!”
The words were spoken at a furious pace. In the midst of it all, I lay one trap.
“I’m begging you! Please calm down and listen to me! …. Mother!”
“Then give me a story that will convince me…”
Hilda’s momentum came to a halt.
While looking at my face, a hint of agitation appeared in her eyes.
“… Hahaha, hahaha! Ahahahahaha! No, no, no!”
No way.
Really?
“… Mom, is that you?”
A white girl stepped back from me on the stone stage as if to escape me.
“No, no… no! I’m Hilds! I’m Hildegarde Dragneel, the Dragon Princess! I am the priestess of this sanctuary! I am the Wind Dragon, the one who holds the world together! I am not your mother!”
Hilda held her head and shook it.
She looks like she’s about to cry, and it looks painful.
“‘Mother! You’re mother, right! Because you know me and Shouhei! Mom!”
My feet moved of their own accord.
I stepped toward the stone stage with a feeling of impatience.
“No, no, Kunpei! Stop! You can’t come here! You can’t come here! I’m the only one who should be trapped in this place! Go home! To Kouhei-kun’s placeーーGo back to your father’s place! I beg you!”
“Look! You know my father’s name! Explain it to me! What’s with that look? I thought you were dead!”
Words couldn’t stop me anymore.
I’ve missed you so much! I’ve missed you so much! Even though you look different, you’re my mother! Mine and Shouhei’s! Father’s! Our mother!
“Shouhei’s all grown up! Shouhei is much better at running the household than me and dad! He’s doing his best too! We moved to a town that Mom wanted to live in, you know? It’s worn out, but he still bought a big house! The mortgage is huge, but it’s a really nice house! My daughters… they’re your grandchildren! They’re twin girls called Jaja and Nana and they’re so cute!”
“No! Please Kunpei! Please listen to your mother!”
“Then! Explain it to me! We’ve been wanting to see Mother for a long time…”
The boundary between the ground and the stone stage. It was the moment I stepped onto it.
“Woah!”
Something invisible wrapped around my limbs.
“Damn, damn, damn! Not again! What the hell is this?”
It’s just like when I came here!
It’s like a thick, soft rope restraining my arms and legs!
“Mom! Mom!”
Get off me! She’s right in front of me!
The one person our family has wanted to see for the last seven years! The one we thought we’d never see again!
“What, space-time transfer magic? No way!”
“Hilda-tama! No, no! This is ordinary transference magic!”
“But it’s really strong! But that shouldn’t be enough to get you into the sanctuary!”
I looked back to the end of the invisible rope. When I came here, I couldn’t even move my face, but now I can move all but my bound arms and legs.
On the border between the forest and the sky, there was a hole that looks like the middle of a piece of paper has been torn open.
It was pitch black inside the hole. I can’t see anything ahead.
“Damn it! I’m not going to be pulled back to that place again!”
I put all the strength I could into my arms and legs and held on.
We’ve just met! I haven’t even told her anything yet!
Mother is right in front of me!
“Kunpei, no! Don’t fight it! I don’t know where it leads to, but it’s still better than being here!”
“That’s not possible! If I’m going, then you’re coming with me!”
Why would you say that? Let’s go home together! Dad’s waiting for us. Shouhei’s waiting for us!
“No…. I have to stay here and keep the world together. I have to protect the world you live in!”
“I don’t know what that means!”
I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mom!
“Kunpei!”
Mom’s small hands wrapped around my cheeks.
“… Listen carefully, Kunpei. I don’t know where you’re moving to, but don’t ever give up. You must find Alba Germain. The way you said it, you know him, don’t you? It’s been almost half a year since he stopped coming here, but I’m sure he’ll find you if we want him to. No matter how hard it is, grit your teeth and keep going. You can do that… can’t you?”
“No!”
Why do you say that like it’s the last goodbye?
You’ve already done that once! That’s enough! You should be satisfied!
“… Kazamachi Kunpei waits for the wind. Whenever and wherever you want to fly…”
My mother closed her eyes and said that ‘spell’.
The words of my mother’s promise to me.
The words that were deeply rooted in my heart, the words that were important to me.
“I’m going to fly with a bang. You can do it, right? Kunpei is a strong boy.”
Ah, that.
“Mother is proud of you, okay?”
Exactly the same face as that time. The same words.
“In that world, where our family live strong together. That’s all I want. Promise?”
“Aaaahhhhhh!!!”
And that same smile.
“Nooooooo!”
My cries echoed in vain.
Mom’s figure quickly disappeared into the distance.