Miharu, Aki, and Masato all held their breath in unison after Rio stepped into his rock house.
The sight of a spacious living and dining area brightly illuminated by magic artifacts greeted the three. In the corner of the room was a staircase that led to the second floor.
“Please, have a seat on that sofa,” Rio said, then went to the kitchen alone and prepared several drinks and wet towels. Rio’s guests sat on the sofa nervously and looked around the room in wonder.
“Here you are — you must be thirsty. There’re seconds if need be, so don’t hold back.” Rio handed them three metal mugs filled with iced tea.
“T-Thank you very much.” Miharu gratefully accepted the drink. They had been walking through the arid grasslands with only a small amount of food and water rationed between them the whole time, so having the issue of dehydration solved was a huge relief.
“Thank you, Haruto! I was really thirsty… More, please!” Masato said, having gulped down the drink before immediately requesting another with sparkling eyes.
“…Have a little restraint. Geez,” Aki muttered to Masato with an exasperated look.
“It’s fine. Seeing someone drink that enthusiastically makes it worth it. But your stomach will feel cold if you drink it too fast, so be wary of that. Or, there’s hot tea instead,” Rio said with a smile, pouring iced tea into Masato’s mug.
“I’m sorry. My brother has no manners… Thank you very much.” Aki bowed her head timidly before putting her mug to her lips. Like the others, she was thirsty, too, and her mug was soon drained.
Without a moment’s delay, Rio refilled her mug; Aki blushed with embarrassment and thanked him again, this time taking her time to enjoy the flavor.
Meanwhile, Miharu was watching Aki and Masato eagerly drink their tea with a smile on her face, before bringing her own mug to her mouth.
After everyone replenished themselves and took a breather, Rio looked straight at Miharu, who sat across from him. “Can you tell me why the three of you were in a place like that?” he asked.
The three of them looked at each other before Miharu answered on the behalf of the other two. “Actually, we don’t even know ourselves. We just found ourselves standing in a field with no idea as to what was going on…”
“I see. So that means you don’t know where you are, right?” “Yes, I have no idea. Umm, where exactly are we…?”
“The Strahl region in the continent of Euphelia. If I told you you were in a field near the border between the kingdoms of Galarc and Centostella… Would that ring any bells?”
“T-They’re all names I’ve never heard of before. We’re not in Japan, are we?” Miharu asked with all her remaining hope, her expression darkening with worry.
“Unfortunately not.” Rio shook his head apologetically.
“T-Then where are we? Somewhere in Europe?” Aki asked impatiently.
“…I’m sure that you have witnessed all kinds of spectacles over the course of today. Do you really believe you’re still on Earth?”
“That’s… T-Then where are you saying we’ve ended up? And who are you, anyway? Why can you speak Japanese?” Aki asked, worriedly, in a rougher voice. She didn’t seem to want to face reality.
“…At the very least, it isn’t Earth. The name of the place is as I told you just now. Also, the reason why I can speak Japanese… is probably because I used to be Japanese, maybe?” Rio shrugged as he answered with a bitter smile.
“Eh…?” Aki and the others were taken aback.
…The three of them don’t know anything… about this world, or why they came to a world like this. It’s just like me, when I woke up nine years ago with
my memories of my previous life. No… they’re even more clueless than I was. At least I had my memories as Rio… Rio watched Miharu, Aki, and Masato with a sorrowful expression.
“U-Umm, what does ‘used to be Japanese’ mean…?” Miharu asked Rio timidly.
“It means exactly that. Maybe if I called it my ‘previous life’ instead…? You may not believe me, but I have memories from another life… The life when I was a university student in Japan.” Rio averted his gaze uncomfortably as he answered.
“Erm…” Miharu, Aki, and Masato were at a loss for words, unsure of how to respond to that.
“At any rate, I don’t have any objective proof of formerly being Japanese, but that’s why I can speak Japanese, so I would appreciate it if you could just take that at face value. More importantly, don’t you want to know what happened to the three of you?” Rio gave a vague smile before quickly changing the subject.
“H-Hey, Haruto. Does that mean we’ve come to a fantasy RPG world? It’s a world with swords and magic, right?” Masato asked rather eagerly.
“I never played those kinds of games in my previous life, so I’m not quite sure, but I believe it’s something like that. But unlike a game, there’s no reset button here,” Rio replied with a strained smile.
“Would we have been in pretty big trouble if you hadn’t come along, Haruto?” Masato asked in a cold sweat.
“…Yeah, you would’ve been made into slaves at that rate,” Rio told them stiffly and curtly.
“N-No way… Slaves…?” Aki murmured in a daze.
A pained expression fell over Miharu’s face, but her shock wasn’t as great as Aki’s.
“What do you mean by ‘slaves’?” Masato questioned dubiously.
Aki looked at Masato in exasperation. “Y-You don’t even know that?”
“I-I don’t. I’m bad at language and vocabulary. Do you know what it is, Aki?” Masato asked her sullenly.
“O-Of course I do. A slave is… Uhh… Umm…” Aki tried to explain the concept of slavery, but found herself at a loss for words. While she knew the general meaning of the word, she couldn’t explain it very well.
Miharu had a conflicted expression, too.
“Simply put, a slave is someone treated as an object instead of a human,” Rio interrupted.
“…Treated as an object?” Masato cocked his head, not quite grasping the concept.
“Maybe you’d understand it better if I said it this way: it’s the buying and selling of people, like animals. The person sold becomes the property of the person who bought them, so they have to do what they say.”
