"—Let’s start now, from this very moment! Let's do something different than we've done before!"
Looking back, that might have been the most significant beginning of all.
"—A story where you are the protagonist!"
Yes, it certainly started at that moment...
By the time I finished showing Kaito-kun the accommodations, night had truly fallen. This place was quite vast, after all.
Well, I couldn't deny that I might have been a little too enthusiastic with the preparations, but I just couldn't help but overdo it when I thought about doing it all for him.
Normally, we would have headed straight to dinner, but there was one place I wanted to go with Kaito-kun first. Thanks in part to me mentioning it beforehand, Kaito-kun agreed to visit my desired spot before we ate, and the two of us moved to a certain location.
The sun had completely set, and the sky was brimming with starlight. We were on the Central Tower's Rooftop—the highest point in the entire region.
"...No, I mean, why tatami?"
"Ahaha, Otsukimi just has to be done on tatami, doesn't it?"
"...But the snack is still Baby Castella, right?"
"Of course!"
The somewhat nostalgic words brought an involuntary smile to my face.
I moved onto the tatami and sat down, then lightly patted my lap while looking up at Kaito-kun.
"But before we eat... Kaito-kun, come here."
"...Sigh, what’s with this all of a sudden?"
Though he gave a wry smile as if he were exasperated, Kaito-kun still did as I wished and lay down, resting his head on my lap.
A lap pillow... I truly loved giving them to him. The warmth and the sensation of his skin against my legs made me feel so intensely that I was truly here with him.
As I gently stroked Kaito-kun's hair, I softly shifted my gaze toward the sky.
"...Hey, Kaito-kun?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember? The night you first came to this world... we gazed at the moon and the stars together just like this, didn't we?"
"...Yeah, I remember it well."
A pleasant night wind gently caressed my cheeks, and we were enveloped in a peaceful atmosphere.
Without exchanging any more words, I continued to stroke his head while Kaito-kun closed his eyes contentedly.
"...Kaito-kun, you can sleep for a bit like that, okay?"
"...Yeah. Is this the place you wanted to go, Kuro?"
"Yeah. You know, I’ve... really come to love watching the stars like this with you."
"...I see."
Today had been a long day. I suppose I was partly to blame for some of the chaos, but he was likely exhausted from everything that had happened.
Hearing my words, Kaito-kun spoke to me in a gentle, slightly sleepy voice.
It was truly just idle small talk, yet I felt impossibly happy. That was, of course, because I was with Kaito-kun.
The night I first saw the stars with you, I never dreamed it would turn out like this.
Back then, Kaito-kun was still a fledgling who knew nothing, and he looked as though he was afraid of the things he could reach if he only dared to stretch out his hand.
That was why I decided I would raise you. Just as I had done countless times before with others...
I was so looking forward to seeing up close just how beautiful your wings would be when you eventually found them and took flight.
But you easily surpassed my imagination. The wings you spread were far, far larger than I had envisioned, and they were so beautiful they were almost dazzling.
You were even strong enough to take me along—me, who had given up on flying myself while only ever raising fledglings.
Hey, Kaito-kun? I wonder if you remember?
I told you back then, didn't I? That we would start 'your story' from there...
But now, I think that what actually started back then was 'the story of you and me.' Ahaha, was that a bit too conceited of me? But you’ve given me so many things that it made me feel that way.
The night I saw the stars with you for the second time... ever since that day of the barbecue, you changed. You became much more dependable than before, and you became so very strong.
No, perhaps Kaito-kun was already stronger than anyone from the very beginning. You had simply forgotten that strength. I wondered if I was able to help you remember it? If I was... that would make me so happy.
The third time I saw the stars with you was... during the Treasure Tree Festival, I think?
Thinking back, it might have been around then that your existence began to grow larger and larger within me.
It didn't take very long at all for me to fall in love with you.
And then... you challenged me.
You told me that you loved me anyway, even though I was a monster... and you desperately reached out your hand to me. I still haven't found the words to express how happy I was or how moved I felt in that moment.
Our relationship changed from friends to lovers... and the world began to look even more beautiful than it ever had before.
Even the starry sky, which I must have seen countless times, felt like a completely different landscape just because Kaito-kun was by my side.
It was then that I finally realized something. It wasn't just you who was growing; thanks to you, I felt my own heart had become much stronger than ever before.
So much so that the current me could even face Shiro... no. For Kaito-kun's sake, I could win against anyone. I could shine brighter than anyone. That was how I felt.
Kaito-kun... you’re truly amazing.
The time since I met you has only been half a year—a mere blink of an eye compared to the rest of my life. However, that short span of time has left the deepest impression on me of all.
If I closed my eyes and pictured your face, I could clearly remember every word we ever exchanged...
And you saved not just me, but Fia as well. The things I couldn't do, the things I had dropped... you picked them up as if it were the most natural thing in the world and held them out to me.
It was so difficult to fully convey my feelings for you. My love was so vast that I didn't know how to put it into words.
I even caught myself wishing that my heart could just be transmitted to you exactly as it was.
Right now, I was so happy every single day that I couldn't contain it. Every time I saw your smile, every time we spoke, I fell for you more and more. I loved you so much it made me wonder if there was even a limit to it.
I wondered what you called a feeling like this? Ah, surely... you said it like this.
"...Kaito-kun. I love you."
I whispered softly to Kaito-kun, who had begun to breathe with the rhythm of peaceful sleep.
It was different from the affection I held for my precious family. It wasn't about watching over and protecting him... it was the desire to walk together and support each other.
Loving someone you cherished so much was such a wonderful thing. Fufu, I thought I’d lived for a long time, but I guess there were still so many things I didn’t know yet.
Hey, Kaito-kun? Do you remember? I remember it vividly. The night sky I saw with you for the first time... the words we exchanged...
And the future I would see with you from now on would be even happier than everything that came before.
This wasn't just a hunch; it was a conviction. Because as long as Kaito-kun was here, I could wear a heartfelt smile forever.
Look, the starry sky stretches on forever when you look up. The world is so vast.
"...Let’s see many more things from now on. Let’s smile a lot. Together with you, who is dearer to me than anyone, than anything..."
"...Nn... Kuro..."
"Yeah. I’m right here, by your side. Always until now, and... always from now on."
I gave a light kiss to the sleeping Kaito-kun's cheek and turned my gaze back to the starry sky.
Yes, tonight’s stars... were the most beautiful I had ever seen.
??? "Wait, you...! Why are you doing this right when the popularity poll is about to start?! Reminiscing about the past and dreaming about the future... what's with this special treatment?! And you didn't even label this as an Interlude! Favoritism! Pure favoritism! You're just flirting perfectly from start to finish!! Where's the Alice-chan Version?! Is it just Kuro-san? Is it because she's the Main Heroine? You dirty Main Heroine. So dirty... oh? Someone's here at this hour... ah..."