"...Cough... Hack..."
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Your mouth was wide open, so I just couldn't help myself... Are you okay?"
The girl I recognized apologized while gently patting my back as I choked. On my first night in this new world, just as I was beginning to feel a bit sentimental, I had been assaulted by a nightmare—the Baby Castella. This world was incredible, and this world was terrifying... I never imagined I’d be traumatized by a tiny sponge cake.
After a few moments, my breathing finally settled, and I turned my gaze toward the girl sitting beside me.
"...Anyway, Kuro, why are you even here?"
"I know, right? Coincidences sure are amazing! To run into each other again in a place like this, I’m starting to feel like it’s fate!"
"What do you mean, 'a place like this'?! This is someone’s private estate!"
"Well, you see, I was being forced to listen to some boring story, so I went out to the city for a change of pace. Then, from 'several kilometers' away, I saw an acquaintance with his mouth open toward the sky. So, I just 'slipped through the Detection Barrier' and tossed in a Baby Castella. It’s a common enough story."
"Like hell it is! That's a total security breach!"
She had me completely locked on, didn't she?! There was nothing coincidental about trespassing into a Duchess’s mansion to launch a night attack. This was hopeless. There were too many things to nitpick; I couldn't keep up with her.
"Now, now, let’s put the details aside."
"...They aren't just 'details.' This is a serious incident..."
She didn't seem to have any intention of listening to the outcry of my soul. Kuro simply continued speaking with a beaming, innocent smile.
"I told you, didn't I? If you're in trouble, I'll help you out. Kaito-kun, you looked like you were worrying about something. Did something happen?"
"Eh? Ah, no, it's not so much that I'm worrying... how should I put it..."
I just couldn't seem to find my rhythm with her. Or rather, her pure smile drained all the bitterness out of me, and I found myself being swept along by her pace.
"I was just thinking a bit about things up until now, and things from here on out."
"I see... Alright, then let's have an Otsukimi while we talk!"
"Why?!"
No sooner had she spoken than Kuro’s coat billowed out and touched the balcony floor. A black mat emerged from the ground like it was bubbling up—no, looking closer, it wasn't a mat, it was tatami.
It didn't stop there. The black shadows of her coat stretched out and transformed into a sanpo—a traditional offering stand. The shadow detached itself and settled onto the tatami. What was with that coat? Could it produce anything? It looked incredibly convenient.
"Come on, sit down, sit down. The moon is beautiful, so let’s have a nice, long chat."
"...Ah, okay."
Overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events and her charming smile, I sat down on the tatami as prompted. Then, Kuro pointed her finger at the stand and gave it a light flick. Moon-viewing dumplings appeared there—
"Why are they Baby Castellas instead of dumplings?!"
"Eh? Otsukimi is that thing where you eat sweets while looking at the moon, right?"
"...I feel like the interpretation itself isn't wrong, but there's a fatal misunderstanding at the core of it..."
Indeed, what was piled up in front of me was that nightmare snack that had just seared an indelible trauma into my heart. Why did she know about tatami and offering stands, yet when it came to the crucial dumplings, she chose those? Where did she get this patchwork knowledge?
"Hehehe, don’t underestimate me. These Baby Castellas are actually a special version made for Otsukimi! You’ll know the difference as soon as you eat one! Go on, go on~"
"I-I get it. I'll eat it..."
Triggered by the sight of her creeping closer with a sponge cake in each hand, I resigned myself and took a bite.
"?! This is..."
It looked like a normal Baby Castella, but inside was a chewy, elastic dough and a faint, familiar sweetness that hit home for a Japanese person—it was filled with bean paste.
I see; it was essentially a dumpling wrapped inside a cake. To enclose a dumpling within this tiny pastry was an extraordinary level of craftsmanship—
"Then just use normal moon-viewing dumplings! Why go through the trouble of coating them in cake?! What is this obsession with Baby Castellas?! It’s terrifying! And if you're so obsessed that you'd go this far, why did you get the name wrong earlier?!"
"You're energetic, aren't you? But if you talk that much in one breath, you'll get tired. Look, I’ve prepared a drink too. It’s a proper drink from another world."
"Ah, thank—Pffft?!"
I took the cup offered by the smiling Kuro to moisten my dry throat—only to spray it out immediately.
"Are you okay? It’s dangerous to drink it all at once; you have to sip it slowly."
"...Cough... cough... why... is this coffee..."
"Eh? In the other world, you drink this when you eat sweets, right?"
"..."
Whichever Heroes from the past planted this half-baked knowledge in her, come out here right now so I can punch you.
I thought it was strange to have a moon-viewing in the middle of the New Year, but apparently, in this world, the Month of Heavens—the equivalent of the year-end and New Year in Japan—is when the moon appears largest, making it the perfect season for it.
Still, sitting on tatami, eating bean-paste-filled cakes with a cup of coffee while moon-viewing was definitely wrong, regardless of which world we were in.
"...Hmm. How should I put it? The human race still loves to worry about the strangest things, don’t they?"
"Is that how it looks from a Demon’s perspective?"
The atmosphere shifted from the rowdiness of moments ago to a calm stillness, as if Kuro were draped in the weight of a long history. While sharing the moon with her, I found myself naturally confiding the thoughts I had been holding.