“H-Hah?! Isn’t that basically a pet?! And you’re saying that almost happened to us? How could they do such a thing?!” Masato yelled with rage, finally understanding the meaning.
“Black hair is unusual, and you look neat and tidy. Although you can’t understand the language here, it’s clear you had a good upbringing… So they probably assumed you would sell for a fairly high price.” Rio gave his assumption in a serious tone.
Masato paused to take a breath. “…How could they do such a thing?! And the buyers, too… How horrible! What’s so great about treating people like that? We’re not dolls!” he said in a high pitched voice. For someone raised in a modern society, slavery was an evil violation of human rights.
“Well, the buyers have their own reasons for buying. Whether its fun or not aside, there are those who simply buy them because they’re a convenient way to get labor done…” Rio said, troubled.
He had already thrown away the morals he had as a modern Japanese person and accepted the necessity of a slavery system in their current society; that was why Masato’s anger toward slavery didn’t really stir him. At the same time, he hoped that his guests didn’t have the same morals as his own jaded ones.
“What’s… with that…” Unable to accept the truth, yet faintly aware that it was pointless to continue lamenting over it, Masato hung his head limply.
“…Let’s get back on topic. Have the three of you accepted the reality that you’ve come to a different world that isn’t Earth?” Rio smiled helplessly and focused his eyes on Miharu, who sat directly opposite him.
“…Yes,” Miharu nodded seriously. There were too many aspects that couldn’t be explained otherwise, and while she didn’t want to accept it, she had no other choice.
“Naturally, you want to go back to Earth… right?” Rio asked carefully. Aki stood up eagerly. “W-We can go back?!” she asked.
“Calm down,” Rio said, silencing Aki. “My question was badly worded — I don’t know whether or not you can return, but I don’t think it should be impossible to achieve…” He shook his head apologetically.
“O-Oh. I’m sorry. I jumped the gun…” Aki apologized awkwardly.
“I don’t know why the three of you are here in this world. However, the location I believe you arrived at when you first came to this world had evidence that time-space sorcery was used — I was only able to notice your presence because I had detected those traces of time-space sorcery. That is why I believe the three of you were purposefully summoned into this world,” Rio explained.
“Time-space sorcery… you say?” Miharu repeated the words she was unfamiliar with in question.
“Yes. In this world, there exists a technique called sorcery. Sorcery cannot be explained by science. For example, the house I brought out in this grass field was stored through time-space sorcery.”
“So that’s what that was…”
“In order to use sorcery, a formula needs to be drawn and have essence poured into it. It’s a little hard to explain through words, so I’ll show you an example.”
As Rio explained, he picked up one of the quills that was placed on the table and began to draw a simple geometric pattern on some paper. Miharu, Aki, and Masato watched on curiously as he drew.
“This is a very basic formula. When I pour magic essence into it…” After finishing the formula several seconds later, Rio placed his hand against it and released his essence. The formula on the paper absorbed the essence, melding with mana to cause a world-altering phenomena.
Immediately afterward, a bubble of water several centimeters in diameter formed above the formula. The bubble then followed the laws of gravity and fell down, soaking the paper the formula was drawn on.
“A world-altering phenomena occurred and created water from nothing. That was elementary water sorcery, but by combining an endless number of possible formulas, you could control fire, create ice, form electricity, and all kinds of other phenomena.” Rio gave the minimum explanation before demonstrating it to them; they widened their eyes in shock at the sight of the soaked paper.
“W-Wow! That’s amazing, Haruto! So this is sorcery!” Masato was the first to snap to his senses and yell in excitement.
“Shut up — you don’t have to be so loud about it,” Aki said, expressing her disapproval at the noise from where she sat on the other side of Miharu.
“But, Aki… Did you see that just now?! Water appeared out of nowhere. This is sorcery! Sorcery!” Masato brushed off Aki’s scolding and innocently displayed how happy he was, which was quite apparent.
“It’s not as surprising compared to a house appearing in the middle of a field,” Aki said sullenly.
Miharu watched the two of them with a smile. “Right. Like Aki-chan said: this is no big deal when compared to how I made the rock house appear out of nowhere. That was time-space sorcery. I’m sure you can at least imagine how difficult it is to interfere with time and space?”
“…Yes. There’s no way anyone could do that normally.” Aki nodded with suspended disbelief.
“That understanding is pretty much the same even in this world, where sorcery is widespread. Actually, time-space sorcery is a technique that has yet to have any chance of being practically implemented. There’s a lot of variation in the types and difficulty of time-space sorcery, as well as exceptions like the one I showed you,” Rio said, emphasizing the difficulty of time-space sorcery. His goal was to make it clear how abnormal it was that they were summoned to this world in such a way.
“What do you mean by that? Everything you say is so confusing… I don’t really get it.” Masato cocked his head in confusion.
Rio simplified his words and gave a wry smile. “I believe the three of you were summoned to this world through time-space sorcery, but to recreate that sorcery to send you back to Earth would be almost impossible using the current state of sorcery in this world… Does that make sense?”
“I still don’t get it. Are you saying we were summoned with sorcery that no one in this world can use? Even though it’s sorcery that exists in this world?” Masato’s doubts were most justified.
“A lot of the knowledge about sorcery was lost in a war of the gods that occurred over a thousand years ago. The sorcery of that time was far more advanced than what we have right now. I believe the time-space sorcery that brought the three of you to this world was from that time,” Rio replied, feeling impressed at how direct Masato’s question was.
