Kaori found herself listening to another of Kaito’s enthusiastic monologues, but this time there was a built-in time limit. Since they were currently walking, the conversation would reach a natural stopping point once they arrived at his room. With a wry smile, she listened to him talk about Nebula until they finally reached their destination. Kaito ushered her inside, bringing the conversation to a close.
"Wait... it’s huge! It’s like a hotel’s suite-style room, and that bed is king-sized... the aura of wealth is absolutely overwhelming..."
"This room is actually an arrangement of the guest quarters I used back at Lilia-san’s mansion," Kaito explained.
"Ah, if it’s modeled after a guest room in a Duke’s house, then the suite-level space makes sense. Still, it’s incredible..."
Alice had been the one to build Kaito’s home. To ensure he felt comfortable, she had designed the interior to match the room he had used at Lilia’s estate, though she had significantly expanded the dimensions to reflect his status as the master of the house. To an ordinary person like Kaori, who would rarely see such opulence, the room felt staggeringly vast. The decor only added to the sense of extreme luxury. Even though she and Kaito were close, it was impossible not to feel a bit intimidated by the sheer prestige of the surroundings.
"Oh, you have photos from your birthday... Wait, what’s this painting? Is it Japan? It looks like a festival or a fair."
"Ah, that one... it’s a bit hard to explain. I suppose you could call it a Painting of the Fair from a dream?"
"A dream?"
"Alice gave it to me. We spent some time together at a fair in a sort of dream—or rather, a World of Consciousness Only. This piece depicts the scenery from that time."
"I see... I don't quite get the circumstances, but since it’s you, Kaito-kun, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Still, as expected of the Phantasm King, it’s a magnificent painting. It really draws you in. I don’t know much about art, but I find it incredibly charming. It’s a wonderful painting."
"It’s warm and cheerful, yet there’s a touch of loneliness to it as well... It really feels like the very atmosphere of that fair was cut out and preserved on the canvas. I’m quite fond of it too."
Their impressions were brief and simple, but if someone like Rosmiel, an expert in the arts, had been present, she would have been staring at the canvas with rapt attention. After all, this painting had been created with the exact same pigments as the legendary Seven Planets.
The paints used for the Seven Planets were a mysterious substance Alice had crafted using materials from the Seven Star Magic Beasts—creature born of the stars—that she had once defeated. Recreating them was considered virtually impossible. After finishing her masterpiece, Blue Earth, and using the remainder for the Seven Planets, Alice had kept a tiny amount of leftover pigment as a memento—not even enough to complete a single new work.
However, she later realized she could duplicate the paint using Machina’s Heart Tool, the Factory Gear. She used the copied pigments to create this Painting of the Fair and presented it to Kaito. In essence, it was the newest work in the series—the Ninth Seven Planets. Despite its astronomical value, Kaito wasn't an art connoisseur, and Alice hadn't bothered to explain the history of the materials when she gave it to him as a gift of their memories. Thus, its true nature remained a secret.
Rosmiel would have noticed it the moment she stepped into the room, but during her previous visit, they had stayed on the terrace. Since then, Kaito had usually been the one to visit her home, so she had yet to lay eyes on the masterpiece.
"Still, fairs are great. I wonder if there are festivals with that kind of atmosphere in this world too."
"I think so... Actually, during the first Six Kings Festival, Kuro produced an event that felt a lot like a traditional fair, so I imagine they exist."
"Looking for them sounds like fun. I've finally got some breathing room with my finances, so I've been thinking about traveling. It might be a little different from a Japanese fair, but that’s part of the charm."
"True. Oh, but if you use that gate over there, you can actually go to Japan."
"..................Excuse me?"
Hearing Kaito drop that bombshell so casually, Kaori stood frozen, her gaze darting back and forth between the gate and his face.
"Um, Shiro-san gave me that gate. It can connect to the Otherworld. Normally, no one but me can travel through it... but it seems that if someone is holding my hand or in physical contact with me, they can come along. So, if you ever felt like it, we could go to Japan. There are restrictions, though, like not being able to bring things from Earth back here."
"..................I see. Listen, Kaito-kun. When you’re about to say something that incredible, could you at least try to look like you’re saying something incredible? My heart almost stopped. So... if I’m with you, I can actually go back to the other world... I mean, my records over there have already been erased and I don't really intend to go back now, but... that is a shocking revelation."
Kaori didn't have any lingering regrets about her original world, so hearing about the gate didn't make her yearn for home, but a specific thought did cross her mind.
(Wait... if I think about it, does that mean I could finally have that Harajuku Date I always dreamed of? Ah, but since I can only go if I'm with Kaito-kun, that basically means he has to be the one I'm dating... He'd have to be my lover, but... well... that’s not exactly a problem... I mean, we aren't talking about that right now anyway! It’s just, you know, for future reference! The possibility of a romantic date from my youth! Yes! Just a possibility!!)
Serious-senpai: "The Hero Summoning ritual specifically targets people who harbor a latent desire to 'disappear' or 'go to another world.' After Kaori spent a year living in Trinia and going on her pilgrimage, she weighed her options and chose to stay, so it makes sense that she isn't homesick. That aside... the romance is getting out of hand. This is starting to look like a bad sign."