I felt someone gently shaking me, rousing me from the soft, hazy drowsiness that clings to the early morning hours.
I felt a slow, cradle-like swaying. Just as my consciousness was beginning to fully surface, I felt a soft sensation brush against my cheek.
"...Kaito... it's morning..."
"Mm... Isis? Good morning."
I opened my eyes, savoring the blissful sensation of a kiss on my cheek, and saw Isis’s face as she looked back at me with a serene smile.
"...Good morning... Breakfast... is ready."
"Thank you. I’ll get up now."
"...Okay."
Hearing her sweet, gentle voice, I sat up and looked at her. Isis had her long hair pulled back into a ponytail and was wearing a white frilled apron. This domestic charm added to her usual cuteness, making her look more alluring than ever.
After thanking her for waking me, I washed my face in the bathroom and headed to the kitchen. She had timed everything perfectly; a simple but incredibly delicious-looking breakfast was already laid out on the table.
I sat down, said my thanks for the meal, and began to eat. The seasoning was light and mild, the kind of flavor that seeped gently into a body that had only just woken up. It had been six months since we arrived in this world, and her cooking had improved by leaps and bounds. These days, I genuinely looked forward to every meal.
"Ah, that’s right. Isis, would you like to go to an amusement park with me today?"
"...An amusement park?"
"Yeah. It’s... how should I describe it? A place with lots of different rides."
"...That sounds... like fun... but..."
Isis’s expression wavered as she listened to me, and her gaze flickered toward the living room. The television was on, but it wasn't showing the news; it was some occult-themed program discussing urban legends and the "Seven Wonders" of the city.
Across the bottom of the screen ran a bold headline: "Bizarre! The Silent Scramble Crossing!"
The program was covering an incident that had actually happened two months ago. In the middle of the day, people had suddenly vanished from a crowded scramble crossing despite the area being packed just moments before. According to the people who had been there, they all said the same thing: "I don't know why, but I felt like I was going to die if I stayed there."
The truth was that Isis had been the cause.
Two months ago, she and I had gone out to buy clothes and happened to pass through that crossing. Her "Magic Power of Death" functioned exactly the same way here as it did in her original world, but its potency fluctuated with her mood. To be specific, if she felt truly happy from the bottom of her heart, the aura weakened to the point where people a short distance away would only feel a slight chill or a sense of dread.
At first, things had been fine. Even while waiting for the light to change, we stayed close together, and while people gave us a bit of space, it didn't look particularly out of the ordinary. However, it was because her mana had been so suppressed that the incident occurred in the first place.
Isis was a stunningly beautiful woman, and naturally, she drew eyes. It was inevitable that people standing outside the range of her death mana would be captivated by her. A group of rowdy-looking guys noticed us holding hands and started whispering, calling me a "plain, unimpressive guy."
I knew I was plain compared to her, so I didn't care at all. But Isis, perceiving that I was being insulted, grew angry. In an instant, her death mana flared up with terrifying intensity, and every person in the vicinity scattered like baby spiders.
I realized what had happened immediately and pulled her away, disappearing into the crowd of fleeing people. No one ever found out she was the source, but she still felt terrible about it, constantly worried that she had caused me trouble.
"...I'll only... cause trouble for Kaito... again."
"I don't think of it as trouble. Compared to the happiness of being on a date with you, a little thing like that is nothing."
"...Kaito."
"Besides, look. As long as you’re happy, your death mana stays weak. Basically, as long as I can keep you happy all day long, there shouldn't be any problems."
"...Mm."
When I smiled and gave her those heartfelt words, she finally let out a joyful smile of her own. And honestly, far from being a burden, we were only able to live together like this because of the jewels she had brought from her world. If anything, I was the one being taken care of.
After breakfast, we set off by car and reached the amusement park just as it was about to open. Even though it was a weekday, the place was fairly crowded and lively. I interlocked my fingers with hers in a lover's grasp, bought our tickets, and we headed inside.
"...It's so... big."
"Yeah, this park is quite famous. Now then, Isis, where should we start?"
"...Um..."
Isis looked overwhelmed by her first sight of an amusement park. I spread out the pamphlet in front of her and we discussed our route. As usual, people didn't come within a one-meter radius of us, but since the park was busy, the small gap didn't look too suspicious.
"Whoa, that girl is ridiculously cute."
"You're right! She looks like a doll!"
"Maybe she's a foreigner? Is that guy her boyfriend? He looks kind of uninsp—!"
A group of teenagers noticed us, and the moment those words reached our ears, I felt Isis’s mood begin to sour.
Before things could take a turn for the worse, I pulled her hand firmly, wrapped my arms around her slender waist, and captured her lips with mine.
"Mnh!?"
I felt the soft, sweet sensation of her lips. Her beautiful red eyes widened in shock for a second, but then they fluttered shut as she melted into me, entrusting her weight to my arms. For a few blissful seconds, it felt as though the two of us were the only people left in the world. When I finally pulled away, she looked up at me dazed.
"...Ah... Kaito?"
"Isis, please don't worry about what’s happening around us. Today... right now... don't think about anything else. Just look at me. Only think about me."
To be honest, it was incredibly embarrassing. We were attracting a massive amount of attention, and I could hear several high-pitched squeals from the girls nearby. But to ensure Isis stayed happy all day and to enjoy our date, a little bit of public shame was a small price to pay.
As I looked straight into her eyes and spoke, her gaze grew misty, and she nodded with flushed cheeks.
"...Mm... I’ll only... look at Kaito."
I hugged her tight once more, keeping her pressed against me as we moved toward the attractions. It seemed my decision to go on a weekday was correct; we barely had to wait in line for anything.
Whether it was the teacups, the merry-go-round, or the roller coaster, Isis spent the entire time with a truly radiant smile on her face, clinging tightly to my arm.
"...Kaito... this is so much fun... I'm so happy."
"I'm happy too, simply because you're here with me."
"...Mm!"
Since we were at an amusement park filled with other couples and families, we didn't run into any more situations that made the air turn cold. Isis's appearance certainly turned heads, but because we were being so openly affectionate, no one else dared to say anything disparaging about me.
After going through all the major rides, the sun began to dip toward the horizon, staining the park in a deep crimson glow. We decided to end the day with the Ferris wheel. It was a massive structure, famous for its views. I led her into the gondola and we sat down side-by-side.
"...It's so... beautiful."
"It really is. You can see the whole city from here."
Watching her eyes sparkle as she took in the view brought a smile to my face. After a few moments of admiring the scenery, she slowly leaned her weight against me.
"...Kaito... thank you... I’ve never been... this happy before."
"...Isis."
I put my arm around her small shoulders and looked into her eyes. My reflection was the only thing visible in those beautiful red depths. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut, and our shadows overlapped as we drew closer together.
"...Mnh... chu... mmm... Kaito... nnh... I love you... I love you so much..."
"...I love you too, Isis."
"...Kaito... stay with me... forever."
"I will. We'll be together always."
As if to confirm each other's existence, as if to carve our presence into one another's souls, we pressed our bodies together and shared our warmth. I didn't know how much time was left until the gondola returned to the bottom, but until then, I wanted to think of nothing but the woman I loved.
"...Kaito... I love you... more than ever before... it’s almost scary... how much I love you... I think I'll just keep... loving you more... forever."
"...I feel the same way. I love you more today than I did yesterday. I truly love you."
"...I love you too."
Meeting Isis was an impossibly blessed miracle. Even if her death mana was meant to drive others away, I would never let her go. I knew with absolute certainty that the warmth I felt in my arms right now was true happiness. And I knew that our future together would be just as bright.