“A war of the gods… I see. If that’s how it is, then I can understand.” Masato seemed to be excited about something.
Aki sighed. “…You enjoy things like that, after all. I envy how simple-minded you are,” she murmured under her breath, her voice fading out toward the end. While it wouldn’t have been hard to believe all of this back on Earth, here, her brain was finally feeling tired.
Maybe we should stop here for now? The more complex stuff can be dealt with step-by-step later.
Rio realized with a wry smile that the most adaptable person in this group might just be the youngest, Masato.
“For now, that’s all I have on the reason why I think the three of you were brought to this world. With no obvious clues, we’ll have to dig further to find any evidence about how you can go back to Earth. Do you have any questions?”
he asked, wrapping up their discussion.
“…Umm, actually… Just before we came to this world, we were in a group of five. Do you know if there are any traces of the other two being nearby?” Aki asked hesitantly.
“I don’t believe there was any other disrupted essence located in the area, but… if you were together, then the other two must have been near you, right?” Rio asked in contemplation.
“Yes. We were meeting up together after school and were just standing around and chatting.”
“Did anything abnormal occur? If time-space sorcery activated, then it would have looked like the air was being distorted.”
“Onii-chan… I was talking to my brother when it looked like he suddenly distorted, right before my eyes,” Aki answered slowly, thinking back to her memories.
“Your brother…” For a moment, Rio’s heart skipped a beat thinking she was talking about him, but immediately realized they were children from his mother’s remarriage.
“Umm, I was talking to an upperclassman named Satsuki when she looked like she distorted. I may have been seeing things, but it looked like the distortion closed in around us, too,” Miharu explained, hesitantly recounting what she had witnessed herself.
“…And the same happened to you, Aki?”
“Y-Yes. It was only for a second so I wasn’t sure, but it was like a distortion that started from my brother grew larger and swallowed us…?” Aki tilted her head.
Rio analyzed their descriptions. Normally, the point of distortion starts from the target of the time-space sorcery. Based on what these two have said, the sorcery was activated separately, with this Satsuki person and Aki’s brother as the focus point, he thought.
“If it’s exactly as Miharu witnessed, then I believe there’s a high chance that those two were also summoned into this world through time-space sorcery,” Rio concluded.
Aki’s expression brightened immensely. “R-Really?!”
“Probably. If anything, those two were probably the ones summoned, while the three of you were dragged along for the ride. The reason why you were separated from the other two may be because the two time-space sorceries interfered with each other at such a close distance and messed up your teleportation coordinates, or something,” Rio replied, his expression darkening in stark contrast to Aki’s.
“B-But that still means my brother is somewhere in this world, right?”
Aki sought for the answer she wanted to hear; it was clear she admired her brother a great deal. The way she pleaded was almost as though she had found a ray of hope within a situation of utter despair.
“…I can’t be certain, but the possibility is most certainly there,” Rio answered vaguely with a troubled look.
While he believed there was a very high chance that that was the case, as long as he didn’t know what kind of time-space sorcery was used, he couldn’t afford to give her a confident answer. Not to mention that it seemed as though Aki had yet to realize that just because the other two were summoned into this world didn’t mean they were safe.
However, there was no need for him to agitate her concerns any further. After all, they first had to focus on solving the problems that were right in front of them.
“I know there’s still so many things you don’t understand yet, but for now, let’s think about how you’re going to survive from now on. I will help you as much as I can, so you can leave all your food and shelter needs to me for now and focus on learning the language and knowledge of this world.” Rio pulled together the biggest smile he could muster.
“A-Are you sure?” Miharu asked timidly. She carefully watched Rio’s face.
No matter how optimistic she tried to be, it was impossible for them to live in this world without knowing the language. In order to survive, they had to rely on Rio. Miharu had actually planned on requesting his assistance herself, but she was more than aware of how shameless the proposal to raise three strangers was, so she had been finding it difficult to approach the topic and bring it up.
“Yes. There is one condition I’d like you to follow, though, so as long as you abide by that…” Rio said in a light tone to avoid making them feel wary.
“A condition?”
“There’s no need to be nervous about it. It’s just that I’m a bit of a peculiar individual, with my memories of my previous life and all. You’ll see and hear a lot of absurdities about me as we live together, and I’d like you to keep all of that secret from outsiders, unless you have my permission. For example, the existence of this house. However, if it seems like your safety will be put in danger, I won’t mind if you divulge any information. What do you think?”
Miharu was rather taken aback. “E-Erm, is that all? Are you sure? You’d be looking after three people.”
All the burden would be on Rio this way, with practically nothing asked of Miharu, Aki, and Masato. The proposal was far beyond anything Miharu and the others could have hoped for, when they had no other choice than to rely on Rio. The one-sidedness of Rio’s charity made a seeping feeling of shame crawl over them.
“Correct. Do you promise to abide by my condition?”
“…Y-Yes. We swear it. I will do everything I can to return this debt one day, so please take us into your care. Thank you very much,” Miharu said with a pained expression, bowing her head low before Rio.
“P-Please.” Beside her, Aki and Masato followed her lead and lowered their heads, too.
Rio shook his head. “Then, it’s been decided. Please raise your heads. I’m sure we must all be getting hungry by now, right? Let’s leave the details for later and have some food first. I’ll prepare it now — does anyone have any requests?” he said brightly, wanting to move beyond the heavy atmosphere.
