When I first met you, you were not what one would call a special being. I understood that you were a kindhearted man. I recognized that you were a man with a strong heart. Yet, even so, you were best defined by the word "ordinary."
――You were an ordinary being.
――You were a small being.
――You were a young being.
――You were not a special being. But...
I first heard the name Miyama Kaito from Isis, whom I cherish as a sister.
To be honest, despite her being family, I could not bring myself to believe her description of you. I thought it impossible for someone without great power to withstand Isis’s magic power of death. I believed there was no way anyone could truly take her hand.
However, your name soon came from the mouth of Kuromueina as well, whom I look up to as a mother. I wonder what I felt then? It was a mixture of anxiety and expectation, as if something utterly incomprehensible had appeared.
I first encountered the human named Miyama Kaito in a forest of the Spirit Race within the Human Realm.
As the World’s Oldest Spirit, all living spirits are my kin. From my perspective, your presence was... disappointingly ordinary.
You were a young being who had lived barely a fraction of the time I have, possessing neither overwhelming strength nor magic power. You were an utterly average human.
Though you possessed a rare gift called Sympathy Magic, I was capable of similar feats; it was hardly a unique power. Even with the Blessing of Shallow Vernal-sama and the love of nature, you still fell well within the bounds of a mere mortal.
I did not mean to look down on you. On the contrary, you left a very pleasant impression when we spoke. I could feel your kindness and your reverence for nature. even so, I could not see what Isis or Kuromueina found so special about you.
Yet, you effortlessly defied my expectations.
You earned the favor of the unruly Megiddo, piqued the interest of Magnawell, and even Shaltier... she recognized you as special.
You were certainly ordinary, yet you stood before extraordinary beings without a hint of fear.
Then, you cleared the darkness from Kuromueina’s heart. You achieved with such ease what neither I nor any of the other Six Kings ever could.
I was truly, deeply impressed.
...Yes. By then, I suppose I had already begun to see you as special.
Perhaps it was the aura you wore. While Isis’s magic power of death repelled others, yours seemed to draw them in. You truly were a mysterious man.
Without fearing me as one of the Six Kings, you treated me—the Spirit of the World Tree—as an equal, just like any other person.
Usually, the emotions directed toward me fall into two categories. Those of the natural world—the Spirit Race, Fairy Race, Elf Race, and Plant Race—reverently worshiped me as a god.
Everyone else treated me with the awe and distance due one of the Six Kings.
But the emotion you showed me was neither of those. It was pure affection—a warm feeling, like that shared between two people standing side by side.
It was not that I disliked it. In fact, it made me happy... but I suppose I was still not quite used to it.
We were not family. You were not my kin. Our races and ages were worlds apart. By all rights, you should have been a very distant existence to me.
Yet, it was strange. When I spoke with you, I felt as though you were standing right there by my side, and it felt as natural as breathing.
That gentle air about you must have been the "special quality" one only realizes by being near you.
When I talked with you, I forgot I was the World King. I simply felt like Lilliwood Yggdrasil, your equal.
I wondered what it was. This sensation was ticklish, yet very comfortable. It was different from being with family, and different from talking with a friend... I lacked the words to express it perfectly.
But I was not in a hurry. I had no proof, yet I felt that if I stayed by your side, the true nature of this mysterious feeling would eventually reveal itself.
I found myself looking forward to what would come next.
I wondered when the last time I had felt such excitement for a changing future was. After living so long, one tends to become conservative toward change...
Perhaps, without me even noticing, you were leading me by the hand toward a future where I could smile even more brightly. If so, then you truly were a special person who brought change to those around him.
...No, that was not something I needed to think about.
Whether you were special or not, the feelings I held would not change. You were kind, warm... a special person to me... that was enough. At least for now.
Without worrying about unnecessary things, I decided to occasionally return to a childlike heart and enjoy the time I spent with you.
Kaito-san... objectively, you were not a special existence. You were a being that shone precisely because you were with someone else.
――You were an ordinary being. Yet you stood on extraordinary ground with both feet.
――You were a small being. Yet you accomplished grand things.
――You were a young being. Yet you changed things that had remained stagnant for ages.
――You were an ordinary human, and not a special existence.
――But because you never stopped there...
――I believe you became "special" to those who are extraordinary.
――I love you, my ordinary, special person.
――Please, forever and always... stay the wonderful person you are.
Serious-senpai: "She acted all solemn and profound, but if you actually read this... she was just bragging about her love life from start to finish! What is this, a love letter?! To summarize: 'I thought he was plain at first, but once I got close... he’s wonderful! Embrace me!' isn't it?! Stop using those techniques to act all lovey-dovey when the protagonist isn't even looking! Weren't the interludes supposed to be serious?! You liar!!"