The fact that I didn't know what I wanted to do; the expectations and anxieties regarding the changes that had come without my consent. I hadn't been able to answer Kusunoki-san's questions well, yet with Kuro, the words spilled out with strange ease. Perhaps it was her unique aura, but Kuro's voice provided a peaceful sense of security.
Once she had finished listening to my story, she tilted her cup and quietly wove her response.
"I don't think humans with goals or dreams are necessarily superior to those without them. It’s not wrong to lack them, and it’s not wrong to wish you had them... But, you know, isn't it a waste not to reach out your hand?"
"A waste?"
"Yeah. Kaito-kun—to me, a human's life seems as short as a single moment. It’s only a hundred years or less; that’s all the time you have. And yet, if you spend your whole life worrying about every little thing, making excuses for why it’s like this or like that, your life will end while you’re still just fretting. If that’s the case, I think it’s much better to just wrap that up and enjoy yourself."
"...Enjoy myself, huh..."
I didn't know how to do that. I felt like I wanted something, but I didn’t know what.
"...An old acquaintance of mine said something similar to you. That they were 'empty.'"
"Empty?"
"That’s right. The wishes and expectations of those around them just kept piling up... and before they knew it, they were only walking paths shown to them by others. They said they had become an empty shell with nothing inside. It wasn't that they hated it, and they wanted to meet those expectations, but they said that sometimes they’d wonder where their true feelings actually were."
"...I guess it is a little similar."
"Yeah. Maybe that’s why? I really like kids like you, Kaito-kun."
"Huh?"
Startled by her gentle tone, I looked at her and found golden eyes that seemed to see through everything in the world staring straight at me. It wasn't an unpleasant gaze; it was a gentle and warm look of affirmation, much like a mother's.
"...You are a fledgling who has only just been born and knows nothing yet."
"A fledgling?"
"Yes. You want wings—but you don't know how to grow them. You want to fly—but you don't know how. I think worrying is the same as wishing. Within you, Kaito-kun, there are sparkling wishes that you haven't found yet. For now, it’s okay to be empty. The fact that you haven't found them yet is nothing to be ashamed of."
Her voice resonated in the depths of my heart like a lullaby. It was an all-encompassing voice, telling me that it was okay and that there was no need to worry—
"And so, let's go on a treasure hunt!"
"...Excuse me?"
Wait, what? Wasn't this supposed to be a moving, emotional climax? Why was she saying something outrageous again? Was she just completely unchecked?
"Yes, yes. I’ve taken a liking to you, Kaito-kun, so that’s settled."
"Um, I don't really understand... Why are you reaching around from behind me and grabbing my sides? Why has your coat turned into giant wings? I have a really bad feeling about this, what are you doing?! Also, you're incredibly strong?!"
"It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re just going for a little stroll in the sky!"
"Nothing about that sounds okay—Gyaaaaaah?!"
She held me firmly from behind with a fluid movement, and my voice of protest was lost as Kuro’s coat-wings flapped. In an instant, the scenery below plummeted away.
I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut, but I felt no biting wind; instead, the breeze felt like it was gently stroking my cheeks.
"Look, Kaito-kun. Open your eyes."
"Eh—?!"
Enticed by her beautiful voice, I slowly opened my eyes, and the breath caught in my throat.
I saw a massive moon floating in the sky and the lights of the world below sparkling like a sea of stars. It was a breathtaking view—a scene so magnificent that I couldn't find any other words for it.
"Kaito-kun. The world is vast."
"Eh?"
"Even for me, who has lived for countless years, there are many things I don't know. Things you don't know, sights you've never seen—it’s so vast that even if you used your entire life, you couldn't see it all."
"..."
"Since you’ve come to this world, let's look for it. A 'treasure' that you can truly call your own... Even if you can't find the answer to what you want to do, it’s fine. So that when you leave this place, you can at least answer 'what you did' and 'what you found'... That’s why, for now, it’s okay to be empty."
With those words, Kuro released her hold on me. For a split second, I thought I was falling, but my body didn't plummet; instead, I began a slow, graceful descent toward the land.
As I drifted down from that incredible height, I saw Kuro a short distance ahead of me, her arms spread wide and a gentle smile on her face.
With the sparkling lights of the world behind her and her silver hair fluttering in the wind, she looked so beautiful that I could have mistaken her for a goddess. Her golden eyes, full of affection, held my gaze.
"You want wings, but you don't know how to grow them. You want to fly, but you don't know how. Yes, you are still an innocent, dear fledgling who knows nothing..."
Despite the distance and the wind, her voice reached my ears with perfect clarity.
"In that case—I will teach you! I'll show you the things you don't know, the sights you've never seen! I'll show you this world!"
"..."
Dear Mother, Dear Father—I was caught up in a Hero Summoning and brought to another world.
"This gentle world—and I—bless your arrival!"
But the other world is peaceful, and I haven't changed at all, nor have I found the courage to change.
"So, let's start searching from here, from this other world! For the self you haven't found yet!"
But there was a strange encounter. I was jerked around, and without even understanding why, my common sense was smashed to pieces.
"Let's start from now, from this very moment! Let's do something different!"
Looking back, this encounter with an extraordinary Demon was the moment of the greatest change.
"The story where you... are the protagonist!!"
Yes—my story in this other world, hectic and outrageous, yet gentle and warm, has begun.