“U-Umm, I can help! I know the favorites of the other two, and I’m pretty
good at cooking, so I’d like you to leave the cooking to me from here on out!” Miharu offered without missing a beat.
“Then, could you please?” Rio asked hesitantly.
“Yes, I’ll do my best!” Miharu clenched both her fists, fired up with motivation.
“Ah, then I’ll help, too!” Aki offered in a fluster.
Masato interrupted her. “S-Stop it, Aki. Didn’t you turn the hamburg steak last time into ash?”
“S-Shut up! That was just a coincidence. And anyway, brother said it was delicious,” Aki objected with a sullen pout.
“Yeah, no. No way that wasn’t just flattery — bro was just being polite,” Masato stated firmly with a grimace.
The fact that Miharu wasn’t particularly jumping to Aki’s defense showed that Aki’s cooking really was terrible.
“Miharu and I can handle cooking for four people between the two of us, I think. I’ll need to explain how to use the kitchen, too, so the two of you can go take a bath in the meantime,” Rio suggested, hoping to appease the two that were noisily bickering away at each other.
“This house even has a bath?” Aki’s eyes widened, impressed. She had been prepared to camp outside just a short while ago, so hearing that there was a bath made a young girl her age extremely elated.
“First, you use the magic tool… the artifact, it’s called. I’ll have to explain how to use the one in the bathroom first, so follow me, everyone.” Thus, the party made their way to the bathroom.
“Here we are.” Rio opened the door that led from the changing area into the bathing area and invited Miharu, Aki, and Masato inside.
“Excuse me,” they said, hesitantly entering the bathroom.
“Wow…” Aki murmured in surprise and astonishment without thinking at the peculiar facilities.
Rio’s playful spirit as a former Japanese person caused him to choose a warm brick at the door of the changing room, giving the illusion of a hot springs entrance. The actual interior of the bathroom was installed in what undeniably mimicked the design of a hot springs.
The changing room was spacious, but the bathroom was even more so; over half the room was occupied by a washing space made of tiled stone, while the remaining area was utilized by a splendid stone bathtub that could easily fit several adults in the water at the same time.
Magical spouts that constantly supplied fresh bath water were set along the stone surface. Thanks to the magic artifacts in the middle of the stone bath, other than regular maintenance, there was no need to change the water or frequently clean the space.
The water in the stone bath was clear, and a white steam was dancing off its surface.
“You can touch the round stones set in the washing area when you’re washing your hair and body. It’ll absorb essence proportionate to how long you touch it, then produce water from that spout. The right stone is for the higher spout, and the left stone is for the lower spout.”
Rio approached the wall of the washing area and showed them the artifacts as he spoke. At a glance, the amount of essence flowing from the three of them was fairly substantial, so they wouldn’t have had a problem using it.
“C-Can I touch it?” Masato asked, brimming with curiosity. “Sure. The water comes out pretty fast, so be careful.”
With Rio’s permission, Masato triumphantly reached for the round stone on the left with the formula carved. The lower water spout immediately started bubbling forth with water.
“Wow! That’s amazing!” Masato exclaimed, bursting with pure excitement.
“There are four types of soap in those metal containers over there. Starting from the right, there’s shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and body wash. The towels are on the shelf in the changing room — feel free to take one each.”
“O-Okay.” Miharu and Aki nodded timidly. They couldn’t help but feel bewildered at how substantial the bathing facilities were.
“So, that’s how you use the bath. Who wants to get in first?” Rio asked. Aki and Masato looked at each other.
“I’m going first!”
“I wanna go first!”
Their words effortlessly overlapped with each other’s.
◇◇◇
After an intense round of rock-paper-scissors, it was decided that Aki would bathe first. Masato agreed to explore the rest of the house in order to relieve his boredom. In the meantime, Rio and Miharu would work together to prepare dinner for everyone.
Miharu put on an apron that she borrowed from Rio over the top of her uniform, making her look very domestic and cute. Rio became nervous, which was something out of character for him.
“Okay, shall we start cooking?” he said with an uncomfortable smile. He had already explained where the cookware was placed, where the seasoning was stored, the ingredients in the refrigerator, and how to use the artifacts for fire and water. They had also decided on a Japanese menu.
“Yes. I’ll make the miso soup and chopped burdock root, as well as the steamed dish.” Miharu nodded with a carefree smile as she began to prepare the miso soup first. Her movements showed no sign of hesitation, making it clear that she was used to cooking.
…She really is good at cooking.
As Rio prepared to boil the rice, he admired Miharu’s movements, even captivated by them. Before him was a Miharu that he didn’t know. It was refreshing.
“U-Umm, is there something wrong with how I’m cooking?” Miharu asked hesitantly, noticing Rio’s gaze.
Rio flinched. “N-No, I’m sorry. I was just impressed with how well you cook,”
he replied awkwardly.
“Ahaha, thank you very much. It’s all thanks to my mother. She taught me how to cook a lot of things when I was little.” Miharu grinned with embarrassment, but never stopped moving her busy hands.
“Your mother… I see.”
Rio — no, Amakawa Haruto within Rio — had no idea that Miharu learned to cook from her mother. She probably began learning after she became distanced from Haruto.
“Do you cook often, Haruto?” Miharu asked.
“Yes, I do. I’m traveling alone, so it’s a bit of a hobby for me.” Rio shrugged his shoulders, Miharu smiled with some embarrassment.
“I’ve actually never eaten a man’s cooking before, so I’m looking forward to it.”
“…I don’t think you’ll find anything different about my cooking, but I’ll do my best.”
Rio was a little — no, a lot more motivated than usual, but he couldn’t stay elated forever, so he reigned in his emotions.
After that, the two of them worked together in a strangely harmonious way, synchronizing with each other efficiently as they cooked. They both praised each other’s skills and responded humbly, taste-testing and exchanging opinions, and overall spending a peaceful time together.
◇◇◇
Just as Rio and Miharu were starting to cook, Aki was sinking into the water of the stone bath; looking up at the ceiling in a daze, she thought back on the various events that occurred today.
So many surprising things happened. They came to a world that wasn’t Earth, found themselves in a disastrous situation, finally stumbled upon some strangers — only to be unable to communicate with them — and were nearly made into slaves. However, they were immediately saved by another stranger, who agreed to shelter them and thus resulted in her leisurely relaxing in a bathtub.
We really are so indebted to Haruto… Haruto… Haruto…
In the back of Aki’s mind, Haruto… Rio’s face came to mind, eventually morphing into the painful memories of someone else, and her expression changed to one that was bitter and sour.
Hmph… Haruto’s different from that guy, but he keeps coming to mind anyway.
“He” was Amakawa Haruto — the person who had been Aki’s older brother.
Aki hated him — not for a logical reason, but an emotional one. Haruto and their father had chosen to abandon Aki and their mother, and Haruto was a liar that didn’t keep his promises.
However, Aki loved her mother from the bottom of her heart, as her mother had raised her with great care. After the divorce, her mother should have been rife with pain, yet she showed no weakness in front of Aki and selflessly poured all her love into her daughter.
Aki’s parents had divorced when she was still four years old, so she only had vague memories of those times, but she remembered living quite happily until the divorce. Now that she was looking back on it, Aki could admit it: she had really loved her family back then.
In particular, she had loved her older brother, and was extremely attached to him. She was just as attached to Miharu, the older girl living in the house next door.
Back then, both of their parents in the Amakawa house worked full time, so they were often left in the care of Miharu’s family. Aki was constantly looked after by Haruto and Miharu. She was always by their side, which was why she knew better than anyone that Haruto and Miharu were very close, and really suited each other, in her opinion.
At the time, the two were so close that they often created spaces where they were the only two that existed. For Aki, however, they were her ideal older brother and sister. When the two of them were happy, Aki was happy, too. What made her the happiest of all was when the two of them doted on her.
Being spoiled by Haruto and Miharu had been a special privilege limited to only Aki, and she was the only one unconditionally permitted into the unique space the two of them made for each other.
Aki was the only one who was treated specially by the two of them, making her feel special in turn. It made her truly happy.
And so, Aki had begged Haruto and Miharu, that the three of them would always stay together, and the two of them swore to keep Aki by their sides even when they grew up. Haruto promised to not only protect Miharu, but Aki, too. Despite this, it was like he had changed his mind when Haruto left with the man who had once been Aki’s father.
“Liar,” Aki murmured involuntarily, echoing with the sound of the water bubbling from the spout.
The only one who kept their promise and kept Aki close to her was her beloved Miharu. She continued to treat Aki as her own precious little sister, even now.
Forget it… Who cares about that guy. I haven’t thought about him in so long… Aki’s face twisted horribly at the indescribable and complicated feelings within her. She shook her head.
Until now, there had been no mention of Haruto in her house, so Aki had never expressed her hatred for Haruto in front of her family before. The stepfather her mother remarried aside, her older stepbrother Takahisa and younger stepbrother Masato probably didn’t even know Haruto’s name.
However, there was one person who knew of the hatred Aki held toward Haruto — Miharu. Once, Aki had shown great anger in front of Miharu in saying that she didn’t care about someone like Haruto.
Aki knew her mother had raised her singlehandedly, that her mother was secretly in so much pain about Haruto and her father, so much so that her mother cried alone late at night… Because of those things, Aki couldn’t forgive them. Before she knew it, she detested them.
That was why it happened, all those years ago…
One day, Miharu had mentioned Haruto while reminiscing about something, and Aki had reacted with rejection. At the time, Miharu had apologized with sadness.
“I’m sorry,” she had said. Ever since then, Miharu never brought up Haruto before Aki ever again.
Today, upon hearing Haruto’s name, she had involuntarily thought of their Haruto. When Aki had accidentally showed an odd attitude in front of Haruto and the others, Miharu had called Aki’s name as though she had seen right through her.
Ever since Aki let her anger toward Haruto be known, Miharu had continued to treat her like a little sister. However, Aki wondered what kind of feelings she had right now.
Aah, geez! I don’t even want to think about him!
The more she wanted to erase her past, the harder it was to stop the memories from flowing out once she remembered something. Splash! Aki writhed about the bathtub in shame.
Let’s think about something else. That’s right… Onii-chan. I should think about
Onii-chan. Satsuki, too.
Aki decided to think about the older brother that wasn’t Amakawa Haruto — Sendo Takahisa, as well as the upperclassman of Miharu and Takahisa, Sumeragi Satsuki.
Sendo Takahisa was a child from Aki’s stepfather’s previous marriage, and Masato’s older brother. He was turning sixteen years old this year — the same age as Miharu. Through Aki’s connection, he was introduced to Miharu and fell in love with her at first sight, and had felt strongly for her ever since. He could be a bit unreliable at times, but he was sociable and kind, accomplished in both his studies and sports, and handsome enough to be quite popular with the girls. Only a few years had passed since her mother remarried, but Aki was already proud to call him her brother.
Sumeragi Satsuki was an upperclassman from Miharu and Takahisa’s middle school days, and was the president of the student council they were a part of. Miharu and Takahisa had just entered high school and reunited with Satsuki at the opening ceremony before coming to this world, but Aki was acquainted with her, too.
Satsuki was the charismatic daughter of a famous company’s president. Aki secretly admired her, seeing her as a perfect superhuman with no weaknesses at all.
“Onii-chan, Satsuki… I hope the two of them are all right,” Aki muttered worriedly.
The two of them were far more reliable than herself and Masato, but when she looked back upon the events that she experienced since coming to this world, she couldn’t help but feel excessively anxious. Especially when she considered the parts where her brother Takahisa was lacking.
When she thought about it calmly, it was possible they had run into a similar situation to hers. As worst case scenarios flashed through the back of her mind, uneasiness endlessly surged within her.
Nevertheless, there was nothing she could do about it. She wouldn’t even be able to live in this world if it weren’t for Haruto, so she couldn’t pointlessly make a fuss over it for nothing. Aki had enough foresight to know that much.
“All I can do now is learn as much as I can so that I can adjust to this world as quickly as possible. Then, we’ll all go home together, to where Mom and Dad are, on Earth.” Aki might’ve been averting her eyes from the reality of the situation, but it was better than running away from it; this was what she told herself. She hadn’t given up hope, at least.
…I wonder if Haruto’s ever thought about returning to Earth. He said he was a university student in his previous life… Is that the thing they call “rebirth”? I guess such a thing actually exists…
She began thinking about the guardian who would have to look out for her in the near future. There was something fleeting about him, and he had many unknown sides of himself that were surrounded in mystery, but she definitely didn’t think he was a bad person. If anything, he was too good of a person.
His personality was calm and polite, his face was pretty and well-refined, and he was very reliable; she couldn’t see any faults in him so far.
Ah… I should get up soon.
Aki’s head began to spin as she realized she was suddenly getting dizzy. While it was partly because she had stayed in the water for too long because it felt so good, the fact she had been thinking so hard played a large part in it as well.
She stood up slowly and placed a hand against the stone surface as she supported her staggering body. Once her dizziness waned, Aki slowly headed toward the changing room, where the cool air inside felt good.
She was extremely reluctant to wear the same pair of underwear twice, but she unfortunately didn’t have a change of underwear, so she endured it and put on a childish pair of shorts. She didn’t have a bra for reasons related to her growth, so she wore a camisole that was just as childish as her shorts.
“Hmph… I wish I was a little more like Miharu,” Aki muttered to herself as she touched her flat body; she was at the age where she admired Miharu for her slender but feminine frame.
Once she finished changing, she returned to the living room. A delicious- smelling scent was wafting throughout, and when she fearfully peered into the kitchen, she found Rio and Miharu intimately making dinner together.
“…” Aki tried to call out to the two of them, but for some reason, her words wouldn’t come out. She felt a strange sense of déjà vu as she watched the two of them in a daze, but she shook her head from left to right and brushed it off.
“You’re done, Aki? Were you able to unwind a little?” Rio noticed Aki and called out to her in a friendly voice.
“Ah, yes. It was a very nice bath. Thank you for letting me use it first.” Aki bowed her head hesitantly.
“I’m glad to hear that. Can you go tell Masato that it’s his turn to get in? He’s probably off exploring some part of the house.”
“E-Exploring… I understand.” Aki nodded in exasperation at Masato’s childishness.
“Also, there are cold drinks in that box over there that you can take as you wish. The glasses are in that shelf over there, so help yourself to whatever you want.”
“T-Thank you very much. You’re so considerate of everything…” Aki bowed her head — Rio really left nothing to be desired.
Afterward, Aki found Masato and told him to go take a bath, then sat down on the sofa in the living room to drink her iced tea.
It sure smells nice.
As she enjoyed the tropical scent of the iced tea and cool sensation of the metal mug, Aki absentmindedly watched what was going on in the kitchen.
There, Rio and Miharu were chatting about something as they made the food.
It was a space where only the two of them existed, and for some reason, it felt difficult to intrude on.
What is this I’m feeling…
Aki had a strange sense of déjà vu once again, but she couldn’t pinpoint the reason why, and was overcome with an indescribable feeling of vexation. Watching the two act intimately made her heart sting with pain.
Aki didn’t know that the person who broke his promise — the person who she hated illogically from the depths of her heart — was the same person who had saved her from her crisis earlier. She didn’t know what Rio was feeling right now, as he lived in this moment with his memories of the life he led as Amakawa Haruto, after the current life he had been through.
Not only Aki, but everyone else in this house, too. No one knew. Fate was a cruel mistress.
◇◇◇
Masato finished his bath just as dinner was finished being prepared. “Dinner’s ready. Come over here, you two.”
Rio invited Aki and Masato over to the dining table. The table was lined with rice and colorful side dishes like miso soup, karaage, steamed vegetables, chopped burdock root, boiled greens in soy sauce, and salad.
“…Japanese style?” Aki froze at the sight of the dishes on the table. She never imagined she’d be able to eat a Japanese meal in a world that wasn’t Earth.
“Whoa, that looks delicious!” Masato was the polar opposite of Aki, eyes sparkling with no doubts in his mind at all.
“Let’s dig in. Sit wherever you like,” Rio prompted. Everyone made their way to their respective seats of preference. As a result, Rio sat next to Miharu and Masato sat next to Aki, the four of them facing each other across the table.
“Thank you for the meal,” they all said together spontaneously, before beginning to eat.
“Yum! Did you make this, Miharu?” Masato reached for the karaage without hesitation. The steaming-hot fried chicken burst open and released the juices of the meat in his mouth, making Masato beam with a broad smile.
Miharu shook her head. “Nope, Haruto was the one who made it.”
“Wow, Haruto’s amazing. These steamed veggies are delicious, too,” Masato hummed in admiration.
“Miharu made the steamed vegetables. Even though you didn’t have much time to make it, the flavor soaked in perfectly. It’s very delicious,” Rio praised. It was his first time eating Miharu’s homemade cooking ever, so Rio had reached for her dish first without hesitation.
“Thank you very much.” Miharu grinned with embarrassment. The peaceful atmosphere remained throughout the whole meal.
◇◇◇
Aki and Masato must have been mentally exhausted, as they were immediately overcome with sleepiness once they finished their meals and were able to relax. Rio had been cleaning up the plates with Miharu, but stopped to lead the two to their bedrooms and put them to bed.
Afterward, he immediately returned to finish cleaning. After convincing a reluctant Miharu that he didn’t mind bathing last, he sat down on the sofa in the now-quiet living room.
Sipping at his hot tea, Rio sighed and vacantly reviewed the events that happened that day.
It sure is quiet… When it’s this quiet, it almost feels like everything that happened today was just a dream.
It really was just like a dream — the girl he loved and the little sister he was separated from in his previous life had appeared before him once again. However, it was by no means a dream — Rio had definitely met them in this world; especially Miharu, whom he had wanted to see again more than anything. Even Aki, Haruto’s little sister, was here.
In the bathroom, beyond the door to the changing room, was the girl he loved
so much, taking a bath, alone.
Do they… trust me? Or are they simply just unguarded? Rio smiled wryly. Captured by a man whose language they didn’t understand, they had nearly been made into slaves.
While Rio had no intention of assaulting Miharu, she had no way of knowing that for sure. She showed no outward signs of wariness toward Rio, but perhaps she was feeling uneasy on the inside.
Either way, they’ve been thrown into a completely unknown world, out of the blue. I wouldn’t be surprised if the stress has left any of them feeling mentally unstable… I’ll have to prepare an environment where they can relax, to ease the burden on their minds…
A sorrowful expression appeared on Rio’s face, and he covered it with his right hand in torment. The memories of his past life suddenly resurfaced.
…I wonder if I should tell them the truth… That I have Amakawa Haruto’s memories, Rio pondered to himself.
While it was clear as day that telling them would only cause confusion, Rio wondered if he even wanted to do so to begin with.
Amakawa Haruto was dead, after all — that was why Rio had cultivated a sense of finality with his previous self, despite feeling a strong and lingering attachment of his love for Miharu. That is… he was almost able to let Haruto go, until Miharu appeared before him — in the same form as the last time Haruto had seen her.
Honestly, there was no denying that he had nearly succumbed to his inclinations, that perhaps the idle youth he had spent as Amakawa Haruto could be done all over again.
There was a part of him that felt happiness in his reunion with Miharu, looking forward to spending time together even for a short while.
However, it was suffocating at the same time, because Rio considered himself to be a person that could never turn back. He couldn’t turn back.
He had said goodbye to his weakened self, the one that kept running away from a painful reality, in his parents’ homeland. He had decided that he would get his own hands dirty, if necessary, and search for someone that might not even be alive anymore. If he was alive, he’d kill him.
Rio had changed. Amakawa Haruto’s naivety was gone — as a matter of fact, he didn’t even know if he really was Amakawa Haruto anymore. The fact that he had vague memories in his mind was the only proof he had that he still was Haruto.
Today, he had killed someone for the first time in his life. Even at that very moment, with the sensation of killing someone and the warmth of their body still lingering on him, he felt no particular sense of guilt — most likely because the man he had killed deserved it.
At this point, what could he reveal about himself to his three guests? Would he tell Miharu that he had the memories of Amakawa Haruto, then confess his undying love to her?
What if Miharu had someone she loved, and therefore rejected him? Or, even worse — it was possible she might jump to her own conclusions, considering the current situation they had been placed in.
It’s no good. Even if I told them now, Mii-cha… No, Miharu and the others would only be distraught. I only just decided not to place a burden on them anymore, and yet it took me so long to realize what should have been obvious. I guess I still haven’t regained my composure yet… Rio sighed shamefully.
He had no idea why the Miharu that disappeared years before Amakawa Haruto died had appeared in this world as a high school student; he was rather bewildered by it, actually. But he knew what his priority needed to be, for now and for the future: he had to protect Miharu, Aki, and Masato. That much was certain.
I’ll need to teach them the language and the customs… It looks like I’ll be constantly with them for a while. My trip to see Professor Celia will have to be put off until later. Rio decided to sit back and observe the situation for a while.
Just then, the sound of the door to the changing room opening echoed in the living room. Rio directed his gaze to the changing room to see Miharu, fresh from her bath.
Miharu closed the door politely before looking around the living room. She was still in her school uniform, but looked strangely attractive after having just finished her bath.
When Miharu laid her eyes on Rio sitting on the sofa, she approached him with brisk footsteps and bowed her head. “Ah, Haruto. That was a great bath… Thank you for letting me use it first.”
Miharu’s long black hair, so glossy that it shone like varnish, swayed. It tickled Rio’s nostrils with the scent of soap. Rio felt his heart leap in his chest, then shook his head as though dismissing it as a figment of his imagination. “Don’t worry about it. Do you have a moment to talk right now?”
“Yes. I wanted to talk to you too…” Miharu nodded hesitantly.
“Here you go, then.” Rio poured ice tea into an empty mug and offered it to Miharu.
Miharu was feeling thirsty after her bath, so she brought the mug to her mouth softly and smiled happily. “Thank you… It’s delicious.”
Rio immediately refilled Miharu’s mug with more ice tea. “Would you like to go shopping tomorrow?” he asked.
“Shopping… you say?” Miharu cocked her head, her expression blank.
“Yes. I thought we could pick up some necessities for your everyday needs… and… Well, you can’t stay in your uniform forever, so…” Rio said, seemingly reluctant about bringing it up.
“Yes, you’re right,” Miharu said, nodding uncomfortably. Then, her expression shifted, and she gasped. “Ah… W-Was it weird to wear this again after all?! U- Umm, do I stink of sweat or something?” she asked in embarrassment.
Now that she was able to reflect on it, she had worn this outfit while she had prepared dinner and subsequently ate. She had also walked around endlessly in this uniform throughout the day; fearing that the smell of her sweat had soaked through, she sniffed her uniform in a panic to check.
Rio shook his head in shock. “N-No, not at all! You smell really nice! I could breathe in your scent forever.” In his rush to deny her statement, he spoke in a way that could have been taken the wrong way.
“Huh…? Ah… Umm, t-thank you… very much?” Miharu tilted her head; she was rather taken aback. She seemed to interpret the meaning of his words in a positive way, at least.
Rio belatedly realized he had made a remark that could be misunderstood and corrected himself in a hurry. “Ah, I-I didn’t mean it in a weird way! I just meant that it wasn’t a bad smell. I’m sorry!” he said, and bowed his head.
“I-It’s okay, I understand. I-I’m sorry, too.” Miharu bowed her head thankfully in return.
The air between them grew awkward, and for a while, their expressions were of an embarrassed sort. They averted their gazes, looking apologetic.
After the awkward silence between them continued for a few more seconds…
“…And so, I was thinking it’d be a bit difficult to move around with all of us, so would it be okay for you to shop on the behalf of the other two tomorrow? Although it would mean that Aki and Masato have to stay back here alone…”
Rio said in a slightly high-pitched voice, returning to their derailed conversation.
“Y-Yes. It’ll be okay.” Miharu nodded willingly. She knew that if the three of them had followed Rio into the city, they would only be a burden with their lack of understanding of the language.
“Then we’ll leave sometime in the morning after breakfast, so please write down a list of the things you need. There’s no need to worry about money, so write down everything you can think of,” Rio said, trying to encourage Miharu to show no restraint in what she wanted.
However, Miharu’s expression clouded apologetically. “Umm… We don’t have anything that would be worth any money, but I swear… One day I will repay you for looking after us like this. Thank you so much. If you ever have any housework or chores you need me to do, just say the word,” she said, bowing her head deeply at Rio.
“No, there’s no need for you to repay me in that way…” Rio scratched at his head, his expression troubled. If he put himself in Miharu’s shoes, he could understand her feelings, but just thinking about it left him feeling conflicted.
“I cannot allow that.” Miharu shook her head resolutely. She seemed to have quite the upright and earnest personality.
“…All right. Then, you can do some of the housework around here, and we’ll call it even between us with that. I will also pay you an allowance for your work.” Rio nodded and smiled faintly.
“Thank you very much. I’ll work hard.” Miharu’s expression continued to remain apologetic.
“Yes, please do. Also, there was something that I had to give you, Miharu. This…” Rio said, taking out the small pouch tightly packed with gold coins.
“Umm… What’s this?” Miharu asked hesitantly, peeking at the glint of gold from the opening of the pouch.
“The compensation money received from the slave merchant that tried to kidnap you and the others.”
“These are gold coins, right? It looks very valuable…”
“Well, to an extent. But, he had nearly ruined your entire lives. This is in no way too high of a price to be considered compensation money. You might not be too happy to accept this money, but please save it in case you need it as backup funds one day,” Rio said slowly to ensure Miharu understood his point.
“…Won’t you take this money instead, Haruto? We were the ones rescued by you, so I couldn’t possibly accept it,” Miharu declared after a pause of consideration, showing no sign of regret in front of such a huge amount of money.
“No, no. This is compensation money, so it has to go to the victims that suffered the crime. That’s how it is.” Rio shook his head, slightly taken aback.
“But we’ve only ever been on the receiving end of your kindness, and won’t have any way to use the money for a while… I would be much happier if you would accept this instead, Haruto,” Miharu emphasized. She chose to stick to her guns rather than receive what was being offered to her. Her stubborn will was clearly obvious.
“…Then we can use this money tomorrow for shopping and buying the living necessities that you’ll need in the near future.” Rio had originally intended to loan them the finances they needed, but he figured he could make a compromise instead.
“But then wouldn’t that end up being money used on us anyway…?”
“And that’s how it should be, since this was the compensation money that was meant for you,” Rio stated clearly.
“Is it really okay?” Miharu asked.
“It’s really okay,” Rio said a bit lightheartedly.
Miharu stared in wonder. “Okay. Thank you very much, Haruto.” She thanked him — for the umpteenth time that day — with a giggle.
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